#28DaysofBlack Review: "THE BROTHER FROM ANOTHER PLANET" Still Out of This World

[Outside of television, no white filmmaker has presented the depth, diversity, and scope of African-American characters on the big screen to the extent that writer-director John Sayles has.  For years, I encountered black people who thought that Sayles' fourth feature film, “The Brother from Another Planet,” was a “black film.”  Why is that?  Sayles has the ability to create characters and stories from outside the mainstream of society or of storytelling, but his directorial approach is more observational than dictatorial.  The result is a film like The Brother from Another Planet, in which no one can say of those black characters, “they all look alike” or act alike.]

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 20 of 2021 (No. 1758) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Brother from Another Planet (1984)
Running time: 108 minutes (1 hour, 48 minutes)
MPAA – R for language, some drug content and brief nudity
WRITER/DIRECTOR:  John Sayles
PRODUCERS:  Peggy Rajski and Maggie Renzi
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Ernest R. Dickerson
EDITOR:  John Sayles
COMPOSERS:  Mason Daring; Denzil Botus; Martin Brody; John Sayles and others

SCI-FI/DRAMA

Starring:  Joe Morton, Daryl Edwards, Steve James, Leonard Jackson, Carolyn Aaron, Bill Cobbs, Tom Wright, Minnie Gentry, Dee Dee Bridgewater, David Strathairn, John Sayles

The Brother from Another Planet is a 1984 science fiction and drama film from writer-director John Sayles.  This low-budget, independent film focuses on a mute alien that looks like an African-American man as he navigates the streets of Harlem and avoids the aliens hunting him.

The Brother from Another Planet opens inside an alien space craft of some kind that is in distress.  The pilot struggles with the controls of the ship that eventually crashes in the water near Ellis Island.  The alien emerges from the water, and other than his three-toed feet, he looks like a black human male.  He makes his way to New York City, specifically Harlem.

In a way, he successfully blends with the denizens of NYC, and makes his way into a bar owned by a man named, Odell (Steve James).  There, Odell and the regulars:  Fly (Daryl Edwards), Walter (Bill Cobbs), and Smokey (Leonard Jackson) begin to refer to the alien as “The Brother” (Joe Morton).  The Brother has the ability to heal his wounds and to heal or fix machines, and he soon lands a job as a technician and repairman.  Meanwhile, two men in black (David Strathairn and John Sayles) are hunting for The Brother … because he is a slave.

It has been over a decade since I last saw The Brother from Another Planet, but there was a time period when I saw it several times.  Every time I saw it, I loved it as much as I did the time before, if not more.  Before I watched it recently, I wondered how I would feel about it now, and it turns out that I am still in love with this film.  I once described The Brother from Another Planet as one of my all-time favorite films, and it must remain so.  As a low-budget, independent science fiction film, it is ripe for a remake.  However, the truth is that even with its seat-of-the-pants film-making and bare-bones special effects, The Brother from Another Planet seems to be perfect the way it is.  At least, that is what my mind keeps thinking.

Writer-director John Sayles has described The Brother from Another Planet as being about the immigrant experience of assimilation.  In a way, both The Brother and the denizens of Harlem and NYC, in general, are aliens, depending on the perspective and point of view from which they are viewed.  In fact, Sayles' Harlem in a grimy, funky alien world of people and places.  Somehow, Sayles makes every person and every thing unique; nothing and no one is like anything or anyone else.

For all that the cast brings to the film, The Brother from Another Planet's strength is in its creator, John Sayles, and in its star, Joe Morton as The Brother.  Sometimes, the film seems like a series of documentary or anthropological vignettes – as erratic in their presentation as they are inventive in the conception.  In that he is a most imaginative filmmaker, Sayles is a genius at creating characters that the viewer will want to observe.

Joe Morton's performance, exploratory without being penetrative and aggressive, brings the disparate parts of this film together into a whole, although it is not a seamless whole.  Perhaps that is the point; very little of this film's setting should seem connected.  On this planet that is our Earth, Joe Morton's Brother explores the strange worlds within the strange world.  Morton's is one of the greatest film performances that I have ever seen.  Without saying a word, Morton becomes like the actors of the silent film era, using physicality and facial expressions (or lack thereof) to tell The Brother's story, doing so in vivid colors and with rich texture.

