The Limey (Special Edition) / Ghost Dog - The Way of the Samurai (Special Edition)

Starring:Terence Stamp, Lesley Ann Warren, Luis GuzmÃ¡n, Barry Newman, Joe Dallesandro, Nicky Katt, Peter Fonda, Amelia Heinle, Melissa George, William Lucking, Matthew Kimbrough, John Robotham, Steve Heinze, Nancy Lenehan, Wayne PÃ©re, John Cothran Jr., Ousaun Elam, Dwayne McGee, Brian Bennet, Allan Graf
Director: Steven Soderbergh, Jim Jarmusch
Studio: Live / Artisan
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
The Limey
Steven Soderbergh's follow-up to his sexy thriller Out of Sight is an equally stylish but far more austere crime drama, a work of memory that mixes flashbacks, flashforwards, and ruminations on the present into an invigorating cinematic quilt. Terence Stamp is Wilson, an aging cockney criminal fresh out of prison who flies to Los Angeles to search for his daughter's killer. She died in a car wreck, but he suspects that her lover, a music industry mogul named Valentine (Peter Fonda), knows more than he's telling. Wilson is a fish out of water indeed, a cool, cruel London thug on the airy, sun-bright street of L.A., a silver-haired criminal taking on street punks and hit men with the relentless drive of a man possessed. It's like Get Carter channeled through Point Blank, a hard-edged revenge thriller steeped in sorrow and regret, trading the warmth of Out of Sight's romantic heat for a more contemplative remove. Fonda beautifully plays off his cinematic history of 1960s hippies and rebels as a nervous, cowardly millionaire sellout in white cotton peasant shirts and a deep California tan. Luiz Guzman and Lesley Ann Warren costar as Wilson's "adopted" guides through modern L.A., and Barry Newman is excellent as Valentine's tough, terse head of security, another aging pro blindsided by Wilson's relentless single-mindedness. Soderbergh quotes from Ken Loach's 1967 film Poor Cow (sadly not available on video in the U.S.) for Wilson's flashbacks as a fresh-faced teenage thug. --Sean Axmaker

Amazon.com

Steven Soderbergh's follow-up to his sexy thriller Out of Sight is an equally stylish but far more austere crime drama, a work of memory that mixes flashbacks, flashforwards, and ruminations on the present into an invigorating cinematic quilt. Terence Stamp is Wilson, an aging cockney criminal fresh out of prison who flies to Los Angeles to search for his daughter's killer. She died in a car wreck, but he suspects that her lover, a music industry mogul named Valentine (Peter Fonda), knows more than he's telling. Wilson is a fish out of water indeed, a cool, cruel London thug on the airy, sun-bright street of L.A., a silver-haired criminal taking on street punks and hit men with the relentless drive of a man possessed. It's like Get Carter channeled through Point Blank, a hard-edged revenge thriller steeped in sorrow and regret, trading the warmth of Out of Sight's romantic heat for a more contemplative remove. Fonda beautifully plays off his cinematic history of 1960s hippies and rebels as a nervous, cowardly millionaire sellout in white cotton peasant shirts and a deep California tan. Luiz Guzman and Lesley Ann Warren costar as Wilson's "adopted" guides through modern L.A., and Barry Newman is excellent as Valentine's tough, terse head of security, another aging pro blindsided by Wilson's relentless single-mindedness. Soderbergh quotes from Ken Loach's 1967 film Poor Cow (sadly not available on video in the U.S.) for Wilson's flashbacks as a fresh-faced teenage thug. --Sean Axmaker

Description

British ex-con Wilson (Terence Stamp) arrives in Los Angeles to investigate the mystery of his daughter's "accidental" death. His prime suspect, the wealthy, heavily guarded, music promoter Terry Valentine (Peter Fonda), is no easy target. Propelled into an increasingly brutal search for truth, Wilson, with single-mindedness and terrifying precision, moves unstoppably toward revenge.

