Bonnie-Bedelia Movie Reviews

"So . . . what's the story?" You probably don't know it, but this movie is what jump-started that phrase into the language. Young couple gets married, then they're not doing too well, they're trying to deal with it on their own, but their well-meaning, ever-so-ethnic families keep prying -- a dynamic that will probably be relevant for every generation ever. Wonderful interweaving of touching and absurd aspects.

In this excellent, controversial drama starring Bonnie Bedelia and Karen Austin is about a 34 year old lady dying from terminal cancer to the point where she will become bodily a vegetable and deciding whether or not she should be assisted with her coming death.It's a must see film!!

One of the most common motifs of the Middle Ages was that of the wheel of fortune. The apex being the best of luck, good fortune and plenty. The low point being misery or that of the dispossessed. The idea that one could at one time or another end up anywhere on the wheel must have been great solace to those who felt they were at the bottom.

In Sydney Pollack's 1969 film, `They Shoot Horses, Don't They?' we are given this idea of life in a microcosm. The film, set during the Great Depression is a perfect representation of the same kind of desperation felt during the Middle Ages (or any age, for that matter). This film looks at the Great Depression, and the gimick of a Dance Marathon as a depiction of times in history when the fear of utter loss is very acute. The people facing this challenge are represented in the film by the marathon dancers. The dancers are an ensemble cast including: Jane Fonda as Gloria Beatty, Michael Sarrazin as Robert Syverton, Susannah York as Alice LeBlanc, Red Buttons as `Sailor,' Bonnie Bedelia as Ruby, Bruce Dern as James, and other minor characters.

Of course, certain people have always seemed to be outside of the desperation of life. There are peoples whose fortunes seem set, and sometimes may even seem to be puppet-masters pulling the strings. This was represented in the film by the characters such as Gig Young as `Rocky,' and his partner Al Lewis (III) as `Turkey.' Even an audience members seemed to be one of the quasi-puppet-masters (the audience were people who paid to come see these grueling marathons as entertainment) most notably represented by Madge Kennedy as Mrs. Laydon. In this respect it reminded me of Greek Tragedy (mainly the Ilyad,) with the non-dancing cast as part of the pantheon of gods. Sometimes they are empathetic to the mortals (the cast on the dance floor). Just as in the Greek stories, the gods are pulling for their own personal favorite.

This film is an example of good acting. The acting is so critical to the enjoyment of an otherwise very depressing story. Each of the actors was completely believable in the part the played. No one's acting was `over the top.' I would note however, that Jane Fonda's character, Gloria, was a bit too void of emotion, other than bitterness, until the very end. Her story-telling scene with her second partner was delivered a little too flatly. On the positive side, it she is also in one of the best scenes in the film, which I will address in a minute.

It was the lesser characters that really brought the most credibility to the story and the film. Each of the folks were merely background and then, we are sucked into the film, just as though we were in the audience of the dance hall, they'd pass near... where we could almost hear their individual stories... just for a moment, and then they'd swirl, sway or stagger away... back into oblivion.

As we watched the film we can feel their desperation. In the scenes of the track, One might get the sense, `that's what I am doing. I am one of them... a hamster on the treadmill, all for the next silver dollar. For someone else's entertainment...'

The female character I liked the most was a difficult decision. The Mrs. Laydon character (fits the Greek Goddess Hera role, to continue my earlier analogy...) sat with her kerchief waving, her eyes full of compassion. Alice LeBlanc, the platinum coifed, her eyes hollow as she finally lost touch with the only thing she had to cling to... her hope for stardom extinguished in the shower, just before she is escorted out, `exit, stage right...' As touching and real as these two women played their parts, I felt that Rocky had it right when he told Gloria, `I may not know a winner when I see one, but I sure know a loser...' and Ruby was certainly not. Ruby was determined to give the baby she was carrying a fighting chance in life... even off screen, you could sense her determination. So, Ruby gets my vote for most convincing female role.

The male character that provided the best acting was tough, but the competition was not as stiff as competition between the women. Rocky played the Zeus role to a `T'. But it was the feisty determination and ultimate collapse of `Sailor' that won me over. His character was perhaps the most human of the men. He really wanted to win it, you could sense that. At the same time he was not above feeling for some of the people he was competing against, encouraging them.

