Customer Reviews

Cohen and Tate (Amazon.com Exclusive) [VHS]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A taut, terrically filmed duel of wits between a little boy and two hired killers who kidnapped him. The film contains strong performances and gripping camerawork and editing. An underseen 80's classic that was completely ripped off by Elmore Leonard in his novel "KILLSHOT." A must see for Roy Schiedler's icy turn as a hired killer with a samurai streak of honor and Baldwin's frightening psychopathic partner. A reliably crack job of directing from Eric Red, of "THE HITCHER," "NEAR DARK" and "BODY PARTS."

For any fan of Adam Baldwin (Firefly fans I'm talking to you), Cohen and Tate is a thrilling romp that follows two mob hitmen as they try to deliver a young witness to their boss. Unfortunately for them, the kid's a conniving little snot who figures out how to play his captors against one another and does so with annoying dexterity.

Adam Baldwin gives a vicious performance as the hot-headed Tate, though a lot of his dialogue is badly dubbed over for content (despite the movie's R rating). Roy Scheider is ice-cold as Cohen, conceivable as a veteran killer suffering from hearing loss.

The movie as a whole isn't the greatest, but it's not so much the plot that drives this movie. The characters of Cohen and Tate, their conflicting natures and constitutions is what makes this movie worth your time. As the tension mounts, you can sense the characters' hatred for one another. When the movie reaches it's climax, you don't really care who gets killed but you really want someone to get it. One day I would love to see this movie released to DVD with Baldwin's original dialogue restored.

Roy Scheider (as Cohen) and Adam Baldwin (as Tate) are bickering mob hit men who kidnap a 9-year old kid who witnessed a mob-related killing. They also kill his parents. Cohen is older and more logical, Tate is a violet hot-head who wants nothing more than to kill the little boy. Pretty much all of this film takes place over a few hours one night on the road, as the trio head back to the city. It's very tense, clever, and well-written, and delivers an unconventional, powerful ending. The kid is never annoying, only cries once, and is portrayed as calm and cunning without being ridiculously precocious. The only downfall is Adam Baldwin's amateurish, too-obvious, over-the-top performance, and that unfortunately prevents this from being a classic. Also, Baldwin spews expletives left and right, however many of them are badly dubbed over as "sucker" or "freakin." That doesn't really make sense. But, at least Baldwin constantly threats the kid, hits him, and points giant guns in his face. That's fun. I really loved this film; you can get it cheap on VHS in a cut-out bin near you.

Brillant movie! It took quite some time for me to get it on DVD. Thanks Amazon.com! In germany you can buy only a VHS-version... :-(

Roy Scheider is more than competent in this thinly written, mildly exciting late 80s thriller. If you've seen "The Hitcher" or "Near Dark" you'll know what framework to expect of the film, just without true genuine menace or terror. MGM's technical presentation is also worth noting for leaving much to be desired. 2 stars.

i don't care that it's burned (can be backuped easily on a HD), but to see this in Widescreen Anamorphic is SUCH a beautiful Wonder! and it even has the Original Trailer! i could not be happier with this. Thanks!

One of my favorite movies, finally on DVD!! Excellent movie!! The late great Roy scheider, My favorite actor of all time!!

This is a question rather than a comment....my question is...is this an official dvd release or is it a bootleg dvdr copy?

great movie , thiller, suspense filled you will love this film.

The best thing about writer director Eric Red's action film is Roy Scheider as one of the two kidnappers, hired to bring 9 year old gangland murder witness Harley Cross to Texas from the Oklahoma house in the open planes where he is laughably under FBI protection. Scheider's underplayed contempt for fellow kidnapper Adam Baldwin provides some amusement in this otherwise routine narrative. Baldwin's cartoon psychopath favours a huge gun which seems to be an expression of the greatness of his need for revenge. There is the suggestion that this gum-chewing adolescent-minded neurotic who has arias of blather is the product of abuse, in the way he reacts to Scheider's condemnation at one point like a wounded puppy, though this hardly makes him likeable, and Baldwin doesn't help by snarling. That the boy's allegiance should go towards Scheider may provoke an act of kindness, but we're fully aware that Cross is choosing the lesser of two fates. I like how Red presents Cross as not just an innocent, sparing us the details of the child's abduction, and having him using psychological games to pit the kidnappers against each other. Red's writing also features some gaping holes of credibility, where the boy's car door is left unlocked, when the first sign of trouble at the Oklahoma farm is the telephone being out but then Scheider uses it later to ring the gangland headquarters, having Scheider and Baldwin address each other as Mr Cohen and Mr Tate so that the boy can know their names (the comic effect wears thin very quickly), and Scheider not seeming to mind when Cross initially escapes from the kidnapper's car by striking Scheider in the back of the head. However on the plus side is one bloodbath mercifully avoided, and the climactic double pursuit, where a drilling site location with heavy machinery gets a payoff.