User reviews

"Chaindance" does not feature the usual whacked out Brad Dourif performance. Here he plays a very sympathetic character, severely disabled, with Michael Ironside a lot of the time chained to his wheelchair. The movie explores an uneasy relationship between the handicapped Dourif, and the explosive prisoner, Ironside. I liked "Chaindance" because it is different and not very predictable. Character development is especially good, and Dourif's performance difficult and excellent. Although the story is a real stretch of believability, it is entertaining, and that's enough for me to recommend the film ....... - MERK

Even though I think the premise of this film (a government agency allowing inmates to work with the disabled) is flawed and un-doable, I still think this is a good film. Suspend your disbelief about this facet of the plot, and enjoy the message it tries to tell.

The story is the basic "losers get a second chance" plot, and I always am a sucker for such a movie, as long as it is done well. And I believe this movie is done well. It is flawed because of the implausibility of the plot, but I was able to put that aside.

Character actor Michael Ironside (who always seems to play creeps and psychos) stars in this movie, playing a loser two-bit criminal who realizes that he can have a second chance in life. Amazingly enough, Ironside also produced and co-wrote this movie. I think Ironside should do more roles such as this, and produce more films such as this. As good as he is playing creeps and jerks, his talent is underappreciated, as far as I am concerned.

Brad Dourif is outstanding playing a wheelchair-bound man who is "paired up" with Ironside's character. They are literally chained together at first, as Ironside is assigned to care for Dourif in his wheelchair. Dourif is always excellent but in this movie, he really shows his range. Absolutely amazing.

I highly recommend this film. It is available at Amazon.com under the title "Common Bonds". It has some flaws, but is full of heart and cannot help but inspire and elevate the viewer, at least a little. However, it is not for young children -- there is brief nudity, some profane language and some violence (it is set in a prison part of the time, after all).

This is a film that truly shows that Brad Dourif can act. This also shows that Michael Ironside, could have a character that truly could be "loveable".

Brad Dourif's performance as a man with Cerebral Palsy was flawless, and it was equal to Daniel Day-Lewis' Cerebral Palsy performance in "My Left Foot" released the year before. Truly this was showing a true insight into the character, since neither actor (Dourif or Day-Lewis) had the other performer's work to look upon given the production schedules and release schedules of both films.

This is high praise for me, because, I have not really been a Brad Dourif fan. I appreciated his 'Billy Bibbit' role in "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" (1975), and his role as 'Piter De Vries' in David Lynch's version of "Dune" (1984) which was made with the on set assistance of the author Frank Herbert so it has a special place in my heart.

If this film EVER comes out on DVD, I will Definitely add it to my collection. I keep searching for it to come out... but like most quality "art house" Canadian films, I am not holding my breath for it to come out anytime soon.

This was a low budget film, and Aylward & Ironside as rather new writers came up with a quality script all things considered. If you compare it with a "Big Budget Hollywood Film", then you will be disappointed. But if you want a film that shows human drama from the points of view of someone with severe Cerebral Palsy (Dourif) and a Convict on work release (Ironside), with heart, and looking at it from a "Foreign Film" point of view, rather than a "Hollywood" point of view, you may find this a very touching and lovely little film to come out from our Neighbors to the North in Canada.

This movie is one I have watched repeatedly and I feel it is one of Michael Ironside's best works. Take a rough and tumble jail bird and force him to work with a wheel chair bound smart mouth and you have the makings of a great adventure.

It takes you on a roller-coaster of emotions. Though somewhat predictable in spots, more often just when you think you know where the movie was going it changes direction.

I spent years looking for this movie when I was still in Canada and was only able to find it for purchase 2 years ago. It is a shame that this movie was not noticed by more people.

I should first say that I am a BIG Brad Dourif fan. I first heard about this movie on Dourif.com (which is offline now). I kept hearing more about it from other Brad Dourif sites. Then I saw the movie on a "for sale" rack in a video rental place near my hometown, and so I bought it. And it is incredible!!! I fell in love with the movie the first time I saw it. This movie is a must-see for all Brad Dourif fans. It made my respect for him shoot up another 50 points, and I recommend it to anyone (except little children).

This movie is basically about giving people a second chance. Michael Ironside's character gets a chance to become a better person by helping someone else, which is really kind of a nice theme.

Ironside and Dourif are the stars of this unlikely buddy picture, and together they give great performances. Dourif in particular disappears into his role, becoming almost unrecognizable. He really is a chameleon in this film. Ironside, as usual, gives a reliable, strong performance, giving his loser character some depth and presence.

