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      8 Million Ways to Die

      R 1986 1 hr. 55 min. Crime Drama List
      0% 8 Reviews Tomatometer 39% 500+ Ratings Audience Score Matt Scudder (Jeff Bridges) is a depressed and hard-drinking Los Angeles cop troubled by a shooting that occurred in the line of duty. After Matt meets Sunny (Alexandra Paul), a call girl involved with powerful drug lord Angel Moldonado (Andy Garcia), he decides that he wants to help her escape the shady underworld. However, Sunny is soon found dead, and Matt tries to win the trust of Angel and his girlfriend, Sarah (Rosanna Arquette), in order to take him down. Read More Read Less

      Audience Reviews

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      Boa Lin C only if you are Bridges fan Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 12/24/23 Full Review Rufus I started to re-watch the movie recently because I had a fond memory of watching it upon its original release. Never trust memories. They will fool you. I have a question maybe someone can answer. I was confused at why Sunny would ask Matt to negotiate her release from Chance when it was Angel who held her in thrall? I may have missed something (which is possible since the movie did not retain my attention for long I turned it off about two-thirds of the way through) but asking Matt her secure her freedom from the wrong person made no sense, and that was the movie's starting premise. It doers not bode well for a movie when its starting premise is illogical. Rosanna Arquette and Alexandra Paul were both embarrassingly inept, Arquette shrill and Paul giddy and over the top. Andy Garcia and Jeff Bridges were better but to no particular point in a flabby plot. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 06/27/23 Full Review Steve D Entertaining adaptation with some strange casting. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/05/23 Full Review Audience Member Awesome, many good moments Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review matthew d A dark journey into alcoholism and prostitution to end Hal Ashby's directorial run! Director Hal Ashby's neo-noir crime drama 8 Million Ways to Die (1986) is highly entertaining with absorbing, natural acting and a cool way for Ashby to go out as a director. It's a shame that Hal Ashby drank himself into a drunken stupor that didn't let him finish the film as it's a strikingly mature, honest, and profound picture. 8 Million Ways to Die looks at what it takes to remain sober as an alcoholic and leave prostitution as an escort. Ashby's neo-noir direction is all mood with an unsettling atmosphere in a gritty cityscape, while allowing for gentle scenes of heart to heart conversations. Every performance feels lived in and natural, getting to the heart of disturbing subject matter. 8 Million Ways to Die is one hell of a last film for Ashby to create. It's respectable and unfairly panned as it's a fascinating film from Hal Ashby. Oliver Stone's writing is basically just William Friedkin's To Live and Die in LA mixed with Brian De Palma's cocaine crime thriller Scarface, also written by Stone. Stone, Robert Towne, and David Lee Henry adapt Lawrence Block with a fearsome script. I appreciate how nuanced and raw 8 Million Ways to Die feels as it's aged better than To Live and Die in LA, while reaching for the cocaine fueled heights of Scarface. Stone captures the cocaine drug trafficking, money laundering, women exploitation of the 1980's perfectly, while also making the sobering private detective and leaving high class escort into empathy figures. It's less sexist than To Live and Die in LA, while feeling more honest about the Scarface lifestyle as a seedy and violent world to be loathed and crushed rather than glorifying drug dealing like what Scarface ends up doing for pop culture and street influence Jeff Bridges is incredibly subtle as the struggling alcoholic ex-cop Matthew Scudder, trying to solve a brutal case he feels guilty over. It's intriguing to watch his every natural movement and Bridges' famous improvised dialogue here as he comes across as genuine in each moment. He's very entertaining and cool in this early role for a young, handsome Jeff Bridges. Rosanna Arquette is breathtakingly beautiful and absolutely heartbreaking as Sarah in 8 Million Ways to Die. Her sweet and playful personality finds new warmth as the sympathetic Sarah, which shines during any of her conversations about life with Jeff Bridges. They have a wonderful rapport. She's certainly one of my favorite actresses ever now. Rosanna Arquette's 1980's acting run is incredible from Desperately Seeking Susan and Silverado to Black Rainbow. 8 Million Ways to Die is another refined and stunning performance from her. Randy Brooks is interesting as the pimp Chance with his unusual practice. He's intimidating and often funny alongside Jeff Bridges.It's nice to see Tom "Tiny" Lister Jr. as Chance's bodyguard Nose Guard. Andy Garcia is sleazy and terrifying as the off the rails cocaine drug lord Angel Moldonado. Garcia is giving his best Al Pacino in Scarface impression and it really gets dark and frightening. Alexandra Paul is lovely and heartfelt as the escort girl Sunny, who wants out, and will try anything to get out of the gross prostitution industry. James Newton Howard's heavy synth score contributes to the eerie atmosphere of 8 Million Ways to Die. Howard creates a sonic fog of uncertainty and disquieting foreboding. I wish more films had memorable scores like 8 Million Ways to Die. Stuart H. Pappe and Robert Lawrence's editing cuts at a smooth pace for 115 minutes, letting scenes breathe. Stephen H. Burum's wide shots are gorgeous to look at and his close-ups are classy and emotionally revealing. Gloria Gresham's costumes look stylish and laid back with a distinctly 80's aesthetic. In short, 8 Million Ways to Die is a real engaging crime drama with blasts of action excitement. Jeff Bridges and Rosanna Arquette are completely absorbing. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review kevin c Jeff Bridges stars as a former detective who's struggling with his alcoholism who begins investigating a possible drug ring, led by Andy Garcia, after his call girl friend is murdered. 80's movies are unapologetic in the best kind of ways, they're sleazy when they want to be, violent when needed, gratuitously sexy and politically incorrect. I love these movies. Rosanna Arquette is great in this as well. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      8 Million Ways to Die

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      Critics Reviews

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      Variety Staff Variety An oddly-paced work that is sometimes a thriller and sometimes a love story, succeeding at neither. Oct 31, 2007 Full Review Mark Salisbury Time Out What happened? With Ashby, Bridges, Arquette and a script co-written by Oliver Stone, you expect the result to be better than a long drawn-out episode of The Equalizer. Jan 26, 2006 Full Review Walter Goodman New York Times How did Eight Million Ways to Die commit suicide? Let us count the ways. Rated: 1/5 May 21, 2003 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Dreary second-rate urban cop drama. Rated: C Apr 16, 2016 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Too bad that the gifted director Hal Ashby (Last Detail, Shampoo) ended his career with such a sleazy thriller that even the reliable and appealing Jeff Bridges can't salvage. Rated: C Aug 8, 2011 Full Review TV Guide Considering the major talents involved here, one would expect to find something more than a run-of-the-mill crime thriller. Rated: 1/4 Oct 31, 2007 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis Matt Scudder (Jeff Bridges) is a depressed and hard-drinking Los Angeles cop troubled by a shooting that occurred in the line of duty. After Matt meets Sunny (Alexandra Paul), a call girl involved with powerful drug lord Angel Moldonado (Andy Garcia), he decides that he wants to help her escape the shady underworld. However, Sunny is soon found dead, and Matt tries to win the trust of Angel and his girlfriend, Sarah (Rosanna Arquette), in order to take him down.
      Director
      Hal Ashby
      Production Co
      Producers Sales Organization
      Rating
      R
      Genre
      Crime, Drama
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Nov 30, 2016
      Box Office (Gross USA)
      $1.3M