Angel Heart
by Mickey Rourke Robert De Niro
Director: Alan Parker
Average Customer Review:
DVD (24 April, 2001)
list price: $14.98
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Editorial Review

Set in Harlem and New Orleans in 1955, this supernatural thriller stirred a brief controversy when released in 1987 because some scenes featuring Lisa Bonet (then a popular cast member of The Cosby Show) were considered too sexually explicit to be rated R. The edited material was restored for the unrated video release, and the movie now makes a fitting double bill with Fallen, with its similar plot about a sullen detective (Mickey Rourke) who is hired to find a missing person by a shady client with pointy fingernails named Louis Cyphre (Lucifer, get it?), played with subtle menace by Robert De Niro. Rourke's investigation leads him into an underworld of voodoo and forbidden desires, and as the mystery unfolds director Alan Parker fills every scene with conspicuous style and atmospheric excess, compelling critic Pauline Kael to observe that, "Parker simply doesn't have the gift of making evil seductive, and he edits like a flasher." And yet, this movie does cast a spell of its own (Roger Ebert's review was considerably more charitable), and the performances of Rourke, De Niro, Bonet, and Charlotte Rampling are well suited to the ominous mood. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Features

• Color
• Closed-captioned
• Dolby
• Widescreen

Reviews (88)

"Lucifer, even your name is a dime store joke."
Harry Angel is a private investigator hired by Louis Cyphre to track down a singer named Johnny Favorite. As Angel begins his investigate the people he contacts concerning Johnny are killed in extremely violent manners. As he digs deeper into the case he discovers more about himself.His client is persistent, and wants his man.Cyphre is owed something by Favorite, and he desperately wants to collect.Will Angel find Favorite?What does Cyphre wish to collect from Favorite that is so important?Who are Cyphre and Angel really?

"I've heard talk I've been riding around in a Cadillac.If you love me, if you pray to me, I should be driving around in a Roles Royce."

Alan Parker (Mississippi Burning, Fame, and Pink Floyd The Wall) directs Angel Heart, which he also wrote the screen play.The story was extremely good in this film.I also loved the setting and scenery.Parker also did a marvelous job developing Heart's character.However, as the film concluded, I felt it should have been better.It reminded me very much of Serpent and the Rainbow.

"Of course I know what an attorney is.It is like a lawyer, but with bigger bills."

Angel Heart is an interesting film.Harry Angel is a very intriguing character and Mickey Rourke plays the character to perfection.I know it says on the jacket the film stars Lisa Bonet and Robert De Niro, however, they play minor roles as the film revolves completely around Rourke.As another reviewer stated, the film was very obvious, and I guessed about a quarter of the way into the movie who was who and so forth.Watching the story unravel was still a treat, and discovering the story behind Favorite was a roller coaster ride.The conclusion of the film is very dramatic, and ends very well.

"Alas, how terrible is wisdom when it brings no profit to the wise."

Overall the film is entertaining and interesting.It should have been a lot better.The story was brilliant, the setting was fabulous, and the characters were marvelous.All the pieces are there for a masterpiece, the film ends, and you feel there is a whole in the plot/story.The film is not a must own, maybe not even a must see.I would rent it, develop your own conclusion.

"Your going to burn for this one Angel."

Grade: B-

Best Alan Parker Movie
"Angel Heart" is one of my favorite movies of all times.

Have re-watched it over and over again since 1987 but am still haunted by Parker's first-class story-telling and cinemaphotography; Trevor Jones' wonderful music score (excellent use of theme song, "Girl of My Dreams", in melodious refrain); and superb casting from the leading to supporting cast, showcasing a particularly diabolical de Niro teamed up with Mickey Rourke at his very best - the scene where he smashed his hand into the mirror while uncontrollably shrieking "I know who I am, I know who I am..." in the hour of reckoning was hauntingly memorable.

But kudos and praise must certainly go to top-notch direction/screenplay by Alan Parker. This is the very first time I am rating the movie better than the original fiction, "Falling Angel", by William Hjortsberg. Parker's very own modifications like shifting part of the movie from Harlem to New Orleans for contrast was clever and visually gratifying.

