Cheap Rising Sun [Region 2] (DVD) (Philip Kaufman) Price

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Customer Reviews of Rising Sun [Region 2]

Culture Clash
There are several things clashing in this film. <
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>It is a clash of wills between Sean Connery and Wesley Snipes. Both have an idea of how to investigate a murder and both are convinced theirs is the best way. <
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>It is a clash between American and Japanese culture. A murder takes place in the offices of a Japanese corporation located in California. Values differ and so do approaches to solving the crime. <
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>It is a clash between the corporate and the criminal world. And it is also the story of collusion between the two. <
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>It is a clash between the political and business worlds...except that I mentioned that in the previous paragraph. <
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>Wesley Snipes is the lead investigator of the murder. He has been told he needs to work with Sean Connery. Connery is not longer on the force but works as a consultant for Japanese corporations. He is thoroughly taken with their culture and ideals. Communicating this to the rasher Snipes is not always easy. <
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>This film has a large technology component. It should have some appeal for technophiles. As a murder mystery, it is fine but nothing to get excited about. <
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Whoa -- BAD CASTING!
Ever wonder why there are only 20-odd reviews of this film on Amazon? Seems incredible given that this was one of the biggest releases of 1993. The book was a HUGE success. That's because in the annals of filmdom there might not be a more egregious example of miscasting than in this film. <
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>Turning the legendary LAPD detective John Connor into an Scottsman is beyond ridiculous. It neuters any of the American-Japanese relationship that is essential to the story, undermines the significance of his character, and cripples the plot. <
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>Even more puzzling is the decision to make "Kohai" a black man. Crichton was apparently furious about this. Snipes has almost no knowledge whatsoever of Japanese people, nor does he care to. How he could ever be considered a special emmissary for the police department makes ZERO sense. He is supposed to be called in to make the Japanese feel more at ease? It's just silly. Really silly. <
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>And then we get to the utterly convoulted plot. It is generous to say that Rising Sun makes way too many left turns, spontaneously divulges new information, and presents us characters that are riddled with inconsistencies. The first 2/3rds of the film centers around Eddie Sakamura's character, yet he just comes across as a cheesy stereotype with no compelling attributes. <
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>Then why 3 stars? Because Rising Sun is also a unique film in that it belongs to no one genre and hits some dramatic notes unlike any other film. I think Kauffman is at times a brilliant director, and my suspicion is that he was trying to purposefully create a self-concious pop-thriller. As a result, his directoral touch is very fun to watch at times, none more than at the final climax which I think is chillingly effective. <
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>Rising Sun. There isn't anything else quite like it out there.

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Rising Sun--A glitzy, fast-moving Crighton story
Dark, deep, filled with action, intrigue. Excellent acting. I wanted this Crighton story for my own film library.