James Tolkan
Biography: Fiery, forceful and intimidating character actor James Tolkan has carved out a nice little niche for himself in both movies and television alike as a formidable portrayer of fierce and flinty hard-boiled tough guy types. James Stewart Tolkan was born on June 20, 1931 in Calumet, Michigan. His father, Ralph M. Tolkan, was a cattle dealer. James attended the University of Iowa, Coe College and Eastern Arizona College. After serving a year-long stint in the United States Navy, Tolkan went to New York and studied acting with both Lee Strasberg and Stella Adler at the Actors Studio. Short and bald, with beady, intense eyes, a wiry, compact, muscular build, a gruff, jarring, high-decibel voice, and an aggressive, confrontational, blunt-as-a-battle-ax, rough-around-the-edges demeanor, Tolkan has been often cast as rugged, cynical no-nonsense cops, mean, domineering authority figures, and various ruthless and dangerous criminals. Tolkan first began acting in movies in the late 1960s and was highly effective in two pictures for Sidney Lumet: He was a rabidly homophobic police lieutenant in the superbly gritty Serpico (1973) and a sneaky district attorney in the equally excellent Prince of the City (1981). Best known as the obnoxiously overzealous high school principal Gerard Strickland in the Back to the Future films, Tolkan's other most memorable roles include Napolean in Woody Allen's Love and Death (1975), a ramrod army officer in WarGames (1983), mayor Robert Culp's mordant, wisecracking assistant in Turk 182 (1985), the hard-nosed Stinger in Top Gun (1986), the choleric Detective Lubric in Masters of the Universe (1987), meek mob accountant Numbers in Dick Tracy (1990), and Wesley Snipes' bullish superior in Boiling Point (1993).
Place of Birth: Not available
Birthday: June 20, 1931
Deathday: N/A
Popularity:
Known For
Back to the Future
1985-07-03
Back to the Future
Overview: Eighties teenager Marty McFly is accidentally sent back in time to 1955, inadvertently disrupting his parents' first meeting and attracting his mother's romantic interest. Marty must repair the damage to history by rekindling his parents' romance and - with the help of his eccentric inventor friend Doc Brown - return to 1985.
Genres: Adventure Comedy Science Fiction
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1985-07-03
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Back to the Future Part II
1989-11-22
Back to the Future Part II
Overview: Marty and Doc are at it again in this wacky sequel to the 1985 blockbuster as the time-traveling duo head to 2015 to nip some McFly family woes in the bud. But things go awry thanks to bully Biff Tannen and a pesky sports almanac. In a last-ditch attempt to set things straight, Marty finds himself bound for 1955 and face to face with his teenage parents -- again.
Genres: Adventure Comedy Science Fiction
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1989-11-22
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Back to the Future Part III
1990-05-25
Back to the Future Part III
Overview: The final installment of the Back to the Future trilogy finds Marty digging the trusty DeLorean out of a mineshaft and looking for Doc in the Wild West of 1885. But when their time machine breaks down, the travelers are stranded in a land of spurs. More problems arise when Doc falls for pretty schoolteacher Clara Clayton, and Marty tangles with Buford Tannen.
Genres: Adventure Comedy Science Fiction
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1990-05-25
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WarGames
1983-06-03
WarGames
Overview: High school student David Lightman has a talent for hacking. But while trying to hack into a computer system to play unreleased video games, he unwittingly taps into the Department of Defense's war computer and initiates a confrontation of global proportions. Together with his girlfriend and a wizardly computer genius, David must race against time to outwit his opponent and prevent a nuclear Armageddon.
Genres: Thriller Science Fiction Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1983-06-03
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Val
2021-07-23
Val
Overview: For over 40 years Val Kilmer, one of Hollywood’s most mercurial and/or misunderstood actors has been documenting his own life and craft through film and video. He has amassed thousands of hours of footage, from 16mm home movies made with his brothers, to time spent in iconic roles for blockbuster movies like Top Gun, The Doors, Tombstone, and Batman Forever. This raw, wildly original and unflinching documentary reveals a life lived to extremes and a heart-filled, sometimes hilarious look at what it means to be an artist and a complex man.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2021-07-23
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Top Gun
1986-05-16
Top Gun
Overview: For Lieutenant Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell and his friend and co-pilot Nick 'Goose' Bradshaw, being accepted into an elite training school for fighter pilots is a dream come true. But a tragedy, as well as personal demons, will threaten Pete's dreams of becoming an ace pilot.