The Brother from Another Planet is indeed an immigrant story, focusing on a being forced to be an immigrant and to find a new place in which to live because he is a slave.  The film is not about slavery, although the fact that The Brother is a runaway slave waits patiently on the periphery of this film and its narrative.  But, then again, The Brother from Another Planet gives the viewer so much to think about, and its seems like a chapter in a larger narrative.  Perhaps, that is why every time I watch this film, I feel like The Brother, always discovering something new.

10 of 10

Tuesday, February 23, 2021


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Stephen Frears' "The Program" Closes 2015 Austin Film Festival

Austin Film Festival Announces Stephen Frears’ Lance Armstrong Film, The Program, as Closing Night Film

Additional Marquee Programming to Feature The 33, Love the Coopers, and Retrospective Screening of Lone Star Presented by Chris Cooper

Confirmed guests include Kristen Connolly, Estelle Parsons, Mary Kay Place, Steve Nicolaides, Caroline Thompson, and a special Skype conversation with TV Legend Carl Reiner

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Austin Film Festival & Screenwriters Conference (AFF), the premier film festival recognizing the writers’ contributions to film, television, and new media, released today their final program additions, including new marquee films and special guests. The 22nd Annual Austin Film Festival kicks off on Thursday, October 29 and runs through Thursday, November 5, 2015.

The Program joins the Festival as the 2015 Closing Night Selection, held at the historic Paramount Theatre. From Academy Award®-nominated director Stephen Frears (The Queen, Philomena), comes the true story of the meteoric rise and fall of one of the most celebrated and controversial men in recent history: Lance Armstrong, the world-renowned Tour de France champion. Written by John Hodge (Trainspotting), The Program features Ben Foster, Chris O'Dowd, Guillaume Canet, Dustin Hoffman, and Jesse Plemons.

The Festival revealed new marquee titles, including Love the Coopers and The 33, and a retrospective screening of Lone Star presented by AFF’s Extraordinary Contribution to Film – Actor award recipient, Chris Cooper.

Confirmed guests recently slated to attend the 2015 Festival & Conference:

•     Mary Kay Place will present AFF’s 2015 “Outstanding Television Writer” award to Norman Lear
•     Kristen Connolly joins the cast for the staged script reading of Rosaline, an unproduced screenplay written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber (Paper Towns, The Fault in Our Stars)
•     James Moll (Foo Fighters: Back and Forth, The Last Days) joins the Conference’s Independent Filmmaking Track for a discussion on documentary filmmaking
•     Steve Nicolaides will present the 2015 “Extraordinary Contribution to Film” award to John Singleton
•     Caroline Thompson (writer Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas) will participate as a panelist in the Screenwriters Conference

Austin Film Festival will also present a special Skype conversation with TV Legend Carl Reiner, focusing on his work on "The Dick Van Dyke Show," on Saturday, October 31, 2015 during the Screenwriters Conference.

The full Film and Conference schedule, and more information on Badges and Passes, can be found at www.austinfilmfestival.com.

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Reivew: Sayles Draws Viewers in "LIMBO" (Happy B'day," David Strathairn)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 34 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Limbo (1999)
Running time:  126 minutes (2 hours, 6 minutes)
MPAA – R for language
EDITOR/WRITER/DIRECTOR:  John Sayles
PRODUCER:  Maggie Renzi
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Haskell Wexler
COMPOSER:  Mason Daring
Palme d'Or nominee

DRAMA/THRILLER/ROMANCE

Starring:  Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, David Strathairn, Venessa Martinez, Kris Kristofferson, and Casey Siemaszko

The subject of this movie review is Limbo, a 1999 drama and crime-thriller from writer-director John Sayles.  The film focuses on a fisherman who tries to protect his new girlfriend and her daughter from his past and his brother’s present.  The film was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival, and at the 1999 Seattle International Film Festival, Sayles received the “Golden Space Needle Award” for “Best Director.”  The National Board of Review, USA also gave Limbo a “Special Recognition” award “For excellent in filmmaking.”

John Sayles is a true independent filmmaker, rarely dealing with the major studios to produce his pictures, although they have distributed them, as is the case with Limbo.  Upon seeing this film, one can understand why he remains an independent.  Most directors can do this kind of film once or twice, but to make a career out of films like this, a director has to have an iron will.

Joe Gastineau (David Strathairn, a veteran of several Sayles films) lives, but that’s all he does.  He merely lives, working a few odd jobs in a small Alaska town.  He meets and helps out Donna De Angelo (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves) a lovelorn lounge singer and the mother of one of Joe’s coworkers Noelle (Vanessa Martinez), and Joe gently falls for Donna.  When Joe’s self-inflated half-brother Bobby (Casey Siemaszko, Young Guns) blows into town, the four take a journey to up-country Alaska that changes and endangers their lives.

The acting is good, especially from the trio of Strathairn, Ms. Mastrantonio, and Ms. Martinez.  Strathairn is a vulnerable and moody character, but a quite approachable guy, a strong and supportive man when he has to be.  Ms. Mastrantonio is punch drunk from the love of broken relationships, but she never gives up on the positive, even when things keep falling apart.  Ms. Martinez is the sullen, self-pitying teen; quiet and withdrawn, she is an imaginative storyteller who can take elements of her life and create metaphorical delights.  Sayles has affection for these characters, and, because he takes time to give them depth, we care about them.

Sayles, a novelist and short story writer, creates films with characters that are very much like real people.  Each and every character has their own story, and a Sayles movie is actually of composition containing all these characters’ stories.  His gift is to show the viewers enough of each story so that they can get a feel for the film.  We see more of the lead characters’ stories, but we get a taste of every person’s story.  He is a visionary, able to weave stories with the same complexities and depth of a novel into the visual shorthand of a film.

Critics have accused his films of not having passion, but they have sold their souls for the press junkets and star interviews of the major studios and their product.  A Sayles film is vibrant and engaging.  He makes you think, and he lets you be part of the film, to put yourself inside the story.  This is as vicarious a thrill as any adrenalin-monkey action movie.

8 of 10
A

NOTE:
1999 Cannes Film Festival:  1 nomination: “Palme d'Or” (John Sayles)

Updated:  Sunday, January 26, 2014


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

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Review: Winning Cast Carries "Casa de los Babys"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 80 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Casa de los Babys (2003)
Running time:  95 minutes (1 hour, 35 minutes)
MPAA – R for some language and brief drug use
WRITER/DIRECTOR:  John Sayles
PRODUCERS:  Alejandro Springall and Lemore Syvan
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Mauricio Rubinstein (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  John Sayles
COMPOSER:  Mason Daring

DRAMA

Starring:  Maggie Gyllenhaal, Daryl Hannah, Marcia Gay Harden, Susan Lynch, Mary Steenburgen, Lili Taylor, and Rita Moreno

The subject of this movie review is Casa de los Babys, a 2003 drama from writer-director John Sayles.  The film focuses on a group of American women in South America where they hope to adopt babies.  Casa de los Babys was screened at various film festivals before receiving a limited theatrical release in September 2003.

In John Sayles’ film Casa de los Babys, six white American women from varying backgrounds have traveled to an unnamed Latin American country to (hopefully) pick up newly adopted babies.  However, they end up stuck in the country because of laws that require they live there while a months-long process of paperwork slowly winds itself through the red tape maze.

The women come to reside at the “casa de los babys,” a hotel run by a woman who is involved in the adoption process.  Oh, the women may very well get babies, but they find themselves going through hoops; mostly it’s about waiting – waiting and getting to know the other mothers – some with sad or scary personal stories.

It’s always hard to figure out what Sayles is trying to say in his films; that’s assuming he has a message.  His movies are always about the characters, and while story and setting aren’t necessarily secondary, the joy of watching one of his movies is in watching how characters live in their environments.

The structure and proportions of Sayles’ films suggest realism, but it’s really the best drama – rooted in reality with the conflict idealized to make it more intriguing.  There are few easy answers, and Sayles films usually leave me with so many unanswered questions.  As usual with a Sayles movie, I’ll heartily recommend this heartfelt and heart-wrenching film and also tell you you’re dumb if you don’t like Casa de los Babys.

