48 HRS.

48 Hours was what turned Eddie Murphy from a hit TV comedian on Saturday Night Live into a movie star. It was his first venture into Hollywood and it was a smash success. The movie was an odd couple-buddy cop film.Nick Nolte played San Francisco police officer Jack Cates. He takes Murphy as Reggie Hammond out of San Quentin penitentiary to help track down his old crew members Albert Ganz (James Remar) and Billy Bear (Sonny Landham) after Ganz escaped from prison. Murphy played the smart talking criminal to Nolte’s tough guy cop. They go on an adventure together across San Francisco looking for the two wanted men. This leads to both hilarious situations and action. For instance, when the police first run into Ganz and Billy Bear it leads to a gun battle and one of Cates’ friends end up dead. An example of the comedy is when Hammond bets Cates he can roust a Country bar and get information on their case. Hammond poses as a cop and insults everyone he comes across with some great lines. He tells one guy he was too stupid to have a job and then he tells everyone gathered that he hates white people so he was enjoying interrogating them. Most of the time though Murphy played it straight as his character and Cates were running around San Francisco.48 Hours was a great introduction to Murphy’s potential as an actor, but it only gave a taste of what he could do. His later movies he got to play the jokester much more.C

They don't make movies like this anymore. 1982 was a very good time for cinema. The realism of early 70s cinema still lurked as the backbone for a lot of commercial cinema, and with dazzling results. The film was shot on real film and it has that look. In terms of acting, Murphy and Nolte just shine. The bad guys are real baddies, and they put in very convincing performances - nice and creepy. Another film with baddies like this: Eastwood's "Sudden Impact", made right around the same time, '82 or '83.I saw 48 Hours a second time with friends recently. There's a lot of back story to the plot which takes a good 40 minutes to establish before Murphy even makes his appearance. But when he does, wow, the picture really begins. I've kind of lost my taste for Murphy in recent years but this film clearly reiterates for me how and why Murphy suddenly exploded onto the film scene after having been only of Saturday Night Live fame prior to it. A masterpiece in un-PC that fans of crime cinema and comedy will love assuming they're not attention deficit and can hang with the brutal first half hour of the movie which is in no way comic.The DVD I bought looked great in widescreen but there were no subtitles as advertised on this link. My English is fine but the friends I watched it with aren't native speakers and need subtitles, so I was disappointed by the fact that there were none. There appear to be two versions in DVD - the one where Murphy has a cigar in his mouth, and the one where he doesn't. I bought the one where he doesn't. Don't know if the other edition actually contains subtitles, but might be worth asking a seller about if that's important to you.

Of course the movie deserves 4 stars, however I wish I could say the same for the DVD. What does it take for DVD company to release each DVD enhanced for 16x9 TVs? Nothing!Recently I bought a SONY BRAVIA 32 INCH display and I have a collection of over 600 Dvds. I learned now about "Enhanced for 16x9 TVs" and how important it is, I did not care about it or even know about it since I own a standard TV, however all my Dvds are Region 1 and in widescreen, I never buy fullscreen Dvds. So I did an inventory on my collection and realized the following:Out of 600+ Dvds, 42 are NOT enhanced for 16x9 TVs and they really look horrible when I played them on my PC. Anyway, according to my inventory.THE FOLLOWING MOVIES / COMPANY HAVE FAILED TO PRODUCE ANAMORPHIC OR 16X9 WIDESCREEN and I hope that these company will release them in the near future so that we can enjoy them on our TVs.MGM:Runaway TrainGraduateNo Way OutPrizzi's HonorFXShallow GraveThiefHouse Of GamesDead Man WalkingMiseryThe Eye Of The NeedleOverboardPARAMOUNT:Private Parts48 HrsComing To AmericaPrimal FearThe Ghost And The DarknessBreakdownUNIVERSAL:Day Of The JackalPsycho (AVAILABLE IN THE RECENT HITCHCOCK'S BOXSET AS ANAMORPHIC)Vertigo (AVAILABLE IN THE RECENT HITCHCOCK'S BOXSET AS ANAMORPHIC)The GameFOX:Abyss (I WAS SHOCKED TO LEARN THAT MY 2-DISC IS NOT ANAMORPHIC, NOR IS THE LATEST DIGIPACK EDITION)Raising ArizonaThe EdgeGreat ExpectationsRising SunThe RefRomancing The StoneThe Jewel Of The NileARTISAN:House Of The SpiritsThe Last SeductionThe Last EmperorThe Eagle Has LandedBoundPS: PLEASE ARTISAN, INSTEAD OF RELEASING 'BASIC INSTINCT' FOR THE 4TH TIME, WHICH MOST HAVE ALMOST THE SAME SPECIFICATIONS, CONSIDER RELEASING SOME MORE INTERESTING MOVIES WITH PROPER ATTENTION SUCH AS THOSE MENTIONED ABOVE.TOUCHSTONE / WALT DISNEY:RansomWhat About Bob?PS: IT IS A GREAT NEWS THAT TOUCHSTONE ARE RELEASING 'ENEMY OF THE STATE', CRIMSON TIDE' AND 'CON AIR' IN EXTENDED UNRATED EDITIONS ON MAY 16. I WISH THOUGH THEY DID THE SAME WITH 'RANSOM'WARNER:91/2 WeeksPresumed InnocentNOTE THAT WARNER STUDIO IS RELEASING ONE OF THE BEST 2-DISC SPECIAL EDITION SUCH AS 'SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION', 'HEAT', 'MALCOLM X', 'DOG DAY AFTERNOON', 'ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN' AND MANY MANY MORE.The reason why they don't release every DVD in widescreen enhanced for 16x9 is beyond me since soon Widescreen Tvs will replace standard ones.IT IS A RELIEF THAT AMAZON IS NOW STATING WHETHER THE DVD IS ANAMORPHIC OR LETTERBOXED.

I hadn't seen this in years and only really got it because I'm a fan of Murphy's, but I was glad I did because I'd forgotten just how good it is. Murphy is great in his breakout performance as a convict released for 48 Hours to help Nolte's cop track down one of his old partners who's escaped from prison and is after Murphy's long waited for stash of stolen money. I don't usually like Nolte's work, with the exception of Cape Fear, but he gives a surprisingly good performance as the violent, bad tempered maverick cop who's forced to work with a smooth talking convict. James Remar is at his best as the vicious escaped convict who seems to enjoy killing cops more than having sex, oh well whatever gets you off, and watch out for Star Trek the Next Generation's Denise Crosby in one of her earlier roles.

A great action movie . If you have not seen this I truly recommend it. Perfect picture and sound quality. I must first give my salute to Walter Hill Who co-vrote the script (with Roger Spottiswoode) and directed the Movie. The dialogue is outstanding, rough, tuff, yet funny and smart with Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy who delivers something extra to their roles. A must see movie. To bad that the only extras is the trailer for the movie.

sometimes you forget how good some of these older movies are. I had not seen for years really enjoyed watching again.

One of the great buddy films of the 80's which has a lot of wit, humour and action. Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte do a great job portraying crook and cop who are forced into working together as they both have information to help each other out. This film is an entertaining watch, well worth the time. The Blu ray transfer is ok, but the quality of the storytelling makes up for the shortfall.

This Was The First One Out Of The Two Film And It Is Brilliant.