City of Industry (1997)

A retired thief swears revenge on the lunatic who murdered his brother and partner, while going on the run with the loot they stole.

Director:

John Irvin

Writer:

Ken Solarz

Stars:

Harvey Keitel, Stephen Dorff, Timothy Hutton

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Harvey Keitel	...	Roy Egan
Stephen Dorff	...	Skip Kovich
Timothy Hutton	...	Lee Egan
Famke Janssen	...	Rachel Montana
Wade Dominguez	...	Jorge Montana
Michael Jai White	...	Odell Williams
Lucy Liu	...	Cathi Rose (as Lucy Alexis Liu)
Reno Wilson	...	Keshaun Brown
Dana Barron	...	Gena
Tamara Clatterbuck	...	Sunny
Brian Brophy	...	Backus
François Chau	...	Uncle Luke
Flex Alexander	...	A Roc (as Flex)
Brian Shen	...	Pai-Gow Dealer
Ai Wan	...	Gwen

Storyline

Lee Egan lures his older brother Roy out of "retirement" with a sweet jewel heist, only to get killed by a backstabbing partner; then it's up to Roy to get revenge.

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Plot Keywords:

revenge | jewel heist | heist | stripper | jewel theft | 

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Taglines:

Wanting a man dead can be reason enough to live.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language, violence and some sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Orion

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 March 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

City of Crime

Filming Locations:

Angelino Heights, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

DEM 95,056 (Germany) (5 June 1998)

Gross:

DEM 95,056 (Germany) (5 June 1998)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Largo Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The line, "I'm my own police," spoken by Roy, is taken directly from This Gun for Hire.

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Quotes

Girl: The way I hear it, Skip doesn't have any friends, just guys he fucks over. So what did he do to you? Why don't you go to the police?
Roy Egan: I'm my own police.

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Connections

Featured in Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003)

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Soundtracks

"BOLERO DE SALON"
Performed by Cecilia Noel

User Reviews

Harvey dominates the screen

This is pretty much a noir revenge story, with stone loner Roy Egan(the great Harvey Keitel) navigating the high and low of seedy LA, wending his way through dive bars, upscale LA law firms, and enduring beat downs from Asian and black gangs while pursuing THE BIG PAYBACK, son. As JB, the godfather of soul might say, "His patience thin, he want revenge." Harvey reluctantly joins a heist crew led by little brother Hutton that will knock off high-end jewelry store connected to the Russian mob. The brutally executed caper is successful, but then Skip Kovic (Dorff) goes turncoat, cancels some of the crew, including little brother, and now Harvey is out for blood.

The big man looks good, obviously still hitting the weights, with some Risky Business shades and tieless Man in the Arrow shirt look. Okay, so he is in his late 50's, with a bit of a gut, and he walks with a little swayback. But, you know what, this is the man who pulled off "Fingers" son, and he would dominate the screen even if he walked around LA reading from the Congressional registry. Best scene: In his small hotel room after the post-robbery bloodbath, Harvey cuts through any Hamlet-style vacillation by pounding a card table with escalating fury, overturning it, sending out an unholy moan, and then setting out to kick some serious A. Only Harvey could turn a wordless moan and the act of overturning a card table into a statement of existential despair. Second best: when the big man gives a slimy bartender a beat down. About this second scene: post-robbery, Harvey goes to a hoodlum hangout, and tries to bribe the bartender for the whereabouts of Skip Kovic (Dorff). The bartender, who we know is in the know, tells Harvey to f- off, and Harvey steps back, squints, and waits, cigarette dangling. That goof with his silly goatee starts scrambling forward from the bar. Harvey administers a serious beat-down, KEEPING HIS CIGARETTE IN HIS MOUTH THE WHOLE TIME. Oh, and he picks up a gun for good measure. Now that is MOVIE MAKING, son. Irvin could have 86'd Eliot Gould and Michael Jai White, and the other Hollywood B-types trying to give the movie some bogus street cred. I buy Eliot Gould as a mobster as easily as I can buy a slurpee using a $3bill earned from my paper route on Mars. More of the stupendously sexy Famke Jannsen. And a nice cameo with Lucy Liu as a stripper with a SM motif. If Irvin was trying to channel the spirit of Michael Mann, he might have added more dialogue and made the Dorff character more complex. Still, I'll be here when City of 2 (Electric Boogaloo) comes out.