A Perfect Murder (1998)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Andrew Davis

Writers (WGA):

Frederick Knott (play)
Patrick Smith Kelly (screenplay)

Release Date:

5 June 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

A powerful husband. An unfaithful wife. A jealous lover. All of them have a motive. Each of them has a plan.

Plot:

A remake of the Hitchcock classic dial "M" for murder

Plot Keywords:

Artist | Murder | Love | Crime Gone Awry | Art

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Michael Douglas	...	Steven Taylor
Gwyneth Paltrow	...	Emily Bradford Taylor
Viggo Mortensen	...	David Shaw
David Suchet	...	Mohamed Karaman
Sarita Choudhury	...	Raquel Martinez
Michael P. Moran	...	Bobby Fain
Novella Nelson	...	Ambassador Alice Wills
Constance Towers	...	Sandra Bradford
Will Lyman	...	Jason Gates
Maeve McGuire	...	Ann Gates
Stephen Singer	...	Effete Man at Met
Laurinda Barrett	...	Met Woman #1
Aideen O'Kelly	...	Met Woman #2
Reed Birney	...	Merchant Prince #1
Vincent Smith	...	Merchant Prince #2 (as Robert Vincent Smith)

Also Known As:

Dial M for Murder (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, sexuality and language.

Runtime:

107 min | USA:108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Iceland:16 | Philippines:PG-13 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Italy:T | Mexico:B | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

New Jersey, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Many of the artworks featured in this film are Mortensen's own.

Goofs:

Continuity: When detective Karaman shows Emily the pictures and the sketches of he murdered man, you can see the man stabbed on the left side of the neck on the picture (as really happened), but on the right side of the neck on both sketches.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Steven: There you are. And how was your day? Any progress in saving the world?
Emily: I'm working on it.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

Biala Mi Gente

Disappointed

Hitchcock's "Dial M for Murder" was a movie to be remembered, but this remake was a disappointment. It had real potential, and would have been great, had they taken advantage of David Suchet's great acting ability, and his character, which was a central character in the original film. But instead, they relegated his character to the background, and then, to and insult to injury, changed the Hitchcock ending from a sizzle, to a fizzle. Worth seeing, but nothing compared to the original.