The Fugitive
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Movie Reviews of The Fugitive
Movie Review: THE WRONG MAN THEME WITH A HUGE TRAIN WRECK / DAM DIVE & AND A LOT OF SUSPENSE!!
Summary: 5 Stars
IN A NUTSHELL: THINK "NORTH BY NORTHWEST" AT LIGHT-SPEED & YOU'VE GOT "THE FUGITIVE"
"North by Northwest" featured Cary Grant who had been a huge star, especially at the box-office, a lot like Harrison Ford, the star of "The Fugitive." Instead of the bi-plane that flies into and causes the gas tanker to explode with Cary Grant racing from the scene, we've got the mother of all train wrecks which Harrison Ford literally leaps from a nanosecond prior to impact!
----- AND WE'VE GOT THE WRONG MAN! -----
BUT THERE'S MORE -- A LOT MORE TO "THE FUGITIVE":
Richard Kimble did not kill his wife. We knew that when we entered the theatre because we had all heard of the TV series by that name and some of us even saw the hourly mystery program when it ran in the 1960s. We knew about the one-armed man, the conviction of Dr. Kimble, and his quest to prove that a one-armed man had committed the horrific deed.
NEVERTHELESS - "THE FUGITIVE" DELIVERS SURPRISES - SUSPENSE & RESOLUTION!
Somehow this very seemingly very tired theme came alive and caught my attention very early. Although I found the opening sequence a bit lurid and disturbing, it was captivating nevertheless. With an obvious sense of pacing, the trial of Dr. Richard Kimble was as rapid [on-screen] as a disclosure of the basic facts of Mrs. Kimble's murder allowed.
From Kimble's conviction, we are jettisoned to the biggest and most visceral TRAIN WRECK sequence I have ever seen on film. More importantly, it established sympathy for Kimble as he not only barely escaped death, but he saved one of the guards in the process. This incredible action sequence led directly to the introduction of Tommy Lee Jones as Deputy Marshall Sam Gerard and the unbelievable chase scenes that followed.
The action sequences and suspense are so genuine that even the mundane scenes, like when Kimble was going through the one-armed man's private papers, were intense. No matter how many times I watch this film, I am amazed by how enthralled I am with the action and characters, despite knowing the complete storyline. I dare say that even the Master of Suspense himself couldn't have done better!
----- THE ACTORS -
Harrison Ford - Dr. Richard Kimble
Tommy Lee Jones - Deputy US Marshal Samuel Gerard
Sela Ward - Helen Kimble
Joe Pantoliano - Cosmo Renfro
Jeroen Krabbe - Dr. Charles Nichols
Julianne Moore - Dr. Anne Eastman
Andreas Katsulas - Sykes "One Armed Man"
ABOUT THE DVD: SPECIAL EDITION - WIDESCREEN - DIGITAL TRANSFER
Digital transfer in Widescreen. So much better than the original Video from 1993 and the original DVD from 1997!
DVD Features:
I must really like this film, because I zipped through every one of the excellent special features and really found myself wanting for more.
Commentary by: Director Andrew Davis & Tommy Lee Jones
New Digital Transfer
New Introduction by the Film's Stars & Director
Two Featurettes:
----- Derailed: Anatomy of a Train Wreck
----- On the Run
----- Awards List + Bios for the major actors
Movie Review: A Great Thriller for your DVD Collection!
Summary: 5 Stars
There is a kind of magic when a superb cast, a truly gifted director, and a literate script with equal parts 'over-the-top' action, riveting suspense, and rich characterization, come together. The end result attains a luster that only grows through the years, as new audiences, through DVD and VHS, experience the same excitement we felt, viewing it on a theater screen. In the last decade, only a handful of suspense films could be called 'great'...and on top of the list is THE FUGITIVE.Based on the popular David Janssen TV series, the film faithfully follows the same premise; a doctor is convicted of his wife's death, but escapes before his execution, and tracks down the 'one-armed man' responsible for the murder, as a driven law officer attempts to recapture him. Being a big-budget film, however, the scale of everything is expanded...Dr. Richard Kimble is now a brilliant vascular surgeon, at a major Chicago hospital; the handicapped killer is a dirty ex-cop working on orders from crooked board members of a billion-dollar pharmaceutical firm; and the lawman is no longer a solitary police lieutenant, but a deputy United States Marshal, and his team of agents! While some fans of the original series complained that the 'intimacy' the series had was lost, director Andrew Davis only used the 'bigger' aspects as plot elements, placing the focus, wisely, on the dual stories of Kimble's search, and Gerard's pursuit.
