Blood and Wine (1996)

A man who has failed as a father and husband commits a heist to make money for his fledging business, but things become complicated when his wife interferes.

Director:

Bob Rafelson

Writers:

Nick Villiers (story), Bob Rafelson (story),

Stars:

Jack Nicholson, Stephen Dorff, Jennifer Lopez

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jack Nicholson	...	Alex Gates
Stephen Dorff	...	Jason
Jennifer Lopez	...	Gabriela 'Gabby'
Judy Davis	...	Suzanne
Michael Caine	...	Victor 'Vic' Spansky
Harold Perrineau	...	Henry
Robyn Peterson	...	Dina Reese
Mike Starr	...	Mike
John Seitz	...	Mr. Frank Reese
Marc Macaulay	...	Guard
Dan Daily	...	Todd
Marta Velasco	...	Gabriela's Cousin
Thom Christopher	...	Jeweller #1
Mario Ernesto Sánchez	...	Artie, Fishing Ace
John Hackett	...	Gas Station Attendant

Storyline

Bob Rafelson has stated that this is the final part of an informal trilogy he started with "Five Easy Pieces" and continued with "The King Of Marvin Gardens". In the three, Nicholson has now played son, brother and father. In this one, Nicholson is a wealthy wine dealer who has distanced himself from his wife with his philandering and from his son with his negligence. After he steals a diamond necklace with the help of a safecracker partner, Victor, things start coming apart. His wife sets out to interrupt what she thinks is another one of his weekend dalliances, but is really his trip to pawn the jewels.

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Plot Keywords:

safecracker | wine | heist | diamond | necklace | 

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Taglines:

There is no honour amongst thieves.

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Genres:

Thriller | Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and language

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 February 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Blood & Wine

Filming Locations:

Arlington Heights, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$22,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$420,993 (USA) (21 February 1997)

Gross:

$1,075,288 (USA) (28 March 1997)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Recorded Picture Company (RPC), Fox Searchlight Pictures, Marmont Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Michael Caine had decided to quit acting after being greatly disappointed with the production of Bullet to Beijing and the sequel, Midnight in Saint Petersburg. Jack Nicholson convinced Caine to come out of retirement to work on this film. Caine had such a good time that he decided to continue acting.

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Goofs

After car flips over during car chase it is clearly dragged by a wire into the ditch.

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Quotes

Gabriela 'Gabby': So where are we going?
Jason: Ah, we got about 4 hours to Cuba.
Gabriela 'Gabby': Oh really. It took me a week - 15 of us on a very small boat.
Jason: I can turned around if you want.
Gabriela 'Gabby': No, it's okay. I like the water. Even when we were coming over, the sea was so beautiful. I never wanted to sleep, I was happy. I was ashamed to be so happy. People were dying.

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Connections

Referenced in The Creeps (1997)

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Soundtracks

"Renegade Heart"
Performed by Victoria Shaw
Written by Victoria Shaw & Jess Leary
Courtesy of Reprise Records

User Reviews

Stellar cast. Brilliant film making.

Jack Nicholson is typically brilliant. Judy Davis is positively compelling. Michael Caine does what he does when given a great script: exceptional work. Stephen Dorff is a great young actor, and Jennifer Lopez is stunningly beautiful, if at times out of her league here.

The script is good, the direction is excellent, and the film, in total, is a solid 8.5 on the 10 scale. Those who complain that the film is too violent shouldn't watch movies about crime. Crime is typically violent. (Despite the way it's depicted in most films.)

See this movie. Ignore the idiots.