Narrow Margin
 | Directed by Peter Hyams Starring: Gene Hackman, Anne Archer, James Sikking, J.T. Walsh, M. Emmet Walsh Lions Gate, 1990, DVD Customer Rating: 25 reviews Recommend |
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A DAD AND HIS STAR WITNESS TO A MOB SLAYING ARE BEING STALKED BYKILLERS ABOARD A SPEEDING TRAIN.
Back in 1952, during the waning days of film noir, director Richard Fleischer made The Narrow Margin, a cheaply produced, tightly structured B movie thriller about a cop forced to protect a gangster's widow while on a train. While it's no work of art, Fleischer's noir features a shocking climax of mistaken identity, an ominous, claustrophobic atmosphere, and tough, nearly unlikable protagonists screwed by fate, who spout sharp-witted dialogue and feel little more than contempt for each other. When Hollywood remakes itself, all the understatement and charm is usually lost when the filmmakers try to "modernize" the subject matter. This is one of many problems with writer-director Peter Hyams's remake (given the slightly shorter title Narrow Margin). He's dumped the surprising plot twist (it's now an action set piece atop a moving train) and softened the characters (now played with sleepwalking intensity by Gene Hackman and Anne Archer) with preposterous motivations. All that seems to be intact is the train premise, but Hyams is more interested in its action potential than any kind of menacing atmosphere. He's dropped the ambiguous relationships and smart dialogue in favor of pumping up the action sequences and daredevil stunts to ridiculous levels. Instead of adding excitement, all Hyams's expensive tricks do is drain Narrow Margin of any tension it might've retained from the original. — Dave McCoy
Title: Narrow Margin
Sales Rank: 46257 in DVD
Actor: Gene Hackman, Anne Archer, James Sikking, J.T. Walsh, M. Emmet Walsh
Director: Peter Hyams
Studio: Lions Gate, 1998-11-10, Theatrical Release: 1990-09-21
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC, Acpect Ratio 2.35:1
Languages: English (Original Language), Spanish (Subtitled)
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Region Code: 1
Running Time: 97 minutes
Item Dimensions: 0.25 pounds
Package Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches, 0.25 pounds
- Video: Narrow Margin
- I was very pleased with the speed with which I received my video and it was just as stated in the description. More reviews
- takes you to the edge of suspense (but no further)
- I saw this in the theater whe it came out. The ads said "It takes you to the edge of suspense." And it did, just to the edge, not to actual suspense, just the edge. Stick to Fleicher's noir classic. More reviews
- Same DVD, New Sleeve. What A Gyp.
- This DVD is EXACTLY the same as the 1998 release. The manufacturer has just put the original product into a cardboard sleeve with new graphics.
What a gyp.
If you don't already have the DVD, I recommend it. The price is better than the original release.
If you already have the 1998 transfer,… More reviews
- Lots To Like In This Updated Version
- It's odd to like an original 1952 film and then like the re-make equally so, if not more, but that's the case with this film. I have viewed both versions of this film at least three times apiece and thoroughly enjoy both.
As is sometimes the case with remakes, some of the twists and turns of this thriller… More reviews
- DVD movie : Narrow Margin
- Review of "Narrow Margin".
Who could'nt love the trains and the Canadian scenery?
But further I am a Hackman fan so for me it is easily worth
buying to watch and loan to family etc. The R must be for
violence but it not excessive compared to any ordinary day
of commercial TV.
Bad guys (hired killers) chase… More reviews
