ROMANCING THE STONE / THE JEWEL OF THE NILE [1984 / 1985 / 2012] [Blu-ray] [USA Release] Double Fun Adventurous Feature Film with Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas!
‘ROMANCING THE STONE’ [1984] When her sister Elaine Wilder [Mary Ellen Trainoris] is kidnapped by thugs searching for a priceless jewel of Colombia, and romance novelist Joan Wilder [Kathleen Turner] soon finds her own life filled with adventure. She sets out to rescue her sister and meets up with a handsome fortune seeker Jack T. Colton [Michael Douglas] who convinces her to beat the bandits to the treasure!
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‘THE JEWEL OF THE NILE’ [1985] In this thrill-packed sequel to ‘Romancing the Stone,’ Joan Wilder [Kathleen Turner] and Jack T. Colton [Michael Douglas] are back in the fast lane on a perilous trek through the North African desert. Not even treacherous tribes, deadly dungeons and dangerous villains can stop them from finding, once and for all, that mysterious Jewel of the Nile.
FILM FACTNo.1: ROMANCING THE STONE Awards and Nominations: 1985 Academy Awards®: Nomination: Best Film Editing for Donn Cambern and Frank Morriss. 1985 Golden Globes: Win: Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture in a Comedy or Musical for Kathleen Turner. Win: Best Motion Picture for a Comedy or Musical. 1985 American Cinema Editors: Nomination: Best Edited Feature Film for Donn Cambern and Frank Morriss. 1985 Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA: Win: Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing. 1985 Stuntman Awards: Win: Most Spectacular Stunt (Feature Film) for Terry Leonard and Vince Deadrick Jr. Win: Most Spectacular Stunt (Feature Film) for Jeannie Epper (stunt double) and Vince Deadrick Jr. (stunt double). Win: Best Highwork for Terry Leonard (stunt double) and Vince Deadrick Jr. (stunt double). Win: Best Overall Action Feature for Terry Leonard (stunt double) and Vince Deadrick Jr. (stunt double). 1985 Writers Guild of America: Nomination: Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen for Diane Thomas.
FILM FACTNo.2: Sylvester Stallone was originally considered for the role of Jack T. Colton. Film locations for the film ‘ROMANCING THE STONE’ included Veracruz, Mexico (Fort of San Juan de Ulúa); and Huasca de Ocampo, Mexico. Parts of the film were also shot in Snow Canyon, Utah. The scene where Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas get separated on opposite banks on a white-water river, about two-thirds into the film, was filmed on the Rio Antigua near the town of Jalcomulco, Veracruz. ‘THE JEWEL OF THE NILE’ came in with a $21 million budget; principal photography began 22nd April, 1985 with filming wrapped on 25th July, 1985. Location shooting took place at Villefranche-sur-Mer and the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, Cannes, France and Meknes, Morocco, among other locations, including Zion National Park, Springdale, Utah.
ROMANCING THE STONE Cast: Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito, Zack Norman, Alfonso Arau, Manuel Ojeda, Holland Taylor, Mary Ellen Trainor, Eve Smith, Joe Nesnow, José Chávez, Evita Muñoz "Chachita," Camillo García, Rodrigo Puebla, Paco Morayta, Kymberly Herrin, Bill Burton, Ted White, Pablo Guisa Koestinger (uncredited), Lorna Lable (uncredited) and Jos Laniado (uncredited)
ROMANCING THE STONE Director: Robert Zemeckis
ROMANCING THE STONE Producers: Jack Brodsky, Joel Douglas and Michael Douglas
ROMANCING THE STONE Screenplay: Diane Thomas, Howard Franklin (uncredited), Lem Dobbs (uncredited) and Treva Silverman (uncredited)
ROMANCING THE STONE Composer: Alan Silvestri
ROMANCING THE STONE Cinematography: Dean Cundey, A.S.C. (Directors of Photography)
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THE JEWEL OF THE NILE Cast: Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito, Spiros Focás, Avner Eisenberg, Hamid Fillali, Daniel Peacock, Holland Taylor, Guy Cuevas, Peter DePalma, Mark Daly Richards, The Flying Karamazov Brothers: Paul David Magid, Howard Jay Patterson, Randall Edwin Nelson, Samuel Ross Williams and Timothy Daniel Furst, Hamid Ait Timaghrit (uncredited) and Omero Capanna (uncredited)
THE JEWEL OF THE NILE Director: Lewis Teague
THE JEWEL OF THE NILE Producers: Jack Brodsky, Joel Douglas and Michael Douglas
THE JEWEL OF THE NILE Screenplay: Lawrence Konner, Mark Rosenthal and Diane Thomas (characters)
THE JEWEL OF THE NILE Composer: Jack Nitzsche
THE JEWEL OF THE NILE Cinematography: Jan de Bont (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 and 2.35:1
ROMANCING THE STONE Audio: English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
English: 2.0 Dolby Surround
Spanish: 1.0 LPCM Mono Audio
THE JEWEL OF THE NILE Audio: English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
English: 4.0 Dolby Surround
Spanish: 1.0 LPCM Mono
French: 4.0 Dolby Surround
Subtitles: English, Spanish, Cantonese, Korean and Mandarin
Running Time: 106 minutes (both films)
Region: Region A/1
Number of discs: 2
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Andrew's Blu-ray Review: ‘ROMANCING THE STONE’ [1984] is a very interesting scenario of the more traditional macho Indiana Jones template. Though the film does give us an Indiana like lead character in Michael Douglas's character Jack T. Colton, and the heroine of our story is really successful romance novelist Joan Wilder [Kathleen Turner]. Unlike the fetching but tough damsels in distress she writes about, Wilder is bored, repressed, and virtually a recluse in her New York apartment a beauty in the rough who has yet to realize her true wilder; nature and yearning for adventure. But that will soon change after she receives a mysterious telegram from her kidnapped sister, which lures her out to the jungles of Colombia and right into the arms of mercenary Jack T. Colton [Michael Douglas] who's a sort of an Indiana Jones. Uncovering a complex plot of pulpy skulduggery, the race is on to stage a rescue, tangle with the diminutive criminal Ralph [Danny DeVito], and uncover a centuries-old buried treasure.
