John G. Avildsen Filmography

Born:: December 21, 1935 in Oak Park, IL
Occupation:: Director, Editor, Cinematographer, Producer
Biography:: Director John G. Avildsen's career has endured many ups and downs over the past thirty years. Not only has he produced a string of bombs, and low-budget films, the self-described dreamer has also produced some of the most popular films of our time--most notably the triple Oscar winning Rocky(1976)...Read More

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A Decade Under the Influence

Actors: Steven Soderbergh, Paul Thomas Anderson, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Robert Altman, Peter Bogdanovich, Ellen Burstyn

Synopsis: In the late '60s, American culture experienced a period of change as the youth movement challenged conventional attitudes about politics, sex, drugs, and gender issues, while the advancement of the Vietnam War found many citizens questioning the actions and wisdom of their government for the first Read More

4/25/03
Desert Heat

Crew: Director

Actors: Gregory Scott Cummins, Neil Delama, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Noriyuki "Pat" Morita, Danny Trejo, Gabrielle Fitzpatrick

Synopsis: A group of bullies terrorizing a small town meet their match in the Muscles From Brussels in this action drama. Eddie Lomax (Jean-Claude Van Damme) is a drifter who has been in a suicidal funk since the death of his close friend Johnny (Danny Trejo). Riding his motorcycle into a small desert town Read More

1998
8 Seconds

Crew: Director

Actors: Luke Perry, Stephen Baldwin, James Rebhorn, Carrie Snodgress, Red Mitchell

Synopsis: Luke Perry stars in this biography of the late Lane Frost, a champion bull rider who in 1987 won a rodeo world championship at the tender age of 21. In Eight Seconds (the title refers to the minimum amount of time a rider must stay on a bull in competition), Lane Frost is a young man from Oklahoma Read More

1994
The Power of One

Crew: Director, Editor

Actors: Stephen Dorff, Morgan Freeman, Armin Mueller-Stahl, John Gielgud, Maria Marais

Synopsis: John G. Avildsen, director of Rocky and The Karate Kid, adapts Bryce Courtenay's compassionate novel about the coming of age of a white anti-apartheid activist during the years of World War II in South Africa. Avildsen cumbersomely grafts Courtenay's tale of fighting apartheid onto a Read More

3/27/92
Rocky V

Crew: Director, Editor

Actors: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Sage Stallone, Burgess Meredith

Synopsis: Touted upon its release as the finale of the Rocky saga, this fifth entry in the long-running series of sports dramas reunites star Sylvester Stallone with John G. Avildsen, director of the Oscar-winning original. Stallone is Rocky Balboa, suffering from career-ending brain damage as a result of Read More

11/16/90
The Karate Kid Part III

Crew: Director, Editor

Actors: Ralph Macchio, Noriyuki "Pat" Morita, Robyn Lively, Thomas Ian Griffith, Martin Kove

Synopsis: John G. Avildsen rehashes his shopworn formula for another go-round in The Karate Kid Part III. Going against the wishes of his mentor Mr. Miyagi (Noriyuki "Pat" Morita), Daniel (Ralph Macchio) will defend his karate title in an All-Valley Championship match arranged by his nemesis Kreese (Martin Kove Read More

6/30/89
Lean on Me

Crew: Director, Editor, Producer

Actors: Morgan Freeman, Robert Guillaume, Beverly Todd, Lynne Thigpen, Jermaine Hopkins

Synopsis: After earning rave notices for powerful supporting turns as a pimp in Street Smart (1987) and an alcohol abuse counselor in Clean and Sober (1988), actor Morgan Freeman began his ascent to stardom with this, his first lead role in a major motion picture. Freeman is real-life high school principal Read More

3/3/89
For Keeps

Crew: Director, Editor

Actors: Molly Ringwald, Randall Batinkoff, Kenneth Mars, Miriam Flynn, Conchata Ferrell

Synopsis: Young, ambitious high school students Darcy Elliot (Molly Ringwald) and Stan Bobrucz (Randal Batinkoff) have a hitch thrown into their plans to attend college and pursue professional careers when they discover that Darcy is pregnant. Deciding against abortion or adoption, the couple decides to Read More

