Spanish Prisoner

Pros: Based on looks alone, it's great.
Cons: It is unfortunately a movie, not a painting.

“She is a peacock in everything but beauty.” Oscar Wilde - ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’



I’ve used that quote in a movie review before, though in a wildly (ha) different way, but the quote kept...

Pros: Fast moving, suspenseful
Cons: not enough to mention

This film is a fast moving thriller for you to enjoy whenever you have the time or inclination to watch a really suspenseful and entertaining flick.

Hmmmm. According to the rules of the Lynus write-off, my choice of film to review was to be...

Pros: Interesting dialogue, good acting.
Cons: Some plot twists seem pushed and the ending is a little weak

I saw "The Spanish Prisoner" again late last night for the second time after having seen it two years ago. It's the type of movie you want to see again because of all the plot twists it has. The second time through is enjoyable because I like to look for...

Pros: Campbell Scott and Steve Martin
Cons: Unusual, unnatural dialogue

I have watched "The Spanish Prisoner" a total of three times over the years since it was released in 1988. I still cannot claim to understand it all. Each time I watch it, I see something new that I hadn't seen when previously watching it. ...

Pros: Suspenseful plot and paranoia-inducing cinematography that keeps you guessing until the end.
Cons: Some strange dialogue, inexplicable character behavior, and one moderately annoying actress.

Remember that movie Oscar, with Sylvester Stallone? The one where a guy you’d usually associate with action movies turns in an unusually comedic role, making for a movie so funny that you forget halfway into it that you still have no...

Pros: Well-written (apparently)
Cons: Confusing story; cliche characters; not as suspenseful as intended

Independent films thrive on their dialogue, storytelling, characterization and other basic aspects while the big-budget Hollywood blockbusters use these elements only as needed. "The Spanish Prisoner" seems to be an independent film that tries to have it ...

Pros: Clever, engrossing story, well paced, Campbell Scott
Cons: dialog bizarre at times; blind and trite innuendos, maybe Mrs. Mamet

"We must never forget that we are human, and as humans we dream, and when we dream we dream of money." (George Lang to Joe Ross)

In one statement, a character in the movie defines the entire plot motivation. This movie,...

Pros: Steve Martin didn't play his role with a wink.
Cons: VERY slow. Bad acting. Extremely predictable plot. No real twists or surprises to be found.

One of the hazards that comes with trying to research a film you're interested in seeing by looking through the critics' reviews, is that basically it's a 50/50, hit-or-miss situation. How so? Well, say you're interested in seeing a particular film. You ...

Pros: Good story, good acting, good pacing, good all around.
Cons: Perhaps a bit too complicated.

David Mamet made THE SPANISH PRISONER in 1997, ten years after he made HOUSE OF GAMES (with Lindsey Crouse and Joe Mantegna). There are significant similarities between these two thrillers about people who are flim-flammed into ruination. THE ...

Pros: Elaborate plot with twists and turns
Cons: Incredibly weird dialogue, unrealistic acting and plot

My girlfriend and I were eager to see the Spanish Prisoner, because it came highly recommended by a few of her friends. One day we found it on the shelf at the local video store and brought it home, only to be pretty thoroughly disappointed. Here is...

Pros: Surrealism you can believe
Cons: You will need to accept the surrealism as part of the movie and get over it.

I've never sought out a Mamet film before; I rented The Spanish Prisoner on the recommendation of a friend. Before the film was halfway through, I made note to look up more films directed by Mamet.

The story is one of greed, of guilt, and of...

Pros: Maze-like story, wonderful script, lets you use your imagination
Cons: Not a very dramatic drama, performances are extremely low-key, some ungainly moments

The Spanish Prisoner is a 1997 film written and directed by David Mamet. It stars Campbell Scott as a inventor who works for a corporation, and who has just invented 'the process' that will put his company at the head of the game for years to come. He...

Pros: The greatest misdirection since The Sting
Cons: Nary a single one, other than I felt like a fool when they said "who dunnit"

The other really great movie of this genre, "The Sting", is the other one that begins with the letter S. I hadn't heard much about this film, but feared it might just be a displaced echo of that Ralph Feinnes bore. In consequence, I put off...

Pros: Mamet makes you feel like the main character; suspenseful and intriguing
Cons: It may take you a long time after the movie to fully realize all that it gives you to figure out

This film is one of David Mamet's latest contributions to the cinematic world of intrigue and suspense. If you have seen "Glengarry Glen Ross", then you'll absolutely flip for this one.

The Spanish Prisoner is about an...

Pros: brilliant, twisty, byzantine, Rewards multiple viewings on many levels
Cons: watching over and over can cause VCR overheating and social schedule cramping and delay anxiety

*note. I take the term "Maguffin" straight from Alfred Hitchcock. The "Maguffin" is a distant relative of the red herring. What is interesting about Maguffins is almost never the maguffin itself, but how people act around them and, at...