BEST SELLER (DVD/WS/16X9/1.85:1/SPAN-SUB/1987) DVD

Best Seller
Brian Dennehy plays a Wambaugh-type cop who has flourished as a novelist. At the moment, however, Dennehy is suffering from a profound case of writer's block. Coming to the rescue, as it were, is professional hit man James Woods. Recently dumped by his boss, above-suspicion business executive Paul Shenar, Woods is anxious to tell his life story to Dennehy, in hopes of striking it rich with a tell-all bestseller. Shenar, however, takes a dim view of Woods' indiscretions, and for a while it looks as though it's curtains for both Dennehy and his teenaged daughter Allison Balson. Screenwriter Larry Cohen has claimed that Best Seller was based on Strangers on a Train. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast James Woods as Cleve Brian Dennehy as Detective Lieutenant Dennis Meechum Victoria Tennant as Roberta Gillian Allison Balson as Holly Meechum Paul Shenar as David Madlock George Coe as Graham, Madlock's Lawyer Anne Pitoniak as Mrs. Foster Mary Carver as Cleve's mother Sully Boyar as Monk Kathleen Lloyd as Annie Harold Tyner as Cleve's Father

Crew Robert Howland - Art Director Steve Stephens - Boom Operator Michael McLean - Casting Diane Dimeo - Casting David C. Anderson - First Assistant Director John Flynn - Director David Rosenbloom - Editor John Daly - Executive Producer Derek Gibson - Executive Producer Pamela Peitzman - Hair Styles Jay Ferguson - Composer (Music Score) Budd Carr - Musical Direction/Supervision Jean Paul Martini - Songwriter Lamont Dozier - Songwriter Deborah Figuly - Makeup Susan Kaufman - Makeup Pamela Peitzman - Makeup Christopher Tufty - Camera Operator Gene Rudolf - Production Designer Fred Murphy - Cinematographer Jack Roe - Production Manager Carter DeHaven III - Producer Chris A. Butler - Set Designer Susan Kaufman - Set Designer Ken Speed - Special Effects Robert Olmstead - Special Effects Peter Kunz - Special Effects Kevin O'Connell - Sound/Sound Designer Donald O. Mitchell - Sound/Sound Designer Rick Kline - Sound/Sound Designer Pieter Hubbard - Sound Editor Hal Sanders - Sound Editor Mike Warner - Sound Editor Joseph A. Ippolito - Sound Editor Chuck Hicks - Stunts Steve Lambert - Stunts Conrad Palmisano - Stunts Steve Lambert - Stunts Coordinator Paul Kurta - Unit Production Manager Larry Cohen - Screenwriter Tony Schwartz - Production Assistant Don Devine - First Assistant Camera Rudy M. Fenenga, Jr. - First Assistant Camera R. Michael Stringer - Gaffer Michael Neale - Grip Tim Collins - Grip Dylan Shephard - Key Grip Allan K. Rosen - Music Editor Janet Lee Smith - Production Coordinator James A. Rathbun - Properties Master Marilyn Bailey - Script Supervisor Leo Zisman - Second Assistant Director Lorey Sebastian - Still Photographer Bill Phillips - Supervising Sound Editor Sandra Culotta - Costume/Wardrobe Mary Law Weir - Costume/Wardrobe Dorothy Amos - Costume/Wardrobe Murshel Lewis - Costume/Wardrobe Richard Baum - Assistant Properties John Phillips - Assistant Sound Editor Ben Batzdorff - Best Boy Electric David Bodin - Best Boy Grip Dylan Shephard - Dolly Grip Curtis Pepper - Electrician Eric Ward - Electrician Ricardo Delgado - Electrician Rick Montgomery - Extra Casting Dan Parada - Extra Casting Julianne Berdrow - First Assistant Accountant Deborah Zimmerman - First Assistant Editor Ellen Heuer - Foley Artist Dan O'Connell - Foley Artist Robert G. Santarella - Leadman Jim Mathews - Production Accountant Philip Lee - Second Assistant Camera Karen Miller Ehrlich - Second Second Assistant Director David Lux - Storyboard Artist Claude Debussy - Featured Music Lee Alexander - Production Sound Mixer Bundy Chanock - Set Medic/First Aid Randy Bostic - Swing Gang Barbara Harris - Voice Casting Phill Norman - Title Design

Best Seller
This terse, tense, no-nonsense collaboration between screenwriter Larry Cohen and director John Flynn parlays tough-guy attitude into true-crime thrills. The sort of well-crafted but unpretentious mid-budget cops-and-killers flick that seems to have disappeared since its '70s and '80s heyday, Best Seller features typically intense performances from stars Brian Dennehy and James Woods, the former as a hard-bitten cop turned author, the latter as an elegant, haughty hit man. Although the script is so soaked in testosterone that the only female presence of any note is the cop character's stupid, damsel-in-distress daughter, Cohen gives in to manly sentiment at the end; yet, the many well-wrought suspense sequences, strong lead actors, and literary plot hook elevate the material above its otherwise fairly typical crime-world scenario. Hardly a classic, Best Seller is still solid entertainment for genre aficionados. It might make a good video double feature with F/X, another gimmicky Dennehy hriller. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
 

James Woods: Independent Spirit Awards, Best Actor (nominated)

General Specifications: Language Options: English, French, Spanish Subtitle Options: English, French, Spanish Sound Processing: DD1: Dolby Digital Mono Additional Features: Original theatrical trailer English: Mono French: Mono Spanish: Mono English, French & Spanish language subtitles DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1: Theatre Wide-Screen 1.33:1: Pre-1954 Standard MPAA Rating: R DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 2 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 95 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- Widescreen 1. Main Title/Intro 2. "Nixon Mask Robbery" 3. "Say Thank You" 4. Shooting for Attention 5. "We Need Each Other" 6. "Talk to the Man" 7. Plotting Murders 8. Showing Willpower 9. Welcome Home 10. No Bribes Allowed 11. Sympathetic Character 12. "Tell the Truth" 13. Almost Kidnapping 14. "Surprise!" 15. "I'm the Hero" 16. Final Retribution Side #2 -- Standard 1. Main Title/Intro 2. "Nixon Mask Robbery" 3. "Say Thank You" 4. Shooting for Attention 5. "We Need Each Other" 6. "Talk to the Man" 7. Plotting Murders 8. Showing Willpower 9. Welcome Home 10. No Bribes Allowed 11. Sympathetic Character 12. "Tell the Truth" 13. Almost Kidnapping 14. "Surprise!" 15. "I'm the Hero" 16. Final Retribution