Still of the Night | 
| Director: Robert Benton
Actors: Roy Scheider, Meryl Streep, Jessica Tandy, Joe Grifasi, Sara Botsford
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
List Price: $9.94
Buy Used: $4.06
You Save: $5.88 (59%)
New (3) Used (28) Collectible (2) from $4.06
Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 532
Format: Color, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: VHS Tape
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 93 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 630197610X
UPC: 027616141132
EAN: 9786301976107
ASIN: 630197610X
Theatrical Release Date: November 19, 1982
Release Date: April 23, 1996
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: Box is worn and stickered. Tape play fine or your money back!
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com essential video
Fresh from his huge success with the beloved Kramer vs. Kramer, writer-director Robert Benton chose to make a 180-degree turn with this frosty thriller. Roy Scheider plays a Manhattan psychologist, Sam Rice, who is dragged into a murder investigation when one of his patients is killed. The prime suspect is played by Meryl Streep, then at the height of her stardom (the film was released within a week of Streep's triumphant Sophie's Choice in 1982). Rice understandably lets his basic instincts take over and falls for this brisk, blond mystery woman, though he can't help wondering whether she will kiss him or kill him. The movie may be chilly, but it's well executed, with all-cool style and Hitchcockian angles. Benton gets good work from an expert supporting cast, including Jessica Tandy as Rice's mother, who's also a shrink. --Robert Horton
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 A marvellous thriller. March 14, 2000
Birthe Jrgensen (Odense, Denmark)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Some movies lose their power the more you see them over the years, but not this one. I've seen it many times, and even though I know the ending it's still gripping every time. It's also quite eerie through-out, thanks to several very atmospheric sequences. Movies of today don't seem to know how to be scary, simply because they just don't take the time necessary to build up tension, or know how to execute it well enough. This brilliant suspense movie shows you exactly how to do it right. It also helps if you have a good cast, and the teaming of Streep and Scheider proved to be pure genius. -Now all MGM must do is letterbox it for its long awaited DVD release !.
 Lots of Suspense November 18, 1999
Eli Baker (Denver)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Who cares if this movie is supposed to be no good! I've seen it a couple of times and I find it mysterious, moody, visually lush and interesting, and suspenseful. And I can't remember when Scheider was better (except, maybe, in JAWS). Don't let Maltin's review scare you off this one -- I think it is a great rainy-Saturday-afternoon movie.
A memorable movie July 8, 2000
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I saw this movie years ago, forgot the name, and have been looking for it ever since. If you like a good old scary suspense movie with characters you care about this is for you.It is a movie that is better than the sum of it's parts and they are darned good. For once I really couldn't tell if she was bad or not, but I'm not telling!
Intelligent, mesmerizing mystery February 16, 2004
Avid Reader (Franklin, Tn)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I saw this several years ago and noticed it was on a late movie recently. This time I was more struck by the quality of the work than the first time. It seems that almost every aspect of this film reeks with elegance and subtlety. First of all, Meryl Streep is great. This is before she became so affecting as she was wont to do in her later films. Then Roy Schneider as the psychiatrist turns in a brilliant understated performance. The villianess was incredible in her chameleon-like personality and actions. (The scene at her apartment where the camera slowly slides to reveal the mutilated detective will stay with you for a long time.)But it is the growing relationship between Streep and Schneider that gives substance to the film. Especially endearing was the dinner at his mom's (also a psychiatrist who keeps needling him about his singlenes). But it is the eerie mansion where the story unfolds and comes to a blockbuster conclusion. There are no monsters, aliens or hauntings but few cinematic scenes have been more terrifying. I can't conclude without praise for the magnificent score. It was brooding, melancholy and seemed to flow out of the action. This should be reissued on a DVD but so far has not made it.
The Hitchcock Touch January 8, 2007
Tom S. (New York City)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is a terrific little suspense thriller that's just waiting for rediscovery on DVD. Director Robert Benton, fresh from his triumph with KRAMER VS. KRAMER, turned his attention to that most popular pastime of modern directors--paying homage to the giants of the past. He directed this 1982 film as his tribute to Alfred Hitchcock.
STILL OF THE NIGHT has all the classic elements of Hitchcock--the murder investigation, the innocent bystander (Roy Scheider) who must solve the puzzle to clear his own name (and save his own life), the icy blond beauty (Meryl Streep) who may or may not be the killer, the creepy Long Island mansion where the clifftop climax takes place. Most of all, we have several examples of Hitch's most distinctive contribution to cinema--the suspense sequence that builds slowly to a payoff. The symbolic dream, the adventure in the creepy basement laundry room, the eerie midnight excursion into Central Park, the long section at the swanky auction house with the hero desperately trying to deflect the authorities who are closing in--these are pure Hitchcock, and Benton is better than most at making these classic ideas seem fresh and immediate.
What strikes me most strongly about SOTN is the loving care and dedication of everyone involved in the project, not just the direction and writing (Benton and David Newman) but the cinematography (Nestor Almendros), music (Broadway composer John Kander), and even the costumes (Albert Wolsky). And that cast can't be beat, from the glamorous stars right down to the extras. If you love Hitch as much as I do, give this film a look. And Fox Home Video really, really should put it on DVD (they own the MGM/UA library now, and the rights to this movie). Join me in letting Fox know that.
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