Amazon.com

Frequently given short shrift as a blue movie (which it is) and as mindless (which it isn't), director Adrian Lyne's follow-up to Flashdance (insert own joke here) is a thoughtful, smutty film about a bad sexual relationship. It follows the two-month affair between Elizabeth, an art-gallery dealer, and John, a Wall Street exec. The relationship spirals downward into raunchier sex (filmed, by the way, quite nicely) but principally is about two adults doing adult things but not acting anything like real adults. Attempts at actual human connection, about the longing to be "good," are present here and make this an above-average erotic film. Rourke is just honing his scumbag, bad-boy persona; but it doesn't overwhelm. Lots and lots of Kim Basinger. --Keith Simanton ... Read more

Reviews (79)

Forget the Sex...Watch it for it's Magic
I keep seeing reviews; "a high budget porno" or "a dull, boring story with sadistic sex scenes". This movie is so different from these decriptions, it makes me wonder if these people talked, read or played chess through out the entire movie only glancing up occasionally. Mickey Rouke is so subtle with his expressions and dialogue that he creates that mystique that portrays John. Mixed with good looks, a high calibre job (Wall St. Money Market Dealer) & the most amazing apartments money can buy, Kim Basinger (Elizabeth) could not help but be curious. Kim Basingers use of nervous twitches and shy looks makes this her best performance by far. 2 great performances and the best use of a camera, I have seen, makes this 80's style New York flick a stylish, never to forget experience. The scenes in the equestian shop, Farnswoth house, the bed shop, the clock tower are just so well done. Every time you see this movie, it becomes more classy as images of New York's inner city life are portrayed beautifully. Forget the sex scenes, (yeah, they are neccessary) this movie really moves you & keeps images cemented in your mind for a long time. "Elizabeth, please come back before I count to 50...1, 2, 3.."

Um.... yes.
So here's this: I was walkign around the video store and I spy this cover with the kind of hot but kind of old chick from LA Confidential on it, but get this - she's yound as hell and it looks like she gets naked. So sure I'll bite. I get home and it's full on hard core drilling. Rorke gets this chick in some crazy ass positions and the whole time I'm thinking, I thought women were into "making love" not performing "rough crazy sex acts." So I tried some of the stuff from this movie out on this girl I was dating. Turns out she wasn't into it. Turns out she's only into "traditional love-making." Being alone isn't so bad.

Kim Basinger makes this worth seeing
What one realizes while watching this is how limited and ultimately unsatisfactory is a relationship based purely on sex.

I imagine that the familiar dominance/submissive psychology at the heart of this visually stunning movie--and it really is beautifully shot--comes from the novel by Elizabeth MacNeil. I say that, not having read the novel, because the seduction of Manhattan art dealer Elizabeth (Kim Basinger) by the smooth and supremely confident financier John (Mickey Rourke) is so very well done with the expensive presents, the well-timed flower deliveries, little endearments, etc., that it amounts to a woman's fantasy. The partial debasement of Elizabeth and her eventual triumph over her darker instincts and her realization that there is a difference between love and submission is also something that one might expect to find in a woman's point-of-view novel.

However when we get to the actual sexuality and how it is acted out, it is unclear who dreamed up the scenes, MacNeil or director Adrian Lyne or the scriptwriters. I say this because the scenes were so predictable and so ordinary, and when not ordinary and predictable, were bordering on the just plain dumb. Making love in the rain, at the top of a tall building (inside the clock tower), blindfolding the woman, making her crawl, feeding her strawberries, etc., bring nothing new to eroticism. And the scene requiring some imagination--[...]--was not realistically done. Why directors insist on allowing a man holding onto the hand of woman to outrun the men chasing them never ceases to amaze me. And then to have Elizabeth and John stop in the middle of the street to allow the bashers they have outrun to catch up was just plain stupid, not to mention the phony fight that followed.

Not only were the sexual scenes predictable but clearly Lyne was in harness (and I am glad of that) since he stops well short of what might happen if this sort of theme were fully played out.

Putting all that aside what makes this movie worth seeing is Kim Basinger. She is absolutely stunning, and it is clear that Lyne and his camera adored her. More than that Basinger does a fine job of acting in a demanding role. I was impressed. Before seeing this film I thought she was a rather ordinary actress, but her ability to combine grown-up New York chic with little-girl vulnerability and to make absolutely clear the psychological dilemma her character's heart faced really held the movie together.

Lyne's insistence on whispered dialogue difficult to hear was consistent with the theme of the movie but not kind to these ears. But that was okay because much of the dialogue was secondary to the visual exploration of the woman's sexuality. The peek-a-boo and off center and shadowed shots of Basinger's face and her silhouette, and the studied smile from Rourke combined with the stark black and whites of their clothes and the furnishings served to highlight and emphasis the flesh tones of Basinger's skin while lending an appropriate artistic and fashionable atmosphere to the movie, which after all has an art dealer at its center. The many scenes that were began and suggested, and then cut away from, allowed a richer texture of experience for the viewer than would have been possible had the scenes been played out. And that was doubly good because again it is the visuals that make this movie worth seeing, not the originality of the story and its development.

To those viewers who thought that this was some sort of high class pornography, I can only say you missed the point entirely, and indeed, you may be projecting your own sorry mentality.

See this for Kim Basinger whose sensitive and robust beauty dominated the screen.

Craftful Cinematography....a fine work.
If you've gotten this far in the reviews, you'll notice that either people love this film or hate it. It's pretty much right down the middle, which in a way, is a reflection of American societal attitude towards it's own sexuality.

If your own sexual world isn't aware there's something other than the missionary position, chances are you'll see this as a vulgar, disgusting film. The world that John draws Elizabeth into is a very psychologically complicated and sophisticated one. If you can't identify with lifestyles like that, you can't understand how or why they exist.

Personally, I found this film a masterpiece, not so much from the story line, but the mechanics of it. The cinematography is nothing short of breathtaking. Subject matter debates aside, this is a beautifully photographed film. Camera angles, lens choices, it's obvious the director worked very closely with the cinematographer in capturing on film exactly the image he had in his head. I can't say enough about the beauty of this film.

I thought both of the principals turned in exceptional performances, even though I view Rourke as a below-average actor. This film is easily his best, which actually could be said of Basinger as well. The Casting Dept. did a good job on this one.

Bar none, Basinger's strip tease (done with very little nudity) goes on my "All-Time Best Scenes List". The music choice, Joe Cocker's "You Can Leave Your Hat On" was a stroke of genius!

Alas, years after it's debut it's the subject matter that is remembered, and I find it still holds up. I'd suggest this film highly. Careful though, you may get more than you bargain for if you make it a "first date" flick to watch!

Sick, big-budget porn movie
This movie is disturbing, offensive, indecent and just plain nauseating. Who is this sick, depressing little piece of trash targeted to? You guessed it, the ... Europeans who indulge in every form of ... imaginable, slobber over XXX-rated movies dealing with sick subjects, and voluntarily make their little children watch it with parents like a "family night". Fortunately, we Americans don't need to be forced to watch this garbage. Send it back where it belongs! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Harvey Fierstein had a smash hit on Broadway with the stage version of this story about a drag queen, but whatever the magic there was doesn't show up in this film adaptation. (Fierstein allegedly couldn't line up an A-list or even B-list director in 1988 to tackle the gay story line, so he agreed to work with Paul Bogart, a ubiquitous television director but an undistinguished feature filmmaker.) Fierstein's performance is fine, but likely a shadow of his live work, while Anne Bancroft is very strong in the role of his character's mother. Matthew Broderick went against the tide of fear shared by most Hollywood actors at the time about playing gay characters. The times have certainly changed since then. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (46)

"A pretty person who goes after a ugly person gets cab fare"
In 1988, the film version of the Tony Award-winning, landmark play "Torch Song Trilogy", which was written by the outspoken and very witty Harvey Fierstein, was released to theaters. Written originally as three separate one-act plays between 1978 and 1979 ("The International Stud", "Fugue in a Nursery" and "Widows and Children First"), Harvey Fierstein combined them into the more familiar three-act play "Torch Song Trilogy" in 1981 since each one-act play focused on the life of a gay man named Arnold (played by Harvey Fierstein), who is a gay drag-show entertainer. In the first act, Arnold meets a stranger at a bar named Ed (Brian Kerwin). A precarious relationship develops quickly between Ed and Arnold, but Ed also wants to marry a woman named Laurel (Karen Young). In the second act, Arnold meets a young man named Alan (Matthew Broderick) at the club where Arnold performs. A long-term relationship develops between Arnold and Alan until an unexpected tragedy occurs. The third act focuses on Arnold taking care of a teenaged son, David (Eddie Castrodad) that he & Alan had adopted, as well as Arnold's ongoing difficulties with his mother (Anne Bancroft).

