Dirty Rotten Scoundrels DVD Steve Martin Michael Caine Widescreen Dolby Surround

Description

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Steve Martin (Actor), Michael Caine (Actor), Frank Oz (Director) Rated: PG-13 Format: DVD

One’s got a sophisticated, suave and debonair con act. The other’s got…well, an act. Together, Steve Martin and Michael Caine are Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and they’re absolutely ruining the Riviera in this “hilarious battle of wits and double-crosses” (Boxoffice) that “couldn’t be more delightful” (The Wall Street Journal)! Martin is Freddy Benson, a smalltime conman sleazing his way through Europe on whatever handouts he can scam. Caine is Lawrence Jamieson, an impeccably dressed and high-minded artiste who thinks Freddy is giving himand all con mena bad name. At first, Lawrence agrees to help Freddy spruce up his talents and his wardrobe. But when it becomes apparent that the Riviera isn’t big enough for the both of them, they make awinner-take-all wager over the fortunes of a naive American soap heiress (Glenne Headly): the firstone to “clean her out” can make the other clear outand keep the Riviera and its unsuspecting tourists to himself!

Actors: Steve Martin, Michael Caine, Glenne Headly, Anton Rodgers, Barbara Harris
Directors: Frank Oz
Writers: Dale Launer, Paul Henning, Stanley Shapiro
Producers: Bernard Williams, Charles Hirschhorn, Dale Launer
Format: Multiple Formats, Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
Subtitles: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese
Dubbed: Spanish
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: MGM
Run Time: 110 minutes

It is the story of two men competing to swindle an American heiress out of $50,000. Caine plays the suave, charming British con man Lawrence Jamieson, who believes in conning corrupt, rich people out of their money so he can spend it on culture and a lavish lifestyle. Martin plays his laddish, arrogant American rival, Freddy Benson, who believes in conning just about anyone in order to get a free meal. It takes place in the French Riviera.

The film ranks as number 85 on Bravo’s 100 Funniest Movies.

The story revolves around a simple American con-man (brilliantly played by Steve Martin) who specializes in charming wealthy women out of whatever charity he can manage to swindel. That is, until he stumbles on to the master (Michael Caine), a suave ultra-swank European who doesn’t go for the fast buck, but rather for the slow millions.

The difference in their styles, as Martin invades Caine’s comfortable European playground (and then ultimately decide to work together) make for extreme comedy. However, not the Jim Carrey slapstick that’s been so popular lately, rather, this is infinitely more subtle in it’s buildup, but “net net” as funny as most of the best contemporary comedy out there.

There are two DVD editions. The first was from Orion/Image. It was a “no-frills” release, containing the movie only. Mercifully, that version is out of print although I have seen some unscrupulous sellers hyping that fact as a selling point. Don’t be fooled.

Get the current edition on MGM DVD. Watch out for similar cover artwork. The current MGM offering has Martin & Caine standing in front of palm trees. (The no-frills disc has them standing in front of a bunch of beach umbrellas.)

With the current edition, you will enjoy an anamorphic widescreen transfer (better image quality than standard letterboxing). They are also including the original teaser trailer which brilliantly set up one’s expectations without revealing ANY of the actual movie. Frank Oz (director) provides an interesting scene-by-scene audio commentary.

The film was originally to have been written as a vehicle for Mick Jagger and David Bowie, who, according to Bowie, were “a bit tweezed that we lost out on a script that could have been reasonably good.” According to Splitsider, Eddie Murphy was considered for the role of Freddy Benson.

In a DVD extra providing a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film, Frank Oz discusses a teaser trailer he directed for the studio, which wanted to begin promoting the film before there was enough actual footage to assemble a trailer. An entire day was spent filming a scene in which Freddy and Lawrence stroll along the promenade, politely moving out of the way of other people, until Freddy casually pushes an elderly woman into the water and Lawrence nonchalantly shoves a little boy’s face into his cotton candy.

Michael Caine was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy but lost to Tom Hanks in Big

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DVD has a few smudges…no scratches. Case and insert in near mint condition. Audio commentary by Director Frank Oz, behind-the-scenes featurette, teaser trailer and original theatrical trailer. Dolby Digital 5.1 surround.