Dangerous Game (1993)

Director:

Abel Ferrara

Writer (WGA):

Nicholas St. John (written by)

Release Date:

19 November 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A New York film director, working on his latest movie in Los Angeles, begins to reflect the actions in his movie and real life, especially when he begins an affair with the lead actress.

Plot Keywords:

Drugs | Film In Film | Psychological Drama | Divorce | Film Making

Cast

Harvey Keitel	...	Eddie Israel
Madonna	...	Sarah Jennings
James Russo	...	Francis Burns
Nancy Ferrara	...	Madlyn Israel
Reilly Murphy	...	Tommy
Victor Argo	...	Director of Photography
Leonard L. Thomas	...	Prop Guy
Christina Fulton	...	Blonde
Heather Bracken	...	Stewardess
Glenn Plummer	...	Burns' Buddy
Niki Munroe	...	Girl in Trailer
Lori Eastside	...	Party Guest
John Snyder	...	Party Guest
Adina Winston	...	Party Guest
Dylan Hundley	...	Party Guest

Also Known As:

Snake Eyes (UK) (USA) (working title)
Dangerous Games (Australia) (TV title)

Runtime:

108 min (Unrated Director's Cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 | New Zealand:R18 | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Germany:18 | Ireland:(Banned) | Norway:18 | Portugal:M/16 (video premiere) | South Korea:18 | UK:18 | USA:NC-17 (original rating) | USA:R | USA:Unrated (DVD/VHS release) (uncut version)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Cecchi Gori Europa N.V.

Trivia:

Eddie Israel is shown watching a scene from Les Blank's documentary Burden of Dreams (1982), about Werner Herzog's attempt to haul a real 340-ton steamship over a mountain during the making of his film Fitzcarraldo (1982) (which he successfully accomplished).

Quotes:

Francis Burns: I need these things!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Short Film About the Long Career of Abel Ferrara (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

CHILDHOOD HOLLYWOOD

Harvey Keitel-Bad Filmmaker

If you have a dark world view and a great deal of patience,

Dangerous Game might be the flick for you. It made me think

about the individual scenes that make a film, and the performances therein that elicit a particular response in the viewer. The whole movie is difficult to watch-at times I had to look away.

On the surface one might dismiss it as Crackhead Cassavetes.

But Keitel's character Eddie Israel and real-life director Abel

Ferrara's intentions run parallel-both men lead their actors on a

descent into a personalized hell. The script on occasion seems

ponderous and repetitive-at some points it seems as though

director Eddie Israel's film-within-a-film consists of only one

scene. James Russo (always creepy to watch) is a tightly-wound

sickening knot as Burns, and Madonna's portrayal of Sarah as

victim is an equally punishing one, both for the actress and the

viewer. And when Keitel hits you with the signature half-whine,

half-howl we hate to love him for, the fat lady has sung. There isn't

one weak performance in this film, but it's not fun at all. You

wonder why this is called entertainment. It's entertaining in the

same way watching two strangers nearly come to blows is

entertaining-you end up feeling good because it's not happening

to you.