Gryphon (TV 1990)

Director:

Mark Cullingham

Writers:

Manuel Arce, Carl Haber

Stars:

Alexis Cruz, Nico Hughes, Edward O'Connor

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alexis Cruz	...	Ricky
Nico Hughes	...	Hector
Edward O'Connor	...	Ray
Virgilio Martí	...	Old Man (as Virgilio Marti)
Paul Stolarsky	...	Mr. Hibler
Hamadi Izzard	...	Leon
Hassan Izzard	...	Tyrone
Lourdes Benedicto	...	Monica
Edna Harris	...	Bobby
Carol Jean Lewis	...	Mrs. Harris
Ophelia Gonzalez	...	Grandma
Sully Diaz	...	Lupe (Mom)
Aurelio Padrón	...	Domingo (as Aurelio Padron)
Eduardo Calderon Jr.	...	Lance
Kira Delgado	...	Maxine

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

mythology | gryphon

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Also Known As:

Grifo

Company Credits

Production Co:

WonderWorks

Technical Specs

Runtime:

55 min

Color:

Color

User Reviews

You have to get through hell to get to heaven.

I watched this film under rather unusual circumstances. I came into work one day as a substitute teacher, and found that this had been left for me to show my students throughout the day. So I popped the cassette in, turned the lights down and quieted the class. Together we watched.

And what was presented hardly seemed worth the effort. After it was all over, I failed to see any benefit this film-making would give to anyone, really. There's a bunch of new age nonsense tied in with the theme of learning to marvel at the world. The teacher, played adequately by Amanda Plummer, presents a slide-show of things she things are quite enchanting, but there are errors in some aspects (for example, the idea of Ancient Egyptians believing in reincarnation is off-base). Now, actual Egyptian beliefs on the afterlife ARE fascinating, and would be ripe for teaching to young kids to get them intrigued about our human history, but what we have is all very shallow. It would only take a minute, for example, to talk about the concept of seven souls.

Needless to say, none of the characters are anything more than stereotypical, and the voice-over used is often unnecessary. The plot is cookie-cutter and the ending cheesy, with "dramatic tension" shoe-horned in when it's not really necessary. And then a snappy reversal so that things don't get too down! Everything about this is less than impressive, and only useful for it's nobility rather than any profound effect.

You can get the sense of Amanda Plummer trying to make her part whole, give herself a hinted-at past, but there's too little for her to work with.