Phoenix (film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Phoenix | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
|
| Directed by | Danny Cannon |
| Produced by | Victoria Nevinny Tracie Graham Rice |
| Written by | Eddie Richey |
| Starring | Ray Liotta Anjelica Huston Anthony LaPaglia Daniel Baldwin Jeremy Piven Tom Noonan Xander Berkely Giancarlo Esposito Brittany Murphy Giovanni Ribisi |
| Music by | Graeme Revell |
| Cinematography | James L. Carter |
| Editing by | Zach Staenberg |
| Distributed by | Trimark Pictures |
| Release date(s) |  September 4, 1998 |
| Running time | 113 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Phoenix is an American crime film directed by Briton Danny Cannon in 1998.
Karl Williams, writing for the All Movie Guide, describes ‘Phoenix’ as a “noir crime drama set in Arizona and updated for post-modern sensibilities is similar in tone to other hip B-movie homages such as Bad Lieutenant (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994) and the previous year's award winning L.A. Confidential (1997)”.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Unlike many of his Phoenix police detective partners, Harry Collins (Ray Liotta) is a good cop and, despite his very idiosyncratic value system, a decent man. However his compulsive gambling has got him heavily in debt to a gangster bookie (Tom Noonan). Refusing to welsh on a bet, and with only 48 hours to pay his debt, Harry is offered a deal: murder Joey, a young prisoner (Giovanni Ribisi) who may provide the police with information about the bookie, and the debt will be written off. Harry can not contemplate such action and prefers to offer Joey some potentially life-saving advice: “You never rat out anyone… It doesn't pay in the long run”.
When Harry's corrupt partner Mike (Anthony LaPaglia) finds out his predicament he volunteers to kill the bookie but Harry dismisses the offer saying he’ll “never betray a friend”. Instead, Harry comes up with a plan to rob Louie the loan shark (Giancarlo Esposito), who stashes a large amount of money in the safe in his strip club. To pull this off Harry needs the help of Mike and two other corrupt and brutal cops, James (Daniel Baldwin) and Fred (Jeremy Piven), busily engaged in moonlighting for Louie.
A budding relationship with Leila, his understanding barmaid (Anjelica Huston), promises Harry a new beginning a long way from Phoenix after he completes the hold up.
All does not go according to plan.
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Ray Liotta | Harry Collins |
| Anthony LaPaglia | Mike Henshaw |
| Anjelica Huston | Leila |
| Daniel Baldwin | James Nutter |
| Jeremy Piven | Fred Shuster |
| Tom Noonan | Chicago |
| Xander Berkeley | Lt. Clyde Webber |
| Giancarlo Esposito | Louie |
| Brittany Murphy | Veronica |
| Kari Wührer | Katie Shuster |
| Giovanni Ribisi | Joey Schneider |
| Royce D. Applegate | Dickerman |
[edit] Soundtrack
- "Ama" (Written by Daniel Riddle & David Parks) performed by Hitting Birth
- "11 O'Clock" (Mark Sandman) by Morphine
- "Dogs of Lust (Germicide Mix)" (Matt Johnson) by The The
- "K. C. " (Guy Davis, Marc Olson & Mike Williamson) by Sage
- "Terrified" (Hubert Clifford) by Hubert Clifford
- "Tragedy" (Clive Richardson) by Clive Richardson
- "Mas y Mas" (David Hidalgo & Louis Perez) by Los Lobos
- "Terraplane Blues" (Robert Johnson) by Robert Johnson
- "Untitled #1" (Josh Haden) by Spain
- "I Can't Win" (Leonard Johnson, Dave Richardson & Cliff Knight) by Ry Cooder
- "From Four Until Late" (Robert Johnson) by Robert Johnson
- "Until Tomorrow" (Graeme Revell, Danny Cannon & Gail Ann Dorsey) by Gail Ann Dorsey
[edit] Reception
Lawrence Van Gelder, writing in the New York Times, argued that “character and conversation outweigh momentum and suspense in 'Phoenix' but a gifted cast, led by Ray Liotta, who was a co-producer of this story of corrupt police detectives in Arizona, splashes alluring color across its familiar noir”. [1].
Kevin Thomas of the L.A. Times described the film as “a terrific neo-noir”. The writer, director “and a gifted cast and crew bring to their genre piece a surprising freshness”. Thomas praises cinematographer James L. Carter who gave ‘Phoenix’ “a classic shadowy noir look even though the film is in color”. However, the film was “not merely a matter of shrewd craftsmanship but a suddenly widening and deepening moral perspective that is expressed through Liotta's beautifully sustained, endlessly revealing portrayal of a Phoenix policeman, undone by compulsive gambling, yet clinging to his own code of honor”. Moreover, in Anjelica Huston, the film-makers came up with “the definitive noir woman for their leading lady" someone "who knows she can communicate world-weariness with a shrug or a lifted eyebrow and doesn't push it”. [2].
