Night and the City (1992)

The story about a cheating and incompetent lawyer (Harry Fabian) who suddenly gets obsessed on becoming a boxing promoter.

Director:

Irwin Winkler

Writers:

Gerald Kersh (novel), Richard Price (screenplay)

Stars:

Robert De Niro, Jessica Lange, Cliff Gorman

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert De Niro	...	Harry Fabian
Jessica Lange	...	Helen Nasseros
Cliff Gorman	...	Phil Nasseros
Alan King	...	Ira 'Boom Boom' Grossman
Jack Warden	...	Al Grossman
Eli Wallach	...	Peck
Barry Primus	...	Tommy Tessler
Gene Kirkwood	...	Resnick
Gerard Murphy	...	Steel Jaw #1 (as Gerry Murphy)
Clem Caserta	...	Steel Jaw #2
Anthony Canarozzi	...	Emmett Gorgon
David W. Butler	...	John Bonney
Byron Utley	...	Frisker at Disco Club
Margo Winkler	...	Judge Parker
Maurice Shrog	...	Gym Manager

Storyline

Robert DeNiro and Jessica Lange are the most impossible couple. He's a failed lawyer. She's a common waitress. Together they get in a downward spiral, as they can't seem to deal with their problems. The lawyer just failed winning a case in court against a famous boxing organizer and he wants revenge by catching the organizer on his own territory: boxing. Although he knows nothing about boxing, with his fine talk he finds the help of a couple of people like the brother of his new enemy. But the relationship with his waitress doesn't make things double as hard.

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Plot Keywords:

neo noir | new york city | remake | based on novel | independent film | 

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Taglines:

When you're down to your last dream, you either live it or lose it.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 October 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

La loi de la nuit

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$6,202,756

Company Credits

Production Co:

Penta Films, Tribeca Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This remake and the original Night and the City (1950) were distributed by 20th Century Fox.

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Quotes

Peck: Harry, you ever hear of Murphy's Law? Anything that can go wrong WILL go wrong. That law was dedicated to guys like you.

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Connections

Version of Night and the City (1950)

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Soundtracks

Shoulder To Shoulder
Written by Vini Poncia and Alfredo Scotti
Performed by Stone Cherry

User Reviews

Sometimes words aren't enough…

An ambulance chasing lawyer decides to become a boxing promoter in NYC. However he comes into conflict with money lenders and the local mob. He finds that his talk and promises are meaningless unless he can back them up and he digs himself into deeper trouble with every word.

This is a very low key NY drama in De Niro's career - more typical of the bottom feeders he played in the 70's than the powerful mob figures he has played more recently. This has a depressing feel of inevitability about it - you can see the problems in Fabian's plans long before they happen, giving the film a feel of small time from the very start. This isn't a story about small time making it big, rather a story of a hustler who talks himself into a corner. The story is therefore quite compelling, despite it being very low key, the only weakness being the romance subplot and the fact that it is quite depressing.

De Niro is good as Fabian, his best scenes are when he's talking, trying to create something that isn't. However his character isn't totally believable and when it all comes falling down it isn't that well done. Jessica Lange is good but doesn't have that much to do and again her character isn't convincing when the bad times come. Support is good from the likes of Eli Wallach, Jack Warner, Alan King and others.

Overall this is a good film with an overall air of realism. Not one of De Niro's best and indeed it has it's weaknesses but it's quite good.