Review of Romancing The Stone / Jewel Of The Nile Twin Pack

Introduction

The Indiana Jones movies in the early eighties rejuvenated and revitalised a fading genre, that of the Saturday matinee. Indy and his bullwhip made it clear to avaricious movie moguls that there was still money to be made from the swashbuckling adventures of treasure hunters in faraway climes, battling the forces of evil and rescuing damsels aplenty. The Indiana Jones films were quite naturally the pinnacles of the genre, and plenty of cheap cash-ins soon followed such as King Solomon`s Mines and its sequel. 1984 saw the release of Romancing The Stone, which gave the treasure hunting and swashbuckling a contemporary twist and more than a dash of romance as the title suggests. The following year, a hastily released sequel followed with a Middle Eastern flavour. Jewel Of The Nile and Romancing The Stone certainly don`t plumb the depths of the cheap knock-off, but don`t quite reach the heights of the Indiana Jones movies, and given their contemporary settings are more likely to have dated in the intervening twenty years.

Romancing The Stone

Joan Wilder is a romance novelist who lives with her cat in New York. A hopeless (hopeful?) romantic she waits for the hero of her own books to sweep her off her feet. On the day that she receives a package from Columbia, she gets a phone call from her sister Elaine. Two unscrupulous brothers have kidnapped Elaine, and Ira and Ralph are willing to exchange Elaine for the treasure map that was mailed to Joan, though she has to come to Cartagena, Columbia to make the trade. But in Columbia, the corrupt and malicious Zolo directs her onto the wrong bus. When she is stranded in the middle of the jungle, Zolo seizes his chance to take the map, but Joan is saved at the last minute by Jack Colton. Colton has been in Columbia collecting rare birds, but has just seen his hard work escape when the bus crashed into his jeep. He agrees to take Joan back to civilisation for a price, but hasn`t counted on being pursued by Zolo and his private army, or the desperate Ralph. Joan finds that her saviour doesn`t match her heroic vision, more interested as he is in profit than doing the right thing. It`s a match made in hell.

Jewel Of The Nile

Some time has passed and Joan and Jack are living the high life cruising around the world. Unfortunately the `happily ever after` hasn`t quite worked out, and Jack is losing himself in the partying, while Joan is having trouble finding her muse when it comes to completing her latest novel, and neither is really communicating with the other. Joan is looking for something new, and jumps at the chance offered by Omar Khalifa, a North African dictator who is looking for a biographer. Enchanted by his vision, Joan decides to go to Africa to pursue this career opportunity, but Jack`s heart is set on sailing the Mediterranean. It all goes wrong for Jack though when Joan leaves; his boat gets blown up, and Ralph shows up looking for revenge. A Sufi assassin stops Ralph though and demands that Jack help him. Apparently, Omar has stolen his people`s Jewel and since Jack`s girlfriend is now with Omar, he`ll be able to get into his fortress to retrieve it. Jack is more interested in vengeance though, and reluctantly saddled with a new partner in Ralph whose eyes light up at the mention of the Jewel, they head to the Nile after Joan.

Video

Both films are given 2.35:1 anamorphic transfers on two single layer discs. These discs are getting to be around 4 years old now, and the signs of age are beginning to show. Romancing The Stone`s image is clear and colourful for the most part, with just a hint of print damage. It`s a strictly no frills transfer though, the image is not particularly sharp, with small or detailed objects prone to shimmer, or moiré. There is the odd moment of ghosting in darker scenes and one instance of flicker. It could certainly use a better transfer.

Jewel Of The Nile`s transfer is marginally better however, with moiré far less evident, although the image remains as soft as the first film`s. It probably was just me, but I felt that the aspect ratio seemed odd in a couple of scenes. It looked as if a 2.00:1 ratio had been compressed down to 2.35:1 and that the characters seemed shorter than they should. Some of the special effects are distinctly low budget too.

