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Product Details:
Actors:
John Rhys-Davies, Shannen Doherty, Robert Gant, Ian Roberts, Fraser Brown
Director:
Ron Oliver
Format:
Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
Language:
English
Number of Discs:
1
Studio:
Liberation Ent
Run Time:
82 minutes
DVD Release Date:
November 18, 2008
Average Customer Rating:
based on 4 reviews
Description:
Studio: Wea-des Moines Video Release Date: 11/18/2008
Customer Reviews:
Average Customer Review:
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they tried, but...Dec 19, 2008 well..i can't quite a gree with the other reviewers here...i really wanted to like the film much better than i did, because i always liked robert gant.his performance, however, was in my opinion only so-so. the real surprise was shannen doherty, who i generally don't care for, and was surprisingly convincing.
all gay scenes felt forced to me, and not comforatbel at all. the donald strachey series is much more believable in that sense.
the supporting cast was almost entirely forgettable, and in parts truly horrific, and i was particularly annoyed at all the german speaking parts of the movie, or the actors who were suppsoed to deliver the lines.
i'm aware that the general audiences probably speak english and don't know two words in german to begin with, but to anyone who does, including me, it is somewhat unbelievable, that the people responsible for this film, who decided much of the movie needed to play in german speaking parts of the world, couldn't find a single person able to utter (or at least teach the actors) just ONE sentence that was grammatically and phonetically correct. my ears were bleeding.
so many american productions seem in need to have their movies feature the german language in some way-especially for the bad guys- and practically none succeed in getting just one sentence right.
and since the producers and makers of this movie paid so much detail in other areas, i don't quite understand, why they neglected this particular topic. it would have made the film that much more believable.
the location, as someone else mentioned, was in new zealand. for the most part, europe, especially italy, came across as quite realistic. except zurich. i live there, and with the exception of the bought footage of the city and surroundings, the discrepancies are quite drastic.
but with a tight budget, one can't travel to all locations, and only someone who lives or has been here would notice.
that said, the story was told very well, and suspenseful until the end. the cinematography was excellent for a movie with a small budget, and so was the sound/picture quality. but then again, that's not the main reason why i'd buy/see this film. like i said, i wish i would have liked it better, but robert gant didn't deliver for me, and neither did most of the cast, unfortunately.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
What if there was a spy-action thriller film featuring a gay hero?Nov 19, 2008 here! TV, America's first gay, lesbian and transgender television network, features many film projects featuring up-and-coming talent.
And with the popularity of the James Bond and Jason Bourne films, I'm sure the question had been posed, "What if there was a spy-action thriller film featuring a gay hero?".
here! films decided to do just that with a George Schenck and Frank Cardea film, directed by Ron Oliver featuring the first gay spy thriller featuring Jacob Keane (played by "Queer as Folk" actor Robert Gant).
The film starts off in Berlin with three agents in a mission. Jacob Keane (Grant), Marta (Shannen Doherty) and Jared (Fraser Brown) on an undercover mission that goes wrong. From then on, everyone goes there separate ways.
Years later, Jacob is now a professional photographer taking photos of models and you find out that his working partner at the photo studio is his boyfriend and he is gay.
On that same day, it is Jacob's weekend to take care of his daughter and the two have a specially planned weekend until he gets home and receives a message on his answering machine from Marta, who sounds disturbed and in trouble and needs to meet with him.
Jacob leaves his daughter with his former girlfriend or wife (who is shown to also be gay) and heads to the airport to find Marta and realizes that she is being followed. Once he meets Marta, something is wrong because she doesn't even recognize who she is.
Although Jacob and Marta have been out of the spy agency for years, someone wants them dead. The film becomes a cat and mouse chase as Jacob and Marta try to escape and outwit the thugs that are after them and try to find out why Marta lost her memory and who wants them dead.
"Kiss Me Deadly" is an action-packed spy thriller that delivers. The storyline is engaging and Robert Gant definitely is convingly cast as a gay spy hero and does a great job as Jacob Keane.
After watching "Beverly Hills 90210 actress Tori Spelling on here! films "Kiss the Bride", I admit that I was surprised to find another 90210 an actress, Shannen Doherty, in another here! films project. It's safe to say that Shannen Doherty's reputation of a diva is quite well documented in the television industry but after watching her for years on television in a variety of roles, I wasn't sure if I could picture her in a film that dealt with international espionage. But she did a pretty good job playing the character of "Marta".
The film also stars actor John Rhys-Davies who plays the character of Dale who once was part of the spy agency and a person who may have clues on why Marta has lost her memory.
I also found the scouting locations for this film, with the budget that the filmmakers had to work with well-thought out and planned. Filmed in New Zealand, just with certain shots, the viewer definitely gets a feeling of Europe and overall, you get that good feel of international espionage because of the beautiful scenery of the lush greenery to the cool and hip areas where the film was shot.
AUDIO & VIDEO:
The film was shot in digital and featured in widescreen 16×9. The audio selections are either digital 5.1 and 2.0.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The bonus features included on this DVD features a director's commentary by Ron Oliver. For film students, these are the kind of commentary you like to hear because Oliver definitely goes into details from casting, to props, you name it. Also, watching the film and having questions of certain scenes that he wishes he may or may have not used. So, the commentary definitely is worth listening to.
