LETHAL WEAPON 1 (BR-DVD) DVD

Lethal Weapon
LA cop Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson), whose wife has recently died, is a loose cannon with a seeming death wish. This makes him indispensable in collaring dangerous criminals, but a liability to any potential partners. Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover), a conservative family man who wants to stay alive for his upcoming 50th birthday, is partnered with Riggs. As Riggs gets to know Murtaugh and his family, he begins to mellow, though his insistence on using guerilla tactics to catch criminals is still (put mildly) above and beyond the call of duty. The main villain is The General (Mitchell Ryan), a drug dealer responsible for the death of the daughter of one of Murtaugh's oldest friends. The General is also in charge of a deadly, militia-like gang of smugglers. Adding fuel to the fire is The General's chief henchman, played with all stops out by Gary Busey. Moviegoers familiar only with the relatively tongue-in-cheek Lethal Weapon sequels may be amazed to find out how dangerous and unpredictable Riggs is in the first Lethal Weapon -- and how likely it seems that Murtaugh might not survive until fade-out time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast Mel Gibson as Martin Riggs Danny Glover as Roger Murtaugh Gary Busey as Joshua Mitchell Ryan as The General Tom Atkins as Michael Hunsaker Darlene Love as Trish Murtaugh Traci Wolfe as Rianne Murtaugh Jackie Swanson as Amanda Hunsaker Damon Hines as Nick Murtaugh Ebonie Smith as Carrie Murtaugh

Crew Virginia Randolph - Art Director Eva Anna Bohn - Art Director Jennie Lew-Tugend - Associate Producer Marion Dougherty - Casting Rod Bernsen - Consultant/advisor Art Fransen - Consultant/advisor Mary Malin - Costume Designer Benjamin Rosenberg - First Assistant Director Richard Donner - Director Stuart Baird - Editor Michael Kamen - Composer (Music Score) Eric Clapton - Composer (Music Score) David Sanborn - Composer (Music Score) Scott Eddo - Makeup Steve Perry - Production Designer J. Michael Riva - Production Designer Stephen Goldblatt - Cinematographer Richard Donner - Producer Joel Silver - Producer Marvin March - Set Designer Charles Gaspar - Special Effects Verne Poore - Sound/Sound Designer Bill Nelson - Sound/Sound Designer Mic Rodgers - Stunts Bobby Bass - Stunts Dar Robinson - Stunts Shane Black - Screenwriter

Lethal Weapon
If the 1980s and 1990s were the golden age of action movies (in sheer volume at least), Lethal Weapon, descended from the tougher, grittier cop movies of the Seventies (Dirty Harry and The French Connection), remains one of its most lasting products. Similar to the following year's Die Hard, the first Weapon balances a likable and believable sense of humanity with a good helping of freneticaction. Mel Gibson is the star here, and his menacing but exposed performance (as in Mad Max) gives the film much of its edge. Director Richard Donner manages the pace of the movie well, and he is careful to make his two stars (Gibson and Danny Glover) the center of our attention without sacrificing the action thriller conventions and construction. Since his major film debut, 1976's The Omen, Donner has proven himself to be one of the more entertaining directors working firmly inside of the Hollywood system. This was the movie that launched Glover into the public consciousness after some notable supporting roles in Witness, Places in the Heart, and Silverado. It also marked a successful comeback for Gibson after a two-year break from filmmaking. ~ Brendon Hanley, All Movie Guide
 

Bill Nelson: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Sound (nominated) Dick Alexander: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Sound (nominated) Les Fresholtz: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Sound (nominated) Verne Poore: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Sound (nominated)

General Specifications: Language Options: English, French Subtitle Options: English, French, Spanish Sound Processing: DD5.1: Dolby Digital w/ sub-woofer channel DD2: Dolby Digital Stereo Additional Features: cc Additional scenes Theatrical trailer DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1: Theatre Wide-Screen MPAA Rating: R DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: Content Length: 110 min