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Hammett [Region 2] | ![Hammett [Region 2]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51DX8AFFMZL._SL500_.jpg)
| Director: Wim Wenders
Actors: Frederic Forrest, Peter Boyle, Marilu Henner, Roy Kinnear, Elisha Cook Jr.
Studio: Manga Films
Category: DVD
Buy New: $28.98
New (2) Used (1) from $28.98
Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 174001
Format: Import, Pal
Languages: English (Unknown), Spanish (Unknown), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 2
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 94 Minutes
UPC: 842017203711
EAN: 0842017203711
ASIN: B000A7FT8G
Theatrical Release Date: September 17, 1982
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | THIS DVD WILL NOT WORK ON STANDARD US DVD PLAYER |
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Product Description
Spain released, PAL/Region 2 DVD:it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ),Spanish ( Mono ),Spanish ( Subtitles ),ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (1.85:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Filmographies, Interactive Menu, Photo Gallery, Scene Access, Trailer(s),SYNOPSIS: Wim Wenders' film version of Joe Gores' novel, a conflation of elements of the writer's life with episodes from his work, is a fascinatingly stylized artifact which will likely be of more interest to the director's fans than Hammett's. More a meditation on the detective genre than an actual detective film, it bends Gores' novel to the deliberate pacing and meandering plotting of Wenders' characteristic theme of perennial wanderjahre. The casting of an actor with a persona as vulnerable as Frederic Forrest to play the laconic, hard-nosed Hammett of reality is just one of many unusual choices that take one into the realm of cult film and Marilu Henner, Forrest's wife of the time, also seems out of place here. But the rest of the cast, which includes veterans of Hollywood's golden age like Sylvia Sidney, Elisha Cook Jr., and Royal Dano, acquit themselves well. Philip Lathrop, a specialist in noir and crime films, and the 79-year-old Joseph Biroc, whose last feature this was, combine their talents in the film's stunningly dream-like visual texture.
SCREENED/AWARDED AT: Cannes Film Festival,
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| Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
Engaging Homage to Forties Murder Mysteries November 11, 2005
David Baldwin (Philadelphia,PA USA)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
It's a real shame that Francis Ford Coppola's Zoetrope studios went belly up. They may not have produced anything that would qualify as classic but "Hammett" is an example of the kind of care and quality in films that Zoetrope strove for. Zoetrope films are an example of the indie spirit with big budgets that ultimately bankrupted Coppola. The central storyline of "Hammett" about white slavery and blackmail in thirties San Francisco is intriguing. I won't say that this film is the equivalant of another homage to the Hammett-Chandler style, "Chinatown", but I wouldn't be remiss to say that both films would make a terrific double-bill. "Hammett" has style to burn with fantastic cinematography but the real star is art director Dean Tavoularis' jaw dropping art direction. It is a crime that Tavoularis wasn't nominated for an Oscar for his work here. Frederic Forrest is outstanding as the boozing but relentless Dashiell Hammett who'll get to the bottom of the film's labyrinthian mystery at the cost of life and limb. Great supporting cast that includes Peter Boyle, veterans R.G. Armstrong and Richard Bradford, and old pros Sylvia Sidney, Elisha Cook, and Hank Worden. David Lynch fans should note the presence of Jack Nance("Eraserhead"). Marilu Henner, on the other hand, won't make you forget her work as Elaine Nardo on TV's "Taxi".
 Film Noir from American Zoetrope... January 4, 2004
Albert M. Bozzo (Sutter Creek, CA)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
Excellent story line and acting. Forrest is a very credible Hammett. The seemless, innovative scene transitions are worth the price of the tape all by themselves! This title needs to be on DVD!!!
Great style February 13, 2006
S. Jones (Chicago, IL United States)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This 1980's attempt to recreate the world of film noir might be a little thin on story or substance, but worth its weight in style. Outstanding sets and atmosphere, along with well paced direction and smooth transition keep the film from getting too trite. It's no 'Murder My Sweet' or 'Double Indemnity' but well worth seeing anyway.
A Find March 16, 2007
John D. Steyers (San Diego, CA, USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Despite my general taste for the private detective genre, this film had escaped my notice for a number of years. I was intrigued enough by its entry in Leonard Malten's ongoing book to rent it. I consider it a real find. I was very happy to rediscover it on DVD. It works on more than one level simultaneously. Most basically, it is a good "private eye" story in and of itself. Beyond that, its references to the genre in general, the period, and even the life and character of Dashiell Hammet himself, as well as the fact that it is not-quite-literal about any of the above, make for a very pleasing depth and richness of story texture which enhances the experience. The acting is very good across the board, particularly that of Peter Boyle as Hammett's mentor. As if all this weren't enough, Wenders's visual style is appropriate and very effective. There is an artificiality about the design, lighting and camera work which embodies to a great extent the pastiche element underlying the story. Many, if not most shots are consciously (I feel sure) made to resemble the cover art of early paperback editions of "private eye" fiction. This element enhances the pastiche and enriches the immediate experience as well as creating a nuanced world which refers interestingly to a specific time and place (San Francisco's Chinatown in the 1920's)without pretending to be strictly historical or naturalistic. This film is great entertainment.
 Very Disappointing October 23, 2008
mf59 (Los Angeles, Ca.)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I love noir! The Glass Key, Laura, Big Sleep, etc. I think Double Indemnity might be the best movie ever made. I even love noir B movies like Dark Passage, Night Editor, D.O.A. I like Frederic Forest, Peter Boyle, Dashiell Hammett, San Francisco and I have a soft spot for exploited Chinese girls. But I hated this movie. Forest and Boyle are very good actors, Joe Gores, who wrote the book on which the movie was based is a good writer and nobody ever looked better in a nightie than a twenty-something Marilu Henner. So, what went wrong? I blame the director and the scriptwriter. The story is convoluted and boring where good noir is convoluted and fascinating. The movie plays, and looks, more like a theatrical play than a film. I'm not sure they even let the paint dry on the sets before they started filming. When Hammett is being shadowed by The Punk, doing a "if I'm on my tippy-toes I'm not only silent but invisible" thing, I nearly laughed. When the Chinese girl explains to Hammett that she's been saved by Christ right after tounging him and promising to do "anything he wants" (wink, wink) I groaned. This one of those movies where I was never certain if they were playing it straight or for laughs. Based on their performances I think the actors were in the same boat. If they'd gotten Madeline Kahn to play the Chinese hooker this would have been a good vehicle for Mel Brooks. But this is not noir.
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