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11 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :- Very Good 90s Film Noir, 7 September 2002 Author: gbheron from Washington, DC
Jack Nicholson and Michael Caine are so good in this movie. The temptation to chew up the scenery must have been overwhelming, but neither did. Neither grandstanded, and each played their vastly unappealing characters right down to the last detail. Caine plays an aging and ill thief looking for that last big score on which he can retire. Nicholson plays a middle-class wine distributor locked into an unhappy marriage, failing business, and a young girlfriend to support. They unite to rob one of Nicholson's clients, an act they feel will solve all of their problems. Of course it doesn't and everything that can go wrong, does. And then things begin to turn ugly.Dark, noirish, this is not a feel-good caper flick. It's definitely not "The Sting". What it is is well acted, directed, and filmed. Highly recommended, I'm just puzzled why it was overlooked at the Academy Awards.
8 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :- Although Having a Magnificent Cast, It Is Just an Average Amoral Movie, 22 December 2003 Author: Claudio Carvalho from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
In Miami, Alex Gates (Jack Nicholson) is a small trader of wines, married with Suzanne (Judy Davies). He does not have a good relationship with his wife and his stepson, Jason (Stephen Dorff). Alex has a Cuban mistress, Gabriela (Jennifer Lopez). One day, he decides to steal a jewel from a rich client, in the house where Gabriela works as a nanny. Alex associates to the tuberculous small-time crook Victor Spansky (Michael Caine). A series of mistakes jeopardize the heist and the selling of the necklace. This amoral and noir movie has a magnificent cast. However, something does not work well, being just an average movie about greed. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "Sangue e Vinho" ("Blood and Wine")
3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :- Money and Wine, 12 January 2009 Author: Senyales from Fraggle Rock
'Blood and Wine' has a sort of film noire feel to it. It reminds one of the Humphrey Bogart and Alfred Hitchcock classics. Though it's not as stylish a film Rafelson does make good use of the Florida locations. Some of the dialogues are interesting too. The element of suspense is well maintained but what really works for 'Blood and Wine' is the unusual cast. Jack Nicholson is not very different from his other films but it suits Alex Gates. Michael Caine is a knockout as the murderer with a bad cold. He's quite the scene-stealer. Judy Davis is first rate. Stephen Dorff plays holds his own. Jennifer Lopez is stunning. What is most striking is her natural beauty combined with a natural performance. She more than holds her own and brings a certain humanness and courage to an otherwise fragile Gabriella. Overall, Rafelson's is an intriguing little thriller with a fantastic cast.
5 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :- Very enjoyable modern film noir, 10 January 2004 Author: perfectbond
I thoroughly enjoyed the twists and turns of Blood & Wine's plot as I steered through it by some very interesting characters who were brought to life magnificently by a talented cast, especially Nicholson and Caine. None of the characters are white as snow but all of them, even the Caine character, elicit some sympathy. My only complaint is that the ending although poetic is slightly unsatisfying. Then again that could be because of my sympathy and bias for Nicholson's character. All in all very enjoyable, 8/10.
5 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :- Stellar cast. Brilliant film making., 2 March 2001 Author: (kevdoggy@hotmail.com) from Seattle
Jack Nicholson is typically brilliant. Judy Davis is positively compelling. Michael Caine does what he does when given a great script: exceptional work. Stephen Dorff is a great young actor, and Jennifer Lopez is stunningly beautiful, if at times out of her league here.The script is good, the direction is excellent, and the film, in total, is a solid 8.5 on the 10 scale. Those who complain that the film is too violent shouldn't watch movies about crime. Crime is typically violent. (Despite the way it's depicted in most films.)See this movie. Ignore the idiots.
