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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Hitchcock Touch, March 11, 2011
This stylish 1982 suspense thriller is now available as a made-to-order DVD-R from MGM/Fox. Director Robert Benton, fresh from his triumph with KRAMER VS. KRAMER, turned his attention to that most popular pastime of modern directors--paying homage to the giants of the past. He directed this film as his tribute to Alfred Hitchcock.
When a randy curator at a Manhattan auction house (Josef Sommer) is murdered, his psychiatrist (Roy Scheider) is drawn into a mysterious plot involving the curator's mistress (Meryl Streep) and various other interested parties, including the police. The shrink soon realizes that he knows too many of the dead man's secrets--and that his own life is now in danger.
STILL OF THE NIGHT has many of the classic elements of Hitchcock: the innocent bystander who must solve the puzzle to clear his own name (and save his own life), the icy blond beauty who may or may not be the killer, and the shadowy Long Island mansion where the clifftop climax takes place. Most of all, we have several examples of Hitch's most distinctive contribution to cinema--the suspense sequence that builds slowly to a payoff. The symbolic dream, the creepy adventure in the basement laundry room, the eerie midnight excursion into Central Park, the unnervingly extended episode at the swanky auction house where the hero desperately tries to deflect the authorities who are closing in--these are pure Hitchcock, and Benton is better than most at making these classic ideas seem fresh and immediate.
What strikes me most strongly about STILL OF THE NIGHT is the loving care and dedication of everyone involved, not just Benton's direction but also the writing (Benton and David Newman), cinematography (Nestor Almendros), music (Broadway composer John Kander), and even the costumes (Albert Wolsky). And that cast can't be beat, from the glamorous stars (Streep has never looked lovelier) right down to the extras. If you love Hitch as much as I do, you'll want to see this. Recommended.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very scary, August 26, 2011
When New York City psychiatrist Sam Rice's (Roy Scheider) patient is murdered, the man's mistress (Meryl Streep) pays Sam a visit. She's cool and lovely, and the two feel a spark, but before they know it, it seems the doctor is being stalked by a killer.
Fair warning: This is not a movie to watch alone, at night, in the dark. Other than that, it's a great little thriller! The director made it as a tribute to Hitchcock and indeed, many of the old master's classic character-types and plot points are included: The icy blonde, the sensitive man who must prove his own innocence by solving a mystery, frequent chilling scenes in lonely rooms where no one ever bothers to turn on a light. Oh, and Jessica Tandy (who was in "The Birds") is here, too, playing Sam's mother. Streep is very young and beautiful, looking oh-so vulnerable and in need of rescuing. Her knight in shining armor, Scheider, plays it so low-key he almost disappears except in the intense, things-that-go-bump-in-the-night scenes where he's absolutely terrified (as is the audience).
This is edge-of-your-seat fun and it kept me guessing until the dramatic finale; a well-made mystery with good, old-fashioned characters and story and no profanity or on-screen violence. Recommended.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Understated murder mystery, July 7, 2011
This film received mixed reviews when it came out in 1982, in part because it was competing with another Meryl Streep film, Sophie's Choice. But thirty years later, it holds up rather well as an understated murder mystery with some psychological elements -- similar to Hitchcock. The film is a melodrama rather than a thriller, and the emphasis is on plot rather than action. Roy Scheider plays a psychologist who is thrown into a web of intrigue after the death of one of his patients, who has been involved in a love triangle. Meryl Streep, who is here cast against type as anxiety-ridden and weak-willed (but handles the role well), may be a suspect, or she may be the next victim. There is a strong psychological undercurrent throughout: Scheider uses dream analysis to solve the case. New York locations provide a nice backdrop. The climatic scene, set out on the beaches of Long Island, involves a surprising plot twist. 3.5 Stars.
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