8 of 10
A

Updated:  Friday, September 27, 2013

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Review: McDonnell, Woodard Shine in "Passion Fish" (Happy B'day, Mary McDonnell)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 11 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Passion Fish (1992)
Running time: 135 minutes (2 hours, 15 minutes)
MPAA – R
EDITOR/WRITER/DIRECTOR: John Sayles
PRODUCERS: Sarah Green and Maggie Renzi
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Roger Deakins
COMPOSER: Mason Daring
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA

Starring: Mary McDonnell, Alfre Woodard, David Strathairn, Lenore Banks, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Nora Dunn, Angela Bassett, Mary Portser, and Will Mahoney

The subject of this movie review is Passion Fish, a 1992 drama from writer-director John Sayles. The film tells the story of a paralyzed soap opera actress and the bond she forms with one of her nurses.

Some would decry that Passion Fish, like most John Sayles films (Matewan, Eight Men Out), lacks precisely that: passion. The truth is that John Sayles films eschew the emotional histrionics that so many filmmakers mistake for emotional honesty. Plus, many directors (American directors are afflicted with this curse) probably think that you have to turn of the intensity to capture the attentions of a jaded audience. Besides, the word “passion” is not a lone adjective in the title, but half of a whole that describes the film’s central theme.

Mary-Alice Culhane (Mary McDonnell, Dances with Wolves), a popular soap opera actress, is left paralyzed and wheel chair bound after a car accident. She returns to her Louisiana childhood home where she runs through a succession of nurses until she meets the fiery Chantelle (Alfre Woodard, Grand Canyon), who is running from her own debilitating sickness. Together, they traverse the narrow road and rough terrain of healing, because, in the end, they are alike and really need each other. In the meantime, they also both find new male friends and companions. Mary attaches to an old-fashioned Cajun (Sayles veteran David Strathairn, City of Hope) and Chantelle to a black Cowboy (Vondie Curtin-Hall, Die Hard 2).

Sayles directs this film with deliberate slowness, a languid pace that mirrors Passion Fish’s sultry and humid setting. He gives his cast a chance to slip into the skins of their roles, and there is a pay off – believable performances and characters that feel right in their environments. His script is full of his sharp wit and his lush and rich dialogue, for which he has deft ear.

The performances are excellent. Although Ms. McDonnell alone earned an Academy Award nomination for performance, Ms. Woodard turns in an exemplary performance as Chantelle, desperately fighting her addiction and desperate to reclaim her child. As a duo, they subtly draw us into their lives, and we can’t help but leave a part of ourselves with them as they chose to remain together – forever or for as long as it takes them to heal.

I can’t stress enough how Sayles builds this movie on good acting and a strong story. For those who like strong characters with which one can identify, this movie has them. Passion Fish is truly a fine film for audiences looking for mature subject matter, and is another delight in the beautiful filmography of a great American independent filmmaker, John Sayles.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
1993 Academy Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Actress in a Leading Role” (Mary McDonnell) and “Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen” (John Sayles)

1993 Golden Globes, USA: 2 nominations: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Mary McDonnell) and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Alfre Woodard)

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Review: "The Howling" Still Has Bite

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 52 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Howling (1981)
Running time: 91 minutes (1 hour, 31 minutes)
MPAA – R
DIRECTOR: Joe Dante
WRITERS: John Sayles and Terence H. Winkless (from the novel by Gary Brandner)
PRODUCER: Daniel H. Blatt, Jack Conrad, Michael Finnell, and Steven A. Lane
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jim Hora
EDITOR: Mark Goldblatt and Joe Dante
COMPOSER: Pino Donaggio

HORROR/THRILLER/DRAMA/FANTASY

Starring: Dee Wallace, Patrick Macnee, Dennis Dugan, Christopher Stone, Belinda Balaski, Kevin McCarthy, John Carradine, Slim Pickens, Elisabeth Brooks, Robert Picardo, Margie Impert, Noble Willingham, James Murtaugh, Jim McKrell, Kenneth Tobey, Don McLeod, and Dick Miller

The subject of this movie review is The Howling, a 1981 werewolf movie from director Joe Dante. The film is loosely based on Gary Brandner’s 1977 novel of the same name. The film starred real-life husband and wife Dee Wallace and Christopher Stone, who were married from 1980 to Christopher Stone’s death in 1995.

One of the few great werewolf movies of the last quarter of the 20th Century is The Hollowing. Directed by Joe Dante, the film is part tongue-in-cheek and part tribute to B-movie horror, but to describe the film as merely cheeky or cheesy would be a disservice to a film that features some really great scary movie atmosphere and some fantastic monster makeup effects.

