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Features: DVD, Aspect Ratio 2.35:1, Dolby Digital (5.1)
The acclaimed performances of two-time Academy Award winner Michael Caine (Best Supporting Actor, The Cider House Rules, 1999; Hannah And Her Sisters, 1986) and Brendan Fraser (The Mummy, Gods And Monsters) power a stylish political thriller where love and war collide in Southeast Asia. Set in early 1950s Vietnam, a young American (Fraser) becomes entangled in a dangerous love triangle when he falls for the beautiful mistress of a British journalist (Caine). As war is waged around them, these three only sink deeper into a world of drugs, passion, and betrayal where nothing is as it seems. Based on the classic novel by Graham Greene -- you'll find yourself riveted by the fascinating intricacies and ever-developing intrigue of this outstanding motion picture.
"Highly recommended viewing for its courage, ideas, technical proficiency and great acting." Rex Reed, New York Observer
"It is a timely film and a transporting one." Wendy Weinstein, Film Journal International
"A towering achievement with a soul-baring performance by Michael Caine that deserves the highest praise." Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Editor's Note
Set in Saigon, Vietnam, in 1952 during the French Indochina war, THE QUIET AMERICAN is based on the mystery story by Graham Greene, and directed by Phillip Noyce. A middle-aged British reporter for the London Times, Thomas Fowler (Michael Caine), has been working in Vietnam, covering politics and enjoying the local culture. He lives with a beautiful young woman, Phuong (Do Thi Hai Yen), a taxi dancer who he rescued from that undesirable profession. He cannot marry her, because he is already married to a Catholic woman in London who does not believe in divorce. But he truly loves her. When a young American doctor, Alden Pyle (Brendan Fraser), falls in love with Phuong, threatening to take her from Fowler, everything changes. Not only is Fowler's romantic life put in danger, but he begins to uncover disturbing information about the U.S.'s involvement in the war.An intriguing and atmospheric love story as well as a riveting mystery, THE QUIET AMERICAN features top-notch performances from Caine and Fraser, who maintain an eager intensity throughout the film. Combining the mysterious beauty of Saigon with the strangeness of the war, the film is suspenseful and effective.
| Features | DVD-ROM: Enhanced Vietnam Study Guide | | Original Book Reviews: "The Quiet American" | | Anatomy Of A Scene | | Feature Commentary With Director Phillip Noyce, Actors Michael Caine, Brendan Fraser, And Tzi Ma, Executive Producer Sydney Pollack, Producers Steffan Ahrenberg And William Horberg, Co-Writer Christopher Hampton, And Interpreter And Advisor To Phillip Noy | | Original Featurette |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Buena Vista |
| Release Date: 1/10/2006 |
| Running Time: 101 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2002 | | Catalog ID: 3083103 | | UPC: 00786936219760 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | 2.35:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Oscar (2003) | | | Michael Caine, Nominee, Best Actor | |
British Academy Awards (2003) | | | Michael Caine, Nominee, Best Actor | |
Golden Globe (2003) | | | Michael Caine, Nominee, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama |
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| | Professional Reviews | New York Times
"...Fowler may be the richest character of Mr. Caine's screen career....This great English actor gives a performance of astonishing understatement whose tone wavers delicately between irony and sadness..." 11/22/2002 p.E14USA Today
"...This is intelligent grown-up entertainment on both a political and a humanistic level..." 11/22/2002 p.5E Entertainment Weekly
"...Superbly controlled, passionate....Caine makes his towering performance look casual..." 11/29/2002 p.76 Sight and Sound
"...There are compelling performances....Caine brings a touching sense of vulnerability..." 12/01/2002 p.58 Rolling Stone
"...THE QUIET AMERICAN is a towering achievement with a soul-baring performance by Michael Caine....Caine has never been better..." 12/12/2002 p.106 Los Angeles Times
"...Caine gives the kind of seemingly effortless performance it needs an entire career to prepare for....Caine's performance is intricate without seeming to be, a nuanced marvel of the actor's craft..." 11/22/2002 p.C8 Film Comment
"...An elegant film, elegantly shot by Chris Doyle....Noyce restores and sharpens the political outlines of the period..." 01/01/2003 p.74-6 Chicago Sun-Times 7 of 10
Noyce made two great pictures close together, this one and Rabbit-Proof Fence, which I reviewed last December. He feels anger as he tells this story, but he conceals it, because the story as it stands is enough. Some viewers will not even intercept the political message. It was that way with Greene: The politics were in the very weave of the cloth, not worth talking about. Here, in a rare Western feature shot in Vietnam, with real locations and sets that look well-worn enough to be real, with wonderful performances, he suggests a world view more mature and knowing than the simplistic pieties that provide the public face of foreign policy. - Roger Ebert
James Berardinelli's ReelViews 8 of 10
No movie exists in a vacuum, and nowhere is that more apparent than in the case of Phillip Noyce's version of The Quiet American. Filmed prior to September 11, 2001, and scheduled to open weeks after that pivotal date, the movie ended up sitting on a shelf for more than a year because its U.S. Distributor, Miramax, worried that the storyline might seem anti-American. In fact, the so-called "controversy" surrounding The Quiet American seems blown out of proportion. The movie is critical of U.S. foreign policy regarding Vietnam in the 1950s, but, considering how things turned out, can one argue that the criticism is unjustified? Americans are not demonized, and the allegorical aspects of the story are no more damning than the ones found in the text. Ironically, considering recent current events - including the hunt for Osama Bin Laden and the buildup towards war with Iraq - one could argue that The Quiet American has far more relevance now than Noyce could have envisioned when he was constructing it. - James Berardinelli
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