Phoenix (1998)

A cop (Liotta) with a gambling addiction plots a theft from the bookies who are putting pressure on him to pay off or else.

Director:

Danny Cannon

Writer:

Eddie Richey

Stars:

Ray Liotta, Anthony LaPaglia, Daniel Baldwin

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ray Liotta	...	Harry Collins
Anthony LaPaglia	...	Mike Henshaw
Daniel Baldwin	...	James Nutter
Jeremy Piven	...	Fred Shuster
Royce D. Applegate	...	Dickerman
Xander Berkeley	...	Lt. Clyde Webber
Tamara Clatterbuck	...	Waitress
Vanessa Munday	...	Betsy
Al Sapienza	...	Cop
Yvette Cruise	...	Maria
John Henry Whitaker	...	Husband
Glenn Morshower	...	Anti-Abortionist
Brittany Murphy	...	Veronica
George Murdock	...	Sid
Kathryn Joosten	...	Esther

Storyline

In Phoenix, Arizona, all is not well at the local police station as some of the colleagues are not good of heart. Superstitious cop Harry Collins is on the take. He a compulsive gambler who is forced to plan a heist with fellow cops Mike, James, and Fred to rip off local pimp and overall bad guy, Louie, to pay off gambling debts run up with "bookie" Chicago.

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Plot Keywords:

gambling | phoenix arizona | police | panties | superstition | 

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Taglines:

In this town, the heat can kill you.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, language and sexuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 September 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Corrupção em Phoenix

Filming Locations:

Phoenix, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$43,071 (USA) (11 September 1998)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Trimark Pictures, Lakeshore Entertainment, Graham / Nevinny Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Harry Collins: Veronica.
Veronica: Harry stay the fuck away from me, alright?

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Connections

References King Kong (1933)

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Soundtracks

"I Can't Win"
Written by Leonard Johnson, Dave Richardson and Cliff Knight
Performed by Ry Cooder
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records Inc.
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

I'm not surprised that almost no-one knows it, but it's a shame

Once in a while you come along a movie that, even though it is already several years old, you have never heard of before. "Phoenix" is such a movie. The only reason why I gave it a try and taped it is because there is a famous actor in it who I usually like to see playing (Ray Liotta) and because I hoped that the story might be something nice (most of the time I like crime movies). And because I really didn't know what to expect from it, it's only good that I didn't see that cover photo first. That ugly thing doesn't really give a good impression of what this movie is like. When watching that picture, my first impression is that this will be a typical action flick, Stalone or Jean-Claude Vandamme style, while in reality that certainly isn't the case.

"Phoenix" tells the story of Harry Collins, a cop whose life isn't exactly going all too well. He's a hopeless gambler who only loses a lot of money and never wins anything. But that's not how he sees it. He considers gambling not as something to make money with, he sees it as as an honorable tradition which he has inherited from his father. He gambles on anything he can possibly think of and he really sees a hidden tip in everything: the name of a girl, a conversation with some people who he considers to be lucky... Pretty soon he has a lot of debts with a loan shark named 'Chicago', which he can't possibly pay. When his colleagues suggest that they could arrest or even kill the man, he is shocked. There is no honor in doing such a thing, but from one thing comes another and soon Collins and his colleagues find themselves in a downward spiral of corruption, deceit, murder...

A movie with Ray Liotta in it is always worth watching, no doubt about that. Even a movie that isn't that good can be saved by his appearance. But this movie didn't need to be saved at all. This was actually a very nice film with some well-developed characters and a nice storyline. I might even say that this entire movie was a big surprise to me, as it kept my attention from the first moment until the last. And not only Ray Liotta is worth mentioning. Anthony LaPaglia, Daniel Baldwin, Jeremy Piven,... all did a very nice job in this movie. Still, in the end I'm not surprised why so little people know this movie. OK, it has a cast with some famous people in it like Anjelica Huston, Jeremy Piven and Ray Liotta, but this is also the work of the same director who gave us movies like "Judge Dredd" and "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer". I'm really wondering what made that man decide to do this project in the first place and where he ever found so much excellent inspiration. Anyway, there is one thing that I'm absolutely sure of: I will definitely recommend it to everybody who wants to hear it. I give this movie at least a 7.5/10.