Search - American Gigolo on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Nudity, Adult Situations, Strong Sexual Content, Not For Children, Adult Language Movie Release: 1979 DVD Release: 05/23/2000 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Edition: Special Collection Audio Tracks: English, French Subtitles: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 56 mins Studio: Paramount Members Wishing: 9 Genres: Drama, Erotic Drama, Crime Drama See Also: American Gigolo [I Love the 80's Edition]

A slick Los Angeles callboy finds love and redemption in Paul Schrader's ultra-stylish drama. High-living prostitute Julian Kay (Richard Gere, stepping in for John Travolta) has it all: the Mercedes, the clothes, access to Beverly Hills' swankiest establishments, and a stable of rich, older female clients. But it all falls apart after he does a favor for his former pimp (Bill Duke) and the trick turns up dead a short while later; Julian's actual client won't give him an alibi, and police detective Sunday (Hector Elizondo) doesn't believe the gigolo's denials. The one person who can help him is frustrated politician's wife (and sole non-paying bedmate) Michelle (Lauren Hutton), if only Julian could let down his defenses and accept her gesture of love. Mixing his admiration for European art cinema with a voyeuristic view of the seamier side of sex and affluence, Schrader renders Julian an inscrutable, emotionally disengaged purveyor of pleasure, decked out in Giorgio Armani clothes coordinated with Ferdinando Scarfiotti's meticulous production design. Amid critical doubts about its artiness and distanced eroticism, American Gigolo surprised everyone by not dying on the box office vine. With some audiences reportedly showing up for repeat viewings of Gere's seductive charms, it became a moderate hit, turning Gere into a star and Armani into the new fashion sensation. Whatever reservations one may have about the movie, it provided two indelible images of 1980s decadence to come: Gere's perusing his "artist's palette" of shirts, ties, and jackets, and Gere's cruising down the Pacific Coast Highway in his convertible to the New Wave strains of Blondie's "Call Me". ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

Richard Gere - Julian Kaye
Lauren Hutton - Michelle Stratton
Hector Elizondo - Detective Sunday
Nina Van Pallandt - Anne
Bill Duke - Leon Jaimes

Richard Gere is a jack-of-all-trades gigolo caught in a tangled web of murder and intrigue in this sexually charged release from Paramount Home Video. Presented in letterboxed anamorphic 1.85:1 (enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs) and with multiple audio options, including closed-captioned English Dolby Digital 5.1 and Surround, this release also features a French Dolby Digital Mono audio track in addition to optional English subtitles. Extra features include interactive menus and a theatrical trailer. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide