SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

Forumrxes Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

travisbickle86 With the clouds running through blue skies and the majestic mountains ever present you'll know Desperate Hours has American maverick, Michael Cimino at the helm. There are few auteurist directors who have this ability to impose themselves on an audience with the 'look' of their film stock within the first few minutes. Kubrick, Bergman and Tarkovsky come to mind, of course. Sadly, we are yet again left trapped between a conscientious artist trying to feed us caviar while the studio chew up some cardboard and spit it out:'According to some official sources, Michael Cimino's original cut of Desperate Hours was mutilated by the film's producers, resulting in a very badly edited film filled with plot holes. The only known proof of any deleted scenes are some stills which seemingly show a few of them.'It's sad to think Cimino didn't have the chance to re-cut this film like with Heaven's Gate. Still, the acting is fantastic; Mickey Rourke was at the height of his powers here. There is humour thrown between the tension; some of the more subtle exchanges and glances between the characters are masterful. Like in the 1955 version, there is subtext referring to class, and references to the changing nature of American society. Cimino also references the influence of advertising, although the theme is never developed (thanks again to you-know-who!) As Rourke's Bosworth spews out:'That's why America is becoming a second rate country!'The editing by Chris Rouse/Peter Hunt is a mess. Choppy and careless. The ending sees the most obvious intervention by the bean counters. I could almost hear the argument between director and producers during the closing scenes:'Give me more time. This doesn't make sense. There must be at least some character resolution!''No, Michael You've spent our budget. Don't mess with us, we're not United Artists. We'll tell the press!'For years I had avoided watching Desperate Hours based on the reviews; but if you are a fan of Cimino, it is easy to see past the choppy edits and plot holes. The cinematography is often a joy, as is the direction of the fantastic cast, costume/set designs and cars. At times I felt like shouting out 'Michael, you spoil us!' because you don't see many filmmakers today who are allowed to treat their audience as adults. Thank you Michael. RIP

Wizard-8 The 1955 movie "The Desperate Hours" is a pretty good movie. If it has one flaw, it's that it's now kind of dated in one aspect, that being that the bad guys come across as kind of tame by today's standards. I thought that problem would be fixed in this remake, but surprisingly it isn't. For the most part, Mickey Rourke's character and his two partners don't come across as that threatening. In fact, at times they are almost nice and considerate. Needless to say, it's pretty hard to be creeped out by these guys. Another reason why there's little tension also falls on the protagonists. Though they suffer abuse several times during the course of the movie, except maybe for the young boy Zack, they are not very sympathetic. They don't seem to be suffering that much, and they have attributes that kind of sour themselves towards us, like when it's revealed Hopkins' character had an affair.The characters are the main reason why the movie doesn't work. But there are other problems as well. They include an often inappropriate musical score, several sequences where linking footage seems to be missing, and inappropriate flamboyant directorial touches by the man at the movie's helm, Michael Cimino. The one positive thing I can say about the movie is that it's well photographed by Doug Milsome. Though to tell the truth, I think a more gritty look would have been appropriate for a hostage taking story. Anyway, in the end the only thing audiences will get out of the movie is some explanation as to why Michael Cimino's career never really recovered after "Heaven's Gate".

czarnobog Michael Cimino delivers another unfocused, meandering "epic."Like Cimino's "The Sicilian," this movie is an adaptation of a novel. And like that earlier film, this one is dragged down by elliptical and illogical story points.Cimino's weakness as a director is his inability to distinguish between cleanly complex story lines and unnecessarily complicated story machinations. Like "The Sicilian" this film sputters forward in stuttering starts and maddening stalls.How so many fine actors came to agree to be in this movie is a mystery. The script is so illogical at times that it stops you cold with wonder. Didn't anyone notice how inconsistent Mickey Rourke's character was? How unbelievable the characters' motivations and actions were in so many scenes?A few glaring examples: when the teenage boy shows up demanding to keep his date, it would have been simple to have the father tell him she was sick and asleep and couldn't be disturbed. Instead, the consummately cold-blooded and brilliantly devious villain sends the girl out on the date, trusting her not to run right to the police for help? Even worse, she complies.And when the boy does first arrive, he mentions not one word about the massive police barricades he just passed on his way to the house.The interaction between the law officers is just as nutty. Lindsey Crouse is a shrill feminazi barking orders, until her lamely contrived "character change."With three screenwriters on board, it would normally be hard to fathom exactly what went wrong. But checking the credits, we find that two of them had previously collaborated on several much better movies. The third is the original writer, who had a hand in the screenplay, as well as having penned the novel and a play based on it. My guess is that Cimino deserves the blame. Based on his earlier works, he seems to think long and rambling equates to epic. One telling scene set in a beautiful outdoor setting, with music ripped off from a John Ford western, testifies to Cimino's self-grandiose vision.This film wouldn't be nearly as painful to sit through if Cimino was less talented at handling actors and placing his camera. It's too bad he has such rotten story sense. Apparently he needs a stronger, more intelligent producer than DeLaurentiis and better story development executives to reel him in.

al-harris I am a big Mickey Rourke fan from his string of hits in the 80's. I kind of fell off the bandwagon during the 90's, finding his choice of films to be somewhat uninspiring. Still a great actor, just seemed to be having some trouble picking quality projects. Seeing 'Sin City' brought me back (great role, great acting, great film!), so I picked up 'Desperate Hours' and watched it last night. While the supporting characters could have been better written (Kelly Lynch & Mimi Rogers' characters fell flat), the scenes between Rourke & Anthony Hopkins were wonderful! Elias Koteas as Rourke's brother was forgettable, but David Morse's character of Albert was very interesting. Somewhat like a big dumb 'Lenny' to Rourke's 'George'. Like another reviewer I was reminded of Humphrey Bogart's 'Duke Mantee' in the 1936 film 'Petrified Forest', but Rourke's 'Michael Bosworth' was a little more homicidal and more of a loose cannon. If you like Rourke & Hopkins, you will enjoy watching 'Desperate Hours.'