Reversal of Fortune

Starring:Glenn Close, Jeremy Irons, Ron Silver, Annabella Sciorra, Uta Hagen, Fisher Stevens, Jack Gilpin, Christine Baranski, Stephen Mailer, Christine Dunford, Felicity Huffman, Mano Singh, Johann Carlo, Keith Reddin, Alan Pottinger, Mitchell Whitfield, Tom Wright, Gordon Joseph Weiss, Michael Lord, Lisa Gay Hamilton
Director: Barbet Schroeder
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product Type: DVD

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One of the most intriguing criminal trials of the 1980s involved Claus von Bülow, who was accused of sending his rich wife Sunny into a permanent coma with an overdose of insulin. Director Barbet Schroeder, working from Nicholas Kazan's evocative, darkly humorous script, turns the story into both a look at the lives of rich folks with too much time on their hands and a whodunit, as lawyer Alan Dershowitz (Ron Silver) prepares to defend von Bülow (Jeremy Irons) in court. Irons won an Oscar for his spooky, knowing performance, which hints at depths of degeneracy without ever putting a dent in a veneer of bored elegance. The contrast between the hard-charging Dershowitz and his eager-beaver Harvard law students and the eternally languid von Bülow adds unexpected humor. --Marshall Fine

Description

Jeremy Irons won the Best Actor Academy Award(R) as socialite Claus von Bulow, seeking legal exoneration in the most sensational attempted murder scandal of the 1980s. Glen Close co-stars. Year: 1990

Customer Reviews:

In search of the truth against all the odds!.......2006-06-28

An icily aristocrat; a woman in comatose state in hospital bed and a fierce lawyer disposed to challenge the entire world against all odds, conform this dramatic premise that constitutes by far, the supreme masterpiece of this Swiss filmmaker: Barbet Schroeder.

The cast is a fundamental factor to take into account; Jeremy Irons whop deserved his only Academy Prize; Ron Silver in the role of his life career as the obstinate lawyer who incarnates the ethic side of the law, and as always the fabulous Glenn Close make of this film one of these outstanding films impossible to miss.

Sure Cure For Claus-Trophobia.......2006-06-08

There is a scene in Reversal Of Fortune where Claus von Bulow, surrounded by a gaggle of well-scrubbed Harvard law students assisting with the case, starts reciting a few of the Claus von Bulow jokes that have cropped up during the trial. "What do you call the fear of dying from an overdose of insulin --- claus - trophobia." His delivery is refined, slow, and absolutely flat, no affect. The look of bemused horror on the faces of the students summarizes all the contradictions of this movie - they simply do not understand the man they're defending.

Jeremy Irons won an Oscar for this role - he deserved two. His narration and acting in Brideshead Revisited almost made casting him as Claus von Bulow an inevitability, he seems born to this role. That he appears so natural on screen is extraordinary because von Bulow is such an odd, complex, and thoroughly detached man. His veneer is like a lobster's shell, an exoskeleton; he smokes a cigarette with the same precision and care a surgeon would reserve for slicing brain tissue. It's clear that even a trial will not reveal what makes this man tick, and in the end it doesn't matter, he's just so much fun to watch.

Having the film narrated by Sunny was genius, and Glen Close too seems to have inherited this part rather than auditioned for it. Her looks and delivery are right on point; one wonders how different life in a coma is from life inside a depression fueled by booze and pills. Alan Dershowitz, played admirably by Ron Silver, provides the junkyard dog energy that fuels the picture - everything about him is in stark contrast to the refined mansions of Rhode Island where even attempted murder must be civilized, polite, and done according to form.

Flawless production values put viewers inside the rarified atmosphere, not just wealth, but wealth that has had time to age and grow soft with decadence. Few things please us more than when things go horribly wrong for the super-rich. This film satisfies on so many levels.

Dynamic movie based on true legal case.......2006-02-24

Did Klaus von Bulow (played by Jeremy Irons) inject his wife Sunny (Glenn Close) with insulin to cause her to fall into a coma or not? Originally convicted, this is about the appeal case that reversed that decision. Close narrates the film from her coma state, and Ron Silver plays the hot-shot lawyer Alan Dershowitz with non-stop energy. The movie is very spirited and captivating and although it revolves around a legal case, it's not really a courtroom drama since very little of it accurs in court; instead we see Silver's aides scurrying around like chipmunks gathering their appeal case data. Of course, the weight of the movie lies on Irons, a rather cold, mysterious man who may or may not be telling the truth. Legally he gets off, but we're left with the impression that morally he may be guilty. The movie is compelling as we're watching, but, strangely, I found the images and scenes from the movie quickly evaporating after it was over: it had no lasting power. Irons won an Oscar for his role.

Reversal of Fortune; a different type of movie.......2005-09-27

Oscar-winning actor Jeremy Irons delivers a great performance. He plays a very cold blooded bizzare man. Glenn close was very good also as the frustrated millionaire wife. The film was very unusual to say the least, but very good. A must see.

That Damn Encrusted Needle.......2005-07-15

I do not remember the Von Buelow case as I hadn't been born yet. However, the psychologist who worked with the Dershowitz team (T.S.) is a family friend and I have heard him talk about the case several times. Many people close to the investigation believe Von Buelow was framed for a crime a he probaly did commit. Thus, because of the tampering with evidence by a special prosecuter hired by the state, Von Buelow was likely over-charged, or undercharged, and was found not guilty because of the tampering. For example; if two guys get into a fight in a bar, and one gets hurt a little more than the other, should the lucky one be charged with Battery, Assault, or Attempted Murder? In this state, Battery is 0 - 1 year, Assault is 2-10 years, and Attempted Murder is 20-life. Quite a difference. From that perspective, who could not receive a fair trial no matter what. When the defense learned that the needle apparently used to deliver the insulin was encrusted with evaporated water this was seen as a huge flaw in the governments case as the victims skin would have removed the water when the needle was withdrawn. That is, the skin would tighten around the needle, and wipe the needle point clean. As portrayed by Jeremy Irons (Best Actor) in his role as Von Buelow, the most striking evidence against Von Buelow, was Von Buelow himself. Many of Dershowitz's students expressed personal outrage Dershowitz would even consider championing the appeal. Von Buelow made up funny jokes about his wife's condition making it harder and harder to represent him. But this film sure does have class. Jeremy Irons, as Von Buelow, delivers a performance so good, that it's worth the price of admission just to see the master actor at work. Ron Silver fills the role of the complicated Dershowitz with equal care. Best Picture of'89 (?), Reversal of Fortune keeps viewers even unfamiliar with the case glued to the story until it's inlikely end. Direction is also outstanding. A true classic.

Average customer rating:

In search of the truth against all the odds!
Sure Cure For Claus-Trophobia
Dynamic movie based on true legal case
Reversal of Fortune; a different type of movie
That Damn Encrusted Needle

Reversal of Fortune [Region 2]
Starring: Glenn Close , Jeremy Irons , Ron Silver , Annabella Sciorra , and Uta Hagen
Director: Barbet Schroeder
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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