With excellent dialog, engaging personalities and superb acting, "Torch Song Trilogy" is a fantastic film, demonstrating not only the love that exists within gay couples, but also the very real difficulties that many gay men face in their daily lives, including the all-too-often difficulties with family members who cannot accept them for who they are. Harvey Fierstein's unique voice adds a special flare to his drag show performances, as well as to his arguments with his mother. Anne Bancroft's performance is superb and emotional. Matthew Broderick did a wonderful portraying Alan. Interestingly, he had played the teenaged son David when "Torch Song Trilogy" was being performed on stage as a play. Brian Kerwin and Karen Young also portray their roles well. Other significant characters in the film include Bertha Venation (Charles Pierce), Marina Del Rey (Alex Vera), the young Arnold (Benji Schulman) and Murray (Kevin Page). Overall, I rate "Torch Song Trilogy" with 5 out of 5 stars. It's especially great to be able to watch the film on widescreen DVD.

The great Harvey
I adore this movie for its lead performances and sheer sense of life. It's a one-of-a-kind film with the most unconventional leading man ever to appear in a Hollywood feature: the unforgettable Harvey Fierstein. Not only does Fierstein dominate every scene in which he appears, but he also wrote the screenplay adaptation from his original Broadway play.

The stage version of Torch Song Trilogy, as its title suggests, consists of three self-contained one-act plays. Performed together, the three plays tell the continuing story of Arnold, a Brooklyn drag queen extraordinaire. The movie follows the stage version fairly closely, but adds several new characters along the way, together with some fresh (and sparkling) dialogue in this most quotable of movies. All of the additions, in fact, improve on the original, and Ken Page and Charles Pierce in the roles of Arnold's fellow performers endow the movie with some marvellously campy moments.

The movie is alternately hilarious and heartbreaking. It also manages to be thought-provoking without being preachy. Anne Bancroft is superb as Harvey Fierstein's larger than life mother, and the many confrontational moments between the two are as powerful as they are truthful. Some have complained that Bancroft's performance is too over the top in a scenery-chewing kind of way, but I loved it. Besides, as gay friends in the same situation as Fierstein's character have told me, this is exactly how their mothers reacted to THEIR homosexuality.

Among the other cast members, Brian Kerwin does a fine job as Ed, the confused bisexual lover of Arnold, and Matthew Broderick is a winsome Alan, the young man who walks into Arnold's life at an unexpected moment in the movie. Broderick was no stranger to Torch Song Trilogy, having played the part of David, Arnold's adopted son, in the 1981 stage version. Here the part of David is played by newcomer Eddie Castrodad, who plays an almost-convincing 15-year-old despite the fact that he was in his early 30s at the time.

But it is Harvey Fierstein whose extraordinary presence, wit, and acting range hold this movie together. For those who have only seen his cameo roles in Hollywood fodder such as Independence Day and Mrs Doubtfire, his performance here will come as a huge surprise. He is unique; there is no other word for it.

The only blight on this otherwise splendid movie is Paul Bogart's flat, uninspired direction. His treatment simply lacks the magic touch this story so richly deserves, and it's a great shame that such an outstanding cast and script were let down by his TV movie approach.

But don't let that put you off buying this priceless gem of a movie.

The best gay film of all time
Every person that I turn on to this movie absolutely loves it and eventually adds it to their dvd collections as a result. Even after watching TST many, many times (and believe it or not, it is playing now!) I still believe it is the very best gay themed movie of all time..and I have seen them all...Superb acting, laugh-out-loud funny and very touching...Bancroft and Fierstein shine!

If you are straight (or gay in some cases) and can't stand gay people, don't even bother renting or buying this film. But, regardless of your sexual orientation, if you are a mature, openminded person, and respect all people for who and what they are, you will enjoy it.

Get it. You'll love it!

Warm and Funny and Heartfelt
I gave this 5 stars based on its original release date. Yes, it is a bit dated now, but it really does not hurt the film if you look at it as a snapshot of the time. Fierstein is just wonderful. I dare you to not love Arnold by the end of this movie. He is warm, funny, sentimental, loyal, and kind - and still not sappy; an oddball hero that you can't stop hoping for. (ugh- preoposition). Broderick is charming and romantic as the knight in shining armor. Kerwin is heartbreaking and has some beautiful scenes to work with here. Bancroft is a force-of-nature and while she is sometimes over-the-top, she still remains very human. A comedy, semi-period piece, love story about family,blood or otherwise, and the things that bring us together and ultimately hold us together. Quite wonderful actually.

The No.1 Classic Gay Drama I have Ever Watched.
Finally, I have seen a gay movie which is not merely about the misery of being dumped by a gay lover or trying to come out in a family.

Torch Song Trilogy is a biographical work about the life of the protagonist drag queen, Arnold. The movie starts humourously with the mother's discovery of the son hiding in a closet and trying to beautifying himself with her make-up. The mother yelled, "What are you doing in the ---". Then the mother knew what was going on.

The movie can be basically divided into three parts (that's why it's titled trilogy) - his career as a professional drag queen (or politically correct - a female impersonator), during which he knew a bisexual man; his falling in love with a middle class boy who is still uncontaminated by the world. He, however, was sadly, killed by hateful discrimination. Finally, the movie has a touch of adopting a (gay) son and brings out the issue of gay parenting. The movie ends with a fight, not a reconciliation, between the mother and the gay son. Each part of the movie tells you the life and the bumpy road Arnold was living through at the moment. The movie does not depict it in a pitiful way, or else, it lets the plot bring out the emotio spontaneously to the audience. The dialogues are clever, symbolic and witty. The acting is professional and does not go over the top. The director deals with the fantastic scripts carefully and the final scene of Arnold holding the three most valuable things in his life in a chair is simply self-effacing.

Torch Song Trilogy is a gay classic drama. There is nothing pretentious. The movie does not ask for your pity for Arnold's tragic life, but your understanding of what he has been through. ... Read more

Reviews (27)

I got everything except for the psychiatrist
Mercy was a movie that was released on HBO. Thus, I found it to be a "hotter" than anything that is usually released in the theater. Therefore, most viewers would probably compare it to a lesbian Basic Instinct with the post-violent scenes of Seven.

This movie could have been far more ugly and brutal had we had to witness the deaths of the victims. Instead, we only had to view the aftermath. Ellen Barkin did a tremendous job of playing a homicide detective with the brains, intuitiveness and, dare I say, spunk. Really, I loved her chasing after the bald bad guy. Barkin showed physical dominance, as well as brains as she tried to get into the lives of these potential lesbian victims in order to find her killer.

Peta Wilson's character Vickie Kittrie was a dark, hurt, yet successful woman. She made you see how awful the effects of sexual child abuse often comes back to haunt adults. This character is not at all like Nikita, so if you're expecting your USA Network hero, it's not one to watch.

However, I think that this film could have happened without having Julian Sands character at all. All you know about the Sands character is that he sleeps with his patients and likes to dress up as a woman. I'm not sure how either of those facts really improves the film.

