DVD Legal Eagles
Robert Redford, usually a pretty good judge of material, got snookered badly in this Ivan Reitman comedy that also starred Debra Winger and Daryl Hannah. Redford is a rising assistant D.A. who is prosecuting a woman (Hannah) for theft of a painting by her father. Before he knows what hit him, he's involved romantically both with the defendant and with her scattered lawyer (Winger). Redford is as good as he can be, given the circumstances, but this is a movie that doesn't know where it's going. Originally intended as a serious film about the legal wrangling over the estate of the late Mark Rothko, this film quickly degenerated when the script was turned over to Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., whose sparkling oeuvre includes Turner and Hooch. --Marshall Fine |
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Review(s): DVD Legal Eagles | |
This is Ivan Reitman's first film after his mega hit "Ghostbusters". Some will even recognize an exterior or two that was used in both films. I will always remember this film because I got a pass to a preview screening for it from my art teacher. This was before preview screenings were done as much as they were now by radio stations and more. It was a bit of a special thing in my mind. I remember enjoying it on a interplay between Redford and Winger level and thinking of it as a good but not great movie. About a month later, the film opened to mediocre reviews and business. After that, the movie would turn up on TV and when I caught it, I found myself seeing it thorugh to the end (only to be surprised when the TV version had an altered ending). Anyway, Legal Eagles became that "old comfortable shoe" of a movie that when it popped up on cable (and for a while it often did)I would go "ahhhh" and keep on watching. I would've gotten it on VHS, but I was all too aware of how the movie was cropped and zoomed and that was good enough to watch on TV but not good enough to buy. I would wait until I got a laserdisc player and get it in widescreen (laserdiscs, those things that look like big DVD's before they had DVD's) The rest is history of course, then came DVD. When I got a DVD player, a widescreen Legal Eagles DVD was available for about [44] so there you go. This was the first release (from Image) though, single layer non-anamorphic widescreen and no extras. The single layer made for some noticable compression artifacts when I viewed it on my newer high tech TV (especially on Daryl Hannah's face during her performance piece). Also, the audio on the disc seemed a bit weak. But then, just a couple weeks ago, I saw the newer release for Legal Eagles. Dual layer, anamorphic widescreen (which my new TV can take advantage of)plus a trailer and a vintage featurette. Terrific. This transfer is much improved from the first release, though it still has a bit of softness and grain to it. The soundtrack is improved from the first release too, more accurately reproducing the Dolby Surround mix I remember hearing in that preview screening. Please note that this new release has misprints on the specifications on the back. It lists the video as "1.85 to 1 anamorphic widescreen" when it's actually 2.35 to 1 Anamorphic. It also lists the audio as "2.0 mono" when it is actually 2.0 Dolby Surround. So, people thinking of picking up this on DVD remember to get the updated version (with the blue tone background on the cover) instead of the old one (with the pinkish tone background on the cover).
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| a fine comedy, one of the best |  |
There no stronger words to define this comedy. It's fine, surprising and all the actors reach the summit of the art. It's not a Grisham's novel with an unbelieved story with FBI and CIA all around. It's lawyers games but those lawyers are human with a normal life. Just look at the play of Redford in the court. If you want to see the most fantastic example of the perfect attorney, just print this scene in your memory. I don't count the number of times I view this tape.
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| I watched it because of Debra Winger. |
"Robert Redford...got snookered badly" in this movie? What about Debra Winger? She is too good for this film, and the behind-the-scenes friction between her and Redford are only noticeable on-screen because of him. As usual, Debra's a pro. The movie is totally mediocre, though, even for a light-weight comedy. And what's up with Daryl Hannah? I was only a kid back in the 80's, so I don't remember. Was that woman actually taken seriously?Anyhow, if you're a serious fan of any of the actors involved, you may enjoy this. Otherwise, don't do it.
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