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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 4895033738206
Format: Import, NTSC
Label: Panorama
Languages: EnglishOriginal Language
Manufacturer: Panorama
Publisher: Panorama
Region Code: 3
Release Date: June 24, 2008
Running Time: 83 minutes
Studio: Panorama
Theatrical Release Date: April 25, 1986
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Editorial Review:
Album Description:
2003 DVD (NTSC/All Regions) release for the slapstick spoof of hitmen & crime stories. Directed by Sam Raimi & written by Ethan Coen, Joel Coen & Sam Raimi. Starring Louise Lasser & Paul Smith. Approx. 82 minutes. Panorama.
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
There's a chance the nonstop idiocy of Crimewave might appeal to the lowest of lowbrow sensibilities. Sure, stylistically there's probably nothing else quite like it, but why would there be? For most who would choose to engage their cerebra, this piece of nearly incomprehensible cartoony trash is clearly a product of gung ho mis-inspiration on the part of Raimi and the Coen Brothers fed by too much available talent and money...and possibly chemicals.
That this was shot in my hometown of Detroit compelled me to watch to the bitter end; at least I got to see the Belle Isle Bridge.
Rating:  -
Even though this was penned by Raimi and the Coen brothers, it's a far sillier movie than anything else that either the Coens or Renaissance Pictures have ever created. In fact, this slapstick crime farce is surely one of the goofiest things yet committed to film, and all the more fun for it. Raimi channeled silent film techniques and The Three Stooges into this incomparably nutty story about a pair of rodent exterminators/hitmen who kill the owners of a burglar-alarm company, after which no small amount of lunacy ensues and a nerdy employee is blamed for the killings.
While Birney and Lasser perform gamely as the leads, Bruce Campbell steals the show in a particularly wacky supporting role. In his career retrospective, "If Chins Could Kill," Campbell wrote at length of the numerous problems that plagued "Crimewave's" production: Raimi's inexperience and inefficiency, egregious meddling by the film's dissatisfied producers and investors, and totally inept marketing that relegated the movie to the dustbin of cult fandom. Most of "Crimewave's" many flaws can be blamed on the exclusion of Raimi and his crew from many crucial decisions and activities: his preferred editor, Kaye Davis, was dismissed from the project, and Michael Kelly and Kathie Weaver hacked it into a sloppy finished product; Birney was chosen over cult hero Campbell for the lead role, and while his performance is terrific, it's not hard to imagine The Chin hamming it up even more impressively; finally, Renaissance composer Joe LoDuca's contributions to the film were reduced from a full score to a single song.
Regardless of "Crimewave's" shortcomings, it is a remarkable effort in which Raimi invested nearly as much creativity as he did in his "Evil Dead" features. The production design is enormous, colorful and totally unique - it belies the movie's low budget and seamlessly straddles the styles of the '30s and '80s. It's clearly not the film that its creators hoped it would be and has since been disowned by all of them, but this deserves attention - not only by Coen and Raimi fans, but anyone who's interested in B-movies that were crafted with no interest in either established convention or seriousness.
Panorama's DVD edition seems to be the most widely available, and it's a good product. All of the disc's colorful menus feature entries in both Mandarin and English, and decent subtitles are available in both languages. The A/V quality is fair. The print is grainy, but then, that's how it was meant to look. The Dolby Digital 2.0 audio track is slightly muddled; the 5.1 track is much clearer. The scene selection menu consists of video thumbnails which are always nice to look at, but as these selections are limited to twelve portions, you may need to search a bit to find a specific scene. Happy hunting!
Rating:  -
If you have a lot of love for Sam Raimi or the Coen brothers, it's worth checking out. It's a very silly movie, a live action version of Bugs Bunny cartoon. Bruce Campbell has a part, and Frances McDormand makes an appearance.
Rating:  -
After a long time trying to find the lost Sam Raimi/ Coen Brothers movie to rent I gave up and just bought the Region 2 DVD (cheao) from amazon.co.uk.
This is the film Sam Raimi did after Evil Dead 2 that he wrote with the Coen Brothers. The film was beautifully shot with some real great camera work but quite simply does not work at all. The tone is all wrong for the script or the script is all wrong for the tone. Its like Airplane meets the 3 stooges meets I dunno what? The major plus is that Bruce Campbell has a supporting role as the sleazy "Renaldo" and is AMAZING. But this films score, acting, dialogue and sound effects are just horrible. Glad I saw it and glad I got it cheap. Anyone else seen this?
Rating: -
Sam Raimi proved to us, with his first film "The Evil Dead", that his mixed Comedy/Horror combination made his original directing style stand out. Combining complex camera angles, camera movement and overbearing gore. Crimewave takes filmmaking to a new medium, combing the classic film noir detective theme, with comedic horror/drama heroes and villians. Collaborating the screenplay with his assistant editor from the evil dead, not to mention future vituroso director "Joel Coen" , and Joel's brother screenwriter "Ethan Coen", the screenplay stands out as an early inspiration to Coen Brother's films, such as "The Hudsucker Proxy" and "Miller's Crossing". Crimewave is clever and enjoyable from begining to end. The flaws sustain the intense overacting and slaptstick mentality, yet that adds an extra flavor to Raimi's love of the three stooges. Starring Paul L. Smith, as the unappealing and weak willed , hero, security worker,and Louise Laser as a temptress turned nun. Also, starring Edward Pressman and Brion James as the agressive villian duo of exterminators. Crimewave is a stylistic action thriller bleeding with horror and slapstick comedy. A wonderful second feature for horror's backbone, Sam Raimi.
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