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‘Dangerous Game’ is a film about film. Eddie Israel (Keitel) is a director on a shoot in L.A.. His film depicts the extreme emotions and escalating violence of a married couple at a destructive crossroad and departure point in their relationship. Reality blurs when the actors Sarah Jenning (played by Madonna) and Francis Burns (James Russo) increasingly begin to live the lives of their characters, as the demands of their roles intensify, corrupting their own sensibilities. A fissure in Israel’s middleclass suburban N.Y. life is opened and the rot sets in when he allows the film to become the vehicle for his own frustrations. As much about film as being one, ‘Dangerous Game’ borrows inspiration from Cassavettes and turns the film around to reflect itself. Although the film focuses on Israel’s desire to see the actors plumb the depths of the emotion in their roles, ‘Dangerous Game’ becomes more of a comment on what is lost during the process. This is supported by a sequence in the film from Blank’s documentary ‘Burden of Dreams’, featuring an interview with Werner Herzog on shoot for ‘Fitzcarraldo’.
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How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
312218
Language
English
Audience classification
R (18+)
Subject categories
Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Expressionism in motion pictures
Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Herzog, Werner, 1942-
Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Motion pictures
Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Motion pictures - Production and direction
Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Violence in motion pictures
Courtroom, Crime, Espionage & Thrillers
Courtroom, Crime, Espionage & Thrillers → Suspense
Courtroom, Crime, Espionage & Thrillers → Thrillers
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Violence in motion pictures
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Colour
Holdings
VHS; Access Print (Section 1)