Product Description

Australia released, PAL/Region 2&4 DVD:it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital Stereo ),Spanish ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ),Spanish ( Subtitles ),WIDESCREEN (1.78:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Cast/Crew Interview(s), Filmographies, Interactive Menu, Photo Gallery, Scene Access, Trailer(s),SYNOPSIS: Young lovers and small-time New Orleans scammers Coco Chavez (Carla Gugino) and Junior Armstrong (Simon Baker-Denny) move up a few rungs when they kidnap wealthy computer mogul Ben Dyson (Greg Wise) in Sebastian Gutierrez's neo-noir. During the crime, Coco kills Dyson's girlfriend, Patty (Beverly Penberthy), wife of Senator Rupert Hornbeck (Hal Holbrook). Assigned to the case are FBI Agent Sadie Hawkins (Emma Thompson) and Police Lt. David Friedman (Alan Rickman). When Hornbeck threatens Friedman instead of assisting him, the detective suspects that this is no ordinary kidnapping for ransom, and he does his own investigation. A conscience-stricken Coco realizes that she may have been set up to kill Patty, and she, too, takes matters into her own hands. A fairly complex tale of betrayal and corruption, Judas Kiss also spoofs noir conventions -- for instance, agent Hawkins is reading Jim Thompson's crime novel The Killer Inside Me, and he discusses the writer's works with Friedman during lulls in the action.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #126967 in DVD
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English, Spanish
• Subtitled in: Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 94 minutes

Features

• THIS DVD WILL NOT WORK ON STANDARD US DVD PLAYER

Customer Reviews

Interesting enjoyable film with great actors
Not your ordinary kidnapping caper. There are enough quirky characters, plots twists, well-timed flashbacks, and recognizable actors cast against-type to keep viewers interested, entertained, and intrigued.

Alan Rickman simply cannot make a bad movie or turn in a less than perfect performance. The variety of his role choices continues to provide his fans insight into every possible facet of his magnificent talent. His role as good-cop in 'Judas Kiss' is no exception. Coupled with Emma Thompson as a tough federal agent, the two English talents provide this film with 'class'. Simon Baker (TV's The Guardian) appears as a character devoid of 'class' in a role completely opposite the classy, brooding attorney we have come to associate with this very talented young Australian actor. Hal Holbrook and Roscoe Lee Brown give their usual great performances in roles a little closer-to-home for them.

The steamy sex, mayhem and murder, and New Orleans atmosphere make this film as hot as the 'Big Easy' in August, but the setting compliments rather than overwhelms the film. The story could have been set in any big city.

I recommend this film for those who enjoy a quirky, interesting mystery with style. While for fans of Rickman - it is a must-see!

When Bad Noir Happens To Good Actors--A Delightfully Demented Bit Of Fun
I'm going to say it right from the beginning-- I absolutely loved this bit of overheated Southern noir. I'm not going to pretend that it is a particularly good movie, but as trashy fun--it hit all the right notes. And all of the things that others have listed as the film's shortcomings are positively endearing. It is delightfully bad in a very great way. Why? It's got to be traced to the screenplay. The ludicrous banter between the cops is priceless, they reference sex and Jim Thompson in equal measures--as if talking about hard boiled noir will make this picture more legitimate. And the dialogue between the kidnappers is so cliche ridden, so colorful, so out of left field. Believable? Not a bit--but super entertaining in an off-kilter way.

In "Judas Kiss," a quartet of impossibly attractive kidnappers stage an elaborate plan to ransom off a software tycoon. As they are executing their plan, a woman stumbles upon them and must be murdered to prevent an eyewitness statement. This, as you might imagine, complicates the plan and all must deal with the implications. A couple of cops looking into this sordid mess are played by Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson. With charmingly bad accents, these great actors are a sight to behold. My favorite moment is provided by Thompson undercover in a knit cap on roller blades--trust me, she blends right in!

The kidnappers are all played by appealing and somewhat famous actors. Carla Gugino is ostensibly the lead character and narrator of our story. Smart and sexy, and usually better than her material, I often wonder why she's not a major star. She is hysterical here is full blown sex kitten mode. Simon Baker provides the requisite beefcake action as her often shirtless boyfriend. Gil Bellows is cool and calculating, while Til Sweiger is the "crazy" comedic muscle character. It's all a lot of fun.

In a bizarre effort to sex up the proceedings, we get some nice wacko moments. Two times, a sci-fi porno is being watched by characters within the film. These cheesy, nudity filled sequences add nothing to the story and a sane person would have to question why they are included at all. We also get the romantic backstory, told in flashback, of two of the kidnappers. Absolutely unnecessary and grinding the action to a halt, it is still a major hoot. How else would we get to see Gugino spanked by a violin and receiving oral sex while dangling from a meat hook in a supermarket freezer. Genius!

I'd probably give this about 4 1/2 stars because I love it in a deranged way--but I'll let it slide with a 3. I don't want to oversell it's actual merit. Try it if you're in the mood for a bit of ridiculousness. KGHarris, 11/06.

Good Flick
I was pleasently surprised by this flick. It has good movement and plot twists. The only drawback is that it continues Hollywood's fascination with creating supposed heroes who are actually criminals who deserve life imprisonment or execution. After all, the 'heroine' of this movie did in fact murder an innocent woman in cold blood while carrying out a kidnapping (both are capital offenses). Still, if you can get over that, Carla Gugino is simply stunning and the movie is worth watching if only to see her in her red dress.