Directed by Robert Towne • 1982 • United States
Starring Mariel Hemingway, Scott Glenn, Patrice Donnelly
Academy Award–winning screenwriter Robert Towne (CHINATOWN) made his directorial debut with this tale of a promising hurdler (Mariel Hemingway) who finds much-needed emotional and athletic support with a caring mentor (Patrice Donnelly). After the two women fall in love, their relationship is threatened as both vie for a spot on the 1980 United States Olympic team and months of training build toward explosive moments of competition. PERSONAL BEST is as much a groundbreaking portrait of a lesbian relationship as it a hypnotically visceral study of bodies in motion.
Directed by Barbra Streisand • 1983 • Untied States
Starring Barbra Streisand, Mandy Patinkin, Amy Irving
Barbra Streisand became the first woman to write, produce, direct, and star in a major Hollywood film with this charming, gender-bending musical adaptation of an Isaac Bashevis Singer story....
Directed by Billy Woodberry • 1984 • United States
Starring Nate Hardman, Kaycee Moore, Angela Burnett
Scripted and shot by Charles Burnett, Billy Woodberry’s slice-of-life revelation is a key masterpiece of the LA Rebellion, the black independent-cinema renaissance that emerged from UCLA’s film...
Directed by Ulu Grosbard • 1984 • United States
Starring Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, Harvey Keitel
The palpable chemistry between Meryl Streep and Robert De Niro elevates this poignant romance, which plays like a 1980s update of a golden-age Hollywood melodrama. Architectural engineer Frank Ra...