Genres: Action Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1986-05-16
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Family Business
1989-12-06
Family Business
Overview: Jessie is an aging career criminal who has been in more jails, fights, schemes, and lineups than just about anyone else. His son Vito, while currently on the straight and narrow, has had a fairly shady past and is indeed no stranger to illegal activity. They both have great hope for Adam, Vito's son and Jessie's grandson, who is bright, good-looking, and without a criminal past.
Genres: Crime Drama Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1989-12-06
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Boiling Point
1993-04-16
Boiling Point
Overview: Red is an aging scam-artist who's just been released from prison together with Ronnie, a young and not-so-bright hoodlum who is easily manipulated. Their new business is to organize fake-money sales and then kill the buyer to take his money; but when Ronnie kills an undercover secret service agent, his partner Jimmy Mercer vows revenge and is given one week to catch the killers before being transferred. Written by Giancarlo Cairella
Genres: Drama Action Crime Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1993-04-16
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Opportunity Knocks
1990-03-30
Opportunity Knocks
Overview: Eddie and Lou are a couple of two-bit con men on the lam from a loan shark. They hide out in someone's house and they hear on the answering machine that (A) the owner of the house is out of the country for a month or two and (B) the housesitter supposed to watch the house for the absent owner won't be able to watch the house due to a new job in another part of the country. This provides for a pretty nifty arrangement for Eddie and Lou...until the relatives of the house owner drop by to visit. Eddie quickly adopts the guise of the person supposedly housesitting for the owner, and the shenanigans start from there.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1990-03-30
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Masters of the Universe
1987-08-07
Masters of the Universe
Overview: The world of Eternia in the aftermath of Skeletor's war on Castle Grayskull, which he has won after seizing Grayskull and the surrounding city using a cosmic key developed by the locksmith Gwildor. The Sorceress is now Skeletor's prisoner and he begins to drain her life-force as he waits for the moon of Eternia to align with the Great Eye of the Universe that will bestow god-like power upon him.
Genres: Action Fantasy Science Fiction Adventure Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1987-08-07
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Iceman
1984-04-13
Iceman
Overview: A team of Arctic researchers find a 40,000 year-old man frozen in ice and bring him back to life. Anthropologist Dr. Stanley Shephard wants to befriend the Iceman and learn about the man's past while Dr. Diane Brady and her surgical team want to discover the secret that will allow man to live in a frozen state.
Genres: Science Fiction
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1984-04-13
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Made in Heaven
1987-11-06
Made in Heaven
Overview: Deceased drifter Mike arrives in Heaven and quickly falls for newborn soul Annie, soon to start her assignment on Earth. When Annie leaves, Mike follows.
Genres: Comedy Drama Fantasy Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1987-11-06
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Heavens Fall
2006-07-20
Heavens Fall
Overview: Successful New York attorney Sam Leibowitz travels to the South in 1933 to defend nine young black men accused of raping two women on an Alabama freight train.
Genres: Crime Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2006-07-20
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Problem Child 2
1991-07-03
Problem Child 2
Overview: Junior and his father, Ben, move from Cold River to Mortville. Junior becomes threatened by Ben's desire to date again and find a new mother for Junior, and sabotages each of his dates.
Genres: Comedy Family
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1991-07-03
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Off Beat
1986-04-10
Off Beat
Overview: Joe Gower's job is skating through library shelves, fetching books. A police officer/friend of his is chosen to participate in a charity dance performance. Gower agrees to take his place in the show by posing as a police officer. He falls for a female officer in the show and gets into various scrapes with fellow cops and also crooks. And he dances.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1986-04-10
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7 Times Lucky
2004-01-17
7 Times Lucky
Overview: An aging con-man and a beautiful, ambitious student cross paths in a scam that promises to make them both rich.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2004-01-17
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Bloodfist IV: Die Trying
1992-11-18
Bloodfist IV: Die Trying
Overview: When Danny unknowingly repossesses the car of a powerful arms merchant, it sets off a chain of violent retaliation. After his friends are killed and his daughter is kidnapped, Danny takes matters into his own hands. It does not matter that the CIA and the FBI are also involved the Dragon's fire is in his fists!
Genres: Action Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1992-11-18
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Little Spies
1986-10-05
Little Spies
Overview: When a runaway stray dog is rescued by the local neighborhood kids, they discover a nearby gang is involved.