This was a small production and doesn't get anything like the attention it deserves. More than 15 years later, it still deserves a good look.

I recorded this movie off HBO which called it "Common Bonds" and it's one heck of a acted, directed & written film. Excellent acting by all especially by Brad Dourif. Kudos to Michael Ironside for a great film.

I was 7 years old when I saw this movie,... I remember telling everybody that I loved it, I remember crying during all sad scenes, but the plot captured what was important and I still hold it to this day... I am 19 years old today and since then I have been searching for another movie that could move me,... no movie such as this one could be found...

An amazingly under-rated film that has been unfairly ignored by many, I would definitely count this among the best films of 1990. Driven by a thought-provoking plot and the surprisingly powerful performances of Michael Ironside and Brad Dourif, and a fine supporting turn by Rae Dawn Chong, this movie is definitely worth a look if you happen to notice it on the video store shelf.

I saw this movie for the first time while in college. Watching a flawless performance of a young man with cerebral palsy, for the first time in my young life, caused me to be curious about an actor's performance. Brad Douriff sealed his reputation for me, from the beginning, as one of the greatest Character Actors of our time. From this movie on, I actively looked for movies Brad was in, because I knew it would be amazing! Even when the movie wasn't strong, Brad has given nothing less than his best-his range has been outstanding...from horror movies (He was the best known "voice" for a character (Chucky) ever!) to Science Fiction (Lord of the Rings), to Westerns (Doc on Deadwood)...Douriff has shown nothing but dedication to acting as a Craft....I have been a Brad Douriff fan from the beginning, and I'm sure it isn't over yet!!

I saw this on Cinemax back after it was released 1993. I liked it so well I taped it on my VCR. Then DVDs come out! I've NEVER SEEN THIS MOVIE ON TV!! It is one of the best movies I have ever seen. It goes by Common Bond or Chain Dance. It took me years to find it on DVD and then it was under Chain Dance where it was Common Bond on Cinamax. This movie has everything. A good story line. It's funny, it's sad and has also action and it can touch your heart. This needs to be played on tv!!!! It would become a movie that everyone would love as much as I do so if you get the chance to watch it DO!!!! You wont be disappointed!

Although Michael Ironside and Rae Dawn Chong are credited as the stars of the film, this is far and away Brad Dourif's movie. A low budget, Canadian film, Chaindance ( aka Common Bond) is an independent film. Besides starring in the movie, Ironside was also the executive producer. Knowing this, the movie has been labeled an attempt to advertise Michael Ironside as a leading man. Having played several (good) supporting roles in the past, Ironside put on the executive producer hat in order to star in a movie. Ironside is a great supporting actor. Then again, he is far from the star of this film, even though he is the main character. Brad Dourif, who plays the supporting role, steals the show with his over the top and very convincing role as a handicap. A good movie, one of Dourif's better roles.

There have been lots of great prison movies uh? ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ, LOCK UP and MURDER IN THE FIRST quickly come to mind and they are all great. CHAINDANCE intrigued me for quite some time and when I saw it last August it even surpassed my expectations considering the not too high score.

J T Blake (Michael Ironside) is a dangerous criminal that in the beginning is seen smashing a car's window and taking it only to be caught by the police, and this wasn't certainly the first time for him. The prison board of directors has then an idea: for some sort of experiment proposed by the government they tie Blake to the wheelchair of feeble-minded Johnny (Brad Dourif) for making sure that Blake becomes a more caring person whenever he'll be released and in fact, most of the movie then consists of Blake and Johnny adapting to life in prison until they are released and once they are released they still remain chained because the government wants to make sure that Blake doesn't do criminal things again and this would cause also some funny vignettes including one with a w***e.

The main reason for seeing this is the acting: Dourif probably gives his best performance ever tho he is mostly remembered for playing feeble-minded individuals and Ironside here shows that he can also play caring or softened characters given the script. The direction by Allan A. Goldstein is nice, much better than when he directed the dreadful 2001 A SPACE TRAVESTY.

If you want to try it I have a warning tho for sensible viewers: it's not an easy movie to watch because the scenes of life in prison are a bit tough to watch (as usual with prison movies), the language is rough and the tone of the movie is a bit depressing until it grows on you.

But overlooking this it's still a wortwhile prison movie that is available on YouTube if you want to give it a try.