The Friends of Eddie Coyle

( 8 )

Overview

Based on the best-selling novel by George V. Higgins, The Friends of Eddie Coyle chronicles the last days of a weary Boston-based weapons dealer. Eddie Coyle Robert Mitchum doesn't want to serve a life sentence in prison, so he becomes an informant for both the police and the treasury department. Coyle is likewise unwilling to give up his lifestyle, thus he continues his illegal gun-running operation for the underworld. The mob becomes aware that Eddie is squealing to the cops, so they send his best friend, ...
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More About This Product

Overview

Based on the best-selling novel by George V. Higgins, The Friends of Eddie Coyle chronicles the last days of a weary Boston-based weapons dealer. Eddie Coyle Robert Mitchum doesn't want to serve a life sentence in prison, so he becomes an informant for both the police and the treasury department. Coyle is likewise unwilling to give up his lifestyle, thus he continues his illegal gun-running operation for the underworld. The mob becomes aware that Eddie is squealing to the cops, so they send his best friend, Dillon Peter Boyle, to rub him out. Dillon compassionately takes Eddie out on the town, treating him to dinner and a hockey game...then drives to a deserted field to carry out his orders.
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Special Features

New restored high-definition digital transfer, approved by director Peter Yates; Audio commentary featuring Yates; Stills gallery; Booklet featuring an essay by film critic Kent Jones and Grover Lewis's 1973 Rolling Stone profile of Robert Mitchum, from on the set
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Editorial Reviews

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler
The Friends of Eddie Coyle is a beautifully sad little film that packs a tremendous punch. A gangster film on the surface, it's really a character study, an examination of a little man with little dreams, a guy just trying to keep his head above water when all the bigger guys are making waves that threaten to engulf him. That the man in question is a small-time hood and the bigger guys are amoral policemen and immoral gangsters means his efforts are futile -- and imbues his story with a melancholic poetry. Coyle is a loser, and he pays the price that losers in his line of work have to pay -- but director Peter Yates and adapter Paul Monash make this disreputable character into a man that tugs at a viewer's heartstrings, even as the viewer is appalled by him. Monash's screenplay is a marvel of economy, skillfully creating entire histories out of a few telling lines and employing a few carefully selected phrases to give reams of information. Yates' direction is taut, moody, and elegiac, yet it knows how to move at full throttle during the action sequences. The film's biggest asset, however, is the incredible performance by Robert Mitchum. World-weary to the extreme, this is a man who has seen it all and is tired of it all -- but who prefers to not give it up. Constantly struggling between determination and resignation, Mitchum is a man whose entire life is a series of dilemmas and struggles; the viewer can practically see the trials and difficulties physically eroding him. It's an understated and marvelous performance. Mitchum is joined by an absolutely perfect Peter Boyle and a magnificent Richard Jordan -- but it's Mitchum's picture, and he gives it melancholy, desperate life -- and in abundance.
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 5/19/2009
  • UPC: 715515044813
  • Original Release: 1973

    • Rating:

  • Source: Criterion
  • Region Code: 1
  • Presentation: Special Edition / Wide Screen
  • Language: English
  • Time: 1:42:00
  • Format: DVD
  • Sales rank: 22,321

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Robert Mitchum Eddie Coyle
Peter Boyle Dillon
Richard Jordan Foley
Steven Keats Jackie Brown
Alex Rocco Scalise
Joe Santos Artie Van
Robert Anthony Moran
Rick Azulay
Helena Carroll Sheila Coyle
Matthew Cowles Pete
Jan Egleson Pale Kid
Sheldon Feldner Ferris
Jane House Wanda
Jack Kehoe The Beard
Alan Koss Phil
Margaret Ladd Andrea
Marvin Lichterman Vernon
Peter MacLean Partridge
Ted Maynard Sauter
Michael McCleery The Kid
Dennis McMullen Webber
Kevin O'Morrison Bank Manager
Carolyn Pickman Nancy
Mitchell Ryan Waters
James Tolkan The Man's Contact Man
Technical Credits
Peter Yates Director
Irving Buchman Makeup
Gene Callahan Production Designer
Don Galvin Set Decoration/Design
Dave Grusin Score Composer
Patricia Jaffe Editor
Victor J. Kemper Cinematographer
Charles H. Maguire Associate Producer
Paul Monash Producer, Production Designer, Screenwriter
Vic Ramos Casting
Peter R. Scoppa Asst. Director
Eric Seelig Costumes/Costume Designer
Dick Vorisek Sound/Sound Designer
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Scene Index

