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List Price: $14.98 | | Label: Paramount
Salesrank: 99726
Released: August 5, 2008 |
| Our Price: $4.00 |
| Used Price: $1.63 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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| Features:
AC-3 Color Dolby Dubbed DVD Special Edition Widescreen NTSC | |
Editorial Review:
Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy make one of the most unusual and entertaining teams ever in Walter Hill's rollercoaster thriller 48 Hrs. Nolte is a rough-edged cop after two vicious cop-killers. He can't do it without the help of smooth and dapper Murphy who is serving time for a half-million dollar robbery. This unlikely partnership trades laughs as often as punches as both pursue their separate goals: Nolte wants the villains; Murphy wants his money and some much-needed female companionship. Together they take this adventure to hilarious extremes!System Requirements:Running Time: 96 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY/CRIMINALS UPC: 097361377841 Manufacturer No: 137784
Description of 48 Hours:
Before the action-oriented "buddy movie" formula settled into place in the 1980s and 1990s with the Lethal Weapon films, Walter Hill's 48 HRS. presented a much more irreverent and politically incorrect version of the genre. Eddie Murphy made an auspicious film debut alongside veteran Nick Nolte's consummate performance as a worn cop. Murphy plays a convict on a two-day furlough from prison to help capture his former partner (James Remar). The intense animosity between his character and Nolte's impatient detective is rude and violent--albeit in a comic way--and the film's racist and sexist banter is so ubiquitous that some viewers might be turned off. (This early, raw Murphy is not the Murphy of The Nutty Professor.) Then again, sometimes deliberate overkill is funny in itself, which is certainly closer to Hill's intention. There are a couple of scenes for the ages in this film, especially Murphy's single-handed shutdown of the action in a redneck bar. --Tom Keogh
48 Hours Reviews:
Absolutely one of the best cop flicks ever. Murphy and Nolte are both sensational! 
2009-12-23 - This is absolutely one of the best cop flicks ever. It combines fantastic performances by Nolte and Murphy together with lots of excellent action, a solid and engaging storyline, and some incredible humor. This film made Eddie Murphy a box office sensation and also propelled Nolte's career into the big time.
The storyline is simple. Nick Nolte is a tough San Francisco detective known to be a little too quick on the trigger. When one of his fellow cops gets shot by a convict on the run, Nolte goes after him. He quickly discovers that one of the convict's ex-partners, (Murphy) is incarcerated, and he gets him sprung to help track down the convict. At first there is hostility, but gradually the two manage a tenuous bond of mutual respect. Lots of first-rate action punctuate the story. As if that were not enough, this film features a scene by Murphy (the "cowboy bar scene") that is one of the funniest scenes in any flick ever. (This one scene both makes the movie and made Murphy a first-rank star.)
There is not a dull moment in this film. From the very first scenes it grabs the viewer's attention and never lets go. The supporting cast is just about as good as Nolte and Murphy. Highly recommended. RJB.
America's Finest Hour?
2009-11-08 -
Electrifying, funny and tantalising glimpse of what America could and should have been all about as Nolte's gruff 70s cop clashes with Murphy's brash 80s convict to create one of the most tasty, refreshing and light-hearted slices of Americana ever made. Often imitated, never even remotely equalled.
Think Mean Streets meets Beverly Hills Cop meets Midnight Cowboy meets The Electric Horseman meets Miami Vice and you are starting to get the picture. It's funny, it's dark, it's dirty, it's warm, it's edgy, it's violent - it is just so plain rude and disarmingly honest you can't help but have a great time.
Action Movie, Cops and Robbers, Comedy, Buddy Film, Pop-Cultural Snapshot, Cinematic Breakthrough In Race Relations - why have one, when you can have them all? I just loved it, from the opening shots of the horses right through to the neon-drizzled climax in the alley - pure fun all the way.
The sequel is not quite as crisp, but shoehorns perfectly onto the back of this one allowing us to continue the ride with Nick and Eddie right through the 80s and into the early 90s. Bookend the two films and you pretty much have a time-capsule summary of American pop culture 1969-1994.
What more do you want? Buy on DVD, enjoy and treasure!
cop flick, but their chemistry is absolutely great 
2009-10-18 - It is a testament to Murphy's comic talent and Nolte's acting that they can take such an utterly banal cop story and make it so entertaining, even original at times. OK, it doesn't keep its freshness the way Murphy's other great films do (i.e. BHC and TP), but it is still fun after all these years. Some scenes, like the entry to the redneck bar, are truly classic. Plus, Murphy still had genuine energy - a blooming talent - with this film, unlike the walkthrough-style roles he got in many many later forgettable mediocre comedies.
The plot couldn't be more standard: cop killer takes a maverick cop's gun and the chase is on (for honor justice revenge). But then he gets Murphy out of jail to find a common enemy, and after wonderful sparring and anger-letting, they come to trust and like eachother. It is very American, with perceptive issues such as Nolte's apology for "doin my job keepin you down", and the stars are totally convincing in their chemistry. The bad guys are also very good, but they are pure stereotypical sociopaths.
Recommended. This one will survive in film history.
great movie, terrible DVD 
2009-10-12 - The movie gets four stars: see the other four-star reviews to see why. It's a great, fun, rough movie. Murphy's great and Nolte is very effective in his role.
The DVD transfer gets two stars for a bare-bones non-anamorphic DVD release. The image quality is good -- I can see very few artifacts on my screen, with very solid blacks -- but it's inexplicable to me that Paramount would not by now have released a special edition of this movie, with a proper anamorphic image and possibly a commentary.
A perfect mix of action and comedy
2009-02-13 - Whether this is the original buddy cop movie which launched a whole genre or not it's certainly one of the best. Ganz (James Remar), an escaped convict, goes on a violent search for money that him and a couple of partners stole and hid three years ago. Only a few people know where the money is hidden and one of them is Luther (David Patrick Kelly). Ganz meets up with him and Luther tells him that he can't access the money for a couple of days so Ganz takes his girl as collateral. He plans on hiding out at a hotel but the cops trace a stolen credit card that Ganz used to pay for the room and show up at the hotel. A gunfight erupts and of the three cops on the scene the only man to survive is Jack Cates (Nick Nolte). Cates wants Ganz even more now that he is a cop killer and he starts his own investigation hoping to anticipate Ganz's next move. He learns of the hidden cash and realizes what Ganz is after. The only other person left alive who was in on the job is a fast talker named Reggie Hammond (Eddie Murphy). He's in prison serving out his last couple of months on a three year sentence. Thinking that he can lead him to the money before Ganz gets it Cates springs Reggie from jail on a 48 hour pass. Cates is all business but Reggie wants to enjoy being a free man and get a little action. The two hate each other immediately and they spar both verbally and physically. They make a great team and are a lot of fun to watch. There is a lot of humor in watching Nolte as the raspy voiced and hung over cop trying to control a live wire like Murphy (making his film debut). Director Walter Hill would practically remake this movie in the 80's as Red Heat but this is the version that works. The film is raw and gritty with plenty of violence, nudity, and language. There are even a few nasty racial slurs between the two men. Remar is terrifying as Ganz and it is nice to see him and "Warriors" co star Patrick Kelly in a complete role reversal from their characters in that Hill classic. This is one of Hill's best films as it shows his considerable gifts at directing exciting action scenes and coming up with great one liners for our heroes to deliver between gunfights and explosions.