After a traumatic experience with a serial killer, TV news reporter, Karen White (Dee Wallace) and her husband, Bill Neill (Christopher Stone), move temporarily to a rustic California resort called The Colony, at the behest of the resort’s founder, Dr. George Waggner, who is Karen’s therapist. Once at the colony, both Karen and Bill dislike the kooky yokels. However, Bill starts to blend in after a comely and brazen young woman puts some moves on him. Karen is upset by this attention Bill is getting, but she is more worried by what she hears at night, right outside her window – the howling. Meanwhile, Karen’s colleagues, Terry Fisher (Belinda Balaski) and Christopher (Dennis Dugan), are getting closer to making a shocking connection between the serial killer who attacked Karen and The Colony.

The Howling for all its humorous edge is also quite intense. In fact, Dante directs the shrewdly and tightly (co-written script by John Sayles) in a straight fashion and with a straight face. Considering the subject matter, the viewer may take The Howling as a howler or as a riveting horror flick. It works quite well either way, plus, the film’s sexual edge is quite effective. The women in this film are by far the most interesting players. Dee Wallace and Belinda Balaski’s primary mode is either breathless wonder or wild-eye terror, and they do it so well.

The Howling’s best aspect is the monster costumes and special makeup effects; the werewolf transformation scenes are fascinating and mesmeric, each one a unique, mind-bending, imaginative showcase of the immense talents of Rob Bottin. Unfortunately for Bottin, his work was overshadowed by his mentor, Rick Baker, who won an Oscar for his make up work in 1981’s other werewolf movie, An American Werewolf in London. Bottin’s work, Dante’s directing, and the Sayles/Winkless script make this a must-see for horror movie fans.

8 of 10
A

April 6, 2005

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Review: "Sunshine State" is Another Great John Sayles Ensemble Drama (Happy B'day, Edie Falco)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 53 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Sunshine State (2002)
Running time: 141 minutes (2 hours, 21 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for brief strong language, a sexual reference, and thematic elements
EDITOR/WRITER/DIRECTOR: John Sayles
PRODUCER: Maggie Renzi
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Patrick Cady

DRAMA

Starring: Angela Bassett, Edie Falco, James McDaniel, Timothy Hutton, Bill Cobbs, Miguel Ferrer, Ralph Waite, Jane Alexander, Mary Alice, Gordon Clapp, Mary Steenburgen, Alex Lewis, and Tom Wright

The subject of this movie review is Sunshine State, a 2002 drama (with humorous undertones) from director John Sayles. An ensemble character drama, the film has subplots about family secrets, race relations, romance, and commercial property development.

Watching a John Sayles movie is to observe the work of a genius. Of course the word is often misused and overused, but not in John’s case. He is a genius film director. Very few directors could write the kind of dense character pieces that he does with so many players and still make the resulting film visually absorbing. That is what the master does yet again in his 2002 film, Sunshine State.

As usual, when a Sayles film begins, there is already a lot of backstory. The characters have highly involved lives before we fade in to the first scene, so we essentially come into a story that’s already begun. In a northern Florida coastal town, encroaching land developers force the separate lives of the town’s residents to intersect as the developers make a hard sell, by hook or by crook, the buy the land which they intend to transform into a swanky residential and resort area.

Old family business also rears its head for the two female leads. Desiree Perry (Angela Bassett) returns to visit her mother, Eunice Stokes (Mary Alice). Desiree left decades earlier because of an unwanted pregnancy and because she had a hard time living up to the public legacy of her father. She returns with her husband, Reggie, to find her mother now responsible for a troubled young relative (Alex Lewis) and seemingly nursing a grudge against her daughter.

Meanwhile, Marly Temple (Edie Falco) manages her father Furman’s (Ralph Waite) restaurant and hotel, but she’s ready to give it up. She listens to the slick and deceptive deals of the land developers and falls for one of their employees, a wandering landscape architect (Timothy Hutton).

Sayles’s film is a complex, but yet straightforward story, that details the complicated issues of business and of family business. You almost need a scorecard to keep up with all the characters, but Sayles creates a rhythm with his plot and story that a patient and savvy viewer will eventually catch. Visually, it’s like a shell game, but once you catch onto who is who, who is connected to whom, who wants what, you get a grasp on the film. After a while, you even have a good idea of the motivation of even the bit players. Sayles’s films are verbose, but not like those pretentious uppity foreign films, especially those high-falutin’ British period pieces. The spoken accentuates the visual. The better you understand the dialogue and that it’s communicating the story to you, the easier it is to watch the movie.