Despite the esteem the film has achieved over the years, Harrison Ford has gotten a bad rap for his very understated performance as Richard Kimble. While Tommy Lee Jones certainly had a far flashier role (earning him an Oscar as 'Best Supporting Actor'), Ford's intent wasn't to play 'Indiana Jones', but a man whose whole life was dedicated to his career as a surgeon, and his wife (played, in flashbacks, by the lovely Sela Ward). Seeing his wife brutally murdered devastated him (his scene in the police interrogation room, going to pieces, was largely improvised on the set, and displays some of his finest acting). His search for the killer was not the confident quest of an action hero, but based on uncertain, spur-of-the-moment decisions made by a desperate man, whose medical background was his only tool. Fear does not lend itself to flashy theatrics...
Jones, as Marshal Sam Gerard, on the other hand, was a seasoned veteran, the best at what he did, and pursuing a fugitive was 'old hat' for him. With a confidence bordering on arrogance, he ordered people about like chess pieces, multi-tasked without breaking a sweat, and still could charm with a wicked smile and sarcastic remark. Of COURSE he wins the audience's heart!
Featuring some of the most spectacular action scenes ever recorded on film (the train/bus wreck that frees Kimble, the dive off a dam into the churning maelstrom of the reservoir), as well as two slam-bang fistfights when Kimble finally gets 'justice', THE FUGITIVE still is remembered primarily for the suspenseful Jones/Ford 'cat-and-mouse' chase, cross-country, and the grudging respect that grows between them...which, ultimately, was what the TV series was best remembered for, as well.
There is magic, here!
Movie Review: In search of the one-armed man......
Summary: 5 Stars
The Fugitive, director Andrew Davis' (Under Siege) feature film adaptation of the classic 1960s television series, was one of 1993's biggest hits, thanks to the talents of Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones, who earned a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as U.S. Marshal Sam Gerard.Ford plays Chicago surgeon Dr. Richard Kimble (the late David Jansen's TV role), whose life is turned upside down when he is falsely accused of murdering his wife Helen (the luminous Sela Ward). Taken to the Area Six police station, he undergoes the standard investigative process but can't convince the skeptical detectived that a one-armed intruder is the killer. Arrrested, convicted and sentenced to death, Kimble is given a sudden and unexpected reprieve when a failed escape attempt causes the prison bus he's aboard to run off the road and land on a railroad track -- and in the path of an oncoming train. Kimble escapes, but not before saving an injured corrections officer from certain death.
When Gerard and his team of deputies arrive at the crash scene, the other surviving corrections officer, in an attempt to cover up his incompetence and to take credit for saving his wounded colleague's life, at first claims all the passengers on board the bus were killed, but when sets of leg irons "without legs in 'em" are found, Gerard deduces that Kimble has survived and become a fugitive from the law.
The Fugitive compresses several seasons of Roy Huggins' suspense/morality play TV series, following Kimble's attempts to solve the mystery of the one-armed man while simultaneously evading Gerard's dogged pursuit. Along the way, however, Ford's version of Kimble follows in his television counterpart's footsteps as he changes his appearance and name to keep out of his pursuer's sight. Yet, even as he risks life and liberty in his own investigation into who and why Helen was murdered, Kimble is true to his kind nature and his oath as a medical doctor, saving several people even at the risk of being discovered. And as the good doctor closes in on the one-armed man, Gerard gets closer and closer to Kimble as the movie nears its revealing conclusion.
Davis and screenwriters Jeb Stuart and David Twohy tweak with the television series a bit, telling the entire story in a briskly paced 130-minute-long film, making Gerard a U.S. Marshal instead of a local police lieutenant. Yet, despite the focus on action and the added conspiracy motive behind Helen Kimble's murder, The Fugitive stays true to the spirit of the TV show. Like David Jansen, Ford is an actor most audiences genuinely like and love to cheer for, and Kimble's predicament and preserverance suit him well in this movie. Jones, too, gives his Gerard both a steely determination to fulfill his mission and a mixture of humor and compassion that surfaces at unexpected moments.
