Ghostlight (2003)

63% of critics liked it
(8 reviews)
100% of users liked it
(21 ratings)

For his feature debut, writer/director Christopher Herrmann chose a subject near and dear to his heart. Herrmann had been the biographer and a close friend of renowned choreographer Martha Graham before the dance legend passed away in 1991 at the age of 96. With Ghostlight, Herrmann pays tribute to… More For his feature debut, writer/director Christopher Herrmann chose a subject near and dear to his heart. Herrmann had been the biographer and a close friend of renowned choreographer Martha Graham before the dance legend passed away in 1991 at the age of 96. With Ghostlight, Herrmann pays tribute to Graham by recreating the events that preceded Phaedra. Graham is portrayed by drag queen Richard Move (who also co-wrote the script), and Ann Magnuson plays Barbara Rosen, a filmmaker who is permitted to document the process of bringing Phaedra to the stage. Deborah Harry and Mark Morris appear as themselves in cameo roles. Ghostlight screened at the 2003 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 20 min.
Directed By: Christopher Herrmann
Genres: Comedy

In Theaters: Jun 23, 2004 Wide
On DVD: May 7, 2012
Studio: Lot 47 Films

Critic Reviews

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
Few performances are hardy enough both to blossom in the dark intimacy of live theater and bloom under the glaring eye of a movie camera. Ghostlight is not the exception.
Jan Stuart, Newsday
Achieves substance as a historical document, an homage, an appreciation of the axis of empathy shared between larger- than-life women and the (frequently) gay men who venerate them.
Dave Kehr, New York Times
Ms. Magnuson's consummate professionalism offers an unflattering contrast to Mr. Move's not-so-inspired amateurism.
Lou Lumenick, New York Post
A bizarre and campily amusing 'tribute.'
Elizabeth Zimmer, Village Voice
Real history and raunch poke through, but the thirtysomething Move is too vital to be Martha in her dotage.
David Noh, Film Journal International
An affectionate, witty tribute which also happens to be one of the best films about dance ever made.
, E! Online
It's a good-hearted dream of a film made all the more fascinating by virtue of its willful weirdness.
Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Even knowing [Move is] nearly a foot taller and considerably more robust than the real Graham, his performance is so completely realized that it radiates its own synthetic truth.

Read all 8 critic reviews

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Cast

Richard Move
as Martha Graham
Ann Magnuson
as Barbara Rosen
Isaac Mizrahi
as Alex

Erick Kastel
as James
Mark Morris
as Himself
Deborah Harry
as Herself

See full cast

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