Jack Cates once again enlists the aid of ex-con Reggie Hammond--this time, to take down The Iceman, a ruthless drug lord operating in the San Francisco bay area.
Axel Foley returns to Beverly Hills to help Taggart and Rosewood investigate Chief Bogomil's near-fatal shooting and the series of "alphabet crimes" associated with it.
Director:
Tony Scott
Stars:
Eddie Murphy,
Judge Reinhold,
Jürgen Prochnow
Axel Foley, while investigating a car theft ring, comes across something much bigger than that: the same men who killed his boss are running a counterfeit money ring out of a theme park in Los Angeles.
An extremely pampered African Prince travels to Queens, New York, and goes undercover to find a wife that he can respect for her intelligence and will.
Director:
John Landis
Stars:
Eddie Murphy,
Paul Bates,
Garcelle Beauvais
During the 1930s, a New York City illegal gambling house owner and his associates must deal with strong competition, gangsters, and corrupt cops in order to stay in business.
A successful executive and womanizer finds his lifestyle choices have turned back on him when his new female boss turns out to be an even bigger deviant than he is.
Oddball cop and tough guy, Jack Cates is the only survivor of a cop shooting and in hunting down the murderer collects Reggie Hammond from jail for 48 hours. Hammond is oddly motivated to help. The killer is searching for his stash of cash. Cates and Hammond who have the Black-white, cop-crook thing to work out make surprisingly good partners as they navigate through the city looking for their suspect.Written by
John Vogel <jlvogel@comcast.net>
When a tough cop has a cool convict as a partner and 48 hrs to catch a killer, a lot of funny things can happen in . . . 48 HRS. [Australia Theatrical] See more »
The first of two times Nick Nolte plays a cop named Jack. He did so again in Extreme Prejudice (1987). See more »
Goofs
When Jack Cates and Reggie Hammond follow the bus, where the money and the hostage are supposed to be exchanged, a shootout occurs. The kidnappers shoot eleven times out of a six shooter without reloading. See more »
Quotes
[Ganz is holding Reggie hostage, using him as a human shield]
Ganz:
Hey, cop! Come here! I got something for you!
[Jack comes out]
Jack:
You're not gonna make it.
Ganz:
What are you talkin' about? I got your gun! I got the money! I got everything!
Reggie:
Take aim, man, and blow his fucking brains out!
Ganz:
Bullshit! He ain't gonna try it! Right, cop?
[Jack shoots Ganz, throwing him off Reggie]
Reggie:
Are you crazy, man? I was just bluffing!
See more »
Alternate Versions
The original UK version of 48 HRS. was released with a '15' rating on CIC video in the mid-1980s, but had every swear word edited out of it (what was basically the TV version). The film was re-released on CIC video in the early 1990s in an 'uncut' version with all language left in, rated '18'. Strangely, both versions on CIC video altered Reggie's singing in the prison cell. Whereas in the original version of the film he was singing "Roxanne" by the Police, on the video he is singing a different song, probably because of copyright/licensing reasons - it has even been removed from the end credits. In order to remove the song it was dubbed in by an Eddie Murphy soundalike, but the other dialogue in the scene (when you can hear Reggie's singing in the background) had to be dubbed over as well. This has ended up with Jack's dialogue being spoken by someone other than Nick Nolte. The replacement actor's voice is very high-pitched, which is unintentionally rather amusing. See more »
It's the chemistry between Nolte and Murphy that makes this work, plus the fact that both men really attempt to 'get into the skin' of their character, something mostly ignored in other examples of this genre. Director Hill knows he's got a great team in front of the camera, and all that remains is for him to incorporate some spectacular action sequences around them. This he does competently. That one-two punch is what gives the movie its fireworks.
The banter and situations concerning the characters are also gleefully un-PC. It'd be interesting to see what a studio and director would make of the same premise in these 'enlightened' times. Murphy's comic stage persona is less restrained here than it would be in later films, and the results are often shamefully funny.
Don't expect Shakespeare, there's far too much cursing and other unsavoury shenanigans going on for that; do expect a pacy and entertaining early example of the 'buddy thriller'.
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It's the chemistry between Nolte and Murphy that makes this work, plus the fact that both men really attempt to 'get into the skin' of their character, something mostly ignored in other examples of this genre. Director Hill knows he's got a great team in front of the camera, and all that remains is for him to incorporate some spectacular action sequences around them. This he does competently. That one-two punch is what gives the movie its fireworks.
The banter and situations concerning the characters are also gleefully un-PC. It'd be interesting to see what a studio and director would make of the same premise in these 'enlightened' times. Murphy's comic stage persona is less restrained here than it would be in later films, and the results are often shamefully funny.
Don't expect Shakespeare, there's far too much cursing and other unsavoury shenanigans going on for that; do expect a pacy and entertaining early example of the 'buddy thriller'.