Product Description

THE MIX IS DANGEROUS, THE ROMANCE IS SIZZLING, THE ACTION ISEXPLOSIVE WITH THREE OF THE MOST EXCITING PERFORMERS ON SCREENAT ANY ONE TIME.A COOL, CUNNING DRAMA OF FRIENDSHIP AND BETRAYAL, A SEDUCTIVE BLEND OF ACTION AND ROMANCE.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10504 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 1997-10-29
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Dubbed in: Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 115 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
Robert Towne is one of Hollywood's most celebrated screenwriters, but because his directorial efforts have been few and far between, anticipation was high when this star-powered crime story was released in 1988. Critical reaction was decidedly mixed, but there's plenty to admire in this silky, visually seductive film about a drug dealer (Mel Gibson) whose best friend from high-school (Kurt Russell) is now working for the Los Angeles sheriff's drug detail. Their personal and professional conflicts are intensified by their love for the same woman, a waitress (Michelle Pfeiffer) at the Italian restaurant they both frequent. There's a big deal going down with a drug lord (the late Raul Julia), but as it twists and turns, Towne's story is really more about personal loyalties and individual honor. And even if it doesn't quite hold together, the movie's got a fantastic look to it (courtesy of the great cinematographer Conrad Hall), and the three stars bring depth and dimension to their well-written roles. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Tequila Sunrise
Mel Gibson and Kurt Russell are very good in this movie, and are very believable as lifelong friends at a crossroad. Mel is a retired drug dealer while Kurt is a cop. Not a likely duo to maintain a friendship. Michelle Pheiffer portrays the love interest of Mel, and do those two have chemistry! This is a perfect match, and they are combustible together. While this is an older film, it still has the ingredients that all great films do.

A master piece among crime movies
Tequila Sunrise is an excellent crime/action movie. It has suffered a bit from bad press, which in my opinion is totally unjustified. People have said, that the actors were wasted on this kind of movie. This is nonsense! Tequila Sunrise is one of the best movies in its genre BECAUSE it was made with good, instead of the usual mediocre actors. It shows clearly, that with good acting and a somewhat complecated script a rather unasuming movie can rise to unexpacted heights. Mel Gibson and Kurt Russel are particularly well suited to their respective roles as sympathetic ex-crook and not so sympathetic police officer. Michelle Pfeiffer in a somewhat unusual role as the woman in between these two lends a depth to the part which females in this kind of story usually lack. Finally Raul Julia as a mexican dope smuggler is a very enjoyable sight. You can never really hate him even when he starts issuing execution orders. A pleausre to watch.

Noir-ish Fun under the SoCal Sun
...is how I view this film by writer Robert Towne (Chinatown, Personal Best, etc.), who also directs here. Tequila Sunrise is a wonderful, layered neo-noir set in the South Bay area of Los Angeles. Others have criticized this film for being confusing, but at its core, it is a solid character based melodrama laced with a little ambiguity and ever-moving boundaries. Just about everyone in this film is not quite what you'd assume. If you like films that need close watching, with intricate character motives--regardless of clear moral distinctions--this is it.

Set in the 1980's, T.S. is a story of deceit, and betrayal, but primarily friendships. Mel Gibson plays Dale (Mac) McKussic, a retired South Bay cocaine smuggler of legendary proportions. Gibson is one actor who plays many hero types on-screen, but who is not afraid to convey the darker aspects of a character. Many other big names in Hollywood wouldn't take on this type of role. Here Mac wants to stay out of the drug business for a more normal life. But, as he puts it, "nobody wants me to quit."

Not so much opposing him, but being the flip side of a morally dubious coin, is Lt. Nick Frescia, who heads up L.A. Sheriff's drug enforcement unit. The vastly underrated Kurt Russell plays this character as a smart, slick operator capable of breaking the law when it helps him enforce it. Like Mel, Kurt is quite capable of playing the ambiguous lead (and make you like/hate him at the same time).

To really begin to understand these the two leads, though, southern Cal native Robert Towne gets to sprinkle some marvelous, sharp dialogue to their history. Friends since youth (and probably long time rivals), these two veered to opposite, but parallel paths by an incident alluded to in early character conversations. The two have a continuing yet uneasy connection. Here, Towne has a keen eye to those strangest of relationships: those life-long friendships that come out of cauldron known as "high school."

The primary impetus for the trouble to come is from the outside. For Nick, it's the unwelcome intervention by D.E.A. agent Hal Maguire, done to slimy perfection by the late J.T. Walsh. Smarmy, and not the sharpest knife in the drawer, he forces Nick to try and nail his friend Mac (who he likes) to do his job for him (who he hates) so as to keep him out of federal hands.

For Mac, coincidentally, it's the complication of his friend/drug overlord "Carlos" coming to town to clear up "an accounting problem." Without giving too much away, lets say that the late great Raul Julia gets to have loads of fun playing the mysterious Mexican cop Javier Escalante brought in by Maguire to help arrest this crimelord.

The gorgeous Michelle Pheiffer plays Jo Ann Vallenari. She is the tough but tender restaurateur Mac longs for throughout the story. The problem with that is Nick immediately sees her as someone who can help him with his case against Mac. However, he's just not prepared for his feelings and the resulting consequences.

Tequila Sunrise is nothing if not a primer on the twists and turns of friendships and moral implications. This movie can be difficult to follow, but if you stick with it, by the end, it's worth it. Watch for some great cinematography done by Conrad Hall. The DVD edition has a good commentary track by Producer Thom Mount with insights on the production and how it evolved to it's final cut.