Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4103 in DVD
• Released on: 1999-04-19
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Full Screen, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: Dutch, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish
• Dubbed in: Italian
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 103 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The husband (Michael Douglas) is a currency trader whose portfolio value is going right down the drain. The wife (Gwyneth Paltrow) is the heiress to a $100 million fortune. The marriage is not a happy one, but the promise of long-term affluence keeps them together. The wife pursues an affair with an artist (Viggo Mortenson) who gives her all the passion she doesn't get at home, and when the husband finds out, well ... someone's going to pay with their life. Who will the unlucky one be? We wouldn't dare spoil the elegant plot twists of this devious thriller, but it's well known that Douglas excels at portraying greedy characters with ice in their veins. Here, it's easy to assume that Douglas has pulled off, as the title implies, a killing that nobody will ever pin on him. But this is the kind of glossy thriller (loosely inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder) that delights in disrupting your expectations, so it grabs your attention right up to the final scene. It's a bit too cold really to draw you in but with its able cast and stylish direction by Andrew Davis, this less-than-perfect murder thriller is still definitely worth a look. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Special Features
4:3 Full Frame
16:9 Wide Screen
DVD 10
English
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Dolby Digital 5.1
Audio Commentary
Alternate Ending With Two Separate Audio Tracks
Production Notes

Synopsis
Emily Bradford (Paltrow) is a society daughter married to the successful Steven Taylor (Douglas). Heiress to a huge family fortune, Emily is due to inherit a one hundred million dollar trust fund much to the delight of her conniving husband. An adulterous transgression by Emily with the even more devious David (Mortenson) gives Steven a chance to try and outwit them both for the big prize. Inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 film "Dial M for Murder."

Customer Reviews

Surprisingly weak
I am not going to say much about this film.
It is entertaining and not badly done, but please do your selves a favour and watch the Hitchcock original "Dial M for murder".
This film is a remake and I guess you will forget about it quite quickly once you have seen the original.
This film lacks the humor,charme and, most of all "class" of the hitchcock original.

"perfect for whom"
We soon establish that the "heroin" Gwyneth Paltrow (who is extremely rich and works for the United Nations) is having an affair with a young man (Vergo Mortenson) an up and coming artist. Her husband, Michael Douglas is a business man who by all accounts married her for her money. On the surface he is attentive and loving but her description of him to her friend Raquel is that he is manipulative. As the film unfolds we find out that he is in financial difficulties and has been a part of some unlawful dealings. He has discovered his wife's infidelity and constructs the opportunity to confront Mortenson and offer him a deal of 100,000$ to kill his wife, or he will tell her of Mortenson's lurid past, (swindling older women out of their money). Mortenson however, although at first shocked, fits in well with the deal and agrees to the murder. The plan is to go ahead the following night.
Things don't go entirely according to plan and Paltrow does not meet her demise. The film twists and turns to its final conclusion. David Suchet plays the detective with an interesting personality

The acting is exceptional with the 4 main actors working together well. The plot hints slightly of Dial M for Murder with the clue honing in on the door key to the apartment.

Well acted and highly enjoyable film.

Stylish and absorbing
This is a great movie - entertaining, full of twists and turns and is beautifully underplayed. Not excessive in its violence, but packed with intrigue and moments that had us scrunching the cushions and on the edge of our seats.

Michael Douglas is brilliantly cold and classy, Viggo Mortensen keeps you in a permanent quest to work out what he is thinking and what he will do next. Gwyneth Paltrow and David Suchet are superb in their respective roles of potential victim and suspicious police officer.

This is a great thriller, very loosely based on the classic "Dial M for Murder", and makes a great evening's viewing. If you like a good murder mystery, you will enjoy spending a couple of hours with this stylish and absorbing film. I commend it to you!