“You can’t make an actor act. You have got to create an atmosphere he wants to perform. It can be hell.”
Andrew G. Vajna
“Andy Vajna was a dear friend and a revolutionary force in Hollywood. He proved that you don’t need studios to make huge movies like Terminator 2 or Total Recall. He had a huge heart, and he was one of the most generous guys around. I’ll miss him.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger
“Working with Andy was the best experience of my career and he makes the world’s greatest bouillabaisse.”
Steven de Souza, screenwriter Judge Dredd
“When Andy gives you his word, you know it’s good. And no matter how tough the going gets, you can count on him. He’s got nerves of steel.”
Joe Roth, chairman, Walt Disney Motion Picture Group
“Andy Vajna was a great friend and collaborator. He believed in me on one of my toughest shoots, Terminator 2. I will miss him, his humor, class and style, but especially the motorcycle rides.”
James Cameron
“He’s one of the few people around with the balls to play with his own money. His word carries a lot of weight. He’s personally out on the line. It’s always given me a lot of respect for him. Andy is always involved. He’s your partner or your boss, but he offers guidance as opposed to instructions… He approaches business in a sort of family style. He keeps the same friends for 30 years, and that’s kind of remarkable.”
John McTiernan, director of Medicine Man and Die Hard With a Vengeance
“I decided to learn something that I could do no matter where I lived – I became a hairdresser. I chose hairdressing because it is a useful skill and one that I could always go back to. Knowing this gave me great security and the freedom to explore other avenues.”
Andrew G. Vajna
“When you work with Andy, the buck stops with him. I don’t deal with anybody else. It becomes very much Andy’s movie, one singer, one song.”
Danny Cannon, director of Judge Dread
“We’re glad to be a part of your lifetime.”
Bruce Willis and Demi Moore to Andy when he received NATO/ShoWest Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995
“A very very sad day ... Producer ANDY VAJNA, the man that Made Rambo happened, died today… LOVED this man’s courage - a pioneer. Believed In making FIRST BLOOD when no one else did.…This truly breaks my heart. Rip”
Sylvester Stallone
“Vajna defined what would become known as the ‘big action picture’. He really has a wide range of talent and ability.”
Tim Warner, general chairman of film company NATO / ShoWest
“I fell in love in love with Andy the moment I met him, because for once I’d met a Hungarian in Hollywood who was not only more successful than I was, but also crazier.”
Joe Eszterhas
“He’s got great respect for the director and courage to do projects that aren’t so easy… He won’t let you down; you can trust him.”
Paul Verhoeven, director of Total Recall
“Andy doesn’t compare to anybody else in this business. Andy is unique, he’s independent; he’s a rare blend of entrepreneur and film maker. He puts his money on the line time and time again, and he’s won as big as anyone in this town. You’ve got to admire somebody like that.”
Jeffrey Katzenberg, Dream Works SKG Partner
“The profession is never boring. I have found the interesting things in everything I have ever done. So none of my occupations ever seemed like work.”
Andrew G. Vajna
Deadly China Doll (The Opium Trail) (1972)
Deadly China Doll (The Opium Trail) (1972)
In this action packed film, Angela Mao is galvanized into action against the bad guys when someone close to her is murdered. The villains in question are members of an opium-smuggling ring, who prove no match for the "hell hath no fury" Mao. And when she's done with this bunch, she sets her sights on a gang of hijackers.
Street People (The Sicilian Cross) (1976)
Street People (The Sicilian Cross) (1976)
Street People (Italian: Gli esecutori, also known as The Executors and The Sicilian Cross) is an Italian crime-action film directed in 1976 by Maurizio Lucidi. It was written, among others, by the French Connection's screenwriter, Ernest Tidyman. It was released in United States by American International Pictures.
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The Silent Partner (1978)
The Silent Partner (1978)
The Silent Partner (French title: L'argent de la banque) is a 1978 Canadian heist film directed by Daryl Duke. It stars Elliott Gould, Christopher Plummer and Susannah York.
The film was the first to be produced by Carolco Pictures and one of the earliest films from Canada to take advantage of the Canadian government's "Capital Cost Allowance" plans. The Silent Partner is also notable for being one of the very few films to have a score composed by Oscar Peterson, and for featuring an early big-screen appearance by John Candy.
The Silent Partner is a remake of the Danish film Think of a Number (Tænk på et tal) from 1969 written and directed by Palle Kjærulff-Schmidt. Both are based on the novel Tænk på et tal by Danish writer Anders Bodelsen.
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Díjak:
Several Canadian Film Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director
Winter Kills (1979)
Winter Kills (1979)
Winter Kills is a 1979 film, directed by William Richert, based on the novel by Richard Condon. Its cast includes Jeff Bridges, John Huston, Anthony Perkins, Eli Wallach, Richard Boone, Toshirō Mifune, Sterling Hayden, Dorothy Malone, Ralph Meeker, Elizabeth Taylor, Berry Berenson and Susan Walden.
Most of the film was lensed by cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, and the production designer was Robert Boyle, who cited the film as one of his favorites. The director, however, was a relative novice named William Richert.
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Changeling (1980)
Changeling (1980)
The Changeling is a 1980 Canadian psychological horror film directed by Peter Medak and starring George C. Scott and Trish Van Devere (Scott's real-life wife). The story is based upon events that writer Russell Hunter said he experienced while he was living in the Henry Treat Rogers Mansion of Denver, Colorado.
