Customer Reviews

The Cutting Edge

5 star:		(145)
4 star:		(38)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

This is a charming, if somewhat predictable, movie. With wonderful performances by the sexy D.B. Sweeney and the lovely Moira Kelly, two very underrated actors, this movie will keep the viewer entertained. The story revolves around two athletes. One is a top notch, Olympic level, ice hockey player, who sees his potential professional career go down the tubes, when he is injured during the Olympics. The other is the female half of a pairs figure skating team, who choked during the Olympics, ending their quest for the gold.

Both are not doing well after their own personal waterloo. He is now playing with amatuer teams, as his injury precludes him from going pro. She, a total prima donna, is busy, going through one skating partner after another with no success. Her coach, knowing that the ex hockey player has a lot of skating talent, contacts him in hopes that maybe he will be the one that will be able to work with his temperamental Olympic hopeful. He agrees and goes to work on learning the niceties of figure skating. She goes to work on learning to get along with him. Together, they are working towards earning an Olympic Gold medal.

There are some delightfully funny and heartwarming scenes in this film. Probably the funniest is the toe pick scene. When you see the film, you will know what I mean. While there is some hockey and figure skating action in this film, it is really not a movie about either sport. It is essentially a romantic comedy that is delightfully directed by Paul Michael Glaser. All in all, it is a very enjoyable film and well worth watching.

This is one of my all time favorite movies, and I was pleased as punch to see it come out on DVD. For those of you not familiar with it, the story is of the figure-skating diva that can't find a partner, who suddenly meets her match in Doug Dorsey, a washed up hockey-player brimming with testosterone. They meet, they bicker, they fall in love. Badda-boom, badda-bing. This is more of a 'chick' movie than a guy movie, but it's entertaining for the entire family, IMO.

Two things keep me from giving this DVD the 5 stars it deserves : One is cinematic, and one is something else.

1. The ending abruptly cuts off, leaving you to 'guess' how it ends. Some folks prefer an ending like this--I do not. I want it spelled out for me!

2. There are hardly any 'special features' on this DVD. The only one is the movie trailer. If you're looking to get the DVD for all the special add-ins, skip this one.

But it's still one of my favorites! DB Sweeney really steals the movie away.

A very temperamental Kate Mosley has dreams of being a skating champion who has scared off many potential partners. Douglas Dorsey has dreams of being a professional hockey player. When an unfortunate accident impairs his vision, and he is no longer able to compete at the professional level, his dream is altered forever. Doug and Kate are paired together toward a new dream.

This is a charming romantic movie. DB Sweeney and Moira Kelly have good on screen chemistry, and the skating is well done.

A working class Olympic hockey star is looking to turn pro when he gets a body slam that costs him peripheral vision and the chance to play in the big leagues. Enter a frosty, WASPy figure skater from Connecticut who has every thing she wants except a partner. She doesn't like them, or they cannot stand her.

Her desperate Russian coach finds the hockey player who has the strength, stamina and spirit to skate with her, but he takes an instant dislike to her spoiled disposition and condescending temperament. The coach is convinced that both are partners who can bring home the elusive Olympic gold in figure-skating. The sparks fly.

The chemistry between D. B. Sweeney and Moira Kelly is instantaneous. Their evolution to a skating pair is filled with competition between them at every turn. The on-screen tension between the two build as the Nationals and Olympics draw nearer. (It doesn't hurt that Moira Kelly is actually an accomplished skater.)

Sorry! You'll have to see the DVD because my narrative ends here. You will enjoy this drama-comedy of budding romance unless you don't have a romantic lace in your ice skates.

There is no language or skin, but it is a story for mid-teen to adult. This is light fare that is well-acted with a good script. It is thoroughly enjoyable, and worth the purchase.

My recommendations? Don't miss. Buy, don't sell.

I hadn't even heard of this movie until it was aired on TV a couple of weeks ago. I only watched the last 10 minutes then, but my, what an enthralling 10 minutes! I couldn't wait to find out what happened in the rest of the movie, so i went out and rented it. usually i despise sappy romantic comedies (i.e, Notting Hill, You've Got Mail, etc.) and watch action, horror and spy films instead, but THE CUTTING EDGE is one of the VERY few romantic movies that I enjoy. it's got that great love/hate chemistry between Doug and Kate, the main characters and exciting potrayal of professional figure skating...superbly acted and wonderfully directed. THE CUTTING EDGE is an old fashioned love story (no sex scenes, which is better) that you absolutely cannot miss.

From the start, The Cutting Edge is more watchable to a wider audience than most of the romance genre because it's not entirely a romance. In part it's also a sports film--it's about training for the ultimate goal.

D.B. Sweeney and Moira Kelly, both highly underrated actors, breathe charm and life into their characters. Not in spite of but because of their flaws these characters are likeable: Doug Dorsey for his coping with having his dream snatched out from under him, and Kate for all her focus and hard work bent towards a dream that isn't even hers. As they both grow into their new roles, both the romance and the team develop. Because they pull no punches with each other, neither the bond between them nor their performance as a team feels false.

