''Eternity'' is a 1990 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

directed by

Steven Paul Steven Paul (born May 16, 1959) is an American independent filmmaker, actor, and talent manager. He is the chairman, founder and CEO of Crystal Sky Pictures. Life and career Paul was born in New York City. His mother, Dorothy Koster Paul, was ...

and written by

Jon Voight Jonathan Vincent Voight (; born December 29, 1938) is an American actor. He came to prominence in the late 1960s with his Academy Award–nominated performance as Joe Buck, a would-be gigolo, in ''Midnight Cowboy'' (1969). During the 1970s, h ...

with Paul and his mother Dorothy Koster Paul. The theme of the film is

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrectio ...

Plot

Voight wars with his brother, played by

Armand Assante Armand Anthony Assante Jr. (; born October 4, 1949) is an American actor. He played mobster John Gotti in the 1996 HBO television film '' Gotti'', Odysseus in the 1997 mini-series adaptation of Homer's ''The Odyssey'', Nietzsche in ''When ...

, over a medieval kingdom. He wakes up and sees everyone in his real life as being reincarnations of the people in his dream. Assante is now an industrialist out to control the media and the US presidency. He attempts to buy out Voight's TV show to silence him.

Cast

as Edward/James *

as Romi/Sean *

Wilford Brimley Anthony Wilford Brimley (September 27, 1934 – August 1, 2020) was an American actor. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and working odd jobs in the 1950s, Brimley started working as an extra and stuntman in Western films in the l ...

as King/Eric *

Eileen Davidson Eileen Marie Davidson is an American actress, author, television personality and former model. Davidson is best known for her roles in soap operas as Kristen DiMera and Susan Banks on NBC's ''Days of Our Lives'' and Ashley Abbott on CBS's ''T ...

as Dahlia/Valerie *

Frankie Valli Francesco Stephen Castelluccio (born May 3, 1934), better known by his stage name Frankie Valli, is an American singer, known as the frontman of the Four Seasons beginning in 1960. He is known for his unusually powerful lead falsetto voice. ...

as Taxpayer/Guido

Production

Planning for ''Eternity'' took place over six years prior to its release, under the working title ''Avatar''. Jon Voight was signed to play the film's lead, marking his return to film after a three year absence. Voight had been working on the film during its planning stage and had co-written the script. Michael Legrand was confirmed as writing the score for ''Eternity''. Filming took place over a seven week period during January and February 1989 in and around Los Angeles. By August 1989 the movie had gone into post production status.

Release

Voight and Paul had initially intended for ''Eternity'' to receive a theatrical release in the United States around Thanksgiving or Christmas, but plans for this fell through. ''Eternity'' was released direct to home video on November 20, 1990 though Academy Entertainment.

Reception

Roger Taylor of the ''

Casper Star-Tribune The ''Casper Star-Tribune'' is a newspaper published in Casper, Wyoming, with statewide influence and readership. It is Wyoming's largest print newspaper, with a daily circulation of 23,760 and a Sunday circulation of 21,041. The ''Star-Tribune' ...

'' panned the film, stating that "The viewers could almost feel embarrassment for the professionals who appeared in it if it weren't for the fact that Jon Voight is given partial credit for the screenplay."

References

Julian Brown, ed. ''Variety Science-Fiction Movies: Illustrated Reviews of the Classic Films'', p41. Hamlyn, London, 1992.

External links

* * {{rotten-tomatoes, eternity 1990 films 1990 drama films American drama films Films about reincarnation American independent films Films set in the Middle Ages 1990s English-language films 1990s American films