Second Sight (film)

Last updated

Second Sight
Second sight poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Joel Zwick
Written by Tom Schulman
Patricia Resnick
Produced by Mark Tarlov
Starring
CinematographyDana Christiaansen
Edited byDavid Ray
Music by John Morris
Production
company
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date
  • November 3, 1989 (1989-11-03)
Running time
83 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$5,368,865

Second Sight is a 1989 American science fiction black comedy film from Warner Bros. starring John Larroquette, Bronson Pinchot, Stuart Pankin, and Bess Armstrong. In the film, a paranormal detective (Larroquette), a psychic (Pinchot), and a nun (Armstrong) search the streets of Boston, Massachusetts for a missing person who has allegedly been kidnapped.

Contents

Although scripted by Patricia Resnick (who previously co-wrote 9 to 5 ) and Oscar-winner Tom Schulman (who won for Dead Poets Society ), the film was a critical and commercial failure; it garnered mostly-negative reviews, and earned only $5.3 million at the United States box office.

Production

Second Sight was being produced around the time of the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike, which led to problems with both the script and the cast. Filming was completed in Boston, Massachusetts. [1] Bronson Pinchot spent about three months meeting with psychics to research for the part, largely with one who was retained by writer Patricia Resnick as a technical advisor for the film. [2] Pinchot said he found that most of them were very straightforward, intelligent and normal people, unlike the quirky and weird character he planned to play; Pinchot said the research was nevertheless helpful in determining how to play the part differently than actual psychics. [3] Pinchot was directed to other psychics by actress Shirley MacLaine, who is well known for her beliefs in new age spirituality and reincarnation; a photo of MacLaine was hung in the bedroom wall of Pinchot's character as an homage. [2] In the middle one of his research sessions, Pinchot collapsed, which doctors said was due to exhaustion but the film's psychic technical advisor believed was due to his response to the extra-sensory perception and hypnosis he had been exposed to over a long period of time. [2]

One psychic Pinchot talked would randomly begin speaking in tongues repeatedly during conversations, which the psychic said was the result of a spiritual sensation he could not explain; Pinchot said the encounter was helpful in establishing his character. [2] During one scene in the movie, Pinchot is in the office of a man who is in another location and has to urinate, and as a result Pinchot's psychic character begins squirming as if he has to use the bathroom. Pinchot said this scene was inspired by a visit he had with a psychic who used to get drunk whenever she was near somebody who was drunk at a party. [4] The character wears slippers throughout the movie because when Pinchot met psychic Peter Hurkos during his research, they went out to lunch and Hurkos wore sandals because he forgot to put on his shoes. [2]

The Aretha Franklin song "Freeway of Love" plays during a chase scene in the middle of the film. [2]

Reception

The film was not successful commercially or critically. It made only $5.3 million at the United States box office, $2.16 million of which were earned during the opening weekend. [5]

Second Sight received mostly negative reviews. Hal Hinson of The Washington Post said it appeared the film "looks as if it was shot on an everything-must-go, discount basis", and that Pinchot's character "is utterly lacking in either charm or wit". Hinson said the dialogue and direction style were terrible and that Larroquette was rehashing his character from the television comedy series, Night Court . [6] The New York Times reviewer Janet Maslin said Joel Zwick's direction "is so outstandingly maladroit (that) it squelches any possible humor". Maslin also said the film featured too many car chases and had such a pacing of such "artificial liveliness from beginning to end" that "there's nothing in the last reel to distinguish it from the first". [7]

Availability

The film was released on VHS in 1990. Some 20 years later, in 2010, Second Sight was released on DVD as a MOD title from the Warner Archive Collection, marking its first release in said format.

Cast

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Bronson</span> American actor (1921–2003)

Charles Bronson was an American actor. He was known for his roles in action films and his "granite features and brawny physique". Bronson was born into extreme poverty in Ehrenfeld, Pennsylvania, a coal mining town in the Allegheny Mountains. Bronson's father, a miner, died when Bronson was young. Bronson himself worked in the mines as well until joining the United States Army Air Forces in 1943 to fight in World War II. After his service, he joined a theatrical troupe and studied acting. During the 1950s, he played various supporting roles in motion pictures and television, including anthology drama TV series in which he would appear as the main character. Near the end of the decade, he had his first cinematic leading role in Machine-Gun Kelly (1958).

