PICTURE WINDOWS
SHOWTIME,
Sunday, October 29, 8 p.m.
Filmed
in Los Angeles, Toronto and Anjou, France, by Yorktown Productions
in association with Skyvision Partners.
LIGHTNING
Director,
Joe Dante; writer, Jim Byrnes, based on a short story by Zane Grey;
camera, Jamie Anderson; editor, David Hickes; production design,
Nanette Vandrbilt; sound, Geoffrey Patterson; music, Hummie Mann.
Cast:
Brian
Keith, Ron Perlman, Kathleen Quinlan, Henry Jones.
Big-name helmers
craft small-screen jewels for SHOWTIME's PICTURE WINDOWS short-film
series. Literary/arty pretensions of theme - each pic is inspired
by a work of art or classic literature - gives the series a rather
higher-brow feel, which thankfully, doesn't spell filmmaker self-indulgence.
First trilogy showcases
Peter Bogdanovich, Jonathan Kaplan and Norman Jewison (one of the
series' exec producers); second trilogy features pics from Joe Dante,
Bob Rafelson and John Boorman; all are worthy and worth a good look.
Based on a Zane Grey
story and visually inspired by the works of Frederick Remington,
LIGHTNING - Dante's offering - toplines Brian Keith as an ornery
gold prospector who strikes it rich.
His life is saved
by Lightning, a recently purchased mule who seems to possess preternatural
intelligence--at least for a mule.
Ron Perlman and Kathleen
Quinlan are a gambler and whore, respectively, who plot to take
his gold.
Story trades on an
O.Henry type of irony with a twisted, satisfying conclusion.
Dante directs this
amusing, wry shortie with a sure hand. Keith, Perlman and Quinlan
are relaxed and production values are tops.