Product Details

• Actors: Terence Stamp, Peter Fonda, Lesley Ann Warren, Luis Guzmán, Barry Newman
• Directors: Steven Soderbergh
• Writers: Lem Dobbs
• Producers: John Hardy, Scott Kramer
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Live / Artisan
• VHS Release Date: August 15, 2000
• Run Time: 89 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (135 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 630574193X
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #39,436 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Steven Soderbergh's follow-up to his sexy thriller Out of Sight is an equally stylish but far more austere crime drama, a work of memory that mixes flashbacks, flashforwards, and ruminations on the present into an invigorating cinematic quilt. Terence Stamp is Wilson, an aging cockney criminal fresh out of prison who flies to Los Angeles to search for his daughter's killer. She died in a car wreck, but he suspects that her lover, a music industry mogul named Valentine (Peter Fonda), knows more than he's telling. Wilson is a fish out of water indeed, a cool, cruel London thug on the airy, sun-bright street of L.A., a silver-haired criminal taking on street punks and hit men with the relentless drive of a man possessed. It's like Get Carter channeled through Point Blank, a hard-edged revenge thriller steeped in sorrow and regret, trading the warmth of Out of Sight's romantic heat for a more contemplative remove. Fonda beautifully plays off his cinematic history of 1960s hippies and rebels as a nervous, cowardly millionaire sellout in white cotton peasant shirts and a deep California tan. Luiz Guzman and Lesley Ann Warren costar as Wilson's "adopted" guides through modern L.A., and Barry Newman is excellent as Valentine's tough, terse head of security, another aging pro blindsided by Wilson's relentless single-mindedness. Soderbergh quotes from Ken Loach's 1967 film Poor Cow (sadly not available on video in the U.S.) for Wilson's flashbacks as a fresh-faced teenage thug. --Sean Axmaker

From The New Yorker

Steven Soderbergh has proved himself adept at treating American subjects with the careful, sidelong scrutiny of a European eye, and this picture sustains the trend. Terence Stamp plays Wilson, an alarmingly well-preserved British criminal who arrives in Los Angeles to investigate the fate of his late daughter. His inquiries, which feel both bland and underhanded, lead him to Terry Valentine (Peter Fonda), a record producer with a house in the hills and a millionaire's tan. The film is restless, given to sudden cuts and mysterious bursts of imagined violence, and yet not much happens: as expected, the hero takes his revenge, but the motives of his victims remain veiled, and even Wilson's own grief seems cheapened by his casual termination of other lives. The movie has both the shimmer and the vacancy of an exercise in style; most beguiling by far are the scenes from Wilson's past, which Soderbergh has actually lifted from "Poor Cow," Ken Loach's 1967 film that featured Terence Stamp. It's as if the actor has only ever existed inside the movies. With Barry Newman and Lesley Ann Warren. -Anthony Lane
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant direction and performances, April 5, 2000

By	Sean Hanley (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Limey (DVD)

I debated over whether or not to give this movie four or five stars-- it seems to me that 5 stars is an overused rating, but I so enjoyed it that in the end I couldn't give it anything but. Now, I must warn that this movie is not for everyone. If non-linear stories confuse you, just forget it, you'll hate "The Limey." It's totally out of order, and the plot is simplistic anyway. But this movie isn't so much telling you a story as it is telling you about the characters. Which is why I would recommend it if you, like me, enjoy character studies. "The Limey" is *not* an action film, it's a character study of a career criminal who will soon be too old to keep up with his lifestyle. And my God, the performances, particularly by Terence Stamp and Peter Fonda are absolutely incredible. Of course, the movie rests on Stamp's performance, being the focus of the film, and he delivers in spades. But not to be overlooked is Fonda, who as something of a doppleganger to Stamp's character, Wilson, is every bit Stamp's equal. Steven Soderbergh's direction is unsurprisingly excellent. Altogether another great movie of 1999.

38 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Modern Day Film Noir, March 13, 2000

By	Bob Thompson (Oakville, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Limey (DVD)

Steven Soderbergh's follow up to his wonderful 1998 film "Out of Sight" is more understated and subtle than most people might imagine. The Limey is in many respects the closest Hollywood has come in years to filming a modern film noir picture.

The main plot of the Limey is of little to no importance. Terence Stamp plays a bitter old Englishmen who comes to LA to seek revenge for his murdered daughter. His pursuit of vengeance eventually leads him to a sleazy record producer, brilliantly played by Peter Fonda.

The Limey is a film that revolves around its use of atmosphere. Soderbergh, forever a film geek, uses cuts in time and flashbacks (a constant one to Stamp on a plane) to establish a dark gritty atmosphere which he manages to sustain throughout the whole film. The scripting is a perfect fabrication of a film noir, every character is menacingly constructed to be a worn out tough guy.

If anything negative can be said about the film is that it seems to go on a little long. In actuality the film is perfect length but the many scenes without dialogue make it seem longer than it is. Time and time again does Soderbergh cut to shots of Stamp staring into thin air reflecting. It establishes atmosphere wonderfully but if you are looking for a wild ride of an action movie the Limey is not your cup of tea.

The Limey is a movie that would be adored by serious film fans but despised by the kind of people who go to the theatre just to watch a fun popcorn movie.If you got this far and you're reading this review then you probably love films.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bow down and worship the greatness of this film..., March 23, 2000

By	Monkey Knuckle Asteroid (the quitters never win department....) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Limey (DVD)

The Limey is, quite simply, one of the best movies of last year and possibly one of the best of the revenge noir genre. Terence Stamp and Peter Fonda are mighty gods throwing lightning bolts of nostalgia and regret in a maelstrom of non-linear editing so severe it'll make your eyes water with joy. Movies like this exist to restore your faith in the cinematic process as a whole. The Limey is a big slice of cheesecake to wash down the horrible choking slime of movies like "Payback"

Also worth acquiring due to the commentaries, the first being a prolonged, amusing and mixed up argument between soderbergh (god) and lem dobbs (satan) and the second being everyone else.

It is quite simply a masterpiece. To ignore it is to turn your back on manna from heaven.