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Actors: Brian Dennehy, James Woods, Victoria Tennant, Paul Shenar, Charles Tyner
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Best Seller |
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Written by Larry Cohen (It's Alive!), BEST SELLER is a movie directed by John Flynn in 1987.
Dennis Meechum, a L.A. policeman, has become famous by writing a novel telling of a ganster attack on a police station he used to work in. Fifteen years later, Dennis's wife is dead and he has writer's block. He's contacted by Cleve, a professional killer who's worked for years for David Madlock and the Kappa corporation. Cleve, dismissed by Madlock, wants to take revenge on his ex-boss by describing to Meechum all the crimes he's committed for Madlock.
At first doubtful, Meechum starts to believe Cleve when Madlock's hitmen try to kill them on several occasions. Madlock knows that a novel written by Meechum could do him more harm than anything. Meechum, in the company of Cleve, flies to NYC in order to gather evidence and see some of the crime scenes described by Cleve, then to Oregon to meet Cleve's family and finally to El Paso in order to question the only witness of one of the murders. Madlock's pressure and threats become soon unbearable as the novel is finished.
--Daniel Staebler, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of Best Seller |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about
books by breaking them down into many different literary
elements, all of which are searchable (click here). |
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Movie
Actual chase scenes or violence - 30%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 50%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
Time/Era of Movie:
- 1980's-1999
Crime & Police Story?
Yes
Crime story:
- hunted by killer/stalker
Criminal enemy is...
- big business/rich guy
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- police/lawman
Age:
- 40's-50's
Eccentric:
Yes
- eccentric
Hair color?
- blonde
Hair style
- short/standard wavy (man)
Body type
- fat (man)
Events of movie makes character more...
- cynical
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Hair color
- brunette (Brown)
Hair style
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- very skinny (man)
Unclothed?
- chest
How much in movie?
- 90%-100%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Main Adversary
Identity:
- a criminal organization
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 90%-100%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- West
Air?
Yes
Air:
- passenger plane
City?
Yes
City:
- New York
- Los Angeles
Misc setting
- fancy mansion
- resort/hotel
- building
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- gory visuals of deaths
Movie makes you feel...
- excited
How many deaths in film?
- 8 or more
Sex/nudity in movie?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- seeing breasts
Kind of violence:
- hand to hand
- guns
- knives
Unusual forms of death
- perforation--bullets
- perforation--swords/knives
Any profanity?
- Some foul language
Lot of special effects?
Yes
Kinds of F/X
- exploding vehicles
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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