LAST OF SHEILA (DVD/WS/ENG-FR-SP-SUB) DVD

The Last of Sheila
This suspense drama features an all-star cast, including Richard Benjamin, Dyan Cannon, James Coburn, James Mason, Ian McShane, and Raquel Welch. An interesting production fact about the film: its screenplay was written by actor Anthony Perkins and lyricist/songwriter Stephen Sondheim. Their careers depend on keeping in the good graces of Clinton (James Coburn), a powerful movie producer. That is why a group of actors, director, agents and other movie professionals (who hate each other) accept an invitation to spend a week on the producer's yacht on the anniversary of his wife's untimely death in a hit-and-run car accident. Once on board, Clinton requires them to play a vicious game which involves each person's revealing a damaging secret about themselves or someone else in the party. When one of the secrets to be revealed involves the hit-and-run murder of his wife, the game turns fatal. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Cast Richard Benjamin as Tom Dyan Cannon as Christine James Coburn as Clinton Joan Hackett as Lee James Mason as Philip Raquel Welch as Alice

Crew Tony Roman - Art Director Joel Schumacher - Costume Designer Michel Cheyko - First Assistant Director William C. Gerrity - First Assistant Director Herbert Ross - Director Edward Warschilka - Editor Stanley O'Toole - Executive Producer Billy Goldenberg - Composer (Music Score) Harry Frampton - Makeup Peter Frampton - Makeup Derek V. Browne - Camera Operator Ken Adam - Production Designer Gerry Turpin - Cinematographer Herbert Ross - Producer John Jarvis - Set Designer David Dockendorf - Sound/Sound Designer Anthony Perkins - Screenwriter Stephen Sondheim - Screenwriter

The Last of Sheila
The Last of Sheila is cold-blooded fun for fans of cinematic murder mysteries, especially those who prefer them somewhat on the chilly and cerebral side. Not that Sheila is off-puttingly erudite; although the screenplay is witty (not to mention bitchy), it's not the dialogue that will lose some people, it's the intricacy of the plot. Still, that's half the appeal in films of this type, and unlike some other similar movies, Sheila's plot never lets the viewer down by copping out, throwing in too many red herrings or misleading for no real reason. Everything that happens happens for a specific reason. Some will find the characters unpleasant or wish that they could get under their skin more deeply, but these are minor flaws. Herbert Ross's direction is visually uninspired, too often looking like a 1970's made-for-TV movie, but he's on top of his game when it comes to creating atmosphere and to keeping the balls in the air so that the viewers do not guess too early where they will land. Ross seems at a loss as to what to do with Raquel Welch, whose performance is embarrassingly weak, and Ian McShane, who is only slightly better. Fortunately, James Mason's understated thoughtfulness and, especially, Dyan Cannon's sparkling combination of unabashed selfishness, ebullience and blowsiness more than make up for shortcomings in other cast members. Sheila was largely ignored when originally released but has since developed a loyal following, partly due to the involvement of co-writer Stephen Sondheim, better known for his groundbreaking Broadway musicals. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
 

(no awards)

General Specifications: Language Options: English Subtitle Options: English, French, Spanish Sound Processing: DD1: Dolby Digital Mono Additional Features: cc Commentary by Richard Benjamin, Dyan Cannon and Raquel Welch Theatrical trailer Subtitles: English, Français & Español MPAA Rating: PG DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 119 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- 1. Sheila's End (Credits). [3:13] 2. The Invited [4:30] 3. All Aboard [3:28] 4. Six Secrets [5:51] 5. Dummy's Room [5:15] 6. See You Later [2:59] 7. Thing About Secrets [3:30] 8. Strange Vibes [4:56] 9. Hustlers With Bad Timing [2:34] 10. Engine On [4:55] 11. Tonight's Quarry [5:09] 12. Making Like Monks [3:15] 13. Castle Confessionals [6:48] 14. A Body Discovered [2:55] 15. Puzzle Pieces [:23] 16. Cards on the Table [5:00] 17. Unofficial Confessions [5:35] 18. Lee's Story [3:32] 19. Sick Business [7:15] 20. Unclean Exit [2:52] 21. Whose Fault? [3:14] 22. Director's Cut [3:12] 23. Getting the Picture [8:14] 24. Moment of Truth [6:02] 25. Danger of Improvisation [3:18] 26. Agreed on the Basics [4:37] 27. End Credits (Friends). [4:07]