Anjelica Hustonwas born into a cinematic dynasty as the granddaughter of actorWalter Hustonanddaughter of actor/directorJohn Huston. Her parents were glamorous (her mother was a model and prima ballerina), but her childhood was lonely, primarily spent in the Irish countryside, miles from other children. At 18, Huston made her film debut inA Walk With Love and Death, directed by her father.
Huston spent most of her formative years abroad, then moved to New York City and began modeling through the 1970s. A decade later, she returned to acting, starring alongsideJack NicholsonandKathleen TurnerinPrizzi’s Honorin 1985, winning anOscarfor her supporting role.True to her family legacy, the talented actress has been nominated forPrimetime Emmy Awards,Golden Globes, andAcademy Awardsduring her career. Though she bears a resemblance and familial name, Huston has left a distinct mark on film and television, creating a lasting legacy.
10’Crimes and Misdemeanors' (1989)
Director: Woody Allen
The filmCrimes and Misdemeanorsrevolves around two deplorable men, ophthalmologist Judah Rosenthal (Martin Landau) and documentary filmmaker Clifford Stern (Woody Allen). Cliff’s marriage has run its course; he’s working on a documentary he loathes and pursues an attractive younger woman whose feelings aren’t reciprocated. Judah has been having an affair with a passionate flight attendant named Dolores (Huston), who will no longer wait for him to leave his marriage.Judah panics and hires someone to murder her, which leads to his crisis of faith, devoid of remorse for the heinous act he set into motion.
The film was released in 1989 to generally favorable reviews from audiences and critics. Familiar themes featuring jazz,Mia Farrow, and adultery made their usual appearance, and successful white males behaved badly without recourse. Though it was relatively early in Huston’s acting career, her portrayal of Dolores,a woman whose patience with a married man had expired, was thrilling to witness. The young actress was merely warming up for her next performances and subsequent return to the Academy Awards.
Crimes and Misdemeanors
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9’Buffalo 66' (1998)
Director: Vincent Gallo
After his release from serving a 5-year prison sentence,Billy Brown (Vincent Gallo) kidnaps a womanon his way home to see his parents. Layla (Christina Ricci), the abducted dancer, is forced to pretend to be married to Billy to impress his family. Billy’s mother (Huston) is obsessed with the Buffalo Bills NFL team and begrudges her son for the only game she’s ever missed - the day of his birth in 1966. The familial dysfunction intensifies as Billy’s father (Ben Gazzara) makes inappropriate overtures in Layla’s direction. After they’ve departed Billy’s childhood home, the pair argue, bowl, and dine, concluding they’ve developed romantic feelings.
Buffalo 66was commended for its use of alternative film techniques, giving the picture a more saturated, vintage feel.Unfortunately, production was fraught, with Gallo allegedly clashing with cinematographers and feuding with Ricci, Huston, and actorKevin Corrigan. Still, critics enjoyed the film, praising the performances and visual styling. Rotten Tomatoes awarded the movie a score of 77% fresh, and it has developed a cult following among independent film lovers. In a brief role, Huston portrayed an emotionally unavailable wife and mother with a convincing detachment that lingered with audiences long after viewing.
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8’Enemies, A Love Story' (1989)
Director: Paul Mazursky
Based on the 1966 novelEnemies, A Love Storycenters around holocaust survivor Herman Broder (Ron Silver), who escaped and fled to America. Herman believed his wife Tarmara (Huston) perished in the concentration camps,so he immigrated with a new bride, Yadwiga (Margaret Sophie Stein), to begin anew in New York. Herman meets fellow survivor Masha (Lena Olin), and they become entangled in a heated affair. To further complicate Herman’s life, Tamara arrives in New York, very much alive. The new world Herman has created becomes untenable as the plot twists pile up and run him out of town in the romantic drama by directorPaul Mazursky.
Nonstop melodrama in the capable hands of a talented cast and crew produced three Academy Award Nominations, including two Best Supporting Actress nods for Huston and Olin, respectively. Despite glowing reviews from critics,it wasn’t considered a box office success. However, the story provided thoughtful commentary on trauma bonds and the realistic challenges of escaping fight-or-flight mode after a sustained amount of time. Huston’s character study and depiction of Tamara were masterful in their layered empathy and forgiveness, further demonstrating the actress' unparalleled prowess.
