- Actors: Mickey Rourke, Anthony Hopkins, Mimi Rogers, Lindsay Crouse, Kelly Lynch
- Directors: Michael Cimino
- Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Colour, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
- Language English, French
- Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
- Region: Region 1 (US and Canada DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9 - 1.85:1
- Number of discs: 1
- Classification: R (Restricted) (US MPAA rating. See details.)
- Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
- DVD Release Date: 16 April 2002
- Run Time: 105 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B00005V9HX
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 81,062 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I can not understand the other reviewer giving this very good movie one star!; on what basis??? The script and direction is immaculate. The acting is simply mesmerising. the film as a whole is very gripping. I just loved it from first viewing and have been watching it many times with same interest every time I watch it. I watch movies a lot, and know how to rate a good movie from a bad movie and I difinately judge this movie as one of the best and most thrilling and interesting.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
With superb performances from Frederic March, Humphrey Bogart and Arthur Kennedy, a taut script and on the money direction from William Wyler, The Desperate Hours is one of the great thrillers of its day. Unfortunately, this is Desperate Hours, one of the worst films of the nineties, or any other decade for that matter.
The first 15 minutes are great: tight, controlled and fairly convincing, with a surprisingly on-form Mickey Rourke. It doesn't last. As soon as he and his fellow unstable escaped murderers hide out in the home of Anthony Hopkins and Mimi Rogers' dysfunctional family it goes down the toilet faster than bleach. Logic is quickly abandoned, there are some dazzlingly obvious continuity errors and before long you feel almost as much a hostage as the truly obnoxious family themselves.
Mickey Rourke is initially very good, but the performance is not properly thought through and falls to pieces around the halfway mark. Hopkins, the most ridiculous Vietnam vet the screen has yet produced, is just appalling, Crouse bullish and one note while Kelly Lynch displays her breasts at every available opportunity - even in the opening jailbreak! - and to hell with logic or necessity.
With Desperate Hours, Michael Cimino finally made a film as bad as Heaven's Gate was supposed to be (but wasn't). Actually make that two, if you include The Sicilian. On the plus side, David Mansfield's score is very good indeed. Nothing else is. Avoid.
The first 15 minutes are great: tight, controlled and fairly convincing, with a surprisingly on-form Mickey Rourke. It doesn't last. As soon as he and his fellow unstable escaped murderers hide out in the home of Anthony Hopkins and Mimi Rogers' dysfunctional family it goes down the toilet faster than bleach. Logic is quickly abandoned, there are some dazzlingly obvious continuity errors and before long you feel almost as much a hostage as the truly obnoxious family themselves.
Mickey Rourke is initially very good, but the performance is not properly thought through and falls to pieces around the halfway mark. Hopkins, the most ridiculous Vietnam vet the screen has yet produced, is just appalling, Crouse bullish and one note while Kelly Lynch displays her breasts at every available opportunity - even in the opening jailbreak! - and to hell with logic or necessity.
With Desperate Hours, Michael Cimino finally made a film as bad as Heaven's Gate was supposed to be (but wasn't). Actually make that two, if you include The Sicilian. On the plus side, David Mansfield's score is very good indeed. Nothing else is. Avoid.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
22 reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Decent acting in dreadful movie!
6 July 2009
Format:DVD
As other reviewers I picked this movie to watch due to the cast forgetting that particularly Hopkins really only made the big name for himself later in his career.... what a mistake. He plays decently though but were to my surprise overshadowed by Mickey Rourke's very realistic portrayal of a psycopath (in retrospect he does seem to feel right at home in such roles!).
The cinematography was nice showing beautiful scenery from Utah particularly in the beginning making us viewers wonder if this was a nature film we had ended up seeing... totally unclear what the director had in mind including this in a movie covering a hostage taking situation!
The smaller roles were however played poorly particularly the entire police force led by a woman who seemed as if she had been taken straight out of school play.. (You would think they could afford better with the rest of the cast in mind).
The worst part of the movie however was the completely unrealistic choices made throughout... other reviewers pointed several out already such as why the hostage taker lets one of his men go bringing along the body of a random victim, why he lets the daughter leave on a date (while not knowing the police was already onto him!) and last but not least why he choses to engage in hostage taking right after making a spectacularly unrealistic escape from prison!
Candidate for worst screenplay of the past century but compensated slightly by decent acting performances
The cinematography was nice showing beautiful scenery from Utah particularly in the beginning making us viewers wonder if this was a nature film we had ended up seeing... totally unclear what the director had in mind including this in a movie covering a hostage taking situation!
The smaller roles were however played poorly particularly the entire police force led by a woman who seemed as if she had been taken straight out of school play.. (You would think they could afford better with the rest of the cast in mind).
The worst part of the movie however was the completely unrealistic choices made throughout... other reviewers pointed several out already such as why the hostage taker lets one of his men go bringing along the body of a random victim, why he lets the daughter leave on a date (while not knowing the police was already onto him!) and last but not least why he choses to engage in hostage taking right after making a spectacularly unrealistic escape from prison!
Candidate for worst screenplay of the past century but compensated slightly by decent acting performances
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
War of trust is fantastic!!
29 Aug 1999
Sir Anthony Hopkins plays a defense attorney trying to recapture a dissolving marriage. Escaping from court, a career killer, Micky Roarke, takes hostage Hopkins' wife, home, children, and increasingly tries for more. Excellent film on the depths of human spirit. Hope studios re-release!!!
11 of 15 people found the following review helpful
It's a GREAT film !
4 Nov 2003
Format:DVD
Despite some of the glib, cute, reviews here, the cast is strong, the story is strong, the direction is strong. For the money, it's a purchase you won't regret.
The whole point of the film, as any film, is to entertain. This effort delivers what it promises...a taut, tense drama, that entertains.
No one liked this film because Hollywood NEVER forgives Michael Cimino, and they successfully "buried" him with this film, and the public bought it, as these reviews here show.
It's our loss, but at least we have this DVD.
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