The "Backlot" is a 24-minute featurette featuring interviews with the cast members and how they saw the film, how it was working with the other cast members and working with director Ron Oliver. A really good behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film.
Special features also include the trailer for the film.
I was very entertained by this film. As a big fan of spy-action thrillers, I was really impressed with the storyline. There is a lot of action, it was well-acted and most of all, when it comes to this genre, you need a gripping storyline where the action continues from beginning to end. "Kiss Me Deadly" delivers!
Robert Gant is definitely in a position to be the first gay spy agent Jacob Keane and I hope this film series continues because it definitely breaks new ground for a film that is a gay spy hero. Again, I'm sure people wondered what if there was a gay version of James Bond or Jason Bourne and so, you have it with Jacob Keane.
As for Shannen Doherty, she did a pretty good job in this role. And I really think that when Doherty is paired with a director that is able to work with her, especially on the delivery of some lines (which Doherty gave her ideas to Oliver and Oliver was cool enough to listen), she can deliver.
As for the film, with a good international spy thriller, along with the action, you have to have good locations. And the film crew did a good job in capturing that European feel. So, that was another plus that I found with the film.
Although I did enjoy the film, I did find some scenes rather unnecessary. There was a scene where Jacob Keane needed to get rid of his cell phone and so he sees a young guy at the bar and they go to a bathroom stall to fool around and Jacob puts the cell phone in his coat pocket. Now would an agent like Jacob Keane really have to go that far to get rid of a phone?
Another scene was at the bath house, I just felt that there were shots of naked men there just for the sake of having it in the film. I didn't object to the bath house, I just felt that certain scenes in the bath house went far too long in terms of pacing.
The other little quirk I had was with the agency. The agency plays a big part in this film and whereas spy films such as a 007 film or a Jason Bourne film, you know that it exists and the director (played by Jonathan Colton) is trying to find out why the agency's former operatives are either dead or in trouble. You don't get that sense of urgency and the agency, although not a big part in this film, you just see it lingering and makes you wonder, how powerful is this agency? The director does show up in certain scenes especially an important part at the end of the film. But definitely will expect to see more interaction with the agency and Jacob Keane in future films.
Frankly, I feel that Ron Oliver did a great job directing this film and George Schenck and Frank Cardea really wrote a pretty good script. They really did a good job in crafting a film around a gay spy. The character of Jacob Keane is a character that I hope to see again because there is a lot of potential in this character for future sequels.
Definitely a film worth watching!
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Surprise! Quality, not campNov 18, 2008 I had requested this on my Wish List after seeing the ad in Out magazine. Shannen Doherty in a spy movie with a gay main character promised campy, Spelling-style fun, and when someone bought it for my birthday, I was thrilled, settling in with a cosmo and prepared to giggle.
I was shocked. Yes, there were some funny moments, and Shannen did get to hiss out a couple of catty zingers in between gratuitous nudity of both genders. But the overall movie had a very serious tone, ramped up the action and suspense, and really held my attention. I found myself rooting for the good guys, and not just because the lead has a nice chest. This felt like a new kind of gay cinema, with quality writing and acting and a plot that had nothing to do with a gay man fighting bigotry. It was a spy movie first and foremost, and the spy happened to have a boyfriend, and it worked. I truly hope that film in the future can be as blase about sexuality. Truly great movie.
4 of 9 found the following review helpful:
International EspionageSep 15, 2008 "Kiss Me Deadly"
International Espionage
Amos Lassen
"Kiss Me Deadly" has received a great deal of hype in the gay press. When it first was aired on Here TV, it seemed that every gay publication had something to say about it and now you can come to your conclusions as it is released commercially on DVD.
Jacob Keane (Robert Gant) is an ex-spy who is lured back into the shadowy world of spydom when Marta (Shannon Doherty) suddenly reappears after a seventeen year hiatus. Together they watch an office building on a deserted street in East Berlin. Jared (Fraser Brown), their partner sits on the roof on a nearby building so that he can see more clearly what is going on inside the building. Soon, the head of whatever is going on in the building appears at the doorway and Marta approaches him when an explosion knocks her to the ground. She is then dragged to her car and she and Jacob get away. A couple of days later they are joined by Yale (John Rhys-Davies) and they talk about the details of what sees to be a mission gone awry and evidence shows that Marta had some kind of emotional connection to the victim of the explosion. The three learn that the United States has turned its eyes from Germany to the Middle East.
At this point, the movie flashes forward and we see Jacob living in Milan with his boyfriend, Paolo and a daughter that he fathered with a friend. Jacob receives a desperate voice message from Marta and rushes to meet Marta's train and when he see her he realizes that her memory has been erased and she is being followed by two men. As Jacob tries to refresh her memory, they both understand that their lives are in danger.
To give anymore about the plot would destroy the viewing pleasure. It is so good to see that gay themed movies have moved into a new genre and is supported by a literate script that is filled with twists and turns. The cast is excellent with Gant, Doherty and Rhys-Davies giving stand-out performances. Mark your calendars for November 18 when the DVD is released and get a copy and go home and watch a good movie about international intrigue.
based on 4 reviews
