Sadly Over-hyped

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

The Other Side of Midnight is often dismissed as being so bad it's good or a lurid soapy drama. I can't condemn the film that easily. When I first saw this I was a young man fascinated with the sex scenes which today seem very, very mild. Is the DVD a different cut? Perhaps. But whenever the film came on Showtime or TV I would watch it. Why the interest? Well, there are many elements that make this film interesting. First of all, the actors. Susan Sarandon, John Beck, Marie France Pisier and even the actors in small roles really brought something to this despite some of the lousy dialogue. Also, the locations. Even if they aren't authentic, the sets seem great and the outdoor shots beautiful. The film switches back & forth between America and Europe and you can't help but become absorbed by the differences in the sets and speech.I think it is also fun to see Noelle's innocence in the beginning and watch her become this bloodthirsty & ruthless person who will do anything to get what she wants. It's a role Joan Collins would have died for!Some of it is very dated today. I recently watched it and laughed every time I saw Marie in her clunky, tall platform heels. Every drag queen would love to have a pair just like that. So, I think people will find some of this very dated and perhaps old fashioned but there is no denying the thrill of watching some of this drama unfold on screen.

When I first pulled this disc from its sleeve I was dismayed at its 166 minute length. But, this being a snowy night I went for it. And yes there were moments when I wished it was shorter. Yet there were several rewards for keeping to it. The story is primarily about the characters, and how their destinies are ordained by the choices they make. They may not have been typical, but they were believable. It was a good old-fashioned cautionary tale, told with healthy doses of sex and romance, and in the high European milieu that still fascinates us. Marie-France Pisier as Noelle did an excellent job, developing her character from an innocent and vulnerable country girl, then surviving heartbreak and near self-destruction to become a successful model and actress, and finally flowering as a confident and elegant lady, mistress to a wealthy man. She was wise to play down a vicious character as she plotted revenge on her first lover, for in spite of her faults, she is essentially a sympathetic figure, though not quite a hero. And she is gorgeous - as a guy, I loved watching her, even with her clothes on. The other lead actors were "serviceable" as someone else here noted, though Susan Sarandon was the most fun to watch as Catherine, a young woman finding her own career success in the world of Washington public relations. John Bell as Larry was at root selfish and untrustworthy, and to the actor's credit his face never betrayed any other emotion. Other good things were attention to detail, especially in the final courtroom scenes. No loose ends were left lying in the plot. I like a legal story when it appeals to my intelligence, not my emotions, as Hollywood so often does.

This movie has it all....great love story even though it is cheesy sometimes....action....revenge and a sad but realistic ending.....why it was not a big hit I don't know but I will always like it and wish it was out on DVD......I wish the movie channels would show it more often...It seems that when this movie was released the studio promotion was not there.....they didn't spend any money on it.....When I think back on all the movies that are love stories this one always comes to mind and "the Summer of 42".... there is just something about the simple way they were written and how they show up on screen... anyway this will always be one of my favorites cant stop watching it....There is a another movie that comes to mind that was not promoted much and is not out on DVD either and that is "Cinderella Liberty" a James Caan and Marsha Mason movie that is great....if you like love stories and some comedy this movie is special....Eli Wallach is also in the movie as a Navy Chief that is losing his rank and getting washed out of the Navy....James Caan trades places with him (and this does go on) and both live happily ever after.....10 out of 10 on this movie.

The scenery in Marseilles, Paris, Washington and Greece was nice, but the movie had some problems.First of all, the movie was just too long. There are long montages of love scenes that just keep going and going. Yes, we get the idea. They are falling in love.Second, having all the dialog in English is just not real enough. Maybe that style was fine, for 1977, but it would have been more enjoyable if two people from France would speak French to each other. Maybe subtitles were not in vogue in the late-70's... although George Lucas used them in Star Wars for various aliens.Third, the ending was more of an international film ending that a Hollywood ending and, since this was distributed by Twentieth Century Fox, I expected a Hollywood ending, but was denied. And why does Constantin care about Catherine anyway? I was scratching my head on that one.Fourth, Larry is schizophrenic. I like him, I hate him, he's romantic, he's a cad, he settles down, he fools around. I got whiplash trying to keep up.While Marie-France and Susan were technically great, the best actor in the film was Clu Gulager, playing his minor character role with perfect subtlety. It's too bad he wasn't part of the courtroom scene towards the end of the film. I almost laughed when I saw Sorrell Booke (Boss Hogg) with a French accent.The plot of the story was compelling though. Two stories, seemingly separate, yet you start to piece together how these stories will come together. This was very enjoyable.But can anyone tell me what title has to do with the film? This is a pet peeve of mine. Marketing titles that mean nothing in the story.This movie split it right down the middle for me, 5/10. Worth watching once, but probably never again.