Save the Tiger [VHS]
by John G. Avildsen
![Save the Tiger [VHS]](/images/Save-the-Tiger-VHS-6300216454-L.jpg)
![Buy Save the Tiger [VHS] at Amazon.com](/images/buy.gif)
(Click here)
Buy this VHS video movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
VHS Tape Cover Information
Actor: Jack Gilford, Jack Lemmon, Laurie Heineman, Norman Burton, Patricia SmithDirector: John G. Avildsen
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language), Analog; Spanish (Original Language)
Format: Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
Running Time: 100 minutes
Release Date: 1994-06-22
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Publisher: Paramount
Studio: Paramount
VHS Movie Reviews of Save the Tiger [VHS]
Movie Review: Save Harry Stoner
Summary: 5 Stars
Fashion manufacturer Harry Stoner (Oscar winner Jack Lemmon) is a man filled with regrets: for things he should've done (like play baseball or stay in a band) and for those he actually did (go to war). His marriage to Janet (Patricia Smith) is chilly-- during most of the picture she's out of town. The business is tottering toward bankruptcy, his health isn't great, employees fight with each other and a fashion show that could make or break him is imminent-- yet with all these pressing immediacies Harry's lost in and tortured by the past, especially by horrific memories of the WWII Italian Campaign.
The bank won't extend Harry credit and not wanting to borrow from a mob loan shark he instead contacts arsonist Charlie Robbins (Thayer David) and arranges the torching of one of his factories as a way to collect on insurance. Harry's partner of 15 years, Phil Greene (Jack Gilford) is appalled that Stoner would resort to this illegal act, but Harry's determined to stay afloat no matter what it takes.
While driving on Sunset Strip, Harry picks up Myra (Laurie Heineman) a hippieish hitchhiker. Their conversation illustrates the enormity of the chasm between generations. Eventually this girl his daughter's age asks Harry if he'd like to "ball" but he declines with an amused chuckle. You just know however that this matter isn't settled.
After meeting with and giving a down payment to the firebug, Harry speaks at the fashion show's opening. He fumbles, mumbles, sweats and stops dead, because in his mind the audience has turned into ghastly soldier demons. The show's theme is the Isle of Capri, and when Harry says the name he totally flips and starts ranting about dead soldiers on Capri's beach. The female emcee stops Harry's bizarre outburst by cutting him off.
Back at the factory, Harry shares a drink with an elderly fabric cutter-- the man who's been feuding with his "fairy" designer. The old Russan Jew immigrant talks about passion for work and for a wife who's old but still beautiful. As a result, Harry leaves and calls Janet to try connecting with her by reminiscing about their two weeks of heavy romance on the Riviera. Janet dismisses the memories curtly with "that was six years ago!" and shaken, she hangs up.
More failure for Mr. Stoner.
Later that night, Harry spots Myra (sure enough) and picks her up. She invites him to smoke some good grass at a beach house she's taking care of. They party and they "ball"-- we don't see that thankfully, and afterward while they talk Harry trips out on the past again, remembering dozens of famous folks.
In the movie's final scene, Harry tosses a baseball back to some kids playing a game. He leans on the outfield fence and goes off on another memory ride-- probably to childhood when he dreamed of being a big league pitcher.
Jack Lemmon undoubtedly clinched the Oscar when he lay in bed with Myra and with watery eyes talked longingly of better days and a lost youth. It's a moment that touches the soul.
