Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7032 in DVD
• Released on: 2000-09-04
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English, German
• Subtitled in: English, German, Swedish, Finnish, Danish, Bulgarian
• Dubbed in: Hungarian
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 92 minutes

Special Features
1.85 Wide Screen
English
Region 2

Synopsis
A tough, super-jaded cop (Nick Nolte) springs a hard luck robber (Eddie Murphy) from jail for two days to help nab his former partners. They form a kind of friendship (based on mutual hatred) as they chase a trio of remorseless villains through the streets of San Francisco. Rounded characters and crackling comedy keep this hard-hitting film beautifully balanced. A violence-heavy sequel was made in 1990 called Another 48 Hrs.

From the Back Cover
Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy make on of the most unusual an entertaining teams ever in Walter Hill's roller-coaster thriller, 48 Hours. Nolte is a rough-edged cop after two vicious cop-killers. He can't do it without the help of smooth and dapper Murphy, who is serving time for a half-million dollar robbery. This unlikely partnership trades laughs as often as punches as both pursue their separate goals: Nolte wants the villains; Murphy wants his money and some much-needed female companionship. Watch for Murphy's hilarious scene in a redneck country-western bar - you'll want to see it again and again.

Customer Reviews

Boys are Back in Town
t's the chemistry between Nolte and Murphy that makes this work, plus the fact that both men really attempt to 'get into the skin' of their character, something mostly ignored in other examples of this genre. Director Hill knows he's got a great team in front of the camera, and all that remains is for him to incorporate some spectacular action sequences around them. This he does competently. That one-two punch is what gives the movie its fireworks.

The banter and situations concerning the characters are also gleefully un-PC. It'd be interesting to see what a studio and director would make of the same premise in these 'enlightened' times. Murphy's comic stage persona is less restrained here than it would be in later films, and the results are often shamefully funny.

Don't expect Shakespeare, there's far too much cursing and other unsavoury shenanigans going on for that; do expect a pacy and entertaining early example of the 'buddy thriller'.

Getting The Job Done In 48 Hours...
Before I purchased this film, I had seen a few of Eddie Murphy's more recent films like Dr Doolittle 2 and The Nutty Professor. Of course, when he voiced the character of Donkey in Shrek 2, he was still amusing as he has always been, but now he's performing as a family man.

48 Hrs is a far cry from anything that Murphy has done recently. This is his debut on the big screen after doing stand-up, and it's actually possibly one of his best performances. Alongside Nick Nolte, 48 Hrs simply tells the tale of an unlikely partnership between cop and crook as they try to capture two vicious cop killers.

The characteristics of Nick and Eddie are completely seperate here as Murphy provides a brash, smooth talking dapper attitude towards Nolte's more rough-edged personality. But amazingly they work perfectly together, and although they don't get along at first in the film, you notice the chemistry between them getting stronger as the movie progresses.

Featuring such classic scenes as the redneck western bar, 48 Hrs is a highly entertaining thriller. Worth purchasing indeed.

"Y'all Be Cool!"

To catch a crook you need a crook....
Back in 1984, Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy starred in a new breed of movie - not bad guy vs good, but bad guy helps good guy get the other bad guy, confusing I know, but it's all good fun.

Jack gives Reggie a chance to help himself; he's desperate to find a crook whos made off with the loot, after escaping prison. Reggie wants the money, Jack the guy... but somewhere along the line Jack just doesn't work well with Reggie, he's the total opposite to him, and when Reggie messes him around they have a good old street fight.

The film is very funny, specially when Reggie tells Jack's boss to "go easy on him man" and when Jack says "This guy's got a lot more brains than you". The bar scene is also amazing and probably one of the funniest I have seen for a long time.

The action is amazing too, Jack's a bit of a sharp shooter, and his coleagues don't seem to share his passion of shooting like he does.

The DVD is sadly disapointing - it's 4:3 full screen, would have been better in 16:9. The sound isn't great for what is labeled as 5.1 Dolby, it sounds to me like standard 2.1 stereo. The quality of the image isn't amazing to be honest, they could have done a lot more processing, but I guess if you liked this movie originally you probably prefer the hissy soundtrack and marked reel... it's like the old CD vs Vinyl story.

Altogether a great movie, shame there's not more extras and a better picture, but c'est la vie.