Primary Colors
by Mike Nichols
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Billy Bob Thornton, Emma Thompson, John Travolta, Kathy Bates, Larry HagmanDirector: Mike Nichols
Brand: Universal
Producer: Mike Nichols
Producer: Jonathan D. Krane
Producer: Michael Haley
Producer: Michele Imperato
Producer: Neil A. Machlis
Writer: Elaine May
Writer: Joe Klein
DVD: 2 Layers, Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled)
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 2.35:1
Running Time: 143 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1998-09-09
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Universal Studios
Movie Reviews of Primary Colors
Movie Review: A Lasting Surprise
Summary: 5 Stars
Jazz De Cou
Le V?sinet, France
When "Primary Colors" first came out I initially had no intention of seeing it, despite my
interest in the subject because I had classified John Travolta as a non-actor. But a friend
who had seen the film and was disturbed by it, asked if I thought the film reflected reali-
ties. The question disturbed me because I could not imagine why he asked it. So I went
to the film, expecting a turkey. I thought the casting director must have been a very close
friend of the actors chosen.
Well, not too many seconds after the film began, my pulse began to flutter. This was just not
a film like any others I had ever seen. The film made real for me all sorts of facts that had simply
been abstractions when I encountered them in textbooks or was exposed to them in
the media. I was watching reality like a voyeur looking through a keyhole. I felt some embarrassment,
but I continued watching. I was hypnotized.
Now, how then did I react to John Travolta? Well, I was aghast with astonishment! What an extraordinary
performance! I honestly cannot imagine how anyone could have played the part better.
I haven't made a list lately of my all-time favorite films lately, but when I do "Primary Colors"
will among those at the very near the top.
Jazz De Cou
Summary of Primary Colors
Jack stanton a virtually unknown southern governor on a hilarious heart-wrenching roller coaster ride to the presidency. Its a savagely funny satire that ultimately leads to the white house with plenty of shocking surprises along the way. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 12/28/2004 Starring: John Travolta Emma Thompson Run time: 104 minutes Rating: R Director: Mike NicholsBased on the novel by Anonymous (a.k.a. political reporter Joe Klein) and released when the Monica Lewinsky scandal was in full swing, Primary Colors may have been a case of too much, too soon for many moviegoers, who preferred the real-life Clinton crisis over the movie's thinly disguised "Clintonesque" comedy. The general public felt that the film was exploiting the president's indiscretions, and as a result one of the most critically acclaimed movies of 1998 was a box-office disappointment. But when considered apart from the Clinton scandals and judged on its own considerable merits, this superb comedy-drama provides an illuminating, insightful, and frequently hilarious look at the harsh realities of presidential politics. John Travolta stars as Jack Stanton, a presidential hopeful whose campaign is challenged by dual dilemmas: how to squelch a scandal involving the candidate's alleged sex with an underage girl, and how to handle information that could potentially ruin Stanton's opponent (superbly played by Larry Hagman). Stanton's wife (Emma Thompson) stands by her man despite awareness of his infidelities, but his loyal campaign planners (played by Billy Bob Thornton, Maura Tierney, and promising newcomer Adrian Lester) experience a crisis of conscience. So does one of the Stantons' oldest friends (Kathy Bates, in an Oscar-nominated role), whose sense of betrayal and lost idealism proves too much to bear. Masterfully adapted by director Mike Nichols and his former-comedy-partner-turned-screenwriter, Elaine May, Primary Colors plays like a sophisticated comedy with loads of memorable scenes and dialogue, but it sneaks up on you with devastating dramatic impact. Anchored by Travolta's superb performance (which is reminiscent of Clinton without being a cheap impersonation), the movie presents a story of great moral complexity and leaves viewers to contemplate their own reactions to the volatile and ethically complicated game of modern politics. --Jeff Shannon
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