Customer Reviews:

A celebrated film worth one viewing but not much more.......2007-04-23

The Limey is celebrated as the film that gave Terence Stamp a starring role and as director Steven Soderbergh's last independent hurrah before winning the Academy Award with Traffic. It's a revenge drama (an ex-con heads out to Los Angeles to avenge the murder of his daughter) told in flashbacks and flashforwards. I've read dozens of reviews on Amazon and on the Amazon-owned movie database website, and I was surprised to notice how often the analogy of a deck of cards was employed in descriptions of the movie. Fans celebrate the film for its agile flipping through a deck of cards, for the fluidity of time in the storyline.

I'm a dissenting voice, and no, I didn't not like the movie because I'm not "film-savvy." It is a beautiful Los Angeles piece which portrays the seedy underside and self-centered social climbing of the city of glitter. Henry Fonda, Terence Stamp, Luis Guzman, and the supporting cast are all excellent. The plot is simple and weak, and the jumbling of time does not make up for what the plot is lacking, The dialog is flat. The viewer is distracted by the camera angles and the use of music which swells over the dialog.

I loved this film.......2006-05-02

I bought this cheap off amazon or ebay and was very happy to see it. I wish I had seen it on the big screen but those are days gone by. Peter Fonda was good in this movie as was the whole cast. Terence Stamp is outstanding and I like the way he talks. This movie plesantly suprised me.

SODERBERGH'S FINAL INDIE HOORAH.......2005-10-06

This was Steven Soderbergh's last Indie Hoorah before he becam the Oscar winning director of Traffic. I absolutley love this movie. Terrence Stamp gives on of the best performances of his movie career as Wilson a career criminal who comes to America to avenge his dead daughter. The entire cast is exellent, and I love the editing trick (particularly splicing in clips from Sstamp's first movie, Poor Cow, in flashback scenes). Peter Fonda is just as great as Valentine, the sleazy record producer. This is a definate must see for film buffs.

The push that Soderbergh needed towards greatness.......2005-09-25

I will not pretend this is not my favorite American film ever, it is. I first saw this in the initial theatrical release in 1999. This is the film that made me change my major from marketing to film, and change my goals in business, and life. Now that's an impact on at least one viewer. :-) This is also the film, that I believe pushed Director Steven Soderbergh over the cusp of greatness. Already with an impressive body of work in "Sex, Lies, and Videotape", "Gray's Anatomy", and the outstanding thriller "Out of Sight", here the director applies the sum of his education, and gives you the the single most innovative revenge/crime thriller in American film.

I will touch on the plot briefly as far better writers than I already have well covered it dozens of times over. Terrance Stamp portrays career con Wilson, a cockney Brit who travels to L.A. upon his release to get answers concerning the suspicious "accidental" death of his estranged daughter. Upon arriving he makes contact with his daughters friend Eduardo, wonderfully portrayed by the usually underutilized Luis Guzman, and, voice/acting coach played by Lesley Ann Warren. After cutting through some henchman types who had recently come in contact with Wilson's child, his path of revenge leads to aging 60's icon, record producer Terry Valentine. Valentine is portrayed by the legendary Peter Fonda, who is at his most animated, and sleazy best as the cowardly Valentine.

Everybody in this film is absolutly terrific which is typical of a Soderbergh cast who seems to just bring the best out of a cast like nobody else. One cast member who gets no notice in any of the reviews I have seen is Melissa George who in haunting flashbacks, and Wilson's imagination portrays his daughter Jenny. I cannot give this young lady enough credit for giving such a revealing face to a character only seen in memory, with no voice, with no dialouge. She is beautiful, meloncholy, and unforgettable and manages without ever speaking to give somekind of voice to the voiceless along with another young actress named Michela Gallo who does duties as the young child of Wilson's memories.

The direction of Sodergergh, and most importantly his cutting of the film alongside editor Sarah Flack is imaginitive, and daring. The cut is as chaotic as the memories of a faded conman, who time passed by so long ago would be, yet the direction of this cut is nothing short of masterful. Much like the era the antagonist/protagonist saw thier heyday in, Soderbergh weaves the surreal, with the very real, advances the story, and studies his "hero" in ways that I had never imagined before seeing "The Limey". This film could not have been made without Stamp, and Soderbergh has said as much before. The icon easily outperformed any and every actor in 1999, and got nothing in the way of nominations for this achievement, which I still think a travesty. This is a film with excellent dialouge, but never relies on dialouge to explain, or advance, or develop. The breadth of Wilson's development in our eyes is done for just that, our eyes. Stamp's face, his eyes, his mouth, his body language tell us all we ever need to know. It seems that everybody looks at this as a crime thriller, but really this is human drama, and character study at it's finest.