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7’The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou' (2004)
Director: Wes Anderson
DirectorsWes AndersonandNoah Baumbachcombined their quirky heads in 2004 to compose an original comedy adventure. The title character, Steve Zissou (Bill Murray), isan oceanographer on a missionto avenge the death of his best friend and partner Esteban (Seymour Cassel), who was eaten by an elusive jaguar shark. Part Jaques Cousteau tribute and part ode to Moby Dick, the aquatic team assembled to aid Zissou in his mission are repeatedly tested on land and at sea. Zissou and the crew navigate their trusty research vessel, the Belafonte while forging new relationships and reigniting old ones on an unexpected epic expedition.
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissouwas considered a box office flop and initially disregarded by critics. However, Anderson’s fans are legion, and the movie’s cult status prompted a reevaluation of its previous assessment. Per his meticulous set and narrative style, Anderson crafted Zissou’s crusade with a dogged zeal that inspired viewers to don a red beanie and join in. Murray maneuvers his character with heart, and the cast aboard the Belafonte delivers in kind.Cate Blanchett,Owen Wilson,Willem Dafoe,Jeff Goldblum, and Huston transformed into the collective coalition for closure in Zissou’s lifein a movie worthy of a second look.
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
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6’Ever After' (1998)
Director: Andy Tennant
Based on the beloved fairy tale Cinderella,Ever Afteroffersa fresh take on the classicby trading magic for historical fiction. Set in the Renaissance era of 16th-century France,Drew Barrymorestars as Danielle de Barbarac, daughter of the late Countess Nicole de Lancret and Auguste de Barbarac. After Auguste takes a new bride, Baroness Rodmilla de Ghent (Huston), he promptly dies, leaving Danielle at the mercy of her “evil” stepmother and two stepsisters. The orphaned teenager is extricated from the life she was accustomed to and is forced into servitude by the Baroness. A chance encounter with a Prince (Dougray Scott) changes the trajectory of Danielle’s life and those who wish her harm.
Audiences flocked to cinemas everywhere, eager to witness the re-imagining of the enduring Brothers Grimm tale with Barrymore at the helm. What they didn’t anticipate was the delightfully malicious turn by Huston in the “evil stepmother” role, which cast a long shadow in nearly every scene she entered.The movie was an enormous commercial success, starting with a budget of $26 million and parlaying it into $98 million worldwide. For fans of Huston, Baroness Rodmilla has become iconic (among numerous icons she’s created): her epic headpieces were just a bonus.
Ever After
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5’Prizzi’s Honor' (1985)
Director: John Huston
Prizzi’s Honoris a dark comedy starring Jack Nicholson as Charley Partanna,a hitman for the Prizzi mob family. Charley attends a wedding where he meets Irene Walker (Kathleen Turner), a gun for hire, and the two quickly marry. Like a concrete mixture prepared to disappear a body, the plot thickens. Maerose Prizzi (Huston) is an exiled member of the Prizzi family after disgracing the name and having an affair while engaged to Charley. Unresolved feelings for her former fiancé and a menagerie of manipulations lead to a showdown between lovers in a disturbingly amusing tale of star-crossed murderers.
Huston has gone on record about blatant criticism and doubts regarding her talent and casting in her father’s (andat the time of production, girlfriend of star Jack Nicholson) movie. However, her performance as Maerose Prizzi and subsequent Academy Award win for Best Supporting Actress proved the Huston legacy was alive and well. The film earned 8 Oscar nominations and was a critical and commercial success, but it would be the final offering from director John Huston. His daughter, however, was only getting started.
4’The Royal Tenenbaums' (2001)
Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman), patriarch of the Tenenbaum family,deserted his wife and three childrenduring their adolescence but has returned to make amends. The catalyst for Royal’s reappearance is his estranged wife’s (Huston) engagement to her accountant, (Danny Glover). Royal fakes a terminal illness to win his family back and implores each of his despondent adult children to forgive him. The long-since cracked family foundation breaks, exposing painful secrets, lies, and detrimental coping mechanisms, culminating in catharsis.
Anderson’s third film was his most commercially successfuluntil another masterpiece,The Grand Budapest Hotel, was released in 2014. However,The Royal Tenenbaumswas a feat of cinematic magic and, for some viewers, the beginning of their love affair with the director’s work and his singular style. Set in New York City, it is modeled after J.D. Salinger’s narrative storytelling, with hints of dysfunction inspired by the work ofOrson WellesandLouis Malle. After the casting of Hackman, Huston, Glover,Owen Wilson,Luke Wilson,Ben Stiller, andGwyneth Paltrowwere eager to wax eccentric. Huston’s role of matriarch to a gaggle of gifted children in her Wes Anderson debut was a deadpan delight.