Overall, I think the script was satisfactory and that the cast really played their parts very well. Harris did a good job here on gutting the underbelly of a dangerous, sexual underground of some deeply disturbed, rich people.

erotic in a lot of ways but that doesnt help it
some steamy scenes in this movie with Peta Wilson and Ellen Barkin....Wilson has a nude scene where Barkin is watching her from other window..you know the scene where she gets shot for fake and then rubs the blood off the window...sexy scene. Julian Sands also stars..he's ok but some of the stuff down it and it gets really boring after awhile

You Decide!
I really can not make up my mind properly about Mercy, and it did offer me a slight dilemma reviewing it,
On the plus side, there is Peta Wilson, playing a lesbian who is into SM and who has an erotically charged scene with Ellen Barkin. So as far as erotic/thriller genre is concerned this is somehow a new twist.
On the down side, it is very badly filmed and scripted, a poor imitation of Dressed to Kill without the Hitchcockian atmosphere or De Palma's able direction. And it has also poor Julian Sands with yet another bad role, as bad in fact as his role in Boxing Helena, and this is no easy feat to manage, but he did!
So you can watch/buy this movie for Peta 'lezzing' it up, not a bad thing in itself,yet you can also be excused for using the word 'Mercy' only to be spared such mediocrity in the future..You decide!

better than the novel
i was interested because i had read, several years back, the novel on which this was based, which was imperfect but exciting enough in its way. there are all kinds of flaws... which the film faithfully recreates. but the performances are very good, so it's not bad at all for late night video fare. ellen barkin and peta wilson are especially good.

THIS IS COMPLETLEY ASININE ...
After hearing about this movie and hearing all the decent reviews about it. I really was looking for something exotic, Boy was I wrong! I can't make excuses or even try to make this out of something that was well put together. First of all there were alot of characters in the movie that were extremley irrelevant. I think what the writer was trying to do was put as many screwed up suspects in the movie as he could. Most of the characters were never main characters nor had depth in their character. There was one character/suspect/witness named Vickie. She was the closest to a main character and was the only person other than Helen Birkin that kept the movie interesting. And Vickie looked like a big ole "Drag Queen" that had two many psycological problems. She was a lesbian that was extremley promiscuous and very bold. But don't get excited people, even her character was limited and restricted. She had two good scenes the one with Helen Birkin the seduction that didn't go any where. And there is other scene where she blatantly walks in a strangers dressing room in a store and gives her pleasure. And even Vickie was pointless in the film because her character was eventually terminated, Go figure that? And the shrink basically served as a outlet to introduce more unnecessary sick characters, I guess, so that you can hear their stories as well. The only real tension or interesting plot was between the character witness Vickie and the cop(Ellen Birkin) that was it. Even that turned for the worst because, all the build up to what was supposed to be an attraction or seduction turned into a fiasco! So people if you are looking for lesbian action forget it, because it isn't here. They play it up and they disappoint you in this film. Then most of the women in the film were very hard looking and tired looking. I don't know what the directer was trying to convey in this film? Then the killer turns out to be someone that really didn't have a huge role in the film. And what is even more of a kicker Helen nor the cops never even had this person as a suspect. And what is even more of a kicker there wasn't any contact between the killer and the main characters. And the reasoning for the murders in the killers eyes was completley uproarious! The shrink which is played by (I forgot the guys name)he had no right counseling anyone because he was very strange himself. He was just as sick as the rest of the people in the movie. The ending was just completley stupid and uproarious ! Because there wasn't a previous relationship or connection between Helen or the Killer. So when Helen finally met up with this person there wasn't any tension or surprise! I don't know what this movie was meant for, but it definitley left me unsatisfied! If you are looking for a real sensual experience I recommend Blood Thirsty, Serpents Lair, Kate's Addiction, Body of Evidence, Poison Ivy 3 The New Seduction, Bound, Embrace of the Vampire, Damage, Habit,Life force,Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive,Basic Instinct (Uncut) and No strings Attached. These are very exotic and sensual films that have purpose and make sense! The only thing this movies serves as a lesson on child abuse and people with mental problems. The homes and location of the movie was gorgeous but that is it! And even that leaves question? How ... is a detective going to maintain and live in a mansion like that? Any way buy this one at your own risk........

Arish ... Read more

Amazon.com

Based on William Wharton's transcendent novel of the same name, this film is about many things: friendship, war, and, of course, birds. The framing device is an effort by a horribly scarred combat soldier (Nicolas Cage) to break through to his best friend, Birdy (Matthew Modine), hospitalized after seemingly being driven mad by fighting in the Vietnam War. Cage then flashes back to their boyhood, where Birdy, a canary aficionado, was considered the school weirdo but managed to be a solid companion nonetheless. Directed by Alan Parker, it works best as a coming-of-age story, but misses the bizarre psychological transferences of the book, in which Birdy imagines himself within the world of canaries he creates in his bedroom at his parents' house. Modine is fine as an out-of-it misfit enraptured by his own little universe. --Marshall Fine ... Read more

Reviews (24)

Birdy.
Character-driven film which explores the friendship between two young men, one of them relatively normal (Cage) but physically scarred by 'Nam (could have been any war)...and the other (Modine,_Full Metal Jacket_) who more and more sees the world through the beady eyes of birds, with as consequence gradual alienation from his 'fellow men and women'.

There are not many reviews here belonging to Birdy, but it was a hit at Cannes (a while ago) and is generally considered a staple of 'good-film-making'. Anyway, people who come here hoping to learn more about it are likely to be real admirers of fine cinematic art, in my opinion. Possible complaints (NOT mine) would be that Birdy is slow and goes nowhere at all and has a weak ending. To those people, go watch something in which dozens of cars explode for no apparent reason.

Anyway, after the horrors of war (this is not Platoon, however, Birdy is, how to put this nicely, not littered with dead people), Modine ends up hospitalized (I gave nothing away; this is the start of Birdy). Cage tries to pull him back into sanity, and it's through chronological flashbacks (many excellent scenes, by the way) that their friendship is shown.

Fascinating characters, brilliantly written, and great acting. As others pointed out, the soundtrack is indeed memorable.
Unfortunately for me, I realized but late why it was so important that the window should open. Stupid me. I hope you are brighter of mind.

I Believe I Can Fly
This sleeper and not very recent movie should get more recognition than it gets, since it`s a moving, well-crafted piece of film-making above most overhyped flicks around. It focuses the relationship of two friends, one (Nicolas Cage in one of his first roles) that has recently returned from Vietnam and "Birdy" (an excellent Matthew Modine), who is kept in an hospital due to (apparent) psychological disorder.
The pacing is slow (pherhaps a bit too slow during the first half), presenting Cage`s character visit to his friend in order to help him and some flashbacks that showcase their teenage relationship.

As the story unfolds, Birdy`s past is foreshadowed and the viewer comes across his passion, curiosity and obssession with birds, that starts to increase and soon reduces his bonds to other people and experiences.
Birdy has his own little world and soon gets stuck in it, and one of his few contacts with "common reality" is his only friend that struggles to understand his point of view.

Director Alan Parker manages to bring a deep, powerful and subtle movie that expertly deals with isolation, insanity, friendship, freedom, alienation and connection.
The story wisely avoids sappy and easy melodramatic fluff, delivering a strong and honest character study that lies in the range of its two leads. Modine, in particular, is utterly convincing as the fragile, confused and innocent Birdy, providing a compelling portrayal of a youngster that percieves his own peculiar universe.

This picture is also a stunning coming-of-age tale, avoiding predictable and tired cliches and presenting a unique, memmorable and sincere friendship between the two characters.
The slow pacing and the beautiful cinematography help the creation of a captivating, haunting and eerie mood to the movie, becoming weirdly unsettling at times.

"Birdy" has much to recommend and really carries a feel of its own, being a great cinematic experience for those who have ever felt "different", misunderstoodand and seem to be outside.
This is quality cinema. Highly recommended.

