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Blackmail, Murder & Mayhem

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Frantic

Frantic

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Good movie, bad DVD
Review: I would love to buy this movie on DVD, but only after good features have been added. First of all, widescreen. No DVD should be released without the original aspect ratio. Second, this Paris-based movie should have full French language support. I checked other regions for this DVD and it *is* available in widescreen with French, but not here in Region 1 (where both English and French are official languages -- both languages should be supported in both audio and subtitles on all Region 1 DVDs). Other DVD features, such as audio commentaries, featurettes, and other forms of information, would be much appreciated.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I don't like other movies of Harrison ford but
Review: I really love this one! The ending is very sad!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Semi-Frantic
Review: The name "Frantic" suggests a level of suspense and urgency that this film never quite achieves. Not for me, at least. Harrison Ford plays a surgeon who is in Paris with his wife for a medical convention. First, they discover that she has picked up the wrong suitcase when they arrived at the airport. Then, while he is in the shower, she disappears. He is sure she has been kidnapped, but when the authorities aren't quick to agree, he undertakes his own investigation. The early part of the story is burdened by the language problem. Ford's character doesn't speak French and he is constantly struggling to make himself understood. This adds a level of frustration and may have been intended to heighten the tension, but it also slows down the story. Later on, things just seem to get muddled, and the ending struck me as a bit confused and anti-climactic. Further, the "bad guys" just never came across as all that dangerous. They seemed more bumbling than threatening. Overall, this is not a bad suspense flick, but it isn't a really great one, either. I rate it a soft four stars. Some folks obviously like it better than others, though. You may love it, but I suggest viewing it before buying it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: On my knees for the soundtrack!
Review: Yes, the movie is good. But I write to beg anyone for the soundtrack. I need the soundtrack so bad! OK back to the Movie, I agree with many who say that at first the movie seems too slow for a suspense. And you have to look at it from the start for the acting. But don't tell me Harrison Ford was not good. To say it was made at the time when he was riding high on the success of his Indian Jones. Here he does prove he can get into different roles and play them to reality. A middle aged doctor has no idea what he has got into. The fear of the people he meets or the ones he wishes not to is shown with much reality. He is not use to the violence of the world. Cause he is just a doctor in his middle age - his acting and moves make perfect sense then. Each move of his can be felt once understood. What his character goes through can drive one frantic. But he has to keep his cool to win back what he lost or will lose...

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: good, but not one of Polanski's best
Review: Frantic is a film about a middle-aged couple on a trip to France. Shortly after arriving, the wife (played by Betty Buckley) disappears. Convinced that she has been kidnapped, and finding the authorities to be utterly ineffectual, the husband (Ford) attempts to track her down himself. His efforts get him caught in the middle of a smuggling operation, accompanied by a sultry club girl, played by Emmanuelle Seigner (Polanski's wife).

I didn't like Frantic as much as some of Polanski's other films. He is a master of suspense, creating complex psychological scenarios in which characters find themselves paranoid and unsure of the world around them, and evoking the struggle and alienation of being a foreigner/visitor in an unfamiliar place; however, in Frantic much of his cinematic expertise is lost on uninteresting characters. Much of the drive of a Polanski film lies in the ability of the lead to draw the viewer in. Harrison Ford does a fine job, yet still I didn't care all that much whether or not he got his wife back in one piece. The ending, too, was disappointing - typical Hollywood fare.

For big fans of the suspense/action genre and/or Harrison Ford, see Frantic - you'll probably like it. For Polanski fans, you won't find a masterpiece like Rosemary's Baby or Repulsion, but it's still undeniably him. And finally, for fans of the sumptuous Ms. Seigner, there are many an excessive shot of her scantilly clad body.

FYI: The DVD picture is formatted for TV and there is no extra material.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Worthy of Hitchcock....
Review: Like BLADE RUNNER before it, when FRANTIC came out in U.S theaters in 1988, it's box-office performance was rather dissappointing. The reason for this can be attributed to the fact that FRANTIC (like BLADE RUNNNER) was not cranked out by the Hollywood cookie cutter machine, and therefore not a movie for American masses. Delving a bit deeper into this, there are aspects of the film's feel, plot, performance and score that I'd like to touch on:

FEEL

Despite the fact that it's made by Warner Bros., FRANTIC has a distinctive European production feel to it. Yes, it's filmed in Paris,but the feel, pace and cinematography make one realize that Frantic is really a European film which has an American star at its helm. It's not often that big stars, such as Harrison Ford, step out of the Hollywood production scene to make a European-type feature. It's no surprise, then, that FRANTIC was hugely successfull in Europe.

PLOT

The film has the spirit of Hitchcock throughout it. Even its premise: Harrison Ford's(Dr. Richard Walker) wife mysteriously vanishes from his hotel upon arriving in Paris for a conference. It differes from other films with a similar plot (such as THE VANISHING and BREAKDOWN), in that the audience is just as at a loss as Walker is. We only know what he knows. We discover parts of the mystery as he methodically puts the peices together. This aspect is what really creates the film's gripping suspense and makes one relate and empathise with Dr. Walker's anguish. In the afore mentioned movies, there is a bi-linear plot where we see what is going on from the kidnapper's point of view, which make things all-too obvious.

PERFORMANCE

For those critics that say that Harrison Ford can't act, they obviously haven't seen this movie. To me, this is his best perfmance of his illustrious career. Harrison Ford is required to be in every scene of the film, since he is our eyes and ears. This is not an easy job, even for the most seasoned of actors, but Ford pulls it off masterfully.

SCORE

Ennio Morricone's score for this film is very appropriate. He weaves in suspensfull strings throughout the film along with jazzy undertoans and meloncholy pieces brilliantly complementing the Ford's performance and Polanski's vision. The opening and closing titles are distinctively Morricone, mixing an orchestra strings theme with an electric bass and drum set. Alas, the soundtrack CD has been out of print for years.....

FRANTIC is not a perfect film, but clearly, it has not been given the credit that it deserves. It is a film that should not go unnoticed by movie-goers that appreciate atmospheric, suspense-filled thrillers with first-class permormances.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Average espionage thriller aided by superb score and acting
Review: Harrison Ford is in his element again: While visiting Paris with his wife of some 20 years, Ford finds his wife kidnapped by ruthless crooks who are after a small object they had "planted" in the woman's luggage. Of course, there has been a "switch", and the priceless object is now in the hands of a "small time" but beautiful French girl. Eventually Ford figures out what's what, while desperate to get his wife back unharmed. -- This film has a predictable plot, but the music score featuring a recurring Grace Jones track fits nicely into every scene. This movie is great entertainment, if not quite Oscar caliber.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Warning
Review: This is a fairly entertaining thriller with a nice performance by Harrison Ford in his standard 'everyman' role to recommend it. Unfortunately Emmanuelle Seigner looks lost in her role and gets blown off the screen in every scene she and Ford share. But be warned, this DVD lacks any bonus materials and can only be viewed in pan/scan mode. There are no titles, no chapter index, not even a selection menu at the beginning of the movie (no features to select from). It doesn't seem as if the picture has been enhanced nor has the sound been remastered. Pretty lame.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of my favorite Harrison ford movies
Review: The movie Frantic,directed by Roman Polanski,is excellent.It stars Harrison Ford as an American doctor,in Paris for a convention,whose wife(played by Betty Buckley)is kidnapped while he's in the shower.He goes to the police and they really don't help much,so he goes out to find her himself. He winds up being helped by a pretty French girl named Michelle,who was sort of indirectly responsible for the kidnapping because she picked up the wife's suitcase by mistake at the airport.Emmanuelle Seigner plays Michelle,and does a good job.The rest of the cast,which I am mostly unfamiliar with,is also very good.The film has a great musical score by Ennio Morricone that really adds to the atmosphere of the Paris locations..Overall,this is a great movie,and though I'm not sure how well known it is,it's one of my favorite films with Harrison Ford.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A Satisfactory thriller
Review: Um, in general this movie is good, but I was left with the feeling that Betty Buckley was miscast as Harrsion Ford's wife. She looked too old for him. And the film totally belongs to Ford and Emmanuelle Seigner. This is a medium-paced gripping movie and you won't feel cheated after the viewing.


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