Customer Reviews

Sliver (Unrated Edition)

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Sharon Stone and SLIVER made a lot of sense after BASIC INSTINCT. It gave her a chance to be the hunted instead of the hunter, and also promised a whole lot of male nudity this time around instead of her being revealed so much. Eszterhas was back on board as a screenwriter, and the film was designed to be a sexual thriller about modern voyeurism with video cameras. SLIVER the book was not Ira Levin's best novel (cheesy fun but nothing classic), and I found myself not minding this movie deviates from it. Anyone who's read it knows the heroine's cat saves the day in one of the silliest climaxes ever. So don't worry about the book being better or worse with this one.

The production ran in to problems especially with the ending originally planned inside a VOLCANO of all things. Test audiences hated it, and so reshoots were quickly done. Eszterhas was not happy with the changes to his original script, and some new scenes made the actors seem a little less prepared and rushed. Billy Baldwin chickened out on full frontal nudity planned for his character, and demanded his most revealing shots be cut from the final movie. Despite any changes, the movie turns out to be entertaining fluff that never quite seems as kinky as it could be. It's still a whole lot of fun, and worth it for Stone fans. There are still some interesting ideas here.

This DVD contains a European cut with more nudity and prolonged sex scenes. For the most part you'll see much more of Baldwin, since Stone carefully handled her nudity this time around (she learned quick after BASIC INSTINCT). There are no extras, and that's a real shame. I wanted to see the real ending, but no such luck. Also no trailers on the disc because they included moments from the original ending and not the new version. And oddly enough a Lords of Acid song is removed from the DVD's soundtrack. But at least we get it bigger, longer, and uncut at a reasonable price.

You like to watch, right?

I absolutely love this movie. When I was in high school, a bunch of us went to see it (yeah, I'm dating myself aren't I?) and I loved it then. Good to know that 13 years later I still love Sliver. Perhaps it was my giant crush on William Baldwin that really made this movie sparkle to me. Or perhaps it was the voyeuristic ambiance throughout it. Either way, this is a fun little thriller that will keep you entertained. For the guys, you can oggle Sharon Stone in all her hotness. And as I mentioned, for the ladies, there's William Baldwin to adore. Basically, a woman named Carly (Stone) moves into the Sliver tower where there have been several weird deaths, most recently, a woman whose looks resemble Carly's, who happened to be the former tenant of the apartment Carly just bought. A variety of suitors attempt to get Carly's attention, one of which brings her a telescope, in turn making her realize that she indeed likes to watch. But who's watching Carly? Ah, to go into it any further would ruin this fine little movie. I'm not saying it's the best ever, but Sliver is plenty of fun for men & women alike who enjoy thrillers.

Sliver is a fantastic film. The best out of all the erotic thrillers filmed between the years of 1987-1995, preferably the time in which the Erotic Thriller genre was big. Ending with Eszterhas's JADE. Eszterhas (Basic Instinct, Jade, Jagged Egde) wrote Sliver. A film starring Sharon Stone as Carly Norris, stuck in this age of loneliness after coming out of a 7 year bad marriage. Moving into a slick and sleek sliver apartment building, she is warmly welcomed by all of it's tennants. Including, Vida Warren a woman with a dark double life. Gus Hale, a man that is willing to tell all dirty little secrets. Zeke Hawkins a handsome young man that takes a sexual interest in Carly, FAST. And Tom Berenger a classy writer, with a macho jerk attitude. When Carly gets involved, very involved, with Zeke she begins to learn that inside the walls of this building hides a secret that could reveal everything. With an ending so fast paced it will blow right by you, but a very satisfying ending if I do say so in the least. Again, buy SLIVER in the unrated version, sit down and relax in the darkness and remember that there is no place more frightening than home...

SLIVER is without a doubt the best movie ever made. With faced paced sex-violence-action- and suspence, SLIVER is the best EROTIC THRILLER ever made. Thanks to Joe Eszterhas who also wrote my 2nd fav. movie- BASIC INSTINCT . See SLIVER first then BI. Also buy the soundtrack with my fav. song on it -- CARLY'S SONG written especially for this movie performed by ENIGMA.

On the verge of Basic Instinct 2, a re-evaluation of Sharon Stone's film career is in order.

