SYNOPSICS
Bloodlines: Murder in the Family (1993) is a English movie. Paul Wendkos has directed this movie. Mimi Rogers,Elliott Gould,Clancy Brown,Kim Hunter are the starring of this movie. It was released in 1993. Bloodlines: Murder in the Family (1993) is considered one of the best Drama movie in India and around the world.
The aftermath of the notorious "Ninja Murders," aka "The Yom Kippur Murders" is dramatized by following Melody Woodman (Mimi Rogers). Her husband Stewart Woodman (Elliot Gould) is convicted of conspiring with brother Neil Woodman (John Pleshette) to hire a hit on their parents, Vera (Kim Hunter) and Gerald (Sam Wanamaker), The murders are back story; this is a lightly fictionalized account of Melody's travails after Stewart goes to prison. Melody loses her multimillion-dollar home, her dozens of fur coats, her jewelry and her wealthy friends. She can't afford tuition to the private schools her three kids were attending. Forced to move in with her own mother and find a job, she demonstrates pluck and integrity as she deals with the many problems of adjusting to life as a wage earner. For an account of the murders and the investigation that convicted the Woodman brothers, see "Family Blood" by Marvin J. Wolf and Larry Ateberry.
Same Actors
Bloodlines: Murder in the Family (1993) Reviews
A very compelling true-life murder case
This is the true story of the Woodman murders, the affluent parents of Stewart and Neil Woodman who have been sentenced to life imprisonment for hiring hit-men to commit their murders so as to collect the insurance money. The first half of this made-for-TV movie is quite riveting whereas the second half is more the story of the wife's valiant struggle to come to terms with the demise of her comfortable bourgeois existence. Not to mention the difficulty in raising three children whose own worlds have shattered after the arrest of their father. We can sympathize with Melody Woodman's plight, but I would have liked to see Mimi Rogers less afraid to look awful, it would have made her role more believable. Thanks to the fine young actors we root for the kids despite their spoiled rottenness. As Stewart Woodman, Elliott Gould plays him so well, we feel truly pained to see him as the broken man that his incarceration has left him. All the actors are good, and this is one of the better TV movies made from the waist-deep true life murder cases.
An Excellent Mini-Series!
I have to say that Mimi Rogers gives probably the performance of a lifetime playing Melody Woodman, a rich and wealthy Jewish housewife in Los Angeles, California. Her husband Stewart Woodman is played by Elliot Gould who really shows his acting ability playing this despicable son, father, brother, and husband. The Woodman murders is really a crime that should not be forgotten. It's about greed, jealousy, and a hunger for wealth and power. The Woodmans became one of the wealthiest and prominent families but their three sons were at war over the family fortune. Kim Hunter plays the matriarch Mrs. Woodman, a loving and kind grandmother, whose marriage to Mr. Woodman is not what it appears to be. She is a good, loyal, and dedicated wife. Their marriage would have been better if they were poor because money doesn't buy you happiness. The elder Woodmans are murdered after ending their fast on Yom Kippur. The relatives suspect the couple's own sons involved in this hideous crime. Nicole Thom from The Nanny has a memorable role as Stewart and Melody's daughter. Emmy winner Bonnie Bartlett plays Melody's very understanding mother. I miss these mini-series about real crime because they really go into detail.
Somethings can't be atoned for.
Made during the golden age of TV mini series, and directed by the King of TV drama Paul Wendkos, this is a classic. Mimi Rogers is stunning and compelling as Melody Woodman the wife decked out in Chanel, she totally dominates the screen with a performance that is wide in range. The same can not be said for Elliott Gould, who so over acts that he makes The maniacal Elliot Woodman the scared of his own shadow, take a pill for chest pains caused by hyper tension attack self centered murderer into a buffoon. The supporting cast is great in that early late '80s 90's kind of way. And I'd swear that is David Krumholtz and not Robert Munic who plays the bad-boy boyfriend of daughter Jacy played by Nicholle Tom. Not available on DVD and relegated to LMN for an airing about twice a year.