1/15/88
Happy New Year

Crew: Director

Actors: Peter Falk, Charles Durning, Wendy Hughes, Tom Courtenay, Joan Copeland

Synopsis: Happy New Year is an Americanized remake of the 1974 French film of the same name. Peter Falk and Charles Durning play Nick and Charlie, a pair of seedy but suave jewel thieves. Preparing to rob the exclusive Florida jewelry store managed by Tom Courtenay, Nick and Charlie meticulously pre-plan Read More

8/7/87
The Karate Kid Part II

Crew: Director, Editor

Actors: Ralph Macchio, Noriyuki "Pat" Morita, Nobu McCarthy, Danny Kamekona, Yuji Okumoto

Synopsis: This sequel to the 1984 surprise hit The Karate Kid reunites Ralph Macchio as high-schooler Danny and Noriyuki "Pat" Morita as Danny's martial-arts mentor Miyagi. Picking up where the first film left off, The Karate Kid Part II finds Danny and Miyagi making an emergency trip to Okinawa, where Read More

6/20/86
The Karate Kid

Crew: Director, Editor

Actors: Ralph Macchio, Noriyuki "Pat" Morita, Elisabeth Shue, Martin Kove, Randee Heller, William Zabka

Synopsis: Newly arrived in California from New Jersey, teenager Daniel (Ralph Macchio) almost immediately runs afoul of karate-trained high school bullies. He is rescued by Japanese janitor Miyagi (Noriyuki "Pat" Morita), who agrees to teach Daniel how to harness karate for good instead of brutality. The Read More

6/22/84
A Night in Heaven

Crew: Cinematographer, Director, Editor

Actors: Christopher Atkins, Lesley Ann Warren, Robert Logan, Carrie Snodgress

Synopsis: Veering off in several thematic directions at once, A Night in Heaven starts with a torrid student-teacher romance which becomes somewhat derailed by adding on a failing marriage, political allusions related to NASA, a frustrated sister of the teacher, and several additional characters, many of Read More

1983
Neighbors

Crew: Director

Actors: John Belushi, Kathryn Walker, Cathy Moriarty, Dan Aykroyd, Igors Gavon

Synopsis: No one knows what evil lurks with the folks next door in this black comedy. Earl Keese (John Belushi) is a middle-aged suburbanite whose life is dull and uneventful, and that's just the way he likes it, though his wife, Enid (Kathryn Walker), isn't quite so happy. Earl soon learns that a new Read More

1981
The Formula

Crew: Director, Editor

Actors: George C. Scott, Marthe Keller, Marlon Brando, John Gielgud, John van Dreelen, Calvin Jung, G.D. Spradlin

Synopsis: With George C. Scott and Marlon Brando heading the cast, The Formula should have been far better than it is. Adapted by Steve Shagan from his own best-selling novel, the film is predicated on the concept that a formula for synthetic fuel had been developed by the Nazis during WW II. In the Read More

1980
Slow Dancing in the Big City

Crew: Director, Editor, Producer

Actors: Paul Sorvino, Anne Ditchburn, Nicolas Coster, Anita Dangler, Hector Mercado

Synopsis: This sentimental tearjerker is also a slice-of-New York-life melodrama directed by John G. Avildsen as his follow-up to the career-high smash success of Rocky (1976). Paul Sorvino stars as Lou Friedlander, a Manhattan newspaper columnist who is instantly smitten by Sarah Gantz (Anne Ditchburn, who Read More

1978
Rocky

Crew: Director

Actors: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Burgess Meredith

Synopsis: Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), a Philadelphia boxer, is but one step removed from total bum-hood. A once-promising pugilist, Rocky is now taking nickel-and-dime bouts and running strongarm errands for local loan sharks to survive. Even his supportive trainer, Mickey (Burgess Meredith), has Read More

1976
W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings

Crew: Director

Actors: Burt Reynolds, Art Carney, Conny van Dyke, Jerry Reed, Ned Beatty, James Hampton

Synopsis: Burt Reynolds stars in this fast-paced "road" picture as W. W. Bright, a 1950s Southern con man. He takes over Takes over the Dixie Dancekings, a two-bit country-western act headed by Dixie (Conny Van Dyke). Bright wheels and deals to get the Dixie Dancekings into the Grand Ole Opry. Meanwhile, he Read More

