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Features: DVD, Pan and Scan (TV Format), Aspect Ratio 1.33:1, Audio Commentary, Featurettes, Outtakes, Deleted Scenes
Two soldiers served in the same company during Operation Desert Storm, and their paths following their tours of duty have now become very different. Shaw, the son of powerful congresswoman Eleanor Shaw, has used his reputation as a war hero to quickly scale the ladder of American politics. And with the help of his mother, he earns the Vice Presidential nomination. Marco, on the other hand, has been troubled with mental illness, and is convinced that something strange happened to him and his compatriots during the war. As Marco struggles to find the truth behind his nightmares and emotional torment, he unearths some disturbing facts about how his mind and body have been reworked by shadowy forces, as well as those of his fellow soldiers -- including Raymond Shaw.
Editor's Note
Jonathan Demme updates the original 1962 John Frankenheimer classic with plenty of new paranoid twists: This time a sinister Halliburton-style corporation is behind the brainwashing of a Gulf War hero turned vice presidential nominee, Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber). Shaw's old unit commander Ben Marco (Denzel Washington) recommended him for the National Medal of Honor, though he can't remember exactly why, and his recurring nightmares drive him to uncover a massive conspiracy. Sinister forces at work include shifty-eyed bodyguards, a love interest with questionable motives (Kimberly Elise), and Raymond's domineering senator mother (Meryl Streep). Demme infuses the proceedings with enough paranoia and uncomfortable close-ups to rival his 1991 Oscar-winner, SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. Layered sound, overlapping dialogue, and creepy cinematography by Tak Fujimoto (who also worked on LAMBS) further heighten the uneasiness. Demme regulars Roger Corman, Charles Napier, Paul Lazar, and Tracey Walter show up in bit parts as usual. Comedian Al Franken is a welcome face as a TV correspondent, and quirky indie rocker Robyn Hitchcock plays one of the brainwashing specialists. Needless to say, Denzel is superb. Streep is terrifying and hilarious as the maniacal Mrs. Shaw. As with the original (which focused on communist instead of terrorist fear-mongering), the events depicted here are doubly unsettling considering their uncanny resemblance to real-life politics at the time of this film's theatrical release.
| Features | Political Pundits With Director Commentary | | Subtitles: English, French, Spanish | | Full Screen Presentation | | Featurettes | | Liev Schreiber Screen Test | | Outtakes | | Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 | | Commentary By Director Jonathan Demme and Screenplay Writer Daniel Pyne | | Deleted/Extended Scenes |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Paramount |
| Release Date: 2/13/2007 |
| Running Time: 129 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2004 | | Catalog ID: 053464 | | UPC: 00097360534641 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English | | Video: Color |
| Cast & Crew | Ted Levine | | Jon Voight | | Jeffrey Wright | | Liev Schreiber | | Denzel Washington | | Meryl Streep | | Kimberly Elise | | Scott Aversano - Executive Producer | | Kristi Zea - Production Designer | | Dean Georgaris - Screenwriter | | Tak Fujimoto - Director of Photography | | Carol Littleton - Editor | | Albert Wolsky - Costume Designer | | Richard Condon - Source Writer | | Craig McKay - Editor | | Ilona Herzberg - Producer | | Tina Sinatra - Producer | | George Axelrod - Screenwriter | | Daniel Pyne - Screenwriter | | Scott Rudin - Producer | | Wyclef Jean - Composer | | Rachel Portman - Composer | | Jonathan Demme - Producer | | Jonathan Demme - Director |
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| | Professional Reviews | Entertainment Weekly
"[A] scary summer flick about mind control and corporate conspiracy." 08/06/2004 p.56Rolling Stone
"All hell breaks loose as Demme catches the audience in a vise of churning suspense and corrosive wit." 08/06/2004 p.130 Los Angeles Times
"[An] exceptionally intelligent entertainment and a high point of director Jonathan Demme's career." 07/30/2004 p.E1 Sight and Sound
"[A] strong and substantial work....[It] feels not just refreshingly vital but uncannily topical." 12/01/2004 p.55-6 Uncut
"Intelligent and engrossing....Demme's movie shares more of a kindred spirit with documentaries like FAHRENHEIT 9/11 than with its big-budget studio peers." 12/01/2004 p.176 Ultimate DVD
4 stars out of 5 -- "[W]ith the excellent Liev Schreiber cast as the political candidate whose past as a hero of the Gulf War isn't what it appears." 08/01/2007 p.87 |
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