The Big Easy

Director: Jim McBride Jim McBride

Overview

"Jim McBride's New Orleans set sexy comedy/mystery The Big Easy comes to DVD with a widescreen transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The closed-0captioned English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital Mono. English, Spanish, and French subtitles are accessible. Supplemental materials include a theatrical trailer. This is a marginal disc from Trimark that could have better sound, but the widescreen presentation is welcome. There is little here for the average DVD consumer, but this will probably be as good as it gets for this film on home video."

Product Details

Release Date:	02/02/1999
UPC:	0031398700234
Original Release:	1987
Rating:	R
Source:	LIONSGATE - 600000-AEC LGE
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[monaural]
Language:	English
Time:	1:40:00
Sales rank:	15,435

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Ellen Barkin	Anne Osborne
Dennis Quaid	Remy McSwain,Justin
Ned Beatty	Jack Kellom
Ebbe Roe Smith	Ed Dodge
John Goodman	Detective DeSoto
Lisa Jane Persky	Detective McCabe
Charles Ludlam	Lamar
Tom O'Brien	Bobby
James Garrison	Judge Noland,Himself
Carol Sutton	Judge Raskov
David Petitjean	Uncle Sal
Nick Hagler	Hugh Dowling,Hugh Dowling
Marc Lawrence	`Cannon' Di Moti
Jim Chimento	Freddy Angelo
Grace Zabriskie	Mama, Remy's Mother
Steve Broussard	Dewey Piersall
Eliott Keener	George Joel
August Krinke	I.A. Cop
John Schluter	I.A. Cop
Zepherin Hymel	I.A. Cop
Gailard Sartain	Chef Paul
Arden M. Jones	Mugger
Rickey Pierre	Mugger
Margie O'Dair	Mugged Woman
Robert Lessor	Foster
Irma Thomas	Marcelline
Edward St. Pe	Patrolman
George Dureau	Maitre d'
Jack Harris	Waiter
Robert Kearney	Desk Sergeant
Patric Frederick	Lawyer
Lane Trippe	Lawyer
Gary Sturgis	Car Vandal
Byron Nora	Car Vandal
Jeff Hollis	Sgt. Duvivier
Joy Houck Jr.	Sgt. Guerra
Peter Gabb	Proprietor
David Dahlgren	Uniform Cop
Dewey Balfa	Uncle Lafayette
Ricco Wheat	Rodney
Solomon Burke	Daddy Mention
Cary Alden	Uniform Cop
Robert Lesser	"Silky" Foster
Cheryl Starbuck	Hostess
Archie Sampier	Forensic #1
Dennis Curren	Cousin Terry
Brad Fiedel	Composer

Technical Credits

Jim McBride

Daniel Petrie Jr.

Jack Baran

Gordon Greisman

Jim McBride	Director,Screenwriter
Daniel Petrie Jr.	Screenwriter
Mort Engelberg	Executive Producer
Diamond Farnsworth	Stunts
Stephen Friedman	Producer
Bill Purcell	Special Effects,Special Effects
Jack Baran	Screenwriter
Greg Landerer	Special Effects
Lynn Stalmaster	Casting
Steve Kelso	Stunts
Buddy Van Horn	Stunts
Rock Walker	Stunts,Stunts
Richard Diamond Farnsworth	Stunts
David Rubin	Casting
Gordon Greisman	Screenwriter
Walt LaRue	Stunts

Editorial Reviews

With enough local flavor to have been sponsored by the New Orleans' tourist board, a sharp script by Beverly Hills Cop scribe Daniel Petrie Jr., and terrific leads in Dennis Quaid and Ellen Barkin, The Big Easy represented the best the '80s had to offer in terms of action thrillers. Quaid and Barkin have fantastic chemistry both as antagonists and as romantic partners and the considerably different performances given by each are the fuel that drives the film. Skirting, but never crossing into Cajun caricature, Quaid has never been better, emphasizing his good-natured cop's gleeful corruption but humanizing him enough so that his late-film moral crisis never seems out of line. It's a sharp, but perfect, contrast to Barkin's smoldering introvert. Their film-length coitus interruptus has all the tension that the otherwise familiar drugs-and-guns plot lacks. The colorful setting and memorable supporting characters further help offset this, particularly Ned Beatty as Quaid's mentor. Jim McBride directs with a breezy charm that keeps his film entertaining up to its inevitable, and thankfully brief, shoot-out finale.

The cooks did the best they could with ingredients that tasted good but were a little tough to chew.

Daily Variety