| | | "HD-DVD, The Look & Sound of Perfect."
Features: DVD, English, French, Dolby, Dolby Digital (5.1)
Jack Walsh (Robert De Niro) is a tough ex-cop turned bounty hunter. Jonathan "The Duke" Mardukas (Charles Grodin) is a sensitive accountant who embezzled $15 million from the Mob, gave it to charity, and then jumped bail. Jack's in for a cool $100,000 if he can deliver The Duke from New York to L.A. on time. And alive. Sounds like just another Midnight Run (a piece of cake in bounty hunter slang), but it turns into a cross-country chase. The FBI is after the Duke to testify--the Mob after him for revenge--and Walsh is after him to just shut up. If someone else doesn't do the job, the two unlikely partners may end up killing each other in this hilarious, action-filled blockbuster from producer-director Martin Brest (Beverly Hills Cop).
"A terrific run for your money!" Gene Shalit, Today
"A nonstop bellyful of laughs!" Jeffrey Lyons, Sneak Preview
"De Niro and Grodin are sensational..." Pat Collins, WWOR-TV
Editor's Note
Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin star in this hilarious action-packed blockbuster. Jack Walsh (De Niro) is a cynical ex-cop turned bounty hunter who is offered $100,000 to bring Jonathan "the Duke" Mardukas (Grodin) to justice. Jonathan is a sensitive accountant who embezzled from the mob, gave the money to charity, and jumped bail. Jack begins what he believes will be a relatively standard trip with his prisoner from New York to Los Angeles until he learns that Jonathan owes 15 million dollars to mobster Jimmy Serrano (Dennis Farina), who has put a hit out on the neurotic and wimpy accountant and will stop at nothing to capture the wanted man. To complicate matters, the FBI is also after the accountant to testify against the mob. The two unlikely partners suffer a hysterical trip via plane, train, and car as they attempt to outrun Jonathan's enemies, forced to endure many outrageous twists and turns as a bickering team. MIDNIGHT RUN features great comic timing and fast-pasted banter between Grodin and De Niro as they lead the chase, set to a fabulous soundtrack by Danny Elfman.
| Features | Audio: English Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 Surround Sound | | Audio: French Dolby Digital Stereo | | Dubbed: French | | Featurette: The Making Of Midnight Run | | Interactive Menus | | Original Theatrical Trailer | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: French | | This Is An HD-DVD Made For HD-DVD Format Players Which Produce Higher Quality Picture & Sound |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Universal |
| Release Date: 5/29/2007 |
| Running Time: 127 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1988 | | Catalog ID: 61032814 | | UPC: 00025193281425 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English, French Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: English, French | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Widescreen 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Nominee (1989) | | | Golden Globe, Midnight Run, Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical | | | Golden Globe, Robert De Niro, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical |
| Memorable Quotes| "Smoking or non--smoking?"----Airline employee|"Take a wild guess."----Marvin Dorfler (John Ashton), lit cigarette in mouth, exhaling smoke |
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| | Professional Reviews | Los Angeles Times
"...There isn't a single performance in MIDNIGHT RUN that doesn't have a pulse..." 07/20/1988 p.C1Total Film
"...One of the '80s best road movies..." 10/01/2000 p.101 Total Film
"Watching Grodin is a master class in minimalism and proof that timing really is everything." 12/01/2006 p.133 Chicago Reader 8 of 10
Robert De Niro plays a former cop who's hired by a bail bondsman to track down an accountant (Charles Grodin) who has ripped off the mob and then jumped bail; a five-day chase and numerous complications develop as they attempt to elude both the mob and the FBI. Martin Brest directed this comedy thriller from a George Gallo script. Considering all the shopworn materials used here, including the aggressive banality of Danny Elfman's pop score, one's expectations quickly sink to zero; but miraculously, De Niro and Grodin turn this sow's ear into a plausible vehicle for a buddy movie, and thanks to both of them, this movie springs to life. - Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Sun-Times 9 of 10
De Niro is often said to be the best movie actor of his generation. Grodin has been in the movies just about as long, has appeared in more different titles, and is of more or less the same generation, but has never received the recognition he deserves - maybe because he often plays a quiet, self-effacing everyman. In "Midnight Run," where he is literally handcuffed to De Niro at times, he is every bit the master's equal, and in the crucial final scene it is Grodin who finds the emotional truth that defines their relationship...What "Midnight Run" does with these two characters is astonishing, because it's accomplished within the structure of a comic thriller. The director, Martin Brest, came to this project after "Beverly Hills Cop," but if the action in the two films is comparable, the characters are a lot more interesting this time. It's rare for a thriller to end with a scene of genuinely moving intimacy, but this one does, and it earns it. - Roger Ebert
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