The Hot Spot (1990)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Dennis Hopper

Writers (WGA):

Charles Williams (book)
Nona Tyson (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

12 October 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Film Noir Like You've Never Seen.

Plot:

A loner (Johnson) drives into a small Texas town and gets himself a job at a used car dealership. He...

Plot Keywords:

Accountant | Female Nudity | Beautiful Woman | Bank Robbery | Cleavage

Cast

Don Johnson	...	Harry Madox
Virginia Madsen	...	Dolly Harshaw
Jennifer Connelly	...	Gloria Harper
Charles Martin Smith	...	Lon Gulick
William Sadler	...	Frank Sutton
Jerry Hardin	...	George Harshaw
Barry Corbin	...	Sheriff
Leon Rippy	...	Deputy Tate
Jack Nance	...	Julian Ward
Virgil Frye	...	Deputy Buck
John Hawker	...	Uncle Mort
Margaret Bowman	...	Woman at Gas Station
Debra Cole	...	Irene Davey
Karen Culley	...	Cowgirl
Cody Haynes	...	Cowboy

Runtime:

130 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | Canada:R

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Orion Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Mike Figgis was originally scheduled to direct with Elisabeth Shue in a lead role. The collaboration was not to be, however, but Figgis remembered Shue when casting for Leaving Las Vegas (1995)

Goofs:

Continuity: After Harry shoots Frank, the pistol's slider is seen stuck at the rear position indicating an empty magazine. Yet a second later when Harry gets off the floor, the slider is in the forward position and the hammer is cocked.

Quotes:

[after having sex in a car lot]
Dolly Harshaw: That was more fun than eating cotton-candy barefoot.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex, Drugs and Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood (2003)

Soundtrack:

WALL FLOWER WALTZ

Shades of Jim Thompson

The audience for this film stayed away because of Don Johnson. In his defense, Johnson has been in a few very good films (Melanie, A Boy & His Dog), and he is very smooth and sleazy here. Fueled by a great sound-track, provided by John Lee Hooker, Miles Davis and Jack Nitzsche, this dirty edged noir evokes a Jim Thompson like feel, and is beautifully lit and shot. Dennis Hopper directed, and he did just fine. There is so little good noir in the last 30 plus years, that fans of the genre will want to see this. And if you get the chance to see it on the big screen, it is well worth it. In an era when no 'new noir' comes close to Polanski's Chinatown, this movie is way better than Body Heat or LA Confidential. It certainly looks better, and has a much rawer sensibility and texture.