A Perfect Murder (1998)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Andrew Davis

Writers (WGA):

Frederick Knott (play)
Patrick Smith Kelly (screenplay)

Release Date:

5 June 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

A powerful husband. An unfaithful wife. A jealous lover. All of them have a motive. Each of them has a plan.

Plot:

A remake of the Hitchcock classic dial "M" for murder

Plot Keywords:

Artist | Murder | Love | United Nations | Painter

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Michael Douglas	...	Steven Taylor
Gwyneth Paltrow	...	Emily Bradford Taylor
Viggo Mortensen	...	David Shaw
David Suchet	...	Mohamed Karaman
Sarita Choudhury	...	Raquel Martinez
Michael P. Moran	...	Bobby Fain
Novella Nelson	...	Ambassador Alice Wills
Constance Towers	...	Sandra Bradford
Will Lyman	...	Jason Gates
Maeve McGuire	...	Ann Gates
Stephen Singer	...	Effete Man at Met
Laurinda Barrett	...	Met Woman #1
Aideen O'Kelly	...	Met Woman #2
Reed Birney	...	Merchant Prince #1
Vincent Smith	...	Merchant Prince #2 (as Robert Vincent Smith)

Also Known As:

Dial M for Murder (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, sexuality and language.

Runtime:

107 min | USA:108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Iceland:16 | Philippines:PG-13 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Italy:T | Mexico:B | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

New Jersey, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

To calm her and create a certain atmosphere of intimacy before filming the lovemaking scenes, Viggo Mortensen sang a couple of love songs to Gwyneth Paltrow that he learned in Argentina when he was young. In an interview he said, "I don't know if that ended up scaring her instead."

Goofs:

Continuity: When David takes out the shoe box with the money in it it has a rubber band around it. It did NOT have a rubber band around the box when Steven had it in the bag.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Steven: There you are. And how was your day? Any progress in saving the world?
Emily: I'm working on it.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

Velvet Night

A passable remake of Hicthcock's ‘Dial M for Murder'

A Perfect Murder ( a loose remake of ‘Dial M for Murder ) is a

stylish thriller in its own right ,but doesn't come close to the

original. As I remember and not to give away any of the plot, ‘Dial

‘M' is all about the key. Where it is hidden, Who knew it was there,

and who finds it. This plot line is gripping, but in ‘Perfect Murder'

this whole part of the story has been overlooked. Having said that

the film still works quite well, thanks to Michael Douglas. He really

is superb. Gwyneth Palthrow looks stunning, but David Suchet is

wasted as the detective. But where the film really falls down is the

ending. In the original the last scenes are gripping in the hunt for

the key, but for some reason director Andrew Davis sees fit to end

with the standard formula of a shoot out. Having said that the film

is still worth seeing, but if you need to watch this story, I

recommend the original.