Hauntingly and evocative movie of friendship and devotion!
"Birdy" gets my nod as one of the greatest and most compelling movies of all time in so many ways. While it is like many that focus on the effects of the war in Vietnam, this movie is the most unique story of friendship, the effects of military combat, and eccentricity like no other movie of the 1980s or ever for that matter.

Nicholas Cage and Matthew Modine star in "Birdy" as two lifelong friends from the run-down industrial ghettos of Philadelphia where they have played baseball together and 'Birdy' has had a huge passionate obsession with birds throughout his life and has dreamed of being able to fly like a bird. However, the two friends are recruited into the U.S. Army and are involved in the fighting in Vietnam and when they return, both are horribly scarred. One has suffered physical wounds with face wounds while the other has mental scars (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and being driven mad from the horrors of fighting in Vietnam, has almost withdrawn into his own 'birdland' and acting like a bird and not responding to outside social stimuli. As a result, Birdy has been hospitalized in a decrepit mental institution. Now Al Columbato must try to get his friend Birdy to be able to emerge from his catatonic state if he wants to leave the mental hospital and return to a normal life. During all of this, we can be able to see the flashbacks into Birdy and Al's past and see how 'bird boy's' obsession with birds grew increasingly strong and started to strain his social life with his friend and others around him but yet see very compelling acts of bonding between the two unlikely friends and how they've gone through so much together even before the war.

The characters are among the most compelling I've ever seen in a drama movie ever. This might be considered a 'coming of age' movie but it's so much more than just your average teen angst movie. "Birdy" delves into some of the strangest and most unique perspectives of obsessive people with their subjects of interests and the things that true friends go through in order to stay bonded forever. The photography is stunningly brilliant and stunning beautiful thanks to ironically, it's relatively primitive filming technology that was used in filming it. The grittiness of the movie while it may be a bit irritating, gives this movie a strangely opaque feel and some of the scenes which are throughout this film are absolutely moving and will tug at your heartstrings. All of the scenes of the birds flying into the air are perfectly filmed and enhance the movie's emotional quality even more. While this movie is very heavy in it's bittersweet plot, there are some really smart and honest comedic elements that are really funny without detracting anything from it's dramatic tone and the funnier parts make this movie ever more bittersweet. Sometimes I would go far enough to say that this almost has high amounts of both even though there is far, FAR more drama. "Birdy" is bizarre, psychotic, happy, sad, dark, bright, and a whole lot of other positive things.

Director Alan Parker creates one of the most compelling movies of all time. While nothing could ever go wrong with this movie, his directing made it so much more powerful, moving, funny in odd ways, and yet very vivid on such high levels unparalleled. This movie centers on some of the more unattractive areas of Philadelphia (At least at the time, I'm not sure about today) like industrial junkyards, landfills, and run down neighborhoods, but centering on one like these areas makes this movie so much more interesting and from my standpoint, aims to dispel the notion that all poor areas are necessarily dangerous and crime-ridden. While it was centered on Philadelphia, this movie reminds me of what many areas of Chicago looked like during my childhood memories: Weed-ridden, extremely gritty, seedy, and depressed (Many of them have seen serious gentrification in recent years), at least at the time.

Nicholas Cage and Matthew Modine in their earliest days of their acting careers are absolutely amazing as Al and 'birdy'. The interactions between the two characters in the movie are absolutely realistic and really bittersweet. While not throwing a beating by any means at his later movies, I personally think that Nicholas Cage's acting hasn't reached the early pinnacle as on "Birdy" but sometimes there's the saying that it's "Never as Good As The First Time" and it surely applies here. Matthew Modine is the most compelling lead in this movie as his portrayal of Birdy is incredible, vivid, and believable. By the way, he's the guy on the album cover of the soundtrack by Peter Gabriel which brings to mind the soundtrack.

The music along makes this movie really vividly bittersweet with really powerful background music that perfectly fits with the movie's really obscure tone with songs like "Under Lock and Key" and "Close Up" which is actually expanded from the 50 second version on the CD and includes the chord progression of it's parent track "Family Snapshot" and it's absolutely haunting and thought-provoking. Most of the songs on the soundtrack can be heard in the background if one listens carefully and it's absolutely haunting and makes the various scenes even more compelling. What's even more unique is how this movie doesn't seem to rely on generic orchestra background music for a change. The haunting music at the beginning has the haunting eerie song "Slow Water" mixed with the song "Quiet & Alone" and combining the two songs makes it so amazing like no other movie opening theme.

"Birdy" wasn't a massive hit in the USA due to it's unconventional nature and lack of a 'formulaic plot' especially when "Terminator" and "Temple of Doom" were riding high, but this has become one of my favorite movies of the decade. If you can find this movie on DVD, then you MUST buy this ASAP. It may be a bit slow paced at first but it allows a lot of character development and allows you to know them very well and "Birdy" will ultimately be one of the most rewarding movies you'll ever see. It is intense without being violent or bloody, or even immensely depressing.

This is quite simply the most brilliant and evocative masterpieces of the 1980s and one of histories lost treasures. I could go for a very long time with this review but since there is only a limited space for reviews on here, I have no choice but to end it here.

Visually Stunning
There is so much to love about this film. Firstly, it exemplifies great performances from Modine and Cage. Matthew Modine as Birdy is one of the most wonderful character portrayls on film. Modine creates a painful vulnerability to the character - showing beauty, innocence and alienation all in one. The film showcases the unusual friendship between the two boys - its an intense and unliklely friendship, but at the same time there is a deep understanding and respect. The performances, coupled with the beautiful photography and Peter Gabriel's vivid soundtrack, makes Birdy a special film that has aged rather well.

Excellent original story of true friendship and humanity
"Birdy" is an excellent original story of an unlikely friendship that develops into a deep emotional bond between two male friends, pure and devoid of sexual nature. While there's no female lead in this film, there are female supporting characters (including one whom briefly reveals her "significant attributes"). This film was largely overlooked by mainstream audiences because it doesn't deliver a typical entertainment formula, but, as can be told from the global spread of the reviewers here, it will greatly reward those who seek it out and can appreciate it.

Although many seem to feel the anti-war theme is a secondary part of the story, it seems the film-makers intentionally moved the story into the Vietnam era to make a more contemporarily relevant and potent statement on that level. Attributing Birdy's withdrawal to the horrors of war circa Vietnam instead of WWII certainly makes that statement more acceptable, and Birdy's desire to escape human existence completely into the world of birds seems virtually rational in this context.

As a native Philadelphian, I found it confusing trying to pinpoint which neighborhood Birdy and Al grew up in from only viewing the movie. The graffiti-less El station in the movie looks more like Frankford in Northeast Philly today than 63rd street, yet 63rd street would be much closer to the Southwest Philly area where the movie seems to have been set. The book verifies 63rd Street as the location, and also reveals enough clues to determine that Birdy and Al actually lived in Upper Darby, PA, just outside Philadelphia. (The exact location of Birdy's house could be pinpointed by determining where home-plate was situated in the local play area, as Al verifies that Birdy's yard was adjacent to left-center field, where a right-handed batter would usually place a ball hit out of play.) Even though the movie dwells on unattractive parts of the city, like junkyards and garbage dumps, it adds interest that they filmed in authentic locations in Philadelphia and New Jersey. ... Read more

Reviews (187)

Shark Revenge??
Ellen Brody (Lorraine Gary) is convinced that the same kind of shark that attacked her husband and kids in the past is out to finish her family off in this mediocre third sequel to the 1975 Steven Spielberg classic. When he youngest son, now taking over for his father as sheriff of Amity Island, is killed by a shark while investigating wreckage in Amity Harbor on Christmas Eve, Gary escapes with her other son Mike (Lance Guest) for the Bahamas, and meets up with a congenial local airplane pilot (Michael Caine).

But Mr. Whitey isn't through with the Brody family just yet. The result is a series of admittedly scary but otherwise thoroughly pedestrian shock sequences, topped off by flashbacks experienced by Gary to events that she never even witnessed (!!) and a climax that is both totally unbelievable and rather disgusting.