‘ROMANCING THE STONE’ works first and foremost as silly escapist entertainment. The film makes no apologies about wearing its conventions on its sleeve, and that, like the Indiana Jones films, is a throwback as much to 1930s serials, especially focusing on the romance novels Kathleen Turner’s character writes. Yet it is our very familiarity with where the material is going that director Robert Zemeckis so shrewdly milks throughout the film. With a knowing wink at the audience, but without obnoxious, overt post-modern self-reflectivity Robert Zemeckis revels in fulfilling our expectations, and ‘ROMANCING THE STONE’ doesn't disappoint as a crowd-pleasing thrill machine. All the expected moments are here, especially the meet up between Jack and Joan, the wisecracking sidekick in Ralph, the breathless series of cliff-hanging action moments, and even with a mysterious treasure map; they sure did so well and with such a spirit of goodwill that it is hard to resist the film's natural charm.
Almost after its original release in 1985, ‘ROMANCING THE STONE’ still holds up really well even if some of the elements of the film have dated. Robert Zemeckis wasn't quite an action director of Steven Spielberg's calibre when Robert Zemeckis tried to elevate the film ‘ROMANCING THE STONE,’ as some of the action scenes feel a bit stiff by today's standards. But it's Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas, as well as Danny DeVito, who ultimately elevates Robert Zemeckis' already-sharp screenplay to the level of great commercial filmmaking. ‘ROMANCING THE STONE’ is tons of hilarious fun, and thanks to its two very memorable lead characters, it earns its place alongside the Indiana Jones film franchise, as one of the best genre yarns, when the film ‘ROMANCING THE STONE’ was released.
ROMANCING THE STONE MUSIC TRACK LIST
ROMANCING THE STONE (Written by Eddy Grant) [Performed by Eddy Grant] (Heard in the patio scene after Joan and Jack are invited into the "bell maker's" house)
MAIN TITLE (uncredited) (from the 1962 film ‘How the West Was Won’) (Music by Alfred Newman)
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As to the film ‘THE JEWEL OF THE NILE’ [1985] is of course the blockbuster follow up to ‘Romancing the Stone,’ and here we find novelist Joan Wilder [Kathleen Turner] and wanderer Jack T. Colton [Michael Douglas] went sailing off into the sunset together. In this thrill-packed sequel, Ralph [Danny DeVito] is back on their trail and they're back in the fast lane on a perilous trek through the fierce North African Desert. Not even treacherous tribes, deadly dungeons and seemingly endless villains can stop this trio from finding, once and for all, that mysterious ‘THE JEWEL OF THE NILE.’
Co-screenwriters Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal, taking over from ‘ROMANCING THE STONE’ creator and former waitress Diane Thomas, attempt to finesse by portraying the couple several months later, especially after the bloom has slightly peaked and gone off the boil, so to speak. Joan Wilder [Kathleen Turner] is suffering from a severe writer's block, while Jack T. Colton [Michael Douglas] is suffering from wanderlust, and, as might be expected, never the two shall meet. Soon Joan Wilder is offered the chance to do some serious biographical work, of a Middle Eastern modern sultan of sorts, and takes off, leaving Jack T. Colton in the lurch, where his dream boat is quickly blown up and he finds out that Joan Wilder has probably been taken hostage by the sultan, evidently one of those stereotypical Middle Eastern madmen types.
