Product Details

• Actors: Griffin Dunne, Dennis Hopper, Jason Ferraro, Robert Knepper, Martin Scorsese
• Directors: David Salle
• Writers: Howard Korder, Michael Almereyda
• Producers: Avi Lerner, Boaz Davidson, Dan Lupovitz, Danny Dimbort, Elie Cohn
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Hallmark
• VHS Release Date: June 25, 1996
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 1574920731
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #435,980 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

From The New Yorker

This vibrantly colored film by the painter David Salle, about the dirty doings of a would-be Hollywood producer, has surprising snap. Dennis Hopper plays the author of an "Iron John"-like best-seller, and Griffin Dunne turns in a rare good performance as a lost soul willing to do whatever it takes to purchase the rights; his determination leads to drug deals and, eventually, murder. John Turturro, Christopher Walken, and, especially, Illeana Douglas are strikingly crazy as characters who get involved in his scheme. After a while, the desperation of all these people becomes quite moving. Michael Almereyda's hip script, based on Howard Korder's play, isn't all it should be; the ending seems Tarantino-ized, but it's impressive. -Bruce Diones
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Looking for an off-beat comedy with a great cast?, June 4, 2002

By 

Peter Van Ooteghem (Mentone, Victoria Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Search & Destroy (DVD)

(For the record, this is a review of the region 4 DVD)
I picked this up in a bargain bin around 6 months ago, not quite knowing what to expect. Easily the best value for money DVD I have ever bought. Why? Becuase I've watched this film countless times and never seem to get tired of it. Without going into too much detail re: the plot of the film, it is essentially the story of a failed businessman (Martin Mirkheim, played by Griffin Dunne) who, inspired by the writings of a late-night tv self-help guru, Dr. Waxling (played by Dennis Hopper), decides to try his hand at making movies. This film boasts a very strong cast. Dennis Hopper, Christopher Walken and John Turturro are particularly good. Griffin Dunne is generally quite good in this film, but does tend to overact in a number of scenes. There is a lot of very dry humor and sarcasm throughout this movie, which is the main reason I like it so much. Admittedly, the plot is a little disjointed at times, but it all seems to hang together very well in my eyes. Search and Destroy will definitely not be to everyone's liking. However, if you like subtlety in your humour, this is definitely the film for you.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars F#%$ Leonard Maltin, August 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Search & Destroy [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is a profoundly strange movie that comes to a beautifully futile conclusion. Dennis Hopper plays the strangest self help guru ever portrayed on film with conviction and dead-pan accuracy. No, it isn't the best script ever written - but this is a movie that will make you laugh and shudder. This is angry art, reasonably well executed, with some truly excellent performances.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Scene, November 1, 2000

By 

g-the-amateur "g-the-amateur" (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Search & Destroy [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is the *other* Search and Destroy. Dennis Hopper plays a self-help guru plus author on late-night TV, in his usual psycho mode. Christopher Walken, plain psycho, also believes in Hopper's inspirational book. "Martin" is so obsessed, he wants to make book a movie. Comedy plus murders and singing. MUST SEE.

One of the funniest lines is where Walken takes Hopper's 'rule for living' "The Past is Pointless" to it's logical extreme. When confronted with the fact that he JUST shot a state trooper, Walken responds "That's in the past." Brutality mixed with irony as in Pulp Fiction and other Hopper/Walken flicks.