Assassins [Blu-ray]

Director: Richard Donner, Antonio Banderas, Reed Diamond, Steve Kahan, Sylvester Stallone, Julianne Moore

Overview

Sylvester Stallone headlines this high-tech action-adventure and plays a ruthless hit man who finds himself stalked by a younger rival. The older assassin, Robert Rath, cannot shake the painful memory of an earlier hit and wants to leave his dirty business after he completes his final assignment for a mysterious boss. He meets his crazy rival, the fearless Miguel Bain while attempting to assassinate an old fellow at a funeral. Bain beats him to it and then makes a ballsy escape in which he ends up in a stolen taxi driven by Rath. It is here that the two become mortal enemies. Later, Rath is given one last assignment: he must kill a female surveillance officer and steal an important disc before she has a chance to sell it. When he discovers that Bain is on the same assignment, the two begin a deadly competition in a large Seattle hotel. Eventually, Rath ends up kidnapping the officer Electra and her large ever-present cat. When he finally meets up with Bain, a terrible struggle ensues and suddenly Rath realizes that the whole scene is a set up. Rath then heads for San Juan, Puerto Rico where residents celebrate the Day of the Dead. Amidst the festivities, the two play a deadly cat-and-mouse game.

Product Details

Release Date:	08/16/2011
UPC:	0883929184835
Original Release:	1995
Rating:	R
Source:	Warner Home Video
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	2:13:00
Sales rank:	12,049

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Sylvester Stallone	Robert Rath
Antonio Banderas	Miguel Bain
Julianne Moore	Electra
Anatoliy Davydov	Nicolai
Muse Watson	Ketcham
Stephen Kahan	Alan Branch,Alan Branch
Kelly Rowan	Jennifer
Reed Diamond	Bob
Kai Wulff	Remy
Edward J. Rosen	Cemetery Caretaker
Christina Orchid	Dowager,Cabbie No. 1
James Louis Oliver	Customs Officer,Cop No. 9
Sue Carolyn Wise	Obnoxious Woman
Marian Collier	Pet Shop Lady
Mark Woodford	Room Service Waiter
Kerry Skalsky	Buyer No. 2
James Douglas Haskins	Buyer No. 3
Stephen Liska	Cop No. 1
John Harms	Cop No. 2
Ron Ben Jarrett	Maintenance Man
Dave Young	Male Guard
Ragna Sigrun	Female Guard
Anibal O. Leras	Cabbie
Marta Labatut	Cemetery Woman No. 1
Choco Orta	Cemetery Woman No. 2
Ivonne Piazza	Bank Teller
Angel Vazquez	Bank Official
Axel Anderson	Bank President
David Dollase	Bodyguard No. 1
Jim Graham	Bodyguard No. 2
Wally Dalton	Priest
Paul Tuerpe	Reporter No. 1
John Procaccino	Reporter No. 2
Nerissa E. Williams	Reporter No. 3
Eddie Bellaflores	Fruit Vendor
Thomas Helgeland	Soloist
James W. Gavin	Police Helicopter Pilot
Scott Stuber	Parking Attendant
Richard Blum	Watcher
Michael DeCourcey	Cabby No. 3
Whitey Shapiro	Cop No. 6
Stefan Enriquez	Cop No. 7
Fulvio Cecere	Cop No. 8
Eric Sather	Cab Customer
Wally Gudgell	Upset Passenger
J. Mills Goodloe	Newlywed Man
Peter Sebastian Lackaff	Singer
John Lamar	Money Hungry Man
Ernie Hall	Cop No. 10
Calli Medved	Cop No. 11
Robert Sanders	Monorail Driver
Rhonda J. Osborne	Police Dispatcher
Christina Herrera	Pro Choice Woman
Cary Sanchez	Bank Receptionist
Frankie R. Jimenez Jr.	Towel Boy
Jeff King	Helicopter Pilot No. 3
David Shark	Buyer No. 4
Bob Minor	Cop No. 3
Barbara Anne Klein	Cop No. 4
Kelly Rowland	Jennifer
Anibal O. Lleras	Cabbie
Juan Manuel Lebr?n	Puerto Rican Cafe Waiter
Mark Mancina	Composer

Technical Credits

Lilly Wachowski

Brian Helgeland

Jon G. Belyeu	Special Effects
Dino De Laurentiis	Executive Producer,Producer
Richard Donner	Producer
Marion Dougherty	Casting
Bruce A. Evans	Producer,Producer
Raynold Gideon	Producer,Producer
Dick Hancock	Stunts
Andrew Lazar	Producer
Conrad Palmisano	Stunts
Lauren Shuler-Donner	Executive Producer,Producer
Joel Silver	Producer
James Van Wyck	Producer,Producer
Lilly Wachowski	Screenwriter,Screenwriter
Brian Helgeland	Screenwriter
Bruce Paul Barbour	Stunts
Rick Alexander	Sound Effects
Alexander B. Collett	Producer
Dan Cracchiolo	Producer
Chris Cobb	Special Effects
Christopher S. Aud	Sound Effects
Kevin Bartnof	Sound Effects
John Voss Bonds Jr.	Sound Effects
Julie Durk	Producer
Karyn Fields	Producer
J. Mills Goodloe	Producer
Tony Munafo	Producer
Ilyse Reutlinger	Producer
Norval D. Crutcher Jr.	Sound Editor
Petur Hliddal	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Assassins has a pretty low profile for a movie featuring so much talent. Sylvester Stallone and Antonio Banderas may not strike a viewer as A-level properties, but consider that Julianne Moore is their co-star, Richard Donner is their director, Joel Silver is their producer and Andy and Larry Wachowski are their screenwriters, in the Wachowskis' first produced screenwriting/story credit. The movie delivers surprisingly well, given its apparent status as a throwaway actioner from the mid-90s. Assassins is one of those extended games of cat and mouse, where it's a joy just seeing smart people do clever things to get the upper hand and/or survive. To their credit, Stallone and Banderas successfully sell the idea that they're smart enough to do these smart things. This is key, because it grounds an otherwise sensational plot. A surprising amount of Assassins is cerebral, with lengthy breaks between action set pieces, and plenty of time devoted to letting strategic maneuvers play themselves out. That said, the action scenes are also pretty compelling. Banderas and Stallone repeatedly come in close proximity without actually being able to eliminate the other person, as in one tete-a-tete carried out from opposite sides of the bulletproof glass inside a taxi cab. Moore holds her own as the wild card in their epic reciprocal manhunt; she's the expert on a disk of encrypted data that serves as the requisite MacGuffin. Perhaps the most surprising element of Assassins is that it runs two hours and 12 minutes, yet doesn't feel indulgent. That's simply the amount of time needed to build the story to where it's going: a tension-filled climax whose denouement is only slightly disappointing. Given how Assassins was overlooked by critics and audiences, it's amazing there isn't more there to disappoint us.