Guilty Conscience

My edition is "Authored and remastered by DDC Labs - Made in Canada," packaged as a double feature with "Dangerous Relations." There is no other edition information on jacket. The DVD transfer is so bad, it is nearly unwatchable. The low price (USD 2 + tax) is no excuse for a sloppy job. This is very unfortunate because the movie is excellent, as far as murder mysteries go. I give it highest grade for story and acting. I am sure that there were other production values such as photography, sound, and production design, however I cannot evaluate those because of the poor video and audio quality. I would like to know what editions the other reviewers were evaluating.

Back in the '80s, Anthony Hopkins made a lot of TV movies, some which used his great talent to advantage, and others in which he was underused. Here he is teamed with Blythe Danner and Swoosie Kurtz in a Levinson-Link concoction, "Guilty Conscience."

Levinson and Link were really masters of suspense and mystery, responsible for Columbo, Murder, She Wrote, and many TV movies, both as producers and writers.

In this movie, Anthony Hopkins is a prominent attorney who comes up with several ways to murder his wife (Blythe Danner) who has the goods on him and can expect a huge settlement in a divorce.

In his mind, he argues the merits of the different plots before a judge, a portrait of his wife's father, and undergoes questioning by the DA, who is Hopkins in spectacles.

Enter one of his dalliances, Swoosie Kurtz, and the fun begins. How is the murder going to be done? And who's going to be murdered?

This is a wonderful movie, and the kind you couldn't make today - there's lots of talk - in fact, entire monologues by Hopkins as he talks back and forth with and to himself - and not a ton of action.

Swoosie Kurtz is a riot as the offbeat mistress, and Blythe Danner appropriately elegant and thoughtful as Hopkins' wife.

It's unfortunate that these kinds of TV movies are no longer made. In the '80s, there were many of these mystery movies: Murder by Natural Causes, Rehearsal for Murder, Vanishing Act, The Guardian, etc., all very well cast.

Today it's all true crime, which would be great, if any of them were half as well written as anything by Richard Levinson, William Link, or Larry Cohen.

Hopkins always delivers his svelte, arrogant and yet intimidating and refreshing self to any performance. Blythe Danner as his beleaguered wife, in an unhappy marriage. Hopkins, an esteemed trial attorney, plays the Socratic "what if?" hypothesis game with himself, as he debates how to rid himself of his bothersome wife.

Blythe Danner, however, is an equal match. She is not to be fooled. She utilizes her patrician hauteur and surprise when she discovers his one (of several) mistresses. Swoosie Kurtz portrays a young sometime lover, Jackie, who at first seems to be in league with Hopkins. She plays the damsel in distress, and Danner is intrigued.

There is an interesting twist at the conclusion, which I will not spoil. Suffice to say, well worth watching for murder and mayhem as only Anthony Hopkins can project on the screen. 8/10.

Hopkins and Danner are great as the opposing spouses. His conversations with himself are fun to watch, as he tries to work out how to kill his wife. Not so much a whodunit, as a who's going to do it, with a wonderful twist at the end. And don't miss a word of the dialogue.

This is a good movie, especially since I am a big Anthony Hopkins buff. I also like Blythe Danner, who plays his loving? wife. It's a fun, quirky and clever mystery with twists and turns. As Anthony Hopkiins makes plans for his future by planning the demise of his wife, he anticipates and participates, in his imagination, how he should perform in Court as he stands trial for murder.

There is a problem, however. I ordered a brand new, factory-sealed VHS by Quality Video and the sound and picture quality were dreadful and unwatchable! I re-ordered it on DVD and it was a little better, but the picture was dull and grainy. It is hard to believe that it is not possible to get a good quality picture and sound for this TV film.

What a shame... It's an interesting and clever movie!