Underworld (1996)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

Roger Christian

Writer (WGA):

Larry Bishop (written by)

Release Date:

9 May 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Thriller

Tagline:

Sometimes revenge is the best therapy.

Plot:

After spending seven years behind bars, Johnny Crown is back on the street, with lots of cash, a psychotherapy...

Plot Keywords:

Massacre | Father's Day | Psychological Drama | Mass Murder | Independent Film

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Denis Leary	...	Johnny Crown / Johnny Alt
Joe Mantegna	...	Frank Gavilan / Frank Cassady / Richard Essex
Annabella Sciorra	...	Dr. Leah
Larry Bishop	...	Ned Lynch
Abe Vigoda	...	Will Cassady
Robert Costanzo	...	Stan
Traci Lords	...	Anna
Jimmie F. Skaggs	...	Smilin' Phil Fox / Todd Streeb
James Tolkan	...	Dan 'Iceberg' Eagan
Heidi Schanz	...	Joyce Alt / Simone
Cristi Conaway	...	Julianne
Angela Jones	...	Janette
Michael David Simms	...	Mitch Reed
Amy Moon	...	Ava
Marc Baur	...	Leo
Michael Benyaer	...	Vince
Tracey Mannen	...	Stripper
Claudio Masciulli	...	Bartender (as Claudio De Victor)
Nino Caratozzolo	...	Billy Dax
Darcy Laurie	...	Buster Powell
Ken Roberts	...	Wild Man Palmer
Dave 'Squatch' Ward	...	Slim Crawford
Dean Wray	...	Walt Clayton
Frank Ferrucci	...	Villa Essex Man #1
L. Harvey Gold	...	Villa Essex Man #2
Philip Granger	...	Villa Essex Man #3
Sal Sortino	...	Villa Essex Man #4
Christine Anthony	...	Showgirl #1
Thomasina Grieve	...	Showgirl #2
Diana Vlaskalic	...	Showgirl #3

Directed by
Roger Christian

Writing credits (WGA)
Larry Bishop		(written by)

Produced by
Mark Amin	....	executive producer
Abra Edelman	....	executive producer
Michael Potkins	....	line producer
Michael Strange	....	executive producer
Robert Vince	....	producer
William Vince	....	producer

Original Music by
Anthony Marinelli

Cinematography by
Steven Bernstein

Film Editing by
Robin Russell

Casting by
Abra Edelman
Elisa Goodman

Production Design by
John Ebden

Art Direction by
Doug Byggdin

Set Decoration by
Mark Lane

Costume Design by
Monique Sanchez

Makeup Department
Rita Ciccozzi	....	assistant makeup artist
Andrea Grebinsky	....	assistant makeup artist
Naomi Hirano	....	assistant hair stylist
Alison Kennedy	....	assistant hair stylist
Lisa Love	....	makeup artist
Tone Rorvik	....	assistant makeup artist
Adina Shore	....	assistant hair stylist
Andrea Simpson	....	assistant hair stylist
Donna Stocker	....	assistant makeup artist
Bill Terezakis	....	special makeup effects artist
Nicole Wise	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Michael Potkins	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Dale Anderson	....	trainee assistant director
Kelsey T. Howard	....	first assistant director
Kerry L. Hsu	....	third assistant director
Andrew M. Robinson	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Dale E. Anderson	....	set dresser (as Dale Anderson)
Santino Barile	....	property assistant
William John Baril	....	second property assistant
Tom Bonny	....	on-set dresser
Jacqueline E. Dagenais	....	assistant set decorator
David Dague	....	construction coordinator
Troy Hansen	....	property buyer
James Kilcher	....	set dresser
Don Macaulay	....	assistant art director
Ken McMillan	....	set dresser
George Neuman	....	lead set dresser
Robert Pratt	....	storyboard artist
Jim Thorburn	....	set dresser
John Vasilakos	....	set dresser
Ric Walkington	....	property master

Sound Department
Eric Batut	....	location sound mixer
Hal Beckett	....	sound editing facilities
Richard Duarte	....	foley mixer
Samuel Lehmer	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jeremy Molod	....	foley recordist
Marnie Moore	....	foley artist
Timothy R. Moshansky	....	sound assistant
John Motyer	....	boom operator (as John F. Motyer)
Margie O'Malley	....	foley artist
Debra Rurak	....	dialogue editor
Dominik Schleier	....	dubbing sound (as Dominik Kehl)
Roy Segal	....	sound mixer: final mix
Michael Semanick	....	sound re-recording mixer
Bill Sheppard	....	sound designer
Nadine Sheppard	....	sound effects recording assistant
Greg Simon	....	machine room supervisor
Kent Sparling	....	walla recordist
Daniel Sperry	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby
Issac Strozberg	....	sound effects editor
Susan Taylor	....	adr editor
Susan Taylor	....	walla editor
Kerry Uchida	....	additional sound effects editor
Carol Woodward	....	additional car sound effects
Kerry Uchida	....	sound designer: guns (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Gitte Axen	....	special effects makeup assistant
Adam Behr	....	special effects makeup
Tom Blacklock	....	special effects assistant (as T.D. Blacklock)
Robert Martin Luther Carter	....	special effects assistant (as Robert M. L. Carter)
Andrew Chamberlayne	....	special effects coordinator
Adrian Fisher	....	special effects assistant
Philip Edward Jones	....	special effects assistant
William D. Ryan	....	special effects first assistant
Rod Young	....	special effects assistant