3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :- Florida noir at it's best since Huston's Key Largo; perhaps Nicholson's most underrated star turn from the 90s, 10 March 2007 Author: MisterWhiplash from United States
I'm not sure why I haven't seen Blood and Wine from start to finish up until today, but it has always been intriguing as that one Jack Nicholson movie I would see in bits and pieces on TV, with J-Lo in an early supporting role as the not-quite femme fatale, and Michael Caine as a guy with a very bad cough. Seeing it today I'm reminded of the classic work Bob Rafelson, director, and Nicholson did back in the 70s, even if they already reached their peak on their first film, Five Easy Pieces. But at the least Blood and Wine represents a return to form for Nicholson under the director he worked with most, either as actor or writer (he co-wrote Head), especially in the F.E.P. role of a SOB, which, of course, is usually as easy for Nicholson as raising up his eyebrows. His character, Alex, is a criminal, but not a very good one, as he isn't entirely able to balance out his goals as a jewel thief and as an adulterer with Lopez's Gabriella. It doesn't help that his wife (Judy Davis) has a son from a previous marriage (Stephen Dorff), who has it in for Alex big-time. Meanwhile, that jewel necklace is almost up in the air, and all his craggy partner, Vic (Michael Caine), can do is cough a lot and act more as a dumb muscle than as a consummate professional.So in these ingredients, Rafelson and his writers have a classic, cooked-up noir with enough style by its actors and locale to make up for what would be considered 'too violent' to show back in the forties (probably too sexy too, what with Lopez's 'assets'). Rafelson knows this material needs the best cast, and assembled is the best cast for the job, where desperation, greed, proper morality and just a moment of piece of mind get shifted around but are always the constants that all these characters. Nicholson is, well, Nicholson, cold to the bone but also a great liar, violent, passionate, but won't stop till he gets his way. He's not breaking new ground or setting up himself for the usual awards circuits, but it's still very cool to see him playing Alex as believable work of sleaze, almost in the tradition of Bogart (he actually does just as good, if not better, here than he did in Rafelson's 'Postman' remake). Dorff, meanwhile, could be considered the weakest link with a cast like this, but he holds his own fairly well within his character's basic lines, especially when considering the roles he'd have to take later on. Caine is a natural at playing against "type", which doesn't really exist for him, and disappears into this pragmatic but vicious parolee. And actresses like Davis and Lopez fit into their roles in the "noir" mood with equal levels of ease. I wish I could see Lopez in more roles like this where we might not believe totally her intentions for either of the men in her life, but is not necessarily cruel like the old femme fatales either.Released, as they say, under the radar back in 96, Blood and Wine uses its Miami and Florida locales like they're still lush and lustful and engaging, and the danger here isn't diminished from what's usually expected in the urban cities and dark alleys. Rafelson's got his A-game on here with an enjoyable story where we can guess pretty much where it will lead- the wills of men tested head-to-head- but it's a lot of harsh fun getting there.
3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :- Above average tale of deception and greed., 3 January 2003 Author: Infofreak from Perth, Australia
The team of Bob Rafelson and Jack Nicholson made two of the strongest movies of the 1970s, 'Five Easy Pieces' and 'The King Of Marvin Gardens'. It would be unrealistic to hope that 'Blood And Wine' would be as memorable as those two, and of course it isn't. But it is an excellent piece of modern film noir, one of the most underrated Hollywood movies of recent years, and the best thing Rafelson has made since the early 1980s. Nicholson is perfectly cast as a dissatisfied and greedy wine merchant who hatches a plot to steal a client's valuable necklace. He is assisted by a slimy British crook (a superb turn from Michael Caine in his best acting role in years) and his sexy young girlfriend (Jennifer Lopez, who is surprisingly good). Things get very complicated very quickly when their plan goes belly up, and Nicholson's estranged wife (Judy Davis) and his stepson (Steven Dorff) get into the picture. This is a well acted, interesting and unpredictable thriller with some real depth among the plot twists. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :- pretty good flick, 8 July 1999 Author: Robert D. Ruplenas
This is a pretty good suspense/crime/intrigue flick about a jewelry heist gone terribly awry. The big draw here is Jack Nicholson and Michael Caine, working together, for the first time, I believe. They provide two nicely contrasted portraits in malice: Nicholson as a two-bit hood with a connoisseur's taste and delusions of grandeur, down on his luck, and Michael Caine as a grimly desperate safecracker with advanced respiratory disease who feels the grim reaper at his heels and wants one last big score. Their plans are set askew by Nicholson's wife and stepson, leading to nasty complications. Nicholson and Caine are great together, especially the latter. Worth a see.
4 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :- A fine vintage Jack & Caine, 27 February 2003 Author: george.schmidt (george.schmidt@hbo.com) from fairview, nj
BLOOD & WINE (1996) *** Jack Nicholson, Michael Caine, Stephen Dorff, Jennifer Lopez, Judy Davis, Harold Perrineau. Fine devious neo noir and serpentine twists along the way with slick wine salesman Nicholson partnering with chronic, oily Caine (gleefully enjoying his scumbag role) for a get rich quick diamond necklace heist that only gets botched (natch) when his stepson Dorff starts to add up the heinous acts they've committed. Nicholson's attack on Caine is scarily funny. Directed by long-time Jack Packer, Bob Rafelson.
2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :- one of the best movies i have ever watched, 9 August 2006 Author: jedilost from istanbul, turkey
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
Among all those extra exaggerated action pack movies this film shines as valuable as the necklace the plot is about. The backbone of a movie, the script is well written. It directly goes into the action skipping all the 20 minute chatter that almost every film has at the beginning as an introduction of the characters. just a few words between the characters fully describe who they are and what they are after. but of course, it is the power of actors and actresses who make those few words a delicious show with the gestures they beautifully wear.the thrill begins immediately with the robbery which is successful but not perfect. things go unexpected and necklace gets into other hands. after that the thrill never ends while the robbers try to take it back.one of the best things about this film is, it doesn't create those movie heroes where you identify yourself with and show sympathy all the time. on the contrary nobody is perfect. everyone has some weakness or greed or something considered negative. and also nobody is the bad guy. with the exception of Victor played by Michael Caine who is portrayed as a real nuisance, everyone in the film is the good guy but unlucky with the life.i just loved this film.
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