I enjoyed the picture, and I found it relevant to today's marathon. The silicon-valley is full of folks all competing for that somewhat empty promise and the same dollar. One of the wisest scenes of the movie was the dialogue between Rocky and Gloria. She enters his office to ask him to change the rules. He's busy at something else. She asks what he's doing and he points out that he's been keeping tabs on everyone. The prize will be reconciled after the bills are exacted. This is life. Anyone who's had a run of misfortune could relate to that. I was reluctant to watch the film after all these years, especially with my aversion to Jane Fonda. Nevertheless, it was perhaps one of the best films of the late sixties/early seventies.

Jane Fonda left her fluff pieces behind her and became a REAL actress after her Oscar-nominated performance here as Gloria, the bitter and hopeless woman who joins a grueling dance marathon (a craze of the Depression '30s) with Michael Sarrazin as her partner. She leaves nothing behind and throws herself into this bleak role taking huge risks that 'STAR' actresses don't do anymore. The film also put Sydney Pollack on the map as a director to be reckoned with. Finding an audience for this film may be tough because of its unrelenting gloom, but if you watch it and don't find yourself thinking about it for weeks after you have seen it, you don't know what movies are about. The message here is that there are no winners in life....only survivors. These are the kinds of films I favor (bleak and depressing) as that is what real life is about....it's a struggle. If you're looking for a diversion from real life, don't come here. The film also contains an Oscar-winning turn by Gig Young as the dance marathon's promoter and emcee and an Oscar-nominated performance by Susannah York as a Garboesque wannabe actress looking for a break. Horses is more a disaster film than anything else. No ship hits an iceberg and no building catches fire, but everyone involved experiences disaster. Don't pass this up.

As I watched American Idol recently I kept thinking of this movie. It stands as one of my all-time favourites. Seems like the wheel's going round again.

It was easy to invision Delta Burke as the queen of a trailer court type neighborhood, but when you throw in Olivia Newton-John as a lesbian folk singer and Beau Bridges as a pathetic loser you begin to see the picture of a highly dysfunctional group of friends and relatives intertwined in a tale, more about righting the wrongs of a dysfunctional history and less about the real story: What are we going to bury mama in now that she is dead. Apparently she tripped over Beau Bridges prosthetic leg on the way to the bathroom in a cheap motel where they were doing the nasty!! Sordid Lives is a befitting title to a movie that will have you somewhere between horrified and in tears from laughter. Sounds like the way things were in many families I know!

I caught this film in a theater in Ft. Lauderdale and I was bowled over. AT last, it's been released on DVD and it's worth the wait. Seeing it again, I laughed even more than the first time - the characters get under your skin with their bizarre antics and the direction is truly clever, juxtaposing a running plotline about a white-trash funeral and the surreal characters who come together as a result. Special kudos to Bonnie Bedelia, who is shrill but ultimately a real character. And Leslie Jordan as a drag-queen in a mental institution channeling Tammy Wynette is flat out HYSTERICAL.

The DVD has some standard extras - deleted scenes, extra songs, a new opening, and commentary from stars and the director. I promise you - this is a movie you will share with your friends and laugh laugh laugh! Sure, it can be corny and superficial at times, but lemme tell ya...the characters are never less than 3-dimensionsal.

This is a sharp, witty, humane movie with a terrific ensemble cast that deserves attention. An intertwined collection of small town stories about faith, love and redemption, "Sordid Lives" has more laughs in its first 15 minutes than most comedies enjoy in two hours. The performances are uniformly file, including Bonnie Bedelia, Delta Burke, Olivia Newton-John (a sweet and pleasant surprise), Leslie Jordan, and Beau Bridges. There are moments of sheer bliss as a town prepares to bury one of its own against a backdrop of angst, humor and real drama. Even the hysterical parts are handled with great sentiment and care. The audience I saw the movie with was cackling with laughter! A terrific film!

This movie was a complete and delightful surprise. The characters: two 'adult' sisters and an assortment of relatives and neighbors are dealing with the death of their elderly mother who has had an affair with the younger husband (Beau Bridges) of their trailer-trash neighbor (Delta Burke). Bridges has two prosthetic legs which, left on the motel floor during a tryst, cause the older woman to fall and kill herself.

Rich Texan stereotypical behavior and language dominate the thoughts and actions of the characters.

The adult son of the deceased woman has been institutionalized for many years for being 'different' ... the female psychiatrist at the institution in which he resides frantically attempts to altar his sexuality, with hysterical results. A grandson has been exiled for similar reasons and is frantically, through therapy, attempting to screw up the courage to return home and be himself.

