Ellen Burstyn's TV movies

Oh I'm so glad that someone else started making one of these threads profiling actresses known for their TV movies! Of the ones you listed, I think I've seen only two of them: "Into Thin Air"- which is great! and "Pack of Lies", which I really liked too- especially because Teri Garr was her costar.

I love Ellen, but in the 90's she started accepting very thankless supporting roles in TV movies. She was taking the kinds of roles Audra Lindley was taking when she was alive. Ellen deserved better.

Here are some more Ellen Burstyn TV movies I've seen:

1. Something in Common (1986) Ellen's 22 year old son starts dating a beautiful 44 year old woman (Tuesday Weld). This is a pleasant comedy, but it's slow moving. The good thing is that Ellen has a lot of screen time.

2. When You Remember Me (1990) This one's good. Fred Savage stars as a sick young man in a nursing home run by a very strict nurse (Ellen). It's essentially a variation of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" with Ellen Burstyn as Nurse Ratched. I recommend this.

3. Getting Out (1994) This TV movie stars Rebecca De Mornay as a woman who was just released from prison. Ellen has a decent supporting role as Rebecca's taxi driver mother, who (Rebecca feels) is responsible for many of Rebecca's problems in life. If you like Rebecca, you'll enjoy this movie.

4. A Will Of Their Own (1998) Lea Thompson stars in this epic story. Ellen plays her wealthy stepmother. I really enjoyed this movie too. Ellen's part is supporting, but the movie as a whole is very good.

5. Our Son, the Matchmaker (1996) Ellen has a thankless supporting role as Ann Jillian's mother. This is a good TV movie, but Ellen's barely in it.

6. Night Ride Home (1999) Ellen costars with Rebecca DeMornay again. Only this time Ellen's part is smaller. This one's ok, but not great.

I hope this helps! =)

Thanks very much for the recommendations. I'll seek them out, at least the ones that are available.

Ellen Burstyn is my favorite actress, and it's surprising how many of her TV films I haven't seen. She writes of her TV work in her memoir, "Lessons on Becoming Myself" (which is excellent, by the way). It's clear that she's not very proud of some of them, but she saw TV work as a necessity after many of the film opportunities dried up in the early '80s. She was also doing a lot of live theater at the time. What a hardworking actress!

Unfortunately, as is the case of women of a certain age (40 and above these days, it seems), Ellen has too often been consigned to smaller roles as the mother or grandmother. She continues to be prolific on the big and small screens, but I don't think she gets the roles or the exposure she deserves. She had a late-career boost with "Requiem for a Dream," in which she was superb, but the momentum didn't last. She's also appeared in some bad films (the "Wicker Man" remake comes to mind, though her role was memorable).

Her make up was campared to mel gibsons from braveheart i'm happy she won an emmy for her role in L&O SVU she was able to put 2004 behind her.

Ellen looked so much better than Mel could ever dream of. Anyway, she make it through that turkey with her dignity intact.

Did you ever see "Trick of the Eye," aka "Primal Secrets," from 1994?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111490/

I've just watched it, and it's quite good. Ellen plays a mysterious rich woman, haboring secrets over her daughter's death, who commissions Meg Tilly to paint a mural. Very strong performances by both Ellen and Meg, and a compelling story as well.

WarpedRecord- thanks for the recommendation, I'lll look for it.

btw- I just looked through your comment history and answered some questions/ comments you had on other message boards.

One of Miss Burstyn's best TV movies was 1985's Surviving with Molly Ringwald and River Phoenix. It deals with teen suicide and is a real heartbreaker. It is extremely hard to find but well worth the search.

Thanks for the tip on "Surviving," Duked! I hope I can find it. I remember it airing in 1985, but I don't believe I saw it then. That was the year Ellen made "Into Thin Air," which was also very good.