The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)

A woman suffering from amnesia begins to recover her memories after trouble from her past finds her again.

Director:

Renny Harlin

Writer:

Shane Black

Stars:

Geena Davis, Samuel L. Jackson, Yvonne Zima

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Geena Davis	...	Samantha Caine (Charly)
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Mitch Henessey
Yvonne Zima	...	Caitlin
Craig Bierko	...	Timothy
Tom Amandes	...	Hal
Brian Cox	...	Nathan
Patrick Malahide	...	Perkins
David Morse	...	Luke / Daedalus
Joseph McKenna	...	One-Eyed Jack
Melina Kanakaredes	...	Trin
Dan Warry-Smith	...	Raymond
Kristen Bone	...	Girl #1
Jennifer Pisana	...	Girl #2
Rex Linn	...	Man in Bed
Alan North	...	Earl

Storyline

Samantha Caine, suburban homemaker, is the ideal mom to her 8 year old daughter Caitlin. She lives in Honesdale, PA, has a job teaching school and makes the best Rice Krispie treats in town. But when she receives a bump on her head, she begins to remember small parts of her previous life as a lethal, top-secret agent. Her old chums in the Chapter are now out to kill her so she enlists the help of a cheap detective named Mitch. As Samantha remembers more and more of her previous life, she becomes deadlier and more resourceful. Both Mitch and Charly proceed to do the killing thing, the bleeding thing and the shooting thing.

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Plot Keywords:

vomiting | shot in the head | corpse in water | chopping wood | kneed in the groin | 

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Taglines:

"...the most spectacular action scenes you've ever seen!"

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for a substantial amount of strong bloody violence, and for strong language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 October 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Memoria explosiva

Filming Locations:

Canary Restaurant, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$65,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$9,065,363, 13 October 1996, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$33,328,051, 12 January 1997

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$89,456,761, 31 December 1997

Company Credits

Production Co:

Forge,New Line Cinema,The Steve Tisch Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Shane Black's original script for this film was darker and more graphic than the final film. Amongst the many differences, it included some alternate action sequences, and more violence, like the scene where Mitch and Charly are captured and get tortured. Both characters also had bigger backstories in the original script, Mitch, at one point, tells Charly how he was gang raped in prison, and how his wife refuses to let him see his son, because of what happened to him, and Charly also had more of a dark backstory in the script, than in the film.

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Goofs

The grenade in the station corridor is a fragmentation type. Fragmentation grenades do not produce huge rolling fireballs; and if they did, the fireball would spread much too rapidly to run ahead of.

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Quotes

Mitch Henessey: I'm always frank and earnest with women. Uh, in New York I'm Frank, and Chicago I'm Ernest.

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Alternate Versions

French DVD contains some deleted scenes.

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Connections

Referenced in Mic Macs à Tire-Larigot (2009)

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Soundtracks

Jingle Bells
Music & lyrics by James Pierpont
(1857)
Arranged and adapted by Mike Spalla
Performed by Jingle Dogs
(1995)
Courtesy of Jingle Cats Music

User Reviews

So Underrated Yet So Great

I have seen this film probably a dozen times since it was originally released theatrically. Anyone who calls this movie trash or horrible just doesn't understand action films or recognize a good one. Perhaps to some the incidents and outcomes may seem far fetched, but in my opinion screenwriter Shane Black ( Lethal Weapon/ Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) crafted one of the most well thought out action adventures you will ever come across. Over the top or not this film flows like clockwork and the action just keeps coming. The final action sequence is one of the best I have ever seen in any film. The cast in this film crackles. Genna Davis gave a tremendous performance and its a damn shame there was never a "LKG" sequel. Samuel L. Jackson is hilarious as her sidekick Mitch a down on his luck private eye trying to help her discover her lost past and make a few bucks. If Baffles me how anyone could not like this film. It packs so many thrills and its so funny. The wisecracks in this film still make me laugh just as hard 10 years later. In my mind the first Matrix film and the Long Kiss Goodnight were easily 2 of the best and most original action flicks of the 90's. Incidentally Shane Black made a fortune when he sold this script. At the time it was the highest selling screenplay and its worth every penny. It's so sad that audiences never gave this movie a chance, cause they would have witnessed Renny Harlins best film and Genna Davis like you have never seen her before. Long live "The Long Kiss Goodnight"!!