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Payback (1999/I)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
5 February 1999 (USA) moreTagline:
No More Mr. Nice Guy morePlot:
Porter is shot by his wife and best friend and is left to die. When he survives he plots revenge. full summary | add synopsisAwards:
2 wins & 2 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(7 articles)
Podcast #126 - Taking Pelham, Then and Now (From SoundOnSight. 16 June 2009, 12:18 AM, PDT)
Screenwriter Brian Helgeland talks The Taking Of Pelham 123, Robin Hood, and Untitled Cop Movie
(From Collider.com. 10 June 2009, 12:48 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
I'm in town,stay out of my way moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Mel Gibson | ... | Porter | |
| Gregg Henry | ... | Val Resnick | |
| Maria Bello | ... | Rosie | |
| David Paymer | ... | Arthur Stegman | |
| Bill Duke | ... | Det. Hicks | |
| Deborah Kara Unger | ... | Mrs. Lynn Porter | |
| John Glover | ... | Phil | |
| William Devane | ... | Carter | |
| Lucy Liu | ... | Pearl (as Lucy Alexis Liu) | |
| Jack Conley | ... | Det. Leary | |
| Kris Kristofferson | ... | Bronson | |
| Mark Alfa | ... | Johnny's Friend #2 | |
| Kwame Amoaku | ... | Radioman | |
| Justin Ashforth | ... | Michael, Bartender #1 | |
| Len Bajenski | ... | Fairfax Bodyguard #1 |
Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated R for strong violence, language, and drug and sexual content.Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
100 min | USA:90 min (director's cut)Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 moreCertification:
USA:R (certificate #36313) | New Zealand:R18 | Iceland:16 | Argentina:13 | Peru:14 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Philippines:R-18 | Hungary:18 | Italy:VM18 (tv rating) | Australia:MA | Belgium:KNT | Finland:K-16 | France:-16 | Germany:16 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:18 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 (cut) | Canada:16+ (Quebec)Fun Stuff
Trivia:
While the identity of the person assigned to direct the re-shoots of the film following the departure of Brian Helgeland was originally unknown, Mel Gibson revealed in a Hong Kong newspaper interview that that person was production designer John Myhre. moreGoofs:
Continuity: When Rosie hugs Porter in the hall outside her apartment the ring is on her left ring finger. A minute later when she's lighting the cigarette it's on her left middle finger. moreQuotes:
[first lines]Porter: [voiceover] GSW: that's what the hospitals call it: gunshot wound. Doctor has to report it to the police. That makes it hard for guys in my line to get what I call, quality health care.
more
Soundtrack:
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes moreFAQ
What is the difference between the director's cut and the original cut?What are the differences between the Theatrical Version and the Director's Cut?
more
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Mel (as Parker aka Porter) is a bad guy who comes across as a good guy because everyone else in this flic is even more nasty than he is. It's a simple play on perspective not often utilized in the movies. Usually, the hero is A HERO, white hat and all, even with a few quirks or deficiencies to his character. Not so, here. And the key to the whole picture is buying into Mel as a bad man, all despite his many years in heroic roles beforehand. It works very well, especially in the beginning, where it really needed to. There's an early scene during the credits where Mel forces himself to smile in a mirror, as preparation for putting forth his 'best face' to a teller at a bank. One gets the impression this really is a man unaccustomed to smiling, a sour, angry man. The early scenes also recall the beginning of "Miami Blues," that being a criminal swooping into town and wasting no time in bringing a little terror & hardship on certain select bystanders. There's a danger, in a film sense, of satirizing such moments too much, to the point of slapstick comedy - rather than dark comedy, which it really is. But Mel doesn't mess around here: he means business, bashing scum left & right, and blowing 'em away as he moves up the ladder of an organized crime organization. The rest of the cast is top-notch, by the way. The casting directors must have had a field day on this one. Then Mel himself is beaten; the whole theme of the movie seems to be about pain: how much one can stand; how much one can dish out. It ends up being very cathartic. The cinematography also helps this picture: the photography is quite stark,ultra-crisp, adding to the 'punch' of the whole show. The lines on Mel's face are deeper than ever; he seems to carry years of pain there. And years of guilt, maybe.