‘THE JEWEL OF THE NILE’ is a patchwork quilt of some screwball comedy clichés mixed uneasily with action- adventure that is woven around a plot filled with political intrigue and shenanigans. The film is all cobbled together and not sure what direction it wants to pursue from the start of the film. But Joan Wilder's wish to be taken seriously appears pretty much out of nowhere, the machinations that get Michael Douglas and Danny DeVito involved are slightly convoluted somewhat, to say the least, and there is just very little of the joie de vivre that infused in the first film. It's odd, especially considering the fact that ‘Romancing the Stone’ had been such a massive box office success, producer and star Michael Douglas obviously had a bigger budget to work with this film this time, but you can throw a lot of money at a project and still not have much to show for it. Despite the rather bizarre stunt casting of such performers as The Flying Karamazov Brothers, a lot of ‘THE JEWEL OF THE NILE’ is not quite got that pizazz that you got from the original film, despite that, I still enjoyed it.
This is all not to say that there are not some pleasures to be had in this film, especially with Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito, make an extremely charming lead character trio, and they play their characters to the hilt with some pizazz. Kathleen Turner as Joan Wilder is more confident and in control in this film, as befits the changes that Kathleen Turner underwent in ‘ROMANCING THE STONE’ and Michael Douglas as Jack T. Colton is a little less acerbic toward her, as befits his putative status of being head over heels in love with Kathleen Turner. Danny DeVito actually has little less to do in this film, especially plot-wise, this time around, and is relegated to his wisecracking role, something relatively thankless but which he plays for all its worth. There is also a lot of gorgeous barren desert scenery here, and an appealing supporting performance by Avner Eisenberg as the Jewel prophesied leader who will unite warring factions in that fractious region of the globe that is so often in the news, but all in all it is a rollicking fun packed film, that I know you will have a lot of enjoyment watching the film ‘THE JEWEL OF THE NILE’ and a good companion to the ‘ROMANCING THE STONE’ film.
THE JEWEL OF THE NILE MUSIC TRACK LIST
WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE TOUGH GET GOING (Written by Wayne Brathwaite, Barry J. Eastmond), Robert John 'Mutt' Lange and Billy Ocean) [Performed by Billy Ocean]
THE JEWEL OF THE NILE (Written by Terry Britten and Graham Lyle) [Performed by Precious Wilson]
I’M IN LOVE (Written by Jonathan Butler and Simon May) [Performed by Ruby Turner]
LEGION (Here I Come) (Written by Mark Shreeve, Pete Q. Harris and Richard Jon Smith) [Performed by Mark Shreeve]
FREAKS COME OUT AT NIGHT (Written by Larry K. Smith and Jalil Hutchins) [Performed by Whodini]
PARTY (No Sheep Is Safe Tonight) (Written by Pete Q. Harris, Nigel Green and Richard Jon Smith) [Performed by The Willesden Dodgers]
AFRICAN BREEZE (Written by Jonathan Butler) [Performed by Hugh Masekela and Jonathan Butler]
NUBIAN DANCE (Written by Pete Q. Harris and Richard Jon Smith) [Performed by The Nubians]
Blu-ray Image Quality – 20th Century Fox has re-mastered ‘ROMANCING THE STONE’ as well as its sequel, ‘THE JEWEL OF THE NILE’ back in 2006 with their special edition inferior DVD re-issue, has utilised the same master for this 1080p image presentation, but with the ‘Jewel of the Nile’ Blu-ray transfer seems adept with a softer palette, compared to ‘ROMANCING THE STONE.’ This is probably how it was shot originally and detail doesn't suffer much because of it. It does tend to mute colours to some degree. Background noise is fairly fine but visible in the monochromatic sky scenes, but overall with both films, they have a very nice transfer, however, it is not quite mind-blowing, but at least it does offer a good presentation I have seen of both the films yet. Again, in both films the colours are very vibrant, with the lush greens and reds are well displayed and the flesh tones very accurate. Visible details and depth slightly wavers, especially with the brighter scenes are generally sharper, while the use of soft-focusing can at times seem to be flatten out noticeably. But for both films, again the image presentation is very clean, with no obvious artefacts and all in all, we get for both films a very nice image quality and a joy to watch.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – With the films ‘ROMANCING THE STONE’ and ‘THE JEWEL OF THE NILE’ it offers us a 20th Century Fox upgraded 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio Surround experience. The Surround sound offers only bursts of discrete effects, and very little audible ambiance. Dialogue sounds are really fine, if sometimes artificial and harsh at times. At least it's well balanced well in the mix, and there are no obvious defects with the source. Just don't expect too much at all from this 5.1 DTS-D Master Audio experience. With ‘THE JEWEL OF THE NILE’ film, you have a 4.0 Dolby Digital track option available. The composed music score in both films are suited very well and adds to the ambience and excitement of both films and is used sparingly, as it should be to enhance what we view with each film.
