Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Modern Noir....With A Cast To Die For, March 2, 2005
This review refers to "Twilight" (VHS/Paramount)....
Paul Newman knows a thing or two about playing a private eye. Remember "Harper" and "The Drowning Pool"? In "Twilight", he's Harry Ross(funny it should be another "H" name, to add to his list), an on the wagon, ex-cop, turned ex-private eye. He's holed up at the home of an ailing Jack, and Catherine Ames, once bright and shining movie stars. The Ames', by the way, are Gene Hackman and Susan Sarandon.
Harry has been doing odd jobs for the Ames', and he's about to handle the oddest. Jack asks Harry to deliver a package. Don't worry, he says, a simple task, no guns needed. Well, this simple task unleashes a web of 20 year old secrets and lies that could ruin lives and take a few in the process. And yes, a gun would come in real handy for Ross, who comes out of retirement to solve the case. And... who do you trust?... becomes the big question for him.
It's a real treat to see Newman in this quiet but deadly thriller, unraveling a murder mystery, that has dead bodies and danger at every turn. Sarandon and Hackman are in top form as they try to protect themselves from their own past. Director Robert Benton("Places In The Heart"/"Kramer Vs. Kramer"), seems to be paying homage to the noir of yesteryear, and does it with a wonderful flair for the genre.
Stockard Channing, Reese Witherspoon, James Garner, Giancarlo Esposito, Liev Schreiber, John Spencer and M. Emmet Walsh, add their wonderful talents to the story. The music, by Elmer Bernstein completes the feel of this Hollywood mystery.
This VHS edition presents a nice picture(full screen), and very good sound in Stereo. You may want to keep the remote handy as there are more than 10 minutes of previews at the beginning of the tape. The film is rated R for some violence, and nudity.
Catch these legends all together, in one time, in one place. "Twilight" in Tinsletown!
Get the popcorn ready and enjoy....Laurie
also recommended:
Empire Falls (Every Small Town Has a Big Story) Vol. 1
The Outrage
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Shades of Gray, July 3, 2005
Director Robert Benton has crafted a film reminiscent of the 1940's in this complex and character driven film with an ensemble cast of screen veterens and one future star in her first adult role. The mystery is engrossing and the performances are stellar as Benton shows how age and life experience sometimes shades the black and white of right and wrong to gray.
The story revolves around former P.I. Harry Ross (Paul Newman) attempting to do a favor for Jack Ames (Gene Hackman) that leads to blackmail and murder. The favor may involve Jack's beautiful wife Catherine Hayward (Susan Sarandon). A twenty year old murder comes into play as well as Harry slips back into a life he left behind when the Ames' spoiled little brat Mel (Reese Witherspoon) brought him some bad luck a few years prior on a case down in Mexico.
Newman is terrific as he reluctantly tries to fix things for everyone as the bodies pile up. It's a task that gets more difficult as he gets closer to the truth. The unspoken attraction between he and Catherine is cause for concern as well in this character driven mystery. Stockard Channing gives a nice performance as Harry's old flame Lt. Verna Hollander, and Reese Witherspoon acquits herself nicely in her first adult role.
Benton has added enough humor to the story to give it the feel of reality. This film was not designed for the teen driven box office of today but for the rest of us. It has some terrific performances from the entire cast and some true-to-life moments.
It is James Garner who truly shines as the old pal of Harry and Jack, Raymond Hope. Garner always makes it look so natural and easy his performance sometimes gets overlooked. He is really great here and the interplay between he and Newman as they discuss growing older and the events taking place are priceless. It may seem clear what happened twenty years ago but it is the relationships that drive this story and the ones that are shattered forever when Harry finally peels away the gray to reveal the black and white.
This is a fine film that subtly shows what can happen to people who become used to having everything work out for them. As Garner's character Raymond tells Harry: "There's them, and there's us, Harry." Benton has crafted an old style film that you won't want to miss if you're tired of the teen box office fare. It is a mature and thoughtful mystery and a meditation on friendship and growing older. This one is worth owning.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Quality Noir With Newman, Hackman, Sarandon, Garner, March 21, 2005
For me in the movies, few things are as satisfying as watching two old pros who have the game down cold play a scene together. In Twilight, when the old pros include Paul Newman and Gene Hackman, I can have a very good time. The old pros also include Susan Sarandon and James Garner, in a tale of murder, blackmail and regret.
Harry Ross (Paul Newman) is a retired cop who has been living in Los Angeles with his friends Catherine Ames (Susan Sarandon) and Jack Ames (Gene Hackman). The Ames were big movie stars once, but now Jack Ames is dying of cancer. Catherine Ames first husband disappeared mysteriously twenty years ago. Now it appears Jack and perhaps Catherine are being blackmailed about just what actually happened to the guy. Jack asks Harry to deliver a package of money to a certain address, but when he arrives he finds a retired, corrupt cop who has just been shot. Harry needs to find out what's happening, partly to protect his friends and partly because, in a way, he's been in love with Catherine for a long time. Into the mix is Raymond Hope (James Garner), another retired cop who for years worked as a security man for the movie studio the Ames did much of their work at. He was a well-paid 'clean-up' man. At one point he says, "Don't you ever get tired of all the beautiful people, Harry? Doesn't it ever bother you that they do whatever they want because there're people like you and me who'll clean up after them?" Also around are Liev Schreiber and Margo Martindale as small-time crooks on the make.
The story is right out of the Forties noir tradition, with a straight ahead story line, no fancy footwork and a nice 20 year-old mystery combined with current murders. Most of all, the movie has first-rate stars showing why they have star power. When Newman and Hackman play a scene together or when Newman and Garner do, you're getting free lessons in quality technique.
There is a low-key tone of sadness and regret about the story...aging, sickness, missed opportunites...which, for me, just adds to the richness. Most of all, however, there is Newman, Hackman, Sarandon and Garner. It may be a little unsettling to realize that their combined ages when they made this movie added up to 263 years, but experience and charm really pay off. I've always liked this movie a lot. The DVD looks just fine.
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