Genres: Adventure Drama Family TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1986-10-05
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Split Decisions
1988-06-11
Split Decisions
Overview: When a boxer is killed because he wouldn't take a dive, his brother tries to find a way to avenge him even if only symbolically.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1988-06-11
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True Blood
1989-04-28
True Blood
Overview: Teenager Ray Trueblood is wrongfully accused of murdering a police officer after his fellow gang member Billy Masters does the deed. Hoping to elude the police, he flees Brooklyn, NY and joins the U.S. Marines. Returning 10 years later, Trueblood is dismayed to learn that his younger brother Donny is now running with a gang led by Masters. Trueblood soon finds himself depending on his military training & experience to protect his friends and family from the ruthless Masters.
Genres: Action Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1989-04-28
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Phil Spector
2013-06-14
Phil Spector
Overview: A drama centered on the relationship between Phil Spector and defense attorney Linda Kenney Baden while the music business legend was on trial for the murder of Lana Clarkson.
Genres: Drama TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2013-06-14
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Looking Back to the Future
2009-02-10
Looking Back to the Future
Overview: A 9-part retrospective documentary from 2009 on the trilogy’s legacy.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2009-02-10
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The Case of the Hillside Stranglers
1989-04-02
The Case of the Hillside Stranglers
Overview: The chilling true story of the "two of a kind" killing cousins, Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi, better known as the Hillside Stranglers.
Genres: Drama Crime Thriller TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1989-04-02
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Love and Death
1975-06-10
Love and Death
Overview: In czarist Russia, a neurotic soldier and his distant cousin formulate a plot to assassinate Napoleon.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1975-06-10
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They Might Be Giants
1971-06-09
They Might Be Giants
Overview: After the death of his wife, wealthy retiree Justin Playfair creates a fantasy world for himself in which he is the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes, even dressing like the character. Out of concern for Justin's money more than his health, his brother Blevins puts him under the care of psychiatrist Dr. Mildred Watson. As Dr. Watson grows fond of Justin, she begins to play along with his theories, eventually becoming an assistant in his investigations.
Genres: Comedy Mystery
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1971-06-09
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Hangfire
1991-01-11
Hangfire
Overview: When a large group of escaped convicts take Ike Slayton, a Vietnam veteran's wife hostage, Slayton enlists the help of his old army friend in a furious search to find her, while a hard-nosed National Guardsman leads a platoon of solders determined to kill or capture all the convicts, even if it means killing all the hostages in the crossfire.
Genres: Action Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1991-01-11
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The Amityville Horror
1979-07-27
The Amityville Horror
Overview: George Lutz, his wife Kathy, and their three children have just moved into a beautiful, and improbably cheap, Victorian mansion nestled in the sleepy coastal town of Amityville, Long Island. However, their dream home is concealing a horrific past and soon each member of the Lutz family is plagued with increasingly strange and violent visions and impulses.
Genres: Horror
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1979-07-27
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Armed and Dangerous
1986-08-15
Armed and Dangerous
Overview: After policeman Frank Dooley is framed for theft and loses his job on the force, he joins a security guard agency and teams up with inept former defense lawyer Norman Kane. When the two botch a job guarding a local warehouse, they begin to uncover corruption within the company and their union.
Genres: Action Comedy Crime
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1986-08-15
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Robo Warriors
1997-01-15
Robo Warriors
Overview: The year is 2036 and Earth has been invaded: hope lies with the last Robo Warrior - a towering fighting machine.
Genres: Action Adventure Science Fiction
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1997-01-15
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Turk 182!
1985-02-15
Turk 182!
Overview: After New York City firefighter Terry Lynch is unable to receive any compensation for an injury incurred during the off-duty rescue of a young girl, he grows suicidal. Furious, his brother Jimmy attempts to have Mayor Tyler intervene, but the corrupt politician instead denounces Terry as a drunk. Determined to get justice, Jimmy begins a graffiti campaign of embarrassing slogans mocking the mayor, which soon captivates the city.
Genres: Action Comedy Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1985-02-15
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Second Sight
1989-11-03
Second Sight
Overview: Wills is an ex-cop who pairs up with Bobby, a wacky psychic, to form the "Second Sight Detective Agency." Bobby's clairvoyant abilities come in handy during their investigations. When a nun recruits them for a case involving car theft, they suddenly find themselves dealing with the abduction of a prominent cardinal who has a chance of becoming the next pope. Bobby's psychic powers go haywire as they pursue the case.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1989-11-03
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Weekend War
1988-02-01
Weekend War
Overview: A group of reservists ("weekend warriors") are sent to Honduras to build a runway. Shortly after arriving an engineering group is sent to a small village to repair a bridge as a favor for the US Ambassador; at this point Captain John Deason begins to question who he is really building the bridge for...