JAWS 4 does boast a good music score by Michael Small, and is directed well enough by Joseph Sargent, a journeyman director who has made at least two great films prior to this--1970's COLOSSUS: THE FORBIN PROJECT, and 1974's THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE-TWO-THREE. But his cause is hindered by Michael De Guzman's inert screenplay, which simply uses the revenge format as a raison d'etre for the scares and the killings. Like JAWS 3, its immediate predecessor, this film is admittedly watchable. But that is ALL it is.

JAWS4 SWEEEET!!!!!
This was AWWWWWWSOME!!!! No wonder it got a PG13 rating, BLOOOD. New invention, SOME FLASHEY THINGEY.That Jaws in this movie looked scarier than Jaws 1, 2 and ,3! New place, BAHAMAHS BABY!! keep shopping!

Best Michael Caine comment
Cheesy schlock that, like the other sequels, buys into the horror cliches that Spielberg so brilliantly subverted for the first movie (does not the scene in the origninal Jaws where a child and a dog get eaten by the monster in broad daylight at a crowded beach right in front of the hero break every horror movie rule?).

However, it did produce one great moment. When asked by an interviewer about this movie, Michael Caine said, "I have not seen the film, but I hear it is terrible. However, I have seen the house that it paid for, and it is superb."

Amazing, simply amazing.........
....amazing that the great Michael Caine would associate himself with such a dreadful movie. This is among the worst movies I've ever seen.

Please do not buy this movie
Let me start off by saying sorrying if my spelling is incorrect and oh yah this is the most terrible jaws movie I have ever seen and it is a disgrace to the first movie and how dare the women who played Brodys wife could ever sign a contract wanting to be in this movie. Second of all throughout the whole movie the shark is "supposibly" trying to track down the Brody family and trying to eat every one of them like it did to one of Brodys sons in the first scence of the movie. And throughout the whole movie Brodys wife some how has some sort of psychic ability to know if the shark is close or something bad is happening that has to do with the shark its a know doubt one 100% quality corny movie. And another thing when they are killing the shark the shark is making loud moaning noises which really goes to how how much the director knows (hey a little hint sharks don't have voice boxes so they cant make any type of noise what so ever). The movie is terrible so please I beg the people who read this review please and i mean please dont buy this movie it is a huge disapointment to all you shark movie fans because I am a shark movie fan myself but in final words don't by the movie ... Read more

Reviews (6)

dom.
i mainly liked the dominatrix chic , she was cool and cute and yum, enough said.....enjoy the beating men..

Depth of character missing
Unfortunately, nothing too profound in this movie of alienation and randy encounters. Characters are mildly intriguing to watch as they wander somewhat aimlessly through their lives. Story projects these people as alienated from one another, themselves, their jobs, "normal" life. . . everything. Gibson is a talented beauty, likeable, you want him to find whatever it is he's looking for, but you'll grow frustrated by his directionlessness. From whence does it stem? His long-time buddy is gorgeous, suited or unsuited (was that his nice naked rear that flashed away all too quickly? MORE PLEASE.), but the lost soul he plays is even harder to appreciate because, again, there's no compelling reason for him to be the way he is. Meaning and love don't ever just come handed to you on a plate, foks, but that's what the characters in this movie seem to expect. And not having found them, they do (fill in the blank) stupid/dangerous/contradictory/psychotic things that don't bring them any closer to meaning or love. This moderately sexually charged movie is a good one to use to contemplate life alone or with a loved one, but life shouldn't be, AND ISN'T, as answerless and arbitrary as all this.

Absolutely GREAT !
Wow, I just watched this movie and I think I'm starting it again right now. One of the best movies I saw ever ! Great cast, exiting thrilling story. I can recommend this one over and over ! Find out yourself and you'll agree !

Great cast
I enjoyed this move. Watched it over and ove

Charming and enchanting, the best movie I've ever seen!
Like I've said before, the best movie ever! I can't describe this original and exquisite movie with mere words. You've got to watch it. ... Read more

Reviews (79)

Forget the Sex...Watch it for it's Magic
I keep seeing reviews; "a high budget porno" or "a dull, boring story with sadistic sex scenes". This movie is so different from these decriptions, it makes me wonder if these people talked, read or played chess through out the entire movie only glancing up occasionally. Mickey Rouke is so subtle with his expressions and dialogue that he creates that mystique that portrays John. Mixed with good looks, a high calibre job (Wall St. Money Market Dealer) & the most amazing apartments money can buy, Kim Basinger (Elizabeth) could not help but be curious. Kim Basingers use of nervous twitches and shy looks makes this her best performance by far. 2 great performances and the best use of a camera, I have seen, makes this 80's style New York flick a stylish, never to forget experience. The scenes in the equestian shop, Farnswoth house, the bed shop, the clock tower are just so well done. Every time you see this movie, it becomes more classy as images of New York's inner city life are portrayed beautifully. Forget the sex scenes, (yeah, they are neccessary) this movie really moves you & keeps images cemented in your mind for a long time. "Elizabeth, please come back before I count to 50...1, 2, 3.."

Um.... yes.
So here's this: I was walkign around the video store and I spy this cover with the kind of hot but kind of old chick from LA Confidential on it, but get this - she's yound as hell and it looks like she gets naked. So sure I'll bite. I get home and it's full on hard core drilling. Rorke gets this chick in some crazy ass positions and the whole time I'm thinking, I thought women were into "making love" not performing "rough crazy sex acts." So I tried some of the stuff from this movie out on this girl I was dating. Turns out she wasn't into it. Turns out she's only into "traditional love-making." Being alone isn't so bad.

Kim Basinger makes this worth seeing
What one realizes while watching this is how limited and ultimately unsatisfactory is a relationship based purely on sex.

I imagine that the familiar dominance/submissive psychology at the heart of this visually stunning movie--and it really is beautifully shot--comes from the novel by Elizabeth MacNeil. I say that, not having read the novel, because the seduction of Manhattan art dealer Elizabeth (Kim Basinger) by the smooth and supremely confident financier John (Mickey Rourke) is so very well done with the expensive presents, the well-timed flower deliveries, little endearments, etc., that it amounts to a woman's fantasy. The partial debasement of Elizabeth and her eventual triumph over her darker instincts and her realization that there is a difference between love and submission is also something that one might expect to find in a woman's point-of-view novel.

However when we get to the actual sexuality and how it is acted out, it is unclear who dreamed up the scenes, MacNeil or director Adrian Lyne or the scriptwriters. I say this because the scenes were so predictable and so ordinary, and when not ordinary and predictable, were bordering on the just plain dumb. Making love in the rain, at the top of a tall building (inside the clock tower), blindfolding the woman, making her crawl, feeding her strawberries, etc., bring nothing new to eroticism. And the scene requiring some imagination--[...]--was not realistically done. Why directors insist on allowing a man holding onto the hand of woman to outrun the men chasing them never ceases to amaze me. And then to have Elizabeth and John stop in the middle of the street to allow the bashers they have outrun to catch up was just plain stupid, not to mention the phony fight that followed.

Not only were the sexual scenes predictable but clearly Lyne was in harness (and I am glad of that) since he stops well short of what might happen if this sort of theme were fully played out.

Putting all that aside what makes this movie worth seeing is Kim Basinger. She is absolutely stunning, and it is clear that Lyne and his camera adored her. More than that Basinger does a fine job of acting in a demanding role. I was impressed. Before seeing this film I thought she was a rather ordinary actress, but her ability to combine grown-up New York chic with little-girl vulnerability and to make absolutely clear the psychological dilemma her character's heart faced really held the movie together.

