A Perfect Murder
| A Perfect Murder | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Andrew Davis |
| Produced by |
Arnold Kopelson Anne Kopelson Peter Macgregor-Scott Christopher Mankiewicz |
| Written by | Patrick Smith Kelly |
| Based on |
Dial M for Murder by Frederick Knott |
| Starring | |
| Music by | James Newton Howard |
| Cinematography | Dariusz Wolski |
| Edited by | Dov Hoenig Dennis Virkler |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
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Release date
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Running time
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108 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English Arabic |
| Budget | $60 million |
| Box office | $128,038,368 |
A Perfect Murder is a 1998 American crime thriller film directed by Andrew Davis and starring Michael Douglas, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Viggo Mortensen. It is a modern remake of Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 film Dial M for Murder, though the characters' names are all changed, and over half the plot is completely rewritten and altered. Loosely based on the play by Frederick Knott, the screenplay was written by Patrick Smith Kelly.
Steven Taylor (Michael Douglas) is a Wall Street hedge fund manager whose investments and speculations allow him to live an extravagant, upper class lifestyle with his much younger wife Emily (Gwyneth Paltrow). Unfortunately, his risky investments are unraveling; to alleviate the financial pressure and to maintain his status, Steven will need his wife's personal fortune, roughly $100 million. However, Emily is having an affair with a painter, David Shaw (Viggo Mortensen), and is considering leaving her husband.
Steven knows about the affair; he has also uncovered David’s dirty past as an ex-convict having a long history of conning rich women out of their money. Steven meets with David to reveal his knowledge of David's true identity and then makes him an offer of $500,000 in cash to murder his wife. At first David wants nothing to do with the plan, claiming instead that Emily and he are in love. Steven then reminds David that he already has two strikes against him and that the third arrest would be enough to send him to prison for 15 years without parole.
Steven has already laid out a detailed plan to supply him with a firm alibi. He will hide Emily's latch key outside the service entrance to his apartment. Steven will then go out for his regular card game, during which time his wife usually stays in and takes a bath. David has to sneak in and kill her, making it look like a robbery.
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