Watch The Big Easy For Free

Admirable film.

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Set in New Orleans. Remy McSwain, lieutenant in Homicide finds that he has two problems, the first of a series of gang killings and Ann Osborne, a beautiful attorney from the D.A.'s police corruption task force in his office. He begins a relationship with her as the killings continue only to have charges filed against him for accepting bribes as he stumbles on a police corruption sting.I love the police stories, the corruption angle, the idea of the mob being in New Orleans (which is true, but probably not very strongly so by the 1980s). What makes me give this such a low rating is the bizarre accents. I mean, what? No two people seem to have the same accent, and I have no idea what Quaid was trying to do. His acting is great, but the voice is atrocious. I would rather he spoke normal and we forgive him the lack of accent than be presented the voice he gives us here -- even if it might be more accurate (I really don't know).

Most of the people writing here seemed to enjoy this out of all proportion to its actual worth. It's a very pedestrian story of police corruption and police corruption in a Southern state where - as far as non-American audiences are concerned - police corruption is as natural as corn-pone and hominy grits. Outsider Ellen Barkin - an assistant District Attorney sent to root out the corruption - is ready to compromise her position by sleeping with one of the suspects within hours of meeting him and even when she sees with her own eyes that he is on the pad and literally prosecutes him in court, she still continues to sleep with him. Realistic? Without doubt and if you don't believe me ask Elvis, he's busing tables in Denny's even as we speak.

The Bayou comes alive with Wiseguy bullets and romantic sparks in this occasionally smoldering romantic thriller, starring Dennis Quaid as a less than scrupulous New Orleans detective investigating a series of local Mafia murders, while having both his conscience and his libido aroused by sultry District Attorney Ellen Barkin. The familiar details of Southern vice and depravity are shaded with plenty of Cajun color and brought to life by a supporting cast of offbeat characters, but underneath all the incidental scenery is a routine action scenario not far enough removed from any other conventional Hollywood cop show. Even worse: the very real erotic tension between the two lovers is allowed to fizzle after only one kiss, transforming tough, resourceful DA Barkin into little more than a lovestruck puppy dog and thereby all but eliminating her from the plot. It never shows enough ambition to qualify as a bad movie, but too many wasted opportunities can't help but leave an aftertaste of mild disappointment.

It is 10:20 PM and D and I have just finished watching this wonderful movie on tape while marveling over our Western Australian T Bone steaks and brilliant south-western wine. We have watched the Big Easy before, loved it and D thought it would be suitable for a Friday night—it was! I am a particular fan of Louisiana accents and Quaid carried it off perfectly, to my decrepit ears (I have read the negative comments from residents of the city). I like movies and TV shows for their image appeal and I found this particular movie excellent in all respects. Admittedly, I have only been to New Orleans twice in my 62 years but to all who know her she is one(or at least was before Katrina) of the five best cities in the US.But to the movie: the acting, the script and the settings were exemplary; working with the subject of bent cops is not an easy one, so the producers should feel special for having even tried it. Setting the story in Huey Long's backyard brings particular vinegar to the story and like a good dressing, always adds piquancy to the outcome that cannot be ignored.The Big Easy is a movie to be saved; a movie whose subject, acting and visuals will live as a look back at a place that no longer exists except in the memory of old guys like me who wish that time could stand still, at least until my eyes refocus . It is worth the trouble to find and watch.