Domino (2005) - T. Scott's bounty-hunter biopic a complete misfire, mega-flop

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+ Worst Poster of the Year  

Keira Knightley, now obviously a shotgun-toting action heroine, on one of the lazily done and very uninspiring posters for Tony Scott's Domino

QUICK REVIEW:

A cool team of bounty hunters somehow become a reality TV series, but then get mixed up with a Vegas billionaire and a mob boss, SPOILER and everyone dies.

Domino is based on real-life model turned bounty hunter Domino Harvey, but how much of what happens in the film has any connection to reality is unclear. Unfortunately, by the end of the fatiguing, dull film, I didn't care at all.
Because what is Tony Scott's (The Hunger (1983)) Domino, written by Richard Kelly (Donnie Darko (2001))? - An action movie? Nah... - A heist movie? Not really... - A thriller? Far from it... The film is like a failed mix of all these things.
Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler (2008)) spits out his lines in the film, so that they glimmer of coolness, and the story does take some fun detours, like the bit about The First Ladies and Ian Ziering and Brian Austin Green (Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990-00), both) playing themselves.
But mostly, Scott's 127 minutes long Domino is a stressful, flashing, music-video-like creation, sure to be counted among the late, English master filmmaker's worst.

Related review:
Tony Scott:  Stoker (2013) - Chan-wook Park's over-styled American debut revolts and bores in turns (producer) 

Déjà Vu (2006) - T. Scott cuts a helluva suspense-cake!

2005 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

Watch the horrible trailer for the film here

Cost: 50 mil. $
Box office: 22.9 mil. $
= Mega-flop
[Fox, who had a refusal deal with Scott, must count themselves lucky that they decided to forgo any involvement in Domino. The real Domino was paid a huge sum for the rights to her story, but as a drug addict, this obviously backfired: Before the film opened, she died from a drug overdose.  Scott has said that the film is among his favorites of his own. He also committed suicide, 7 years after the release, in 2012. Domino's release was delayed several times, and the film eventually opened to bad reviews and a dismal 4.6 mil. $ opening weekend in North America, where it only played for 4 weeks, grossing 10.1 mil. $ (44 % of the total gross).]

What do you think of Domino?

Bullitt (1968) - Yates and McQueen's iconic urban cop thriller

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A gun and turtleneck wearing star Steve McQueen oversees some speeding car action on this ultra-cool poster for Peter Yates' Bullitt

When the mob witness, who San Francisco detective Frank Bullitt is assigned to protect, gets killed, Bullitt is pressured from above. But soon he finds out that the deceased witness wasn't who he appeared to be.

 
Bullitt is written by Harry Kleiner (Cry Tough (1959)) and Alan Trustman (Lady Ice (1973)), adapting Mute Witness (1963) by Robert L. Fish (Always Kill a Stranger (1967)), and directed by Peter Yates (Summer Holiday (1963)).

It is a subtle cop thriller/car movie, mostly because Steve McQueen (The Great Escape (1963)) says very little in the title role.
Argentinian Lalo Schifrin (Mission: Impossible (1996)) made a characteristic, jazzy score, and the film has a car chase scene through San Francisco that is deservedly remembered and hailed as one of the best (and first long, city-spanning car chase scenes) in film history. Bullitt is chased and then chases the bad guys around in his '68 Ford Mustang GT.

There's lots of the highly cinematic Bay area in the film, which ends in the San Francisco Airport. Bullitt encompasses the bright, happening San Francisco that was, not the city that is decaying in human travesty today.
Some scenes of Bullitt appear almost hypnotizing, being so downplayed, - perhaps something to do with Yates' British heritage, - but for my money, I think the film was topped by Clint Eastwood and Don Siegel with the very similar Dirty Harry (1971) just three years later, which somehow feels a lot more like an American movie to me.

 

Related posts:

 

Peter Yates: Top 10: Best cop movies reviewed by Film Excess to date 

Top 10: Best car chases in movies reviewed by Film Excess to date

 

Watch the original trailer here

Cost: 4 mil. $
Box office; 42.3 mil. $ (North America only)
= Mega-hit (returned at least 10.57 times its cost)

[Bullitt was released 17 October (North America) and runs 113 minutes. McQueen was paid 1 mil. for his performance in the film. Shooting took place from February - May 1968 in California, including in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and in Chicago, Illinois. The film grossed 19 mil. $ in 1968, becoming the year's 4th highest grossing, with a reported 42.5 mil. $ domestic total gross. It is impossible to guess its total world gross, but it may well have crossed 60 mil. $. The film was nominated for 2 Oscars, winning for Best Editing. It lost Best Sound to Oliver!. It was also nominated for 5 BAFTAs. Roger Ebert gave it a 4/4 star review, translating to 2 notches over this one. Yates returned with Koroshi (1968, TV movie) and theatrically with Jack and Mary (1969). McQueen returned with The Reivers (1969). Bullitt is certified fresh at 98 % with a 7.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Bullitt?

Airport (1970) - A genre is born

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An original poster for George Seaton's event picture Airport, which flashes its starry cast and for some reason repeats its title 8 times

Chicago Airport: A blizzard, too few landing strips and snow plows, a man with a mysterious attaché briefcase, impending divorce and a stowaway passenger. 

 

These are just some of the obstacles presented in Airport, the film that's called the first disaster movie ever, defining genre conventions for countless disaster movies to follow by combining small-scale melodrama with big-scale disaster aspects. It is written and directed by George Seaton (Diamond Horseshoe (1945)), adapting the same-titled 1968 novel by Arthur Hailey (Overload (1979)). Henry Hathaway (Nob Hill (1945)) directed some winter outdoor scenes.
The film is entertaining and worth watching particularly for its stars; the glorious Jean Seberg (À Bout de Souffle/Breathless (1960)), Dean Martin (Rio Bravo (1959)) as a veteran sky captain who might finally choose love over individual freedom, and Burt Lancaster (From Here to Eternity (1953)), who made millions off the flick but still disparaged it gloriously in public, calling it "the worst piece of junk ever made."
The start of Airport is a bit cardboardy, as characters and their wives and girlfriends are introduced, but later on it gets quite exciting, and the film still works perfectly as a lazy afternoon watch.

 

Watch a trailer for the movie here

Cost: 10.2 mil. $
Box office: 128.4 mil. $
= Blockbuster (returned 12.58 times its cost)

[Airport was released 5 March (North America) and runs 137 minutes. Through profit participation deals, Martin was paid 7 mil. $ for his performance; Lancaster 5 mil. $. Shooting took place from January - June 1969 in Minneapolis, Minnesota and in California. The film grossed 100.4 mil. $ (78.2 % of the total gross) in North America. It was nominated for 10 Oscars, winning one: Best Supporting Actress (Helen Hayes (Ah, Wilderness! (1959, TV movie)). It lost another Supporting Actress nomination (Maureen Stapleton (Passed Away (1992)), Art/Set Decoration to Patton, Cinematography (Ernest Laszlo (The Last Sunset (1961))) to Freddie Young for Ryan's Daughter, Costume Design to Cromwell, Editing to Patton, Score (Alfred Newman (Bus Stop (1956))) to Francis Lai for Love Story, Picture to Patton, Sound also to Patton and Adapted Screenplay to Ring Lardner Jr. for MASH. It was also nominated for a BAFTA, win 1/4 Golden Globe nominations, 1/2 Grammy nominations and a few other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 2/4 star review, translating to 2 notches under this one. The Boeing 707 used in the film was only leased: It later crashed in 1989 in Brazil, killing the 25 people onboard. The film was followed by 4 sequels, the first being Airport 1975 (1974). Seaton returned with Showdown (1973). Lancaster returned in Lawman (1971); Martin in The Red Skelton Hour (1970, TV-series), Swing Out, Sweet Land (1970, TV movie) and theatrically in Something Big (1971). Airport is fresh at 73 % with a 6.20/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Airport?