Moonlighting

UPC: 692865231332

Studio: Trinity Home Entertainment

MPAA Rating: PG   Contains:[Brief Nudity, Adult Situations, Questionable for Children, Adult Language]

Summary: Jeremy Irons portrays Nowak, one of four Polish laborers, living in England. In exchange for a place to stay, Irons and his buddies -- none of whom have British work permits -- agree to renovate their landlord's flat within a limited time-frame. Despite their hectic schedule, the boys agree never to work on Sunday: this is the day that they communicate with their loved ones in Poland. On one such Sunday, however, the Soviets declare martial law in Poland, cutting off all telephone and telegraph service to the outside world. Nowak, the only one of the four who speaks English, learns of the turmoil in Poland before his friends do; he decides to keep the news secret, rather than jeopardize their living arrangements. When the flow of money from home ceases, Nowak takes to stealing to finance the renovation project. He pushes his friends mercilessly to make sure the project is completed on time, secretly burning their letters so that they remain in the dark about the Soviet incursion upon their native soil. When they do find out, they physically vent their anger upon Nowak, perceiving him to be as much an enemy and oppressor as the Soviets. This is clearly the allegorical point that director Jerzy Skolimowski is hoping to make in Moonlighting; wisely, he avoids conveying his message in fluent tract, relating his story with generous doses of humor and irony. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: Best Screenplay – Cannes Film Festival Best Picture – National Board of Review

Features: Widescreen presentation
English 2.0 (Dolby Stereo)
Trailer
Scene selection
Digitally mastered
Interactive menus

Moonlighting

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 08/02/2005

Audio: DD2 Dolby Digital Stereo

Runtime: 97 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Chapters: Disc #1 -- Moonlighting
0. Scene Selection
1. In the UK [19:33]
2. First Day Out [19:58]
3. Garbage Pickup [30:28]
4. Under Suspicion [27:09]

Mark Deming

When martial law was declared in Poland in 1981 in the wake of the Solidarity uprisings, Polish expatriate filmmaker Jerzy Skolimowski wanted to make a film about the crisis. But since it was politically and financially impossible for him to shoot a film in Poland, he structured Moonlighting around a metaphoric story, in which four Polish workers are stranded in London as their nation seals itself off from the world. Skolimowski's screenplay and efficient, claustrophobic direction create a superb microcosm of the crisis, capturing the uncertainty, paranoia, struggle for power, and uncomfortable sway between good intentions and abusive realities. And he was fortunate enough to cast Jeremy Irons as Nowak, the de facto leader of the exiled Warsaw laborers (and the only one who speaks English). Irons effectively buries his British voice and manner to reflect a man out of his element, more pragmatic than intelligent, both confident of his actions and fearful of their consequences. Like Spike Lee's Get on the Bus and Louis Malle's May Fools, Moonlighting concerns itself with the ideals and actions around a major historical event, perhaps teaching us more than the milling crowds and military hardware of a literal recreation might have done. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Trevor Cooper  Actor 
Jill Johnson  Actor 
Michael Sarne  Actor 
Judy Gridley  Actor 
Jenny Seagrove  Actor 
Robyn Mandell  Actor 
Dennis Holmes  Actor 
Anne Tirard  Actor 
Edward Arthur  Actor 
Kenny Ireland  Actor 
Renu Setna  Actor 
Fred Lee Own  Actor 
Lucy Hornak  Actor 
Dorothy Zienciowska  Actor 
David Calder  Actor 
Christopher Logue  Actor 
David Gant  Actor 
Ian McCullough  Actor 
Jerzy Skolimowski  Actor 
Stanley Myers  Composer (Music Score) 
Mark Shivas  Producer 
Jerzy Skolimowski  Director 
Jerzy Skolimowski  Producer 
Jerzy Skolimowski  Screenwriter 
Barrie Vince  Screenwriter 
Hans Zimmer  Composer (Music Score) 
Boleslaw Sulik  Screenwriter 
Jeremy Irons  Actor 
Eugene Lipinski  Actor 
Jiri Stanislav  Actor 
Eugeniusz Haczkiewicz  Actor 

Country: UK