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Cast
Alan Alda .... Michael Burgess
Michael Caine .... Elliott James
Michelle Pfeiffer .... Faith Healy
Bob Hoskins .... Stanley Gould
Lise Hilboldt .... Gretchen Carlsen
Lillian Gish .... Cecelia Burgess
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Saul Rubinek .... Bo Hodges, Director/Producer
Lois Chiles .... Leslie, wife of college
president
Linda Thorson .... Grace James, Elliott's Wife
Diane Agostini .... Nurse and wanta be Actress
Antony Alda .... Film Crew Member
Alvin Alexis .... Male Student
Christopher Bregman .... Running Boy
Leo Burmester .... Hank
Cynthia Burr .... Assistant Camera
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Written and Directed by Alan Alda
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Making the Movie
Michael Burgess' (Alan Alda's) scholarly work on the revolution has won attention from Hollywood.
Hollywood meets academia in this genteel comedy. Michael Burgess' (Alan Alda's) scholarly work on the revolution has won attention from Hollywood. A film crew descends on a small North Carolina college town to turn a history into big screen entertainment.
From Hollywood's perspective there is a major problem with the original event: not enough sex, vulgarity and nudity to interest modern audiences. As Bo Hodges (Saul Rubinek) the obnoxious Hollywood director transforms a serious book about the seminal event into a romantic comedy, with big stars who take their clothes off, Professor Burgess stands by to assist in the rewrites, and to struggle for a measure of fidelity to the past. "I just wrote the book from which the movie has NOT been taken," fumes Michael.
The Leading Players
Many have criticized Alan Alda who plays the bookish professor with a seriousness and gentility so much unlike Alda's typecast, the famous TV character Dr Hawkeye Pierce. Yet Alan Alda surmounted his imprinted Captain Hawkeye Pierce of the Korean War and displayed a wide range of talent in bringing to the fore the angst felt at Hollywoodizing a story.
Michael Caine renders a vivid performance as Elliot James the shallow English actor slated to play a Lord Cornwallis with sex-appeal. A leading man who cares nothing for films, or even other people, James (Caine) lives his life as one long party. Playing James a character, a shameless philanderer with a streak of poetry in his soul, Michael Caine parodies himself as the eternal matinee idol.Caine standouts out in this role as the most egocentric, self-absorbed film star whose charm for with the ladies is only matched by his inability to devote sufficient attention to anything but himself long enough to drive a car.
Faith Healey (Michelle Pfeiffer) is a great actress. Michele Pfeiffer uses some wonderfully subtle touches, as she moves back and forth between her historical character and her distinctly more cynical modern one. In costume Faith is in character in every detail, even talking 'colonial' English offscreen. Michael Burgess might have fallen in love with his work or Faith's ability to bring it to life. The romantically entanglenent ends when Michael realizes Faith is not a person - just a person playing a part. Here the movie approximates its theme, how adults deceive themselves even in perfect recognition of their motives.
History versus Hollywood
The movie poked light hearted fun at turning books into screene plays. "Who really knows what happened a coupla hundred years ago?" asks the director (Saul Rubinek).To Hollywood, history means entertainment; the facts might have to bow to the end of a more entertaining product.
The issue is, how far should film-makers go in disregarding historical truth in order to obtain audience approval? Films are, of necessity, separate and distinct from their source material - but in the trade-off between authenticity and popularity, where is the balance to be struck?
In the end Professor Michael Burgess though outraged at the glaring historical inaccuracies can't even sabotage the filming of great battle scene which the Hollywood screen play would have reduced to slap stick. Notwithstanding the Prof's hijinx, camera angels give the director enough footage to create the ending of choice.
The screen play is beautifully written. Dialogue flows gingerly in the 18th century lines with enchanting cadences.
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