On top of everything else, it's a great winter film. For some reason, watching winter sports (like the winter Olympics, in this case) really takes the edge off the winter blahs and makes the snow and ice seem fun again. This is one of those movies that was perfect for a January DVD release; watch it yourself and see why.

The Cutting Edge is a classic example of how a low-budgeted and simple movie can turn into a great and inspiring experience, given proper actors and well written script. All the Titanic fans out there, think Jack and Rose are the best? Watch this one... The chemistry between Doug and Kate is excellent and both actors give very magnetic performances. This is a great date movie, unless of course you fall in love with Doug or Kate (depending on your gender), which is actually quite likely... If not for anything, everybody should watch this film at least for the ending, which is sooo beautiful. I think it was wise to stop the story right there; it leaves everybody wondering what Kate and Doug will do then. The Cutting Edge can well be the best romance I've ever seen. What is most amazing about this movie is how it holds on repeated viewings. I have watched it at least 20 times and still can't get enough of it. All the filmmakers out there: The Cutting Edge shows you how to make an excellent movie on a low budget (no special effects required!).

Moira Kelly (Dangerous Beauty, "The West Wing") and D. B. Sweeney (Roommates, Memphis Belle) star as polar opposites who unite on the ice for a shot at Olympic gold in this inspirational romantic comedy from acclaimed director Paul M. Glaser (The Running Man).

To this day, when it comes to films about figure skating and capturing the essence of training and competition, the 1992 film "The Cutting Edge" is considered by fans of the sport to be one of the better films to showcase the sport.

Directed by Paul Michael Glaser (the actor known for his classic role in "Starsky and Hutch" and director of episodes of "Miami Vice" and Las Vegas and the Arnold Schwarzenegger film "The Running Man") and written by Tony Gilroy (The "Bourne" trilogy, "Michael Clayton", "Duplicity"), "The Cutting Edge" was a cutting edge film at the time.

Featuring innovative ways to film figure skating, the film would star D.B. Sweeney ("Spawn", "Memphis Belle", "Fire in the Sky"), Moira Kelly ("Chaplin", "One Tree Hill", "The West Wing"), Roy Dotrice ("Amadeus", "Beauty and the Beast", "Hellboy II: The Golden Army") and Terry O'Quinn ("Lost", "The X Files", "The Step Father", "Primal Fear").


VIDEO:

"The Cutting Edge" is presented in 1080p High Definition (widescreen 1:85:1). Like many films from the late '80s to early '90s, picture quality for many catalog films on Blu-ray are unfortunately not in the best shape. "The Cutting Edge" shows signs of age and definitely has a strong mixture of grain and noise.

Granted, picture quality for the film is more likely better compared to its DVD and VHS counterpart, certain scenes with red and blues actually do pop onscreen due to the sharpness but for the most part, picture quality is good.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

"The Cutting Edge" is presented in English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio, Spanish Dolby Surround and French Dolby Surround. The film is a front-channel driven lossless soundtrack. Dialogue and early '90s music is heard crystal clear.

Subtitles are in English SDH, Spanish and French.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Cutting Edge comes with the following special features:

The Cutting Edge: Reflections from the Ice - (10:53) D.B. Sweeney and Moira Kelly talk about their experience working and training for "The Cutting Edge".
Theatrical Trailer - (2:04) The original theatrical trailer for "The Cutting Edge".

JUDGMENT CALL:

Have you ever been on the ice and fall down while skating and someone to yell "toe pick". The now used slang on the ice skating rink is derived from the figure skating film "The Cutting Edge".

There are not many films based on figure skating and for the films I have reviewed over time, sure there will always be "Ice Castles" and "Love Story" and I felt that back in the '90s, "The Cutting Edge" was a pretty awesome film when it came to how they were able to film ice skating and build contraptions in order to capture the skaters and make it look convincing.

But to my surprise, what was more interesting was to know that both D.B. Sweeney and Moira Kelly trained in figure skating to the point where they were able to pull of certain moves on their own and make it look convincing on camera.

In fact, for Moira Kelly, she took it seriously and her dedication to learning to figure skate and amaze even the trainers because of her dedication to the training and even learning difficult moves quite quickly (note: Kelly pushed herself so hard that she even fractured her ankle). Granted, there are scenes of stand-in doubles for the more difficult moves but there are many scenes where you know that the two talents were actually on the ice and were skating.

Also, I felt that both D.B. Sweeney and Moira Kelly did a good job with their role and both had great chemistry. I enjoyed the "opposites attract" storyline but of course, for many people who are dedicated to the sport, the fact that a hockey player became a professional figure skater may seem a bit farfetched but I actually enjoyed the back-and-forth exchanges by both characters and felt that Sweeney and Kelly did a great job with their performance.