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Victory (1981)
Victory (1981)
Escape to Victory, known simply as Victory in North America, is a 1981 film about Allied prisoners of war who are interned in a German prison camp during the Second World War who play an exhibition match of football against a German team. The film was directed by John Huston and starred Michael Caine, Sylvester Stallone, Max von Sydow, Daniel Massey and Pelé.
The film received great attention upon its theatrical release, as it also starred professional footballers Bobby Moore, Osvaldo Ardiles, Kazimierz Deyna, Paul Van Himst, Mike Summerbee, Hallvar Thoresen, Werner Roth and Pelé. Numerous Ipswich Town players were also in the film, including John Wark, Russell Osman, Laurie Sivell, Robin Turner and Kevin O'Callaghan. Further Ipswich Town players stood in for actors in the football scenes – Kevin Beattie for Michael Caine, and Paul Cooper for Sylvester Stallone. The script was written by Yabo Yablonsky. The film was entered into the 12th Moscow International Film Festival.
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Rambo: First Blood (1982)
Rambo: First Blood (1982)
First Blood is a 1982 American action adventure film directed by Ted Kotcheff. It is co-written by and starring Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo, a troubled and misunderstood Vietnam veteran who must rely on his combat and survival senses against the abusive law enforcement of a small town. It is based on David Morrell's 1972 novel of the same name and is the first installment of the Rambo series. Brian Dennehy and Richard Crenna also appear in supporting roles.
The film was released in the United States on October 22, 1982. Despite initial mixed reviews, the film was a box office success, grossing $47.2 million at the box office. Since its release, First Blood has received reappraisal from critics, with many praising the roles of Stallone, Dennehy, and Crenna, and has been recognized as a cult classic and an influential film in the action genre. The film's success spawned a franchise, consisting of three sequels (all which were co-written by and starred Stallone), an animated series, comic books, and novels. A fifth film, tentatively titled Rambo: Last Stand, was cancelled in Jan 2016 when Stallone stated that he is retiring the character.
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Díjak:
The Golden Reel Award Certificate
Superstition (1982)
Superstition (1982)
Superstition (also known as The Witch) is a 1982 Canadian-American horror film directed by James W. Roberson and starring James Houghton, Albert Salmi, and Lynn Carlin. The plot follows a family who move into a house that was once the site of a witch's execution.
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Rambo: First Blood, Part II. (1985)
Rambo: First Blood, Part II. (1985)
Rambo: First Blood Part II (also known as Rambo II or First Blood II) is a 1985 American action film directed by George P. Cosmatos and starring Sylvester Stallone, who reprises his role as Vietnam veteran John Rambo. It is the sequel to the 1982 film First Blood, and the second installment in the Rambo film series. Picking up where the first film left, the sequel is set in the context of the Vietnam War POW/MIA issue; it sees Rambo released from prison by federal order to document the possible existence of POWs in Vietnam, under the belief that he will find nothing, thus enabling the government to hide the issue.
Despite negative reviews, First Blood Part II was a major worldwide box office success, as well as the most recognized and memorable installment in the series, having inspired countless rip-offs, parodies, video games, and imitations.
The film was on the ballot for the American Film Institute's 100 Years... 100 Cheers, a list of America's most inspiring movies. Entertainment Weekly ranked the movie number 23 on its list of The Best Rock-'em, Sock-'em Movies of the Past 25 Years.
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Díjak:
The People's Choice Awards - Favourite Motions Picture
Extreme Prejudice (1987)
Extreme Prejudice (1987)
Extreme Prejudice is a 1987 American action western film starring Nick Nolte and Powers Boothe.
The film was directed by Walter Hill; it was written by John Milius, Fred Rexer and Deric Washburn. Extreme Prejudice is an homage, of sorts, to The Wild Bunch, a western directed by Sam Peckinpah, with whom Hill worked on The Getaway. Both films end with a massive gunfight in a Mexican border town.
The title originates from "terminate with extreme prejudice," a phrase popularized by Apocalypse Now, also written by John Milius. The character of Jack Benteen was loosely based on Joaquin Jackson, now a retired Texas Ranger. Nolte spent three weeks in Texas with Jackson learning the day-to-day activities of a Ranger. Nolte took what he learned and incorporated it into his character; the mannerisms and dress.
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Angel Heart (1987)
Angel Heart (1987)
Angel Heart is a 1987 American noir horror mystery thriller film written and directed by Alan Parker, and starring Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, and Lisa Bonet. The film was adapted from the novel Falling Angel by William Hjortsberg. The story follows Harry Angel (Rourke), a New York City private investigator hired to solve the disappearance of a man known as Johnny Favorite. Angel's investigation takes him to New Orleans, where he becomes embroiled in a series of brutal murders.
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Iron Eagle II. (1988)
Iron Eagle II. (1988)
Iron Eagle II is a 1988 Israeli-Canadian-American action film directed by Sidney J. Furie. It is the first sequel to the 1986 film Iron Eagle, with Louis Gossett, Jr. reprising his role as Charles "Chappy" Sinclair. An uncredited Jason Gedrick also returns as ace pilot Doug Masters in the film's opening scene. The film's story is loosely based on Operation Opera, a surprise airstrike performed by the Israeli Air Force on a nuclear reactor near Baghdad, Iraq, on June 7, 1981. Like its predecessor, Iron Eagle II received negative reviews. It did not fare well at the box-office, with earnings of $10,497,324.