Genres: Adventure TV Movie Action
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1988-02-01
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Serpico
1973-12-18
Serpico
Overview: Frank Serpico is an idealistic New York City cop who refuses to take bribes, unlike the rest of the force. Frank's actions get him shunned by the other officers, and often placed in dangerous situations by his partners. When his superiors ignore his accusations of corruption, Frank decides to go public with the allegations. Although this causes the Knapp Commission to investigate his claims, Frank has also placed a target on himself.
Genres: Crime Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1973-12-18
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Driving Me Crazy
1991-05-16
Driving Me Crazy
Overview: An eccentric East German inventor and defector travels to Los Angeles, California to sell a prototype revolutionary new car that runs on vegetables and produces no pollution, but he runs into one madcap situation after another to find a buyer and financier for mass production.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1991-05-16
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Prince of the City
1981-08-19
Prince of the City
Overview: New York City detective Daniel Ciello agrees to help the United States Department of Justice help eliminate corruption in the police department, as long as he will not have to turn in any close friends. In doing so, Ciello uncovers a conspiracy within the force to smuggle drugs to street informants.
Genres: Drama Thriller Crime
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1981-08-19
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Viper
1988-01-01
Viper
Overview: After Laura's husband James is murdered, she decides to find out who did it and why. She finds herself in a fight against an anti-terrorist organization in her desire for revenge.
Genres: Drama Action
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1988-01-01
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The River
1984-12-01
The River
Overview: Tom and Mae Garvey are a Tennessee farming couple battling violent floods to save their land. In addition to natural disasters, the Garveys fight to stop a selfish land developer and a local corporation from foreclosing on their farm. While Mae stays at home to care for their children and tend to the crops, Tom finds work as a scab at a steel mill to preserve his family's property.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1984-12-01
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Sketch Artist II: Hands That See
1995-01-28
Sketch Artist II: Hands That See
Overview: Police sketch artist Jack Whitfield helps blind rape victim Emmy describe her attacker – a serial rapist and murderer who is now out to get her.
Genres: Drama Thriller Crime TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1995-01-28
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Bone Tomahawk
2015-10-23
Bone Tomahawk
Overview: During a shootout in a saloon, Sheriff Hunt injures a suspicious stranger. The doctor's assistant, wife of the local foreman, tends to him in prison. That night, the town is attacked and they both disappear—only the arrow of a cannibal tribe is found. Hunt and a few of his men go in search of the prisoner and the foreman's wife.
Genres: Western Horror Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2015-10-23
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Underworld
1996-06-01
Underworld
Overview: A crook sets out to get revenge on the thugs who hurt his father in this bloody noir-style crime drama. After being released from prison, Johnny Crown goes after Frank, one of the mobsters involved in a series of Father's Day killings. But Johnny isn't certain Frank is responsible for his father's injuries and seeks help from a sex therapist to make sure he's got the right man.
Genres: Drama Action Comedy Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1996-06-01
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Hanky Panky
1982-06-04
Hanky Panky
Overview: Naïve Michael Jordon is drawn into a web of government secrets when a girl carrying a mysterious package gets into a taxi with him. When she's later murdered, Michael becomes the chief suspect and goes on the run.
Genres: Mystery Action Comedy Crime
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1982-06-04
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Dick Tracy
1990-04-05
Dick Tracy
Overview: The comic strip detective finds his life vastly complicated when Breathless Mahoney makes advances towards him while he is trying to battle Big Boy Caprice's united mob.
Genres: Adventure Comedy Crime
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1990-04-05
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Back in Time
2015-10-20
Back in Time
Overview: Cast, crew and fans explore the 'Back to the Future' time-travel trilogy's resonance throughout our culture—30 years after Marty McFly went back in time.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2015-10-20
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Ministry of Vengeance
1989-11-03
Ministry of Vengeance
Overview: David Miller is a Vietnam vet who renounced violence and became a minister after he was forced to blow up a Viet Cong kid in self defense, but years later, when David's wife Gail and daughter Kim are killed by a group of terrorists led by Ali Aboud, in a massacre at an airport in Rome, Italy, David is devastated. Going against his faith, David sets out to find and kill Ali Aboud.
