Phoenix (1998)

Director:

Danny Cannon

Writer (WGA):

Eddie Richey (written by)

Release Date:

4 September 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

In this town, the heat can kill you.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Gambling | Police | Phoenix Arizona | Prostitution | Reference To King Kong

Cast

Ray Liotta	...	Harry Collins
Anthony LaPaglia	...	Mike Henshaw
Anjelica Huston	...	Leila
Daniel Baldwin	...	James Nutter
Jeremy Piven	...	Fred Shuster
Tom Noonan	...	Chicago
Xander Berkeley	...	Lt. Clyde Webber
Giancarlo Esposito	...	Louie
Brittany Murphy	...	Veronica
Kari Wuhrer	...	Katie Shuster
Giovanni Ribisi	...	Joey Schneider
Royce D. Applegate	...	Dickerman
Tamara Clatterbuck	...	Waitress
Vanessa Munday	...	Betsy
Al Sapienza	...	Cop

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, language and sexuality.

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | South Korea:18 | Australia:MA | France:U | Germany:18 | Portugal:M/16 (video premiere) | Spain:18 | UK:15 | USA:R | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Phoenix, Arizona, USA

Company:

Lakeshore Entertainment

Quotes:

Harry Collins: Never welsh on a bet.

Movie Connections:

References King Kong (1933)

Soundtrack:

K. C.

Cool little film

Sometimes I question why one movie gets theatrical distribution while another does not. To be fair, I think things generally swing the right way. Movies that call video their home do it for sometimes a much deserved reason: they stink. This is not the case with Phoenix however.

It's a breath of fresh air to take a chance on a direct-to-video quickie and have it turn out this good. The story is tight and look at all the recognizable faces in the cast. That helps me out. The whole police officer-gambling junky angle is different - Liotta as the lead carries it off well and Phoenix is just all around better than most cop boilers I've seen in the last six months. It sure ain't lacking in clichés of the genre, but that has come to be expected. Phoenix is just a well filmed, nicely acted piece of work from director Danny Cannon who makes amends for the theatrical bomb Judge Dredd. Worth a look on a slow night or for Liotta fans.