To be nitpicking, the only flaw in the movie was the use of special effects on Lucifer and Epiphany's baby to signify evil when truth was revealed at the final hour. This came across as a tad heavy-handed, especially when the supernatural / demonic influence thread was already so effectively sewn throughout the film sans special effects. Don't get me wrong though - what made this little imperfection stuck out like a sore thumb was just how good 99.99% of the movie was. As shown in the Director's Commentary (yes, they are finally adding "Bonus Materials" to the Zone 1 Director's Cut), Alan Parker equally questioned himself on the addition of "green contact lens" to heighten the visual impact years ago - he was right to have asked himself that question and should probably have stuck to his guns with the "less is more" principle.

All said, despite this little irksome flaw, the movie is as excellent as great movie-making, acting, story-telling and unstoppable visual feast can go. Don't miss it.

Obvious, but watchable
A seedy gumshoe (Mickey Rourke) works a missing persons case in New Orleans, unaware that he has a terrifying personal connection to it.This connection and the true nature of his employer (Robert DeNiro) only become clear to him at the end of the film, but they should be clear to any attentive filmgoer long before that, even if you haven't read the Amazon review, which gives away a major plot revelation.Director Alan Parker scores points for style, but his story is a constant barrage of horror movie and private eye conventions.DeNiro's performance is broad, overly mannered, and cliché; the identity of his character is immediately apparent, robbing the revelation at the end of the film of its impact.Parker's direction and interesting performances from Rourke and Lisa Bonet keep it watchable, but a bit more self-restraint and imagination would have improved this film a great deal./ ... Read more

Asin: 078401115X
Subjects:  1. Feature Film-drama   

Johnny Handsome
by Mickey Rourke Ellen Barkin
Director: Walter Hill
Average Customer Review:
VHS Tape (15 August, 2000)
list price: $9.98
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Features

• Color
• Closed-captioned
• NTSC

Reviews (18)

The revenge is a dish that it eats very cold!
A double crossing in a robbery will sent prison to Rourke and despite these serious wounds will disfigure all his face he will be submitted to a plastic surgeon . Once he is released he will plot the revenge for those who betrayed. This script has been told so many times but Walter Hill knew maintain the internal tension all along the film creating a dark atmosphere thanks to a notable cast and impressive violence images. Watch for Freeman and Whitaker in secondary roles.

The revenge is a dish that it eats very cold!

A double crossing in a robbery will sent prison to Rourke and despite these serious wounds will disfigure all his face he will be submitted to a plastic surgeon . Once he is released he will plot the revenge for those who betrayed. This script has been told so many times but Walter Hill knew maintain the internal tension all along the film creating a dark atmosphere thanks to a notable cast and impressive violence images. Watch for Freeman and Whitaker in secondary roles.

One of the best achievements in Rourke's career.

Loved This Film
I haven't seen this in ages.It was great to see it again.This was the movie that first piqued my interested in Mickey Rourke's acting ability.Man he was awesome during the 80's!!!!!!!Too bad his plastic surgery ruined his face. oh well, nothing lasts forever.Few people have had the opportunity in their lives of stardom that Rourke did for over a decade. ... Read more

Asin: 6301608119
Sales Rank: 1534
Subjects:  1. Feature Film-action/Adventure   

Angel Heart
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (15 June, 1990)
list price: $11.98 -- our price: $11.98
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Features

• Soundtrack

Reviews (5)

Good stuff - but could have been better.
The music to Angel Heart was a key asset to the film -- departing from the book on which it was based, the film takes the viewer to New Orleans midway through, and this provides a valuable texture to the story.

The music on this album is good, and it is probably worth a purchase - but I have to mark it down because of the glaring ommision of two of the best pieces of music from the film.

First, the signature "Soul on Fire" by LaVern Baker, which is simply the most memorable song in the entire film. Haunting, longing, beautiful on its own -- the song takes on a new character in the context of the film.Fortunately, you can pick this song up on any LaVern Baker compilation.

Sadly, the other great song left off here is a funky little Cajun/Voodoo number by Dr. John, listed as Zuzu Man in the movie credits, but I have been unable to get my hands on the song anywhere. He seems to have multiple versions of the song, and the version from the film is elusive.

The absence of these two songs, along with a bit too much of the films dialogue, overshadow what is otherwise a memorable soundtrack. Probably only for the rabid fans of the film.

What's that tune you're singing?
One would probably not be able to fully appreciate the Angel Heart soundtrack without seeing the movie, but hearing it afore will probably serve as an additional incentive to see the film.Director Alan Parker is known for his imaginative and inventive use of music in his films.As far as I'm concerned, Angel Heart is one of the finest examples of the use of music in films.The main character of the film, private detective Harry Angel is hired to find '30s crooner Johnny Favorite, his own alter-ego - something he gradually discovers, to his own horror.Says Parker: "In the script I had made Johnny Favorite's 30's hit pivotal to our story and I wanted it to haunt the movie as it had haunted Harry.From a mountain of 78's I chose "Girl of my Dreams" which was nostalgically familiar but not too connected with any one artist.Trevor Horn [composer, arranger and conductor of the original music] cleverly wove the old theme into his new atmospheric score and had the brain-wave of using the brilliant young Courtney Pine for the sax solo's."Cleverly indeed!And chillingly effective.Harry Angel whistles to himself "Girl of my Dreams" and as he discovers more about Johnny Favorite, the song and the main theme become more and more elaborate and complete, and eventually in one of the scenes the shy piano rendition of the theme gets orchestral backing as the mystery reveals itself to us... impressive.However, at less than 38 minutes, I find it unforgivable that Rourke's whistling at the beginning of his search and the original 78 single, at the end of it, are not included.Horn's orchestrations and sounds were synthesized on synclavier and for a moment I'd wished he had used the real orchestra instead.Overall however, this is an outstanding soundtrack to an excellent movie.

HAUNTING
Although I usually find the inclusion of dialogue on a soundtrack to be intrusive, that's not the case here.Luckily it is not too overdone.The compositions by Trevor Jones and the sax of Courtney Pine bring back allthe haunting beauty and terror of the film.There are no throwawayscreeching scare tracks. At under 40 minutes, it is a beautiful renderingof a sinister mood that can be listened to again and again. More than adecade later, one might say the film doesn't keep it's "mystery"very well hidden but the music has held up.It's a superior example of acomposer's ability to make a good film great and for that reason, I canwatch it again and again. Note however, I could not watch the film withoutits score but I can spin the disc constantly.Alan Parker was a genius forchoosing to go with atmosphere rather than musical hysterics. Never havethe blues been so unnervingly hypnotic. ... Read more

Asin: B000001FTB
Sales Rank: 122773
Subjects:  1. Film    2. Pop    3. Soundtrack    4. Soundtracks    5. Soundtracks & Film Scores    6. Vocal   

Music By Ry Cooder
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (11 July, 1995)
list price: $19.98 -- our price: $19.98
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Editorial Review

Ostensibly a collection of Cooder's film music, the two-CD Music by Ry Cooder delivers the cinematic quality of a good soundtrack album but packs the kind of ferocious jams--featuring crack players such as John Hiatt, Jim Keltner, David Lindley, and Jim Dickinson--that you'll never hear on a John Williams score. Cooder's melancholy acoustic and electric-slide moans are a constant, though the material shifts from the plaintive piano tune "I Like Your Eyes" (from Johnny Handsome) to the border-town ballad "Across the Borderline" (featuring Freddy Fender) to the grit-and-spit stomp of "Bomber Bash" (from Streets of Fire). From cowboy serenades to contemporary exotica, from Paris, Texas to Alamo Bay, Cooder's soundtrack legacy is a strangely unified cross section of an American master's finest and most varied work. --James Rotondi ... Read more

Reviews (9)

A talent too subtle for some
This album is, by and large, an array of tracks that are composed to create a space within which something else can happen. That's what music in films, on the whole, has to do. Otherwise you end up with a musical. With one or two exceptions, these tracks cover the range of work Cooder has been producing that, carefully composed and arranged, support the films they appear in. Try listening it it while the sunset turns to dusk.

Really great background music, which is the problem
I think some of the reviewers here miss the point:this is background music, which means that unlike some of Cooder's other, greater albums like PARADISE AND LUNCH, CHICKEN SKIN MUSIC, or INTO THE PURPLE VALLEY. Unlike these albums, the music here isn't supposed to call direct attention to itself.It is supposed to create mood and generate atmosphere.You can't listen to individual cuts with the same kind of attention that you would to his recording of Woody Guthrie's "Vigilante Man." I don't mean to denigrate the album by representing this as background music.That is simply what it is, and you have to judge it by different standards than music that is meant to perform a different function.

I derive enormous enjoyment from this album by employing it for the same purposes that it served in the various movies for which it was recorded.Reading, taking a bath, working, writing a friend to a letter:this is great music for any of those and a multitude of other activities.We sometimes want every piece of music to conform to a single use, but that simply isn't realistic.

I do want to make two general comments about this album.One is that the highpoint for me is the absolutely stunning song from the Jack Nicholson film THE BORDER (one of his greatest performances) entitled "The Borderline," written by Jim Dickinson and sung by Freddy Fender.It is simply a great song, and unlike the rest of the album, in no sense background music.The other remark is that a complaint that I have is that so little music from THE LONG RIDERS soundtrack was included.The best music that Cooder ever did for a movie was for that one, and I could have stood to have a great deal more included here.We get three cuts, but I would have enjoyed 4 or 5 more.Anyone enjoying those, however, should search out the entire soundtrack.

Save your money
This is the lamest of Ry Cooder's CDs. Save your money and find a copy of soundtrack to Blue City, a forgetable (thank God!) movie with wonderful music. ... Read more

Asin: B000002N0X
Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Rock   

Get Carter
by Sylvester Stallone Rachael Leigh Cook
Director: Stephen T. Kay
Average Customer Review:
DVD (13 February, 2001)
list price: $14.98 -- our price: $13.48
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Editorial Review

The original Get Carter (1971), directed by Croupier's Mike Hodges, stars Michael Caine as Jack Carter, a mob enforcer who returns to his hometown after the suspicious death of his brother. The plot has a breezy, improvised feel and Caine is fantastic, an amoral man who would sleep with any girl or torture any guy to get what he wants. In the American remake, Sylvester Stallone plays a sanitized version of Jack Carter, a guy who is violent but ultimately moral. It doesn't work nearly as well. The whole movie seems like it's been crafted around the Stallone persona, which gives it a manufactured rather than spontaneous feel. Admittedly, that is not helped by the film-school pyrotechnics of director Stephen Kay, who fills the frame with so much unnecessary camera movement that it really feels like he spent more time setting up the camera shots than he did on the script. Moving the story from a small town north of London to Seattle works better because of the subplot concerning Internet porn, of which Seattle is a virtual hotbed. The downside is that it allows for Alan Cumming's portrayal of a Bill Gates-like billionaire as a near-retarded boy-child. Other actors fare better with their roles, particularly Rachel Leigh Cook and Mickey Rourke, though Michael Caine's presence only serves to draw unfair comparisons to the original. That said, if you buy both versions you will learn more about the state of Hollywood at the turn of the millennium than with a year's subscription to Variety. --Andy Spletzer ... Read more

Features

• Color
• Closed-captioned
• Widescreen
• Dolby

Reviews (69)

You Don't Want to Know Me
Stallone is Jack Carter, a mob enforcer who's back in town after he finds out that his brother has just been killed and his brother's daughter also has been raped. Of course, he's a little pissed off. Carter drives all over town, interviewing his brother's family as well as potential suspects in the case. (Ironically, it never seems like the police are involved). There are a ton of recognizable character actors in here, inlcuding Mickey Rourke, Alan Cumming, and John C. McGinley.

It's a shame this movie didn't get a decent theatrical run and was panned by critics. The film is actually quite decent and getsa lot of good performances by its actors. Michael Caine even shows up in a cameo as a nod to the 1971 version.

This film is not as bad as you may think it is if you're looking for something to simply entertain you. Sly is back in full form, giving a strong performance (for him anyway) in the lead. Worth a look for action and thriller fans.

you got smacked with one powerful flick of action and drama
from start to finish this movie is full of adrenaline
pulse pounding action
great storyline
great actors and actresses
powerful story and movie
Stallone kicks ass as Jack Carter
it is one interesting movie to watch
glad I got it on dvd
if you like Stallone get or see: Rocky movies, Demolition Man, etc. if
you like Michael Caine see: Jaws the Revenge: and his other movies

I shall watch this one more and more and more
because every time it's just so amazing to see and understand
and it's a very touching powerful gripping story

Vengenance Upon The Viewer
Sorry this remake of Get Carter is a dud.The entire plot surrounds many unsavory characters.Also, little depth is provided and too many unanswered questions remain.Why was Sylvester Stallone's character estranged from his murdered brother?And why after five years does he take such an aggressive murdering stand to avenge his murdered brother's death and niece's rape? Even Syrus played by Mickey Rourke questions this.

Little is explained about the events that led to Jack Carter's brother's murder.A few scene's of gruesome flashbacks and endless chatter of this disc that the brother had do not get to the point of what led to this murder.

The nerve racking car chase and fight scenes even seem hard to follow. The final confrontation between Stallone and Rourke is strangely scripted with Rourke beating Stalone bloody.Five minutes later Stalone stagers to where Rourke is dancing with sleazy women and is able to muster the strength to beat down his adversary.Its difficult to interpret what Michael Caine's role is in this fiasco.

All of the above adds up to a one star rating that takes more painful vengenance on the viewer than any beatings that Carter(Stallone) lays down on his hapless victims. ... Read more

Asin: B000056PNL
Subjects:  1. Feature Film-action/Adventure   

Get Carter: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture (2000 Film)
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (05 November, 2002)
list price: $16.98 -- our price: $16.98
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Editorial Review

This star vehicle for Sylvester Stallone may be a remake of the 1971 film starring Michael Caine, but the soundtrack music is clearly from this era. Jellybean Benitez worked as executive producer, and the coterie of trip-hop and techno-dance DJs and stars is noteworthy. From the expert grooves of Manchester duo Mint Royale to Petersburg, Ontario's most popular brothers, Soma Sonic, the waves of sensual ambience flow like lava from a lamp. Expert British remixer Paul Oakenfold (Happy Mondays) teams with programmer Andy Gray for "Descents." Soundtrack perennial Moby contributes the hypnotic "Memory Gospel." Bill Leeb and Delerium are on target with "Enchanted." Jellybean himself gives us a take on "Jingle Bells," which is sandwiched between the Accidentals' choir versions of the Christmas carols "Joy to the World" and "Silent Night." --Rob O'Connor ... Read more

Features

• Soundtrack

Reviews (18)

Probaly the song that many people are looking for...
"There is a song in Get Carter that I fell in love with immediately, unfortunately its not on the soundtrack. I heard the song when Stallone crashes the rich-nerdy guy's house party in search of revenge. I also heard the same song in Vanilla sky, during his birthday party. Can anyone help me find the name of this song and who's it by??"

The song is called: From Rusholme With Love - Mint Royale

See u all!

Probaly the song that many people are looking for...
"There is a song in Get Carter that I fell in love with immediately, unfortunately its not on the soundtrack. I heard the song when Stallone crashes the rich-nerdy guy's house party in search of revenge. I also heard the same song in Vanilla sky, during his birthday party. Can anyone help me find the name of this song and who's it by??"

The song is called: From Rusholme With Love - Mint Royale

See u all!

Help me!!
Does anyone know the name of that tune that plays just after Sly gets beated and goes down to the night club? (no it's not the Indian Sitar song) it's a techno/trance song, but i'm not quite sure which one is. Anyone knows its name? ... Read more

Asin: B00004YWZT
Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Soundtracks    3. Soundtracks & Film Scores   

Bullet
Director: Julien Temple
Average Customer Review:
VHS Tape (08 January, 2002)
list price: $9.94 -- our price: $9.44
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Editorial Review

Mickey Rourke is Butch "Bullet" Stein and the late Tupac Shakur is Tank in this stylish, Julien Temple-directed crime drama. Narrative is secondary to atmosphere in the violent, yet sensitive tale of an ex-con (Rourke) attempting to adjust to life on the outside. The minute Bullet emerges from the pen, however, the blood and profanity begin to flow just as freely as the references to Dali and Picasso (his younger brother is an artist). His drug problem is bad enough, but the biggest threat comes from the Kangol-sporting, eye-patched Tank, who intends to get his revenge for the eye Bullet took from him. Classical music and opera, meanwhile, bump up against hip-hop and Barry White. Despite the billing, this is Rourke's show all the way and Tupac's part is quite small in comparison. Ted Levine (The Silence of the Lambs) and Adrien Brody (The Pianist) star as Bullet's eccentric brothers. --Kathleen C. Fennessy ... Read more

Features

• Color
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Reviews (43)

Gritty, violent, & totally absorbing movie....
This is a must see movie for you 2pac fans..he gives a masterful performance..as usual. Micky Rourke is Bullet, the type of friend you want around when the chips are down. Pac his adversary hell bent on revenge for Rourke's unavoidable wrongs. The movie is beautifully shot and the soundtrack captures the feel of the film. See it!

Bullet
Talk about gangsta, go watch how a inmate shows no fear up against the legendary tupac shakur. Pac is a ill actor and better rapper as you all know, but in this he keeps it gangsta by blastin at his enemy. Mickey rouke is ill in this movie his role is kind of sad but revenge is what happens when you play wit fire..Def worth it to buy or rent...

This movie and my experience
Growing up near Kings Highway and the Stillwell Avenue area, I have hung out around the Marlboro Projects and all around Coney Island. While not as bad as Brownsville or East New York by far at all, its still ghetto and gets it going when it wants to. White gangsters used to own Coney Island and some still throw down and hold it there. Me myself being white, I was able to relate to this movie because it was in my neighborhood. Its very real. Anything goes on anywhere in Brooklyn, and Brooklyn is Brooklyn. That scene in Lafayette's Schoolyard where I used to go when my brother went to that school was classic. Watch this movie, thats all I can say.

You tell that N**ger Bigant's back in town!!!!!!!! ... Read more

Asin: 6304274114

Diner
by Steve Guttenberg Mickey Rourke Kevin Bacon
Director: Barry Levinson
Average Customer Review:
DVD (03 February, 2004)
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Editorial Review

Barry Levinson's debut film as a writer-director nearly got lost in the shuffle before New York critics rescued it from oblivion. Set in his native Baltimore in 1959, it focuses on a group of pals coping with life post high school. Each of them has problems with women, it seems, whether it's Steve Guttenberg (as a guy about to get married who forces his fiancée to pass a test about the Baltimore Colts), Mickey Rourke (as the womanizing hairdresser with a gambling problem), or Daniel Stern (as the married one who makes his wife miserable with his carefully cataloged record collection). The only time these guys seem like they have it together is when they gather at the diner to sling the bull. The cast includes Ellen Barkin, Timothy Daly, Paul Reiser, and Kevin Bacon--each in a breakthrough role. --Marshall Fine ... Read more

Features

• Color
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Reviews (38)

THE most BORING movie EVER!!!
This is what happens when you buy movies that Amazon recommends; I consider my EXTREME boredom with this movie my PUNISHMENT for letting them recommend a movie for me to buy.Don't let the fantastic cast lure you; this movie is BORING!

True, it is realistic in the sense that conversations among friends -- more often than not -- don't necessarily go anywhere, and oftentimes the texture of a movie is -- not in the conversations themselves -- but in the relationships that become evident within those conversations, but nevertheless DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY on this movie.

Did I mention that it was BORING?

"Could go either way".A classic!
Living in Mpls. I could relate to going to the diner on a cold night for a burger and a plate of fries (w/gravy). Now living in the NW I have a ritual every year on a cold day in November where friends come over to watch Diner. Before we start the movie us guys go out to the best burger joint in town and pick up burgers,fries,onion rings and shakes while the women stay home and hang out. We all then gather around the tv and eat a splendid, tasty meal and laugh at all the great scenes we love. I think the reason some reviewers are grumpy is that they watched it on an empty stomach. Try it with burgers and you will fall in love with Diner.

French Fries With Gravy & Cherry Colas
I have a lot of affection for this movie, not least because I was born and raised in Baltimore - although I was younger in 1959 and lived on the other side of town. Baltimore is as much a character as any of the actors and the film lovingly recreates the city as I remember it.

Diner is about a bunch of guys who are never happier than when hanging out at the wonderfully nostalgic eatery of the title. The emphasis is on atmosphere and character more than plot, although there are several memorable set pieces - most enjoyably in the cinema when Mickey Rourke's date finds a surprise in the popcorn.

The cast - the heart and soul of the film - are universally strong, except for Kevin Bacon's periodic lapses of overacting. The dialogue seems natural and occasionally improvised - especially Paul Reiser's, whose character unfortunately gets lost in the middle of the film. The female characters are more basic and less deep, but then this is really a film about the guys. And their camaraderie - which developed during rehearsals and filming - is the major charm and attraction of Diner.

I love the film, but then I'm from Baltimore. But it must have universal appeal because my English wife also loves Diner and she's only been to Charm City once. It's a great film that rewards repeated viewings. For me, the only downside is the sight of the Little Tavern and the knowledge that those gorgeous little burgers are now extinct. ... Read more

Asin: B00004RE27
Subjects:  1. Feature Film-comedy   

Animal Factory
Director: Steve Buscemi
Average Customer Review:
DVD (07 December, 2004)
list price: $9.95 -- our price: $9.95
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Editorial Review

Steve Buscemi subtly refines the prison drama in his second film, a rich character piece set in a ramshackle state penitentiary. Edward Furlong is a glum, drug-dealing, middle-class bad boy suddenly drop-kicked into a world in which his sneering defiance just makes him more attractive prey to hardened convicts. Willem Dafoe, a career felon who runs the prison's contraband network, takes the kid under his wing and his protection. He's obviously attracted to the pretty boy and that sexual tension buzzes throughout the film, but their friendship, which is much more complicated, becomes the center of the film.

Buscemi allows the story to trickle along, downplaying the usual prison clichés to delve into the often murky relationships between prisoners, the predatory pecking order, and the undercurrent of racial divisions. He suggests everything in glances, threats, and tensions that only rarely erupt into violence. The film lacks a strong narrative line, but Buscemi's sensitivity to his characters and his sharp ensemble direction provide generous compensation. Dafoe is brilliant as the smiling smooth operator, his shaved head and jagged-toothed grin suggesting both a threatening confidence, and Furlong ably registers the fear of his sheer defenselessness in this dangerous world. Tom Arnold shines as a terrifying bully and Mickey Rourke is almost unrecognizable as Furlong's cross-dressing cellmate with a honeyed Southern lilt and makeup that would make Tammy Faye Bakker proud. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Features

• Color
• Closed-captioned
• Widescreen
• Dolby

Reviews (15)

Almost there
Like his first directorial attempt - Tree's Lounge - Steve Buscemi's second full-length film as a director, Animal Factory, falls just short of leaving a long-lasting impression on the viewer. It's certainly a great improvement over Tree's Lounge as far as production is concerned, and all the right elements - directing, dialogue, acting, cinematography - are in place, but the characters and plot are just not interesting enough to make it unique and memorable. There are tons of prison dramas out there; Animal Factory just isn't news

Still, for what it is, it's a great film and certainly worth your time. More realistic than most prison dramas tend to be, Animal Factory shows a picture of prison life that is much less shocking and brutal than we're used to see in this kind of film, and focuses more on the difficulties of actual day-to-day survival. The story focuses on young inmate Ron Decker (the very talented Edward Furlong, memorable as Edward Norton's younger brother in American History X) and tough guy Earl Copen (Willem Dafoe) and on the relationship forming between them. Nothing new, really, but with two excellent actors and some great, unpretentious directing we get a really lovely film. The rest of the excellent cast includes Chris Bauer, Danny Trejo, Tom Arnold, an unforgettable Mickey Rourke and Buscemi himself in a small part.

A very slow and intimate movie, Animal Factory is not much of a masterpiece but it shows a lot of potential and promise for Steve Buscemi as a director. If you're a fan, if you like Trees Lounge, or if you're fond of prison dramas, Animal Factory is well worth a watch.

Whois is this LadyLestat reviewer
This was a very good flick. What are you looking for out of a movie? The meaning of life perhaps. Heck all I want is 90-120 minutes of good entertainment.

Being an ex-convict myself I thought it was fairly well written. Prison is rarely what you see on film my friend. Yes it can be brutal and that was displayed in this film fairly realistically however for a long time convict doing timeIS MOST DEFINATELY A GAME.

A game of survival of the mind and body. William Dafoe's little gang was pretty well depicted. The mockery made here of other prison films is simply because unlike this one, most are a joke.

As for amazons editorial stating that the convict is obviously attracted to the youngster and that "sexual tension" runs throughout the movie, that writer clearly didn't pay any attention to the movie and I'd bet a dollar perhaps didn't watch it at all.

My bottom line,

Film was pretty damn realistic, very well written and acted. The characters were good to know and unlike most ridiculous prison movies which focus only on the violent side, this one actually shows people for who they were.

Well worth the time to watch. Enjoy

Interesting Movie
This is a very interesting movie, not to mention Steve Buscemi directed it. I disagree and agree with Kenecia; prison is a miserable experience - BUT this movie is based off a novel, it's not a docmuntary, so ofcourse is going to be "watered down" and have some unexplaineble weird twist of an ending. Kenecia, you remind of those people who watch cartoons and say " WHAT?! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!!!"
But for others, i recomend this movie. It's worth the time. ... Read more

Asin: B00004XPPJ
Subjects:  1. Feature Film-drama