The acting is quite good all around. Many viewers are already aware of Angela Bassett’s dramatic prowess, but Ms. Falco, mainly known for “The Sopranos” is a revelation here. Her Marly Temple is one of the best performances by an actress, lead or supporting, in 2002, and one of the best in last few years. Like many of those earlier excellent performances, Oscar passed Ms. Falco by even for a nomination.

For many complex business and socio-political reasons, not excluding his talent, Sayles continues to create some of the best ethnic characters currently seen in popular cinema, especially African-Americans. Many black directors and writers show less affinity than Sayles in creating complex, three-dimensional black characters. Many black filmmakers are content to churn out the same drivel as the rest of the film industry except they populate their movies with cardboard, stereotypical Negroes.

As usual, a Sayles film ends before the story is “over.” He’s given us a small slice in the long rich lives of his characters who are so seemingly alive that they might just live on past the end credits. Sunshine State is John Sayles best film since Lone Star, in which he also takes the same lovingly novelistic approach to the story. It’s a career highlight from the oldest and the strongest maverick filmmaker in America. He’s the last great independent spirit, and by remaining so, every few years, he gives us a work of simple brilliance.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
2003 Black Reel Awards: 1 win: “Theatrical - Best Actress” (Angela Bassett)

2003 Image Awards: 1 win: “Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture” (Angela Bassett)

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"The Howling Reborn" Now on DVD

A legendary horror franchise that redefined a genre returns to scare a new generation...

ANCHOR BAY FILMS “BAYS” AT THE MOON WITH THE HOWLING REBORN ON BLU-RAY™ AND DVD

A New Moon Rises October 18th

Get ready to run with the pack again, as Anchor Bay Entertainment unleashes The Howling Reborn October 18th on Blu-ray™ and DVD. An all-new, original chapter directed by Joe Nimziki, the much anticipated Anchor Bay Films release stars Lindsey Shaw (“Pretty Little Liars,” “10 Things I Hate About You”), Landon Liboiron (Fox’s upcoming series “Terra Nova,” “Degrassi: The Next Generation”) and Ivana Milicevic (Casino Royale, Vanilla Sky). Described within industry circles as “Twilight with bite,” The Howling Reborn deftly combines romance, action and thrills that will have audiences worldwide embracing their inner lycanthrope! SRP is $26.98 for the DVD, and $29.99 for the Blu-ray™. Pre-book is September 21st.

Anchor Bay SVP of Marketing Jennifer Roberts stated: “We couldn’t be more thrilled with the picture, and are excited to get “The Howling: Reborn” out as quickly as possible for this Halloween. We truly believe this picture will re-launch the franchise and lead to even bigger and better new chapters ahead.”

The creatures for The Howling Reborn were brought to life by 2010 Academy-Award® nominee Adrian Morot (300, Night at the Museum 2), and the score produced by award-winning composer Klaus Badelt (Gladiator, Pirates of the Caribbean).

On the eve of his high school graduation, Will Kidman (Liboiron) finally looks up from his books to catch the eye of the girl he’s longed for the last four years –the mysterious Eliana Wynter (Shaw). He’s always been the shy kid, flying under the radar, but when he discovers a dark secret from his past— that he is heir to a powerful line of werewolves -- he finds he has a choice to make between succumbing to his primal nature, or turning against his own, and maintaining his humanity. In order to fight the destiny of his legacy, and save Eliana – as well as himself – he must battle not only his growing blood lust but an army of fearsome beasts bent on killing him, Eliana...and then, us all.

Bonus features on The Howling Reborn Blu-ray™ and DVD will include filmmakers’ commentary and a behind-the-scenes featurette.

The Howling began enthralling fans more than 30 years ago, with the 1977 publication of Gary Brandner’s best-selling novel and the 1981 film adaptation written by Academy Award® nominated screenwriter John Sayles (Lone Star, The Spiderwick Chronicles) and directed by Joe Dante (Gremlins, InnerSpace). The film’s success ushered in a new era of screen werewolves, as well as the six “Howling” sequels that followed.


