F-0272

Title:

The Caveman's Valentine
The Sign of the Killer (UK, video title)

Category:

S

Produced:

2001

Country:

USA

Released:

Film: Jan 2001 (USA)
DVD: Jul 2001
VHS: May 2002
Soundtrack: Mar 2001 (CD)

Director:

Kasi Lemmons

Writer:

George Dawes Green (novel, screenplay)

Actors:

Samuel L. Jackson (Romulus Ledbetter); Colm Feore (David Leppenraub); Ann Magnuson (Moira Leppenraub); Damir Andrei (Arnold); Aunjanue Ellis (Officer Lulu Ledbetter); Tamara Tunie (Sheila Ledbetter); Peter MacNeill (Cork); Jay Rodan (Joey Peasley / No-Face); Rodney Eastman (Matthew); Anthony Michael Hall (Bob); Kate McNeil (Betty); Leonard L. Thomas (Shaker / Greater No-Face - as Leonard Thomas); Joris Jarsky (Boy Toy / Andy - as Joris Jorsky); Pierre Alcide (Toupee); Richard Fitzpatrick (Walter)

Description:

A cave-dwelling man sets out to track down the killer of a homeless boy and bring him to justice.

Romulus is mentally ill, a troglodyte in a New York City park. He's also a gifted composer and the father of a city cop. On Valentine's Day, a young man freezes in a tree near his cave. The police determine it's the accidental death of someone behaving bizarrely, but Romulus believes a friend of the dead youth who says that noted avant-garde photographer, David Leppenraub, murdered him. Romulus, urged on by hallucinations of his wife as a young woman, resolves to catch the killer and manages to be invited to Leppenraub's farm to play a new composition. Can Romulus hold it together long enough to get to the bottom of the death and also to make a breakthrough with his daughter? (Written by {J. Hailey)

Samuel L. Jackson gives a virtuoso performance in this intensely visual suspense film. Jackson stars as Romulus Ledbetter, a brilliant musician whose mental demons have driven him onto the streets. When Ledbetter finds a murdered man outside the cave he calls home one morning, he is compelled to find the real killer. While interesting enough to hold the viewer's attention, the mystery of The Caveman's Valentine is a distant third to Jackson's performance and the film's sumptuous visuals. The film is gorgeously shot, and lights and abstract images are effectively used to show Romulus's beautiful but tormented inner world. While the plot does take a silly leap of logic or two, Romulus's illness and the strain it puts on his family are sensitively and realistically handled. His all-too-real run-ins with his policewoman daughter are nicely contrasted with his visions of his ex-wife, who serves as a combination of Greek chorus and muse. If one is willing to suspend a little disbelief here and there, this picture is well worth a look. (Ali Davis, Amazon.com)

Language:

English

TT:

105 min (Film) / 106 min (DVD, VHS)

J.S. Bach's Music:

Andante (Mvt. 2) from Concerto for 2 violins, strings & continuo in D minor ("Double"), BWV 1043
Courtesy of Associated Production Music, LLC

Format:

Film: Color (DeLuxe), DTS / Dolby Digital
DVD: See below.
VHS: See below.
Soundtrack: CD; MP3 Download

Company:

Film: Franchise Pictures; Epsilon Motion Pictures (in association with); Jersey Shore; Arroyo Pictures; Homeless Film Productions; Universal Pictures
DVD: Universal Studios
VHS: Universal Studios
Soundtrack: Decca U.S. [CD, MP3 Download]

Comments:

Watch selections:

Buy movie at:

DVD: Amazon.com [Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Widescreen, NTSC, Region 1] | Amazon.com [NTSC, Unknown Region]]
VHS: Amazon.com [Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC] | Amazon.com [NTSC]
Soundtrack: Amazon.com [CD] | Amazon.com [MP3 Download]

DVD> VHS>
CD> MP3 Download>

Posters

Source/Links: IMDB | The Caveman's Valentine (Universal)
Contributor: Aryeh Oron (November 2007)