Product Details

• Actors: Yaphet Kotto, Andrew Duggan, Joyce Van Patten, Jeannie Berlin, Casey King
• Directors: Larry Cohen
• Writers: Larry Cohen
• Producers: Larry Cohen, Janelle Webb, Peter Sabiston, Peter Vizer
• Format: Anamorphic, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Blue Underground
• DVD Release Date: August 26, 2003
• Run Time: 95 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0000AGQ5B
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #27,257 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #40 in	Movies & TV > Action & Adventure > Blaxploitation
  #49 in	Movies & TV > Cult Movies > Blue Underground

• For more information about "Bone" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Future B movie maverick Larry Cohen (It's Alive, Q: The Winged Serpent) made his directorial debut with this sly, often savage, social satire set in Beverly Hills. Yaphet Kotto swaggers into the backyard of an affluent, upper-middle-class Beverly Hills couple (Andrew Duggan and Joyce Van Patten) with a dangerous grin on his face and demands: "I want money and I want it now." Nothing from this point on goes as planned. The home invasion tears the veneer of civility that has been holding the couple's loveless marriage together, exposing their lies and schemes, while Bone (as Kotto's character is called) is revealed as a conflicted serial rapist just looking for a little tenderness. Directed with raw energy and aggressive flamboyance, this cynical portrait of American hypocrisy and corruption is more punchy than perceptive, a little glib in its conclusions, but thoroughly unpredictable in its execution. Cohen tweaks stereotypes and twists expectations, while offbeat characters and juicy dialogue electrify the drama. Kotto takes a big, meaty bite of his role, commanding every scene with a threat always beneath his stocky frame and burning eyes. Jeannie Berlin makes a memorable appearance as a ditzy shoplifter with a thoroughly off-center philosophy. --Sean Axmaker

Product Description

Studio: Wea-des Moines Video Release Date: 08/26/2003

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Larry Cohen's Dark Black Comedy, July 19, 2004

By	Michael R Gates (Nampa, ID United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (VINE VOICE)

This 1972 comedy-drama marks the directorial debut of popular and prolific B-movie auteur Larry Cohen, who also wrote the screenplay. Though Cohen is known today for penning and directing well-crafted but low-budget indie flicks in the science-fiction, horror, or fantasy genres, BONE is a brilliant and biting Juvenalian satire that astutely dissects the issues of race relations and economic stratification in the United States. Part of the film's intelligence comes from the fact that Cohen's script is not one-sided. Not only does he take lunges at average white folks and their stereotyped views of themselves and those of darker-skinned ethic persuasions, he also uses his dark rapier-like wit to flay the typical black citizen's equally stereotyped attitudes towards upper-class whites. But Cohen doesn't end it there. BONE is a complex, multi-layered story in which one can find many subtle comments and observations above and beyond the primary theme. Addressed are socio-economic issues such as honesty, avarice, marital ennui, contemporary sexual mores, familial trust, the consequences of acting on one's personal fantasies, and lots more, and it definitely requires multiple viewings to peel back the layers and take it all in.

Though some socio-political pundits will rightly argue that race relations and the social standing of non-whites have improved since the era in which this film was made, there are still palpable gaps between the social and economic classes in America, and recent notorious racial hate crimes demonstrates that there is certainly a lot of ground yet to cover where racial issues are concerned. This being the case, BONE still seems just as fresh and relevant--and just as satirically witty--as it did in 1972.

The principal actors in BONE are phenomenal. In the titular role, actor Yaphet Kotto portrays a black robber and rapist who upends the calm, boring life of an affluent middle-aged white couple. His Oscar-caliber performance is forceful and dynamic, yet the character he creates is still sympathetic and at times downright hilarious. Character actor Andrew Duggan, in what is probably the best performance of his career, creates a dead-on three-dimensional portrait of a smarmy and greedy salesman who one day finds his daily routine abruptly disrupted by Bone. And Joyce Van Patten is delightfully dingy as the bored, cheerless housewife who eventually develops romantic and erotic feelings towards her abductor.

