City of Ghosts | | Cast : | Matt Dillon, James Caan, Natascha McElhone | | Director : | Matt Dillon | | Studio : | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | January 01, 2002 | | DVD Released Date : | October 28, 2003 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), French (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | June 26, 2005 | | Summary | How do you quit the con...or can you? | Content
 | If you have ever been in an exotic capital or a city mostly untrod by Americans where everything seems just a little suspicious then the first half hour of "City of Ghosts" will look very familiar.
Matt Dillon plays Jimmy, who has been working on one con or another most of his adult life. The latest of which was a massive phony insurance swindle. Dillon skips to Cambodia, just one step ahead of the FBI, where he hopes to reunite with his mentor and boss, James Caan.
By the time Dillon gets settled into his hotel (with Gerard Depardieu as a colorful bar manager) and begins his search for the shadowy Caan he isn't even sure if he wants his part of the profits from the last hustle, much less embark on Caan's latest adventure. The genius of this wonderful film is that they do not try to overcomplicate the plot but rather show the action through the eyes of Dillon and we, like him, keep one eyebrow raised at all the curious goings-on but can't get one step ahead of the action.
Stellan Skarsgard also appears as a nervous member of the con enterprise who can barely keep his head above water. Also, don't miss the scene in which a tipsy Caan sings karaoke and watch closely for a brief uncredited appearance by Bo Hopkins as one of the few friendly faces Dillon encounters early on.
Dillon is making an excellent mark in roles of an everyman type character (and he looks younger than he is) who is caught in a bad situation he doesn't really want to be in but can't seem to get himself out of (see 1994's 'Golden Gate').
Sharp photography and a winning, daring soundtrack. Well worth adding to your permanent collection and entertaining friends who, like most people, missed its theaterical release. |
| Rating | | | Date | June 09, 2005 | | Summary | Awesome and Dream-like | Content
| This is one of the best movies I have seen in a while. I saw it a while back on DVD but I still think about it. The film feels personal and after watching it I felt like I was there with the characters. That's what good films should do. This is not a genre film so...yeah it actually asks you to get involved in the experience. I think Matt Dillon should write and direct more. As an actor he is under-appreciated. Hopefully one day I'll direct him in a feature. |
| Rating | | | Date | February 12, 2005 | | Summary | City of Ghosts is as rich as they get | Content
| I am mesmerized by this movie. With DVD I was able to dissect this gorgeous movie, scene for scene, and there are many memorable scenes, believe me. From the beginning I knew I had a movie I was going to enjoy. Check out the perfectly cast Jack Shearer as the FBI guy, the Cambodian rickshaw driver, the general, the wheelchair expatriate, the doorman at the hotel, the Russian mafia, and these are secondary roles, but each had nuances and texture that is rare in films today, in my humble opinion. Matt Dillon, who co-wrote and directed this film, displayed patience and allowed these actors the time they needed to create these scenes. Dillon was perfect in his role as a confused and guilty grifter, who travels to Cambodia to seek out his mentor, James Caan. Caan is absolutely great in his role, and the karaoke scene with him singing in Cambodian is worth the price of admission. Every scene he is in is memorable. Cann's sidekick, Stellan Skarsgård, has you guessing throughout the movie. Secondary to these three you have very interesting performances by Gérard Depardieu as the hotel owner, and Natascha McElhone as the archeologist. The film score is fabulous, the Cambodian city and country scenery is tantalizing, and with DVD the director's commentary allows you to hear Dillon discuss the details of filming in this foreign and beautiful land. This is filmaking at its best, and, probably its hardest. The physical difficulties encountered and overcome to make this movie are reason for applause. I have a friend who rented it on DVD, watched it one time, and returned it. I rented it, watched it over and over again, dissecting every scene, and bought it. This explains the mixed reviews for this film, but take it from me, this movie has it all. This is the first DVD I have ever purchased, and I am sure I will enjoy watching it from time to time when every thing on the tube sucks |
| Rating | | | Date | October 20, 2004 | | Summary | How did I miss it in the theatres | Content
| I thought this movie was excellant. I did not see it at any theatres in Florida but after renting it at Blockbuster I bought two copies, one for my girl friend and one for her daughter. I thought it was that good!
The plot and the action were fantasitc. I found out that this was Matt Dillon's first crack at directing. He did a wonderful job and he clearly falls in to the catagory of "great directors" and not just a pretty face any longer. I loved it! |
| Rating | | | Date | May 16, 2004 | | Summary | Had the Right Potential, Just Missing that Extra Something | Content
| The cinematography was absolutely stunning and the detail Matt Dillon puts into absorbing the culutre around him is fantastic. I have family from neighboring countries in South East Asia, and it's refreshing to know that Cambodia's beliefs and customs are similar to our own. Matt Dillon captured that very well in this film, and listening to the commentary, you can tell he went through great expense to ensure all the cultural and religious details were right and consistent. However, he seemed to have left his plot hanging loosely in the wind. The approach to the story was good, using sort of a Joseph Conrad view of things: hearing the testimonies of the other characters that point clues towards his boss's whereabouts and boss's intentions. A light tribute to the Heart of Darkness. But then his character gets distracted along the way by events, etc., then boom the truth comes out. What might have helped this become a more poignat film is if James Caan's chracter remained a bit more of a mystery much the way Marlon Brando's character did in Apocalypse Now. In this movie, the audience is privvy to information about James Caan's whereabouts and secret dealings that Matt Dillon has know knowledge of. In other words, the point of view of the story changes in midstream. At first we're seeing things through the eyes of Matt Dillon, then suddenly we are seeing everything going on in the movie. Not very consistent and certainly threw off the rhythm of the film. Overall, a decent flick with wonderful imagery and a great international cast. |
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