Born on this day – Brion James:

Brion James

Actor

February 20, 1945 – August 7, 1999

Credits:

48 Hrs. (1982); A Breed Apart (1984); A Place Called Truth (1998); Aaahh!!! Real Monsters (1996); Amazing Stories (1985); American Playhouse (1982); American Strays (1996); Annihilator (1986); Another 48 Hrs. (1990); Armed and Dangerous (1986); Art Deco Detective (1994); Arthur's Quest (1999); Assault on Dome 4 (1996); B.J. and the Bear (1979); Back in Business (1997); Batman: The Animated Series (1992–1993); Benson (1981); Big Shamus, Little Shamus (1979); Billy Lone Bear (1996); Black Magic (1992); Black Sea 213 (2000); Blade Runner (1982); Blade Runner / Video Game (1997); Blade Runner: Deleted and Alternate Scenes (2007); Blue Sunshine (1977); Bombshell (1997); Border to Border (1998); Bound for Glory (1976); Brain Smasher... A Love Story (1993); Brown's Requiem (1998); Cabin Boy (1994); Cagney & Lacey (1983); Cherry 2000 (1987); Chico and the Man (1978); CHiPs (1979–1981); Circles in a Forest (1989); City of Angels (1976); Conquest of the Earth (1980); Corvette Summer (1978); Crimewave (1985); Cyberjack (1995); D.O.A. (1988); Dark Justice (1993); Dead Man Walking (1988); Deadly Ransom (1998); Desperado: The Outlaw Wars (1989); Diplomatic Siege (1999); Dirt Merchant (1999); Dominion (1995); Dynasty (1986); Enemy Mine (1985); Enid Is Sleeping (1990); Evil Obsession (1996); F.T.W. (1994); Farewell, My Love (2000); Flesh+Blood (1985); Flying High (1978); Foolish (1999); Frogtown II (1992); Future Shock (1994); Galactica 1980 (1980); General Hospital (1980); Get Christie Love! (1974); Goober & the Truckers' Paradise (1978); Gunsmoke (1975); Hard Times / aka Street Fighter (1975); Harry and Walter Go to New York (1976); Hear No Evil (1982); Heist (1998); Highlander (1994); Hong Kong 97 (1994); House III: The Horror Show (1989); Hunter (1988–1991); In God's Hands (1998); Indecent Behavior III (1995); Jekyll Island (1998); Joe Bob's Drive-In Theater (1995); Johnny Bago (1993); Johnny Staccato (1977); Joseph's Gift (1999); Kai Rabe gegen die Vatikankiller (1998); Kenny Rogers as The Gambler: The Adventure Continues (1983); Killing at Hell's Gate (1981); Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park (1978); Knight Rider 2010 (1994); Little House on the Prairie (1982); Lone Star (1983); Love Among Thieves (1987); M.A.N.T.I.S. (1994); Malevolence (1999); Marco Polo: The Missing Chapter (1996); Matlock (1987); Men in Black: The Series (1998); Men in White (1998); Miami Vice (1988); Millennium (1998); Miracles (1986); Mom (1990); Mork & Mindy (1978); Movie Nights (2012); Mutator (1989); Nemesis (1992); Nickelodeon (1976); Nightmare at Noon (1988); On My Honor (1988); Overkill: The Aileen Wuornos Story (1992); Palmerstown, U.S.A. (1980); Phoenix Point (2005); Precious Find (1996); Precious Victims (1993); Pterodactyl Woman from Beverly Hills (1996); Quincy, M.E. (1982); Radioland Murders (1994); Red Heat (1988); Red Scorpion (1988); Renegade (1993); Rio Diablo (1993); Roots (1977); Savage Land (1994); Scanner Cop (1994); Showdown (1993); Sidekicks (1986); Silk Stalkings (1994); Silverado (1985); Sketch Artist II: Hands That See (1995); Slaughter Inc.: The Horrors of 'The Horror Show' (2017); Sledge Hammer! (1986–1988); Snide and Prejudice (1997); Soggy Bottom, U.S.A. (1981); Southern Comfort (1981); Spawn (1997–1999); Special Collector's Edition (2010); Spitfire (1995); Steel Dawn (1987); Steel Frontier (1995); Street Asylum (1990); Striking Distance (1993); Strip 'n Run (2000); Superman (1999); Superman: The Animated Series (1996–1997); Tales from the Crypt (1991); Tango & Cash (1989); The A-Team (1983–1985); The Companion (1994); The Dark (1993); The Dukes of Hazzard (1982–1984); The F.B.I. (1974); The Fall Guy (1985); The Fifth Element (1997); The Hitchhiker (1987); The Hunter's Moon (1999); The Incredible Hulk (1978); The Invasion of Johnson County (1976); The Jazz Singer (1980); The Jeffersons (1980); The Kansas City Massacre (1975); The Killing Jar (1997); The King Is Alive (2000); The Lazarus Man (1996); The Magical World of Disney (1977); The Magnificent Seven (1998–1999); The Making of 'Steel Dawn' (1987); The Marshal (1995); The Nature of the Beast (1995); The Operator (2000); The Player (1992); The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981); The Renegades (1983); The Rockford Files (1977); The Sentinel (1998); The Setting Son (1997); The Soft Kill (1994); The Underground (1997); The Waltons (1974); The Wrong Guys (1988); The Young Riders (1990); Time Runner (1993); Treasure of Matecumbe (1976); Trouble in High Timber Country (1980); Ultimate Desires (1991); Vengeance Unlimited (1998); Walker, Texas Ranger (1997); Webster (1988); When the Whistle Blows (1980); Wholly Moses! (1980); Wishman (1992); Z-TV (1989).