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Red Heat (1988)
Red Heat (1988)
Red Heat is a 1988 American buddy cop action film directed by Walter Hill. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, as Moscow narc Ivan Danko, and James Belushi, as Chicago detective Art Ridzik. Finding themselves on the same case, Danko and Ridzik work as partners to catch a cunning and deadly Soviet Georgian drug kingpin, Viktor Rostavili (Ed O'Ross), who also happens to be the killer of Danko's previous partner back in Soviet Russia.
The film was released with the tagline "Moscow's toughest detective. Chicago's craziest cop. There's only one thing more dangerous than making them mad: making them partners." It was the first American film given permission to shoot in Moscow's Red Square - however, most of the scenes set in the USSR (with the exceptions of the establishing shots under the main titles and the final lengthy shot in Red Square behind the end credits) were actually shot in Hungary. Schwarzenegger was paid a salary of $8 million for his role in the film.
It has found a cult audience amongst fluent Russian speakers because of the movie's weak portrayal of the Russian language and stereotypes.
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Rambo III. (1988)
Rambo III. (1988)
Rambo III is a 1988 American action film. The film depicts fictional events during the Soviet war in Afghanistan. It is the third film in the Rambo series following First Blood and Rambo: First Blood Part II. It was in turn followed by Rambo in 2008, making it the last film in the series to feature Richard Crenna as Colonel Sam Trautman before his death in 2003.
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Watchers (1988)
Watchers (1988)
Watchers is a 1988 horror film starring Corey Haim, Michael Ironside, Barbara Williams and Lala Sloatman. It is loosely based on the novel Watchers by Dean R. Koontz.
The film was shot in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. There have been three sequels released Watchers II, Watchers 3 and Watchers Reborn.
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Johnny Handsome (1989)
Johnny Handsome (1989)
Johnny Handsome is a 1989 American crime drama film directed by Walter Hill and starring Mickey Rourke, Ellen Barkin, Forest Whitaker and Morgan Freeman. The film was written by Ken Friedman, and adapted from the novel The Three Worlds of Johnny Handsome by John Godey. The music for the film was written, produced and performed by Ry Cooder, with four songs by Jim Keltner.
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DeepStar Six (1989)
DeepStar Six (1989)
DeepStar Six is an American science fiction horror film about the struggles of the crew of an underwater military outpost to defend their base against the attacks of a sea monster (possibly a giant eurypterid). It was released in January 1989. The film's main actors and supporting players included Greg Evigan, Taurean Blacque, Nancy Everhard, Cindy Pickett, Miguel Ferrer and Matt McCoy.
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Music Box (1989)
Music Box (1989)
Music Box is a 1989 American crime drama film that tells the story of a Hungarian-American immigrant who is accused of having been a war criminal. The plot revolves around his daughter, an attorney, who defends him, and her struggle to uncover the truth.
The film was written by Joe Eszterhas and directed by Costa-Gavras. It stars Jessica Lange, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Frederic Forrest, Donald Moffat and Lukas Haas. The film won the Golden Bear at the 40th Berlin International Film Festival.
It is loosely based on the real life case of John Demjanjuk and, as well, on Joe Eszterhas' own life. Eszterhas learned at age 45 that his father, Count István Esterházy, had concealed his wartime involvement in Hungary's Fascist and militantly racist Arrow Cross Party. According to Eszterhas, his father, "organized book burnings and had cranked out the vilest anti-Semitic propaganda imaginable." p.201
After this discovery, Eszterhas severed all contact with his father, never reconciling before István's death.
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Díjak:
40th Berlin International Film Festival
Food of the Gods II. (1989)
Food of the Gods II. (1989)
Food of the Gods II, sometimes referred to as Gnaw: Food of the Gods II as well as Food of the Gods part 2, is a 1989 film that is a very loose sequel to the 1976 Bert I. Gordon film based on H.G. Wells' novel, The Food of the Gods. It is a sequel in name only, as its plot bears no relation to the 1976 film.
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Jacob's Ladder (1990)
Jacob's Ladder (1990)
Jacob's Ladder is a 1990 American psychological horror film directed by Adrian Lyne, written and produced by Bruce Joel Rubin and starring Tim Robbins, Elizabeth Peña and Danny Aiello. The Special Edition of the film was released on DVD by Artisan Entertainment in 1998 and on Blu-ray Disc by Lions Gate Entertainment in 2010. The film's protagonist, Jacob, is a Vietnam veteran whose experiences prior to and during the war result in strange, fragmentary flashbacks and bizarre hallucinations that continue to haunt him. As his ordeal worsens, Jacob desperately attempts to figure out the truth. Jacob's Ladder was made by Carolco Pictures ten years after being written by Rubin. It drew from several inspirations for its story and effects, including the short film An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge and the paintings of Francis Bacon. Though only moderately successful upon release, the film garnered a cult following and became a source of influence for various other works such as the horror franchise Silent Hill. A loose remake of Jacob's Ladder was announced to be in works by LD Entertainment.