I've followed Soderbergh for many years, and this was a really fun step in his progession to the director who will soon be tackling Che Guavera in an epic that I had onced hoped to make. But I won't hold it against him :-)

If you want a great work, that you will watch again, and again....go to the top of the page and order this gem.

I loved it , great to see Terence Stamp starring again .......2005-08-21

This film owes so much to the wonderfully intense performance of Terence Stamp . I don't know why he doesn't get more work . Only now after seeing a film like POINT BLANK do I notice the original influence . This is a revenge film but you cannot wait to see how it happens .

The film has an 'arty non linear' storytelling style , but is easy to follow . The film is set in sunny California , which seems to make things more sinister somehow .
I recommend this film and also another one like it , but set in 70's England called GET CARTER , which stars Michael Caine .
Both DVD's have good special features , which include the lead actors speaking in the commentaries .

For the price , you cannot go wrong .
You may find it hard to believe the same director that made this was behind the remake of OCEAN'S ELEVEN , but it's true .
If you like it , do pick up the POINT BLANK DVD as well .

Average customer rating:

The Limey [Region 2]
Starring: Terence Stamp , Lesley Ann Warren , Luis Guzmán , Barry Newman , and Joe Dallesandro
Director: Steven Soderbergh
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Thrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

DTS | Fully Loaded DVDs | Features | DVD | Video

( L ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Average customer rating:

A celebrated film worth one viewing but not much more
I loved this film
SODERBERGH'S FINAL INDIE HOORAH
The push that Soderbergh needed towards greatness
I loved it , great to see Terence Stamp starring again

The Limey [Region 2]
Starring: Terence Stamp , Lesley Ann Warren , Luis Guzmán , Barry Newman , and Joe Dallesandro
Director: Steven Soderbergh
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Thrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

( L ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Sexy Beast
Gangster No. 1
Out of Sight (Collector's Edition)
Layer Cake (Widescreen Special Edition)
Ghost Dog - The Way of the Samurai

ASIN: B00004W0T5

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

A celebrated film worth one viewing but not much more.......2007-04-23

I loved this film.......2006-05-02

SODERBERGH'S FINAL INDIE HOORAH.......2005-10-06

The push that Soderbergh needed towards greatness.......2005-09-25

I loved it , great to see Terence Stamp starring again .......2005-08-21

The Limey (Special Edition) / Ghost Dog - The Way of the Samurai (Special Edition)

Average customer rating:

excellent presentation of their craft
Two times Three (stars)

The Limey (Special Edition) / Ghost Dog - The Way of the Samurai (Special Edition)
Starring: Terence Stamp , Lesley Ann Warren , Luis Guzmán , Barry Newman , and Joe Dallesandro
Director: Steven Soderbergh , and Jim Jarmusch
Manufacturer: Live / Artisan
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( L ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Special Editions | Fully Loaded DVDs | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B00005NX0Z
Release Date: 2001-10-23

Amazon.com

The Limey
Steven Soderbergh's follow-up to his sexy thriller Out of Sight is an equally stylish but far more austere crime drama, a work of memory that mixes flashbacks, flashforwards, and ruminations on the present into an invigorating cinematic quilt. Terence Stamp is Wilson, an aging cockney criminal fresh out of prison who flies to Los Angeles to search for his daughter's killer. She died in a car wreck, but he suspects that her lover, a music industry mogul named Valentine (Peter Fonda), knows more than he's telling. Wilson is a fish out of water indeed, a cool, cruel London thug on the airy, sun-bright street of L.A., a silver-haired criminal taking on street punks and hit men with the relentless drive of a man possessed. It's like Get Carter channeled through Point Blank, a hard-edged revenge thriller steeped in sorrow and regret, trading the warmth of Out of Sight's romantic heat for a more contemplative remove. Fonda beautifully plays off his cinematic history of 1960s hippies and rebels as a nervous, cowardly millionaire sellout in white cotton peasant shirts and a deep California tan. Luiz Guzman and Lesley Ann Warren costar as Wilson's "adopted" guides through modern L.A., and Barry Newman is excellent as Valentine's tough, terse head of security, another aging pro blindsided by Wilson's relentless single-mindedness. Soderbergh quotes from Ken Loach's 1967 film Poor Cow (sadly not available on video in the U.S.) for Wilson's flashbacks as a fresh-faced teenage thug. --Sean Axmaker