On this day in movie history - 48 Hrs. (1982):

48 Hours

directed Walter Hill,

written by Roger Spottiswoode, Walter Hill, Larry Gross and Steven E. de Souza,

was released in the United States on December 8, 1982.
Music by James Horner.

Cast:

Nick Nolte, Eddie Murphy, Annette O'Toole, Frank McRae, James Remar, David Patrick Kelly, Sonny Landham, Brion James, Kerry Sherman, Jonathan Banks, James Keane, Tara King, Greta Blackburn, Margot Rose, Denise Crosby, Olivia Brown, Todd Allen, Bill Dearth, Ned Dowd, Jim Haynie, Jack Thibeau, Jon St. Elwood, Clare Torao, Sandy Martin, Matt Landers, Peter Jason, Bill Cross, Chris Mulkey, Marcelino Sánchez, Bennie E. Dobbins, Walter Scott, W.T. Zacha, Begonya Plaza, Loyd Catlett, B.G. Fisher, Reid Cruickshanks, R.D. Call, Brenda Venus, Gloria Gifford, Nick Dimitri, John Dennis Johnston, Rock A. Walker, Dave Moordigian, J. Wesley Huston, Gary Pettinger, Marquerita Wallace, Angela Robinson Witherspoon, Jack Lightsy, John Hauk, Bob Yanez, Clint Smith, Luis Contreras, Suzanne M. Regard, Ola Ray, Bjaye Turner, The Bus Boys, Larry Clardy, Robert Cole, Steven G. Felix, Fritz Ford, Bob Harks, Vic Johnson, Michael D. Jones, David LeBell, Gus Loundermon, Brian O'Neal, Kevin O'Neal, Erika Pearson, Tony Roque, Richard Wakasa.

On this day in movie history - Brown’s Requiem (1998):

Brown’s Requiem

directed and written by Jason Freeland,

based on the novel by James Ellroy,

was released in the United Kingdom on November 12, 1998.
Music by Cynthia Millar.

Cast:

Michael Rooker, Big Daddy Wayne, Jack Wallace, Will Sasso, Selma Blair, Harold Gould, Brion James, Kevin Corrigan, Ron Barker, William Newman, David Labiosa, Al Rodrigo, Lisa Koch, Barry Newman, Lee Weaver, Kevin Jackson, Brad Dourif, Tobin Bell, Jack Conley, Rolando Molina, Danny Mora, Jennifer Coolidge, John Prosky, Valerie Perrine, Christopher Meloni, Alexx Thompson.

On this day in movie history - Southern Comfort (1981):

Southern Comfort

directed by Walter Hill,

written by Walter Hill, Michael Kane and David Giler,

was released in the United States on September 25, 1981.
Music by Ry Cooder.

