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Format: DVD
May 2004
Rated R
Recording Mode: (unknown)
107 min.
Color
UPC: 025192063824 |
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woodysbook
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Movie Description
Possibly the closest that Jack Nicholson has ever come to playing an old-fashioned hero was the role of Charlie Smith, in a film whose writers had worked on THE WILD BUNCH and THE DEER HUNTER. A U.S. border patrol guard who's disenchanted with his work, Charlie accedes to his wife, Marcy's (Valerie Perrine), wishes to move to El Paso so they can enjoy a higher standard of living and stay in a duplex near her friend Savannah (Shannon Wilcox), and her husband, Cat (Harvey Keitel), who also works for the border patrol. But after relocating, Charlie is so appalled by the level of corruption and bribery of the area's guards, which includes running illegal aliens across the border to work as farmhands and which is run by Cat, that he initially opts not to become involved. He realizes he has to go on the take, however, when Marcy, an eager consumer, racks up some serious debts while decorating their new apartment. Charlie takes an interest in Maria (Elpidia Carrillo), an illegal who has returned the hubcaps her brother stole from him, regarding her as an emblem of the purity long absent from his own life. When her baby is kidnapped and sold to Cat for resale to adoptive parents, Charlie decides to act. Jack shelves his usual mannerisms to give one of the most powerful and underrated performances of his career, in an effective, low-key melodrama about a situation that hasn't changed a whit in the decades since the film was made.
Synopsis
Los Angeles border guard Charlie Smith and his wife move to El Paso in hopes of a finding a higher standard of living. They quickly run up a huge debt on swimming pools and patio furniture, and the overwhelmed Charlie finds himself tempted to take bribes from the Mexican kingpins who smuggle illegal aliens across the border.
Film Notes
DVD Features:
Region 1
Keep Case
Theatrical release: January 29, 1982.
Shot on locationn in El Paso, Texas.
Producer Edgar Bronfman, one of the heirs to the Seagram's liquor fortune, was himself once kidnapped but was released unharmed.
During the shooting of a particular scene that he thought was overchoreographed, Jack Nicholson simply said to director Tony Richardson, "Less Josh Logan, more [Elia] Kazan."
Screenwriter Deric Washburn (THE DEER HUNTER) was fired before production began, and another writer, Walon Green (THE WILD BUNCH), was brought in to rewrite the script.
The film was inspired by a series of Los Angeles Times articles about illegal aliens crossing the border from Mexico.
The film was already completed when the production company decided to scrap the original ending, forcing the filmmakers to go back and shoot a more upbeat one.
Industry Reviews
"...[Nicholson delivers a] multi-leveled performance..."
Berg.
Quotations
"I married a banana."--Charlie Smith (Jack Nicholson) to Marcy (Valerie Perrine)
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