The Royal Tenenbaums
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3’The Grifters' (1990)
Director: Stephen Frears
John Cusack, Huston, andAnnette Beningare con artists committed to their craft and invested in themselves in the neo-noir drama by directorStephen Frears. Huston plays Lilly Dillon, a veteran thief working a steady mob-affiliated hustle at the horse track. One day,her estranged petty-thief son, Roy (Cusack), is injured in a “workplace” incident and hospitalized. To persuade him to quit the “grift,” Lilly visits him and meets his girlfriend (Bening). The street-savvy Lilly intuits trouble with Myra, but Roy is content to disregard his mother’s warning. Trust is just a word for the trio of thieves, and relationships are opportunities.
The sexy bandits might not have fared well in the movie, but the stars who portrayed them were awarded Academy Award Nominations for their efforts.The Grifterswas nominated for four Oscars; Huston was honored in the Best Actress category. She initially passed on the role, but Huston’s agent urged her to go for it despite her reservations regarding the brutality in the film. Her choice to participate was the right move for the actress, as it was a success at the box office and ushered in another wave of accolades for her performance. Critics loved the film;Roger Ebertgave it an enthusiastic 4 out of 4 stars, and it averagedan impressive 91% fresh at Rotten Tomatoes, a testament to Huston’s gifts.
The Grifters
2’The Addams Family' (1991)
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
In his directorial debut, formerCoen BrotherscinematographerBarry SonnenfeldadaptedThe Addams Family, a beloved 1960s cartoon-turned-TV show. His movie adaptation of themorose members of an ambiguous aristocracycenters around patriarch Gomez Addams' (Raul Julia) estranged brother’s disappearance 25 years prior and sudden arrival at their doorstep. His brother, Fester Addams (Christopher Lloyd), is Gordon Craven, a man adopted by a woman after the Addams fortune. Overjoyed by Fester’s return, the Addams family celebrates while Gordon’s mother, Abigail (Elizabeth Wilson), and Gomez’s devious lawyer, Tully (Dan Hedaya), infiltrate the festivities.
In the fall of 1991, the creepily kooky family invited audiences into theaters globally, ultimately grossing over $191.5 million against a $30 million budget. Critics weren’t sold on the film, which didn’t sway viewers' opinions. The movie’s success led to an equally profitable sequel,The Addams Family Values, though critics were kinder to the second installment. The movies have secured a cult status and remain highly re-watchable. The Netflix seriesWednesdaywalked becauseChristina Riccicrawled(in an iconic performance) as Wednesday Addams in the 90s films. Though many actresses have portrayed her, Morticia Addams is synonymous with one woman: Anjelica Huston. Her statuesque silhouette, draped in black and killer comedic timing, epitomized the mistress of macabre one-liners with unrivaled precision.
The Addams Family
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1’The Witches' (1990)
Director: Nicolas Roeg
The Witchesis a horror fantasy adapted froma 1993 novel byRoald Dahl. In the movie, a young boy, Luke (Jasen Fisher), is warned about witches and their hatred of children while on vacation with his grandmother, Helga (Mai Zetterling). Helga informs Luke that witches will destroy or transfigure him if captured and that her childhood friend Erica was taken and placed into a painting where she remained trapped forever. Additionally, she explains that witches hide in plain sight; they wear gloves and wigs to disguise their proper form. One day, while Luke is at a hotel with his pet mouse and friend Bruno, they stumble upon a witches' convention with grotesque, frightening consequences.
Based on Dahl’s vision,the revolting witches and scores of micerequired puppeteers, prosthetics, and animatronic rodents, whichJim Hensonand his Creature Shop masterfully created in his final film. Dahl was also on hand to screen early cuts of the movie, which featured his original, much darker ending. The final cut, however, differed from Dahl’s text, and the author threatened to mount a campaign against the film until Henson changed his mind.The Witcheswas released to critical acclaim, garnering a mammoth 93% fresh score at Rotten Tomatoes despite a cast of relative unknowns. Huston was the main attraction as Eva Ernst, The Grand High Witch: she stood before all the witches, replete with a warted, elongated nose, talons, bald head, and back hump. Huston’s accolades are certified, but her legendary portrayal of The Grand High Witch cast an enduring spell.
