Absence of Malice [Blu-ray]

Director: Sydney Pollack

Overview

An ambitious newpaper reporter Megan (Sally Field) is sent to interview Gallagher (Paul Newman), the reclusive business son of a deceased mobster. Though Megan isn't fully aware of it, she is being manipulated by an ambitious FBI investigator (Bob Balaban), who hopes to tie Gallagher to the recent disappearance of a labor leader. Megan gains Gallagher's confidence, then writes a scathing piece suggesting that her subject and the missing man were in cahoots. Events deteriorate from there, and the film concludes with a legal harangue presided over by a sagacious old federal functionary played by Wilford Brimley. The true villain is routed, though there's no guarantee that Gallagher and Megan will ever be able to mend their own emotional fences.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/08/2011
UPC:	0014381753158
Original Release:	1981
Rating:	PG
Source:	Image Entertainment
Sound:	[stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:57:00
Sales rank:	33,061

Special Features

Featurette: The Story Behind Absence of Malice; Deleted Scene

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Sally Field	Megan Carter
Paul Newman	Michael Gallagher
Bob Balaban	Elliot Rosen
Luther Adler	Malderone
Melinda Dillon	Teresa Perrone
Barry Primus	Waddell
Josef Sommer	McAdam
John Harkins	Davidek
Don Hood	Quinn
Wilford Brimley	Wells
Arnie Ross	Eddie Frost
Anna Marie Napoles	Nickie
Lynn Stalmaster	Actor
Shelley Spurlock	Sarah Wylie
Joe Petrullo	Mobster
Shawn McAllister	Mobster
Rooney Kerwin	Walker,Walker
Oswaldo Calvo	John
Clardy Malugen	Donna
Sharon Anderson	Secretary
Jody Wilson	Ragged Lady,Ragged Lady
Ilse Earl	Nun
Alfredo Calderon	Rodriguez
Patrick Sullivan	Meersma
Bill Hindman	Priest
Timothy Hawkins	FBI Agent
John Archie	FBI Agent
Ricardo Marquez	FBI Agent
Kathy Suergiu	Reporter
Jeff Gillen	Reporter
Diane Zolten	Reporter
Ted Bartsch	Beverage Manager
Sugar Ray Mann	Copy Boy
Richard O'Feldman	Driver
Chuck Lupo	Dock Boy
John DiSanti	Longshoreman
Laurie V. Logan	McAdam's Assistant
Patricia Matsdorff	Susan
Gary Van Auken	Marshall
Jack McDermott	News Staff
Mark Harris	News Staff
Bobbie-Ellyne Kosstrin	News Staff
Lynn Parraga	News Staff
Lee Sandman	News Staff
Barry Hober	News Staff
Dave Grusin	Composer
Phanie Napoli	Nickie
Alfredo ?lvarez Calder?n	Rodriquez
Richard O'Barry	Driver

Technical Credits

Kurt Luedtke

Sydney Pollack	Producer
Kurt Luedtke	Screenwriter
Ronald L. Schwary	Executive Producer
Les Fresholtz	Sound Effects

Editorial Reviews

Kurt Luedtke translated his own experiences as a big-city newspaper editor at the Detroit Free Press to write his first feature film. He earned an Academy Award nomination for original screenplay for his journalistically credible story about a naïve, eager-beaver young reporter (Sally Field) misled by a federal investigator into fingering the wrong man (Paul Newman) in the murder of a longshoreman's union official. Directed by Sydney Pollack, the film was a box-office hit and also earned Oscar nominations for Newman and supporting actress Melinda Dillon. Most memorable is the scene in which Newman barges into the newspaper's city room to confront Field. Like most Pollack films, Absence of Malice is a showcase for its actors, who give depth and color to a polished though fairly conventional entry in the fading genre of newspaper movies. Luedtke later wrote an Oscar-winning screenplay for Pollack's Out of Africa and had a co-writer credit on the acclaimed Schindler's List.