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Narrow Margin (1990)
Narrow Margin (1990)
Narrow Margin is a 1990 crime thriller film directed by Peter Hyams and released by TriStar Pictures, loosely based on the 1952 film noir The Narrow Margin. It tells the story of a Los Angeles deputy district attorney who attempts to keep a murder witness safe from hit men while traveling through the Canadian wilderness aboard a train. The film stars Gene Hackman and Anne Archer.
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Air America (1990)
Air America (1990)
Air America is a 1990 American action comedy film directed by Roger Spottiswoode, starring Mel Gibson and Robert Downey Jr. as Air America pilots, during the Vietnam War, flying missions in Laos.
When theprotagonists discover their aircraft is being used by other government agents to smuggle heroin, they must avoid being framed as the drug-smugglers. The plot of Air America is adapted from Christopher Robbins' 1979 non-fiction book, chronicling the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency financed airline during the Vietnam War to transport weapons and supplies in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam in the 1960s, subsequent to the North Vietnamese invasion of Laos.
The publicity for the film, advertised as a light-hearted buddy movie, implied a tone that differs greatly with the actual film's tone, which includes such serious themes as an anti-war message, focus on the opium trade, and a negative portrayal of Royal Laotian General Vang Pao (played by actor Burt Kwouk as "General Lu Soong").
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Total Recall (1990)
Total Recall (1990)
Total Recall is a 1990 American science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, and Reynaldo Juarez's kuato. The film is loosely based on the Philip K. Dick story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale". It tells the story of a construction worker who is having troubling dreams about Mars and a mysterious woman there. It was written by Ronald Shusett, Dan O'Bannon, Jon Povill, and Gary Goldman, and won a Special Achievement Academy Award for its visual effects. The original score composed by Jerry Goldsmith won the BMI Film Music Award.
The film was one of the most expensive films made at the time of its release, although estimates of its production budget vary and it is not certain whether it ever actually held the record.
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Mountains of the Moon (1990)
Mountains of the Moon (1990)
Mountains of the Moon is a 1990 Rankcolor theatrical film depicting the 1857–58 journey of Richard Francis Burton and John Hanning Speke in their expedition to Central Africa – the project that culminated in Speke's discovery of the source of the Nile River. The expedition led to a bitter rivalry between the two men. The film stars Patrick Bergin as Burton and Iain Glen as Speke. Delroy Lindo made an early film appearance as an African native the adventurers meet. The film was directed by Bob Rafelson, for whom this was something of a dream project. It was based on the novel Burton and Speke by William Harrison. The narrative concentrates on the relationship between the two very different men. A first time epic for Rafelson, it opened to positive reviews.
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Reposessed (1990)
Reposessed (1990)
Repossessed is a 1990 American comedy film that parodies the 1973 horror film, The Exorcist. It was written and directed by Bob Logan. The film features the original star of The Exorcist, Linda Blair, as well as Leslie Nielsen and Anthony Starke. Many gags parodied events in The Exorcist, such as the green-vomit and head-spinning scenes.
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The Doors (1991)
The Doors (1991)
The Doors is a 1991 American biographical film about the 1960–70s rock band of the same name which emphasizes the life of its lead singer, Jim Morrison. It was directed by Oliver Stone, and stars Val Kilmer as Morrison, Meg Ryan as Pamela Courson (Morrison's companion). The film features Kyle MacLachlan as Ray Manzarek, Frank Whaley as Robby Krieger, Kevin Dillon as John Densmore, and Kathleen Quinlan as Patricia Kennealy.
The film portrays Morrison as the larger-than-life icon of 1960s rock and roll, counterculture, and the drug-using free love hippie lifestyle. But the depiction goes beyond the iconic: his alcoholism, interest in the spiritual plane and hallucinogenic drugs as entheogens, and, particularly, his growing obsession with death are threads which weave in and out of the film.
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Rambling Rose (1991)
Rambling Rose (1991)
Rambling Rose is a 1991 American drama film set in Georgia during the Great Depression starring Laura Dern and Robert Duvall in leading roles with Lukas Haas, John Heard and Diane Ladd in supporting roles. Rambling Rose was directed by Martha Coolidge and written by Calder Willingham (adapted from his own 1972 novel of the same name).
Laura Dern and Diane Ladd, daughter and mother in real life, were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, respectively, making them the first ever mother-daughter duo to be nominated for Academy Awards for the same film or even in the same year. Laura Dern, 24 at the time, was among the youngest actresses to be nominated in the leading actress category.
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Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (also referred to as simply Terminator 2 or T2) is a 1991 American science fiction action film co-written, produced and directed by James Cameron. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick and Edward Furlong. It is the sequel to the 1984 film The Terminator, and the second installment in the Terminator franchise. Terminator 2 follows Sarah Connor (Hamilton) and her ten-year-old son John (Furlong) as they are pursued by a new, more advanced Terminator, the liquid metal, shapeshifting T-1000 (Patrick), sent back in time to kill John Connor and prevent him from becoming the leader of the human resistance. A second, less advanced Terminator (Schwarzenegger) is also sent back in time to protect John.
