Prizzi's Honor

Based on the novel by Richard Condon, this 1985 black comedy--director John Huston's penultimate effort--paired Jack Nicholson and Kathleen Turner as a rival hit man and hit woman who become romantically involved, only to be given awful assignments: each other. As Charley Partana, Nicholson delivers another memorable performance as a dumb (but not too dumb) strongman for the Brooklyn dynasty Prizzi family, while the twisty-turny plot drags in a whole bunch of colorful characters, including the director's daughter Anjelica Huston as Mae, Charley's betrothed; and William Hickey as the wizened old don. Named Best Picture by the N.Y. Film Critics Circle Society, Prizzi's Honor was nominated for several Oscars in the major categories--including Best Picture, Actor (Nicholson), Supporting Actor (Hickey), and Screenplay--but only Anjelica Huston walked away with the statue for Best Supporting Actress. Virtually identical to the Anchor Bay version released in 1999 (with refurbished box art), this otherwise extra-less disc includes both the widescreen and full screen versions and features a serviceable if unspectacular transfer and solid Dolby Digital stereo sound. Highly recommended. (R. Pitman)[Blu-ray/DVD Review—Aug. 22, 2017—Kino Lorber, 130 min., R, DVD: $19.95, Blu-ray: $29.95—Making its latest appearance on DVD and debut on Blu-ray, 1985's Prizzi's Honor features a disappointingly soft transfer and a DTS-HD 2.0 soundtrack on the Blu-ray release. Extras include audio commentary by film historians Howard S. Berger and Nathaniel Thompson. Bottom line: a so-so Blu-ray presentation of a fine Huston film.]