Everyone finally makes it to the funeral only to have their eyes opened even further as family members begin to see and appreciate each other.

The setting, casting and timing are impeccable.

See the movie and perhaps see a bit of yourself. At least you'll have a great laugh!

Sordid Lives is best seen with as large an audience as you can muster. Audience reactions become infectious as the events progress and you will leave with a fresh look at your own gene pool.

It was easy to invision Delta Burke as the queen of a trailer court type neighborhood, but when you throw in Olivia Newton-John as a lesbian folk singer and Beau Bridges as a pathetic loser you begin to see the picture of a highly dysfunctional group of friends and relatives intertwined in a tale, more about righting the wrongs of a dysfunctional history and less about the real story: What are we going to bury mama in now that she is dead. Apparently she tripped over Beau Bridges prosthetic leg on the way to the bathroom in a cheap motel where they were doing the nasty!! Sordid Lives is a befitting title to a movie that will have you somewhere between horrified and in tears from laughter. Sounds like the way things were in many families I know!

I caught this film in a theater in Ft. Lauderdale and I was bowled over. AT last, it's been released on DVD and it's worth the wait. Seeing it again, I laughed even more than the first time - the characters get under your skin with their bizarre antics and the direction is truly clever, juxtaposing a running plotline about a white-trash funeral and the surreal characters who come together as a result. Special kudos to Bonnie Bedelia, who is shrill but ultimately a real character. And Leslie Jordan as a drag-queen in a mental institution channeling Tammy Wynette is flat out HYSTERICAL.

The DVD has some standard extras - deleted scenes, extra songs, a new opening, and commentary from stars and the director. I promise you - this is a movie you will share with your friends and laugh laugh laugh! Sure, it can be corny and superficial at times, but lemme tell ya...the characters are never less than 3-dimensionsal.

This is a sharp, witty, humane movie with a terrific ensemble cast that deserves attention. An intertwined collection of small town stories about faith, love and redemption, "Sordid Lives" has more laughs in its first 15 minutes than most comedies enjoy in two hours. The performances are uniformly file, including Bonnie Bedelia, Delta Burke, Olivia Newton-John (a sweet and pleasant surprise), Leslie Jordan, and Beau Bridges. There are moments of sheer bliss as a town prepares to bury one of its own against a backdrop of angst, humor and real drama. Even the hysterical parts are handled with great sentiment and care. The audience I saw the movie with was cackling with laughter! A terrific film!

This movie was a complete and delightful surprise. The characters: two 'adult' sisters and an assortment of relatives and neighbors are dealing with the death of their elderly mother who has had an affair with the younger husband (Beau Bridges) of their trailer-trash neighbor (Delta Burke). Bridges has two prosthetic legs which, left on the motel floor during a tryst, cause the older woman to fall and kill herself.

Rich Texan stereotypical behavior and language dominate the thoughts and actions of the characters.

The adult son of the deceased woman has been institutionalized for many years for being 'different' ... the female psychiatrist at the institution in which he resides frantically attempts to altar his sexuality, with hysterical results. A grandson has been exiled for similar reasons and is frantically, through therapy, attempting to screw up the courage to return home and be himself.

Everyone finally makes it to the funeral only to have their eyes opened even further as family members begin to see and appreciate each other.

The setting, casting and timing are impeccable.

See the movie and perhaps see a bit of yourself. At least you'll have a great laugh!

Sordid Lives is best seen with as large an audience as you can muster. Audience reactions become infectious as the events progress and you will leave with a fresh look at your own gene pool.

It was easy to invision Delta Burke as the queen of a trailer court type neighborhood, but when you throw in Olivia Newton-John as a lesbian folk singer and Beau Bridges as a pathetic loser you begin to see the picture of a highly dysfunctional group of friends and relatives intertwined in a tale, more about righting the wrongs of a dysfunctional history and less about the real story: What are we going to bury mama in now that she is dead. Apparently she tripped over Beau Bridges prosthetic leg on the way to the bathroom in a cheap motel where they were doing the nasty!! Sordid Lives is a befitting title to a movie that will have you somewhere between horrified and in tears from laughter. Sounds like the way things were in many families I know!

