Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18441 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-08-12
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Dutch, French, Greek, Hungarian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish
• Dubbed in: French, German, Italian, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 97 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The January Man is an odd comedy-thriller about the hunt for a serial killer that could just be a case of too many stars spoil the movie. The screenplay is by John Patrick Shanley, who won an Oscar for Moonstruck. The plot goes like this: a serial killer is terrorising Manhattan, targeting one woman a month, much to the horror of the mayor (a rabid Rod Steiger, more foam than substance) and the police commissioner Frank Starkey (Harvey Keitel). There's only one man to save their bacon: enter Nick Starkey (Kevin Kline), brother of Frank, who had been a cop but was kicked out of the force for his unorthodox ways. Being a heroic kind of guy, his next career move was as a firefighter and we first see him leaping out of a burning building, carrying a child under his arm. Kline agrees to go back on one condition: that he cooks dinner for his brother's wife (the fantastically haughty Susan Sarandon), a former girlfriend for whom he still holds a candle. The pace hots up, Nick finds himself a new girlfriend, the mayor's daughter Bernadette (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), whose main claim to fame is that her best friend was murdered by the serial killer. Oh, and of course he gets the guy, in the nick of time (literally).

Confused? You won't be. The plot is an improbable potion of coincidences and divine inspiration but it's not complicated. Kline overcomes the shortcomings of the script with a charmer of a performance, but the real star is the funny, sly Alan Rickman. The January Man is worth seeing for some very fine individual turns (Sarandon is terrific), but in all honesty, it doesn't add up to a great movie, mainly because it can't quite decide what it wants to be, genre-wise, settling on an uneasy compromise of comedy and thriller.

On the DVD: The January Man disc has absolutely no-frills. Picture and sound are perfectly adequate without being anything to write home about. And if you're looking for extra goodies, you'll be disappointed: there's the original theatrical trailer and a wide array of subtitle languages, but that's it. --Harriet Smith

Special Features
1.85 Wide Screen
16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
DVD 5
French\German\Italian\Spanish
English\German
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital Stereo English French German Italian Spanish
Dolby Digital Stereo
Original Theatrical Trailer
Interactive Menu Screens
Chapter Selections
Dutch\French\Greek\Hungarian\Polish\Portuguese\Spanish

Synopsis
An underrated film penned by Oscar winner (Moonstruck) John Patrick Shanley about a modern day Sherlock Holmes asked by his policeman brother to discover a serial killer's identity before he strikes again. His romance with the Mayor's daughter has a touch of poetry that lifts the film above formula.

Customer Reviews

The January Man
The January Man is a witty little detective movie with a touch of genius. Unlike most thrillers where the focus is on the murderer , this movie pays more attention to the relationships between the main characters and how they catch the killer. In fact who the murderer is and why he kills is not important the fun in this film is watching how Kline , Mastrantonio and Rickman unravel the clues and work out when and where the next murder will be .

Kline plays an ex-detective who worked with his brother in the N.Y. police department. Having left the force after an affair with his brothers wife he is now a heroic fire fighter called back to solve a case that no one else can in the hope that he can catch the killer before he kills again.

The parallel story that works it's way through the film explains the tension between Kline , his brother ( played by Harvey Keitel )and his sister-in-law played by Susan Sarandon , with everything neatly interwoven with the murder investigation and a little romance on the side. Kevin Kline is brilliant as the modern day Sherlock Holmes with a wonderful tongue-in-cheek humour that keeps the film ticking nicely.

All in all this film is easy going fun. Don't expect any huge fight scenes or special effects , although the fight at the end is worth watching, but sit back and enjoy a great cast at work.

Between serious characterization & comic hilarity
Good movie, even if it is a bit campy now. A great cast turn great performances with subtle comedy. Worth it just to see Alan Rickman as the brooding artist living next door. A comedy in the same spirit of "Rushmore". Ahead of its time and fantastic when you are in the right mood.

Kevin Klein walks a great line in this type of movie between a serious characterization and moments of comic hilarity. Susan Sarandon and Kevin Klein have wonderful on screen chemistry, and the rest of the supporting cast all are given opportunities to show off their skills through a well crafted script. It's well worth seeing.