Cast:

Keith Carradine, Powers Boothe, Fred Ward, Franklyn Seales, T.K. Carter, Lewis Smith, Les Lannom, Peter Coyote, Carlos Brown, Brion James, Sonny Landham, Jeanne-Louise Bulliard, Jeannie Spector, Orel Borel.

On this day in movie history - Hard Times (1975):

Hard Times,

aka The Streetfighter,

directed by Walter Hill,

written by Walter Hill, Bryan Gindoff and Bruce Henstell,

based on a story by Bryan Gindoff and Bruce Henstell,

was released in France on August 13, 1975.
Music by Barry De Vorzon.

Cast:
Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Jill Ireland, Strother Martin, Margaret Blye, Michael McGuire, Felice Orlandi, Edward Walsh, Bruce Glover, Robert Tessier, Nick Dimitri, Frank McRae, Maurice Kowalewski, Naomi Stevens, Lyla Hay Owen, John Creamer, Robert Castleberry, Becky Allen, Joan Kleven, Anne Welsch, Fred Lerner, Jimmy Nickerson, Chuck Hicks, Walter Scott, Max Kleven, Valerian Smith, Bob Minor, Larry Martindale, Charles W. Schaefer Jr., Leslie Bonano, Ronnie Philips, Greater Liberty Baptist Church Choir and Congregation, Ron Centanni, M.C. Gainey, Brion James, Laura Misch Owens.

On this day in movie history - Blade Runner (1982):

Blade Runner,

directed by Ridley Scott,

written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples,

based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick,

was released in the United States on June 25, 1982.
Music by Vangelis.

Cast:
Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Edward James Olmos, M. Emmet Walsh, Daryl Hannah, William Sanderson, Brion James, Joe Turkel, Joanna Cassidy, James Hong, Morgan Paull, Hy Pyke.

D.O.A. (1988) – a dead man searching:

D.O.A.

You’re never more alive than when you’re on the edge of death.

– Dennis Quaid, as Dexter Cornell.

 
What would you do if you were told you had maybe twenty-four hours to live … no more than forty-eight?
How would you react if you were then told you’d been deliberately poisoned?
You’re still alive, the poison ingested into your system, working through you.
Your life slowly and painfully ebbs away, and you are fully aware of every moment of it.
In your last hours, you know you’ve been murdered.
What would you do?
How would you spend that remaining time?
Counting every second … minute … hour …

This is the intriguing premise of D.O.A. (1988), directed by Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton, their debut movie, released in the United States on March 18, 1988.

A remake that becomes a reimagining of the 1949 original.
 
In a nostalgic homage to classic noir thrillers, this neo-noir update opens with a night scene, shot in grainy black and white.
 
Dexter Cornell (Dennis Quaid) walks through a torrential rainstorm.

His jacket is torn.

He looks beaten.

The title acronym: D.O.A. is short for Dead On Arrival.

That’s what Dexter is on the verge of being, as he stumbles into a police station, and knocks over a Christmas tree when he approaches the Desk Sergeant (William Johnson).

Dexter is visibly in pain, as he tells the cop he’s there to report a murder.
“Who was murdered?” the Desk Sergeant asks.
Dexter raises his head, looks him in the eye, and declares cryptically: “I was!”

In an interview room, Dexter relays his story to Detectives Ulmer (Brion James), and Brockton (Jack Kehoe), who record his statement onto video tape.

The rest of the story is then told in retrospect and in color.

A neat switch on some movies where flashback sequences are shown in black and white, or a hazy color filter.
The movie switches to color, as Dexter, now teaching his college class, writes the word COLOR on the chalkboard.
Dexter asks his class for references to the color green.

Star student and aspiring novelist, Nicholas Lang (Robert Knepper), offers the most intelligent answer with a quote from Othello, by William Shakespeare:

O, beware my lord of jealousy. It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on.
 
Jealousy is a driving theme of the movie.
Jealousy triggered by an extra-marital affair.
Jealousy of other people’s achievements.
Jealousy of status.
 
It’s the Christmas season, but there’s no good cheer going around.

Passions and tempers are as hot as the unseasonal sweltering heat.

Dexter Cornell is not happy with his life.

He’s a chain-smoking, alcohol-guzzling, depressive.

His marriage has failed and, despite his attempts at reconciliation, his estranged wife, Gail (Jane Kaczmarek), has long since given up.

Whenever they talk, she pesters him to sign the divorce papers.

