Jack Nicholson Movie:

				Salesrank: 253470
		Our Price: $28.99
		Used Price: $22.98
		MPAA Rating: R (Restricted) Media: DVD

Editorial Review:
You can feel the gears grinding, trying to turn this attempt at film noir into something sleek and insinuating, instead of the labored near miss it turns out to be. Jack Nicholson is a Florida wine merchant whose business isn't as good as he has his unhappy wife (Judy Davis) believe. He's also consistently at odds with his churlish stepson (Stephen Dorff). Meanwhile, Nicholson is plotting to steal an expensive diamond necklace and dump his wife, aided by his mistress (Jennifer Lopez) and a sleazy safecracker (Michael Caine). It's the kind of thing James M. Cain used to toss off effortlessly, but in director Bob Rafelson's hands the strain shows at every seam as crime and romantic treachery put all of the characters on a violent collision course. --Marshall Fine

Blood and Wine [Region 2] Reviews:
Film Noir Is Alive and Well
2008-10-01 - This 1997 thriller from director Bob Rafelson is a first-rate piece of film noir, populated with a fascinating cast of multi-dimensional characters and filled with enough dramatic plot twists to keep viewers off-balance right up until the finish.

Though he lives in a nice house, drives an expensive car and has a beautiful wife (Judy Davis), Florida wine merchant Jack Nicholson is virtually broke. That's why he's enlisted the aid of career criminal Michael Caine to help him steal a diamond necklace worth over a million dollars.

The burglary goes well, but when Davis discovers that Jack is about to run off with his mistress (Jennifer Lopez), she gets violent, knocks him unconscious, then flees with her grown son, Stephen Dorff, who has taken a liking to Lopez, not aware that she's involved with step-father Nicholson. Unknowingly, mother and son have also fled the scene with the diamond necklace, which means that Jack and the very vicious Caine have no choice but to go after them.

The DVD has some excellent extras, including audio commentary by Rafelson, Nicholson, Caine and others, deleted scenes and several retrospective documentary featurettes.

© Michael B. Druxman

EXCELLENT SERVICE
2008-04-19 - A PROMPT SERVICE UNLIKE BEING CHARGED BY CUSOMS FOR SENDING OUT 2 FILMS TOGETHER CAUSING EXTRA PAYMENT OF £11=00 WHICH YOU DID SENDING TOGETHER [ON MOONLIGHT BAY] AND [BY THE LIGHT OF THE SILVERY MOON]

good movie
2007-11-04 - I had never heard of this movie until I was searching through Amazon one day. Being a Jack Nicholson fan I thought why not buy it. Glad I did.

been there, done that, seen that ... oh so many times before
2006-12-07 - I assume all the rave reviews are because Bob Rafelson and Jack Nicholson and Michael Caine have such high reputations, but really, this is a very tired old "noir" story that we've all seen 100s of times before. Rafelson says in the commentary that he wanted to update his tale for the 1990s by emphasizing the "greed" aspect. Huh? Every noir film is about greed.

Yeah, there are lots of twists and turns and betrayals, but it's all so very predicatable because all noir films have the same betrayals.

I was mostly bored by this film. I only got it because it had Jennifer Lopez, but her role was disappointingly small. Not a tiny role, but not so big either.

Anyway, if you've only seen 200 or 300 noir films, so that you're still surprised and tense over the same old, same old plot points (the usual betrayals motivated by greed and sex), then I guess you may as well see this one too.

not as detailed....
2006-11-10 - "Cubist" wrote an exceptional review and this one will not live up to that type of quality but I will put my two meager cents in. This is the first movie that I ever saw with Stephen Dorff. I was in college at the time and immediately identified with his character and intensity as an actor. Jack Nicholson is stupendous in this role (as usual)and he ignites the friction between him and his stepson, Jason (Dorff). He is an on-the-outs wine merchant who is in debt to say the least. So in order to get ahead he, along with a sleezy ex-con played by Michael Caine, steal a valuable necklace from some rich snobs.
Dorff unintentially gets caught up in the mess that his stepfather (Nicholson) has created and the plot thickens. This movie is great for drama and has solid performances by Nicholson, Dorff, and Caine. The brilliance in these performances are that they are subtle at times and do not try to cover over the plot itself (which due to a well written script can really drive this movie well). Jennifer Lopez is in this one as well and plays Nicholson's mistress. Her character really just annoyed me for some reason and I don't know why. Perhaps it's because I think at times, the movie itself wanted to portray her as a woman of strength and I just didn't see it. Her character was weak in a lot of ways and annoyed the hell out of me. But ultimately, if you want to see a solid movie that flies low under the radar, I would recommend this to anyone. Thanks.