Scudder is a detective with the Sheriff's Department who is forced to shoot a violent suspect during a narcotics raid. The ensuing psychological aftermath of this shooting worsens his ...
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A major league star who is on the verge of breaking a record, meets a singer and they get married, but they have different goals, so they separate, jeopardizing his opportunity in sports and the possibility of making up with his wife.
Director:
Hal Ashby
Stars:
Michael O'Keefe,
Rebecca De Mornay,
Martin Ritt
San Francisco heiress Page Forrester is brutally murdered in her remote beach house. Her husband Jack is devastated by the crime but soon finds himself accused of her murder. He hires ... See full summary »
Scudder is a detective with the Sheriff's Department who is forced to shoot a violent suspect during a narcotics raid. The ensuing psychological aftermath of this shooting worsens his drinking problem and this alcoholism causes him to lose his job, as well as his marriage. During his recovery through Alcoholics Anonymous, he meets a mysterious stranger who draws him back into a world of vice. In trying to help this beautiful woman, he must enter a crime-world of prostitution and drugs to solve a murder, while resisting the temptation to return to his alcohol abuse.Written by
Tad Dibbern <DIBBERN_D@a1.mscf.upenn.edu>
Oliver Stone was very displeased with how the final version of the film turned out as it had little to do with his original script, which subsequently was re-written by R. Lance Hill who reported straight to producer Mark Damon an act which offended Hal Ashby. Hill's draft of the script was not popular with the producers or the cast and contained a huge gun battle climax in an airport which would inflate the budget to at least $16 million. Robert Towne was then hired to doctor the script for a fee of $250,000 (a quarter of his usual amount) and began erasing much of Hill's work. While the producers tried to console Hill he was furious with Ashby and claimed he had been back-stabbed. Towne was highly critical of Hill's effort on the script, claiming "if it had any more clarity it might have risen to the dignity of an exploitation film." The dialogue was further revised in improvisation. Stone only visited the set once and wanted to have his name taken off the picture but it was too late as the credits were already made up for it. Hill opted to use his pseudonym of 'David Lee Henry' for his work on the film. See more »
Goofs
When Matt is laying on top of the fence at his house the position of the newspaper on the driveway changes depending on the shot. See more »
Quotes
Angel Moldonado:
You think I'm a fool? That's rude, man. You're being disrespectful and rude.
Matthew 'Matt' Scudder:
Rude? Come on, you were rude all over the fucking street with Sunny, weren't you? Rude?
Angel Moldonado:
Let me explain something to you, what happend to Sunny, man. What happened to her, is people think that if you have to kill somebody in the course of... doing business, sometimes it pays to advertise. You know, make it messy. Remind people they bleed when they die. It might even prevent more killings.
Matthew 'Matt' Scudder:
You're a real humanitarian.
Angel Moldonado:
I ...
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Will be recognized as one of the lost classics of the 80's. Bridges gives a great performance and really seems to understand what an alcoholic acts like. has THE best hangover scene of any movie. Andy Garcia made his first impression as the bad guy. Some real off the wall action scenes. This movie got a lot of bad press when it was released. i never understood why as I felt that it was one of Ashby's better later movies. I think Ashby himself will come under a reappraisal in the years to come with his movies being recognized as some coif the best. Some of his stars gave their best performances under his direction, i.e. Jack Nicholson (The Last Detail), Warren Beatty (Shampoo); Jon Voight (Coming Home) and Ruth Gordon.
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Will be recognized as one of the lost classics of the 80's. Bridges gives a great performance and really seems to understand what an alcoholic acts like. has THE best hangover scene of any movie. Andy Garcia made his first impression as the bad guy. Some real off the wall action scenes. This movie got a lot of bad press when it was released. i never understood why as I felt that it was one of Ashby's better later movies. I think Ashby himself will come under a reappraisal in the years to come with his movies being recognized as some coif the best. Some of his stars gave their best performances under his direction, i.e. Jack Nicholson (The Last Detail), Warren Beatty (Shampoo); Jon Voight (Coming Home) and Ruth Gordon.