"Tales of the City" (1993) TV mini-series

User Rating:

8.7/10   

Director:

Alastair Reid

Writers (WGA):

Armistead Maupin (novel)
Richard Kramer (teleplay)

Release Date:

10 January 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Romance

Plot:

The stories of several colorful characters living in San Francisco. Based on the book by Armistead Maupin (A Man I Dreamt Up).

Plot Keywords:

Drugs | Gay Bar | Matriarch | Anti Conformity | Cannabis

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Olympia Dukakis	...	Anna Madrigal
Donald Moffat	...	Edgar Halcyon
Chloe Webb	...	Mona Ramsey
Laura Linney	...	Mary Ann Singleton
Marcus D'Amico	...	Michael Tolliver
Bill Campbell	...	Jon Fielden (as William Campbell)
Thomas Gibson	...	Beauchamp Day
Paul Gross	...	Brian Hawkins
Barbara Garrick	...	DeDe Halcyon Day
Nina Foch	...	Frannie Halcyon
Edie Adams	...	Ruby Miller
Robert Downey Sr.	...	Edgar's Doctor
Meagen Fay	...	Binky Gruen
Lou Liberatore	...	Chuck
Country Joe McDonald	...	Joaquin

Also Known As:

"Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City"

Runtime:

360 min (6 parts)

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

UK:18 | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

28 Barbary Lane Set, Occidental Studios - 201 N. Occidental Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

American Playhouse

Trivia:

Over 15 years several companies (including Warner Brothers and HBO) bought options to film this story, based on Armistead Maupin's novel. Finally this 6 part miniseries was produced by Britain's Channel 4, San Francisco's local PBS station KQED and PBS' "American Playhouse" (1982).

Goofs:

Continuity: During all scenes relating to the Palace of the Legion of Honor, Mary Ann's boots alternate between being black and red versions of the same shoes.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Mary Ann's Mother: Hellooo?
Mary Ann Singleton: Mom, It's me.
Mary Ann's Mother: What's the matter did you miss your plane?
Mary Ann Singleton: No. I didn't
Mary Ann's Mother: You know darling we were just talking about you...
Mary Ann Singleton: Would you call Mr. Lassiter and say I won't be in on Monday?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Kabluey (2007)

A plot device of linking everyone? Methinks that is too presumptuous

Please. This film deserves a good review because it addresses a pastiche of events, occurring in a diverse neighborhood. A reviewer panned this film because the characters do not "link together". That is the point.

Does everyone "link together" with their neighbors?. The characters are well presented, and Laura Linney was very good in this, one of her earlier roles. Chloe Webb also deserves mention. Olympia Dukakis is also very believable, given the surprise role she is playing.

Donald Moffat is a repressed ad guru (quite a common character, these days, it seems) and Dukakis and he develop a relationship. The beach scenes are diverse and romantic; like any city; it is complex, and everything has good and bad aspects.

For anyone with an open mind, this is a noteworthy film. San Francisco is a beautiful backdrop, and the happenings in human relationships remind us that romance is never predictable, never empirical. This is a lovely film about the caprices of human nature. 9/10.