I caught this film in a theater in Ft. Lauderdale and I was bowled over. AT last, it's been released on DVD and it's worth the wait. Seeing it again, I laughed even more than the first time - the characters get under your skin with their bizarre antics and the direction is truly clever, juxtaposing a running plotline about a white-trash funeral and the surreal characters who come together as a result. Special kudos to Bonnie Bedelia, who is shrill but ultimately a real character. And Leslie Jordan as a drag-queen in a mental institution channeling Tammy Wynette is flat out HYSTERICAL.

The DVD has some standard extras - deleted scenes, extra songs, a new opening, and commentary from stars and the director. I promise you - this is a movie you will share with your friends and laugh laugh laugh! Sure, it can be corny and superficial at times, but lemme tell ya...the characters are never less than 3-dimensionsal.

This is a sharp, witty, humane movie with a terrific ensemble cast that deserves attention. An intertwined collection of small town stories about faith, love and redemption, "Sordid Lives" has more laughs in its first 15 minutes than most comedies enjoy in two hours. The performances are uniformly file, including Bonnie Bedelia, Delta Burke, Olivia Newton-John (a sweet and pleasant surprise), Leslie Jordan, and Beau Bridges. There are moments of sheer bliss as a town prepares to bury one of its own against a backdrop of angst, humor and real drama. Even the hysterical parts are handled with great sentiment and care. The audience I saw the movie with was cackling with laughter! A terrific film!

This movie was a complete and delightful surprise. The characters: two 'adult' sisters and an assortment of relatives and neighbors are dealing with the death of their elderly mother who has had an affair with the younger husband (Beau Bridges) of their trailer-trash neighbor (Delta Burke). Bridges has two prosthetic legs which, left on the motel floor during a tryst, cause the older woman to fall and kill herself.

Rich Texan stereotypical behavior and language dominate the thoughts and actions of the characters.

The adult son of the deceased woman has been institutionalized for many years for being 'different' ... the female psychiatrist at the institution in which he resides frantically attempts to altar his sexuality, with hysterical results. A grandson has been exiled for similar reasons and is frantically, through therapy, attempting to screw up the courage to return home and be himself.

Everyone finally makes it to the funeral only to have their eyes opened even further as family members begin to see and appreciate each other.

The setting, casting and timing are impeccable.

See the movie and perhaps see a bit of yourself. At least you'll have a great laugh!

Sordid Lives is best seen with as large an audience as you can muster. Audience reactions become infectious as the events progress and you will leave with a fresh look at your own gene pool.

It was easy to invision Delta Burke as the queen of a trailer court type neighborhood, but when you throw in Olivia Newton-John as a lesbian folk singer and Beau Bridges as a pathetic loser you begin to see the picture of a highly dysfunctional group of friends and relatives intertwined in a tale, more about righting the wrongs of a dysfunctional history and less about the real story: What are we going to bury mama in now that she is dead. Apparently she tripped over Beau Bridges prosthetic leg on the way to the bathroom in a cheap motel where they were doing the nasty!! Sordid Lives is a befitting title to a movie that will have you somewhere between horrified and in tears from laughter. Sounds like the way things were in many families I know!

I caught this film in a theater in Ft. Lauderdale and I was bowled over. AT last, it's been released on DVD and it's worth the wait. Seeing it again, I laughed even more than the first time - the characters get under your skin with their bizarre antics and the direction is truly clever, juxtaposing a running plotline about a white-trash funeral and the surreal characters who come together as a result. Special kudos to Bonnie Bedelia, who is shrill but ultimately a real character. And Leslie Jordan as a drag-queen in a mental institution channeling Tammy Wynette is flat out HYSTERICAL.

The DVD has some standard extras - deleted scenes, extra songs, a new opening, and commentary from stars and the director. I promise you - this is a movie you will share with your friends and laugh laugh laugh! Sure, it can be corny and superficial at times, but lemme tell ya...the characters are never less than 3-dimensionsal.

This is a sharp, witty, humane movie with a terrific ensemble cast that deserves attention. An intertwined collection of small town stories about faith, love and redemption, "Sordid Lives" has more laughs in its first 15 minutes than most comedies enjoy in two hours. The performances are uniformly file, including Bonnie Bedelia, Delta Burke, Olivia Newton-John (a sweet and pleasant surprise), Leslie Jordan, and Beau Bridges. There are moments of sheer bliss as a town prepares to bury one of its own against a backdrop of angst, humor and real drama. Even the hysterical parts are handled with great sentiment and care. The audience I saw the movie with was cackling with laughter! A terrific film!

