Wow! Such a good movie.

the audience applauded

Purely Joyful Movie!

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

"Still of the Night" has all the classic elements of Hitchcock, the murder investigation, the innocent bystander (Roy Scheider) who must solve the puzzle to clear his own name (and save his own life), the icy blond beauty (Meryl Streep) who may or may not be the killer, the creepy Long Island mansion where the clifftop climax takes place. Most of all, we have several examples of Hitch's most distinctive contribution to cinema, the suspense sequence that builds slowly to a payoff. The symbolic dream, the adventure in the creepy basement laundry room, the eerie midnight excursion into Central Park, the long section at the swanky auction house with the hero desperately trying to deflect the authorities who are closing in, these are pure Hitchcock, and Benton is better than most at making these classic ideas seem fresh and immediate. Meryl Streep provides the glamour and the mystery and her performance is simply stunning and a joy to watch. She also, I think for the first and only time to my knowledge, appears in the nude, but from a distance. She has a lovely figure and a cute rear end, which I think she should have showed off more often, so it is definitely adult entertainment, but also a classic whodunnit in the greatest tradition.What strikes me most strongly about "Still of the Night" is the loving care and dedication of everyone involved in the project, not just the direction and writing (Benton and David Newman) but the cinematography (Nestor Almendros), music (Broadway composer John Kander), and even the costumes (Albert Wolsky). And that cast can't be beat, from the glamorous stars right down to the extras. If you love Hitch as much as I do, give this film a look. This movie is worth it for the music intro alone and I can't agree with some of the reviewers. Sit back and just enjoy a great plot with great characters and a dynamite ending! Overall rating: 8 out of 10.

Dr. Sam Rice (Roy Scheider) is a Manhattan psychiatrist like his mother Grace (Jessica Tandy). He's recently divorced. One of his patients George Bynum has been killed. He is visited by the mysterious Brooke Reynolds (Meryl Streep) who worked with Bynum at the auction house Crispin's. She's also Bynum's mistress. They are interrupted by Detective Vitucci and she accidentally leaves behind a watch. Dr. Rice examines his files on Bynum and suspicions falls on Reynolds.I really like the Hitchcockian touches. I love the laundry room when the lights go out in the hallway. I did not like all the flashback re-examination of his files. The plot loses its way a bit and some of its tension. Meryl Streep is pretty good as the mysterious damsel-in-distress. Although she's not the classic sex bombshell. Scheider is still a good leading man. This could be a much better mystery thriller.

This intriguing movie packs thriller , tension , suspense, romance , unlimited excitement and plot twists . Sam Rice (Roy Scheider) , a Manhattan psychiatrist probes a patient's murder and soon afterward falls for the victim's mysterious mistress . Dr. Rice is visited by George Bynum (Joseph Sommer)'s co-worker and mistress Brooke Reynolds (Meryl Streep) with increasingly suspicious behavior . Later on , there comes the investigating officer Detective Vitucci (Joe Grifasi) dealing with the rare events . As Dr. Rice reviews the case notes on his sessions with Bynum and he suspects that Brooke may or may not the murderer . At the same time , Sam investigates the mysterious deeds and he puts his own life in risk .This Hitchcock-style mystery/thriller contains suspense , tension , chills and continuous intrigue . The picture promises much but fails its objectives . It's suspenseful but often the mysterious elements have not quite gelled . There's also an exciting and intriguing dream sequence in which results to be resolved the killing similarly to ¨Spellbound¨ by Alfred Hitchcock . Roy Scheider gives good performance as a psychiatrist who starts his own investigation about a murder and falling in love for enigmatic blonde Brooke excellently acted by Meryl Streep . After her greatest hit ¨Kramer vs Kramer¨ that pushed Meryl's career forward , she was impressed enough to work again with Benton and played this ¨Still of the night¨ , however , it resulted to be a flop . Stylish cinematography by a magnificent cameraman , the Spanish Nestor Almendros , Benton's usual and full of lights and darks .The motion picture is professionally directed by Robert Benton but without originally and this flick turns out to be thinly spread . Texas director has a varied career as he was an editor of magazine , production designer , set decorator and has written a number of imaginative stories for children . He realized few movies even accounting for those in whose screenplays he wrote as ¨Bonnie and Clyde¨ , ¨There was a crooked man¨ , ¨What's up doc ?¨ , ¨Superman¨ and even ¨Still of the night¨ . His big hit as director was the weepie ¨Kramer vs Kramer¨ and won him the Oscar for writing and direction , the next was warm-hearted ¨Places in the heart¨ with basic human values and revealed his softer side . Following filmmaking the underrated ¨Nadine¨ , a comic-strip comedy with Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger . After that , he directed a gangster movie ¨Billy Bathgate¨ with Nicole Kidman and Dustin Hoffman , ¨Nobody's fool¨ which won Paul Newman an Academy Award nomination and he worked again with Benton four years later on ¨Twilight¨ . ¨Still of the night¨ was a failure and turned out to be a flop at the box office . Rating : Average , 5,5 . Only for Meryl Streep fans .

It seems inconceivable that Robert Benton should become a filmmaker without a sense of humor. His earlier screenplays co-written with David Newman, not to mention "The Late Show" (Benton's prickly, funny private-eye comedy from 1977), were filled with little bits of clever homage and dry wit. "Still of the Night" is just that: still. It's an old-fashioned murder mystery which follows the pattern of familiar noirs and thrillers from the past, but it fails without any personality from Benton or his actors. There's nothing tangible going on in Meryl Streep's performance as an auction-house employee in New York City whom everyone thinks is a killer; she's aloof and unreal, only connecting with the audience in the two or three instances where she cracks a smile. Roy Scheider plays a psychiatrist who may be marked for murder, and he falls for Streep's mystery woman despite the signs that she's unstable. The picture creaks and groans until the last act, where Benton suddenly livens up and brings the thing to a commendable conclusion. A talky, impersonal piece of work overall, and not worth the trouble except for Streep-completists. *1/2 from ****