Lyne's insistence on whispered dialogue difficult to hear was consistent with the theme of the movie but not kind to these ears. But that was okay because much of the dialogue was secondary to the visual exploration of the woman's sexuality. The peek-a-boo and off center and shadowed shots of Basinger's face and her silhouette, and the studied smile from Rourke combined with the stark black and whites of their clothes and the furnishings served to highlight and emphasis the flesh tones of Basinger's skin while lending an appropriate artistic and fashionable atmosphere to the movie, which after all has an art dealer at its center. The many scenes that were began and suggested, and then cut away from, allowed a richer texture of experience for the viewer than would have been possible had the scenes been played out. And that was doubly good because again it is the visuals that make this movie worth seeing, not the originality of the story and its development.

To those viewers who thought that this was some sort of high class pornography, I can only say you missed the point entirely, and indeed, you may be projecting your own sorry mentality.

See this for Kim Basinger whose sensitive and robust beauty dominated the screen.

Craftful Cinematography....a fine work.
If you've gotten this far in the reviews, you'll notice that either people love this film or hate it. It's pretty much right down the middle, which in a way, is a reflection of American societal attitude towards it's own sexuality.

If your own sexual world isn't aware there's something other than the missionary position, chances are you'll see this as a vulgar, disgusting film. The world that John draws Elizabeth into is a very psychologically complicated and sophisticated one. If you can't identify with lifestyles like that, you can't understand how or why they exist.

Personally, I found this film a masterpiece, not so much from the story line, but the mechanics of it. The cinematography is nothing short of breathtaking. Subject matter debates aside, this is a beautifully photographed film. Camera angles, lens choices, it's obvious the director worked very closely with the cinematographer in capturing on film exactly the image he had in his head. I can't say enough about the beauty of this film.

I thought both of the principals turned in exceptional performances, even though I view Rourke as a below-average actor. This film is easily his best, which actually could be said of Basinger as well. The Casting Dept. did a good job on this one.

Bar none, Basinger's strip tease (done with very little nudity) goes on my "All-Time Best Scenes List". The music choice, Joe Cocker's "You Can Leave Your Hat On" was a stroke of genius!

Alas, years after it's debut it's the subject matter that is remembered, and I find it still holds up. I'd suggest this film highly. Careful though, you may get more than you bargain for if you make it a "first date" flick to watch!

Sick, big-budget porn movie
This movie is disturbing, offensive, indecent and just plain nauseating. Who is this sick, depressing little piece of trash targeted to? You guessed it, the ... Europeans who indulge in every form of ... imaginable, slobber over XXX-rated movies dealing with sick subjects, and voluntarily make their little children watch it with parents like a "family night". Fortunately, we Americans don't need to be forced to watch this garbage. Send it back where it belongs! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Gary Oldman, hot off his success in Sid and Nancy and Prick Up Your Ears, went Hollywood with this stenciled thriller, which came minus many thrills. The most impressive thing about it is his American accent. Otherwise, there's not much to recommend this Martin Campbell film. Oldman plays a hotshot defense attorney in Boston who, in a highly publicized case, gets rich playboy Kevin Bacon acquitted of murder--only torealize afterward that Bacon is not just guilty, but a serial killer who has gone on a spree again. So the lawyer takes the law into his own hands and finds himself overmatched in a battle of wits with the murderer. But then, this whole movie is overmatched in the wits department. --Marshall Fine ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Makers had no thought of making the film this could've been?
WARNING: SPOILERS, although this movie is its own worst spoiler.
The makers of this film had a good thing going, if only they'd suspected it and dared be a bit ambiguous as to whether their motives were politically correct or not. But guess they were committed all along to making a different film than the good one this could've been. Kevin Bacon plays Martin Thiel, a disturbed young man who was traumatized by learning that his mother wanted to abort him. Considering that, even the staunchest pro-choice advocates might ought to cut him some slack if he's not firmly in their camp. As the movie goes on we see perhaps even more compelling reasons why he's traumatized. Quite apart form her intentions in his prenatal days, we see that his mother is one who would make Susan Smith seem warm and caring by comparison. The movie (unwittingly, I suppose) creates considerable sympathy for Martin. But never mind all that. This movie is firmly committed to by-the-books political correctness. Because Martin is an abortion opponent and his mother is a doctor who performs abortions, don't imagine any room for suspense here as to who must be the villain and who must be his last victim. When some of his mother's former patients show up murdered and mutilated, Martin becomes the chief suspect. At one point (somewhere around halfway through) he seems to virtually confess to his lawyer (played by Gary Oldman) that he's the killer, hinting that he carries out a sort of divine justice against those who got abortions. Unquestionably here's a disturbed guy. But wouldn't a smart suspenseful plot development from that point be the following? Martin is no killer, but in his traumatized state almost admires whoever is and almost wants to take credit for those deeds and/or protect the real killer. Meanwhile his ice queen mother is a most conflicted pshcyopath, not at all totally secure in her belief in the morality of abortion but keeps providing them to have access to knowledge of who gets them, so she can exact her "vengeance" on them. But that would mean the movie would have to settle for being ambivalent on the subject of abortion. Its makers lacked the imagination and/or courage (probably both) to make that intriguing thriller. Instead what they do make from the point of Martin's virtual confession is as morose and boring as it is predictable.

Good Performances, Dumb Plot
A pompous and predictable thriller that covers all-too-familiar territory, this one is about a lawyer who helps set his client free of murder charges only to find out he was guilty of that crime and of another killing. Those who prefer smart thrillers will be disappointed, but with its occassional moments of intriguing suspense and credible performances by Oldman and Bacon, it's hard to look away.

A Principal Achivement In The Suspense-Thriller Genre
This is a thriiler worthy of high ranking Gary oldman plays the defense attorney who gets psycho Kevin Bacon aquitted of murder charges and then soon realizes the big mistake he made when his cilent starts taunting him by killing again and again. Noteworthy performaces all around and backed up by a memorable film score. If you want to see Kevin Bacon in a different role that expands his acting capabilties see this film, as for Gary Oldman this is one of his most acomplished works. A far cry from his usual bad guy over the edge type characters. I love this film!

boring and stupid
this dull, dull waste of time has no reason to exis

Criminal Law: A landmark in the careers of Bacon & Oldman
Criminal Law, released in 1989, gave a door-opening opportunity for Gary Oldman to enter the world of "real" Hollywood movies, and provided an opportunity for Kevin bacon to demonstrate his talent in a career slow spell. The plot is a well constructed thriller with Bacon playing the malevolent client of Gary Oldman's maverick neophyte criminal lawyer. Oldman gives an excellent portrayal of a young egotist torn between the oath of client confidentiality and the knowledge that his client is guilty. Bacon is brilliant as the cold genius client. A third very creditable performance is delivered by Joe-Don Baker who plays a tenacious wizened investigator. Overall the script provides for a tense thriller with much food for thought, laying the groundwork for similar movies one and a half decades later such as "Seven" and "Kiss the girls". I'd recommend it highly, but not on a dark rainy night if you're alone. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

A titanic performance by Jack Nicholson powers this fact-and-fiction biography of Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa. From the opening moment--Hoffa sitting alone in the back of a car--Nicholson's performance is one of his best, and a rare role as a historical person. The sweeping all-American story of a common worker who reaches the highest pinnacle in the world's most powerful union is sweepingly told with wondrous detail, in wardrobe, sets, and trucks. The better-documented facts of Hoffa's life, including his struggle against Attorney General Bobby Kennedy (Kevin Anderson), supply the backbone of the story. But the hope of what the Teamsters are to the American Dream is what makes the film glow (swept along by David Newman's score). The screenplay by David Mamet takes two wild and entertaining divergences from fact. The first is the character of Hoffa's ubiquitous sidekick Bobby Ciaro, played by the film's director, Danny DeVito. It's a fictitious role, a composite character that allows the story to be clearly told, as does the second--Mamet's explanation of Hoffa'sfamous disappearance. --Doug Thomas ... Read more

Reviews (19)

A must see for everyone, including schools.
"Hoffa", released in December of 1992 along with other bio- pics such as "Malcolm X" and "Chaplin", was a film that opened and faded in a snap. Audiences really took it for granted, thinking it would be a glory film about someone who didn't deserved to be praised. I will agree that the film did take a few liberties, but that's a minor quibble because this film ultimatily showed what few had the courage to acknowledge about Jimmy Hoffa: his fight for the well-being of mankind.
DeVito and Company made a searing biography that gave Nicholson one of the best performance of his lifetime. Everyone should view this film and form their opinion. Those who lived through the time period from the film should give it a look. And, this film should be shown in every high school history class, so they can learn about a man they should never forget.

