Michael Ritchie Archives

The Island (1980)

Rating: ★★

Aug 20, 2003Lost Society of Pirate Descendants

Novelist Peter Benchley's name was huge as a result of Jaws. One of the less successful Benchley adaptations about the discovery of a lost society of pirate descendants who prey on shipping in the Bermuda Triangle

Director: Michael Ritchie

Actors: Michael Caine, David Warner, Frank Middlemass, Colin Jeavons, …

Category: Science Fiction

20 August 20039 May 2026 by Roog

The Golden Child (1986)

Rating: ★

Mar 18, 2003Asian Supernatural Quest/Comedy

One of Hollywood's misguided attempts to appropriate the Wu Xia film. This is turned into an Eddie Murphy comedy vehicle where neither his live wire presence nor the fantasy elements gel together

Director: Michael Ritchie

Actors: Eddie Murphy, Charles Dance, Charlotte Lewis, Victor Wong

Category: Fantasy

18 March 20035 March 2026 by Roog

A Simple Wish (1997)

Rating: ★

Feb 25, 2001Inept Fairy Godmother

Ghastly children's film with Martin Short as an inept fairy godmother. Inanity ensues where there seems no ceiling on how over-the-top performances are allowed to go

Director: Michael Ritchie

Actors: Martin Short, Mara Wilson, Kathleen Turner, Amanda Plummer, …

Category: Fantasy

25 February 200114 March 2025 by Roog

The Fantasticks (2000)

Rating: ★½

Jul 15, 2014Musical Adaptation/Magical Circus

This film version of the massively popular Broadway musical was a miserable flop. The musical is a minimalist one but the film has replaced all of that with literalisations that kill the effect

Director: Michael Ritchie

Actors: Joel Grey, Barnard Hughes, Teller

Category: Fantasy

15 July 201424 October 2025 by Roog