A Private Affair

Starring:Vanessa Bell Calloway, Clifton Powell, Lou Myers, Akrosia Samson, Casey Lee, Janet MacLachlan, Kym Whitley, Merry Clayton
Director: Michael Toshiyuki Uno
Studio: Urban Works
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Set more than a decade after the story in Chinatown, this 1990 sequel brings Jack Nicholson back to the screen as L.A. private detective Jake Gittes. Older, fatter, worn, and frustrated, the Jake of 1948 is still haunted by the tragic events of the earlier film. While investigating a case involving adultery and questionable land dealings by an L.A. tycoon (Harvey Keitel as the other Jake), Gittes unexpectedly confronts a few old ghosts and discovers that the resource of choice in Southern California--one for which people die--is no longer water but oil. The film had a notorious production history, with Nicholson taking over the project from writer-director Robert Towne, and the dense plot can be difficult to follow. But if The Two Jakes doesn't measure up to the legendary status of its stylish predecessor, the film does satisfy on its own terms and brings the events of Chinatown to a moving conclusion. Terrific work by Keitel and supporting players Meg Tilly, Madeleine Stowe, Eli Wallach, and Ruben Blades. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

Great Sequel.......2006-11-12

Nicholson is as cool as ever in this sequel to Chinatown. Great film noir style.

As Good As It Gets.......2006-10-04

Usually sequels are not as good as the original films they follow...one need only think of,say"Jaws"to get this point..But with "The Two Jakes"the sequel to"Chinatown"the sequel is every bit as good as the original...The film follows the main charecter from "Chinatown",detective Jake Gittes,who has a new and disturbing case that has threads reaching back into time and inter-connecting with the original plotline..Many of the stars from the original reprise thier roles,most notably Jack Nicholson,who also directed..At the time of its original theatrical release the critics were not kind to the film,or to the director/star...Perhaps this was to have been expected,inasmuchas "Chinatown"ranks high on the list of"Best ever"films..
on the other hand most professional film critics are not only herd animals,who too often follow one another's lead like dogs sniffing each other's rear ends but have little regard for what the public thinks..if one or two"Famous"critics get a bug up thier backsides about a film it is a sure bet that the rest,afraid of being contrary,.will follow suit..also,having to sit through films of all sorts make these people jaded...they expect novelty,and are disappointed by stories,direction,acting,ect that the rest of us find quite entertaining...And most professional critics seem to find the most obscure,often foreign films to be spectacular,while most normal people do not,as if cutting edge films about,say,three men who have hernias and like bowling together on friday nights offers the very zenith of acting and film-making achievement...
So forget what the professional critics might have thought about"The Two Jakes",it was a dandy film...You won't be disappointed...

Not Better Than Chinatown, But What Is?.......2006-07-22

"The Two Jakes" is the sequel to "Chinatown." Chinatown is one of my favorite films, it's number 19 on AFI's Top 100, it won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Robert Towne. A sequel didn't seem necessary, and it's not, but this somehow managed to work. This movie has the formula for a bad sequel; different plot, different actors, different director. Well, not different actor's...Only one character returns from Chinatown, the plot is semi-related, and Jack Nicholson is the director. He's not bad either. The script is by Robert Towne, which is even more surprising. I can't believe he would be inspired to write a sequel. The Two Jakes was made 16 years after Chinatown (in 1990) and it does take place a significant amount of years later; But Jack is still Jake. Nicholson returns as Jake Gittes, our protagonist who walked away from a death at the end of Chinatown. The events from that movie still plague him, but he still does what he does best...He's a private investigator and frequently investigates what got him caught up in all the trouble from the first movie...Marital infidelity. Gittes is investigating whether Jake Berman's (Harvey Keitel) wife is cheating on him, and she is. When Gittes schedules the confrontation, Jake (the Keitel one) shoots his wife's lover...Who also happens to be his business partner. Now Jake (the Nicholson one) is caught up in another conspiracy, which might be directly linked to his past. If you haven't seen Chinatown, don't see The Two Jakes.
There are a few references to the first film in here which people who haven't seen the first one won't get. The Two Jakes is entertaining, smart, occasionally exciting, and this is just one of those character's that Nicholson was born to play. Problem is, it drags in places (and it's 7 minutes longer than Chinatown at 138 minutes). As far as sequels go, however, this is a real winner. If you liked (or loved) Chinatown, then you should check this out...But it's definitely not required watching.