Genres: Action
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1989-11-03
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Flanagan
1985-10-30
Flanagan
Overview: Aging New York cabbie Flanagan still has hopes of making it as a stage actor. He can recite any Shakespeare sonnet and is facile with accents, but he can't land an agent or a job. During the course of one summing-it-all-up day, he drives his cab around the city dealing with fare evaders, an insolent stage manager determined to keep him from auditioning for his choice director, his estranged wife who has a new lover, his mistress who seems awfully close to her "drawing teacher", and two teenage sons whose bright visions of the future don't seem to include jobs. If he can only cope with all the annoyances of this day, maybe he can deal with the limitations in his abilities and his future.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1985-10-30
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The Three Sisters
1966-01-01
The Three Sisters
Overview: In a small Russian town at the turn of the century, three sisters and their brother live but dream daily of their return to their former home in Moscow, where life is charming and stimulating meaningful. But for now they exist in a malaise of dissatisfaction. Soldiers from the local military post provide them some companionship and society, but nothing can suffice to replace Moscow in their hopes. Andrei marries a provincial girl, Natasha, and begins to settle into a life of much less meaning than he had hoped. Natasha begins to run the family her way. Masha, though married, yearns for the sophisticated life and begins a dalliance with Vershinin, an army officer with a sick and suicidal wife. Even Irina, the freshest, most optimistic of the sisters, begins to waver in her dreams until, finally, tragedy strikes.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1966-01-01
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Tales from the Future
2010-10-26
Tales from the Future
Overview: Eighy-part retrospective documentary on the making of "Back to the Future" (and its two sequels) for the film's 25th anniversary.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2010-10-26
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Wolfen
1981-07-24
Wolfen
Overview: A New York City cop and an expert criminologist trying to solve a series of grisly deaths in which the victims have seemingly been maimed by feral animals discover a sinister connection between the crimes and an old legend.
Genres: Horror Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1981-07-24
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The Friends of Eddie Coyle
1973-06-26
The Friends of Eddie Coyle
Overview: An aging hood is about to go back to prison. Hoping to escape his fate, he supplies information on stolen guns to the feds, while simultaneously supplying arms to his bank robbing chums.
Genres: Crime Drama Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1973-06-26
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Question of Faith
1988-10-06
Question of Faith
Overview: A woman struck down by terminal cancer shuns conventional medical techniques at her husband's insistence and turns to alternative treatment to combat the disease.
Genres: Drama TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1988-10-06
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Author! Author!
1982-06-18
Author! Author!
Overview: A broadway playwright is burning the candle at both ends. He is dealing with pressure from a production nearing premiere, a wife who is leaving him, and 5 children 4 of which belong to her.
Genres: Comedy Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1982-06-18
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Sketch Artist
1992-04-26
Sketch Artist
Overview: A sketch artist for the police helps a witness recall who she saw leaving the scene of a murder, and discovers that the person is his wife. Not willing to believe she was responsible, he resketches the pictures so they don't look like her, and he begins his own investigation of the murder.
Genres: Crime Mystery Thriller TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1992-04-26
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Stiletto
1969-07-30
Stiletto
Overview: A rich, jet-setting playboy has a secret life: he's also a professional Mafia hitman. When he decides it's time to retire from that life, he finds that his former employers don't like the idea that someone who knows so much about them won't be under their control anymore, and decide to send their own hitmen to eliminate him.
Genres: Crime Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1969-07-30
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The Werewolf of Washington
1973-10-01
The Werewolf of Washington
Overview: After being unknowingly inflicted with the bite of a werewolf while on a visit to Europe, White House press secretary Jack Whittier begins to turn into a deadly beast by night, terrorizing Washington D.C. and presenting a very deadly threat to the President.
Genres: Horror
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1973-10-01
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Sunset Beat
1990-04-21
Sunset Beat
Overview: Police drama involving a team of young Los Angeles undercover cops posing as bikers to nail street
Genres: Drama TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1990-04-21
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Wings
1983-04-26
Wings
Overview: An elderly woman, a former aviatrix, is gradually recovering from a stroke.
Genres: Drama TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1983-04-26
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Love in Ambush
1997-02-28
Love in Ambush
Overview: An Australian woman searches for her soldier brother in Cambodia during the civil breakdown from which Pol Pot would emerge.
Genres: Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1997-02-28
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