1988 POLANSKI
Added 9/22/2009
Yes, this was the most Hitchcock type of film, directed by Polanski, even the title suggests that. The plot, pretty straight forward, mystery, suspense, which stars Harrison Ford, as a Doctor, who's wife, played by Betty Buckley (Eight is Enough, Carrie), mysteriously, disappears. Harrison Ford's character is thrown into a strange set of circumstances, that he must go through, in order to find his missing wife.
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Near flawless Hitchcockian thriller
Added 9/17/2009
I happened to stumble on this great film by accident. I bought one those exculsive, two-pack DVDs that contained Firewall and Frantic as a bonus. After watching both films, I promptly threw out the wretched Firewall. Roman Polanski's Frantic is in the vein of great Hitchcock thrillers such as North by Northwest,The 39 Steps, and The Man Who Knows Too Much. Films that put intelligent yet common men in extraordinary, and sometimes down right perlious, situations.
Harrison Ford plays Dr. Richard Walker and paying homage to The Man Who Knew Too Much, He and his wife Sondra Walker, played by Betty Buckley, arrive to in Paris to attend a medical convention. However the day the couple arrives Sondra is abucted from the hotel room. Dr. Walker dosen't think much of her absence at first but as more and more time passes, he attempts to look for her. Walker's worst suspicions are confirmed when he sees his wife's bracelet in an alley and an eye witness account of her being abducted.
Most would think, after watching him in films such as Air Force One or The Fugitive, Harrison Ford would predictably possess the physical prowess and nerves of an action film star regardless of his occupation. However that is not the case here. Just like Hitchcock common man suspense thrillers, the protagonist is genuinely in over his head. Dr. Walker fruitlessly attempts to take advantage of the local athorities and when they fail, he decided to persue the matter himself. All Walker has is common sense and the will but the film reminds you that he is very much a common person, he hits a few dead ends with leads and is not exactly a fighter. He nearly falls off the roof of an apartment building and is beaten up by secret agents. At one point, Walker nearly gives up and in one touching scene he calls his daughter for comfort.
The film's flaw is lacking some of the tension and fun of those great Hitchcock thrillers. Hitchcock knew how to really put on the gloss with humor and dazzling camera shots and yet keep a well written story. Here Frantic seems almost like all work and no play. That fantastic panache to get the viewers attention simply is not that prominent. The film just seems,at one too many points, mundane.
Overall despite the sluggish pace, I would highly reccomend this movie Hitchcock fans and casual viewers alike.
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Brilliance of Polanski...
Added 6/28/2009
In addition to the great writing, directing, acting, music, etc... I appreciate how Polanski helps husbands exorcise their desire for going on vacation with someone other than their wife, in a safe manner and without having to feel guilty about wanting to do so.
As if in a dream --the doctor does actually fall asleep before he realizes his wife is gone-- Dick (Richard Walker) walks into a series of dangerous scenarios while on vacation in Paris. The authorities refuse to take him seriously as a man's conscience must in order for him to go on this adventure. To "get his wife back" Walker uses a phone number he finds on back of a matchbook, goes to nightclubs till "4a.m.", snorts the "white lady", secretly waits out a couple engaged in oral sex, pretends "Michelle" is a hooker as he asks the cop if he could "allow a married man some discretion", endures shameful stares of his associates at the airport who look at him and his company Michelle knowingly, sneaks into her apartment and gets into her bedroom and bed naked, etc...
To the Concierge, the Police, and anyone following him, it would look like in absence of his wife, Walker partied all night, trashed his room, paid a hot girl for sex, had "breakfast for two" in his hotel room the next morning, played a "crazy american" and got naked and in bed with the hot girl at her house, spent the day on a boat with a bunch of young guys in a band before going to a salacious bar and freak dancing with "the lady in red".
As Walker gets closer and closer to the end of his "trip" and getting his wife back, both of the women in his life are wearing the same red color dress. They pass each other by in the "exchange": Walker has had his fun and wants his wife back. Walker does fight for Michelle (his tendency for indiscretion) at the end and is pissed that she's gone but knows he has to give her up in order to have his life and marriage back. He and wife Sondra arrive back at the hotel with the same garbage truck and men in front of the cab as the first time they arrived at the hotel-- this "loop" in time and Walker's fantasy are over.
I'm sure all of above and much more that I missed up are in the dense pages of a film-theory-analysis book somewhere.
Once upon a time, there were brilliant provocative films being made... now I have to look forward to likes of Land of the Lost and New In Town... I'm sure they're filled with messages and meanings as well and I'm just too dull to pick those ones up.
Rose.
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The 2004 transfer still lousy
Added 3/10/2009
If you hope, as I did, that the 2001 and 2003 reviews that warn against the lousy transfer of this move do not apply to the 2004 edition, this is unfortunately not the case. The 2004 transfer looks like a bootleg made from a VHS tape. Why is Warner treating this movie so crappily? It is an excellent film and deserves a DVD release that does it justice.
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A frantic search!
Added 12/31/2008
"Frantic" is an admirable film in which the violence plays the role of referential support, focusing basically about the psychological aspects of terror, anger and disturbance aroused in the soul of this Amercian doctor when his wife is kidnapped just in the first day of the trip.
To my mind, this film signed and drifted the successful career of this successful actor. Harrison grew up as actor conferring him for that moment the label of the mature actor for definition. It's not a mere casualty "Working girl" would be his next film. Nay, his terrific performance in "The fugitive" keeps a very narrow resemblance in which dramatic facets respect this role.
One of the most distinguished cult movies of the eighties.
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Surprisingly good legal thriller
Added 10/26/2009
The Bottom Line:
Much more realistic and fascinating than your average legal thriller, with few of the stupid tricks that characterize the genre (e.g. witnesses recanting on the stand, multiple personalities, etc.) and a persistently interesting storyline; I'm still not sure I like how the plot resolves itself, but this Pakula-helmed adaptation of Scott Turow's bestseller deserves to be held above the Primal Fears of the world.
3/4
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There was a crime, there was a victim, and there is punishment
Added 2/9/2009
Prosecutor Rusty Sabich (Harrison Ford) comes in to find out that a co-worker he'd been having an affair with was brutally raped and tortured. His boss Raymond Morgan (Brian Dennehy) gives him the case, despite the two's shared past.
As Rusty progresses with the investigation, evidence is pointing more and more to him. Eventually, he's charged and one of the most compelling court dramas ensues.
"Presumed Innocent" literally had me on the edge of my seat both times I've watched this film. While Scott Turow's book is better, the movie's still great.
Rebecca Kyle, February 2009
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I enjoy movies, old and new, and the prices @ Amazon are the best. Shipping varies, sometimes is fast, sometimes takes a bit longer. I'm very happy with all they have to offer.
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