Between the Lines

Director: Joan Micklin Silver

Overview

Between the Lines was deftly directed by Joan Micklin Silver on a miniature budget. The drama is set in the offices of an "alternative" newspaper, vaguely reminiscent of The Village Voice (where Silver once worked). The large ensemble cast of then-unknowns is headed by John Heard, playing a photojournalist who takes time off from trying to save the world to have a brief affair with Lindsay Crouse. Other employees and hangers-on include Jeff Goldblum, Jill Eikenberry, Bruno Kirby, Lane Smith and Marilu Henner.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/15/2011
UPC:	0883904201328
Original Release:	1977
Source:	MGM
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Language:	English
Time:	1:41:00

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

John Heard	Harry Lucas
Lindsay Crouse	Abbie
Jeff Goldblum	Max Arloft
Jill Eikenberry	Lynn
Bruno Kirby	David
Gwen Welles	Laura
Stephen Collins	Michael
Lewis J. Stadlen	Stanley
Michael J. Pollard	Hawker
Lane Smith	Roy Walsh
Marilu Henner	Danielle
Susan Haskins	Sarah
Ray Barry	Herbert Fisk,Herbert Fisk
Douglas Kenney	Doug Henkel
Jon Korkes	Frank
Richard Cox	Wheeler
Joe Morton	Ahmad
Gary Springer	Jason
Charles Levin	Paul
Guy Boyd	Austin
Robert Costanzo	Austin's Men
Allison Argo	Dancer
Michael Kamen	Composer
Steven Van Zandt	Composer

Technical Credits

Fred Barron

Raphael D. Silver	Producer
Fred Barron	Screenwriter
Nigel Noble	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Joan Micklin Silver and Fred Barron's ingratiating comedy about youthful lives in Boston, a town with a heavy concentration of universities, is also a portrait of '60s idealism dashed by the political and business realities of the late '70s. The film also proved to be a launching pad for the careers of a number of talented actors, all of them making memorable impressions here. Anyone who has ever worked at their first real job in an office full of idealistic young people knows the intoxicating joys of professional camaraderie -- and how fleeting that experience can be. The paper that Harry, Abbie, Lynn, and Max work for is a victim of its success; they build up its credibility and infuse it with vitality, only to see the bean counters take over. But by 1977, the times they were a-changin', and the moral fervor that accompanied such issues as the Civil Rights movement, the Vietnam War, Watergate, and the rise of feminism was being replaced by the Saturday night fever of the disco era. Alternative weeklies like the one portrayed here still exist, some of them still fighting the good fight, but it's doubtful their staffs are as charming as the characters of Between the Lines.