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
Forest Whitaker makes an unlikely modern samurai with his laser-sighted pistols, shabby street clothes, and oddly graceful gait--but then Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is an unusual film. Quirky, contemplative, and at times absurd, it's just the kind offbeat vision we've come to expect from the fiercely independent Jim Jarmusch (Stranger than Paradise, Dead Man). Whitaker is Ghost Dog, a mysterious New York hit man who lives simply on a tenement rooftop and follows a code of behavior outlined in Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai (passages of this book are interspersed throughout the film). When the local mob marks him for death in a complicated code of Mafiosi-style honor, Ghost Dog sends a cryptic message to his foes. "That's poetry. The poetry of war," remarks mobster Henry Silva, with sudden respect upon reading the verse. He could be describing the ethereal beauty of Jarmusch's vision, full of wonderful imagery (a night drive across town seems to float in time) and off-center humor. Though it briefly stalls in a series of assassinations (Jarmusch is no action director), it settles back into character-driven drama in a quietly epic showdown, equal parts samurai adventure, spaghetti western, and existential crime movie. The film is likely too unconventional and offbeat for general audiences, but cult-movie buffs and Jarmusch fans will appreciate his idiosyncratic vision. He finds a strange sense of honor in the clash of Old World traditions, and salutes his heroes with a skewed but sincere respect. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

excellent presentation of their craft.......2001-12-24

The Limey
Steven Soderbergh tells this tale in an expressive and innovative style. It's not so much the story--estranged English father seeks the truth behind his daughter's suspicious death in sinful Los Angles. But the way each character is presented, then conected. The story unfolds, literally. It is like watching a flower bloom with elapsed-time photography. Terrance Stamp is great. Peter Fonda is more than just window dressing here. And the editor deserves a standing ovation.

Ghost Dog
Forrest Whittaker is one of the truly great actors of the day. His work is that of a fine craftsman, and so rare in Hollywood today. The story is interspersed with relative narations from Rashomon by Ryunosuke Akutagawa--tales of Japanese karma (also available on Amazon). The mafia characters I feel ambivalent about. On one hand they lack depth and their laughability detracts from what otherwise is an interesting, thoughtful film. However, they represent a more realistic look at what some aging and less-than-organized crime associates are. These would be the Sopranos rejects. If you can get past the mafia club scene, they fit right in with the story.

Two times Three (stars).......2001-11-18

Both films were fun and clever. The Limey's flashbacks and Ghost Dog's street smarts made both film a good time. No disappointments here.

Average customer rating:

A celebrated film worth one viewing but not much more
I loved this film
SODERBERGH'S FINAL INDIE HOORAH
The push that Soderbergh needed towards greatness
I loved it , great to see Terence Stamp starring again

The Limey [Region 2]
Starring: Terence Stamp , Lesley Ann Warren , Luis Guzmán , Barry Newman , and Joe Dallesandro
Director: Steven Soderbergh
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Thrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

( L ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Sexy Beast
Gangster No. 1
Out of Sight (Collector's Edition)
Layer Cake (Widescreen Special Edition)
Ghost Dog - The Way of the Samurai

ASIN: B00005BEZJ

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

A celebrated film worth one viewing but not much more.......2007-04-23

I loved this film.......2006-05-02

SODERBERGH'S FINAL INDIE HOORAH.......2005-10-06

The push that Soderbergh needed towards greatness.......2005-09-25

I loved it , great to see Terence Stamp starring again .......2005-08-21

Average customer rating:

The Limey [Region 2]
Starring: Terence Stamp , Lesley Ann Warren , Luis Guzmán , Barry Newman , and Joe Dallesandro
Director: Steven Soderbergh
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Thrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

( L ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B00004VXSS

DVD:

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