Summary of Save the Tiger [VHS]
Jack Lemmon won an Oscar. for this dramatic performance, considered by many to be his finest. Lemmon plays Harry Stoner, a man caught in violent collision with his past and present life. He believes there is nothing significant in his life except survival, and that instinct pushes him beyond moral conduct. He'll juggle the books, supply women for clients... and even set fire to his own dress manufacturing factory. He is drawn to an America when life not only had values and heroes, it all seemed worth living and building. But Harry is frightened to break away from the emptiness of his seemingly successful life.There are several films for which Jack Lemmon deserved to win the Oscar--The Apartment and Days of Wine and Roses among them--but it was this low-key entry from 1973 that garnered the gold (following a supporting award for Mister Roberts.) Harry Stoner is a Watergate-era man in the gray flannel suit--even if his is "Italian silk." Sure, he's got the Beverly Hills manse, complete with maid, but business is hanging by a thread. When it starts to unravel, he risks losing everything. And finances aren't his only problem. After 30 years, he's still haunted by the war and only wants to talk baseball and big bands. His wife urges him to see a therapist. Phil (Jack Gilford, a fine foil) is Harry's garment-manufacturing partner. Neither is a model of business ethics, but when Harry suggests torching a factory for insurance money, Phil is mortified. He suggests they turn to the Mob, but Harry would prefer a quicker fix. As in The Swimmer, another painful portrait of the American Dream gone bad, John G. Avildsen (who picked up his own statuette for Rocky) takes a revealing snapshot of a dying breed. Like much of Lemmon's best work, it can be hard to watch, but just as hard not to. In retrospect, Harry looks like a dry run for the even more nakedly desperate characters of Glengarry Glen Ross and Short Cuts. If you ever wondered how they got that way--Save the Tiger is your answer. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Drama VHS Video
VHS Video Movies
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation VHS Video
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics VHS Video
- Comedy VHS Video
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama VHS Video
- Educational
- Fitness
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror VHS Video
- Kids & Family
- Military & War VHS Video
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports VHS Video
- Television VHS Video
- Westerns VHS Video
Movies most talked about in The Academy Collection: The Best Actor- 1952-1976
![Network [VHS] Image](/images/Network-VHS-B00003OSTQ-X.jpg){kind=small}
Network [VHS]Warner Home Video; Release date: 2000-03-07; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $2.73
Price in other shops:
![One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest [VHS] Image](/images/One-Flew-Over-the-Cuckoo-Nest-VHS-0790734079-X.jpg){kind=small}
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest [VHS]Warner Home Video; Release date: 1998-02-03; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $6.85
Price in other shops:
![Harry & Tonto [VHS] Image](/images/Harry-Tonto-VHS-6301511034-X.jpg)
Harry & Tonto [VHS]20th Century Fox; Release date: 1998-01-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
![Save the Tiger [VHS] Image](/images/Save-the-Tiger-VHS-6300216454-X.jpg){kind=small}
Save the Tiger [VHS]Paramount; Release date: 1994-06-22; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $11.24
Price in other shops:
![Godfather 1 (Spanish) (Rmst Sub) [VHS] Image](/images/Godfather-1-Spanish-Rmst-Sub-VHS-6305587795-X.jpg){kind=small}
Godfather 1 (Spanish) (Rmst Sub) [VHS]Paramount; Release date: 1999-10-12; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $3.95
Price in other shops:
![The French Connection [VHS] Image](/images/The-French-Connection-VHS-B00005N5VO-X.jpg){kind=small}
The French Connection [VHS]20th Century Fox; Release date: 2001-09-25; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $3.99
Price in other shops:
![Patton [VHS] Image](/images/Patton-VHS-B00005Q4GV-X.jpg){kind=small}
Patton [VHS]20th Century Fox; Release date: 2002-05-21; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $2.85
Price in other shops:
![True Grit [VHS] Image](/images/True-Grit-VHS-0792107128-X.jpg){kind=small}
True Grit [VHS]Warner Home Video; Release date: 1997-02-19; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $2.50
Price in other shops:
![Charly [VHS] Image](/images/Charly-VHS-6301514025-X.jpg){kind=small}
Charly [VHS]Fox Home Entertainment; Release date: 1992-08-06; Published: 1989-09; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $44.95
![In the Heat of the Night / Movie [VHS] Image](/images/In-the-Heat-of-the-Night-Movie-VHS-B000006N70-X.jpg){kind=small}
In the Heat of the Night / Movie [VHS]MGM (Video & DVD); Release date: 1993-12-06; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $7.95
Price in other shops:
Similar VHS Movies
The Young LionsBRANDO,MARLON; Release date: 2002-05-21; DVD
Best price: $8.37
Price in other shops:
Glengarry Glen RossLION'S GATE ENTERTAINMENT; Release date: 2002-11-19; DVD
Best price: $8.96
Price in other shops:
KluteFONDA,JANE; Release date: 2002-02-05; DVD
Best price: $9.50
Price in other shops:
Coming HomeFONDA,JANE; Release date: 2002-04-16; DVD
Best price: $5.96
Price in other shops:
A Touch of ClassNEW LINE HOME VIDEO; Release date: 2002-02-05; DVD
Best price: $5.17
Price in other shops:
How to Murder Your WifeTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2002-10-15; DVD
Best price: $8.26
Price in other shops:
Harry and TontoRelease date: 2005-09-06; DVD
Best price: $6.18
Price in other shops:
The China Syndrome (Special Edition)FONDA,JANE; Release date: 2004-10-26; DVD
Best price: $8.29
Price in other shops:
The Prisoner of Second AvenueBANCROFT,ANNE; Release date: 2004-03-30; DVD
Best price: $2.99
Price in other shops:
Days of Wine and RosesLEMMON,JACK; Release date: 2004-01-06; DVD
Best price: $8.86
Price in other shops: