Romeo Is Bleeding (1993)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Peter Medak

Writer (WGA):

Hilary Henkin (written by)

Release Date:

4 February 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

The story of a cop who wanted it bad and got it worse.

Plot:

A corrupt police sergeant who supplies tips on the locations of safeguarded witnesses to the Mob bites...

Plot Keywords:

Police | Russian | Mistress | Hitwoman | Mafia

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Gary Oldman	...	Jack
Wallace Wood	...	Waiter
Juliette Lewis	...	Sheri
David Proval	...	Scully
Will Patton	...	Martie
Gene Canfield	...	John
Larry Joshua	...	Joey
Michael Wincott	...	Sal
Lena Olin	...	Mona
William Duff-Griffin	...	Paddy
James Cromwell	...	Cage
Paul Butler	...	Skouras
Annabella Sciorra	...	Natalie
Tony Sirico	...	Malacci
Victoria Bastel	...	Girl #1

Runtime:

100 min | Spain:104 min | Japan:110 min | Argentina:106 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Argentina:16 | South Korea:18 | Iceland:16 | Singapore:M18 | Sweden:15 (video rating) | Australia:MA | Canada:R (video rating) | Germany:18 | Norway:18 (video premiere) | Portugal:M/18 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

PolyGram Filmed Entertainment

Trivia:

The film's title is taken from a Tom Waits song. In the end credits he receives "special thanks" for its use.

Goofs:

Continuity: Curtains inside/outside the window of the apartment building where the first (Dennis Farina) witness is staying.

Quotes:

Don Falcone: Mind you, I have no respect for pacifism. It's a morally bankrupt belief. Pacifists believe that they have the right not to kill, but others always die in defence of that right.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Free Enterprise (1998)

Soundtrack:

THE BIG SWING

The story of a cop who wanted it bad and got it worse.

Gut-wrenching thriller about corrupt cop Jack Grimaldi who tries to become a very rich man by working at the same time for the New York Police Department and for the Mob as an informant. Things start to go downhill when he falls in love with a cruel and merciless assassin, Mona Demarkov, who's being targeted by the Mob. Romeo is Bleeding is the ultimate film-noir of the 20th century, everything about this film is so weird and evokes a sense of despair and hopeless that watching it ‘till the last minute puts you gasping for more air. It's hard to put it into words, since Romeo is Bleeding is more like an experience itself, but a simplistic way to define the atmosphere the picture creates is describing it as a cross between the violence and style of a Batman movie (only without Batman) and your typical Humphrey Bogart flick, like The Maltese Falcon. Outstanding performances by Gary Oldman as Grimaldi and Lena Olin as Mona Demarkov. This character was a true present for Olin and she chews the scenery every moment she's on screen. The part was perfect for her, no one could pull this one of so perfectly, except perhaps for Jennifer Connelly, it would be interesting to see her in a role like that, since it seems that Jennifer herself jumped right of a 30's-40's noir movie (I was impressed by her in Dark City). Burt Reynolds or Tom Selleck would have suited perfectly into the role of Grimaldi, but Oldman was great. I also found very interesting that Jack Grimaldi wasn't a bad guy, Oldman constructed the character as a man who just wouldn't fit in the life that was given for him, and his thirst for more and more was responsible for sending his life into a spiral of violence, decadence and death.