The Film
Once again, director Adrian Lyne (
Fatal Attraction,
Unfaithful) breaks up a seemingly happily married couple. However, this time there's no psycho -- or is there?
High-school sweethearts Diana (Demi Moore) and David Murphy (Woody Harrelson) are broke. In fact, they are in danger of losing their home. What better way to make a quick buck than hit Vegas, right? For most, this is a
really horrible plan. However, it happens to work out well for these two. See, John Cage (Robert Redford) is a super-creepy billionaire who will do anything to get one night with Diana. Well, not anything, but he will pay a million bucks for it.
Of course, the duo decides to do the deed. When it's all over, the couple doesn’t exactly celebrate the new windfall by hitting a breakfast buffet.
Instead, the marriage takes a horrible turn and doesn't stop spiraling until the extremely cheesy ending.
Indecent Proposal may have been a cash cow in 1993. However, it doesn't hold up all that well. After all, what's a million dollars these days? Still, Lyne knows how to make his audience think. So despite all of the bad lines ("Have I ever told you I love you?") and sappy twists, most viewers will waste the film's 116 minutes wondering if they'd cash in on a similar offer (answer: you wish!).
The Picture
While much of
Indecent Proposal seems like a fantasy, this 1.78:1 transfer is anything but a dream. Most of the scenes are as hazy as an all-nighter in Vegas. Fleshtones are decent and the film isn't without detail, but it's also pretty grainy -- almost annoyingly so.
The Sound
The film's most interesting sounds happen during the first half. Unfortunately, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas -- and most of the rest of the movie leaves little for the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack to play with. Overall, though, the entire movie leans heavily on the front speakers, with little going on in the surrounds, except for John Barry's score. Even with that center channel working overtime, though, the dialogue still comes in kind of low.
The Extras
Wow wee; did the studio spend all of its money on getting Redford for this movie or what? It certainly wasn't put into anything that could be used as special features. All that you'll find here is a commentary from director Adrian Lyne.
Final Thoughts
Indecent Proposal starts out as an interesting concept and Redford is perfectly cast. However, like the lives of the characters in the movie, everything seems to go awry. Perhaps when they do the remake (you
know that will come at some point), they can update the movie to not be so cheesy. It's too bad that Paramount couldn't put a million-dollar shine into the image and extras. So if you must own it, don't bother with the Blu-ray.
Where to Buy:
Product Details
- Actors: Robert Redford, Demi Moore, Woody Harrelson, Oliver Platt, Seymour Cassel
- Director: Adrian Lyne
- Audio/Languages: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (English), Dolby Digital 5.1 (French, Spanish)
- Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese
- Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
- Region: A
- Number of Discs: 1
- Rating: R
- Studio: Paramount Pictures
- Blu-ray Disc Release Date: June 9, 2009
- Run Time: 116 minutes
- List Price: $29.99
- Extras:
- Commentary by Director Adrian Lyne