Looking through the reviews, it becomes apparent SLIVER is not necessarily an acclaimed film, but don't let that discourage you! When you choose a Sharon Stone movie from the shelf, you probably aren't looking for a pretentious "message" picture. You are looking for entertainment, full of glamour, thrills, sex, romance, melodrama, and excitement--and that's just where the priorities are in this film.

It is not a dumb film. The script is well-written, the cinematography was ahead of its time, and the direction is expert. Sharon Stone is at her best as the vulnerable and lonely Carly, and gives a deep, knowing performance, but the supporting cast varies in ability. Nina Foch and Martin Landau are wasted in small roles.

Many complaints concern the ending--which is apparently not true to Ira Levin's novel. Most book-to-screen adaptations are easy to find fault with when comparing to the book. As a viewer who has not read the book, the film is effective, and that is all that really matters! The film holds its own, and is its own piece of art.

And art this really is--the soundtrack, including the score by Howard Shore, is tremendously effective in maintaining the eerie, lonely mood of the film. The glossy, luxurious atmosphere is also an asset.

It's surprising now to read so many negative reviews, because as far as film-making is concerned, SLIVER is not a B-movie at all. It is a very classy affair. It should not be looked at as camp or cheese, because its intentions were not to be a serious message film. It aims to be what it is--an entertaining star vehicle for Sharon Stone at the height of her beauty and stardom!

It really should not be surprising, though, that SLIVER is often ridiculed as a "bad" film, when our society seems to think the only films worth watching are pretentious message films (not that messages are always bad; BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN contained a very relevant and necessary message, but some films just tell messages for the sake of it, and that is the nature of camp, in my opinion).

It also should not be surprising that SLIVER is so hated, considering the conservative nature of much of American society! SLIVER is a film which includes a lot of sex, nudity, and other sophisticated situations which imply "sin." Puritans will surely find something to dislike here! I think in the early 1990s, a lot of people went to movies like BASIC INSTINCT and INDECENT PROPOSAL, enjoyed them, and then bashed them later on because they were ashamed to say they liked such a film. The truth is they were daring, intelligent films which do not deserve their negative reputation. SLIVER is among them!

So, I am proud to be an exception, and say that SLIVER is a thoroughly enjoyable, entertaining, and well-made film! It certainly is a piece of art, and if you are looking for a message, you might just find it has something to say about voyeurism, as well as sexual and romantic independence.

There's plenty of sex, with heavy breathing, sweat and tears. So if you're looking for a plot, but want to see Sharon Stone get busy as well, this is the film for you. Plot development is not up to par, but I don't think that was the focus of the producer. There is, however, a mystery and a guessing game that does leave you wondering who-dunnit. It's a movie characteristic of the era, so expect some predictable elements. The film is entertaining, though. NOT a family picture.

Sharon Stone has never lost hope with her acting and it wasn't until Total Recall and Basic Instinct that she received the credit she deserved. I became a fan instantaneously when i saw Basic Instinct. Sliver was an exceptional film with great acting on Tom Berenger, Stone and William Baldwin's part. The sexual scenes did not subtract from teh luring suspense because it played perfectly into her character, an emotionally distraught and vulnerable woman. I think this movie received Boo's from professional criitics but sometimes the most honest and meaningful words come from true fans that appreciate the movies more.

As Carly Norris said: "You like to watch, watch this!"

But seriously, don't watch this, unless you are fascinated by train wrecks, and enjoy seeing a movie spin totally out of control. Joe Eszterhas has recently been born again, after a bout with throat cancer he has given up tobacco, booze, writing trashy but successful scripts, and instead he's taken up the cross. I wish him luck. So far, he has yet to sell any scripts, but he has written a few books. Looking over his oeuvre, there are some successes and some spectacular failures. I'll get to 'Sliver' in a minute, but first a brief recap:

