Valentino Returns is a 1989 American romantic drama film written by Leonard Gardner, directed by Peter Hoffman and starring Frederic Forrest, Veronica Cartwright, Jenny Wright and Barry Tubb.
[2] It is Hoffman's feature directorial debut and based on Gardner's short story "Christ Has Returned to Earth and Preaches Here Nightly.
It found an advocate in John Pierson, who recommended it for inclusion in the 1988 Sundance Film Festival.
However, in his book Spike, Mike, Slackers, & Dykes, Pierson explains that Hoffman couldn't finish post-production on time: He’s spent years editing his feature, spending millions of dollars of family money in the process.
Occasionally he’d call me up to let me know that he’d trimmed a few frames from the opening shot and thought that it changed the entire film.