Audio

The sound for both films is presented in DD 2.0 Surround English, with a plethora of subtitles.

The sound on Romancing The Stone is acceptable, with the dialogue clear, and the surrounds fairly lively in establishing ambience, punctuating action and the music. Alan Silvestri provides the music and gives a lively adventuresome score that perfectly suits the sense of fun and excitement. Jewel Of The Nile`s sound is much the same, but Jack Nitzsche in this case provides the music, and as a score it isn`t up to the standards of the first film, often sounding mawkish and sentimental.

Features

Trailers are provided for both films, and they are quite entertaining productions with Danny DeVito reprising his Ralph character. Unfortunately there are no other extras, and these films aren`t mundane as to deserve vanilla discs. I have fond memories of the music video for Billy Ocean`s When The Going Gets tough, and would have loved to see it again.

Conclusion

Two films that are quintessentially eighties films, complete with fashions, hairstyles, synth music and oddly placed dance routines, I should be in eighties heaven, and with Romancing The Stone I am. Jewel Of The Nile has faded somewhat in my estimation, though I still get some enjoyment from it.

Romancing The Stone is a wonderful adventure movie made all the more enjoyable by the lead performances. It`s your typical fish out of water scenario, as Kathleen Turner`s rather introverted novelist is thrust into the heart of one of her own novels when she has to venture into Columbia to rescue her sister. She`s matched by the hero with a mercenary streak as played by Michael Douglas. The action and pace is relentless as it becomes as race against time to find the treasure, and the chemistry between the two is lively and sparks well. Danny DeVito as Ralph provides the comic relief, and there is a nice tinge of menace from his brother Ira and the corrupt Zolo. Romancing The Stone is a comic adventure, but the humour comes from the situations pretty naturally, with some sharp dialogue and nice set pieces. Much of this is from the romantic Joan Wilder coming face to face with a hero that doesn`t in the slightest resemble the ones she imagines and writes about, but there is also enjoyment to be had when the two encounter a drug dealer who happens to be a fan of romance novels, and when the light-fingered Ralph meets his match in a rather hefty diner, whose meal he interrupts. Robert Zemeckis` direction is lively and exciting, and is complemented by Alan Silvestri`s score. Previous cuts by the BBFC have been waived resulting in a 12 rating, and even more of the Spanish dialogue has been subtitled for this release.

Jewel Of The Nile hasn`t aged half as well as the first film, and while I enjoyed it greatly in the eighties, its shortcomings are readily apparent viewed today. The pedestrian direction from Lewis Teague and lack of pace hurt it considerably, as do two leads who just appear to be going through the motions. Whereas the first film had a nice mix of action and natural humour, Jewel Of The Nile is played more for laughs, with the slapstick overpowering the romance. The less said about the F16 routine, the better. The plot isn`t helped by the mystical elements, which rather jar from the contemporary setting that made the first film seem so fresh. But the added humour does have a bonus though, as this is easily Danny DeVito`s movie. His character gets an expanded role, and he is the most watchable thing about the movie. I laugh every time he has a close encounter with a donkey. While Jewel Of The Nile isn`t a patch on the original, and falls into the ill-advised cash-in sequel territory, it still manages to entertain.

The twin pack just smacks of a budget release, hastily put together and unleashed on an uncaring public. The films are given unflattering transfers, and with only the ubiquitous trailers as extras. Romancing The Stone is the superior film though, and it almost seems a booby prize having to take the sequel as part of the package deal. I didn`t mind the sequel so much originally, but now I find that it has lost its attraction, I find myself wishing that Fox had lavished some care on Romancing The Stone, giving it a transfer worthy of the name, and embellishing it with some extras.

Romancing The Stone is perfectly paced and full of action. There are still sequences in this film that I can`t watch without a big grin on my face. Jewel Of The Nile is flimsy but fun, and four years on, you should be able to find this two-disc pack for a bargain basement price. High time for a Special Edition though.