But what about the story? Granted, the film is quite predictable and the plot is quite formulaic in structure and yes, there are people who know more about the qualifications of athletes in the Olympics and know that the film doesn't capture the true nature of the sport perfectly. And I'm sure figure skaters would probably be the first people to be fairly critical of the film but one thing that this film has done is inspire many young people to take up figure skating and even Moira Kelly has mentioned how people continue to recognize her from "The Cutting Edge" and thank her for inspiring them to join figure skating.

As for the Blu-ray release, unfortunately those who are expecting the film to look pristine on Blu-ray may be disappointed to see that the film looks quite aged and for some, the high amount of grain and noise may not be to their liking. But that's how a lot of films in the late '80s and '90s look and I would rather have the grain that excessive Digital Noise Reduction (DNR) and make the film look overly soft. But I will say that the film does look much better than its VHS and DVD counterpart. And as for special features, it was great to have the one special feature featuring both D.B. Sweeney and Moira Kelly many years later to discuss the popularity and their involvement in the film.

Overall, the way I felt back in 1992 about the film has not really decrease much in 2011. Aside from the 2010 release of "Ice Castles" which tried to show modern technology capturing the competitive and technical side of ice skating, "The Cutting Edge" is an entertaining film that captures two characters who are from different sports, are different type of people and dislike each other but eventually, their dedication to teamwork leads to an appreciation of each other's skill and eventually making them an awesome team.

Sure, it's not perfect, nor is it a great film and nor does it capture the authentic nature of the road to the Olympics but even now, in 2011, I still feel that this is one of the better ice skating films out there.

"The Cutting Edge" is charming, uplifting and entertaining. It's definitely a romantic comedy that shines through the performance by Moira Kelly who is fantastic in this film. And I also have to say that the chemistry and tension between her and D.B. Sweeney is quite convincing and fun to watch. Also, if you ever hear someone yell "Toe Pick" when you munch on the ice, now you know what film those words came from.

Overall, "The Cutting Edge" is recommended for those looking for a "good" ice skating film but also an entertaining, romantic comedy.

I have to admit, I'm a guy who likes "guy" movies, "terminator" "die hard" "lethal weapon" and the like. I have never been one to watch comedies, much less romantic comedies. That all changed when I first saw "The Cutting Edge" on cable one night. I absolutely LOVE this movie and I just bought it along with the soundtrack cd, which ROCKS. This movie is so well written and edited and the main charachters are absoulutely perfect. the only thing that dissapoints me is that after this movie, neither D.B Sweeney or Moria Kelly have been in any good movies since this one came out. I would have thought after such an excellent performance in this movie, the offers would have been pouring in for both of them. I guess hollywood doesn't recognize good talent when they see it! anyway, this is one of the best movies I have ever seen or owned, and that includes all my action movies....

I have loved this movie since I first saw it in the theater multiple times as it was so damn good!

I was thrilled beyond belief to read in Entertainment Weekly that a new Special Edition DVD was coming out today. I didn't know, and was also thrilled to see -- for those of you who (also) didn't know it already -- that the FULL SCORE was FINALLY released on the Deluxe Edition CD Soundtrack Release and I picked-up both today!

As for this Gold Metal Edition -- and for all you similarly panicked collectors -- PLEASE DO NOT PANIC! Amazon made a MISTAKE in the listing, The Gold Metal Edition presents the film in its WIDESCREEN FORMAT and not the erroneously reported Full Screen Format.

The DVD includes the original trailer, the trailer for the sequel, and a brief 10 minute retrospective featuring Moira and D.B. but (regrettably) does not include Roy or Terry. A more comprehensive Cast/Director featurette/commentary would have been good to have -- there's no commentary at all -- but I'm very grateful that we got a decent Special Edition as well as the Deluxe Release of the Soundtrack with the Full Score. Still, it's better that we got what we did 15 years late rather than never having gotten it at all!

This movie holds up amazingly well because of the acting, music, and skating sequences and it's a fairly realistic portrayal of relational dynamics and the triumph of hope over despair, triumph over tragedy, and love over hate. Considering how bad Ice Castles sucked I never thought I could love a skating movie until I saw this one. Interestingly, Moira mentions that she gets moved at the same point I always do which is the big "Kate, I need you... I NEED YOU!" scene.

As to the sequel, solid casting of Scott Thompson Baker and Stefanie Kramer as a 20 years later version of Kate & Doug bodes quite well for it since any sequel had the potential to be a complete and total disaster. Kramer and Baker are hardly an impossible-to-believe-it set of casting choices for an older Kate & Doug. However, one does have to wonder why they didn't/couldn't just bring back D.B. and Moira since it is the movie that basically made them! Interestingly, in the retrospective, D.B. looks EXACTLY the same and Moira looks like she's aged a bit.

It's a fairly inexpensive purchase to get this new Gold Metal Edition and it's so worth it when you think of how much the film has meant to all of us and to a new generation.