Death and the Compass (1992)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Alex Cox

Writers:

Jorge Luis Borges (story)
Alex Cox (writer)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

In a nightmare city inhabited only by criminals and police... a mystic detective finds a tool to catch a villainous outlaw.

Plot Keywords:

Ritual Murder | Flashback Sequence | Based On Short Story | Police Corruption | Foreign Language Adaptation

Cast

Peter Boyle	...	Erik Lonnrot
Miguel Sandoval	...	Treviranus
Christopher Eccleston	...	Alonso Zunz
Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez	...	Ms.Espinoza / Harlequin
Pedro Armendáriz Jr.	...	Blot
Alonso Echánove	...	Novalis
Eduardo López Rojas	...	Finnegan
Alex Cox	...	Commander Borges
Karl Braun	...	Sergeant
Gabriela Gurrola	...	Hooker / Harlequin
Ariane Pellicer	...	Natasha
Mario Iván Martínez	...	Hotel Manager
René Pereyra	...	Azevedo
Roberto Sosa	...	Drug Addict I
Bruno Bichir	...	Drug Addict II

Also Known As:

La muerte y la brújula (Mexico)

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA | Mexico | Japan

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

UK:15

Filming Locations:

Estudios Churubusco Azteca, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

Company:

Estudios Churubusco Azteca S.A.

Quotes:

Lonnrot: Let's just say I'm looking for a more rabbinical explanation.

Movie Connections:

Version of Spiderweb (1975)

bizarre and wonderful

After seeing "Repo Man" & "Sid and Nancy", I think a lot of people thought very highly of Alex Cox, and then when "Straight to Hell" came out, well, a lot of people, including myself, I think sort of wrote him off. Having seen some of his later films recently, I wasn't so sure that writing him off wasn't that bad of an idea, because I certainly didn't care a lot for "Revenger's Tragedy", but then I saw this and though, now THIS is an awesome film. If you're one of those people to whom everything must make perfect sense though, don't even bother, really, because you won't care for this. In some ways this is reminiscent of "Brazil", because it takes place in the future but everything looks rather "1940's", and also because it takes place in a seemingly totalitarian society. Seems like there's almost no one in this city except police and crooks too. I love the sets, especially the ones with futuristic buildings which clash greatly with what you see in the foreground. Peter Boyle plays a rather strange detective, one who is apparently revered by most, but it also seems that he's somewhat of a charlatan. There have been a series of murders in this town that supposedly have something to do with "the name of god" and perhaps therefore there's some kind of ritualistic cult at work, but actually there's something far more sinister going on. And perhaps Boyle is the target. This is a bizarre & wonderful flick with great music by "Pray for Rain", and I'd recommend to anyone who wrote Alex Cox off years ago, it may change your mind. 8 out of 10.