Search - Prime Cut on DVD

One of the all-time absolutely best American movies!

inframan | the lower depths | 01/05/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Frame by frame (preferably wide-screen) this movie stands out as a major accomplishment on every level: as an action thriller, as a suspense drama, as visual and cultural satire.



The classic opening scene of a conveyor belt in a sausage plant holds its own alongside the opening scenes in Touch of Evil for narrative invention and visual ingenuity.



So many brilliant set pieces follow that it's hard to single them out: Gene Hackman as "Mary Ann", the gangster meat-packer feeding his face in the company of a tableful of stockyard guests as Lee Marvin mumbles: "You eat guts." The pen of "white slaves" amid the other "stock" in the giant barn during the meatpackers trade show. Marvin & Sissy Spacek being chased through a gorgeous ocean of Iowa(?) wheat by shotgun-toting, tow-headed & tanned, killer farmboys. The giant menacing combine in the same panoramic field confronting & consuming & excreting the big black city-slicker limousine. & so very much more.



This movie is a feast of images and ideas and sensations. If the 70s was the last golden age of film, then Prime Cut was the pinnacle of that period."

Grade A

JR Dunn | New Brunswick,, NJ USA | 03/09/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"They don't make 'em wilder than this.



"Prime Cut" is essentially the ancient fairy tale about the ogres preying on innocent maidens until the knight comes to town updated to a rural Kansas mob-war milieu. The chief ogre here is Mary Ann (not "Mother") a Great Plains gang leader played by Gene Hackman with the relish of a man who knows he may never see a role quite like this one again. His shaven-headed brother Weenie (Gregory Walcott) does things like run rival mobsters through meat-grinders and attack limos with pitchforks. The representative maiden is played by Sissy Spacek, back when she looked cute rather than merely odd. Lee Marvin plays the knight, flourishing a submachine gun while wearing a pricey 70s-style silver-gray suit.



None of which goes anywhere near far enough in relaying the serious strangeness of the thing. For that you need scenes like the one introducing Mary Ann tucking into a plate of beef guts ("I like 'em!"). Or the young gangster eagerly introducing boss Marvin to his mother. Or the shootout in a field of enormous sunflowers. Or Lee's visit to ex-mistress Clarabelle (I swear I'm not making up these names) who lives on a houseboat that looks as if it was designed by Christo collaborating with Heidi Fleiss. And I could go on.



Ritchie later made a number of innocuous comedies and Robert Redford vehicles of the "Downhill Racer" variety. But just once (the very late "Alleged Cheerleader-Murdering Texas Mom" being a partial exception), he got out of the cage and ran wild, and "Prime Cut" is the result. Compare it to Tarantino if you must, but if he or any of the other bravos has ever matched this, I haven't heard about it. "Prime Cut" is sui generis. They don't make 'em like this any more for the very simple reason that they never did in the first place. That's our loss.



...and oh yeah, I'll have mine well done.



"

Lee Marvin Is Prime Cut When it comes to Action

Gus Mauro | Brandon,mb | 04/27/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"A ENJOYABLE FILM DONE WITH THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF ACTION AND COMEDY. Lee Marvin one of the all time greats plays a chicago hitman who is hired to take down an old nemesis from kansas city, who has been invovled in the slave trading business. This film even by today's standards can still be considered a delight to see. the old time dixie music and the farmland scenery is a throwback to what life was like a long time ago. Gene Hackman plays "mary ann" the one who tries to compete in the slave industy. another standout was this was Sissy Spacek's film debut. As for lee marvin Hollywood lost an icon when he passed away. There will never be another Lee Marvin as far as i'm concerned. And when you see this film or any other of his films you'll see why."

Modern classic

M. Potter | 07/23/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Lee Marvin is on top form in this fantastic film from director Michael Ritchie.Sissy Spacek gives an affecting performance as one of the girls trapped in Gene Hackman's white slave trade ring.Some fantastic location photography in America's mid west makes this an unusual addition to the modern gangster film.
It's a shame the video uses a cropped image as this superb film would really benefit from a proper widescreen transfer."