Madsen’s Take On his own Films
Recomended:
Donnie Braso
Memorable gangster drama; close adaptation of the book, shot in NY & Miami. Great performances by everyone; well-directed, well-edited, with a lot of my scenes omitted from the film. It should have been released in more theaters. Good working experience, true to its nature.
Species
Good, solid sci-fi drama, well-directed by Roger Donaldson.
Dead Connection
Interesting movie, made early in my career, directed by Nigel Dick; well done; not properly released - good late night video if youre a Michael Madsen Fan .
Free Willy
A great film; a good experience; a memorable story. Good family entertainment.
Reservoir Dogs
Timeless Classic. A cult legend. Done on a small budget for Director Quentin Tarantino. One of the best screenplays I ever read. One of only a few personal favorites.
Thelma and Louise
Wonderful Ridley Scott movie; one of the few times I played a romantic lead. Beautifully photographed, well edited. Very memorable; gets better and better over time. A great pleasure working with Susan and Gina.
The Doors
Done as a favor to Oliver Stone to replace an injured cast member. A story of Jim Morrison. Told as well as could have been done by anyone. One key scene of mine omitted for no apparent reason.
The Natural
My first experience with big-budget filmmaking. My best work was cut out. The character of Bump Bailey was disregarded without explanation. It's recommended, but not for anything of me thats in it.
Kill Me Again
Solid Memorable Independent film, directed by John Dahl. One of my personal favorites.
Racing With the Moon
There's one scene with Sean Penn; directed by Richard Benjamin.
Big Apple
Good series, shot in NY, David Milch is a genius and a friend, there were talented actors. Series never given proper chance by the network.
Vengence, Unlimited
Good, solid, memorable series with great writers, strong performances by guest stars; 16 episodes. Never given proper chance by network to catch on. Probably in reruns somewhere in the world.
Watchable:
Choke
Interesting little film; Kind of quirky,made on a very low budget, shot in a couple of days; may be re-released with a new ending.
Ides of March
I had a cameo in this action-packed kick-boxing film for a good director named Darren Doan. Watchable, if you can find it.
Price of Air
Interesting, eclectic strange film, directed by Josh Evans. Good performances.
High Noon
Remake of Gary Coooper classic. I was very pleased to play the role of Frank Miller. The production was handled very well - over-all a good piece of work.
Sacrifice
Originally intended for a theatrical release, was well-written but poorly put together and went straight to tv. Has some good scenes.
Inspectors
TV movie for Showtime, an interesting performance, well put- together; a bit slow at times; good story line.
The Florentine
Done as a favor with Tom Sizemore and Chris Penn, to help out a young filmmaker. The film belongs to Chris Penn, his performance is very strong; Hal Holbrook is memorable. Best thing about the film for me was working with my sister Virginia; too much focus on peripheral characters.
Supreme Sanction
Good little action-packed cable movie with good performances by Ron Perlman and the late David Duke.
Fait Accompli
Interesting picture directed and shot by Andre Sekula, Director of Photography from Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. I did the picture to work with Andre. Shot in New Orleans; good performances by all, but poorly publicized, poorly released.
Girl Gets Moe
Very funny movie; one of the few times Ive done comedy; well put-together, good performances by everyone. Title changed for no apparent reason. Not properly publicized or released.
Mulholland Falls
Big Studio picture, nicely done, attractively photographed, tho the story falls apart 3/4s of the way through and all the character development becomes lost.
Free Willy II
Not as good as Free Willy I, changed director half way through but is a good family picture.
Wyatt Earp
Slow-moving Western directed by Larry Kasden with too many characters, not enough character development; my role was not properly photographed, or edited; its too long and a tremendous waste of my time.
Beyond the Law
Motorcycle mayhem with Charlie Sheen and Linda Fiorentino. Its unintentionally funny at times and well-directed.
Straight Talk
Fun film; had a good time working with Dolly Parton and James Wood. I have a small roll as Dollys boyfriend.
War Games
One scene in a Matthew Broderick movie, originally cast by Martin Brest, but directed by John Badham.
Skip it:
Extreme Honor
[ no comments ]
Outlaw
Made during a period of time I'd like to forget, although I would say Bo Swenson is a good director.
Pressure Point
[ no comments ]
Bad Boys
(never released)
Fall
Interesting film directed by Daniel Baldwin - not properly produced or edited.
Luck of the Draw
[ no comments ]
Alternate
[ no comments ]
The Stray
Probably one of the most horrendous mistakes of my career; made for all the wrong reasons, too many to list; good performance by Angie Everhart; Produced by PM Entertainment, now out of business.
The Sender
Yet another P.M. Entertainment adventure, the third in a tragic trilogy.
Executive Target
Another P.M. Entertainment adventure done for all the wrong reasons.
Rough Draft
Small role in a Gary Busey thriller.
Ballad of the Nightingale
I think I had four lines in this movie, I did the picture so I could work with my sister and Harry Dean Stanton. Even they would tell you to Skip It!
Detour
Couldn't be good no matter what they called it.
Species II
Big Mistake.
Catherines Grove
Very slow Hopeless.
Surface to Air
Done as a favor to a friend to get a production company started. Some sequences filmed aboard the U.S. Constellation. Not properly photographed, directed or edited.
The Maker
Good performance by Matthew Modine; my participation was not handled wisely, my role not properly photographed, and is unmemorable.
Season of Change
[ no comments ]
Almost Blue
A student film, ambitious, but unbalanced; moody and depressing.
Trouble Bound
Omigod, don't know what to say about it. except I should have left for the Cannes Film Festival with Reservoir Dogs instead. The only thing worth looking at in this movie is Patricia Arquette.
Baby Snatcher
TV Movie with Veronica Hamel can best be summed up with one word: Ridiculous.
End of Innocence
Interesting effort by Dyan Cannon. Not sure what the film is supposed to be about.
Montana
TV movie. It was a pleasure to work with Gena Rowlands.
Blood Red
If you blink you will miss my role.
Iguana
Should go in the omigod category. Shot on the island of Lanzarotti in the Canary Islands, directed by Monte Hellman. I was mercilessly edited out, thank goodness.
Shadows On The Storm
With Ned Beatty and Mia Sara. Wish the film could have been as good as the time I had making it. Weakly done.
Special Bulletin
One scene.
Against All Hope
Religious film made with good intentions for churchgoers. Good camera by Mike Puccini, but an amateur effort by everyone else, including me.
Unwatchable:
Thief and the Stripper
This bad "B" movie is unwatchable.
Last Days of Frankie the Fly
A great dark screenplay written by Dayton Callie and starring Dennis Hopper was destroyed and homogenized in the editing process; was horrendously mishandled and a loss for everyone involved. It could have been tremendously memorable, but it is unwatchable.
Man With a Gun
Interesting picture shot in Canada, co-starring Jennifer Tilly and Gary Busey. The ending was changed which ruined the whole picture and made it unwatchable.
Fatal Instinct
Another omigod. If I make an omigod category, this will be the first one on it. Dont know what I was thinking, or anyone else for that matter. Preposterous AND UNWATCHABLE.
NEver seen:
LAPD
Made in Canada, has some good scenes w/Dennis Hopper.
Ghost
Low-Budget movie, made during a time I was trying to pay my mortgage; also released as Code of the Dragon.
Flat Out
Interesting film about a paralyzed motorcyle race, shot in two days as a favor to the producer.
Paper Trail
Small role.