About Anchor Bay Films
Anchor Bay Films is unique in that it offers the creative community a fully integrated distribution capability on all platforms and an international solution extending beyond the U.S. Anchor Bay Films is a division of Anchor Bay Entertainment and is on the ground providing quality distribution with operations in the U.S., United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, as well as distribution capabilities in other key territories. The company focuses on a platform release strategy for its films with an eye toward maximizing their potential across all ancillary distribution platforms. The company recently released the critically acclaimed comedy City Island starring Andy Garcia and Solitary Man starring Michael Douglas, Kill the Irishman starring Ray Stevenson, Vincent D’Onofrio, Val Kilmer, Christopher Walken, as well as Sundance Audience Award Winner happythankyoumoreplease starring Josh Radnor, Malin Akerman, Kate Mara, Zoe Kazan and Tony Hale. Upcoming releases include, Meet Monica Velour with Kim Cattrall and Toronto International Film Festival award-winner Beautiful Boy with Maria Bello and Michael Sheen. Anchor Bay Entertainment is a subsidiary of Starz Media, LLC (http://www.starzmedia.com/) which is a controlled subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation attributed to the Liberty Starz tracking stock group.

Review: "Lianna" is a Great and Groundbreaking Film That Should Not Be Lost (Happy B'day, John Sayles)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 44 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Lianna (1983)
Running time: 110 minutes (1 hour, 50 minutes)
MPAA – R
EDITOR/WRITER/DIRECTOR: John Sayles
PRODUCERS: Jeffrey Nelson and Maggie Renzi
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Austin De Besche
COMPOSER: Mason Daring

DRAMA

Starring: Linda Griffiths, Jane Hallaren, Jon DeVries, Jo Henderson, Jessica Wight MacDonald, Jesse Solomon, John Sayles, Stephen Mendillo, Betsy Julia Robinson, Nancy Mette, and Maggie Renzi

Lianna was acclaimed independent filmmaker John Sayles second feature directorial effort. It’s the story of Lianna (Linda Griffiths), a wife and mother of two children who falls in love with another woman. Her marriage to Dick (Jon DeVries), an English professor, isn’t a happy one since Dick is mostly arrogant towards her and cheats on Lianna with his female students. Lianna eventually falls in love with her professor Ruth (Jane Hallaren). The relationship is not only a revelation for Lianna, but it’s also an awakening of long dormant feelings she’s had since she was in her early teens.

Lianna leaves her marriage for Ruth, and that throws her life into a kind of tailspin. The philandering Dick feels sexually betrayed, while Lianna’s children, Spencer (Jesse Solomon) and Theda (Jessica Wight MacDonald), are curious, hurt, and confused. Lianna’s friends and associates are not hostile to her because of the change, but they’re either distant or ambivalent. Things get a little hairy when Ruth starts to take up a prior lesbian relationship that still has life in it. That drives a wedge between her and Lianna, who often succumbs to bouts of loneliness.

The performances are wonderful and rich, though they seem a bit stiff early in the film. I give most of the credit to Sayles, who has a knack for getting us in close to the characters, giving us an intimate view of their lives. His method, although unobtrusive, is actually kind of controlling. He has an intense focus on being true to the writing and letting the actors play out what they pick up from the written page. This is his way of making us focus on the drama. His filmmaking is free of eye candy and pyrotechnics, so he leaves the audience only the bare bones of drama, which is quite a meal in itself.

Another great thing about his films is that they seem so real. It’s as if a John Sayles picture is actually a peak into the lives of real characters. There is no phoniness in his films, and the questions raised by each film have no easy or obvious answers. Still, Sayles has way of making us glue ourselves to the picture, and Liana is one of his best efforts. It’s also a non-sensational and rather matter-of-fact look at a straight married woman in the throes of a burgeoning attraction to the same sex.

Lianna is scandalous without the noise, and it’s passionate without being tawdry. Most of all, it is human and real while still being drama. I wish that Sayles would have given us a deeper look at the impact of Lianna’s affair with another woman on her children, but what Sayles does give us is quality work.

9 of 10

A+

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The A.V. Club Talks to John Sayles

I'm a big fan of writer/director John Sayles.  The A.V. Club has an extensive interview, Page One and Page Two, with Sayles, thought of as one of the father's of American independent filmmaking.  Sayles received best screenplay Oscar nominations in the 1990s for his films, Passion Fish and Lone Star.