<i>Red Heat</i> (1988 film) 1988 film directed by Walter Hill

Red Heat is a 1988 American buddy cop action comedy film directed, co-written, and co-produced by Walter Hill and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as Soviet policeman Ivan Danko, and Jim Belushi as Chicago police detective Art Ridzik. Finding themselves on the same case, Danko and Ridzik work as partners to catch a cunning and deadly Georgian drug kingpin, Viktor Rostavili, who killed Danko's previous partner. Most of the scenes set in the Soviet Union were actually shot in Hungary. Schwarzenegger was paid $8 million for his role in the film.

<i>Risky Business</i> 1983 film by Paul Brickman

Risky Business is a 1983 American coming-of-age teen comedy film written and directed by Paul Brickman and starring Tom Cruise and Rebecca De Mornay. It follows the sexual exploits of high school senior Joel Goodsen (Cruise), who is staying home alone during his parents' vacation trip and meets a call girl named Lana. The film is considered to be Cruise's breakout role.

<i>Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise</i> 1987 film by Joe Roth

Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise is a 1987 American comedy film, a sequel to Revenge of the Nerds (1984), and the second installment in the Revenge of the Nerds series. Its cast features most of the main actors from its predecessor, including Robert Carradine, Anthony Edwards, Curtis Armstrong, Larry B. Scott, Timothy Busfield, Donald Gibb, and Andrew Cassese. This film also provided an early starring role for Courtney Thorne-Smith. Other cast members include Bradley Whitford, Ed Lauter, and Barry Sobel.

<i>Congo</i> (film) 1995 film by Frank Marshall

Congo is a 1995 American science fiction action-adventure film based on the 1980 novel by Michael Crichton. It was directed by Frank Marshall and stars Laura Linney, Dylan Walsh, Ernie Hudson, Grant Heslov, Joe Don Baker and Tim Curry. The film was released on June 9, 1995, by Paramount Pictures and tells the story of an expedition team and a mountain gorilla owned by one of its members who go to the Congo jungles to find a missing expedition and the ruins of an ancient civilization where diamonds might be located while encountering the gray gorillas that lurk near there.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Larroquette</span> American actor (born 1947)

John Bernard Larroquette is an American actor. He is known for his starring roles in the NBC military drama series Baa Baa Black Sheep (1976–1978), the NBC sitcom Night Court for which he received four consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards wins for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series during the earlier incarnation, the NBC sitcom The John Larroquette Show (1993–1996), the David E. Kelley legal drama series The Practice (1997–2002), the ABC legal comedy-drama series Boston Legal (2004–2008), and the TNT series The Librarians (2014–2018).

<i>Payback</i> (1999 film) 1999 film by Brian Helgeland

Payback is a 1999 American neo-noir action thriller film written and directed by Brian Helgeland in his directorial debut, and starring Mel Gibson, Gregg Henry, Maria Bello, Lucy Liu, Deborah Kara Unger, David Paymer and James Coburn. It is based on the novel The Hunter by Donald E. Westlake using the pseudonym Richard Stark, which had earlier been adapted into the 1967 film Point Blank.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Hurkos</span> Dutch ESP medium (1911–1988)

Pieter van der Hurk known as Peter Hurkos, was a Dutchman who claimed he manifested extrasensory perception (ESP) after recovering from a head injury and coma caused by a fall from a ladder when aged 30. He went to the United States in 1956 for psychic experiments, later becoming a professional psychic who sought clues in the Manson Family murders and the Boston Strangler case. With the help of businessman Henry Belk and parapsychologist Andrija Puharich, Hurkos became a popular entertainer known for performing psychic feats before live and television audiences.

<i>The First Wives Club</i> 1996 film by Hugh Wilson

The First Wives Club is a 1996 American comedy film directed by Hugh Wilson, based on the 1992 novel of the same name by Olivia Goldsmith. The film stars Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn, and Diane Keaton as three divorcées who seek retribution on their ex-husbands for having left them for younger women. The supporting cast comprises Stockard Channing as Cynthia; Dan Hedaya, Victor Garber, and Stephen Collins as the three leads' ex-husbands; and Sarah Jessica Parker, Elizabeth Berkley, and Marcia Gay Harden as their respective lovers. Supporting roles are played by Maggie Smith, Bronson Pinchot, Rob Reiner, Eileen Heckart, Philip Bosco, and Timothy Olyphant in his feature film debut; cameo appearances include Gloria Steinem, Ed Koch, Kathie Lee Gifford, and Ivana Trump.

<i>Just Cause</i> (film) 1995 film by Arne Glimcher

Just Cause is a 1995 American crime thriller film directed by Arne Glimcher and starring Sean Connery and Laurence Fishburne. It is based on John Katzenbach's novel of the same name.

