The Substance of Fire

1h 42min

Drama

Isaac Geldhart is a Holocaust survivor who, overcome by grief at the recent death of his wife, seems determined to run his publishing firm into the ground by printing books that have no hope of financial success. His son Aaron, who also works at the company, grows frustrated with Isaac's emotional decline and attempts to take over the firm. The resulting crisis involves Isaac's other two children, his daughter Sarah and his dying son Martin.

Cast

Tony Goldwyn

Tony Goldwyn

Aaron Geldhart
Timothy Hutton

Timothy Hutton

Martin Geldhart
Ron Rifkin

Ron Rifkin

Isaac Geldhart
Sarah Jessica Parker

Sarah Jessica Parker

Sarah Geldhart
Lee Grant

Lee Grant

Cora Cahn
Elizabeth Franz

Elizabeth Franz

Miss Barzakian
Benjamin Ungar

Benjamin Ungar

Young Issac
Adolph Green

Adolph Green

Mr. Musselblatt
Debra Monk

Debra Monk

Martha Hackett
Tom McDermott

Tom McDermott

Old Printer
George Morfogen

George Morfogen

Otto the Printer
Andrew Pang

Andrew Pang

Mr. Otani Jr
Edmund Ikeda

Edmund Ikeda

Mr. Otani Sr
Gil Bellows

Gil Bellows

Val Chenard
Eric Bogosian

Eric Bogosian

Gene Byck
Ronny Graham

Ronny Graham

Louis Foukold
David S. Howard

David S. Howard

Dr. Bernard Kramer
Gregory Burke

Gregory Burke

Young Martin Geldhart
Alec Mapa

Alec Mapa

New Receptionist
Dick Latessa

Dick Latessa

Mr. McCormack Sr
Patrick Page

Patrick Page

Mr. McCormack Jr
Kate Forbes

Kate Forbes

Rizzoli Book Buyer
Barbara Eda-Young

Barbara Eda-Young

Reena Geldhart
Matt McGrath

Matt McGrath

Young Book Clerk
José Ramón Rosario

José Ramón Rosario

Dennis the Tailor
William Meisle

William Meisle

Customer with Shoes
Gina Torres

Gina Torres

Maitre d'
Lynn Clayton

Lynn Clayton

Beautiful Woman
Mary Fortune

Mary Fortune

Art Student (uncredited)
David Boston

David Boston

Sign Painter (uncredited)

Release date

11th Sep 1996

Status

Released

Spoken languages

English