After a troubled pre-production characterized by legal disputes, Mario Kassar of Carolco Pictures emerged with the franchise's property rights in early 1990. This paved the way for the completion of the screenplay by a Cameron-led production team, and the October 1990 start of a shortened 186-day filming schedule. The production of Terminator 2 required a $102 million budget making it the most expensive film made up to that point. Much of the film's massive budget was spent on filming and special effects. The film was released on July 3, 1991, in time for the U.S. Independence Day weekend.
The film's visual effects saw breakthroughs in computer-generated imagery, including the first use of natural human motion for a computer-generated character and the first partially computer-generated main character. Terminator 2 was a critical and commercial success and influenced popular culture, especially the use of visual effects in films. It received many accolades, including four Academy Awards for Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Makeup, and Best Visual Effects. The highest-grossing film of 1991 and Schwarzenegger's career, Terminator 2 has since been ranked by several publications such as the American Film Institute as one of the greatest action films, science fiction films and sequels of all time.
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Díjak:
Saturn Award: Best Actress, Best Direction, Best Performance by a Younger Actor, Best Science Fiction Film, Best Special Effects
45th British Academy Film Awards: BAFTA Award for Best Sound, BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects
18th People's Choice Awards: Favorite Motion Picture
64th Academy Awards: Best Make Up, Best Sound, Best Sound Editing, Best Visual Effects
1992 MTV Movie Awards: Best Action Sequence, Best Breakthrough Performance, Best Female Performance, Best Male Performance, Best Movie, Most Desirable Female
Hugo Award: Best Dramatic Presentation
Basic Instinct (1992)
Basic Instinct (1992)
Basic Instinct is a 1992 erotic thriller film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas, and starring Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone. The film follows a police detective, Nick Curran (Douglas), who is investigating the brutal murder of a wealthy rock star. During the investigation Curran becomes involved in a torrid and intense relationship with the prime suspect, Catherine Tramell (Stone), an enigmatic writer. Even before its release, Basic Instinct generated heated controversy due to its overt sexuality and graphic depiction of violence. It was strongly opposed by gay rights activists, who criticized the film's depiction of homosexual relationships and the portrayal of a bisexual woman as a murderous narcissistic psychopath.
In a 2006 interview, Stone alleged that the infamous leg-crossing scene in which her vulva was exposed was filmed without her knowledge. Despite initial critical negativity and public protest, Basic Instinct became one of the most financially successful films of the 1990s, grossing $352 million worldwide. Multiple versions of the film have been released on videocassette, DVD, and Blu-ray including a director's cut with extended footage previously unseen in North American cinemas.[citation needed] The film has contemporarily been recognized for its groundbreaking depictions of sexuality in mainstream Hollywood cinema, and has been referred to by scholars as "a neo-noir masterpiece that plays with, and transgresses, the narrative rules of film noir.
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Díjak:
The film was nominated for two Academy Awards and two Golden Globes. Jerry Goldsmith, the composer, was nominated for both awards for his original score. It was also nominated for an Edgar Award. Frank Urioste was nominated for an Academy Award for film editing and Sharon Stone was nominated for a Golden Globe as Best Actress for her performance as Tramell.
Universal soldier (1992)
Universal soldier (1992)
Universal Soldier is a 1992 American science fiction action film directed by Roland Emmerich. It stars Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren as soldiers who kill each other in Vietnam but are reanimated in a secret Army project along with a large group of other previously dead soldiers.
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Chaplin (1992)
Chaplin (1992)
Chaplin is a 1992 biographical comedy-drama film about the life of British comedian Charlie Chaplin. It was produced and directed by Richard Attenborough and stars Robert Downey, Jr., Marisa Tomei, Dan Aykroyd, Penelope Ann Miller, and Kevin Kline. It also features Geraldine Chaplin in the role of her own paternal grandmother, Hannah Chaplin.
The film was adapted by William Boyd, Bryan Forbes and William Goldman from the books My Autobiography by Chaplin and Chaplin: His Life and Art by film critic David Robinson. Associate producer Diana Hawkins got a story credit. The original music score was composed by John Barry.
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Super Mario Bros. (1993)
Super Mario Bros. (1993)
Super Mario Bros. is a 1993 American science fantasy adventure comedy film directed by Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel. A loose live-action adaptation of the 1985 Nintendo video game of the same name and its entire franchise, the film stars Bob Hoskins as Mario, John Leguizamo as Luigi, Dennis Hopper as King Koopa, and Samantha Mathis as Princess Daisy. It tells the story of the eponymous Mario brothers, as they find a parallel universe, ruled by the ruthless dictator King Koopa, who seeks to merge the two dimensions together so that he can rule both worlds, leaving it up to Mario and Luigi to join forces with Princess Daisy, the daughter of the world's displaced King, to stop Koopa.
The film was released on May 28, 1993, in the United States by Hollywood Pictures, a film label of The Walt Disney Company. It was a box office bomb, grossing $20.9 million on a $48 million budget. The film was nominated for two Saturn Awards (one for Best Costume, the other for Best Make-up).
Despite being critically panned, it has become a cult film,and has spawned a fan-made website, a fan-made sequel comic, and even a Blu-ray release in the United Kingdom.
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Cliffhanger (1993)
Cliffhanger (1993)
Cliffhanger is a 1993 American action adventure film directed by Renny Harlin and starring Sylvester Stallone and John Lithgow. Stallone, who co-wrote the screenplay, plays a mountain climber who becomes embroiled in a failed heist set in a U.S. Treasury plane flying through the Rocky Mountains. The film earned $255 million worldwide.