'Flashdance' was rather ridiculous in premise, nevertheless, a huge success. 'Jagged Edge' I haven't seen, but from the afterbuzz I sense that it was a taut courtroom drama that may have been ridiculous in premise, but was no doubt entertaining. 'Music Box' may have been the rare Eszterhas film that was both serious, well received by critics and public alike. The story of a daughter who discovers that her father was a Nazi may have resonated for Eszterhas due to personal reasons. 'Basic Instinct' was very trashy, but it worked, even though you knew you were being manipulated, you liked it. Admit it, you did. A guilty pleasure--and Sharon Stone's interrogation scene? It made a big impact. If you have seen it, you remember it, and if you haven't seen it, you've heard about it. 'Showgirls' won several Razzies and is renowned for being one of the worst films of all time. It was supposed to be a box office bomb, but actually it is the highest grossing NC-17 film of all time, probably from DVD sales I would surmise. 'Jade' is notoriously bad. David Caruso quit a lucrative TV career to make this, and his film career went nowhere and he's back on the small screen. Finally, 'An Alan Smithee Film: Burn, Hollywood, Burn' ended Eszterhas' screen writing career. It is ironic, because "Alan Smithee" is a name that directors use when they make a movie so bad that they don't want to have their name attached to it, and the film was about a director who made a bad film and didn't want his name attached to it, but his name actually was Alan Smithee, so he did not have that option. Further irony is piled on by the fact that "Alan Smithee" as a pseudonym was retired after this movie because the name became too well known, so it was no longer effective as a subterfuge when trying to duck responsibility for a project gone wrong. Like the film within a film, 'An Alan Smithee film: Burn, Hollywood, Burn' itself was also a disaster, and Eszterhas' career took a nosedive. No more multi million dollars for ideas he pitched at lunch or scribbled on a napkin.

Which brings us to 'Sliver,' another disaster. Nothing left but to dissect the cadaver. Based on a book by Ira Levin, who also wrote Rosemary's Baby, The Boys from Brazil, and The Stepford Wives, Ira was reluctant to sell the film rights because Hollywood always trampled on his dreams. The one exception was Rosemary's Baby, which was directed by Roman Polanski. Producer Robert Evans sent Ira a book by Polanski with the passages where he (Evans) had saved the project highlighted, and this convinced him to let Evans produce 'Sliver.' Unfortunately, Polanski was forced to leave the country, and though at first they planned to film a few exterior shots in New York and have Roman finish it up in Paris; it ended up being directed by Philip Noyce. Though he was no Polanski, Noyce was no hack, as proved by 'The Quiet American;' but he was unable to salvage 'Sliver.'

For a movie with such a titillating premise, 'Sliver' managed to extract all the juice. For a movie about high tech voyeurism, it sure managed to turn down the heat. Though 'Basic Instinct' was trashy, it was much more fun. In 'Instinct' there is a kind of cat and mouse, love/hate thing going with Sharon Stone and Michael Douglas. She is a murder suspect/novelist, and he is the cop investigating her. Talk about good cop, bad cop, he is a very bad cop. He shoots tourists, and has numerous bad habits. Stone plays him like a Stradivarius, pushing his buttons, making him dance to her tune, and all the while, he thinks he is in control. Total trash, but the audience, like Douglas, is also played like a Stradivarius. The Sharon Stone of 'Sliver' has no chemistry with either Tom Berenger or William Baldwin.

'Sliver' doesn't deliver on any of its promises, and it squanders its titillating premise. It also botches the ending, because focus groups found the first ending incomprehensible. Eszterhas wrote five new endings in three days, but the one they picked changed the killer and tried to make sense of the botched attempt, and failed again. It makes no sense. Don't want to spoil it by revealing the ending, but it would be hard to spoil it any more than the writer, director, producer, and actors have already. Neither Ira Levin, Joe Eszterhas, the critics, film audiences, nor Tom Berenger were pleased with the result. I tend to agree with them.

Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (1998) (written by Joe Eszterhas)
Jade (1995) (written by Joe Eszterhas)
Showgirls (1995) (written by Joe Eszterhas)
Basic Instinct (1992) (written by Joe Eszterhas, and Sharon Stone was Catherine Tramell)
Music Box (1989) (written by Joe Eszterhas)
Jagged Edge (1985) (written by Joe Eszterhas)
Flashdance (1983) (screenplay by Joe Eszterhas)
Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977) .... Tom Berenger was Gary, AKA Mr. Badbar
The Muse (1999) .... Sharon Stone was Sarah Little, the muse
Bulworth (1998) (uncredited) .... William Baldwin was Constance Bulworth's Lover

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Carly Norris: Get a life.
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I have the "Unrated Edition" but I can't figure out what that is supposed to mean. There are no special features, no content that would merit a rating more restrictive than R. I don't get it.
I understand the ending is different from the book and apparently some of the famous plot holes would not be if the book's ending was used.

I saw that movie when it came out in 1993 and still remember it very well and want to get the video as I loved it. It is mysterious, charming, sexy...