This movie was a complete and delightful surprise. The characters: two 'adult' sisters and an assortment of relatives and neighbors are dealing with the death of their elderly mother who has had an affair with the younger husband (Beau Bridges) of their trailer-trash neighbor (Delta Burke). Bridges has two prosthetic legs which, left on the motel floor during a tryst, cause the older woman to fall and kill herself.

Rich Texan stereotypical behavior and language dominate the thoughts and actions of the characters.

The adult son of the deceased woman has been institutionalized for many years for being 'different' ... the female psychiatrist at the institution in which he resides frantically attempts to altar his sexuality, with hysterical results. A grandson has been exiled for similar reasons and is frantically, through therapy, attempting to screw up the courage to return home and be himself.

Everyone finally makes it to the funeral only to have their eyes opened even further as family members begin to see and appreciate each other.

The setting, casting and timing are impeccable.

See the movie and perhaps see a bit of yourself. At least you'll have a great laugh!

Sordid Lives is best seen with as large an audience as you can muster. Audience reactions become infectious as the events progress and you will leave with a fresh look at your own gene pool.

It was easy to invision Delta Burke as the queen of a trailer court type neighborhood, but when you throw in Olivia Newton-John as a lesbian folk singer and Beau Bridges as a pathetic loser you begin to see the picture of a highly dysfunctional group of friends and relatives intertwined in a tale, more about righting the wrongs of a dysfunctional history and less about the real story: What are we going to bury mama in now that she is dead. Apparently she tripped over Beau Bridges prosthetic leg on the way to the bathroom in a cheap motel where they were doing the nasty!! Sordid Lives is a befitting title to a movie that will have you somewhere between horrified and in tears from laughter. Sounds like the way things were in many families I know!

I caught this film in a theater in Ft. Lauderdale and I was bowled over. AT last, it's been released on DVD and it's worth the wait. Seeing it again, I laughed even more than the first time - the characters get under your skin with their bizarre antics and the direction is truly clever, juxtaposing a running plotline about a white-trash funeral and the surreal characters who come together as a result. Special kudos to Bonnie Bedelia, who is shrill but ultimately a real character. And Leslie Jordan as a drag-queen in a mental institution channeling Tammy Wynette is flat out HYSTERICAL.

The DVD has some standard extras - deleted scenes, extra songs, a new opening, and commentary from stars and the director. I promise you - this is a movie you will share with your friends and laugh laugh laugh! Sure, it can be corny and superficial at times, but lemme tell ya...the characters are never less than 3-dimensionsal.

This is a sharp, witty, humane movie with a terrific ensemble cast that deserves attention. An intertwined collection of small town stories about faith, love and redemption, "Sordid Lives" has more laughs in its first 15 minutes than most comedies enjoy in two hours. The performances are uniformly file, including Bonnie Bedelia, Delta Burke, Olivia Newton-John (a sweet and pleasant surprise), Leslie Jordan, and Beau Bridges. There are moments of sheer bliss as a town prepares to bury one of its own against a backdrop of angst, humor and real drama. Even the hysterical parts are handled with great sentiment and care. The audience I saw the movie with was cackling with laughter! A terrific film!

This movie was a complete and delightful surprise. The characters: two 'adult' sisters and an assortment of relatives and neighbors are dealing with the death of their elderly mother who has had an affair with the younger husband (Beau Bridges) of their trailer-trash neighbor (Delta Burke). Bridges has two prosthetic legs which, left on the motel floor during a tryst, cause the older woman to fall and kill herself.

Rich Texan stereotypical behavior and language dominate the thoughts and actions of the characters.

The adult son of the deceased woman has been institutionalized for many years for being 'different' ... the female psychiatrist at the institution in which he resides frantically attempts to altar his sexuality, with hysterical results. A grandson has been exiled for similar reasons and is frantically, through therapy, attempting to screw up the courage to return home and be himself.

Everyone finally makes it to the funeral only to have their eyes opened even further as family members begin to see and appreciate each other.

The setting, casting and timing are impeccable.

See the movie and perhaps see a bit of yourself. At least you'll have a great laugh!

Sordid Lives is best seen with as large an audience as you can muster. Audience reactions become infectious as the events progress and you will leave with a fresh look at your own gene pool.