GRADE: B+

Can murder or suicide ever be truly altruistic?.......2006-06-30

This is the kid sister of Chinatown. She is not as clever or as pretty as her elder, but she raises the same question: Why do we go to Jack Nicholson movies anyway? There are many allusions to Chinatown and lots of characters to figure out how they fit in. Be careful and don't take it any more seriously than it takes itself and it is reasonably amusing.

A worthy sequel to CHINATOWN..........2006-03-20

As I recall, this movie was originally shunned upon it's theatrical release in 1990. It was an ambitious sequel to one of the milestone films of the 70's that went through a troubled production and studio turnaround through years. Yet star/ director Jack Nicholson slips comfortably back into JJ Gittes territory and creates a damned fine film with as much mindbending twists as featured in CHINATOWN. Though maybe not as amazing as that film, THE TWO JAKES is still worthwhile in its own right and features a terrific cast: Harvey Keitel, Madeliene Stowe, and the late, great Richard Farnsworth. As usual, Paramount has given us an anemic and strange DVD (the thatrical trailer is included, letterboxed to 2.35:1 even though the film itself is 1.85:1???) and due to the film's poor box-office showing it will probably never see a better release, even though it deserves one.

Average customer rating:

The End of the Affair
Starring: Ralph Fiennes , Stephen Rea , Julianne Moore , Heather-Jay Jones , and James Bolam
Director: Neil Jordan
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Period Piece | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Religion | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

4-for-3 Art House & International | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

4-for-3 Drama | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

4-for-3 All DVDs | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

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

Onegin
The English Patient (Miramax Collector's Edition)
Oscar & Lucinda
Sunshine
Wuthering Heights (1992)

ASIN: 0767847415
Release Date: 2000-05-16

Amazon.com essential video

"This is a diary of hate," pounds out novelist Maurice Bendrix (Ralph Fiennes) on his typewriter as he recounts the lost love of his life in this spiritual memoir (based on Graham Greene's novel) with a startling twist. It's London 1946, and Maurice runs into his achingly dull school friend Henry (Stephen Rea with a perpetually gloomy hangdog expression). Their meeting is brittle, all small talk and chilly, mannered civility beautifully captured by director-screenwriter Neil Jordan (The Crying Game), and it only barely thaws when Henry suggests that his wife, Sarah (the luminous Julianne Moore), may be having an affair. Maurice's mind reels back to his passionate affair with Sarah during the war years, which she abruptly broke off two years ago. Gripped with a jealousy that hasn't abated, he hires a private detective (a mousy, marvelous Ian Hart) to shadow her movements. He prepares himself for the revelation of a rival but instead finds a deeper, more profound secret: "I tempted fate," she writes in her diary, "and fate accepted."

Amazon.com

Most fans of everything-but-the-kitchen-sink comedies like The Naked Gun and Hot Shots probably think the genre started with Airplane!, but Neil Simon's The Cheap Detective came two years earlier. It's a camp parody of Humphrey Bogart's 1940s detective flicks (particularly The Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep), with a big dose of Casablanca thrown in for good measure. There's no point in describing the plot--it's little more than a series of cameos by just about every actor working in the 1970s, including Ann-Margaret, Eileen Brennan, Stockard Channing, James Coco, Scatman Crothers, Dom DeLuise, John Houseman, Marsha Mason, and Nicol Williamson. Peter Falk plays the detective and does a fine Bogey impression. Unfortunately, it's not Neil Simon's best work--he's better at character comedy such as The Odd Couple and The Goodbye Girl than this kind of slapstick--but there are a few good lines and the cast gives it their best. Louise Fletcher, not usually known for comedy, does a sharp satire of Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca, and Madeline Kahn never fails to entertain in a variety of disguises. --Bret Fetzer

Average customer rating:

Romance on the High Seas
Starring: Jack Carson , Janis Paige , Don DeFore , Doris Day , and Oscar Levant
Director: Michael Curtiz
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Musicals & Performing Arts | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

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

My Dream Is Yours
I'll See You in My Dreams
Lucky Me
On Moonlight Bay
By the Light of the Silvery Moon

