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Features: DVD, Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 1.85:1, French, Spanish, Subtitled
One s got a sophisticated, suave and debonair con act. The other s got...well, an act. Together, Steve Martin and Michael Caine are Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and they re absolutely ruining the Riviera in this hilarious battle of wits and double-crosses (Boxoffice) that couldn t be more delightful (The Wall Street Journal)! Martin is Freddy Benson, a small-time con man sleazing his way through Europe on whatever handouts he can scam. Caine is Lawrence Jamieson, an impeccably dressed and high-minded artiste who thinks Freddy is giving him -- and all con men -- a bad name. At first, Lawrence agrees to help Freddy spruce up his talents and his wardrobe. But when it becomes apparent that the Riviera isn t big enough for the both of them, they make a winner-take-all wager over the fortunes of a naive American soap heiress (Glenne Headly): The first one to clean her out can make the other clear out -- and keep the Riviera and its unsuspecting tourists to himself!Special Features:Audio Commentary with Director Frank Oz Behind-The-Scenes FeaturetteTeaser TrailerOriginal Theatrical TrailerSystem Requirements: Running Time 110 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE
"A laugh-out-loud escapade... Mr. Martin gives a performance of inspired goofiness... Mr. Caine (gives) a superb comic performance." New York Times
"Thumbs up... Martin and Caine are so funny..." Roger Ebert
"You're in for giddy, here-comes-that-grin entertainment... Caine makes a charming rogue... Martin is a howl." Peter Travers, People
Editor's Note
Brash, small-time con man (Steve Martin) meets fake prince in exile (Michael Caine) in this outrageous comedy of backstabbing, elaborate lies, and dirty tricks as the two men battle for the prime fleecing territory of a European resort. A wager between the two over duping an American heiress out of her money sends the stakes higher, as the loser must leave town. However, a wily swindler also searching for good territory might have other plans for the two men.
Plot Summary
Master comedy director Frank Oz (BOWFINGER, IN & OUT) sets two con men against each other in a struggle for a French seaside town, the perfect territory for duping gullible and wealthy vacationers. Smooth and complacent swindler Lawrence Jamieson (Michael Caine) is infuriated when clumsy but effective con man Freddy Benson (Steve Martin) encroaches on his hunting grounds. When Benson proves persistent, Jamieson makes him a bet over who will be the first to get $50,000 out of a visiting American heiress, with the loser leaving town.Trademark physical comedy from Martin and Caine's smarmy and perfectly timed lines fuel the hilarious competition and decisive showdown--which ends as neither man expects.
| Features | Teaser Trailer | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Access | | Audio Commentary With Director Frank Oz | | Behind-The-Scenes Featurette | | Original Theatrical Trailer | | Widescreen Version Enhanced For 16x9 TVs | | Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish & French Dolby Digital Surround | | Subtitles: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: MGM |
| Release Date: 5/6/2003 |
| Running Time: 110 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1988 | | Catalog ID: 1002729 | | UPC: 00027616869272 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English, French Dubbed, Spanish Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: English, French, Portuguese, Spanish | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Golden Globe (1989) | | | Michael Caine, Nominee, Best Performance By An Actor In A Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical |
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| | Professional Reviews | New York Times
"...Martin gives a performance of inspired goofiness....An enchanted feather-weight folly..." 12/14/1988 p.C28Total Film
"...Caine is pure class....Martin's criminally short turn as ubermoron Ruprecht will have you reaching for the oxygen..." 11/01/2000 p.118 Washington Post 9 of 10
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, starring Steve Martin and Michael Caine, is a comedy about the joys of conning, and you feel a secret release in the flagrant amorality and greed of its characters. They're predators, these two, sharks feasting on the gullible rich women who come to wiggle their toes in the azure waters of Beaumont-sur-Mer in the South of France. When decent human sentiments are mentioned they cock their heads in puzzlement. Their corruption has a glorious purity. They're rats, clean through... Martin, the most eloquent of physical clowns -- the Baryshnikov of comedy -- is at his most inspired here. He parodies feelings, attitudes, states of mind that one would think were exempt from it, and his caricature of dapper suavity is killingly precise. When he pours champagne, even the angle of his wrists is a scream. But perhaps Martin's most sublime moment comes in the character Prince Ruprecht, the simian brother Jamison has created for Freddie to play in order to scare away the women who want to settle down. And if Ruprecht's habit of looking at Jamison's girlfriends like a beagle does a fire hydrant doesn't frighten them away, then his revolutionary table manners certainly will... Though it's cleverly contrived, ultimately the picture can't escape its origins. It is, after all, based on a classic bummer [1964's forgettable Bedtime Story]. But the payoff is nifty; it'll have you second-guessing yourself and replaying the movie in your head. And for the most part the cast makes you forget the film's bloodlines. Until the end, the rats keep topping themselves, swishing their tails with vermin panache. - Hal Hinson
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