(China Moon [de])
USA 1992
d: John Bailey
Columbia Tristar Home Video (Region 0 de)
sc: Roy Carlson
c: Willy Kurant (DeLuxe Color, Panavision)
e: Carol Littleton, Jill Savitt
pd: Conrad E. Angone
m: George Fenton
p: Barrie M. Osborne (Tig Productions)
w: Ed Harris, Madeleine Stowe, Charles Dance, Patricia Healy, Benicio Del Toro, Tim Powell, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Larry Shuler, Rob Edward Morris, Paul Darby, Theresa Bean, Allen Prince, Sam Myers, Anson Funderburgh, Matt McCabe
pr: 04 Mär 1994
rt: 95:23 (+4%PAL= 99) min
dvd-rl: 05 Jun 2001
ar: 2.35:1 (16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen)
sd: English Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround • French Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround • German Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround • Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo • Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
st: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish, Turkish
supp: • "Behind-The-Scenes" featurette (5:09 min)
• Theatrical trailer (1:30 min)
• 5 TV Spots (2:15 min)
• Cast & crew filmographies
• Bonus trailers for: "Anatomy Of A Murder" (4:48 min), "Suspect" (1:36 min) and "Blue Sky" (2:02 min)
Directed by cinematographer John Bailey, and produced by Kevin Costner's TIG company, this neo-noir thriller set in Florida is classier than most UK video premieres, but hardly anything to write home about. The set-up's familiar from "Double Indemnity" and a thousand-and-one other movies: the wife of an abusive millionaire seduces a cop (Harris), and the next thing he knows he's dumping Mr Money's bullet-ridden body in a remote, moonlit lake and watching his whole life go under. The denouement at least produces a novel twist, which it would be churlish to discuss, though that lake would probably be easier to swallow. It's diverting enough, however, with strong performances all round, and it's interesting to see the divine Benicio Del Toro (Fenster in "The Usual Suspects") in another role, as Harris's partner. No, he doesn't use that voice.
— TCh, Time Out Film Guide
•••••
CHINA MOON's screenplay (by Roy Carlson, whose credits include the quirky cable thriller THE WRONG MAN, 1993) will deceive no-one familiar with the protocols of noir thrillers, but the movie has several things to recommend it. Cinematographer-turned-director John Bailey (his credits range from THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST and THE BIG CHILL to IN THE LINE OF FIRE) doesn't miss a facet of the noir look: the rain-slicked streets, gloomy little rooms, and garish, sleazy bars all glow darkly with romantic menace. We've seen it all before, but it's always a pleasure to see it done well again. Ed Harris gives Bodine more depth and complexity than one has any right to expect, and Madeleine Stowe is a slender needle of a femme fatale, so secretly wicked that she seems peeled right down to the bone. The sex is steamy, and if the story contains few surprises, it moves along nicely and never fails to linger on the sort of details--what happens to a bullet when you fire it into a sand dune, for example, or the effect of a household humidifier on fingerprints--that can make the sordid world of crime seem like an enticing game of wits.
— TV MovieGuide
