Direct-to-video movies have earned a poor, but fair, reputation over the years. After all, most of them are blatant rip-offs of whatever movie is popular or assumed to be popular before release, like Snakes on a Train. However, made-for-TV movies are more difficult to generalize. After all, for every Sharknado, there’s a thought-provoking character-driven work (though, probably not on the Syfy Channel).
The latter has become especially prevalent as audience interests have changed and their desire to see different tales told from the viewpoint of a marginalized group expanded. And, primarily thanks to pay television networks such as HBO, those types of films have been released with an impressive regularity. But, not every TV movie worthy of your time hit screens in the 2010s or 2020s. They’ve been produced ever since the ’70s, if not before then, though that aforementioned decade represented a sort of boom. Particularly when it comes to moving TV movies featuring cast members the audience is used to seeing on the big screen.
10 James Caan & Billy Dee Williams in Brian’s Song (1971)
Featuring not just a great James Caan performance, but a heartbreaking one as well, Brian’s Song is one of the ultimate made-for-TV movies of the 1970s. Mentioned in various pop culture products over the years, it also has a legacy, with even a remake hitting TV screens back in 2001. And it’s easy to see why, as the tale of friendship between Chicago Bears players Brian Piccolo (Caan) and Gale Sayers (Billy Dee Williams) is a touching one.
Brian’s Song Is a Tearjerker
This ABC Movie of the Week focuses on Piccolo’s cancer diagnosis at the young age of 26 and the support he finds thanks to Sayers. The film was released one year after Piccolo’s death, and it doesn’t shy away from showing that death. But, it’s equally about an unlikely friendship, given it takes place primarily in the 1960s.
9 Anthony Hopkins in The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case (1976)
Beloved actor and Wrexham mascot Anthony Hopkins has had one of Hollywood’s most storied and respected careers. In terms of his early work, this retelling of the 1932 kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh Jr. is a high point. Considering he’s playing abductor Richard Hauptmann in The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case, it was certainly a telling display of Hopkins’ range.
The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case Tells a Horrifying True Story
Can Hopkins play villainy well? Of course, The Silence of the Lambs exists. But Hauptmann, who denied guilt until his dying day, is arguably as complex as Hannibal Lecter, if not more so. And, considering Hopkins’ Hauptmann gets as much screen time as Cliff DeYoung’s Charles Lindbergh (Sr.), he gets plenty of time to make the audience question the morality of his character as they did Hauptmann in real life.
8 Sally Field in Sybil (1976)
Sally Field has delivered many fantastic performances in both movies and television, but her most striking work may very well have been in this merging of the two mediums. Sybil tells the story of teacher Sybil Dorsett, who begins to feel herself unraveling and seeks the counsel of psychiatrist Dr. Cornelia Wilbur. The latter discovers the former has multiple personalities and, together, they seek to find out the point of origination.
Sybil Is a Masterful Performance by Field
Sybil’s mother had paranoid schizophrenia and she often abused her daughter. It was so bad, in fact, that one of the results (other personalities such as Peggy, effectively the child version of Sybil) was internal scarring. Once Sybil is able to reconcile the Peggy part of herself with her current self, she’s able to move forward.
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7 JoBeth Williams & Steve Guttenberg in The Day After (1983)
Like the televised adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand, The Day After is a post-apocalyptic TV film with an incredible cast. That said, it’s not nearly as epic in terms of runtime, and that’s a benefit. It’s essentially a hypothesis of what would happen if the United States and the Soviet Union started exchanging nukes, making it unfortunately relevant in modern times, just as it was in the early ’80s.
The Day After Is a Revered TV Movie
Director Nicholas Meyer helmed this just one year after successfully breathing life into Star Trek‘s effort to become a film franchise via Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Like in that film, he keeps the pacing tight, allowing someone who doesn’t gravitate toward apocalyptic material to find it accessible. With Jason Robards, Poltergeist‘s JoBeth Williams, Seinfeld‘s Wayne Knight, Steve Guttenberg, John Lithgow, Field of Dreams‘ Amy Madigan, and National Lampoon’s Animal House‘s Stephen Furst on the cast list, there’s bound to be a recognizable face no matter who’s watching.
6 James Woods in Citizen Cohn (1992)
If there was one individual who sewed the seeds of the Trump presidency, it was Roy Cohn. Power-hungry, bigoted, and generally unpleasant, he was widely disliked on both sides of the aisle, especially when it came to his dogged championing of McCarthyism. This is fair because he disliked just about everyone whom he ever met, especially lawyers and homosexuals, of which Cohn was both. Or, as Roger Stone (number two when it came to the aforementioned seed sewing) put it, he was a man who just so happened to like having sex with other men. In other words, Cohn and those around him sure loved the first stage of the five stages of grief.
