Product Description

From Hubert Selby Jr's controversial bestseller, comes this gritty screen adaptation of the once banned novel. A prostitute falls in love with one of her customers. *** Imported from S. Korea *** Original English language *** Optional English / Korean subtitles ***

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #37895 in DVD
• Formats: NTSC, Color, Subtitled, Import
• Subtitled in: English, Korean
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 103 minutes

Customer Reviews

"A CERTAIN SMILE"
STEVEN LANG and JENNIFER JASON LEIGH dominate this virtually picture-perfect view of Brooklyn circa 1950. A sad and moving mix of Union Dispute [Teamster strike}, confused sexual identity [identeties], anger and misplaced love.

Lang is excellent [more than that] as the love-torn Strike Captain - totally oblivious of 'the nature of things' - Jaosn-Leigh - more than award worthy for her "Tral" - perhaps the whore with the platinum heart? Totally oblivious of long-term goals - living from sailer to sailer ...

Art/Set direction and design, wardrobe, etc - spot on.

Highly worth the visit - if you can - "Father Knows Best" it ain't!
Could be fun to pair Jason-Leigh and Lang as "George & Martha" and watch the conflagration ........

{DVD is great]

Raw Look at the 1950s
This is a frank filming of the Hubert Selby novel about the brutality of street life in Brooklyn 1952. If you like "happy" films, this isn't for you. But if you appreciate a good dose of realism, the film is remarkable.

Searing Adaptation of Selby Novel
Here is a visually stunning adaptation of Herbert Selby's unvarnished novel about street-wise losers in 1952 Brooklyn. This film includes graphic violence and sexual situations not for the "Romantic Comedy" crowd. Jennifer Jason Leigh as the hyper-sexual prostitute Tra-La-La steals almost every scene she's in.

Although the screenwriters had to re-do the ending as the true nature of the book's finale would have drawn an "X" rating, this is a must-see for those of us who can appreciate the realities of the street for those living the most marginal of an existance.

One other treat is an obese Ricky Lake as a dim-witted knocked-up teen whose family forces a wedding to the poor sap who sired her child as a way tho save their reputation (as if they ever had a good one to begin with).

The beating and "cruxafiction" of Stephen Lang as the latant homosexual is also an unforgetable cinematic moment.