Product Details

• Actors: Gary Oldman, Lena Olin, Wallace Wood, Juliette Lewis, David Proval
• Directors: Peter Medak
• Writers: Hilary Henkin
• Producers: Eric Fellner, Hilary Henkin, Michael Flynn, Paul Webster, Tim Bevan
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Polygram Video
• VHS Release Date: January 31, 1995
• Run Time: 100 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303102239
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #288,629 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Romeo Is Bleeding is the flawed black comedy from director Peter Medak (The Krays) about a bad cop who slowly gets his due. Gary Oldman plays yet another quirky character, this time a New York detective on the take. His life goes haywire as he squares off with a Russian hit woman. Despite an intriguing cast and great dialogue, the movie becomes a bit too eccentric for its own good as several actors have nothing to do. The high point is Lena Olin, who finally has a role she can sink her teeth into: her zesty, monstrous assassin, Mona Demarkov, is one of the great movie villains. --Doug Thomas

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thriller!, December 29, 2001

By 

S. Hoffmann "Grandma Sheila" (Broadview Heights, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Romeo is Bleeding (DVD)

I am one of those people who have seen so many movies, and read so many books that I can usually figure out a plot line quite early on in any film. But this movie has so many unique twists, I was literally "on the edge of my seat" the first time I saw it. It's a wild ride as we watch Gary Oldman self-destruct as the corrupt, womanizing cop on the wrong side of the mob. Lena Olin's performance as the Russian assassin, is, simply, priceless. This is one of the very best "action" movies I've seen. I recommend it to Oldman fans, "cop 'n gangster" fans, or anybody who just likes a really good movie! And don't miss Roy
Scheider as a Don! I'm deliberately keeping my comments sparse,
because I don't want to give away ANYTHING about this movie to those of you who haven't seen it. Just see it!

34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Cutting of Crucial Scene Ruined Movie For Me, May 15, 2006

By 

Zarah Mayes-Orowitz (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Romeo is Bleeding (DVD)

Romeo is Bleeding could have been a quintessential new film noir classic. The plot line was thrilling, and Lena Olin was particularly mysterious and devious as the Russian hitwoman. Needless to say, Gary Oldman's performance was stellar as the duplicitous cop. However, the DVD version cuts a very crucial scene. I saw this movie at the theatre when it was released. There is a scene in which Gary Oldman shoots Lena Olin in the arm before putting her in handcuffs; instead of going to a hospital, they get into a fight. While he's driving, she's in the back seat of the car attacking him with the only weapons available to her at the time--her legs. Eventually Gary Oldman crashes his car, and Lena Olin runs away from him (handcuffed, no less),then, rather than go to a hospital, she retreats to her apartment where she cuts off her own arm with a power saw. This scene was brutally shocking, but it augmented the sinister dynamic of Lena Olin's character. More importanly, it explained how she became armless. This was the kind of scene that put the viewer on the edge of his seat anxiously awaiting the unfolding of the next event. Cutting that particular scene caused major incongruity because when Gary Oldman and Lena Olin crash the car, she fights with him and then runs away, hands cuffed behind her back, and at that point, the movie immediately cuts to a scene in which her arm is missing, with nothing in between--no explanation for the missing arm. Anyone who hasn't seen the movie before is going to be confused. The viewer will be left wondering what the heck happened to her arm. This will leave you very frustrated because for the remainder of the film you'll be wondering how she became an armless hitwoman. That was one scene that should not have ended up on the cutting floor. The film editors made a huge error in judgment.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eerie, moving, terrifying, February 21, 2005

By 

Volunteer of America (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Romeo is Bleeding (DVD)

Most of the aspects of this film have been well covered in the other reviews; Gary Oldman's character, etc. Although the plot is occasionally lacking in continuity, one can easily fill in the gaps. I did want to mention the extraordinarily atmospheric music by Mark Isham, especially the closing piece; where you can hear the groaning and moans of the film's demonic beings - Jack, a relatively ordinary soul, finding himself in a world peopled by devils in human form like Mona DeMarkoff and Don Falcone. Another point: Jack Grimaldi, Oldman's character, is the name of a famous circus clown; I wonder if that was intentional. The dreams, the Hole, Olin's insane laughter, the shots of the dead in the swimming pool and the FBI agents ("those Feds didn't come out too good...") sprayed by DeMarkoff sprawled in the bloodstained room as the light fixture swings back and forth, Nick Gazzara's "stank like a m*thaf***! Hahahahahahaha", Oldman's introduction at the Holiday Diner; for me, this film contains a great many moments that are extraordinarily atmospheric, poignant and original. And terrifying.