| | | There's nothing more dangerous than a familiar face.
Features: DVD, Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 1.85:1, French, Dubbed, Spanish, Subtitled
Robin Williams delivers his "finest hour" (USA Today)in "one of the eeriest, most absorbing, effective thrillers in years" (NBC-TV). Sy "the photo guy" Parrish (Williams) has lovingly, painstakingly developed photographs for the Yukon family since their son was a baby. But as Yorkins' lives become fuller, Sy's only seems lonelier, until he eventually convinces himself that he is a part of their family. When "Uncle Sy's picture perfect fantasy" collides with an ugly dose of reality, what happens next "has the spine-tingling elements of the best psychological thrillers!" (New York Observer)
"A compact chiller that is both scary and artfully composed, with a poisonous performance by Mr. Williams that is unforgettable.
Editor's Note
Viewed through our photographs, it would seem we have lived a joyous, leisurely existence. Sy Parrish (Robin Williams), who makes this observation, adversely leads a lonely life, operating a photo lab in a SavMart department store. He escapes his dreary reality through the family photos of Nancy Yorkin (Connie Nielsen) and her family. His admiration of the Yorkins becomes an obsession, as he fashions himself as Uncle Sy to little Jake (Dylan Smith). Sy's judgment becomes impaired by his unhealthy interest, causing him to lose his job of 11 years. As his final day approaches, Sy develops photographs revealing an indiscretion on the part of Mr. Yorkin (Michael Vartan). The unstable Sy now develops a disturbing, calculated plan to instill family values to the Yorkin clan.Much of ONE HOUR PHOTO takes place inside a department store similar to a Wal-Mart, bordered in an icy blue. This cold atmosphere creates a solitary framework for the disturbed photo developer Sy Parrish, played with a melancholic detachment by Williams, working here against type. Director Mark Romanek (STATIC) has created a thriller with little violence. Instead, it is permeated with an uncomfortable fear emanating from its damaged protagonist.
| Features | The Charlie Rose Show Interview With Robin Williams and Mark Romanek | | Theatrical Trailer and TV Spots | | Writer/Director/Actor Commentary | | Anatomy of a Scene Sundance Channel Featurette | | Making Of Featurette |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Foxvideo |
| Release Date: 9/9/2008 |
| Running Time: 96 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2002 | | Catalog ID: 2006216 | | UPC: 00024543062165 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English, French Dubbed, Spanish Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: English, Spanish | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew
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| | Professional Reviews | Premiere
"...A polished thriller about how the images people use to construct and define themselves can be woefully deceiving..." 09/01/2002 p.17-18Entertainment Weekly
"...[Williams provides] a snapshot of human complexity worth framing..." 08/23/2002 p.112 Rolling Stone
"...[Williams] gives a performance that is riveting in its recessiveness and, as a consequence, is truly, deeply scary....Williams remains electrifying..." 09/05/2002 p.79 New York Times
"...Gripping....It's a smart piece of direction....Mr. Romanek's precision is breathtaking..." 08/21/2002 p.E1 USA Today
"...ONE HOUR PHOTO takes Williams to darker, more complex places that we can't turn our eyes away from..." 08/21/2002 p.1D Movieline's Hollywood Life
"...Williams taps into pockets of rage and madness that make this picture electrifying..." 09/01/2002 p.38-9 Total Film
"...Williams pulls it off. It's a complex cocktail of a character....The effective result is enough to get you squirming..." 10/01/2002 p.123 James Berardinelli's ReelViews 8 of 10
The film stumbles near the end, when One Hour Photo takes a stab at explaining Sy's psychosis by falling back on a familiar clichŽ. Williams' powerhouse performance during the key revelation scene is so good that it almost excuses the weakness of the screenplay at this juncture - almost, but not quite. Sy is a more compelling character when we're trying to figure him out. Nevertheless, any weaknesses associated with the final 15 minutes are easily forgiven in light of the 80 minutes that precede them. Dark and unrepentant, this excursion into the epicenter of percolating mental instability is not easily dismissed or forgotten. - James Berardinelli
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