Black Moon Rising (1986) coming from Kino

[DR Herbert West]

Brand New 2K Restoration of the film from the Original 35mm interpositive! When master thief Sam Quint (Tommy Lee Jones, The Fugitive, Blown Away, The Park Is Mine) is hired by the government to steal top-secret data from a crime organization, he hides the stolen data in the experimental supercar, The Black Moon. But when the car is then stolen by high-tech auto thief Nina (Linda Hamilton, The Terminator), Quint must pull off the most daring heist of all: break into an impenetrable skyscraper and steal it back. With time running out and all sides closing in, Quint and Nina take The Black Moon on one final ride towards a shattering climax of sky-high suspense. Screenplay by legendary filmmaker John Carpenter (Escape from New York), Desmond Nakano (American Me) and William Gray (An Eye for an Eye), from a story by Carpenter. Top-notch direction by Harley Cokliss (Malone) with a rousing score by Lalo Schifrin (Prime Cut). The all-star cast includes Robert Vaughn (Bullitt), Richard Jaeckel (The Dirty Dozen), Lee Ving (The Taking of Beverly Hills), Bubba Smith (Police Academy), William Sanderson (Blade Runner), Keenan Wynn (Dr. Strangelove), Nick Cassavetes (The Wraith) and Don Keith Opper (Android).

Special Features:
-Audio Commentary by Film Historian Lee Gambin, the author of Hell Hath No Fury Like Her: The Making of Christine
-Black Moon Ascending: Interview with director Harley Cokeliss
-Thief in The Night: Producing Black Moon Rising: Interview with producer Douglas Curtis
-Sound of Speed: Composing Black Moon Rising - Interview with composer Lalo Schifrin and film music historian Daniel Schweiger
-Carpenter’s Craft: A video essay on co-writer John Carpenter’s screenwriting career by author and critic Troy Howarth
-Making Black Moon Rising: An archival documentary featuring behind-the-scenes footage and cast and crew interviews
-Alternative Hong Kong version scenes, a presentation of selected scenes from the Hong Kong theatrical version with a different score and sound effects
-Uncompressed PCM 2.0 stereo audio and alternative 5.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack
-Reversible Art
-Radio Spots
-Theatrical Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFMiIxnEeas

[jrsl76]

So funny. I’ve never seen this, but have been thinking about checking it out over the past couple days.

[Member-222782]

Lots of great character actors in this. And Tommy Lee Jones looking very young.

Can't help but think of this movie as a Knight Rider wannabe, but an entertaining one.

[agenda]

Love this movie. Let's just hope that Kino will do better work than Krekel with this one, for crying out loud.

[reaperx187]

One of the few films that i hadn't seen before but did hear about it in title alone and who some of the cast was in it too might end up checking this one out when it get's released.

[DR Herbert West]

The script was written by John Carpenter.

[reaperx187]

Originally Posted by DR Herbert West

The script was written by John Carpenter.

Yeah, i did read about that before so it had my interest on that alone.

[trevanian]

It's a very fun little movie, one of those like NATE&HAYES that showed Tommy Lee Jones had star charisma even while stuck in movies that wouldn't let him break out (his 'watch out for that guy -- he's a criminal!' is hysterical in this), but the weird thing is the score is practically all stolen out of BLUE THUNDER, which is kinda disconcerting, given that James Horner isn't the thief in question this time.

It also has one implied rape scene towards the end that I found upsetting and unnecessary, so despite the fact I actually like the rest of the movie a lot, will not be buying.

[trevanian]

Originally Posted by DR Herbert West

The script was written by John Carpenter.

It's based on a story by Carpenter, but I don't think it has much of Carpenter's except the title. Hence that 'from the mind of ... ' credit.

[Monterey Jack]

Originally Posted by Cinema84

Lots of great character actors in this. And Tommy Lee Jones looking very young.

Tommy Lee Jones NEVER looked young. He came out of the womb looking forty-five.

[infiniteCR]

I had no idea this movie existed. Now I’m curious

[trevanian]

I'm guessing everybody who doesn't know this movie is too young to have seen TV commercials in the 80s, because this was one of those movies like WESTWORLD in the 70s, where the ads were ubiquitous for three weeks or so, especially on local TV stations playing stuff like STAR TREK reruns.

I think the only reason I missed it in theaters -- it must have come out a week or two before the CHALLENGER blew up -- was because I had all my wisdom teeth (three of which were impacted) pulled just before and spent nearly a full month bleeding and recovering, blowing a couple years of vacation time in the process, only to find that the 'emergency medical' nature of the procedure was going to be disallowed by WaldenBooks' (recently acquired by KMart at the time) medical folks, leaving me with an enormous damn dental bill on top of it all.

[BagheeraMcGee]

Originally Posted by Monterey Jack

Tommy Lee Jones NEVER looked young. He came out of the womb looking forty-five.

That's true. Even in stuff like Eyes of Laura Mars and Rolling Thunder, he looked middle-aged. And he was only in his early 30s when those movies were made.

[Member-222782]

Originally Posted by BagheeraMcGee

That's true. Even in stuff like Eyes of Laura Mars and Rolling Thunder, he looked middle-aged. And he was only in his early 30s when those movies were made.