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
ROMANCING THE STONE:
Special Feature: A Hidden Treasure: The Screenwriter [2006] [480i] [1.37:1] [3:00] is a nice tribute to the late Diane Thomas, who was tragically killed in a car accident at the height of her Hollywood success.
Special Feature: Douglas, Turner and DeVito: Favourite Scenes [2006] [480i] [1.37:1] [4:00] It is just that, with the trio recalling the film's best bits they enjoyed appearing in.
Special Feature: Michael Douglas Remembers [2006] [480i] [1.37:1] [2:00] This is so darn short one wonders why it needed to be split off into its own documentary.
Special Feature Rekindling the Romance: A Look Back [2006] [480i] [1.37:1] [20:00] The main production documentary, fresh interviews are included with Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito, director of photography Dean Cundey, plus a couple of others. It's a nice retrospective, focusing largely on the cast and touching on the basic points of the location shoot. Unfortunately, there is no Robert Zemeckis who doesn't appear anywhere on the extras for some reason, and his absence is apparent. Thanks to a lack of plot recap and a few bits of on-location footage and stills, however, this is still a slightly above-average documentary.
Special Feature: Deleted Scenes [2006] [1080p] [1.78:1] [19:00] Rounding things off are seven deleted scenes, all in high-definition. Most of the material elongates the early jungle scenes between Michal Douglas and Kathleen Turner, but there are also a couple of fun later sequences, particularly one involving an alligator. These are well worth watching for big fans of these two actors.
THE JEWEL OF THE NILE:
Audio Commentary by Director Lewis Teague: Director Lewis Teague discusses in the first few minutes of the track, the director also discusses the impact of the film on his career, chatting with Michael Douglas before officially being brought on board and the star's impressions of Lewis Teague's work, the importance of grounding the film in reality, his work on the script and the tight schedule, the advantages of making a sequel, and more. The first few minutes of the track are easily the best, but the entire track remains easy to listen to and mostly interesting. Offering up a mixture of standard stories and recounting shooting locations and the harsh conditions they had to endure with much of the shoot with a discussion of some of his favourite scenes and the challenge of working with non-professional actors like the Flying Karamazov Brothers, for example, and Lewis Teague remains generally easy to listen to.
Special Feature: Romancing the Nile: A Winning Sequel [2006] [480i] [1.37:1] [20:58] Lewis Teague recorded an audio commentary documentary, that plays silently for long stretches but he is frank in his self-criticism, if distracted by minor observations and is an above-average 21 minute warts-and-all behind-the-scenes exposé. Director Lewis Teague's commentary is pretty standard fare, but both the deleted scenes and Romancing the Nile documentary help to give some backstory into the making of the sequel and how it was shaped during production, though there's only passing mention of Kathleen Turner's on-again off-again decisions to participate in the sequel.
Special Feature Adventures of a Romance Novelist [2006] [480i] [1.37:1] [8:00] This eight-minute documentary of Adventures of a Romance Novelist; explores the challenges of writing a worthy new follow-up. Begins with an examination of the structure of the films and irony of a romance/adventure writer becoming entangled in real-life adventures similar to those she writes, but quickly turns into a rather dull piece that recounts the story and poses several questions that this film tries to answer.
Special Feature: Deleted Scenes [2006] [1080p] [1.78:1] [5:42] This almost-six minutes of deleted scenes are served up in high-definition, but this lot is of the rubbish kind, and I can see why they left them on the cutting room floor.
Theatrical Trailer [1985] [1080p] [1.78:1] [1:33] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘THE JEWEL OF THE NILE.’
Finally, ‘ROMANCING THE STONE’ is a sexy and fun adventurous yarn, and one elevated by strong direction by director Robert Zemeckis and there is great chemistry generated between Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. This double feature Blu-ray release is perfectly solid, with good video and audio experience, and a decent batch of special feature supplements. The trio Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito are united again in this follow up film ‘THE JEWEL OF THE NILE’ in this even more fun packed frolicking adventure. It was meant to duplicate the success and “feeling” of the first film and it does just that, but only just slightly. Once again the double Blu-ray release does its job bringing out the best qualities, especially of the cinematography and audio presentation. It's almost hard not to get wrapped up in the adventurous fun, especially in the 1080p image presentation, but the second film I would say is the slightly weaker of the two films, but still worth a view. “Feel good” adventure films like these two films do not come along very often, especially of this quality and you might be surprised as I was at just how much you will enjoy yourself and to me these two films are brilliant Double Fun Features and will give you endless hours of pleasure, as these two films have always been a massive big hit with me and viewing these two Blu-ray discs brought back many happy memories in what a great trio Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito work together to bring magic to the screen and this double packed Blu-ray release is a great honour to add to my Blu-ray Collection. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