Disc #1 -- The Friends of Eddie Coyle
1. Gathering Details [4:43]
2. Knuckles and Pieces [4:57]
3. Dillon's [1:08]
4. Changing Hands [5:21]
5. For a Twenty [2:07]
6. Like Clockwork [12:06]
7. Family Man [2:21]
8. Helping "Uncle" [4:32]
9. Undisclosed Interests [1:54]
10. Two Problems [3:53]
11. No Time [3:54]
12. Smart Plays [5:08]
13. Going South [4:15]
14. New Plans [1:55]
15. An Uneasy Position [1:27]
16. Bread for Bread [2:54]
17. Sold Out [7:59]
18. Something Else [4:11]
19. Special Delivery [3:35]
20. Hooked [3:39]
21. Too Late [2:24]
22. Orders From "the Man" [3:13]
23. All Wrapped Up [3:56]
24. Game Time [3:31]
25. "He's Out" [4:37]
26. Friends [2:19]
1. Color Bars
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Menu

Disc #1 -- The Friends of Eddie Coyle
   Play the Movie
   Chapters
   Commentary
      The Friends of Eddie Coyle Commentary: On
      The Friends of Eddie Coyle Commentary: Off
      Index
         A Favorite
         Mitchum and Keats
         A Good Contrast
         Rehearsal
         "A Lovely Actor"
         Boston Crime
         Location Importance
         Sound Recording
         Giving Higgins Credit
         Attitude to Amateurs
         Mitchum's Stillness
         Nighttime Challenges
         Becoming a Director
         Yate's Vow to His Star
         Beauty of Boston
         Like Mick Jagger
         Storyboards
         "One of My Favorite Scenes"
         "A Style That I Love"
         Camera Car
         Landing Mitchum
         Dialogue Dilemma
         Boyle's Beer Problem
         Two Shoots
         Help From a "Friend"
         Handheld Preferences
         Color Bars
   Stills Gallery
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 8 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(5)

4 Star

(3)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

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1 Star

(0)

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Sort by: Showing all of 8 Customer Reviews

  • Posted October 1, 2010

    Great Movie, Mitchum at his best

    I can't recommend this film enough. Criterion has released this film in an amazing package including a booklet with a great interview with Robert Mitchum. The quality was far better than I expected from such an old film. The sound was great and the extras were fine too. If you're a fan of heist films or crime films, this is sure to hit your sweet spot.

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  • Posted October 1, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    Bullitt
    Charley Varrick
    The Seven-Ups
    Point Blank
    French Connection

    Eddie Coyle Still Great

    I have loved this movie since reading Geoge Higgins book from which the movie was adapted. The book is wonderful and for writers almost a text book on character development and dialogue. Peter Yates film captures the grittiness and desperation of Higgins book. This is my favorite performance of Robert Mitchum. As Eddie, a low-level Boston crook, he plays Eddie as a guy who never made it to the big times, who is always trying to stay out of prison. It shows him as a family man trying to make ends meet and have a little something for his wife and he.Unfortunately, Eddie is in trouble with the law and unless he gives up some of his "friends", will end up back in prison. Peter Boyle as Dillion, the owner of the bar that Eddie frequents is also unforgettable. The locations, music, everything about this film is excellant. The Criterion Edition offers an excellant commentary by Yates and a A booklet featuring a new essay by film critic Kent Jones and a 1973 on-set profile of Robert Mitchum from Rolling Stone. It has been ahile since this film was avaialble and the Criterion Edition was certainly worth the wait.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

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    Posted February 16, 2010

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    Posted March 21, 2009

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    Posted August 2, 2009

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    Posted May 13, 2009

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    Posted November 10, 2010

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Sort by: Showing all of 8 Customer Reviews