City of Industry (1997)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

John Irvin

Writer (WGA):

Ken Solarz (written by)

Release Date:

14 May 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Wanting a man dead can be reason enough to live.

Plot:

A retired thief swears revenge on the lunatic who murdered his brother and partner, while going on the run with the loot they stole.

Plot Keywords:

Revenge | Heist | Los Angeles California | Neo Noir | Female Nudity

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Harvey Keitel	...	Roy Egan
Stephen Dorff	...	Skip Kovich
Timothy Hutton	...	Lee Egan
Famke Janssen	...	Rachel Montana
Wade Dominguez	...	Jorge Montana
Michael Jai White	...	Odell Williams
Lucy Liu	...	Cathi Rose (as Lucy Alexis Liu)
Reno Wilson	...	Keshaun Brown
Dana Barron	...	Gena
Tamara Clatterbuck	...	Sunny
Brian Brophy	...	Backus
François Chau	...	Uncle Luke
Flex Alexander	...	A Roc (as Flex)
Brian Shen	...	Pai-Gow Dealer
Ai Wan	...	Gwen

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Netherlands:16 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-16 (video premiere) | Germany:16 | Portugal:M/16 (video premiere) | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:R | France:-12

Filming Locations:

Angelino Heights, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Largo Entertainment

Trivia:

The line, "I'm my own police," spoken by Roy, is taken directly from _This Gun For Hire (1942)_.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Port Arthur, TX, is an inland swamp city. There are no white sandy beaches with 30' cliffs, and none of the thick-bladed grass found on California beaches, as shown in the final scene. It doesn't even face the Gulf of Mexico, so there's not even any surf. Just a shallow muddy lake.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003)

Soundtrack:

BOLERO DE SALON

A Great Guy's Flick

In my book, this is one of the overlooked action classics of the 1990's. With solid production values and a top notch cast, and set against a sunny and seedy Los Angeles backdrop, this fast-paced story of desperate criminals driven by greed and revenge is the perfect vehicle for "Guy's Movie Night."

Harvey Keitel is at his best as Roy Egan, the hardened career criminal bent on avenging a double-cross by former partner-in-crime, Skip Kovich (played by Stephen Dorff, in his best performance ever). Also along for the ride are Timothy Hutton, the late Wade Dominguez ("Dangerous Minds"), and a very sexy Famke Janssen. As if this weren't enough, this movie is notable for providing the only film nude scenes of Lucy Liu (a brief role as Dorff's stripper ex-girlfriend), and Dana Barron (Audry Griswold in the original "Vacation").

Despite its occasional plot holes, this film gets better with repeated viewings. And for fans of what my Manly Man Movie Night associates have deemed "Keiteling" (the mandatory Harvey Keitel emotional and physical meltdown, e.g. the church scene in "Bad Lieutenant") it doesn't get any better than this. However, the film is quite violent, and I have not met many women who like it. Still, "City of Industry" belongs in the collection of any fan of revenge-based action thrillers.