<i>Sea of Love</i> (film) 1989 film

Sea of Love is a 1989 American neo-noir thriller film directed by Harold Becker, written by Richard Price and starring Al Pacino, Ellen Barkin and John Goodman. The story concerns a New York City detective trying to catch a serial killer who finds victims through the singles column in a newspaper.

<i>Denise Calls Up</i> 1995 film

Denise Calls Up is a 1995 American comedy film written and directed by Hal Salwen. It has an ensemble cast which includes Liev Schreiber, Timothy Daly, and Alanna Ubach. The plot revolves around a group of friends in New York City who, while working at their PCs and laptops and keeping in touch by phone and fax, never seem to be able to get together. The film won the Jury Prize at the Deauville American Film Festival and a Special Mention for the Camera d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

<i>The Great Outdoors</i> (film) 1988 film by Howard Deutch

The Great Outdoors is a 1988 American comedy film directed by Howard Deutch, written and produced by John Hughes, and starring Dan Aykroyd and John Candy with supporting roles by Stephanie Faracy, Annette Bening, Chris Young, Lucy Deakins, and Robert Prosky. The film is about two families spending a vacation at a fictional resort town in northern Wisconsin. Before The Great Outdoors appeared in theaters, Aykroyd, Candy, and Young portrayed their roles during the end credits of She's Having a Baby where they are among the people that pitch the idea names for the baby son of Jake and Kristy.

<i>Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects</i> 1989 film by J. Lee Thompson

Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects is a 1989 American action thriller film starring Charles Bronson and directed by J. Lee Thompson. As Thompson's final film, it was the last project he and Bronson did together—a long and famed Hollywood collaboration. The word "kinjite" (禁じて) translates to English as "forbidden move", hinting at the subject matter.

<i>Blaze</i> (1989 film) 1989 American film by Ron Shelton

Blaze is a 1989 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Ron Shelton, based on the 1974 memoir, Blaze Starr: My Life as Told to Huey Perry, by Blaze Starr and Huey Perry. The film stars Paul Newman and Lolita Davidovich as Earl Long and Blaze Starr respectively.

<i>Downtown</i> (film) 1990 American police action comedy film directed by Richard Benjamin

Downtown is a 1990 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Richard Benjamin. The film starred Anthony Edwards, Forest Whitaker, Penelope Ann Miller and Joe Pantoliano.

<i>A Good Man in Africa</i> 1994 American film

A Good Man in Africa is a 1994 comedy-drama film, based on William Boyd's 1981 novel A Good Man in Africa and directed by Bruce Beresford. The film starred Colin Friels, Sean Connery, John Lithgow, Joanne Whalley, Diana Rigg and Louis Gossett Jr.

<i>The Fourth War</i> 1990 film by John Frankenheimer

The Fourth War is a 1990 American cold war drama film directed by John Frankenheimer. It is set in West Germany of the late 1980s, and was filmed in Alberta, Canada. It stars Roy Scheider and Jürgen Prochnow as two military men whose personal dispute threatens to escalate into a larger conflict.

<i>My Demon Lover</i> 1987 American film

My Demon Lover is a 1987 American comedy horror film directed by Charlie Loventhal and written by Leslie Ray. The film stars Scott Valentine, Michele Little, Robert Trebor, Gina Gallego, Alan Fudge, Calvert DeForest and Arnold Johnson. The film was released on April 24 by New Line Cinema.

Winning Girls Through Psychic Mind Control is a 2002 American comedy film directed by Barry Alexander Brown and starring Bronson Pinchot and Ruben Santiago-Hudson.

References

  1. ↑ Dolenz, Micky Little, Tawny, Pinchot, Bronson (1989-11-03). "AM Los Angeles November 3, 1989". AM Los Angeles. Los Angeles. KABC-TV.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pinchot, Bronson, Rivera, Geraldo (1989-10-30). "Geraldo October 30, 1989". Geraldo .
  3. ↑ Gifford, Kathie Lee, Philbin, Regis, Pinchot, Bronson (1989-11-01). Live with Regis and Kathie Lee . New York City. WABC-TV.
  4. ↑ Hall, Arsenio, Pinchot, Bronson (1989-11-02). "The Arsenio Hall Show November 2, 1989". The Arsenio Hall Show . Los Angeles.
  5. ↑ "Second Sight (1989) - Box office / business". The Internet Movie Database . Retrieved 2009-05-15.
  6. ↑ Hinson, Hal (1989-11-04). ""Second Sight" (PG)". The Washington Post . Retrieved 2009-05-15.
  7. ↑ Maslin, Janet (1989-11-03). "Movie Review - Second Sight (1989) - Review/Film; Private Detectives and Public Peculiarities". The New York Times . Retrieved 2009-05-15.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.