Dead of Winter (1987)

[TheBoss062]

Did anybody else pick up this title shortly before it went OOP?

[Doc Moonlight]

Originally Posted by TheBoss062

Did anybody else pick up this title shortly before it went OOP?

It's still available from Hamilton Books, and it's at the low price of $5.95

[TheBoss062]

Originally Posted by Doc Moonlight

It's still available from Hamilton Books, and it's at the low price of $5.95

Weird because Shout announced that this was one of their titles that was going OOP In 2019.

[bsend]

Originally Posted by TheBoss062

Weird because Shout announced that this was one of their titles that was going OOP In 2019.

Hamilton Books gets overstock and sets extremely fair prices. Its brand new. Buy from them. Even with $4 shipping, its $9.95. Do it!

[TheBoss062]

Originally Posted by bsend

Hamilton Books gets overstock and sets extremely fair prices. Its brand new. Buy from them. Even with $4 shipping, its $9.95. Do it!

Well, I already have my copy. I was just asking everyone else.

[The Great Owl]

Katie McGovern, an aspiring actress played by Mary Steenburgen, shows up for an audition in New York City, where she impresses the casting director, played by Roddy McDowall. She is subsequently driven through snowy landscapes to a remote upstate mansion for a screen test in front of a producer, played by Jan Rubes, who promises her the role of a lifetime. Instead of fame and fortune as a leading lady, however, our ambitious heroine encounters deceptions, blackmail, dismemberment, and grisly murder.

The 1987 thriller, Dead of Winter, directed by Arthur Penn (Bonnie and Clyde) as a loose remake of the 1945 film noir, My Name Is Julia Ross, is one of those screen stories that nitpicking viewers can deconstruct with smug glee as they spot one implausible plot element after another. For those of us who actually enjoy fictional cinema, however, the proceedings are so fun and engaging that we happily go along for the ride without poking the narrative house of cards. I, for one, have a blast every step of the way.

Steenburgen, who won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Melvin and Howard in 1980 and subsequently graced the screen in Back to the Future Part III, is a powerhouse presence, as always. I cannot reveal too much about the plot of this particular film without spoiling its charms, but I will say that Steenburgen is seen in three separate roles here, all of which demand distinctly different mannerisms. McDowall, whom all of you know from Planet of the Apes and Fright Night, is perfect here as the charmer who may have a hidden agenda. Rubes, who enjoyed supporting parts in Witness and in The X-Files television series, delivers a pleasing aura of grandfatherly reassurance. William Russ, whom I will always associate with his title role in the Miami Vice episode, "Evan", portrays our lead character's boyfriend.

A full service gas station figures heavily into the story, because the owners give away free goldfish for every $10 purchase of fuel. The attendant pumps gas into your vehicle, takes your money, and then returns with to hand you a plastic bag full of water and goldfish. Dead of Winter is a riveting rollercoaster ride full of strange and unsettling things, but, somehow, the idea of a gas station giving away free goldfish takes the cake.

This Scream Factory Blu-ray delivers a pleasantly filmic technical presentation for cold weather viewing, as well as a knockout interview with Steenburgen.

[hagios]

Originally Posted by bsend

Hamilton Books gets overstock and sets extremely fair prices. Its brand new. Buy from them. Even with $4 shipping, its $9.95. Do it!

I could not find Dead of Winter on Hamilton Book would you have a link (if it is still available)?

[SeanJoyce]

Great wintry atmosphere in this one...perfect for a cold night in front of a fire.

[craigbarr2003]

Originally Posted by hagios

I could not find Dead of Winter on Hamilton Book would you have a link (if it is still available)?

It sold out a long time ago.

[DukeTogo84]

Never actually watched this, but seems interesting enough. Just ordered one from ebay.

[BobSimms]

Hope this gets a re-release. Very good film.

[Gerby]

Good film...not only is it a loose remake of the fantastic My Name Is Julia Ross (1945) but there is also a terrific little obscure movie by Jim & Ken Wheat called Lies (1983) made a few years earlier that has a similar premise.

[jmilo61]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Katie McGovern, an aspiring actress played by Mary Steenburgen, shows up for an audition in New York City, where she impresses the casting director, played by Roddy McDowall. She is subsequently driven through snowy landscapes to a remote upstate mansion for a screen test in front of a producer, played by Jan Rubes, who promises her the role of a lifetime. Instead of fame and fortune as a leading lady, however, our ambitious heroine encounters deceptions, blackmail, dismemberment, and grisly murder.

The 1987 thriller, Dead of Winter, directed by Arthur Penn (Bonnie and Clyde) as a loose remake of the 1945 film noir, My Name Is Julia Ross, is one of those screen stories that nitpicking viewers can deconstruct with smug glee as they spot one implausible plot element after another. For those of us who actually enjoy fictional cinema, however, the proceedings are so fun and engaging that we happily go along for the ride without poking the narrative house of cards. I, for one, have a blast every step of the way.

Steenburgen, who won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Melvin and Howard in 1980 and subsequently graced the screen in Back to the Future Part III, is a powerhouse presence, as always. I cannot reveal too much about the plot of this particular film without spoiling its charms, but I will say that Steenburgen is seen in three separate roles here, all of which demand distinctly different mannerisms. McDowall, whom all of you know from Planet of the Apes and Fright Night, is perfect here as the charmer who may have a hidden agenda. Rubes, who enjoyed supporting parts in Witness and in The X-Files television series, delivers a pleasing aura of grandfatherly reassurance. William Russ, whom I will always associate with his title role in the Miami Vice episode, "Evan", portrays our lead character's boyfriend.

A full service gas station figures heavily into the story, because the owners give away free goldfish for every $10 purchase of fuel. The attendant pumps gas into your vehicle, takes your money, and then returns with to hand you a plastic bag full of water and goldfish. Dead of Winter is a riveting rollercoaster ride full of strange and unsettling things, but, somehow, the idea of a gas station giving away free goldfish takes the cake.

This Scream Factory Blu-ray delivers a pleasantly filmic technical presentation for cold weather viewing, as well as a knockout interview with Steenburgen.

I give this an extra half-star just for the great...

[Show spoiler]...killer is still alive trope fake-out at the very end. Doubly interesting because they fake you out on the one trope you assume is happening not for something more creative, but just to give you the different but equally overused trope of the cavalry showing up seconds too late.

[OceanBlue]

Originally Posted by Gerby

Good film...not only is it a loose remake of the fantastic My Name Is Julia Ross (1945) but there is also a terrific little obscure movie by Jim & Ken Wheat called Lies (1983) made a few years earlier that has a similar premise.

I've brought up the film Lies (sure it was in the main VS thread), along with another member. Hoping a boutique label like Vinegar Syndrome do a release of it. I had never heard of it until a few years ago when reading some discussion on here.

Watched Dead of Winter for the first time last weekend (the UK Blu-ray release by 88 Films). It certainly kept me guessing and there was plenty of tension and suspense. The cast were on the whole very good, especially Mary Steenburgen (and Roddy McDowell is always a welcome presence on screen). Loved the exterior locations (some of the locations outside the house out in the countryside looked like they had been shot on a studio set) and the way some exterior scenes were filmed. One of the best things about the film for me was the music score.

The transfer? Wasn't sure what to make of it. The UK Blu-ray used an older master, while the later release by Shout has a new scan/master (and an interview with Steenburgen). I don't have the Shout release. The sound on the UK release was mostly clear.