The Dependables | |
---|---|
Directed by | Sidney J. Furie |
Written by | Richard Watson |
Produced by | Gary Howsam Bill Marks |
Starring | Ali Kazmi Louis Gossett Jr. Margot Kidder Seymour Cassel Bo Svenson |
Cinematography | Curtis Petersen |
Edited by | Saul Pincus |
Music by | Craig McConnell |
Distributed by | Moonstone Films [1] |
Release date |
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Running time | 101 minutes |
Country | Canada |
Language | English |
The Dependables (previously known as Pride of Lions [2] ) is a 2014 straight-to-DVD family action film directed by Sidney J. Furie.
Five young American soldiers are held hostage in Afghanistan by a Taliban warlord. When the US Army is slow to act, a grandmother and four grandfathers with military backgrounds fly to Afghanistan to rescue them.
Filming took place in Toronto and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
In his book Sidney J. Furie: Life and Films, author Daniel Kremer writes, "A Pride of Lions again reflected the Hit!-Iron Eagle formula, this time following a group of ex-military senior citizens who venture to Afghanistan to rescue their prisoner-of-war grandchildren." [2] Director Sidney J. Furie is quoted in the book as saying, "A lot of people will look at such a film, or any direct-to-video work of mine, as just another unsophisticated little action thriller with the customary cheap thrills, but the work is of the utmost importance to me, and I always sit in with the color-timer and the sound mixer. These movies are what they are, but I always take a proactive role in every stage of production. I'm never on autopilot and I never take my leave from a project when the shooting stops." [2] Margot Kidder is quoted as saying, "I haven't consistently laughed that hard on a movie set in years. We had such a good time." [2]
Writing for the Journal of Popular Film & Television , Daniel Kremer writes that The Dependables is an example showing that Sidney J. Furie "thrived at making movies of Hawksian professionalism that venerate (mostly male) camaraderie". [3]
Reviewer Valkor of the-other-view.com draws comparisons to The Expendables , writing, "The Dependables uses an obvious play on words to work against popular films, now a trilogy, The Expendables. The style is also the same in that it gathers a few well-known actors from the past, bringing them together for this film." The reviewer added, "I like the idea of bringing together these veteran actors who still look great and it would appear as though they were having a blast making this film". The reviewer ultimately concludes, "The idea is pretty sound but execution fails miserably." [4]
Reviewer JJBona of cityonfire.com writes, "In the last couple of years, we’ve reported a number of projects riding the success wave of The Expendables franchise. Some are currently filming, other are sitting in development hell. [...] One take that’s definitely in the can is the action-comedy The Dependables. If you thought Stallone’s crew were a bunch of old men, check out this cast: Bo Svenson (Walking Tall Part II), Louis Gossett Jr. (Iron Eagle), Seymour Cassel (The Mountain Men), Cedric Smith (Forever Knight), Tom Jackson (Star Trek: The Next Generation) and Margot Kidder (1978’s Superman)." The reviewer ultimately concludes, "We seriously doubt you’ll spend your hard earned money on it". [5]
Iron Eagle is a 1986 action film directed by Sidney J. Furie who co-wrote the screenplay with Kevin Alyn Elders, and starring Jason Gedrick and Louis Gossett Jr. While it received negative reviews, being unfavorably compared to the similarly-themed Top Gun released the same year, the film earned $24,159,872 at the U.S. box office. Iron Eagle was followed by three sequels: Iron Eagle II, Aces: Iron Eagle III, and Iron Eagle on the Attack, with Gossett being the only actor to appear in all four films.
Young Bess is a 1953 Technicolor biographical film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer about the early life of Elizabeth I, from her turbulent childhood to the eve of her accession to the throne of England. It stars Jean Simmons as Elizabeth and Stewart Granger as Thomas Seymour, with Charles Laughton as Elizabeth's father, Henry VIII, a part he had played 20 years before in The Private Life of Henry VIII. The film was directed by George Sidney and produced by Sidney Franklin, from a screenplay by Jan Lustig and Arthur Wimperis based on the novel of the same title by Margaret Irwin (1944).