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Tombstone (1993)
Tombstone (1993)
Tombstone is a 1993 American biographical revisionist Western film directed by George P. Cosmatos, written by Kevin Jarre (who was also the original director, but was replaced early in production and starring Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer, with Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton, Powers Boothe, Michael Biehn, and Dana Delany in supporting roles, as well as a narration by Robert Mitchum.
The film is based on events in Tombstone, Arizona, including the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and the Earp Vendetta Ride, during the 1880s. It depicts a number of western outlaws and lawmen, such as Wyatt Earp, William Brocius, Johnny Ringo, and Doc Holliday.
Tombstone was released by Hollywood Pictures in theatrical wide release in the United States on December 24, 1993, grossing $56.5 million in domestic ticket sales. The film was a financial success, and for the Western genre it ranks number 14 in the list of highest grossing films since 1979.
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Stargate (1994)
Stargate (1994)
Stargate is a 1994 adventure science fiction film released through Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Carolco Pictures. Created by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich, the film is the first release in the Stargate franchise. Directed by Roland Emmerich, the film stars Kurt Russell, James Spader, Jaye Davidson, Alexis Cruz, Mili Avital, and Viveca Lindfors. The plot centers on the premise of a "Stargate", an ancient ring-shaped device that creates a wormhole enabling travel to a similar device elsewhere in the universe. The film's central plot explores the theory of extraterrestrial beings having an influence upon human civilization.
The film had a mixed initial critical reception, earning both praise and criticism for its atmosphere, story, characters, and graphic content. Nevertheless, Stargate became a commercial success worldwide.
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Color of Night (1994)
Color of Night (1994)
Color of Night is a 1994 American erotic mystery thriller film produced by Cinergi Pictures and released in the United States by Hollywood Pictures. Directed by Richard Rush, the film stars Bruce Willis and Jane March. The cast also features Ruben Blades, Lesley Ann Warren, Brad Dourif, Lance Henriksen, Kevin J. O'Connor and Scott Bakula. It is one of two well-known works by director Rush, the other being The Stunt Man 14 years before. Color of Night flopped at the box office and won a Golden Raspberry Award as the worst film of 1994. Nonetheless, it became one of the 20 most-rented films in the United States home video market in 1995. Maxim magazine also singled the film out as having the Best Sex Scene in film history.
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Nixon (1995)
Nixon (1995)
Nixon is a 1995 American epic biographical film directed by Oliver Stone for Cinergi Pictures that tells the story of the political and personal life of United States President Richard Nixon, played by Anthony Hopkins.
The film portrays Nixon as a complex and, in many respects, admirable, though deeply flawed, person. Nixon begins with a disclaimer that the film is "an attempt to understand the truth [...] based on numerous public sources and on an incomplete historical record."
The cast includes Joan Allen, Annabeth Gish, Marley Shelton, Powers Boothe, J. T. Walsh, E. G. Marshall, James Woods, Paul Sorvino, Bob Hoskins, Larry Hagman, and David Hyde Pierce, plus cameos by Ed Harris, Joanna Going, and political figures such as President Bill Clinton in TV footage from the Nixon funeral service.
The film didn't perform well at box office, but became a critical success and was nominated for four Academy Awards: Best Actor (Anthony Hopkins), Best Supporting Actress (Joan Allen), Best Original Score and Best Original Screenplay.
This was Stone's second of three films about the American presidency, made four years after JFK about the assassination of John F. Kennedy and followed thirteen years later by W., the story of George W. Bush.
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The Scarlet Letter (1995)
The Scarlet Letter (1995)
The Scarlet Letter is a 1995 American romantic drama film. It is a film adaptation of the Nathaniel Hawthorne novel of the same name. It was directed by Roland Joffé and stars Demi Moore, Gary Oldman, and Robert Duvall. This version was "freely adapted" from Hawthorne and deviated from the original story.
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Judge Dredd (1995)
Die Hard With a Vengeance (1995)
Die Hard With a Vengeance (1995)
Die Hard with a Vengeance is a 1995 American action film and the third in the Die Hard film series. It was produced and directed by John McTiernan (who directed Die Hard), written by Jonathan Hensleigh, and starsBruce Willis as New York City Police Department Lieutenant John McClane, Samuel L. Jackson as McClane's reluctant partner Zeus Carver, and Jeremy Irons as Simon Peter Gruber. It was released on May 19, 1995, five years after Die Hard 2, and was followed by Live Free or Die Hard and A Good Day to Die Hard in 2007 and 2013, respectively.
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Díjak:
1995 EDI Worldwide Reel - Highest Grossing Picture of the Year
Evita (1996)
Evita (1996)
Evita is a 1996 American musical drama film based on Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical of the same name about Eva Perón. Directed by Alan Parker and written by Parker and Oliver Stone, the film starredMadonna, Antonio Banderas, and Jonathan Pryce. The film was released on December 25, 1996 by Hollywood Pictures and Cinergi Pictures. The film received a mixed critical reception, but was a commercial success, grossing $141 million worldwide against a budget of $55 million.