Certain aspects of BONE leave the narrative open to interpretation. In the end, one is left to decide if the events depicted really happened, if they were simply a fantasy of the housewife, or if they took place in the imagination of the affluent couple's son (who, we learn, is in a European prison for drug smuggling and is therefore regarded by his parents as an embarrassment and a social liability). This is a brilliant tactic on Cohen's part, as it forces the viewer to mentally review the film's issues and themes--or even to view the film again--and consider everything more deeply in order to formulate a personally sensible interpretation of the open-ended plot.

Unfortunately, the complex themes, the sophisticated satire, and the generally controversial nature of the film have proved too deep for the average audience, and BONE has therefore never achieved the notoriety or the distribution that it deserves. Instead, it has basically been relegated to the status of a cult film or an exploitation flick, and only film aficionados who actively seek quality non-mainstream works have been lucky enough to obtain access to a copy of BONE in recent years.

Until now, that is. Thanks to the folks at Blue Underground, BONE has been lovingly restored and made available on DVD. In addition to a fantastic picture and great sound, the DVD also features extras such as a humorous and informative commentary by writer/director Cohen and his protégé, Bill Lustig; a short statement from the film's original distributor, Jack Harris; some footage from an earlier aborted shoot of the film, which includes some differences in cast and dialog; and a theatrical trailer in which the film is marketed under an alternate title of THE HOUSEWIFE.

Anybody who appreciates good filmmaking and great satire will enjoy BONE, and fans of Larry Cohen will definitely want to snatch up a copy of this disc for their DVD collections. Blue Underground's DVD edition of BONE is well worth the price of admission.

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Cohen DEBUT., February 4, 2005

By	Jason W. Allgood "Cinema FANatic" (Petal, MS USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This movie is good and should be in every Larry Cohen fan's collection. It manages to suck you in and hold you there for 95 minutes. It is entertaining, but the crtics label it bizarre? It isn't bizarre at all just very imaginative and smart. Critics only see it as bizarre perhaps because of all the painfully normal movies out there that they label as Great or A Sure Classic. Whatever the case, watch this forgotten movie if you seek something different and entertaining.

4.0 out of 5 stars A Bad Day in Beverly Hills, January 25, 2004

By	cookieman108 "cookieman108®" (Inside the jar...) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

Well, here it is, in all its' wide screen glory. Blue Underground presents writer/director/producer Larry Cohen first film Bone, also known as Housewife, Dial Rat for Terror, or Beverly Hills Nightmare completely uncut and uncensored with a whole lot of juicy extras.

This is truly a bizarre film. The title, Bone, refers to the character played by Yaphet Kotto. The movie opens by the pool of a seemingly affluent, older couple that lives in a rather large house in Beverly Hills. Bone, an unstable, unpredictable violent criminal forces his way into the lives of this couple, looking for some easy money, and we are treated to one wild ride as the plot veers into the uncharted waters of absurdity.

The very nature of perversity is explored, as the characters are forced to confront hidden desires, exposing the seamy underbelly of modern life. The material presented here may have been tamed over time, thirty years after its' inital release, but the I think the film still commands the effect to disturb, shock, and make one laugh through its' use of imagery and dialogue. Yes, I said laugh, as I would call this a black comedy of sorts.

The movie can be hard to take at times, but the use of jump cuts and incidental music are used very effectively. What may seem insignificant at times later reveals it to be of some importance. Probably my favorite performance in this film was that of Oscar nominee Jeannie Berlin (The Heartbreak Kid) who played The Girl. Her character was truly fascinating even though she had little screen time compared to the rest.

As I said, Blue Underground provides a wealth of extras on this, up until now, rare movie. There's a wonderful commentary with Larry Cohen, a short interview with distributor/director/producer Jack H. Harris, selected scenes from an early shoot of the film, trailers, a radio spot, a gallery of promotional materials, a Larry Cohen biography, and even a small reprinted still of a poster for the movie inside the case. If you are willing to take a chance on something a lot out of the cinematic mainstream, then this is as good a place as any to start.