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace is a 1987 superhero film directed by Sidney J. Furie and written by Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal from a story by Christopher Reeve, Konner, and Rosenthal based on the DC Comics character Superman. The film stars Reeve, Gene Hackman, Jackie Cooper, Marc McClure, Jon Cryer, Sam Wanamaker, Jim Broadbent, Mariel Hemingway, and Margot Kidder.
Louis Cameron Gossett Jr. was an American actor. He made his stage debut at the age of 17. Shortly thereafter, he successfully auditioned for the Broadway play Take a Giant Step. Gossett continued acting onstage in critically acclaimed plays including A Raisin in the Sun (1959), The Blacks (1961), Tambourines to Glory (1963), and The Zulu and the Zayda (1965). In 1977, Gossett appeared in the popular miniseries Roots, for which he won Outstanding Lead Actor for a Single Appearance in a Drama or Comedy Series at the Emmy Awards.
The Entity is a 1982 American supernatural horror film directed by Sidney J. Furie, and starring Barbara Hershey, Ron Silver, David Labiosa, Maggie Blye, Jacqueline Brookes, and Alex Rocco. The film follows a single mother in Los Angeles who is raped and tormented by an invisible poltergeist-like entity in her home. It was adapted for the screen by Frank De Felitta from his 1978 novel of the same name, which was based on the 1974 case of Doris Bither, a woman who claimed to have been repeatedly sexually assaulted by an invisible assailant, and who underwent observation by doctoral students at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Margaret Ruth Kidder was a Canadian–American actress and activist. She amassed several film and television credits in her career spanning five decades, including her best known portrayal of Lois Lane in the original Superman films (1978–1987). Her accolades included two Canadian Film Awards, an Emmy Award, a Genie Award and a Saturn Award.
Over the Top is a 1987 American sports drama film starring Sylvester Stallone. It was produced and directed by Menahem Golan, and its screenplay was written by Stirling Silliphant and Stallone. The original music score was composed by Giorgio Moroder. The main character, Lincoln Hawk, played by Stallone, is a long-haul truck driver who tries to win back his estranged son, Michael, while becoming a champion arm wrestler.
The Jazz Singer is a 1980 American musical drama film directed by Richard Fleischer and produced by Jerry Leider. The film stars Neil Diamond, Laurence Olivier and Lucie Arnaz, and tells the story of a young singer who is torn between tradition and pursuing his dreams as a pop singer. Based on the 1925 play of the same name by Samson Raphaelson, it is the fourth film adaptation, following the 1927 and the 1952 theatrical adaptions, and a 1959 television adaptation.
Cool and the Crazy is a 1994 American made-for television drama film written and directed by Ralph Bakshi and starring Jared Leto and Alicia Silverstone. The story revolves around an unhappily married couple in the late 1950s who both lead separate affairs. The film was Bakshi's first feature-length live-action film, being primarily known as a director of animated films which heavily utilize live-action sequences, such as Fritz the Cat, Heavy Traffic, Wizards, American Pop and The Lord of the Rings.
The Great Waldo Pepper is a 1975 American drama film directed, produced, and co-written by George Roy Hill. Set during 1926–1931, the film stars Robert Redford as a disaffected World War I veteran pilot who missed the opportunity to fly in combat, and examines his sense of postwar dislocation in 1920s America. The cast includes Margot Kidder, Bo Svenson, Edward Herrmann and Susan Sarandon. The Great Waldo Pepper depicts barnstorming during the 1920s and the accidents that led to aviation regulations by the Air Commerce Act.
Ladybugs is a 1992 American sports-comedy film starring Rodney Dangerfield and directed by Sidney J. Furie. Dangerfield plays a Denver businessman who takes over a girls soccer team that the company he works for sponsors. The film also stars Jackée Harry as his assistant coach, Ilene Graff as his girlfriend, Jonathan Brandis as his girlfriend's son, and Vinessa Shaw as his boss' daughter.
The Boys in Company C is a 1978 war film directed by Sidney J. Furie about United States Marine Corps recruits preparing for duty and their subsequent combat in the Vietnam War. It stars Stan Shaw, Andrew Stevens, Craig Wasson and Michael Lembeck. It was among the first Vietnam War films to appear after the Vietnam Era, and was also the first role for R. Lee Ermey of Full Metal Jacket fame. It is the first in Furie's Vietnam War motion-picture trilogy, followed by Under Heavy Fire (2001) and The Veteran (2006).
Sidney Joseph Furie is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, and producer best known for his extensive work in both British and American cinema between the 1960s and early 1980s. Like his contemporaries Norman Jewison and Ted Kotcheff, he was one of the earliest Canadian directors to achieve mainstream critical and financial success outside their native country at a time when its film industry was virtually nonexistent. He won a BAFTA Film Award and was nominated for a Palme d'Or for his work on the acclaimed spy thriller The Ipcress File (1965) starring Michael Caine.
The Taking of Beverly Hills is a 1991 American action film directed by Sidney J. Furie and starring Ken Wahl, Matt Frewer, Harley Jane Kozak and Robert Davi. In the film, football hero Boomer Hayes (Wahl) battles a group of ex-cops, who are using a chemical spill as a front to rob several homes and bank vaults in Beverly Hills. The film also features Pamela Anderson in her first film part in an uncredited role playing a cheerleader.
Iron Eagle II is a 1988 action film directed by Sidney J. Furie and written by Furie and Kevin Alyn Elders. It is the first sequel to the 1986 film Iron Eagle, with Louis Gossett Jr. reprising his role as Charles "Chappy" Sinclair, alongside newcomers Mark Humphrey, Stuart Margolin, Maury Chaykin, Alan Scarfe, Colm Feore, and Clark Johnson. An uncredited Jason Gedrick also returns as ace pilot Doug Masters in the film's opening scene.
Iron Eagle on the Attack is a 1995 direct-to-video action film directed by Sidney J. Furie. The fourth and final installment in the Iron Eagle series, it stars Louis Gossett Jr. reprising his role once again as retired Gen. Charles "Chappy" Sinclair, who guides civilian teenagers to perform unofficial military and aerial heroics.
Doctor Blood's Coffin is a 1961 British horror film produced by George Fowler, and directed by Sidney J. Furie. It stars Kieron Moore, Hazel Court, and Ian Hunter. The story is that of young biochemist Dr Peter Blood, who returns to his hometown in Cornwall with the belief that he can selectively restore life by transplanting the living hearts of 'undeserving' people into dead people who 'deserve' to live. The film is significant for being one of the first two zombie films to be shot in colour, the other being the obscure 1961 American film The Dead One, and for its early portrayal of zombies as homicidal rotting cadavers. The movie was released in the UK in January 1961 and in the US in April of that year, where it was on a double bill with another British film, The Snake Woman (1961).
The Snake Woman is a low budget black-and-white 1961 British horror film directed by Sidney J. Furie and starring Susan Travers and John McCarthy. It was produced by George Fowler. The film is set in a small English village at the turn of the 20th century. It tells the story of Atheris, a young woman who has the power to transform from human to cobra, and the Scotland Yard detective sent to investigate a series of deaths, unusual because all the victims died after being bitten by snakes that are not native to the UK.
The Lawyer is a 1970 American courtroom drama film loosely based on the Sam Sheppard murder case in which a physician is charged with killing his wife following a highly publicized and sloppy investigation. The film was directed by Sidney J. Furie and stars Barry Newman as the energetic, opportunistic defense attorney Tony Petrocelli and Diana Muldaur as his wife Ruth Petrocelli.,
Night of the Juggler is a 1980 American neo-noir action crime drama exploitation thriller film starring James Brolin.