Revenge (film)

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Revenge
DVD cover
Directed by	Tony Scott
Produced by	Stanley Rubin Hunt Lowry
Written by	Jim Harrison (novel) Jeffrey Alan Fiskin
Starring	Kevin Costner Anthony Quinn Madeleine Stowe Miguel Ferrer John Leguizamo
Music by	Jack Nitzche
Cinematography	Jeffrey L. Kimball
Editing by	Chris Lebenzon Michael Tronick
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures New World Pictures
Release date(s)	February 16, 1990
Running time	Theatrical cut 124 min. Director's Cut 104 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$10 million
Gross revenue	$15.65 million
IMDb profile

Revenge is a 1990 crime-drama-thriller starring Kevin Costner, Anthony Quinn, Madeleine Stowe, Miguel Ferrer and Sally Kirkland. It was directed by Emmy Award-winning director Tony Scott.

Some scenes were filmed in Mexico. The movie is a production of New World Pictures and Rastar Films and released by Columbia Pictures. Revenge also features one of Emmy Award-winning actor John Leguizamo's earliest movie roles.

The movie itself made 15 million dollars in the box office by the time of its opening in 1990, and was considered as a failure critically and commercially.

1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Trivia
4 Alternate versions
5 External links

[edit] Plot

Michael J. "Jay" Cochran (Kevin Costner) is a retiring fighter pilot who, after 12 years in the service, wants to relax and live one day at a time. He goes to Mexico, accepting an invitation from his friend Tibby (Tiburón) Mendez (Anthony Quinn) to spend time at his estate.

Once there, Cochran meets Tibby's wife, a beautiful young woman named Miryea (Madeleine Stowe), and begins to spend time with her. Miryea is very unhappy because her much-older husband does not want children and she feels like a trophy wife, certain as well that Tibby has a darker side. While suspecting that one of Tibby's henchmen has killed a man after a formal dinner in their home, Miryea becomes more and more attracted to Jay, giving him a book of poetry and sharing a walk on the beach. During a party, they secretly make love in the cloak room.

Tension grows between Jay and Miryea, worried that Tibby will become aware of the situation. Miryea persuades him to not go back to the U.S. He hesitantly accepts, in order to spend more time with her.

To arrange a secret rendezvous, Miryea makes a call to a friend in Miami, saying that if Tibby calls, her friend should vouch that she is there. This conversation is intercepted by Cesar, one of Tibby's employees. Tibby visits Jay and invites him to travel to Rome, to fix some guns he gave earlier to him, but the offer is refused; understanding that the affair is happening, Tibby leaves saying only goodbye.

Jay and Miryea slip away to Jay's remote cabin in the countryland. In bed, they are surprised by Tibby and his henchmen, Tibby calls Mireya a "faithless whore", slaping her in the face, while two hechmen take Jay, throwing him up against a wall, only to pick him up and beat him mercilessly; Mireya watches in vain, screaming and crying, and the hechmen leave Jay laying on the floor, badly injured, bleeding and almost unconsious. Tibby slashes Mireya's face. Jay is dumped in the desert and left to die. Miryea is placed in a whorehouse, where she is drugged and abused.

Jay recovers and begins a search for her, seeking revenge against his enemies and his old friend. Soon, in the company of two Mexican outcasts (friends of a man who healed Jay back to life), he tracks down Tibby, demanding to know where Miryea is. Tibby in turn asks Jay to apologize for taking his wife away. Jay grants him the apology and finds Miryea in a convent nearby. Discovering that she's very ill, Jay carries her outside. She dies in his arms.

[edit] Cast

Kevin Costner as Michael J. "Jay" Cochran
Anthony Quinn as Tiburon "Tibby" Mendez
Madeleine Stowe as Miryea Mendez
Miguel Ferrer as Amador
John Leguizamo as Ignacio, Amador's cousin
Tomas Milian as Cesar
James Gammon as Texan
Jesse Corti as Medero
Sally Kirkland as Rock Star

[edit] Trivia

Was originally going to be directed by John Huston, who did not want Kevin Costner as a lead. After Costner became a success with The Untouchables and Bull Durham, he was powerful enough to produce it himself.

[edit] Alternate versions

The version included on the 2007 DVD and Blu-ray releases is Tony Scott's shorter director's cut, running 104 minutes. The original 124-minute version is due to Kevin Costner and Ray Stark.

The director's cut includes several re-edits, and in general, deletes many scenes in the original cut:

During the beating of Jay, the main hechmen stomps in one of his hands, crushing several fingers, in the new cut, that scene is missing, replaced by that same thug kicking Jay a few times while he is on the floor.
The jeep ride sequence, is shown in a more explicit way, also we see Mireya and Jay stoping in a lake near by to drink some beers and have sex. The original soundtrack sequence has been changed.
The role of Sally K. is shortened.
In the opening flying sequence, while the jet of Jay is in the sky, a beaten man can be seen crawling in the desert, as it was some kind of premonition for what's to come.
After the revenge of Tibbey we can see him selecting a new young wife, but as it was something more protocol-related thing.
All the scenes that showed the doubts and hesitations of Jay relating the affair are gone in the new cut.