Citizen Cohn Is a Tour De Force Performance by James Woods
Cohn denied he had AIDS, even to himself, until his dying moment. While that aspect is somewhat covered in Citizen Cohn, the movie also goes to some lengths to humanize him. James Woods’ (a known stark conservative at this point in time, but not when this film hit HBO) performance does much the same. Regardless of where one aligns on the political spectrum, there’s little doubt this movie includes some of Woods’ very best work. He doesn’t make Cohn likable, because that’s what neither he nor the film are going for, but all involved do succeed in crafting an interesting analysis of a very controversial individual.
5 Matthew Modine & Richard Gere in And the Band Played On (1993)
Featuring Stranger Things star Matthew Modine, Ian McKellen, Lily Tomlin, Alan Alda, and Richard Gere, And the Band Played On is one of the most star-studded TV movies of the ’90s. Considering it focused on the AIDS epidemic, it’s also one of the more gut-wrenching. Not to mention, it was an early showcase of just how good an HBO movie could be.
And the Band Played On Is Lengthy but Worthwhile
The project was essentially a hot commodity ever since the 1987 book of the same name was released. But, given the difficulty networks such as NBC had crafting such a work as a two-night “event,” it took a while to come to fruition. All’s well that ends well, as Roger Spottiswoode’s film received glowing reviews.
4 Angelina Jolie in Gia (1998)
HBO’s Gia wasn’t the first TV film Angelina Jolie had starred in, but it was the first time she was in the lead role. And, suffice it to say, her performance as ill-fated model Gia Carangi was a startling showcase of her acting ability, even so early in her career. It also showed that some HBO movies were basically theatrical works put on the small screen.
Gia Is One of Angelina Jolie’s Best Performances
The script, direction, and co-starring performance of Faye Dunaway are all extremely solid, and they stand as factors leading to Gia‘s success. But, in the end, it all hinged on Jolie, and there’s a fair argument that this remains her most impressive performance to date. However, there’s also Mila Kunis as a younger version of Carangi, and she excels as well.
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3 Al Pacino in You Don’t Know Jack (2010)
Just as Al Pacino has been nominated for an Oscar a whopping nine times, he’s starred in a slew of well-reviewed TV movies. Specifically, for HBO. For two of those movies, Angels in America and You Don’t Know Jack, he received an Emmy. Toss in a nomination for Phil Spector and HBO’s been good to Pacino just as Pacino’s been good to HBO.
You Don’t Know Jack Is One of Several Made-for-HBO Movies Led by Pacino
While Angels in America is visually and thematically gorgeous (it has Pacino play the aforementioned Roy Cohn), it’s worth pointing out this film. You Don’t Know Jack puts the legendary actor in the controversial shoes of Jack Kevorkian, the most recognizable name when it comes to euthanasia proponents. But, for those who felt content to just call him “Dr. Death” and move on, it should prove especially thought-provoking, as it frames him as a man of great empathy, and that’s something the ranged Pacino excels at showing.
2 Michael Douglas & Matt Damon in Behind the Candelabra (2013)
The list of great Michael Douglas movies is long, and HBO’s Behind the Candelabra certainly deserves to rank among them. In fact, as co-star Matt Damon stated when he broke down his famous characters with GQ, it’s because of HBO that something like this could even get made. In other words, even a drama centering around a figure as recognizable as Liberace is hard to get made in Hollywood these days.
Behind the Candelabra Is a Well-Cast Movie About an Icon
Behind the Candelabra in and of itself is a reason to hold great respect for made-for-TV movies. They allow a wider array of stories to be told, often from the lens of a character in an oft-marginalized community. That’s very much what this story is as it focuses on the relationship between Liberace and the younger Scott Thorson (Damon).
1 Mark Ruffalo & Jonathan Groff in The Normal Heart (2014)
The Normal Heart was directed by TV auteur Ryan Murphy, and his comfort with both the material and the world of TV movies is apparent. Taking place during the AIDS crisis during the early ’80s, this film features such big stars as Mark Ruffalo, Matt Bomer, Taylor Kitsch, Jim Parsons, Alfred Molina, Jonathan Groff, and Julia Roberts.
The Normal Heart Is Another Tearjerker
The narrative is primarily told through the eyes of Ruffalo’s writer/activist Ned Weeks. A major advocate for the understanding and treatment of HIV, he’s not afraid to get his name out there in a fight many wanted to sweep under the rug. Ruffalo is, of course, terrific, but an extra shout-out to Groff, who does a great deal with not much screen time.