At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

The original story, a novella by Paul Theroux, was turned into a screenplay, also by Theroux (he wrote several). It was terrific. You couldn't put it down. It was a highly-atmospheric work with complex characters. We struggled to find the right director, who could give it the right kind of film noir look at which Theroux was clearly aiming. We ran into early problems when few actors we approached for the female lead were willing to play this kind of a role. The nudity was not an issue; they just didn't "identify" with Dr. Slaughter.Signing Sigourney Weaver was a blessing but also a problem since she's taller than most leading men but fortunately, so is Michael Caine. We got lucky in that combination. We had long conferences with the director, who seemed to understand exactly what Theroux's concept was all about.During shooting in London, the RKO team (in New York and Los Angeles; our post-production group was based in London) kept asking the head of production how things were going, how the dailies looked, etc. He told us they were on time and under budget, which was true.When the film was finished, I went to London with the President of RKO Pictures to look at an assemble edit. It was almost unwatchable. I began to wonder if there was a good way to edit around the female lead. But it wasn't really her fault. Who could possibly undress Sigourney Weaver and make her look unsexy? That took a special kind of talent. We walked out of the screening room into the daylight of Dolphin Square and contemplated the end of our careers.Fortunately we were able to make other pictures and have the time to spend the rest of our lives wondering exactly how to apologize for this one.

From the title and what little I knew about its subject-matter, I was expecting a BELLE DE JOUR-meets-JACK THE RIPPER kind of thing but imagine my disappointment when, after an intriguing start, this is forsaken for boring political machinations which ineffectively breach thriller territory towards the end. Actually, it gets sillier by the minute: from having Sigourney Weaver (playing a researcher in Anglo-Arab relations moonlighting as a high-class escort) chatting up an Arab playboy's cinematic banter at a society party with "Am I supposed to say 'Your place or mine?'" to which he retorts, "No, these days you say "Betamax or VHS?'"; to seeing Michael Caine (as a celebrity British diplomat) standing in the rain holding out a bouquet of flowers for Weaver - whom he has fallen for in the course of her extra-curricular activities and with whom he has had a minor falling out! Still, the often-nude Weaver is nevertheless quite good in her role but the film is certainly no BELLE DE JOUR (1967) and it is easy to see why Bob Swaim's career went downhill very quickly after having made the excellent French policier LA BALANCE (1982).

This starts off quite well, with some interesting ideas about traditions, rituals and values in different societies, however about halfway into it, the film starts to fall down, triggered by the introduction of thriller elements that just do not quite work. Sigourney Weaver delivers a strong performance throughout though. The rest of the performers do not do much out of the ordinary, but Weaver manages to bring a sense of credibility to her part, although she is too often topless. The partial nudity involving her is excessive for the film's story, but otherwise, she is great to have on screen, and her attractiveness does not hurt. There is not much of a directing vision to the material, the story is only half-good and there are probably a few other minor problems to be found. Sigourney Weaver certainly enlivens the material however, and the film is not bad to start with. For Weaver fans, it is definitely worth a look, however even for others it is satisfactory enough film-making to be perhaps worth checking out.

I admit that I only rented this film because it has my favorite actress, Sigourney Weaver, but I was surprised to find out that this is a well acted, well written, and extremely entertaining gem. I expected the film to be pretty mediocre and kinda dull since it involves politics, but Half Moon Street is now one of my favorite films. Plot: (POSSIBLE SPOILER OR 2)Dr. Lauren Slaughter has grown tired of her low paying posistion at a university in London. She recieves a videotape from an anonymous person and watches it immediately. It turns out to be about an Escort Service. At first she thinks it's completely rediculous, but then realizes she doesn't have very many options, so she goes for an interview and gets the job. She is brought into the life of Lord Bulbeck, a British diplomat who is working on a top secret peace settlement with the Middle-East, and the two come to like eachother. What they both don't know is that someone is watching them and that now they're lives are in jeopardy. The Good:An original plot that is pulled off quite well. Great performances from everyone, especially Weaver and Caine who have a great chemistry together. The pace is fast and there's lots of suspense and intrigue. I also love the music score.The Bad:The pace lags at times, but other than that I saw few problems with this movie.Overall rating: ***** out of *****