Ice Castles (1978)

Ice Castles is a romantic drama about a young female figure skater's rise and fall from stardom; and how she managed to regain it .It stars Lynn-Holly Johnson and Robby Benson.Alexis "Lexie" Winston is a young and talented figure skater. Tragedy strikes when she encounters a freak accident and loses her eyesight.This led her to depression and hide from the public.Later,she manages to regain motivation and eventually persevere to compete again in figure skating despite her blindness. It is definitely a sentimental old movie back in the 70's that will definitely touch the heart of the viewers from that generation.But what's great about it is Lynn-Holly Johnson,who happens to be a figure skater in real life for she was able to provide great performances both as a figure skater and a naive young woman.Also,it will definitely help people with disabilities to pursue their dreams despite the so- called limitations that they may have obtained along the way.An inspiration indeed.

I saw this in the theater when it came out. Then I saw it this afternoon on streaming. I remember kind of liking this one as a teen, but still there was something about it that nagged at me through the years and convinced me not to go to any great trouble to see it again. Today I was reminded what that was: the characters are such unpleasant people. Yeesh. I'm glad I don't have friends or family like this.The dad has his head in the sand and will do just about anything to prevent his only child from taking a brave risk to better herself. The boyfriend is a self-centered jerk and a quitter who drops out of medical school and semi-pro hockey in the first 30 minutes of the film, and who also seems to resent Lexie's potential to succeed in life, the same potential he himself has squandered twice already. And the ice rink owner is a shrieking harpy. I don't think too many ice rink owners are Care Bear types, really, but Beulah did altogether too much screaming and cussing. (Funny thing: from seeing the film in the theater, I remembered Colleen Dewhurst as "the fat lady"... guess what? 35 years later I see she wasn't at all fat. She was a middle-aged woman. She looked... ahem... rather like I do now. "Stupid" clothes and all.) The one exception to the unpleasantness is Lexie herself; I thought Lynn-Holly Johnson played her very believably, with great exuberance while skating and credible depression after the accident. She was a joy to watch on the ice... I'm not a sports or skating fan at all, but I streamed it twice just to watch her skate. Wow. The film would have been a total zero without her.There are confusing plot issues: what about that boyfriend of Lexie's new trainer, who not only gravitates from the trainer to Lexie herself, but the trainer doesn't seem to care or even notice? And continuity issues: towards the end, see Tom Skerritt on the pond wearing boots, then skates, then boots again, while helping Lexie regain her skating ability. And as I said, just too much nastiness between the characters: okay, I get that Robbie Benson (who is in serious need of an eyebrow waxing) wants Lexie not to feel sorry for herself, but the way he screams "Shut up!" at her when she asks for help getting up is really not going to help matters any.I wouldn't have bothered with this one again if not for Lynn-Holly Johnson; she made the whole film and she was a joy to watch. If I had a flower, I'd throw it.

I loved this movie when it came out and just watched it again on TV tonight.Brings back a lot of memories of my time as a skater, not best, but OK.I was reading about the goofs in the movie and well anyone who is paying attention will realize that:The skating on the pond is not a goof, it is taking place over several days. There is no way any one will feel safe on skates again after such an ordeal. It takes time to rebuild your confidence. Any person who is a skater will realize that. So please take take that part out of the goofs.I gave it a 10/10 cause when you think back to the 70's making movies was not as technically easy as it is now a days with all the computer enhancements.I like the actors all did a very excellent job.

(Some possible spoilers ahead)My very first recollection of this movie was as a young teenager back in 1982 and although many of the comments made by others vary here, there is a moral to this movie which sends an inspiring message to anyone that has been disadvantaged by a misfortune or disability towards fulfilling an event or an achievement. It brings back many memories especially in high school where we also felt vulnerable as to how our future was going to unfold. Movies and reality rarely coincide, which is why movies will be movies and documentaries will be documentaries. I will not comment on how good or bad the acting was, or whether there were any goofs in the settings or if the sun was shining while raining etc., as I have yet to see a perfect movie in that respect. What I will say is that without giving too much away here, Lynn Holly Johnson plays the part of Lexie, a hopeful professional figure skater who becomes permanently blind in an accident during skating practice, therefore almost having her whole future destroyed in every respect and with the many hurdles that lie ahead. Her difficult childhood with lack of family support and a deceased mother give her very little hope for a better future. However, her dedication, determination and the power of the human spirit enables her to become an even better skater than she could ever dream to be. Is this possible? Well, whenever I see this movie, it reminds me of many true life examples such as Wilma Rudolph, for instance, who was crippled by Polio at an early age to eventually win 3 titles in the Rome Olympics of 1960. The skating in this movie only serves as a slogan for any other passion or profession where the theme can be equally generalized to any other vocation. Others will also see this as a love story, which is also valid as in reality the relationships of others also plays a key role towards anyone in a real life situation. Their support or lack of also adds to how one progresses in achieving towards their goal. In some ways it can also be similar to the movie "An Officer and a Gentleman" starring Richard Gere where his determination to persevere is not damaged by his superior. The soundtrack "through the eyes of love" performed by Melissa Manchester is well blended in this movie doing it much justice and makes it a very lovely piece of cinema to watch. Whenever I hear this soundtrack in my car radio it definitely reminds me of this movie and of it's inspirations. A disaster turns into a triumph, reminds us to never undermine the human spirit. (in loving memory of my late mother, Agnesina D'Alessio who was my best inspiration)