#HACKFORD

[melis-writes]

THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE (1997) dir. Taylor Hackford.

[amatesura]

Dolores Claiborne (1995) | dir. Taylor Hackford

[marypickfords]

Dolores Claiborne (Taylor Hackford, 1995)

[nine-frames]

"Call me Dad."

The Devil's Advocate, 1997.

Dir. Taylor Hackford | Writ. Jonathan Lemkin & Tony Gilroy | DOP Andrzej Bartkowiak

[byneddiedingo]

dancecinema

GREGORY HINES & MIKHAIL BARYSHNIKOV White Nights (1985) dir. Taylor Hackford

[theoscarsproject]

White Nights (1985). A Russian American ballet dancer's airplane is forced to land in USSR, where he's "repatriated". He stays with an American man married to a Russian. Will the American help him flee USSR?

This movie is ?? Insane ?? Yet it kinda works! I think a huge part of that goes towards its terrific cast and some really affecting sequences that merge the Cold War thriller elements with the post-Vietnam War trauma and, well, the power of dance. If that sounds wild, that's because overall it is, and its a testament to Taylor Hackford's skill as a director. Just a surprise from start to finish (complimentary). 7/10.

[kiki-de-la-petite-flaque]

Charlize Theron, Al Pacino e Keanu Reeves a Parigi nel 1999 per la presentazione dell''Avvocato del diavolo,Taylor Hackford, 1997

[7thartheaven]

An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), Taylor Hackford

[petersonreviews]

[cemyafilmarsiv]

Against All Odds directed by Taylor Hackford

[melis-writes]

THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE (1997) dir. Taylor Hackford.

[thevisualvamp]

Aging Gracefully

[marypickfords]

Dolores Claiborne (Taylor Hackford, 1995)

[thishadoscarbuzz]

245 - Dolores Claiborne (with Louis Peitzman!)

In the small hall of Oscar-endorsed horror films, the centerpiece must be Kathy Bates brilliant and terrifying win for Best Actress in Misery. A few years after that win, Bates returned to Stephen King territory (though you can debate how much of a horror story it is) with Dolores Claiborne, the mystery of whether or not a woman killed not only her wealthy employer, but her husband decades prior. With Jennifer Jason Leigh as Bates’ estranged daughter and director Taylor Hackford at the helm, the film couldn’t return to that other King film’s Oscar anointing but endures as an intense melodrama and one of the best King adaptations.

This week, writer Louis Peitzman join us to unpack the history of King adaptations and each of our history with King’s work. We also discuss supporting player Judy Parfitt’s exquisite line readings, the differing takes on The Shining delivered by King and Stanley Kubrick, and this story’s connection to Gerald’s Game.

Topics also include the many 1995 Best Actress outsiders, Bates’ pre-Oscar theatre career, and Dead Like Me.

Links:

The 1995 Oscar nominations

Louis’ ranking of Stephen King adaptations

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[byneddiedingo]

Kathy Bates and Jennifer Jason Leigh in Dolores Claiborne (Taylor Hackford, 1995)

Cast: Kathy Bates, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judy Parfitt, Christopher Plummer, David Strathairn, Eric Bogosian, John C. Reilly, Ellen Muth, Bob Gunton, Roy Cooper. Screenplay: Tony Gilroy, based on a novel by Stephen King. Cinematography: Gabriel Beristain. Production design: Bruno Rubeo. Film editing: Mark Warner. Music: Danny Elfman. 

Stephen King is usually likened to Edgar Allan Poe, but the writer Taylor Hackford's film of King's Dolores Claiborne puts me in mind of is Dickens: the Dickens who respected melodrama and created flawed protagonists and convincing (and sometimes redeemable) villains. At 132 minutes, the movie is a little too long, but I wouldn't lose a minute of the performances by Kathy Bates as Dolores and Jennifer Jason Leigh as her daughter, Selena. Christopher Plummer, never reluctant to chew the hambone, threatens to go a bit over the top as Dolores's chief antagonist, Detective John Mackey, but Hackford keeps him under control. Judy Parfitt is superbly acidic as Vera Donovan, though it's a shame her later scenes had to be covered in old-age makeup. And David Strathairn does both the hair-trigger violence and the slimy seductiveness of Joe St. George well. It's also visually engaging, with Nova Scotia standing in for Maine, and Gabriel Beristain's cinematography making the most of the solar eclipse scenes. Dolores Claiborne has been praised for its feminist point of view, but perhaps that's because we so rarely see women dominate an American thriller as well as Bates and Leigh do. 

[filmjunky-99]

d o l o r e s c l a i b o r n e, 1995 🎬 dir. taylor hackford