You don¿t have to like the man to like the movie.
I have no interest in the life of Jimmy Hoffa, and I am predisposed to disliking the man even before the first frame of Hoffa is run. But I do watch, knowing the film is from a very good David Mamet script, knowing that I want to be convinced that Jack Nicholson is one of our great actors, and knowing that Danny DeVito is a very serious filmmaker--that I will see his heart and soul in the film.

I am not disappointed, and I still care, not at all about James Hoffa, the man.

Jack Nicholson is one of our great actors, and regardless of all his extra curricular activities, he is a committed and serious craftsman, and his portrayal of James Hoffa is fine craftsmanship.

The story of Hoffa itself may be the least interesting component of the film. The production design is beautiful-a perfect compliment to the words of Mamet delivered by a painstakingly perfect cast.

Should you have the opportunity to view the deluxe laserdisk with the Danny Devito commentary and extra production materials you will be treated.

Not a film for everyone, but I liked it.

Over the Top - and Disappointing
I remember the great hype that surrounded the release of "Hoffa" a decade ago. Jack Nicholson was considered a given for an Oscar nomination and Danny Devito was heralded as "The next Robert Redford," a true Actor's Director. But as is often the case, the hype does'nt translate to results. Part of the problem lies in with the profanity-laced script. The "f" word is used so often that it seems like a parody of "Goodfellas." Devito, playing a fictionalized character, pales in Nicholson's shadow, and his role seems like an afterthought. The ending is also flawed: Hoffa's body has never been found but Devito and Co. assume an ending that seals Hoffa's fate. Nicholson, perhaps the greatest Actor of a generation, flounders here. He overacts grandly in most scenes and fails to win any sympathy for Hoffa. In the few scenes with his family, he overdoes the sentiment and comes off phony. Even the much-anticipated face-off with Bobby Kennedy fails to charge this film. If you want to learn about Jimmy Hoffa, check out A&E's excellent biography.

Good history; good acting
Summary:
Bobby Ciaro (Danny DeVito) is a truck driver during a turbulent time as the Teamster's Union is fighting the bourgeois company owners for better wages. Ciaro has heard of James R. 'Jimmy' Hoffa (Jack Nicholson), and wants nothing to do with him as his boss doesn't want to hire Union. But when Hoffa stops by his truck while he's trying to catch some sleep, Ciaro can't get rid of him and eventually Hoffa convinces him that what he is proposing isn't such a bad idea.

The next day, Hoffa confronts Ciaro in front of his boss, essentially forcing him out of his job. In Ciaro's anger at losing his job (I believe this is taking place during the 1930s, so losing your job was a very big deal), he tries to kill Hoffa, but fails and Hoffa ends up taking him into his confidence. Eventually, they develop a close relationship with Ciaro acting as Hoffa's number two man.

The movie then follows Hoffa's rise to power as the president of the International Teamster's and his eventual conviction at the hands of Robert 'Bobby' Kennedy (Kevin Anderson).

The movie is actually told as a series of flashbacks while Bobby and Jimmy are waiting at a roadside cafe to talk to a mafia boss. Eventually the flashbacks catch up to Bobby and Jimmy and it is ultimately revealed that this is supposed to be the day Hoffa disappeared. Instead of meeting with Hoffa, the mob boss sends some of his men who kill Hoffa and Bobby and get rid of the bodies.

Comments:
I'm fairly young (27 at the writing of this) and have only heard of Jimmy Hoffa (he actually disappeared - 1975 -before I was born - 1976). So I was excited to watch this movie, if just to get caught up on the history. And, though I haven't spent much time verifying the portrayal of the movie, I believe it is a fairly accurate account of what happened.

There are a couple of problems with the movie, but they are minor. First, my wife had a hard time following what was going on at the beginning. I can understand why she was having a hard time because it really does jump around quite a bit. It begins with Hoffa making a name for himself then jumps to the future as he is growing more famous, and then even further into the future as he is elected President of the Teamster's. Unless you realize what is happening, it can be a little difficult to follow the story. I think where these jumps became truly poignant was when I realized Hoffa actually had a wife. The movie is so focused on Jimmy's involvement with the mob and the Teamster's that his personal life is completely over-looked. I believe he was sitting by his wife at the funeral in the movie, but because he shows her virtually no attention, let alone affection, I didn't realize it was his wife until he told one of his underlings to get her some food. So, the story jumps around a lot and doesn't look much at Hoffa's personal life.

The other major drawback of the movie is the repeated use of sound stages. There are numerous scenes where it isn't difficult at all to see that they aren't on a location but instead are in a studio. Two rather obvious ones are the opening scene where Jimmy gets into Bobby's truck and when Jimmy goes hunting with the mob boss. You don't have to look hard to realize the lighting in the sky never changes and, even though it is well-painted, the coloring is so consistent that you know you are looking at a painting rather than a real sky.

The acting goes a long way to make up for the minor problems with the story and production. As always, Nicholson is remarkable. He isn't really playing a flamboyant character like he does in About Schmidt, where the character is so bizarre you just can't forget him. Obviously Hoffa was memorable, but even though the movie uses his name as the title, he wasn't the main character in the movie - Ciaro was as the movie was told from his perspective. But what makes Nicholson so amazing is that he seems to have morphed into Hoffa. If you watch the actual footage of the hearing where Hoffa is being interviewed by Bobby Kennedy, you quickly realize they stuck right to the script and Nicholson has Hoffa down to a 'T'. If you don't believe me, the kicker is in the eyes. Hoffa's eyes are a bit beady and they move around erratically. Watch his eyes then watch Nicholson's eyes as he repeats back the monologues and you'll find they are nearly indistinguishable. It really is a captivating performance.

There was only one problem with the acting - Danny DeVito is too short! I liked his character; I thought he did a good job and it was a good portrayal. But he is supposed to be Hoffa's muscle and he can't be more than 5 foot two. There is one scene in particular where this becomes a serious issue. Kennedy sends a legal clerk to come check on the Teamster's files and Bobby pushes him out. The clerk was about a foot taller than DeVito and looked like he could have eaten him for lunch. DeVito, I love your work and enthusiasm, but you really needed to cast shorter actors to push around.

Overall, this is an informative movie. Having watched it, I wouldn't consider myself an expert on Hoffa, but now I can put a face and biography with the name. Nicholson is great but DeVito falls a little short (pun fully intended). Other than a few poor production decisions, this is a very well-made movie. Despite the minor problems, I recommend this movie for anyone that wants a brief but thorough introduction to Jimmy Hoffa.

One Of My Favorite Films With Flash, Style and Substance
This is easily one of the best historical biopics ever made ranking up there with Nixon and Malcolm X. This is also a towering directorial achivement for Danny De Vito that proves he can handle telling any kind of story not simply dark comedies (i.e. Smoochy, Momma, Roses). Nicholson's performance is also pretty amazing as is De Vito's and particularly the bit roles of Robert Prosky ("wear it like a white man") and Frank Whaley. The cinematography and score are also completely out of this world. Give this film a shot you will not be dissapointed. I cannot wait to purchase the dvd the day it comes out. De Vito is a genius. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

John Savage is superb, but Nastassja Kinski is better
Savage comes back from the war to find out his crush when he was little has a boyfriend but the 2 end up being married. Mitchum and Carradine seem miscast but that doesnt count the fact of the good story and good performances by the leading man and woman. god I want to just, take Kinski home and butter her up, lick her, prop her on the couch. shes a lover in my eyes. there are some scenes with her where I just shivered and my jaw dropped, shes a goddess

Turkey award
This is a piece of junk. Do not waste your money.