Visual Effects by
Bob Dohrendorf	....	opticals

Stunts
Marc Akerstream	....	stunts
Scott J. Ateah	....	stunt coordinator
Rick Burgess	....	stunts
Lauro Chartrand	....	stunts
Garvin Cross	....	stunts
Victor Favrin	....	stunts
Bill Ferguson	....	stunts
George Josef	....	stunts
Terrance Leigh	....	stunts
Brad Loree	....	stunts
Paris Mileos	....	stunts
Rick Pearce	....	stunts
Rene Van Hullebush	....	stunts
Owen Walstrom	....	stunts
Bob Wilde	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Nathan Allen	....	electrician
Reed Ansari	....	grip
Sandes Ashe	....	first assistant camera
Kevin Blake	....	best boy electric
Peter Borkent	....	generator operator
David Cameron	....	key grip
Diarmuid Conway	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Drew David	....	best boy grip (as Drew Fraser David)
Ken Decker	....	electrician
Glen A. Dickson	....	grip
Todd Elyzen	....	gaffer
Derek Grieves	....	dolly grip
Kevin Hall	....	first assistant camera: "c" camera
Sean M. Harding	....	first assistant camera
John Harkin	....	electrician
Glen Hawkins	....	rigging grip
Cam Hayduk	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Kharen Hill	....	still photographer
Junichi Hosoi	....	first assistant camera: "c" camera
Kieran Humphries	....	grip
Simon Hunt	....	rigging gaffer
John-David Hutchison	....	grip
John Krol	....	generator operator
Neil Lachance	....	best boy grip
Tony Lazarowich	....	rigging grip
Mike Legree	....	rigging grip (as Michael George Legree)
Andrew McEvoy	....	camera trainee
Gregory Middleton	....	camera operator: "b" camera (as Greg Middleton)
Steve Miko	....	electrician
William Mills	....	key grip
Ryan Monro	....	dolly grip
Eric Morin	....	first assistant camera: "c" camera
Tricia Mutcher	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Rod Pridy	....	Steadicam operator
Bent Rasmussen	....	grip
Niel Rasmussen	....	grip
Christopher Reusing	....	electrician
Fabio Sartor	....	grip
Carrie Sasaratt	....	first assistant camera
John Seale Jr.	....	first assistant camera: "c" camera (as John Seale)
Paul Sigurdson	....	second assistant camera
Darren Sinclair	....	grip
Derek Soong	....	electrician
Alan A. Spence	....	electrician
Ivan Tattoli	....	grip
Gary Viola	....	camera operator: "b" camera
William Waring	....	camera operator
Michael Wiebe	....	electrician
Owen Williams	....	electrician
Attila Vaski	....	lamp operator (uncredited)
Greg Whiteside	....	video playback operator (uncredited)

Casting Department
Jessica Fraser	....	casting production assistant
Leah Mallen	....	casting assistant: Canada
Audrey Skalbania	....	casting: Canada

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Candace Cruikshank	....	on-set costume supervisor
Lise Hache	....	costumer
Jane Henry	....	costumer
Barb Nixon	....	wardrobe supervisor (as Barbara Nixon)

Editorial Department
David Armstrong	....	color timer
Bert Bush	....	negative cutter
Ryan Clarke	....	second assistant film editor
Alain Despatie	....	on-line video editor
Bryn Dix	....	color consultant
Kelly Herron	....	assistant film editor
Greg Malcolm	....	post-production picture supervisor
Kerry Uchida	....	assistant film editor
Scott Watson	....	post-production coordinator
Larry Engelmann	....	final colorist (uncredited)
Ryan Hogan	....	dailies colorist (uncredited)