1975
Foreplay

Crew: Director

Actors: Zero Mostel, Estelle Parsons, Pat Paulsen, Jerry Orbach, George Irving

Synopsis: This comedy film revolves around the unusual life of a fictional former American president (Zero Mostel) as he reveals the reasons behind his loss of power on a television program. Three short skits depict a randy and raucous life in the White House. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide Read More

1975
Save the Tiger

Crew: Director

Actors: Jack Lemmon, Jack Gilford, Laurie Heineman, Norman Burton, Patricia Smith

Synopsis: Star Jack Lemmon was so eager to see Save the Tiger make it to the big screen that he waived his salary rather than have the film exceed its tiny budget. Lemmon portrays "the great American tragedy" as upwardly mobile garment manufacturer Harry Stoner, whose underhanded business tactics are Read More

1973
The Stoolie

Crew: Cinematographer, Director

Actors: Poppy Fields, Gigi Gaus, Frank Goldstein, Jack Kagel, Mary McKennedy, Ronnie Mellen, Babette New, Jerome Rudolph, Mildred Smith, Sean Walch, Leonard York

Synopsis: Comedian Jackie Mason made one of his many comeback attempts after the 1966 Ed Sullivan Show "flipping the finger" debacle with the low-budget The Stoolie. Mason plays a cheap crook who cops a plea with the law by offering to trap other thieves with bait money. But Mason can't leave well enough Read More

1972
Cry Uncle

Crew: Cinematographer, Director, Editor

Synopsis: A private detective is hired to study an alleged blackmailing scheme, but discovers that he is involved himself in the plot. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide Read More

1971
Okay Bill

Crew: Cinematographer, Director, Editor, Screenwriter

Synopsis: In this drama, a successful stockbroker periodically hops on a hog and heads for Greenwich Village in hopes of becoming a counterculture hippy. There seems to be few external reasons for these excursions as he is living the perfect middle-class dream with his beautiful, sensual wife. But she has Read More

1971
Guess What We Learned in School Today?

Crew: Cinematographer, Director, Editor, Screenwriter

Actors: Richard Carballo, Devin Goldenberg, Zachary Haines, Jane MacLeod, Yvonne McCall

Synopsis: This uneven satire presents the hypocrisy of suburban attitudes towards sex education in school. Roger (Richard Carballo) is the sexually repressed moralist who tries to eradicate community perversion. Parents object to the school teachings while they engage in nude swimming parties and marital Read More

1970
Joe

Crew: Cinematographer, Director

Actors: Dennis Patrick, Peter Boyle, Susan Sarandon, Patrick McDermott, Audrey Caire

Synopsis: Peter Boyle delivers a strong and raw performance as Joe Curran, a racist factory worker who hates "hippies and niggers." The film deals with New York City advertising executive Bill Compton (Dennis Patrick), who kills Frank (Patrick McDermott), the junkie lover of his daughter Melissa (Susan Sarandon Read More

1970
Out of It

Crew: Cinematographer, Producer

Actors: Barry J. Gordon, Jon Voight, Lada Edmund Jr., Gretchen Corbett, Peter Grad

Synopsis: High school students struggle for social status and acceptance from the opposite sex in Out Of It. Paul (Barry Gordon) is the shy boy who asks the blonde cheerleader Christine (Lada Edmund Jr.) for a date. The two see Romeo and Juliet, but Christine tells Paul she is feeling ill. After he brings Read More

1969
Turn on to Love

Crew: Cinematographer, Director

Actors: Sharon Kent, Richard Michaels, Jackie Riley

Synopsis: Filmmaker John Avildsen made a less-than-auspicious debut with this purportedly scathing look at the secret lives of flower children. The story centers on a hip young woman who tires of her super square hubby and returns to the wild life of Greenwich Village to be with her hippie pals. She attends Read More

1969
Greenwich Village Story

Actors: Robert Hogan, Tani Seitz, Aaron Banks

Synopsis: A young author who believes he can write a great American novel falls in love with a beautiful young dancing girl. The two live together in bohemian Greenwich Village, although the woman aspires to have a conventional marriage. His book is little more than self-absorbed and pretentious, much like Read More

1963