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Cocktail [1989] (REGION 1) (NTSC)


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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

First and foremost a star vehicle for Tom Cruise, this paper-thin Horatio Alger story of a young bartender with dreams of get-rich-quick success is notable only for Cruise's immense likeability in contrast to a creaky plot and thinly drawn characters. Cruise plays Brian Flanagan, a young entrepreneur and ladies' man who with his mentor (Bryan Brown) takes the New York bar scene by storm. Through setbacks and tragedy, Brian eventually realises there's more to life than a quick buck, and fights for the woman he loves (Elisabeth Shue). Despite its shortcomings, a worthwhile viewing for Tom Cruise fans. --Robert Lane, Amazon.com


Cocktale
Review date: 2008-10-05 Rating: 10 out of 10

This movie makes you relax, makes you want to travel, to have fun. It is one of the best movies i have ever seen. Drinks, women, friendship, drama, it has everything. I recommend you watch it right before you go on a trip, preferably to the seaside, it can be a great "guidebook" for parties. When i have a good time, i can't help it and i think about "Cocktail", the one word that can best describe what you feel when you see the movie, and after that when you think about it is "If you want it, life can be fun" ; OK, maybe there are more words. I bet that after you see it you'll want to go with your friends, walk on the beach, drink something, in short, have a memorable night.

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Reviews


Classic Hollywood Fantasty On Real Life.
Review date: 2008-08-11 Rating: 8 out of 10

Movies have a way of glamourising even the most mundane of jobs. I have a friend who's been a bartender most of his working life and I know for sure he would write this film off as total fantasy. Tom Cruise delivers a typical trademark Cruise performance that is in my humble opinion vastly overshadowed by Bryan Brown who seems more of a natural on screen to me. I've always got the feeling from Cruise that he is acting whereas Brown you can almost believe is like that in real life. I'll admit I'm not a Cruise fan and this film makes him just about bearable for me. There are some classic lines here eg Cruise: "They all Hate me", Brown: "Wait till you've given them crabs, then you'll know real hate". At some point in the Jamaica scenes there is a total waste of expensive film footage on some of the longest kissing scenes I've ever scene. I presume this was put in as Cruise was at the peak of his heartthrob days but to me it's just annoying and I end up skipping through it to get back to the story. I do like this film because, as noted by somebody else "it makes you want to be a bartender". I refer you to my first and second sentence in this review. Despite its flaws it is without a doubt a classic with some great music, and some good escapism. I give it Four stars, without Cruise it would have been Five.

The little guy's finest hour!
Review date: 2007-09-16 Rating: 8 out of 10

Brian heads to the big apple in search of fame and fortune by pushing cocktails onto the city's rich and beautiful. Besides his wonderfully cheesy ode to the cocktail at the swanky nightclub, the best scene is when Brian and Doug artfully toss liquer bottles to the tune of Robert Palmer's classic 'Addicted to Love'. Pure unadulterated 80s pleasure! Some might object to the movie's allusions to souless lifestyles motivated by the pursuit of money and gorgeous women, and this certainly parallels similar patterns in movies such as 'Pretty Woman' and 'Born Yesterday'. This is partly symptomatic of the era in which the film is set, so rather then hissing and booing at the movie's premise it is more realistic to regard its sentiments within context. Furthermore, ultimately just like Melaine Griffith's character in 'Working Girl', Brian rejects the lifestyle ex-business partner Doug succumbs to. 'Cocktail' flirts with serious topics such as alcoholism, over indulgence and the rich/poor divide however at heart it is a feel good movie about triumph over adversity and getting the girl! Make yourself an Old Fashioned, and sit back and enjoy a young and handsome Cruise. They just don't make movies like this anymore and although it is somewhat of a guilty pleasure, it is a pleasure none the less!

RAISE YOUR GLASSES
Review date: 2007-07-29 Rating: 8 out of 10

A classic film from the end of the eighties. Nothing too deep or even controversial about it, it is a simple story that gives good entertainment from talented actors. Brian Brown almost steals the show with his portrayal of the "beer is for breakfast" cynical New York barman. Definitely one of Tom`s better movies.

First class film
Review date: 2007-03-17 Rating: 6 out of 10

In this tour de force of beverage preperation,vending, and development,a fresh faced Cruise delivers an acting masterclass!(Empire magazine August 89 describing it as "The emergence of a great!,Cruise emotes undiluted vitriol from the get go!,surely the role that will cement his rightful place alongside De Niro,O'Toole and Burton."
Based upon Laurie Lee's 'Cider with Rosie'~the film charts one mans lonely battle against predjudice,as the Southern town(Baton Rouge in all but name,..and location)struggles to accept Cruise and his 'Fancy Dan drinks',.the suspicion that the bartender may have a communicable disease simmers beneath the surface like so much soap,left unspoken upto the films heartrending close,where Cruise 'finally' accepted as capable? saves the lives of the mayors three sons by administering antihyperglycaemic lactose !,.. the constituent of many of his 'fancies'or cocktails!....as Billie Holliday plaintively croons 'Strange fruit' Tom delivers his powerful closing speech to the transfixed townsfolk,it is a little syrupy as he sobs uncontrollably to an apoplectic staccato fireball finale!,his throwaway comment "let dance be dance,food be food,love be love..but by God,.. never let a cocktail be JUST a cocktail" perhaps says more about that grabbing,selfish,decadent decade than a hundred glib lines from 'Ferris Bueller'~ Aaron Rose March 2007

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Elisabeth Shue
Tom Cruise
Laurence Luckinbill
Lisa Banes
Bryan Brown

Creators:
Tom Cruise (Primary Contributor)
Bryan Brown (Primary Contributor)
Dean Semler (Cinematographer)
Neil Travis (Editor)
Daniel J. Heffner (Producer)
Robert W. Cort (Producer)

Director(s):

Recording label: Walt Disney Video
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
EAN: 0786936124965
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Closed-captioned, Colour, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen,
Release date: 2002-08-13
Universal product code (UPC): 786936124965
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Region code: 1
Running time: 104 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1988-07-29
Language: English (Original Language)

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