The Best Love Story Ever
Russian director Andrei Konchalovsky's "Maria's Lovers" is definitly my favorite film. There is nothing too flashy or groundbreaking about this film, in fact it is very subtle. However, it is one of the finest love stories I've ever seen, and John Savage's performance is in my opinion the best I've ever seen. I don't think a film has ever moved me so much. The story is very real and I think the themes and values behind this film are very important and are ones that contemporary Americans often forget about. If you have a taste for European movies and you don't mind a quiet serious drama, this film is really quite exceptional. In my opinion, it's one of the most overlooked and underated films of the 1980's (there aren't many good ones from that decade). I can't believe how low profile it was considering Nasstasia Kinski was the most popular film actress when it was released in 1984. In fact the most attention it has recieved is that is is being released on DVD, which I'm so grateful to MGM for. I hope the DVD market continues releasing unusual and /or conventional films.

about time!
I know it's not out yet, but ... this is a Christmas present to treasure, great ... movie, watch it, I love it and am shocked and extremely happy it got to DVD, there is a DVD God....watch the great John Savage in his best role and look for a great bit with an unknown John Goodman and Bud Cort.... ... Read more

Reviews (1)

predictable...baseball scenes ok. announcer authentic
wasnt the best i've ever seen...but if you like a good mystery and sports, this isnt a bad film..didnt make much of a splash when released, but i find those who see it like it..roy scheider is always strong..enjoyed the baseball play by play track throughout that added to the plot... ... Read more

Reviews (187)

Shark Revenge??
Ellen Brody (Lorraine Gary) is convinced that the same kind of shark that attacked her husband and kids in the past is out to finish her family off in this mediocre third sequel to the 1975 Steven Spielberg classic. When he youngest son, now taking over for his father as sheriff of Amity Island, is killed by a shark while investigating wreckage in Amity Harbor on Christmas Eve, Gary escapes with her other son Mike (Lance Guest) for the Bahamas, and meets up with a congenial local airplane pilot (Michael Caine).

But Mr. Whitey isn't through with the Brody family just yet. The result is a series of admittedly scary but otherwise thoroughly pedestrian shock sequences, topped off by flashbacks experienced by Gary to events that she never even witnessed (!!) and a climax that is both totally unbelievable and rather disgusting.

JAWS 4 does boast a good music score by Michael Small, and is directed well enough by Joseph Sargent, a journeyman director who has made at least two great films prior to this--1970's COLOSSUS: THE FORBIN PROJECT, and 1974's THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE-TWO-THREE. But his cause is hindered by Michael De Guzman's inert screenplay, which simply uses the revenge format as a raison d'etre for the scares and the killings. Like JAWS 3, its immediate predecessor, this film is admittedly watchable. But that is ALL it is.

JAWS4 SWEEEET!!!!!
This was AWWWWWWSOME!!!! No wonder it got a PG13 rating, BLOOOD. New invention, SOME FLASHEY THINGEY.That Jaws in this movie looked scarier than Jaws 1, 2 and ,3! New place, BAHAMAHS BABY!! keep shopping!

Best Michael Caine comment
Cheesy schlock that, like the other sequels, buys into the horror cliches that Spielberg so brilliantly subverted for the first movie (does not the scene in the origninal Jaws where a child and a dog get eaten by the monster in broad daylight at a crowded beach right in front of the hero break every horror movie rule?).

However, it did produce one great moment. When asked by an interviewer about this movie, Michael Caine said, "I have not seen the film, but I hear it is terrible. However, I have seen the house that it paid for, and it is superb."

Amazing, simply amazing.........
....amazing that the great Michael Caine would associate himself with such a dreadful movie. This is among the worst movies I've ever seen.

Please do not buy this movie
Let me start off by saying sorrying if my spelling is incorrect and oh yah this is the most terrible jaws movie I have ever seen and it is a disgrace to the first movie and how dare the women who played Brodys wife could ever sign a contract wanting to be in this movie. Second of all throughout the whole movie the shark is "supposibly" trying to track down the Brody family and trying to eat every one of them like it did to one of Brodys sons in the first scence of the movie. And throughout the whole movie Brodys wife some how has some sort of psychic ability to know if the shark is close or something bad is happening that has to do with the shark its a know doubt one 100% quality corny movie. And another thing when they are killing the shark the shark is making loud moaning noises which really goes to how how much the director knows (hey a little hint sharks don't have voice boxes so they cant make any type of noise what so ever). The movie is terrible so please I beg the people who read this review please and i mean please dont buy this movie it is a huge disapointment to all you shark movie fans because I am a shark movie fan myself but in final words don't by the movie ... Read more

Reviews (21)

Great screenplay
"Joe the King," written by actor Frank Whaley (Swing Kids, Pulp Fiction) debuted him this time as director in this independant film that takes place in upstate New York(actually filmed on Staten Island).

This movie, told about a young boy's struggle for survival in a world that has the odds stacked against him, is a powerful and moving movie. The young actor playing Joe, Noah Fleiss (Josh and S.A.M.) proved to be a very wonderful actor. Other actors included are Val Kilmer, Ethan Hawke, John Leguizamo, Camryn Manheim, Karen Young, and countless others.

Despite the not so good reviews and ratings given by film critics, I believe that this movie is a very unique, interesting, and nicely put together movie.

The DVD version is very interesting because of a special feature included in it, which is a commentary made on the film that is narrated by Frank Whaley, his brother Robert Whaley, and snipits by actor and friend of Whaley's, Ethan Hawke. The whole movie is replayed in this feature, but this time with their voices in the background, offering each person's individual opinion about each and every single scene, as well as behind-the-scenes information. Frank Whaley's witty humour provides for laughs throughout the commentary.

All in all, this was a wonderful movie...that just happened to be filmed in my school!

Superbly Done
This is a sad, sad, story. It is about a boy, who at 14, his life is already shown to go nowhere. The irony in the movie is that no one can save him, no matter how much they try. It seems his fate is all ready decided. The boy makes a few bad decisions and it seems to show that he'll stay on that same path forever. Whaley does a wonderful job with this movie. It's not a story about the kid(Joe) but a story of many real-life children in the same situation. We see the story through the eyes of Joe(played very well by Noah Fleiss)as he navigatesthrough every day life. The boy has no role model, and his family is the one to blame. His constantly drunk and abusive father(Val Kilmer in perhaps his most touching role ever)offers no support. Neither does his mother, who seems to be in a never-ending state of shock. And then there's his older brother, who constantly ditches him. We have sympathy for Joe because he's not a bad kid, he's just doing bad things.Others try to influence him such as a school counseler(Ethan Hawke), and fellow worker (John Leguizamo), but to no avail. Joe seems to be beyond help. Joe is eventually caught after stealing some money. The sad part is he stole the money to pay off one of his father's loans, and buy his mother new records. (The previous records were brokenbecause of his fathers rage.) The final scene between boy and father is one of the most moving I've seen in awhile.

pull up your chair, some popcorn, bitchslap your wife, enjoy
I really enjoyed this movie, ( true to life ).

King of the Hill
This interesting independent movie directed by Frank Whalley is a worthwile and engaging coming of age story about Joe, a teenage boy (played by the unknown and excellent Noah Fleiss), who doesn`t seem to find his place in school, neighborhood and family. It doesn`t help that he has an abusive drunk father and a mother too busy to care, who let him constantly on his own and forcing him to make some (bad) choices.
This could have turned into a predictable, by-the-numbers tearjerker but thankfully the director tries to develop a deep and dry story, realistic and honest enough. The last scenes with Joe and his father are actually quite well-done, never becoming too sappy although they make for some moving and powerful moments.
Not a stellar picture, but it`s done with care and talent in all levels, turning it into an above average effort and a good directing debut for Whalley. There`s even some acting contributions by indie-stars like Ethan Hawke, John Leguizamo or Val Kilmer in supporting roles. Recommended.

A powerful film.....tough lessons for Joe the King
I have seen