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Díjak:
Academy Awards - Best Original Song ("You Must Love Me")
Golden Globe - Best Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Golden Globe - Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Madonna)
Golden Globe - Best Original Song ("You Must Love Me")
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award – Best Production Design (Won)
Satellite Award – Best Original Song ("You Must Love Me")(Won)
Satellite Award – Best Film – Musical or Comedy (Won)
Satellite Award – Best Costume Design (Won)
Up Close & Personal (1996)
Up Close & Personal (1996)
Up Close & Personal is a 1996 American romantic drama film directed by Jon Avnet, and starring Robert Redford as a news director and Michelle Pfeiffer as his protegée, with Stockard Channing, Joe Mantegna and Kate Nelligan in supporting roles.
The screenplay began as an adaptation of Golden Girl: The Story of Jessica Savitch, a 1988 book by Alanna Nash that recounted the troubled life of American news anchor Jessica Savitch. The finished picture, however, was greatly altered by commercial decisions on the part of the producers, and bore little resemblance to Savitch's biography. Screenwriter John Gregory Dunne, having spent eight years working on the script with his wife Joan Didion, later wrote a book describing his difficult experience, entitled Monster: Living Off the Big Screen.
The film was nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Best Original Song ("Because You Loved Me"), written by Diane Warren and performed by Céline Dion.
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An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (1997)
An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (1997)
An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (the onscreen title is simply Burn Hollywood Burn) is a 1998 comedy film. The film was critically panned, winning five awards (including Worst Picture) at the 1998 Golden Raspberry Awards. The film had an estimated budget of $10 million and grossed at least $52,850, as it was only released in 19 theaters. The film's creation set off a chain of events which would lead the Directors Guild of America to officially discontinue the Alan Smithee credit in 2000. Its plot (about a director attempting to disown a film) eventually described the film's own production; director Arthur Hiller requested that his name be removed after witnessing the final cut of the film by the studio.
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Shadow Conspiracy (1997)
Shadow Conspiracy (1997)
Shadow Conspiracy is a 1997 political thriller film starring Charlie Sheen, Donald Sutherland, Linda Hamilton and Sam Waterston. It was the final film directed by George P. Cosmatos, who died in 2005. The film was poorly received by critics and was released on DVD in the United States, in November 2003 by Buena Vista Home Entertainment.
Principal photography took place in Richmond, Virginia. Set in Washington D.C., this film documents an attempted power grab by White House Chief of Staff Jacob Conrad (Donald Sutherland). Bobby Bishop (Charlie Sheen) is a special aide to the President who finds out about a plot to assassinate the President from a former professor. Bobby's old professor is murdered shortly thereafter and Bobby is left to try to uncover the conspiracy on his own. He recruits his journalist friend Amanda Givens (Linda Hamilton) to help him uncover the mystery and stop the assassination.
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The 13th Warrior (1999)
The 13th Warrior (1999)
The 13th Warrior is a 1999 American historical fiction action film based on the novel Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton and is a loose retelling of the tale of Beowulf. It stars Antonio Banderas as Ahmad ibn Fadlan, Diane Venora and Omar Sharif. It was directed by John McTiernan. Crichton directed some reshoots uncredited. The film was produced by McTiernan, Crichton, and Ned Dowd, with Andrew G. Vajna and Ethan Dubrow as executive producers. The film was a massive financial failure. Production and marketing costs reputedly reached $160 million, but it only grossed $61 million at the box office worldwide, making it the biggest box office bomb in history adjusted for inflation (and third biggest unadjusted).
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Broken Silence - Eyes of the Holocaust (2000)
Broken Silence - Eyes of the Holocaust (2000)
History Documentary published by Cinemax Reel Life in 2002 - Hungarian, Spanish, Russian, Polish, Czech narration
From Steven Spielberg and Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation comes Broken Silence, a series of five films about human courage, heroism, and triumph over intense adversities during World War II. This critically acclaimed series was produced by Academy Award-winning filmmaker James Moll.
Eyes of the Holocaust
The parents of Hungarian director Janos Szasz' were Holocaust survivors themselves. Hungary was an ally of Germany during World War II, and while Jews were discriminated against by the Hungarian regime, the mass killings did not begin until the Germans entered Hungary in 1943 while retreating from defeat in the Soviet Union. The survivors here describe the slow erosion of their lives followed by panic when the Nazis took over and attempted to liquidate the Hungarian population.
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An American Rhapsody (2001)
An American Rhapsody (2001)
An American Rhapsody is a 2001 Hungarian-American biographical drama film that tells the story of a 15-year-old girl from a Hungarian-American family. The film is based on the true story of the director, Éva Gárdos, who also wrote the script.
The film stars Nastassja Kinski, Scarlett Johansson and others. In 1950, a Hungarian couple, Peter and Margit, are forced to flee from the oppressive Hungarian People's Republic for the United States, taking along their eldest daughter Maria. Unfortunately, they are forced to leave behind their infant daughter, Suzanne, who is raised by a kind foster couple. Five years later, Peter and Margit arrange for the American Red Cross to bring Suzanne to their new home in Los Angeles. There, the perplexed young girl is forced to accept her sudden change in home and country, which leads to a troubled upbringing. At age 15, Suzanne, rebellious and unsure of herself, tries to come to terms with her roots and decides to travel back to Budapest, Hungary, to unravel her past and to find her true identity.
