Blood and Wine
| Blood and Wine | |
|---|---|
 French theatrical poster |
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| Directed by | Bob Rafelson |
| Produced by | Jeremy Thomas |
| Screenplay by | Alison Cross Nick Villiers |
| Story by | Nick Villiers Bob Rafelson |
| Starring | Jack Nicholson Jennifer Lopez Stephen Dorff Judy Davis Michael Caine |
| Music by | Michal Lorenc |
| Cinematography | Newton Thomas Sigel |
| Editing by | Steven Cohen |
| Distributed by | Twentieth Century-Fox |
| Release date(s) | September 1996 (Spain) February 21, 1997 (United States) |
| Running time | 101 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $26M |
Blood and Wine (1996) is a neo-noir thriller directed by Bob Rafelson from a screenplay written by Nick Villiers and Alison Cross. It stars Jack Nicholson, Jennifer Lopez, Stephen Dorff, Judy Davis and Michael Caine. Rafelson has stated that the film forms the final part of his unofficial trilogy with Nicholson, with whom he made Five Easy Pieces and The King of Marvin Gardens in the 1970s.[1]
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[edit] Plot
Nicholson plays Alex Gates, a wealthy wine merchant who has distanced himself from his alcoholic wife Suzanne (Judy Davis) with his philandering, and from his stepson Jason (Stephen Dorff) with his indifference. Alex is heavily in debt, and cases the house of his clients, the Reese family. After he steals a valuable diamond necklace with the help of his Cuban mistress Gabriela (Jennifer Lopez) and his safe-cracker partner Victor (Michael Caine), things start to fall apart fast.
Suzanne sets out to interrupt what she thinks is another one of Alex's weekend dalliances down in the Florida Keys, but is really his trip to pawn the jewels. Trouble escalates when she discovers the truth and gets involved.
[edit] Cast
- Jack Nicholson as Alex Gates
- Stephen Dorff as Jason
- Jennifer Lopez as Gabriela "Gabby"
- Judy Davis as Suzanne
- Michael Caine as Victor "Vic" Spansky
- Harold Perrineau Jr. as Henry
- Robyn Peterson as Dina Reese
- Mike Starr as Mike
- John Seitz as Mr. Frank Reese
- Marc Macaulay as Guard
- Dan Daily as Todd
- Marta Velasco as Gabriela's Cousin
[edit] Production
British producer Jeremy Thomas was attracted to work with Rafelson due to what he perceived as the director's European sensibilities. He later remembered:
It was a different experience for me, because growing up as an independent producer it was difficult to interact with a corporate system. But then I got this screenplay which had Jack Nicholson attached to it and Bob Rafelson, who I knew quite well, and so I thought, I had never gone near a genre-type of film and so maybe I will try some noir-ish sort of film, set in Miami, which is the flavour of Hollywood, and see if we can do it. It was certainly an incredible cast, and I sold the film to Twentieth Century Fox, and I had a moment of flirtation with a studio movie type of film. I am very fond of the film.[2]
Blood and Wine was shot in Miami, South Florida and the Florida Keys, including some scenes at the Caribbean Club in Key Largo.[3]Alex’s family home is located in the Coral Gables/Pinecrest area. Gabriela is shown to live in Little Havana. The Reeses live in Millionaire’s Row in Miami Beach. Their house is next to Indian Creek[disambiguation needed 
], and has a view of Collins Avenue. Jason’s fishing boat is anchored in the Miami River, near Downtown Miami. Before the dance scene between Alex and Gabriela, we see a view of Southeast Financial Center in Downtown Miami.
[edit] Critical reception
Film critic Roger Ebert lauded the drama and wrote, "Blood & Wine is a richly textured crime picture based on the personalities of men who make their living desperately. Jack Nicholson and Michael Caine are the stars, as partners in a jewel theft that goes wrong in a number of ways, each way illustrating deep flaws in how they choose to live." [4]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Johnson, Gary. "Jack Nicholson is His Seedy Best in Blood & Wine". Images Journal. http://www.imagesjournal.com/issue02/reviews/bloodandwine.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-03.
- ^ Thomas, Jeremy; Lieberson, Sanford (2006-04-11). "At the Cutting Edge – Producer Jeremy Thomas, interviewed by producer Sandy Lieberson". Berlinale Talent Campus. http://www.berlinale-talentcampus.de/story/89/1789.html. Retrieved 2010-04-03.
- ^ "Miami Bar Guide: Caribbean Club". Location Site. http://www.locationsite.de/miami/caribbeanclube.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-03.
- ^ Ebert, Roger. Film review of Blood and Wine, Chicago Sun-Times, February 21, 1997. Last accessed: February 2, 2008.
[edit] External links
- Blood and Wine at the Internet Movie Database
- Blood and Wine at the TCM Movie Database
- Blood and Wine film trailer
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