ASIN: B000MGBLFA
Release Date: 2007-04-10

Amazon.com

For a crystal-clear lesson in how an unknown vaults into immediate stardom, look no further than Romance on the High Seas, the silly 1948 musical that launched the movie career of Doris Day. A band singer, Day was plucked from the ranks when Warner Bros. and director Michael Curtiz needed to find a replacement for a role intended first for Judy Garland and then for Betty Hutton. She's fourth-billed, but there's no question Doris Day owns the picture; in retrospect, the part seems tailor-made to break a new star. The plot is a howler: society wife Janis Paige is suspicious when husband Don DeFore (hubby to TV's Hazel) claims he must stay in New York on business instead of going on a cruise to South America. So Paige gives the cruise ticket to lounge singer Doris, on the condition that she pretend to be Paige, while wifey hangs back in New York. Make sense? Meanwhile, a suspicious DeFore hires a detective (Jack Carson) to spy on his wife during the cruise, except of course it isn't really his wife, it's... well, you get the picture. Day is somewhat sassier than her later well-scrubbed image would allow; she actually seems like an up-from-the-streets, well-traveled barnstormer. The saucy script has a handsome pedigree; it was penned by Casablanca boys Julius and Philip Epstein and polished by future Billy Wilder partner I.A.L. Diamond. However, it must be stated that Curtiz is nobody's idea of a buoyant comedy director, even if the lounge-singing sequences are sharply made. The cast is stocked with screwball stalwarts such as S.Z. Sakall, Eric Blore, and Franklin Pangborn. As Day's accompanist and suitor, the celebrated musican-wit Oscar Levant has one of his better screen roles--and his experience here was likely the source of his later quip, "I knew Doris Day before she was a virgin." If you see her cheeky performance here, you might agree with him. --Robert Horton

Description

Elvira is supposed to go on a cruise, but decides to stay home when she suspects her husband is cheating on her. Her husband suspects the same of his wife, and sends an investigator to spy on her on the cruise - but he is really spying on Elvira's husband.

Average customer rating:

Love Scenes
Starring: Tiffany Bolling , Jack Carter , Britt Ekland , Monique Gabrielle , and Franc Luz
Director: Bud Townsend
Manufacturer: Private Screening
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

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

Christina
Laura's Toys
Justine & Juliette
Private Collections
Black Venus

ASIN: B000KHX7JY
Release Date: 2007-01-30

Description

Sexy `70s drive-in goddess Tiffany Bolling (of THE CANDY SNATCHERS, BONNIE'S KIDS and THE CENTERFOLD GIRLS fame) delivers the most revealing performance of her cult career in this erotic `80s late night cable classic. Bolling stars as Val Binnes, an acclaimed Hollywood actress nervously preparing for an uninhibited role in her husband's controversial new film. But once the cameras begin to roll, Val is shocked to find herself surrendering to a twisted spiral of illicit affairs and forbidden desires. In a town that throbs with adultery, voyeurism, Sapphic temptation and wanton orgies, where does reel passion end and real ecstasy begin? Legendary cinema sex symbols Julie Newmar, Britt Ekland and Monique Gabrielle co-star in this provocative drama - also known as ECSTASY and LOVE SECRETS - from Playboy Productions and the director of NIGHTMARE IN WAX, THE BEACH GIRLS and the infamous X-rated ALICE IN WONDERLAND.

Average customer rating:

The Right Temptation
Starring: Kiefer Sutherland , Rebecca De Mornay , Dana Delany , Adam Baldwin , and Joanna Cassidy
Director: Lyndon Chubbuck
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Suspense | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Thrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Mystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Detectives | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

4-for-3 Action & Adventure | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

4-for-3 All DVDs | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

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

Eye of the Killer
Desert Saints
Dead Heat (2001)
Ground Control
Trapped in Silence

ASIN: B0000541TM
Release Date: 2001-02-27

Average customer rating:

A Private Affair
Starring: Vanessa Bell Calloway , Clifton Powell , Lou Myers , Akrosia Samson , and Casey Lee
Director: Michael Toshiyuki Uno
Manufacturer: Urban Works
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

All Deals | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

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

Hidden Blessings
All About You
Playing With Fire
Commitments
Masquerade

ASIN: B0000A0WKV
Release Date: 2003-09-09

Description

The life of a successful novelist (played by Vanessa Bell Calloway) begins to unravel when the IRS threatens her with the possibility of serving jail time for tax evasion. She seeks refuge with family and friends and tries to get her life back on track, but soon finds that the fame and fortune of her public life now causes her to do things she never suspected she was capable of doing.

