MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD & EVIL (DVD/WS/FR&SP/TR/MAP TOUR/INT/DL) DVD

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
Clint Eastwood directed this adaptation of John Berendt's non-fiction best-seller about a Savannah, Georgia, murder case. When this film was released, Berendt's book had been on best-seller lists for four years. As the film begins, New York journalist John Kelso (John Cusack), alter ego of author Berendt, arrives in Savannah to do a brief Town and Country article on the annual Christmas party given by sophisticated, urbane antique dealer Jim Williams (Kevin Spacey), who restored many mansions in Savannah, including the famed Mercer House where he lives. After the party, Williams kills his rude, violent lover Billy Hanson (Jude Law), explaining it as a necessary act of self-defense. Kelso decides to stay in Savannah to cover the trial, encountering a variety of colorful locals, eccentric and otherwise, including black transvestite nightclub performer Lady Chablis (appearing as herself), financially challenged bon vivant Joe Odom (Paul Hipp), vocalist Mandy Nichols (Alison Eastwood), voodoo priestess Minerva (Irma P. Hall), and Williams's deceptively powerful defense attorney Sonny Seiler (Australian actor Jack Thompson with a very convincing Southern accent). Kelso develops a romantic interest in Mandy while tracking the events that led up to the killing. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Cast Kevin Spacey as Jim Williams John Cusack as John Kelso Jack Thompson as Sonny Seiler Lady Chablis as herself Alison Eastwood as Mandy Nichols Irma P. Hall as Minerva Paul Hipp as Joe Odom Jude Law as Billy Hanson Dorothy Loudon as Serena Dawes Anne Haney as Margaret Williams Kim Hunter as Betty Harty Geoffrey Lewis as Luther Driggers

Crew Jack Gammon Taylor, Jr. - Art Director James Murakami - Art Director Michael Maurer - Associate Producer Phyllis Huffman - Casting Tom Rooker - Co-producer Robert Lorenz - First Assistant Director Clint Eastwood - Director Joel Cox - Editor Anita Zuckerman - Executive Producer Lennie Niehaus - Composer (Music Score) Henry Bumstead - Production Designer Jack N. Green - Cinematographer Arnold Stiefel - Producer Clint Eastwood - Producer John H. Anderson - Set Designer Richard C. Goddard - Set Designer Willie D. Burton - Sound/Sound Designer John Lee Hancock - Screenwriter William McConnell - First Assistant Camera John Berendt - Book Author

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
Clint Eastwood re-affirmed his directorial talents with this adept, atmospheric portrait of Savannah, GA based on John Berendt's wildly popular non-fiction bestseller. Eastwood wonderfully captures the pervasive feel of the Southern city's idiosyncratic subculture: The Savannah of Midnight is a world in which the everyday and the bizarre are one and the same. The film itself has a similar Southern drawl, unhurried and rich with suggestion. Kevin Spacey plays the potentially-murderous Jim Williams such that the character becomes a metaphor for the internally-conflicted South. John Cusack is reliably likeable, though the film's dependence on his character to move the plot along is one of its chief weaknesses. A couple of factors may have harmed Midnight's success at the box office: its laid-back, 155-minute running time is a bit long for most attention spans; and Eastwood took on the near-impossible task of visualizing a story that had already been realized in the heads of millions of readers. Still, the film remains a wonderful snapshot of an original, completely American slice of life. ~ Matthew Doberman, All Movie Guide
 

(no awards)

General Specifications: Language Options: English, French Subtitle Options: English, French, Spanish Sound Processing: DD5.1: Dolby Digital w/ sub-woofer channel Additional Features: "The Real People in the Garden" interactive tour of Savannah Interactive menus Production notes Theatrical trailer Scene access Languages: English, Français Subtitles: English, Français, Español MPAA Rating: R DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 155 min   DVD Chapters: Jump To A Scene 0. Jump To A Scene 1. Skylark [1:40] 2. Welcome to Savannah [3:34] 3. Walking the dogs [4:17] 4. "I rather enjoy not knowing" [2:05] 5. On the edge of a party [6:10] 6. An eye for framing things [1:54] 7. Armed partygoers [4:48] 8. A very colorful character or two [4:58] 9. No coincidences [2:08] 10. "New York is boring" [4:32] 11. Characters in a book [3:22] 12. The Lady Chablis [6:53] 13. Luther's not eating [3:11] 14. Good and evil in the garden [8:28] 15. The right flower [1:33] 16. The doll's white boy [4:47] 17. The bond between Jim and Billy [4:00] 18. The dog pound [1:51] 19. A good time not yet had by all [5:17] 20. Time for a kiss (Come rain or come shine) [4:41] 21. All the nuts we can get [2:04] 22. Opening statements [4:57] 23. Boone's coup de grace [3:31] 24. Seiler's coup de grace [:49] 25. Tucker's testimony...inside out [6:01] 26. The lady wants in. [2:09] 27. The belle of the ball [3:21] 28. Disturbing the peace (La bamba, Days of wine and roses) [2:21] 29. Her coming-out party [3:20] 30. Everything else is pure lady [1:22] 31. Getting this thing under control [2:58] 32. Not from me [2:10] 33. Mission to the morgue [6:21] 34. A confession [3:55] 35. Jimbo's got 'em [3:19] 36. The horrible night's events [3:01] 37. You be the judge [3:50] 38. The verdict [2:38] 39. Quarrel with the dead [3:19] 40. Eye of the beholder (Dream) [2:29] 41. Dead men's eyes [1:56] 42. A picnic for lovers [2:41] 43. Watch over the dead; End credits (Skylark, This time the dream's on me) [5:54]