F-0163

Title:

Something Wild

Category:

S

Produced:

1986

Country:

USA

Released:

Film: Nov 1986 (USA)
DVD: Jun 2001; Jul 2007 (2-DVD)
VHS: May 2001
Soundtrack: Oct 1990 (CD)

Director:

Jonathan Demme

Writer:

E. Max Frye

Actors:

Jeff Daniels (Charles Driggs); Melanie Griffith (Audrey Hankel, aka Lulu); George 'Red' Schwartz (Counter man - as George Schwartz); Leib Lensky (Frenchy); Tracey Walter (The Country Squire); Patricia Falkenhain (Charlie's secretary); Sandy McLeod (Graves' secretary); Robert Ridgely (Richard Graves); Buzz Kilman (TV newscaster); Kenneth Utt (Dad); Adelle Lutz (Rose); Charles Napier (Irate chef); Jim Roche (Motel philosopher); John Sayles (Motorcycle cop); John Waters (Used car guy)

Description:

The uneventful life of business-man Charles Driggs suddenly changes when he meets the wild and sexy Lulu. When he accepts her offer to drive him back to his office, she instead takes him out of town and on a trip, leaving behind his old life. Posing as a married couple, Charles and Audrey (which turns out to be Lulu's real name) visit her mother and her highschool reunion. At this reunion they meet Audrey's violent ex-husband Ray, who's just released from jail. When Ray makes it clear that he wants Audrey back, that's when the real trouble begins. (Leon Wolters)

Jonathan Demme's sexy 1986 road comedy, a story about the liberation of a stuffed-shirt businessman (Jeff Daniels) by a free-spirited punkette (Melanie Griffith), looks better and better as the years go by. By dressing Griffith in a bowl-cut black wig and giving her character the resonant nickname Lulu, Demme establishes a clear link with G.W. Pabst's 1928 Louise Brooks melodrama Pandora's Box--except that in this case the influence of a sexual free spirit is not seen as malign or corrupting. The turning point comes when the girl's hard-edged manner is discarded along with the wig and the nickname: Lulu turns into Audrey, a touchingly vulnerable, fluffy blonde. Ray Liotta, making his first big splash as Audrey's ex-con ex-husband, a hot-wired collection of homicidal tics, personifies the menacing aspects of the "wild side" of life. The intensity of the final showdown between Daniels and Liotta startles some viewers, but it provides a needed catharsis. The film's glorious soundtrack album featuring David Byrne's peppy title track became a hit in its own right, and is still readily available. (David Chute, Amazon.com)

Jeff Daniels and Melanie Griffith star in Jonathan Demme's tale of rebellion, romance and risk. SOMETHING WILD is the story of Charles Driggs (Daniels), a staid, respectable Wall Street tax consultant, who embarks on a crazy, erotic, wild, but ultimately dangerous weekend. Lulu (Griffith) is an alluring, unpredictable kook who decides Charles is a kindred spirit. Scant minutes after they meet, Charles is off on a roller coaster of impulse that includes kinky sex in cheap motels. When Charles encounters Lulu's ex-husband (Ray Liotta), a violence prone ex-con, Charles' impetuous flirtation with the wild side suddenly becomes a battle of nerves and wits far crazier than anything he's ever experienced. Punctuated by a an endless supply of thrilling surprises, SOMETHING WILD is a unique mix of comedy, adventure and suspense. (Amazon.com)

Language:

English

TT:

113 min / 114 min (DVD) / 218 min (2-DVD)

Bach's Music:

Minuet in G Major
Dana Preu

Format:

Film: Color
DVD: (Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NSTC, Region 1) | (Pal, Region 2) | (2-DVD Box Set, Color, Widescreen, NTSC, Region 1)
VHS: (Color) | (Color, Original recording reissued, NTSC) | (PAL)
Soundtrack: CD

Company:

Film: Religiosa Primitiva
DVD: MGM (Video & DVD)
VHS: HBO Video; Good Times Video
Soundtrack: MCA [CD]

Comments:

2-DVD Set includes: Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) / Something Wild (1986)

Watch selections:

Buy movie at:

DVD: Amazon.com | Amazon.com [Region 2] | Amazon.com [2-DVD]
VHS: Amazon.com | Amazon.com | Amazon.com [PAL]
Soundtrack: Amazon.com [CD]

Source/Links: IMDB
Contributor: Aryeh Oron (November 2007)