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I Spy (2002)
I Spy (2002)
I Spy is a 2002 American spy comedy film directed by Betty Thomas, and starring Eddie Murphy and Owen Wilson. The film is based on the television series of the same name that aired in the 1960s and starred Robert Culp and Bill Cosby. The film was released in the United States on November 1, 2002.
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Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (also referred to as Terminator 3 or T3) is a 2003 American science fiction action film, directed by Jonathan Mostow and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Claire Danes, and Kristanna Loken. It is the third installment in the series, following Terminator 2: Judgment Day. It does not involve James Cameron, who directed and wrote the first two films. The plot follows the events of the second installment. After Skynet fails to kill Sarah Connor before her son is born and to kill John himself as a child, it sends back another Terminator, the T-X, in an attempt to wipe out as many Resistance officers as possible. This includes John's future wife, but not John himself as his whereabouts are unknown to Skynet. John's life is placed in danger when the T-X accidentally finds him.
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Children of Glory (2006)
Children of Glory (2006)
Children Of Glory (Hungarian: Szabadság, Szerelem), is a 2006 film directed by Krisztina Goda. Children of Glory commemorates Hungary's Revolution of 1956 and the "Blood in the Water" match. Taking place in Budapest and at the Melbourne Olympic Games in October and November of that year, the film takes viewers into the passion and sadness of one of the most dramatic popular revolts of the twentieth century. In the same year Soviet tanks were violently suppressing the Revolution within Hungary, the Hungarian water polo team was winning over Russia in the Olympic pool in Melbourne, in what is sometimes described as the bloodiest water polo match in history. While telling the story of 1956 in part through fictional lead characters, the film-makers simultaneously recreated many of the key public events of the Revolution, including the huge demonstrations and the fighting in the streets of Budapest.
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Freedom's Fury (2006)
Freedom's Fury (2006)
Freedom's Fury is a documentary film about the Melbourne, Australia 1956 Summer Olympics semifinal water polo match between Hungary and the USSR, and the events that led up to the violent battle, the match that what would later be known as the "Blood in the Water match."
The documentary was narrated by Mark Spitz, who as a teenager had been coached by Ervin Zádor. The film debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2006, in the year of the 50th anniversary of the match.
The documentary tells the story of the young star of the Hungarian Olympic waterpolo team, Ervin Zador, who finds himself the unwitting focal point of one of the most politicized sports matches ever played, popularly known as the "Blood in the Water" match.
The journey of Zador and the Hungarian waterpolo team to the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne becomes the film's through-line as "Freedom's Fury" explores the larger human tragedy of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.
As the revolution rages in the city below, the team is on an isolated mountaintop training camp near Budapest, and doesn't learn the details of the savage crushing of the revolt and brutalization of Hungarian citizens by Soviet forces until they land in Melbourne. The animosity they feel towards the Soviet occupiers for the atrocities they committed is transferred to the Soviet players.
After the match, Zador and half his teammates decide to defect rather than return to the oppression in their homeland.
In the final act, the documentary also touches on how the Hungarian Revolution become a symbol of freedom and impacted the collapse of communism in 1989.
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Díjak:
Magyar Köztársasági Érdemrend középkeresztje kitüntetés
Basic Instinct 2 (2006)
Basic Instinct 2 (2006)
Basic Instinct 2 (also known as Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction) is a 2006 erotic thriller film and the sequel to 1992's Basic Instinct. The film was directed by Michael Caton-Jones and produced by Mario Kassar, Joel B. Michaels and Andrew G. Vajna. The screenplay was by Leora Barish and Henry Bean. It stars Sharon Stone, who reprises her role of Catherine Tramell from the original, and David Morrissey. The film is aninternational co-production of Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States and Spain. The film follows novelist and suspected serial killer Catherine Tramell, who is once again in trouble with the authorities. Scotland Yard appoints psychiatrist Dr. Michael Glass to evaluate her after a man in Tramell's presence dies. As with Detective Nick Curran in the first film, Glass becomes a victim of Tramell's seductive games. After being in development limbo for a number of years, the film was shot in London from April to August 2005, and was released on 31 March 2006.
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Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008)
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008)
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (sometimes abbreviated as Terminator: TSCC or simply TSCC) is an American science fiction television series that aired on Fox. The show was produced by Warner Bros. Television, and C2 Pictures (C2 Pictures was replaced by The Halcyon Company in season two). It is a spin-off from the Terminator series of films. It revolves around the lives of the fictional characters Sarah and John Connor, following the events of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and ignoring the events of the 2003 sequel Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and the following films. The series premiered on Sunday, January 13, 2008, on the U.S. television network Fox. Production for the series was provided by the Judgment Day and Rise of the Machines producers and C2 Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment (International) co-presidents Mario Kassar and Andrew G. Vajna, C2 Senior Vice President James Middleton, David Nutter and Josh Friedman, who not only served as Executive Producer but also wrote the script for the first two episodes.
The show opened mid-season with a shortened run of nine episodes, January through March 2008. It was the highest-rated new scripted series of the 2007–08 television season and was renewed for a second season, which began on September 8, 2008, and ended April 10, 2009 (The same year Warner Bros. and the Halcyon Company produced McG's Terminator Salvation). On May 18, 2009, despite fan efforts, Fox Entertainment president Kevin Reilly announced Fox would not renew the show for a third season.
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