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List Price: $9.98 | | Label: Starz / Anchor Bay
Salesrank: 88430
Released: January 30, 2001 |
| Our Price: $5.71 |
| Used Price: $3.79 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
With a screenplay partially written by John Carpenter (Halloween), a cast that includes Tommy Lee Jones in the lead, and a dream car called the Black Moon that travels up to 350 miles per hour, one should feel entitled to see a pretty good movie here. It doesn't quite work out that way, however. Jones plays a high-tech thief squeezed by the government into stealing data from a shady corporation. Under pursuit, he slips the booty into the back of the lightning-quick Black Moon, which is subsequently stolen by Robert Vaughn's hot-car operation. And so on. What could have been a smart, fast-paced action piece with some original elements and heated visuals suddenly cools after the story setup. It cools so much, in fact, that one begins to question the film's logic: why on earth, for example, would a smart, visionary villain such as Vaughn's character limit himself to stolen vehicles? Carpenter fans and other completists will want to check this out, understandably, but the rest of us will have to find points of interest in Jones's sharpened wits and supporting performances by Linda Hamilton, Lee Ving, and Richard Jaeckel. Directed by Harley Cokliss. --Tom Keogh
Black Moon Rising Reviews:
Newer DVD version exists. Beware of poor quality releases! 
2008-01-24 - There are several versions of this DVD available. The newest release is;
Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
DVD Release Date: December 18, 2007
ASIN: B000WC38DM
Look for it here on Amazon.
This release is also by Starz / Anchor Bay (DVD Release Date: January 30, 2001), but apparently some people have had skipping issues with this version (see the other reviews). Also, avoid the other releases which are cheap for a reason; most are full screen and poor quality transfers. Some even have the opening "computer text" removed.
I own three DVD versions and my recommendation is to go with the newest (2007) release!
JM
See it for Tommy and John Carpenter 
2007-10-19 - Quint (Jones) works for the US Government. Nope, he's not your average desk jockey doing 9 to 5. He steals things they need. In this particular case, he's stealing a corporation's tax records. Unfortunately, he hid them on an experimental car (the Black Moon) which has been stolen by Nina (Linda Hamilton) as part of a syndicate run by her boyfriend Ed Ryland (Robert Vaughn).
Now, Quint's got 72 hours to get that car back or the US Government will be down on him. "Don't f--- with the US Government," their agent warns, and Quint believes them.
Unfortunately, the multistory headquarters for the car theft ring looks about as secure as Fort Knox. Quint's got a few things going for him--some inside connections and the fact that Nina's having some disputes with Ryland over keeping the Black Moon.
"Black Moon Rising" had a lot of potential, but the film doesn't sustain the initial suspense through its middle. The end is reasonably satisfying, but you have to fight boredom to get there.
I'll watch almost anything with Tommy Lee Jones in it and adding John Carpenter just makes it a bonus, but this video is not the best quality I have ever seen. Before you invest in a disk that's got skips, just rent the film. If you really have to buy it, know the disk is flawed.
Black Moon Rising 
2006-08-12 - This is the classic John Carpenter action movie. It's one of his original film efforts circa 1986, it features a Tommy Lee Jones, as a thief under contract by the US District Attorney's office. He is charged with retrieving vital records kept at a company and things go sideways upon his escape.
While he is retreating from the theft he is seen by a man from his past. He hides the records in a special prototype car called the Black Moon as he tries to evade his pursuers. And in traditional John Carpenter style the car he hides it in gets stolen by carjacking specialist Linda Hamilton. Jones follows her to a warehouse filled with stolen high priced autos which happens to be owned by suave criminal Robert Vaughn.
If you are a Carpenter fan you'll find a pleasurable film experience in Black Moon Rising. The snappy dialog, the old 80's clothing and the really cool chases made even more spectacular by Carpenter's attention to detail make this a definite must see film.
Great movie, poor quality product
2006-05-30 - As with others here, I loved this movie from the first time I saw it. However, I suspected the DVD was a bootleg copy when it first began to play, and so I then popped in my VHS tape. Sure enough, the very first scene, which is only about 30 seconds long, is missing on the DVD. It's critical because the scene sets up WHY the rest of the movie is important... a telex message advising a government operative to use any freelance methods necessary to retrieve accounting files from a company guilty of [...].
Additionally, the sound quality of the DVD is quite bad on my copy, starting out extremely loud and then becoming too soft.
I too hope this movie is tidied up and then re-released. I wish I had waited...
Less than enjoyable high tech 80's car movie
2005-08-13 - Maybe it was because of Night Rider, James Bond or Back to the Future, but there seemed to a be a huge amount of 80's action movies involving high tech cars. Sadly, this one features a car that is only mildly cool, and a storyline so hackneyed you wonder if maybe John Carpenter should be doing more constructive things with his free time.
Tommy Lee Jones is Sam Quint, a government thief who is looking to land that one last job and retire. He steals a top secret cassette tape for the Feds and is pursued by a former colleage with a horrible mullet. Sam randomly comes across a high tech hydrogen powered experimental car at a gas station and hides the cassette within it. But wouldn't you know? The car is stolen by Terminator target Lind Hamilton, who works for Robert "I never play a good guy" Vaughn, a millionaire who seems to have probably the most elaborate car theft operation I've ever seen. In fact, its never explained as to how he got such a great fortune and why he is so fixated on the relatively backwater business of car theft.
What makes this movie dull is the lack of action and the fact that three unrelated storylines are woven into each other. You have Quint on the run from the evil mullet guy and looking to get the tape back to Hightower from Police Academy so he can retire. Then you have the three science geek inventors of the Black Moon(Its never referred to by this name, its simply 'the car') who need their car back in time for an Italian car show. Then you have Linda Hamilton, her horrible wigs, Robert Vaughn and this fancy shmancy car theft operation. Everything is just thrown together. Tommy Lee has his trademark charisma, but he doesn't seem to be as professional as a man in his field should be. He's not very discreet and makes his presence very conspicuous when trying to retrieve the tape. In one scene, he seriously gets the living crap beaten out of him! The sex scene he has with Linda Hamilton is also random. One minute, they're in a car together talking in a pretty unsuggestive way. The next scene, they're getting it on. The supporting characters are pretty worthless(Evil mullet man, annoying mute car mechanic guy, tall murderous henchman dude). And Robert Vaughn comes off as a lackluster and somewhat dirty old man villain. He likes to watch videos of Linda Hamilton by himself a lot.
This is one boring flick folks. Why the two stars? Its not that bad, but still pretty dull.
