The Substance of Fire Movie Review 1996

Publisher Isaac Geldhart (Rifkin) is an autocrat in both his business and his personal life, which may be why he's having so much trouble with both. A Holocaust survivor, Geldhart's obsessive about publishing a lavish four-volume history of Nazi medical experiments that will bankrupt the family firm. So his children wind up ousting him from the company and Isaac slowly slips over the edge into madness. Very King Lear, with an astonishing performance by Rifkin who also played the character in Baitz's 1991 Off-Broadway play.

Distribution

Buena Vista Home Entertainment, 500 S. Buena Vista St., Burbank, CA 91521-1120, Toll-free: 800-723-4763, URL: http://www.bvhe.com

Available on VHS
Running time 100 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Family Ties, Adapted from a Play, New York, New York, Judaism, The Holocaust, Sanity Check

Screenplay

Jon Robin Baitz

Cast

Ron Rifkin, Tony Goldwyn, Timothy Hutton, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ronny Graham, Elizabeth Franz, Gil Bellows

Cinematography

Robert Yeoman

Director

Daniel Sullivan

Music

Joseph Vitarelli

Producer

Randy Finch, Ron Kastner, Miramax Films