Sydney BD 1996 Hard Eight [Blu-Ray] [Import]

Description

Spain released, Blu-Ray/Region A/B/C DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), English ( DTS-HD Master Audio ), French ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), German ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), Italian ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), Spanish ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), English ( Subtitles ), French ( Subtitles ), Italian ( Subtitles ), Portuguese ( Subtitles ), Spanish ( Subtitles ), WIDESCREEN (2.35:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Interactive Menu, Scene Access, Trailer(s), SYNOPSIS: Before his commercial breakthrough with Boogie Nights (1997), writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson made this drama. John (John C. Reilly), a half-bright loser stranded in Reno, is down to his last few bucks when Sydney (Phillip Baker Hall), taking pity on him, buys him breakfast and offers him a few tips on making money in the casinos. Two years later, John has become Sydney's partner, but his lack of common sense goes from problematic to dangerous when he falls in love with Clementine (Gwyneth Paltrow), a cocktail waitress who isn't above turning a few tricks when she needs to make money - and isn't any brighter than John. HALL and Reilly, both first-rate character actors, are cast in rare leading roles, and Paltrow is cast strongly against type as a part-time prostitute with a serious lack of street smarts. ...Hard Eight (1996) ( Sydney ) ( Last Exit Reno 8 ) (Blu-Ray) Review: A lean and spotless neo-noir - Paul Thomas Anderson's lean and spotless neo noir sees Philip Baker Hall assume the well deserved lead role as a professional gambler who takes a vulnerable John C. Reilly under his wing and teaches him his trade. But when Gwyneth Paltrow's waitress, moonlighting as a prostitute, enters their lives, a crisis soon emerges that requires all of his seasoned calm to resolve it. There are different levels of acting success out there and the two male leads on show here represent one of the more fortunately unfortunate. Fortunate in that their supreme talent is recognised by the industry but unfortunate to be forever pigeon-holed as nothing more than "strong support players" simply because they don't look like movie stars. Well it didn't stop writer-director Anderson from seeing the potential of building a film around the pair and we should all be thankful. Hard Eight is remarkably efficient storytelling even for a director who has specialised in such filmmaking. Dialogue is used sparingly but plenty is said at the right moments and it always rings with sympathetic wisdom. For a cynical film shot with an aversion to the frills and warmth of more stylish directors, this forensic engineering of compassion is a true achievement. Like his casting, Anderson doesn't shy away from rough edges and the three main players are presented warts and all. But the honesty of how their interactions are captured set against bare production design and dulcet score renders them all the more real and relatable. Needless to say Baker Hall doesn't waste a second of this opportunity and, as the jaded Sydney, he finesses the film from drama to thriller and thriller to drama. He may not look like a movie star but he has a great face all the same and regardless of what career his character may have pursued, every day of it seems etched on his face. Reilly is equally splendid in what transpires to be a lesser part but his intense vulnerability wonderfully complements Baker Hall's composed presence. To her credit, Paltrow isn't left behind either and she gives us one of the more interesting takes on what has become a standard Hollywood trope of gender economics. Above all else, however, it's the savvy interplay between these characters who, one and all have been there and done that, which makes Hard Eight so enjoyable and, during the sequences in which Samuel L. Jackson's sly security guard spars with the ever cool Sydney, the generation gap between their street smarts makes for subtly riveting games of cat and mouse. Review: Hard 8 - I love this movie. It is a very popular cult film. Great acting and direction. They don't make movies like this anymore but they should. Good parts by John C Reilly and Gwyneth Paltrow. It is right up there on the list with bring me the head of Alfredo Garcia with Warren Oats and Isabella Vega. Sam Peckinpaw movies are entirely different but the unique casting and storyline have the same appeal for me as Hard 8.