Nobody looked their age in the 70's. Compare teens in any 70's movies to teens today. The 70's teens looked about 26 lol. Perfect example: Carrie. The majority of the "kids" looked like they were a decade out of college

[Monterey Jack]

Originally Posted by Cinema84

Nobody looked their age in the 70's. Compare teens in any 70's movies to teens today. The 70's teens looked about 26 lol. Perfect example: Carrie. The majority of the "kids" looked like they were a decade out of college

There wasn't a single member of the Carrie cast who was a teenager at the time. Betty Buckley, who played Miss Collins, was only a year or so older than her "students".

[Splatterpunk]

Of course, I bought the DVD a few weeks ago. Sigh. Anyhow, here's the review I wrote for it.

John Carpenter is a god. So, anything he’s even remotely involved with, I try to watch. This brings us to Harley Cokeliss’ (aka Harley Cokliss) BLACK MOON RISING. Carpenter sold the script in the mid ‘70s as a relative unknown. It eventually got made in ’86, though the script was rewritten by Desmond Nakano and William Gray. No doubt trying to capitalize on the by then famous Carpenter, who gets executive producer, cowriter, and story credits, the film is actually much better than I anticipated. Stylish and featuring a great cast, this heist picture with a whiff of sci fi should qualify as a hidden gem.

Tommy Lee Jones plays cool and confident professional thief, Quint. Expecting to retire after one last score, he agrees to pull off the theft of some electronic legal files for some shady government operatives. Things don’t go as planned, though, and he’s forced to improvise, rudely hiding his prize in an experimental supercar, the titular Black Moon. Another wrinkle flummoxes him when said supercar is stolen by beautiful but vulnerable car thief, Nina (the always-welcome Linda Hamilton). With the original owners of the legal files after him, the shady agents breathing down his neck, and the supercar’s engineers asking for help, Quint’s up to his neck in unwanted attention.

With Jones and Hamilton, I knew it would be at least a decent watch. Our lead duo have great chemistry, with Jones putting in an understated performance and Hamilton alternately tough and warm. Look at the rest of the cast, though! You’ve got Robert Vaughn doing his best wealthy menacing villain take, fan favorite character actor Richard Jaeckel as a deaf assistant to the engineers, Fear frontman Lee Ving as an unwelcome former acquaintance of Quint’s, POLICE ACADEMY regular Bubba Smith, Dan Shor aka Ram from TRON, and gravelly Keenan Wynn in one of his last roles. Solid, by any measure.

Next to its cast, the film’s look is its biggest asset. Shot compositions are artfully framed. There’s lots of close ups, grounding the heightened action with a focus on the characters’ humanity. This also helps the impressive stuntwork, as we feel the punches and broken bodies harder than we might have without that kind of care of presentation. There are tons of beautiful shots of geometrically framed lights reflected off of gleaming metal and glass. The streets of LA are bathed in cool blues, giving the picture a sleek feel. Misha Suslov’s impressive lensing perfectly compliments Cokeliss’ assured direction.

You also get the legendary Lalo Schifrin on the score, adding a layer of class to an already surprisingly classy film. It’s not perfect, as he tilts into melodrama at times, but there’s no denying the power of the soundscape.

The aforementioned stuntwork is great. In particular, there’s a fight scene at the end of the second act that is fairly brutal. The car chase scenes are a ton of fun, especially with the futuristic jet powered Black Moon. Every effort is made to make you believe the car can travel at speeds in excess of 300 mph. Throw in a sequence involving a high-speed pursuit going the wrong way on a crowded freeway and you know this film can thrill. Cokeliss teases out the tension with the heist sequences, as well. The action, the thrills, and the intensity all keep you on the edge of your seat. The only time the film falters is for a cheesy love scene. Jones looks too old for Hamilton, it’s hilariously unrealistic, and Schifrin’s music calls attention to how ridiculous it is. Thankfully, it’s relatively short and doesn’t hobble the pace too much.

I was expecting schlocky low budget carsploitation with Harley Cokeliss’ BLACK MOON RISING, and instead I got a visually interesting and somewhat classy heist flick. It doesn’t really feel like a John Carpenter movie at all, but that’s okay. Admittedly, the supercar is a little hokey, to modern eyes. Nevertheless, I still had a good time, even though there are some minor missteps. Recommended for fans of THIEF, DRIVE, and KNIGHT RIDER.

[AKORIS]

Originally Posted by Splatterpunk

Of course, I bought the DVD a few weeks ago. Sigh. Anyhow, here's the review I wrote for it.

wasn't that dvd released like 20 years ago?

[Splatterpunk]

Originally Posted by AKORIS

wasn't that dvd released like 20 years ago?

The one I got was released in 2011. I gambled that it was the type of film that probably wouldn’t get a blu ray release. I lost that bet haha

[AKORIS]

Originally Posted by Splatterpunk

The one I got was released in 2011. I gambled that it was the type of film that probably wouldn’t get a blu ray release. I lost that bet haha

yeah, I'm telling you it's literally impossible to guess what gets released these days.... Big titles don't get released, obscure movies you haven't even heard of in years do..... you just never know.

I stopped buying dvd's quite a few years ago and have held that discipline no matter how much I want the film. It's in hi def or it doesn't go in my collection.

Hopefully you didn't pay too much for it...

[DenOfEarth]

Holy crap i really like this one and i saw this in theaters when i was 4! fun actioner with Tommy Lee Jones, i can't wait to get rid of my old DVD to get this.