His success as a novelist secured him the respected position of college English Professor.

Afraid of failure, he simply stopped writing and settled into teaching.

Dexter gave up on what was truly important to him.

His lack of passion then affected all aspects of his life.
Dennis Quaid is convincing in the role.

A cynical everyman.

Weighed down by life.

Looking ever more disheveled, shaky, and sweaty.

The first body on the pile is Nicholas Lang.

His on-campus death, at first thought to be suicide, is later discovered to be murder.

The script is intelligent.

The caustic dialogue is wry and humorous, particularly in the scene when the cops question Dexter in his ex-wife’s home.

Gail has been murdered, and it is revealed that Dexter has been deliberately poisoned.

Brockton:
 
Careful, Cornell. You’re upset.
 
Dexter:
 
You’re damn right I’m upset. I find out I’m a murder victim and a suspect all in one goddam day.

Dexter evades arrest for the murders of Gail and Lang.

The cops refuse to believe he’s not the culprit.

Dexter then sets out to solve the mystery himself.
 
The plot has effective twists, turns, and red herrings along the way, as Dexter has dealings with Sydney Fuller (Meg Ryan), an admiring student Dexter gets literally stuck on.
Mrs. Fitzwaring (Charlotte Rampling), a shadowy Black Widow, and Lang’s benefactor.
Bernard (Christopher Neame), Fitzwaring’s Chauffeur and violent right-hand man.
Cookie (Robin Johnson), Fitzwaring’s daughter.
Hal Petersham (Daniel Stern), Dexter’s friend and colleague.
Graham Corey (Jay Patterson), Dexter’s disgruntled colleague.
 
Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton’s previous experience with directing music videos is evident in the nightclub scene, where Dexter and Sydney get drunk at the bar, downing endless Martinis, and the on-stage Rock band, Timbuk 3 (1983-1995), sing: Too Much Sex, Not Enough Affection.

Their other directing credits include Super Mario Bros (1993), and the Max Headroom TV show (1985).
 
This neo-noir mystery thriller successfully has all the elements and atmosphere of a classic noir:
Rain-soaked streets.
Light cutting through Venetian blinds.
Suspicion and mistakes along wrong trails and dead-end leads.
Hard-nosed cops, hardboiled dialogue, and sardonic wit.
Unscrupulous characters chasing their own selfish motives.
A killer lurking in the shadows, his motive as-yet unknown.
An ordinary man, who doesn’t consider himself extraordinary, thrown into extraordinary circumstances.

The production company, Touchstone Pictures, set the tone for an old-style thriller.

Their logo and name appear on screen in monochrome black and white, with a thunder crack and lightning flash, before the movie even starts.

Two suspenseful cliff-hanger set-pieces involve the off-camera killer indulging in some nail gun fun, while Dexter and Sydney get unstuck in an ascending elevator car, and a violent confrontation with two characters ending up dead in a tar pit.
 
The cinematography and editing are also effective, particularly in the scenes where Dexter looks out of a high-rise dormitory window, the poison in his system taking hold, inducing in him a reaction of acrophobia.

Dexter sees himself plummeting to the sidewalk.

A sense of what Lang might have glimpsed in his last moments, as he plunged from the college rooftop.

 

Dexter’s panicked and aimless run through the crowded streets, after he has escaped the cops, and wonders where to go and what the hell to do next.

The final wrap-up is well handled.

The reveal is a sudden, but logical twist, with an insightful statement on the real value and reward of what it is to be a writer.

In the climactic fight scene, as Dexter’s energy and life ebbs, so the color also drains back to black and white.

Dexter, transitioned from college English Professor to Private Detective in his own murder case, then comes full circle, as he finishes relaying his findings to the two detectives.

It’s no surprise that Dexter accepts his fate.

He has no other choice.

We know from the first scene that he’s a dead man walking, searching for the motive and culprit behind his own murder.

His story and quest are told with gallows humor and energetic pacing.

The color green is always there, hanging over them, dooming them all.

The green-eyed monster of jealousy, poisoning minds, like the luminous green poison slowly killing Dexter.

Dexter’s departure to the afterlife, is shown as a final walk down a dimly lit corridor, towards an open, light-filled door.

The light intensifies and his silhouette vanishes.
As the end credits roll, it's a cinematic fade to black for Dexter and the audience.