Average customer rating:

The Lost Son
Starring: Daniel Auteuil , Nastassja Kinski , Katrin Cartlidge , Marianne Denicourt , and Ciarán Hinds
Director: Chris Menges
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Crime & Criminals | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Suspense | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Mystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

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

Sade
La Separation
Oscar & Lucinda
My Favorite Season
You Are Not Alone

ASIN: B00005B1VT
Release Date: 2001-05-22

Average customer rating:

Story of a Love Affair
Starring: Lucia Bosé , Massimo Girotti , Ferdinando Sarmi , Gino Rossi , and Marika Rowsky
Director: Michelangelo Antonioni
Manufacturer: NoShame Films
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Crime & Criminals | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video

General | Indie & Art House | Stores | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

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

The Passenger
Yesterday, Today And Tomorrow (Remastered Edition)
Boccaccio '70 (Remastered Edition)
The Conformist (Extended Edition)
Le Notti Bianche (White Nights) - Criterion Collection

ASIN: B0009NSE5Q
Release Date: 2005-06-28

Amazon.com

Before becoming the poster child for the extreme arty, slow paced foreign films of the '60s, Michealanglo Antonioni actually developed his craft on very straightforward, neo-realistic films. Story of a Love Affair (1950) was Antonioni's first feature-length dramatic film, and much to his critics' chagrin, it is extremely linear, it has limited drawn out, "real time" shots, and his actors actually project more emotion than the typical "Antonioni apathy." Enrico (Ferdinando Sarmi) is an extremely wealthy and jealous husband who suspects his young, beautiful bride, Paola (Lucia Bosé), is unfaithful. Instead of confronting her directly, he hires a private detective (Gino Rossi) to investigate her past. While checking up on the mysterious death of Paola's friend, the private dick indirectly puts one of Paola's old lovers (Massimo Girotti) back in contact with his client's wife. Though originally separated due to the death of their close friend, seeing each other sparks up some buried passion that ironically will put Enrico and Paola's marriage to the test. Like his contemporaries' earlier works, Story of a Love Affair is a must for cinephiles who love to see all those "Antonioni-style" trademarks in their infancy. Of particular note is the typical Antonioni shot, in which where the two main characters have a full conversation with their backs to the camera. Though Story of a Love Affair does not pack the historical punch of L'Avventura or Blow Up, it is definitely more approachable for the general public and an excellent neo-realistic film in its own right. --Rob Bracco

Description

Groundlessly jealous of his wife's romantic past, Enrico Fontana hires a private detective to finally determine whether she is faithful or not. Ironically, his suspicious attitude unconsciously brings his wife Paola (Lucia Bosé) together with Guido (Massimo Girotti), a man with whom she had once been in love. Paola and Guido's past was clouded in tragedy. Guido had been involved with Paola's close female friend's death. Their passion rekindled once again, the lovers even get to the point where they are thinking about murdering Enrico… After making highly regarded documentaries, STORY OF A LOVE AFFAIR was Michelangelo Antonioni's first feature length dramatic film. It also signalled a significant change in the direction of post-war neo-realism. Antonioni, the future director of L'AVVENTURA, L' ECLISSE, BLOW-UP and ZABRISKIE POINT had already begun set down the fundamentals of his future films, exploring the uneasy emotions that lie between the gazes of his characters. Winner of the Italian Film Journalist's Silver Ribbon for Best Music and a Special Award to Michelangelo Antonioni, this masterpiece still exudes extraordinary and intensely innovative power. Renowned filmmaker Martin Scorsese has declared STORY OF A LOVE AFFAIR to be one of his all-time favourite and NoShame films is proud to present it for the first time ever on DVD in America, loaded with exclusive extra materials and remastered from the newly restored 35mm film elements.

Average customer rating:

Under Suspicion
Starring: Liam Neeson , Kenneth Cranham , Maggie O'Neill , Alan Talbot , and Malcolm Storry
Director: Simon Moore
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Suspense | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Thrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Mystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Neo-Noir | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

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

Nina Takes a Lover
The Good Mother
Under Suspicion
Ethan Frome (1993)
Where the Truth Lies (Unrated Theatrical Edition)

ASIN: B000056HP1
Release Date: 2003-09-02

Description

In 1959 Brighton, disgraced cop turned P.I. Tony Aaron falsifies adulteries for use as evidence in divorce cases. His wife pretends to be painter Carlo Stasio's lover but the pair are killed in a hotel room. The most likely suspects are Angeline, Stasio's mistress who is set to inherit his house and pictures, and Tony himself, whose story doesn't seem to add up. Starring Academy Award-nominee Liam Neeson (1993 Best Actor in a Leading Role, Schindler's List) and Laura San Giacomo (TV's "Just Shoot Me").

DVD:

DVD

DVD

DVD

Dragonheart - 2 Legendary Tales Double Bill

New York City Ballet Workout

Crime School [1998]

DVD: Ed McBain's 87th Precinct: Ice

Star Trek Vs Star Wars - The Rivalry Continues