Search - Stormy Monday on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Violence, Nudity, Adult Situations, Not For Children, Adult Language, Profanity Movie Release: 1988 DVD Release: 09/17/2002 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV - Closed Captioned Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 35 mins Studio: MGM Total Copies: 1 Genres: Thriller, Post-Noir (Modern Noir), Crime Thriller

Stormy Monday is a four-person character study in which style is all that matters. This tautly constructed, deftly executed crime thriller is set in economically depressed Newcastle England. Sting plays Finney, a relatively honest Newcastle jazz-club owner who crosses the path of crass American gangster Cosmo (Tommy Lee Jones). Flaunting his wealth at every opportunity, Cosmo wants to involve Finney in a land development deal -- if only he'll give up his club. Both men are enamored of Kate (Melanie Griffith), who becomes a pawn in their ongoing one-upsmanship. Kate and her lover (Sean Bean) try to prevent Finney from corrupting his own sense of values by wallowing in the gutter with Cosmo. Stormy Monday, the first feature-length directorial effort of former jazz musician Mike Figgis, who also wrote the script and composed the score, tells its story using subtle shadings of character and a vivid evocation of its Newcastle setting rather than through violent action. Figgis's moody direction of his excellent screenplay is quietly effective and brimming with visual nuance and irony -- particularly in its perceptive take on love, money, jazz, and economic necessity. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Melanie Griffith - Kate
Tommy Lee Jones - Cosmo
Sting - Finney
Sean Bean - Brendan
Prunella Gee - Mrs. Finney
James Cosmo - Tony

Mike Figgis' stylish Stormy Monday comes to DVD with a pair of transfers. The widescreen anamorphic transfer preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1, and is preferable in every way to the standard full-frame image. The closed-captioned English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital Surround. English, French, and Spanish subtitles are accessible. Supplemental materials include the original theatrical trailer. MGM/UA has done a decent job with this release that should satisfy fans of the film. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide