Spikeopath The Big Easy is directed by Jim McBride and written by Daniel Petrie Jr. It stars Dennis Quaid, Ellen Barkin, John Goodman and Ned Beatty. Music is scored by Brad Fiedel and cinematography by Affonso Beato.Remy McSwain (Quaid) is a slightly corrupt New Orleans cop, who whilst investigating the murder of a mob man, finds himself under scrutiny by assistant district attorney Anne Osborne (Barkin). The waters start to become muddied when the pair begin to have a passionate affair, just as the can opens and worms spill out everywhere.It's an odd film at times, a bit too jovial to be considered proper neo-noir, and Quaid's Southern accent takes some getting used too. It's also nearly derailed in quality as conventionality dominates the last quarter of film.Yet judged on its own thriller terms it entertains well enough whilst also having some neat technical touches to help it along. Petrie's script contains spiky dialogue and a number of bravura sequences light up the otherwise standard crooked cop story.McBride dose good work on this, he opens his film up with a cracker of a camera tracker, and he makes good use of the New Orleans locations. He also has a good sense of prop choices to help the mood, none more so than with a scene involving Mardi Gras costumes, whilst he gets strength for the film by garnering tense and sexy performances out of Quaid and Barkin. Support actors also leave good marks, with Goodman as a cop colleague dominating the screen and Charles Ludlam almost stealing the film as McSwain's dry and near sleazy lawyer. Soundtrack, too, is well thought out, with the Cajun flavours spicing up the sweaty Orleans stew. 7/10

blanche-2 Dennis Quaid and Ellen Barkin star in "The Big Easy," a 1986 film set in New Orleans, and also starring Ned Beatty, John Goodman, and Grace Zabriskie.I know an attorney who won a huge civil rights case in New Orleans and then had to run for her life with her family when her life was continuously threatened. The New Orleans police force has the reputation of being the most corrupt police force in the United States. That's saying something.That corruption is visited here in this story of a mildly corrupt cop Remy (Quaid) investigating a series of murders of low-level drug people. The assigned assistant district attorney, Anne Osborne (Barkin) assumes from the get-go, because of the presence of a cop car at one of the murders, that the police are involved.That's the background for a hot love affair between these two sexy characters who really steam up the screen. Quaid is delightful as the high-flying Remy, and he gets to show his range as an actor - going from flirtatious playboy to a grief-stricken man. Barkin is perfect as a woman trying to stay professional but finding it nearly impossible.This film has some serious and disturbing moments, but the locale and the actors infuse it with charm and energy. Well directed by Jim McBride, who keeps up the pace.Recommended.

seymourblack-1 "The Big Easy" is a great movie which simply oozes charm and atmosphere from start to finish. Its unique blend of action, romance and humour is complemented brilliantly by the idiosyncrasies of its characters, some irresistible music and the colourful location in which it's set. The whole notion of New Orleans being a place where life is lived at a relaxed pace and where pay-offs are the norm is conveyed in a way which seems totally authentic and interestingly, this culture appears to be equally prevalent in both the criminal and the law enforcement fraternities.Homicide detective Remy McSwain (Dennis Quaid) is conducting an investigation into a series of murders where local mobsters have been the victims when Assistant D.A. Anne Osborne (Ellen Barkin) arrives on the scene to carry out her own investigation into alleged police corruption. There's an instant attraction between the easy going Remy and the straight laced Anne and she's gradually won over by his good natured banter and natural charisma.When the couple go out to dinner, it becomes clear to Anne that it's normal for Remy to be given free dinners by the proprietor of "Tipitina's" and later after Remy is caught accepting a pay-off during a sting operation, it falls to Anne to act as the prosecutor when his case goes to trial. Remy doesn't regard himself as corrupt as everyone in the police department enjoys kickbacks from the "Widows & Orphans Fund" which is financed by money which the police raise from the local shop owners. The prosecution's case then runs into trouble after some unorthodox action by his colleagues ensures that the evidence against Remy is made unusable.The couple's relationship is temporarily derailed when they're on different sides during the trial but later when it becomes necessary to do so; they agree to work together again.Remy and Anne are profoundly different in the sense that she sees what's permissible within the regulations in terms which are very black and white whilst Remy is a pragmatist who is perfectly comfortable operating within the grey areas. On one occasion she says to him "You're supposed to uphold the law but instead you bend it and twist it and sell it"....."Why don't you just face it Remy? You're not one of the good guys anymore". On another occasion Remy says "This is New Orleans darlin'. Folks have a certain way of doing things down here. People like to show their appreciation". During the course of the story, Remy gradually starts to recognise why she sees things the way she does.Dennis Quaid is terrific as a character who like the movie itself is bright and breezy, charming and very good humoured. Ellen Barkin is perfect as the uptight Anne who's completely horrified by some of the practices which she witnesses during the course of her investigation and the supporting cast are also excellent (especially John Goodman, Ned Beatty and Charles Ludlam)."The Big Easy" is pure entertainment and great fun and unsurprisingly was a big commercial success.

andycitylondon It is shocking to see how a movie can be ruined by editing. The original movie that was shown in 1987 was 108 minutes long. There was a DVD and Video release in 1999 which was cut down to 102 minutes. The UK DVD was further cut down to 96 minutes which mean there are 12 minutes lost.I was lucky to see the original version on TV and I have no idea why they cut so much out.I think that the UK version has a whole scene missing at the end which makes the film nonsense. Who is doing all this editing? Why can't they just release the full original version?