Music Department
Hal Beckett	....	music consultant
Fernand Bos	....	music editor
Mark Curry	....	music mixer
Mark Curry	....	music recordist
Dean English	....	music consultant
William Ewart	....	music supervisor
Elyse Hoyt	....	music coordinator
Christopher Kennedy	....	supervising music editor
Anthony Marinelli	....	orchestrator
Kendall Marsh	....	music coordinator
Scott Reeder	....	second music recordist
Anthony Marinelli	....	musician: keyboards (uncredited)
Richard Ziegler	....	assistant music editor (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Chris J. Clayton	....	driver: special equipment
Ben Derrick	....	driver: honeywagon
Darrell Fundytus	....	driver: special equipment
David Halliday	....	transportation captain
Wade ter Heide	....	picture car wrangler
Rod McDonald	....	driver: cast
Rolly Montrose	....	transportation coordinator (as Roland Frank Montrose)
Laurie Morris	....	driver: cast
William Park	....	driver: cast
Rico Rogers	....	crew driver (as Grant 'Rico' Rogers)
Douglas Wallace	....	driver: cast
Douglas Wallace	....	transportation co-captain
John O'Toole	....	driver (uncredited)
Duane Shearer	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Kathy Archer Buck	....	controller (as Kathleen F. Archer-Buck)
Helena Bartuccio	....	location production assistant
Mark Benoit	....	backgrounds editor (as Marc Benoit)
Darren Cissell	....	office production assistant
Alison Craddock	....	accounting clerk
Emily Davidson	....	craft service
Deborah Dimitroff	....	location production assistant
Jeff Farrington	....	location production assistant
Heather Feeney	....	stand-in
James Fonnyadt	....	dailies synching
Michael Gazetas	....	assistant location manager
Gloria Gibb	....	assistant production accountant
Patrick Thomas Gorman	....	location production assistant (as Patrick T. Gorman)
Meg Griffiths	....	location production assistant
Lia Sunshine Harned	....	location production assistant
Raul Inglis	....	story editor
Judy Mah	....	title designer
Louisa Main	....	production coordinator
Leah Mallen	....	publicity assistant
Caroline Matthews	....	stand-in (as Carolyn Mathews)
Dayna Michaels	....	assistant: Mr. Robert Vince
Shevaune Monro	....	location production assistant
Cheryl Moujabber	....	assistant: Mr. Leary
John Pantages	....	walla group
Ritch Renaud	....	location manager
Ben Rhames	....	location production assistant
Kyle Riefsnyder	....	stand-in
Charles Hart Rivard	....	post-production accountant (as Charles Rivard)
Jon Robertson	....	film transfer
Gail H. Schacht	....	business affairs (as Gail Schacht)
Holly Schultz	....	craft service assistant
Audrey Skalbania	....	unit publicist
Christina Toy	....	assistant: Mr. William Vince
Grant Vetters	....	assistant production coordinator (as Grant W. Vetters)
Anne Vince	....	development
Kimi Webber	....	script supervisor
Darcy Wild	....	assistant location manager (as Darcy Scott Wild)
Jonathan Winton	....	stand-in
Steven Zeller	....	unit publicist

Production Companies

• Trimark Pictures
• Keystone Pictures
• Underworld Films

Distributors

• Trimark Pictures (1996) (USA) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (199?) (Argentina) (VHS)
• H.O.M. Vision (1999) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Laurus Entertainment (1997) (Netherlands) (VHS) (rental)
• Three Lines Pictures (1997) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Trimark Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Video Film Express (1999) (Netherlands) (VHS) (retail)
• Vidmark Entertainment (1998) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Saul Zaentz Film Center  sound re-recording
• Western Post Productions  picture editing
• Western Post Productions  sound editing services

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive strong language and violence, and for sexuality.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Alphacine)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 | Argentina:13 | UK:18 (video premiere) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Trimark Pictures

Quotes:

Johnny Crown: The aim of all living things is eventually to kiss the dust.

A Gem

This film is really the close cousin of another film called "Trigger Happy" with Richard Dreyfuss, anyway, this film is set in the same Other Universe, one where there are no police and no rules. Johnny Crown (Leary) is out to get the people who turned his father into a vegatable and all hands point to the mysterious Frank Gavilan.

Some have said that this is a Tarantino or John Woo wannabe, no way! The writing by Larry Bishop is frequently hilarious (he also wrote Trigger Happy), he keeps the action moving, from Leary's endless one-liners to the idea that the man who put a bullet in his fathers head might be just too close to home.

Cool moments in the film include Ned (who killed Ed) going back to his roots, this means getting rid of everything, including money, jewels, car and Traci Lords, the hitmen shooting up the bar for something to do and that sandwich!

It came out in the wake of Pulp Fiction, but other crime movies came out then too, good ones at that: Trigger Happy, City Of Industry, Albino Alligator etc.

Underworld might be obscure, I own the video, but I'll never trade it in until I get the DVD (unavailable in the UK), that's how good this film is. Absolute gem. 10/10