The 2001 Special Edition DVD presents The Fugitive in its original widescreen format. Its extra features include interactive menus, commentary by director Davis and Tommy Lee Jones, two documentaries, a theatrical trailer, and subtitles/language tracks in English and French.
Movie Review: Ford hits another home run
Summary: 5 Stars
Ditto what that other reviewer said: this is another great Harrison Ford vehicle. They really DON'T make movies like this any more. It needs not typical DVD additions, not cut scenes, not trailers, or interviews.Back in the day, Wednesday morning school was dominated by the discussion of the latest episode of "The Fuge" from the night before. This is the only film I can think of which actually did justice to the classic television show from which it sprang.
Tommy Lee Jones is a fantastic U.S. Marshal Sam Gerard. He appears not to be obsessed with the capture of Dr. Kimble (as was his television predecessor, portrayed by Barry Morse). Nonetheless, we get the feeling that he brings the same determination to every case he has. Ford once again is the "everyman" (if a doctor who gets sent to prison for killing his wife and then escapes can be thought of in those terms) who prevails through all manner of adversities. [As an aside, I wonder how well Ford could stretch himself - could he ever be convincing as a real bad guy, like a John Malkovich or Anthony Hopkins?]
This movie has a lot of pluses. It is a great story, updated from one of the sixties' best shows. Sure, there were great stunts. The bus crash/train wreck was stunning (made even more so by seeing Ford almost comically hobbling along, trying to outrun the carnage while wearing leg shackles).
However, it is the competition between the two dogged adversaries Jones and Ford that makes this work. They are one real pair of incredibly strong personalities- (and screen presences) Nothing better than the sequence in the dam early on with Ford protesting his innocence and Jones equally sincere reply "I don't care". Both smart, even though Jones hides his behind a gruff and self-deprecating exterior. The good and decent Doc must be determined (after all, it is his can on the line), but seeing him persevere - hiding his own persona in a hospital, evading the police while tracking down the one armed man is intense, even though we know the outcome.
Great editing; especially when we think the Marshals are getting close to the big bust, and we find out that they are actually making a collar across town.
This one is a winner.
Movie Review: Fugitive is Dr. Richard Kimball: Go get this movie.
Summary: 5 Stars
If I were stranded on a desert island and all I could have was my abysmally sparse movie collection, I would make sure "The Fugitive" was in it. Thankfully, it is. This is one of the most entertaining and engaging movies ever, far superior to a lot of movies playing these days. For the few of you who don't know the plot, I'll run it past you without spoiling much...The story revolves around a Chicago surgeon named Dr. Richard Kimball (Harrison Ford) who is convicted of murdering his wife (Sela Ward). He pleads innocent, claiming that a one-armed man committed the heinous crime (the opening sequence, showing the murder in flashback style, is chillingly realistic). Well, no one believes the good doctor's alibi, and he is sentenced to death. However, after his prison bus crashes into a train, he escapes back to Chicago to find the murderer, while keeping away from US Marshal Sam Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones) and his team of deputies.
Having never seen the old TV series, this movie was nevertheless fantastic. The thrills just keep coming, as well as the tongue-in-cheek humor, courtesy of Tommy Lee Jones and Joe Pantoliano (as Cosmo, Sam's deputy), who really steal the show in a lot of scenes. The screenplay is obviously very sharp. The train-and-bus wreck will take your breath away, as will the waterfall sequence. Aside from these action scenes, it's great that this movie is shot in Chicago, one of the greatest cities in North America. Sorry, personal bias, I loved Chicago when I visited a couple years back. The acting is very well done, and the characters are very three-dimensional. Sometimes it feels like you're watching a modern "Les Miserables". Nice transition from action thriller to action-mystery as the film enters its second half. If you follow the plot, which is fairly easy to keep up with, the ending will shock you. All in all, "The Fugitive" is definitely worth the bang for your hard-earned buck. If you haven't seen this wonderful piece of movie-making, do so ASAP.
Quality-wise, the DVD is pretty good. Director Andrew Davis does a cool little documentary on how the train wreck was filmed.
MOVIE-10/10
DVD EXTRAS-8/10