*Blood* *Violent* *Strong Language* *Sexual Situations* *Nudity* *Gory*

1981/104 Min./Warner Home Video/Orion Pictures & Ixtlan Film Warner Brothers/Rated R

Director.........Oliver Stone* (Born on the Fourth of July, The Doors, JFK, Platoon, Talk Radio, Wall Steet)

Screenplay.......Oliver Stone

Music............James Horner

Producer.........Edward R. Pressman

Executive Producer.....Clark L. Paylow

Based on a novel by Marc Brandel "The Lizard's Tale"

Dramatis Personae

Jon Landsdale.....Michael Caine

Anne Landsdale....Andrea Marcorricci

Stella Roche......Annie McEnroe

Brian Ferguson....Bruce McGill

Doctoress.........Viveca Lindfors (Creepshow)

Karen Wagner......Rosemary Murphy

Lizzie Landsdale..Mara Hobel

Bill Richman......Nicholas Hounann

Sheriff...........Pat Corless

Bum...............Oliver Stone (debut)

Plot Summary: Comic book artist Jon Lansdale doesn't want to move to New York with his wife. Agitated by the discussion, he goes out and finds his daughter playing with a twitching severed lizard's tail. Lizzie wonders how it knows when her stick is near it. At first skeptical, Jon does see that the tail appears to be reacting to the stick. The cat pouncing on the tail ends the investigation. As they head toward New York, Anne discusses the possibility of a separation. The conversation is so distracting that she causes a car accident and Jon's hand is taken off at the wrist by an oncoming automobile. As he convalesces, his progress at drawing with his left hand is minimal at best. Jon's hand was never recovered, and he decides he wants his signet ring back so long after it must have been decomposed, Jon goes back to the field to search for his missing part. He finds the signet ring, presumably discarded by whatever scavenger made of with the rest. Economic crisis appears to be forcing Jon to sell the rights to Mndro, his barbarian comic strip character. When Jon sees Mandro's new introspective personality in the new drafts, he is appalled. Mandro's strength was in his stoic lack of reflection.