This review refers to the DVD edition(Warner Bros) of "Presumed Innocent"

Director Alan J Pakula with us his usual flair for suspense("Klute"/"The Pelican Brief"), really draws us in and keeps us guessing in this courtroom thriller. The cast is also wonderful at keeping the mystery alive as they portray their parts perfectly, never giving away anything.It stars Harrison Ford, Brian Dennehy, Raul Julia, Bonnie Bedelia and Greta Scacchi.

Ford is a prosecuting attorney. He's one of the best around, so when a fellow attorney is brutally murdered, he is assigned the case. He is a bit reluctant though. This fellow attorney, was a brillant lawyer,as well as a beautiful and sexy woman, and one other thing...he was having an extra marital affair with her and when it ended, he became obsessed with winning her back. Uh Oh...all the evidence eventually points right at him! Don't rule ANYBODY out in this edge of your seat courtroom drama.

An above average murder mystery, with a great cast and brillant director. The music of John Willilams also adds just the right touch of suspense. I hadn't seen this one for quite a while, so I actually forgot whodunit, until almost the end, and I enjoyed it as much the second time around as the first.

The DVD has a good picture and nice color(not the very best I've seen, but pretty decent) which may be viewed in either a widescreen version or standard. The sound in Dolby Dig Surround was very good but would be even better in 5.1. Don't look for too much in the way of special features. There are some production notes, , a theatrical trailer,it may be viewed in English, French and Spanish and has subtitles in those langauges as well.

Also I must mention the really terrific performances of the supporting cast. Paul Winfield(with his oh so recognizable voice) as the Judge, John Spencer, as the Detective helping Ford with evidence, and Anna Maria Horsford as an assissant in the office.

A good buy and terrific addition to your suspense collection.
Never assume....Never presume....
Go for It...Laurie

As a thriller this is top notch; as any kind of a movie it is also top notch. Based on Scott Turow's best-selling novel of the same name (his first), it relies on a well-coordinated directorial effort by Alan J. Pakula (Sophie's Choice 1982, All the President's Men 1976, Klute 1971, etc.), a fine script by Frank Pierson (whose credits include Cool Hand Luke 1967, Dog Day Afternoon 1975, A Star Is Born 1976, etc.), and an experienced, talented and well-directed cast headed by Harrison Ford, Brian Dennehy, Raul Julia, Bonnie Bedelia, Greta Scacchi and Paul Winfield.

Ford plays Rusty Sabich, a prosecutor compromised by his sexual obsession with a fellow prosecutor, Caroline Polhemus (Scacchi) who is found murdered as the film opens. We see her in flashback as a conniving mantrap who uses her wiles to further her career. Sabich is assigned to the case by his boss, Raymond Horgan (Dennehy) who is up for reelection. Sabich would like to recuse himself but Horgan demands that he take the case and get the perp "yesterday" otherwise they will all be out a job because he will lose the election. Bedelia, looking particularly beguiling, plays Sabich's sexually frustrated and deeply hurt wife, Barbara.

When the election is lost the new prosecutors arrest Sabich and charge him with murder. He is defended by the very smooth Raul Julia who plays defense attorney Sandy Stern. Paul Winfield, in a somewhat flamboyant style, plays Judge Larren Lyttle.

Because Scott Turow knows the way the law works in practice as well as in theory, he having been a lawyer before he became a best-selling writer, we are treated to wood paneled intrigues and courtroom theatrics that have the unmistakable feel of authenticity. The dialogue is veracious and the character cross-currents vividly real. Ford gives what I think is one of his best performances as a man tormented by his infidelity and caught in a vise of circumstance largely stemming from that infidelity. Dennehy is a big-mouthed and big-headed politician in the familiar Windy City style. Raul Julia's Sandy Stern is cosmopolitan and brilliant, cynical and slick, a kind of Latin Johnny Cochran. Bedelia, whom I recall best as Shirley Muldowney in Heart Like a Wheel (1983) manages a delicate (and slightly unbelievable) persona with just the right amount of forbearance so that when the surprise ending comes we almost believe it.

I say "almost," but you might want to judge for yourself.

See this for Harrison Ford who plays a foolish and morally compromised man with just the sort of right stuff and disarming vulnerability we've come to expect from one of Hollywood's most popular leading men.

These is a brilliant story and screenplay. But what really makes it so successful and suspenseful is having the heroic (as least as he is perceived on the screen) Harrison Ford here.

