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List Price: $14.98 | | Label: 20th Century Fox
Salesrank: 7400
Released: August 29, 2006 |
| Our Price: $6.25 |
| Used Price: $4.38 |
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MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
When her sister is kidnapped by thugs searching for a priceless jewel in the Colombian jungle, a romance novelist (Kathleen Turner) soon finds her own life filled with cliffhangers and danger. All alone, she sets out to rescue her sister and meets up with a handsome fortune seeker (Michael Douglas) who convinces her to beat the bandits to the treasure.
Description of Romancing the Stone (Special Edition):
Director Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump, Contact) had a hit with this 1984 comedy that first teamed Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, and Danny DeVito. Turner steals the show from the guys, however, playing a pushy romance novelist who gets stuck among some dangerous figures in Colombia and has only a rumpled guide (Michael Douglas) as an ally. The chemistry between the stars is infectious (the trio went on to make a sequel, Jewel of the Nile, and then an interesting, dark comedy directed by DeVito, The War of the Roses). Zemeckis--whose specialty at the time was creating set pieces of raucous action (as in his Back to the Future)--keeps things hopping with lots of kinetic material. --Tom Keogh
Romancing the Stone (Special Edition) Reviews:
Remember the Romance 
2009-11-12 - Joan Wilder (Kathleen Turner) is a shy, mousy romance novelist who weeps when she finishes each novel ("Oh, God--that's good!") and, terrified to leave her Manhattan apartment, only dreams of the adventures that her fantasy character, Angelina, lives. All this changes when she receives a letter from her sister's recently deceased husband which contains a treasure map, and receives a phone call from her terrified sister held hostage by the same kidnappers (introducing Danny Devito) who insists that Joni must deliver the map to her in Colombia. Reluctantly, the borderline agoraphobic Joni agrees, because it's her sister.
After her bus, supposed to be routed to Cartagena but ends up crashing into a jeep filled with exotic birds in the middle of the mountainous nowhere, and she is ordered to give up her purse containing the map to the same man who murdered her husband, she is narrowly rescued by a soldier of fortune named Jack T. Colton (Michael Douglas). He becomes embroiled in the struggle for what is at the end of the map, the green, priceless emerald stone. They meet numerous crazy characters along the way and hijinx abounds!
Seeing this movie on blu-ray makes me remember the sheer pleasure of WATCHING it in a movie theater! The 2.35:1 Panavision anamorphic cinematography, by horror maestro John Carpenter alumnus Dean Cundey, is lush. He cut his teeth in Carpenter's films with his trademark cobalt blue; here, the screen is a tapestry of jungle greenery, flickering orange firelight and lots of wild night hues, complimented with the cool blues of Manhattan at various times of day. The legendary Lawrence G. Paull, of Blade Runner fame, again works his magic here, making very little look spectacular. Director Robert Zemeckis, whose career was effectively over after the dismally received I Wanna Hold Your Hand and Used Cars, was enlisted by producer Michael Douglas, who originally didn't want to play the part of Colton, but caved in when all his potential leads declined, and he realized just how rare good parts and scripts are! Diane Thomas' first script is indeed a gem, filled with action, humor and a wonderful sensitivity.
If I find any faults with this release, it appeals to the technical quality of the soundtrack. The film was released prior to the advent of Dolby Digital 5.1, and its Dolby Pro-Logic incarnation can be expected to bear the inherent flaws of deriving surround sound from 2 channels. The dialogue is very crisp; the clearest I've heard it since its 35mm presentation. The side channels, however, while very discreet, seem to be missing almost all high frequencies, resulting in a dulling of composer Alan Silvestri's electrifying Latin percussion. Bass, however, especially in the waterfall, is superb and deep. In light of such a gorgeous visual transfer, that makes me remember just what made me fall in love with this film to begin with, I'll forgive the audio faults and enjoy the ride!
Put on your aligator boots: This one is sure to please!
Enjoyably breezy 
2009-10-11 - The Bottom Line:
Romancing the Stone is certainly no great film and it would have been much more successful if Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas had exhibited any chemistry at all, but if you want a little light-hearted action/adventure film you probably won't be too disappointed by this 1984 picture about a romance novelist and a soldier of fortune trying to find a precious stone.
2.5/4
Fun 
2009-09-24 - I'd seen this movie some time ago in the theater and I thought my wife might like it. She had never seen it before. It is as much fun as I remember. The plot is as silly as any Lucas/Speilberg movie, but it really is a take off of all those. Great acting especially by DeVito who chews all the scenery in sight.
Unbelievably evil villians, heroic heroes (of both sexes)a lush and romantic location. Who could want more?
Indy-lite
2009-09-21 - I didn't purchase this from amazon (or anywhere, in fact). I received it as a redemption prize, probably from Kellogg's. It appears to be the relatively bare-bones 1999 release.
It's not Indiana Jones but it's not bad, either. Actually it has a lot of the same people behind it as Back to the Future. A little cheezy but nothing that will turn your stomach. But nor is it as imminently re-watchable as Raiders.
Romancing the Stone
2009-09-12 - This was a great buy and the retro interviews by Michael Douglas
Danny Devito and Kathleen Turner were great but a bit shocking
when you see their ages and how they look now!
