Anthony Costello, Dennis Dugan, Edward Binns

An L.A. private detective puts aside his own marital woes while tracing a topless nymphet to the Florida Keys.

Flixster Users

71% liked it

484 ratings

Critics

82% liked it

17 critics

R, 1 hr. 35 min.

Directed by: Arthur Penn

Release Date: January 1, 1975

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DVD Release Date: July 12, 2005

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Stats: 113 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (113)


  • January 23, 2008
    Really great Post Modern Neo Noir. Reminiscent of the Long Goodbye, but less funny and more grizzled.
  • May 28, 2007
    Great, underseen flick.
  • September 13, 2006
    Exciting, rough, dirty thriller. Very entertaining.
  • September 7, 2009
    Forgotten neo-noir from 1975 directed by BONNIE & CLYDE director Arthur Penn. Hackman is great in the lead as down-on-his-luck PI Harry Moseby. Convoluted crime story makes for compelling viewing, as does a naked teenage Melanie Griffith. Early James Woods role. One hell of a cli...( read more)max.
  • March 23, 2009
    A more than decent neo-noir film from Arthur Penn (Bonnie and Clyde). Penn makes it as counter-culture as possible, as this is unlike any film noir you've ever seen, and the tight script from Alan Sharp leaves all the characters talking fast. As Joseph pointed out this avoids man...( read more)y of the cliches that are abound in many film noirs, but the staple "show the main character in every scene" is still here and it works.

    Gene Hackman throws on a might fine performance as the lackluster detective Harry Moseby, a private eye who is plagued by his own inadequacies. James Woods makes his film debut here as Quentin, scrawny rat of a man who is hiding more than he can afford to. Aside from that the rest of the cast puts on a good performance.

    The only problem I really had dealt with the technical aspects of the movie. I found some of the camerawork to be really shoddy, but many could argue that that's just the style in the 70's, so it didn't bother me TO much. However, the editing was a problem. For the majority of the time it flew smoothly, but then there were times where the continuity was just unbearable (the scene where Moseby confronts Quentin comes to mind). I know, it's a really nerdy thing to be bitching about, but that's what you get from a kid who's been taking post-production all semester.

    All in all it's not a bad film, it just had its quirks. Don't let that stop you from seeing this, as it's a more than solid neo-noir that bends the rules, although Erik Skjoldbjaerg's Insomnia does it much better. The grand finale is excellent though. I loved how there was nothing but silence while Moseby was watching the plane sink, and I think that as Moseby sails away, in circles, that it's highly symbolic of Moseby's own life: a man who perpetually goes nowhere.
  • November 14, 2008
    I guess I expected more, but it does have its charm.
  • November 6, 2008
    Arthur Penn's modern noir is among the greatest American films of the seventies...as a matter of fact, it is indeed my favorite.
  • April 7, 2008
    Great film noir. Gene Hackman is great and so is a very young Melanie Griffith and James Woods
  • May 28, 2007
    got a little confusing by the end, as to who was connected to who and why? but you do get to see a very young melanie griffith totally nude.
  • March 29, 2007
    very well done detective story, no black and white in this one ...

Critic Reviews


October 23, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Arthur Penn's Night Moves is about an old-fashioned private eye who says and does all the expected things while surrounded by a plot he completely fails to understand. full review

View more Night Moves reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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Night Moves Trivia


  • Daphne Zuniga (The sure thing, Spaceballs, Melrose Place) was in a Bob Seger video.  Answer »
  • What movie features a recording of Bob Seger's "Night Moves" that was never released on its soundtrack or any album by Bob Seger?  Answer »
  • Which actor starred in everyone of these moves: -Duplex -Zoolander -Night at the Musuem -Meet the Fockers  Answer »
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