Apology (film)

Apology is a made for HBO original film that premiered on July 27, 1986. The movie is based on the artwork of Allan Bridge and the novel he inspired, Mr. Apology. The film was eventually released on video and syndicated to cable and network television outlets. It stars Lesley Ann Warren, Peter Weller and John Glover.[1] The film was titled in some markets as Apology for Murder.[2] This is first HBO Pictures' film after shutting down of television company, HBO Premiere Films.

Apology
VHS cover
GenreThriller
Written byStory:
Mark Medoff
Campbell Black
Screenplay:
Mark Medoff
Directed byRobert Bierman
StarringLesley Ann Warren
Peter Weller
Chris Noth
John Glover
Charles S. Dutton
Harvey Fierstein
Music byMaurice Jarre (score)
Bill Champlin (songs)
Country of originUnited States
Canada
Original language(s)English
Production
Executive producer(s)Roger Gimbel
Neil Rosenstein (co-executive producer)
Producer(s)Les Alexander
Richard Parks
Richard Smith
Jacob Zilberg (associate producer)
Production location(s)Toronto
CinematographyPhil Meheux
Editor(s)Jim Benson
Running time93 minutes
Production company(s)HBO Pictures
DistributorHBO
Release
Original networkHBO
Picture formatColor
Audio formatMono
Original release
  • July 27, 1986 (1986-07-27) (United States)

Background

Producers Les Alexander, Richard Park, and Richard Smith developed the idea from a similarly themed art project in New York.[3] They hired Mark Medoff, who had won a Tony Award for his play Children of a Lesser God, to write the script.[3] Filming was done in New York's SoHo district and Greenwich Village, with additional shooting in Toronto.[3]

Executive producer Roger Gimbel cast Warren in the lead role based on their prior working relationship in Betrayal (1978).[3] The part of Lily in Apology was Warren's first role in a thriller film.[3]

Plot

In New York City, avant garde sculptor Lily McGuire (Lesley Ann Warren) lives a complicated and frustrating life as she tries to not only provide for herself and her daughter, but debut her latest artwork known as Apology. The design is a two-part exhibit consisting of a walkthrough sculpture of advanced mechanical design and a phone service that allows callers to anonymously leave confessions of whatever they desire on the answering machine. However, someone has been calling the line and using it to announce a string of recent high-profile killings. After contacting the police, Detective Hungate (Peter Weller) advises Lily to take the threats seriously. Eventually, the serial killer stops his phone calls and intends to murder Lily to the sounds of the exhibit's programmed confessions.[4] Charles S. Dutton, Harvey Fierstein, and Chris Noth co-star.

Cast

Home media

The film was released on VHS by HBO/Cannon Video under license from Home Box Office. However, it never released on DVD or Blu-ray.

Critical reception

The film was considered notably violent for cable television of the day: one critic wrote "there's lots of gore... the screen is littered with bodies and the sound track is filled with obscenities".[5] Despite the caveats, the same critic added: "It's good enough to hook you though. Once you start watching you stick around to find out what happens."[5] In the Chicago Tribune, a reviewer wrote that although the story "alternates between the suspenseful and the silly", it remains "intriguing because of its quirky premise".[6] Gannett News Service reviewer Mike Hughes sighed that the plot relied on "absurdities and coincidences", but offered praise for Warren's expressive acting and Bierman's mood-setting direction.[7]

Syndicated columnist Judy Flander called it "a stylish thriller" and "a great watch", chiefly because of Warren who "glows" in her role.[8] Critic Tom Shales, however, heaped scorn on the film for its "miserably nasty" and "pointlessly perverse" storyline, describing it as all "foul language, violence and miscellaneous kinks".[9]

gollark: I've never actually experienced sleep paralysis myself, but the internet seems to have become interested in it recently.
gollark: 30000 people can never be wrong, so that's basically as good as research I guess.
gollark: Well, yes, but you perceive it as there.
gollark: Who says "being unable to move while an ominous entity looms over you" or something isn't a "base fear"?
gollark: How are, say, spiders "inherently" scary?

References
  1. "Apology". www.Imdb.com. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  2. "Apology (1986)". BFI.org.uk. British Film Institute. 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  3. Buck, Jerry (July 27, 1986). "Lesley Ann Warren: Acting as a Work of Art". The Muncie Star. Muncie, Delaware. AP. p. T-6. Archived from the original on March 9, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Apology (1986) - Movie". Moviefone.com. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  5. Dorsey, Tom (July 27, 1986). "'Apology' isn't fare for the faint of stomach". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. p. 153. Archived from the original on March 2, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Terry, Clifford (July 25, 1986). "No apologies needed for this HBO movie". ChicagoTribune.com. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  7. Hughes, Mike (July 25, 1986). "'C.A.T. Squad' script puts it above rest". Argus-Leader. Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Gannett News Service. p. 3B. Archived from the original on April 5, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. Flander, Judy (July 26, 1986). "Weekend Viewing Features Action, Mystery and Harsh Reality". The Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. United Feature Syndicate. p. 38. Archived from the original on March 11, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. Shales, Tom (August 3, 1986). "Time Lapse". Arizona Republic. Phoenix, Arizona. Washington Post. p. 268. Archived from the original on March 16, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
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