This review refers to the DVD edition(Warner Bros) of "Presumed Innocent"

Director Alan J Pakula with us his usual flair for suspense("Klute"/"The Pelican Brief"), really draws us in and keeps us guessing in this courtroom thriller. The cast is also wonderful at keeping the mystery alive as they portray their parts perfectly, never giving away anything.It stars Harrison Ford, Brian Dennehy, Raul Julia, Bonnie Bedelia and Greta Scacchi.

Ford is a prosecuting attorney. He's one of the best around, so when a fellow attorney is brutally murdered, he is assigned the case. He is a bit reluctant though. This fellow attorney, was a brillant lawyer,as well as a beautiful and sexy woman, and one other thing...he was having an extra marital affair with her and when it ended, he became obsessed with winning her back. Uh Oh...all the evidence eventually points right at him! Don't rule ANYBODY out in this edge of your seat courtroom drama.

An above average murder mystery, with a great cast and brillant director. The music of John Willilams also adds just the right touch of suspense. I hadn't seen this one for quite a while, so I actually forgot whodunit, until almost the end, and I enjoyed it as much the second time around as the first.

The DVD has a good picture and nice color(not the very best I've seen, but pretty decent) which may be viewed in either a widescreen version or standard. The sound in Dolby Dig Surround was very good but would be even better in 5.1. Don't look for too much in the way of special features. There are some production notes, , a theatrical trailer,it may be viewed in English, French and Spanish and has subtitles in those langauges as well.

Also I must mention the really terrific performances of the supporting cast. Paul Winfield(with his oh so recognizable voice) as the Judge, John Spencer, as the Detective helping Ford with evidence, and Anna Maria Horsford as an assissant in the office.

A good buy and terrific addition to your suspense collection.
Never assume....Never presume....
Go for It...Laurie

As a thriller this is top notch; as any kind of a movie it is also top notch. Based on Scott Turow's best-selling novel of the same name (his first), it relies on a well-coordinated directorial effort by Alan J. Pakula (Sophie's Choice 1982, All the President's Men 1976, Klute 1971, etc.), a fine script by Frank Pierson (whose credits include Cool Hand Luke 1967, Dog Day Afternoon 1975, A Star Is Born 1976, etc.), and an experienced, talented and well-directed cast headed by Harrison Ford, Brian Dennehy, Raul Julia, Bonnie Bedelia, Greta Scacchi and Paul Winfield.

Ford plays Rusty Sabich, a prosecutor compromised by his sexual obsession with a fellow prosecutor, Caroline Polhemus (Scacchi) who is found murdered as the film opens. We see her in flashback as a conniving mantrap who uses her wiles to further her career. Sabich is assigned to the case by his boss, Raymond Horgan (Dennehy) who is up for reelection. Sabich would like to recuse himself but Horgan demands that he take the case and get the perp "yesterday" otherwise they will all be out a job because he will lose the election. Bedelia, looking particularly beguiling, plays Sabich's sexually frustrated and deeply hurt wife, Barbara.

When the election is lost the new prosecutors arrest Sabich and charge him with murder. He is defended by the very smooth Raul Julia who plays defense attorney Sandy Stern. Paul Winfield, in a somewhat flamboyant style, plays Judge Larren Lyttle.

Because Scott Turow knows the way the law works in practice as well as in theory, he having been a lawyer before he became a best-selling writer, we are treated to wood paneled intrigues and courtroom theatrics that have the unmistakable feel of authenticity. The dialogue is veracious and the character cross-currents vividly real. Ford gives what I think is one of his best performances as a man tormented by his infidelity and caught in a vise of circumstance largely stemming from that infidelity. Dennehy is a big-mouthed and big-headed politician in the familiar Windy City style. Raul Julia's Sandy Stern is cosmopolitan and brilliant, cynical and slick, a kind of Latin Johnny Cochran. Bedelia, whom I recall best as Shirley Muldowney in Heart Like a Wheel (1983) manages a delicate (and slightly unbelievable) persona with just the right amount of forbearance so that when the surprise ending comes we almost believe it.

I say "almost," but you might want to judge for yourself.

See this for Harrison Ford who plays a foolish and morally compromised man with just the sort of right stuff and disarming vulnerability we've come to expect from one of Hollywood's most popular leading men.

These is a brilliant story and screenplay. But what really makes it so successful and suspenseful is having the heroic (as least as he is perceived on the screen) Harrison Ford here.