| | | Sooner or Later a Man Who Wears Two Faces Forgets Which One is Real.
Features: Special Edition, Widescreen
A high-profile slaying becomes the case of an ambitious attorney's career in this legal thriller based on the novel by William Diehl. Richard Gere stars as Martin Vail, a famed defense lawyer who volunteers his services to Aaron Stampler (Edward Norton), a Kentucky teenager charged with the murder of a Chicago archbishop. Covered with blood, Aaron was captured after a foot chase broadcast live on TV, making a gleeful Vail certain that he could raise his profile by defending the obviously guilty suspect. Assigned to prosecute is Assistant District Attorney Janet Venable (Laura Linney), who is Vail's ex-girlfriend. Vail's case becomes more complicated than he expected when a psychologist, Dr. Molly Arrington (Frances McDormand) concludes that Stampler suffers from multiple personality disorder. Vail also uncovers evidence that the archbishop was involved in a corrupt land scheme and may have molested young parishioners. Now the cynical, opportunistic attorney is faced with a daunting prospect, a client who may actually deserve his best defense. Its shocking, twist ending made Primal Fear (1996) a big box office hit and earned Norton, in his screen debut, an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
"A mesmerizing mystery! An awesome ending!" George Pennacchio, CBS-TV
"Gere is excellent. A brilliant debut performance by Edward Norton." Jack Mathews, Newsday
"A tight courtroom melodrama that serves up twist after twist..." Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
"...riveting...blend[s] quirky suspense with emotion-charged courtroom drama..." Peter Stack, San Francisco Chronicle
"A crackling courtroom drama with more twists than O.J. had alibis." Rita Kempley, The Washington Post
Editor's Note
Powerful, media-hungry Chicago defense attorney Martin Vail (Richard Gere) gets in over his head when he takes the case of an altar boy (Edward Norton making his film debut) accused of murdering an archbishop. His opponent for the prosecution is his former protege and lover Janet Venable (Laura Linney), who's out to make this her watershed case. A suspenseful courtroom with a truly unexpected ending, this drama is based on the novel by William Diehl.
Plot Summary
In Chicago, an Archbishop has been brutally murdered, and a sweet-faced altar boy named Aaron -- who was seen fleeing the scene of the crime and whose clothes were soaked in blood -- is charged with the crime. Aaron claims he was present when the murder occurred, but that he is not the killer.| Coming to Aaron's rescue in this high-profile case is Martin Vail, a cocky lawyer who loves the media's spotlight as much as he loves his job. The legal road ahead of Martin and Aaron is filled with many obstacles, including a very determined prosecuting attorney (who's Martin's ex-lover), revelations about the Archbishop's "relationship" with the altar boys, and Aaron himself, who has a very violent, repugnant second personality named Roy. | Is Aaron/Roy guilty? Or is he taking the fall for someone else?
| Features | Audio Commentary By Director Gregory Hoblit, Writer Ann Biderman, Producers Gary Lucchesi, Executive Producer Hawk Kock, & Casting Director Deborah Aquila | | Audio: English TrueHD Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound | | Audio: French, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound | | Dubbed: French, Spanish | | Featurettes: Primal Fear - The Final Verdict, Primal Fear - A Star Witness - Edward Norton, & The Psychology Of Guilt | | Interactive Menus | | Original Theatrical Trailer | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese | | This Is A Blu-Ray DVD Made For Blue-Laser Format Players Which Produce Higher Quality Picture & Sound |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Paramount |
| Release Date: 10/13/2009 |
| Running Time: 130 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1996 | | Catalog ID: 142214 | | UPC: 00097361422145 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Widescreen 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Oscar (1997) | | | Edward Norton, Nominee, Best Actor in a Supporting Role | |
Golden Globe (1997) |  | Edward Norton, Winner, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture | |
British Academy Awards (1997) | | | Edward Norton, Nominee, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role | |
MTV Award (1997) | | | Edward Norton, Nominee, Best Villain |
| Memorable Quotes| "When your mother says she loves you, ask for a second opinion." ---- Martin Vail (RICHARD GERE), to a reporter who is interviewing him. |
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| | Professional Reviews | Premiere
"...Taut thriller....[Norton gives a] hypnotic performance..." 12/01/1996 p.115-16USA Today
"...Richard Gere gives a focused performance..." 04/03/1996 p.7D Entertainment Weekly
"...Gere's showy yet mature performance holds the movie together....PRIMAL is the most riveting courtroom drama since 1982's THE VERDICT..." -- Rating: B 10/18/1996 pp.88-9 Variety
"...Well-crafted....Linney is excellent....Hoblit's direction is ultra-attentive to story points..." 04/01/1996 Chicago Sun-Times
"...[Gere] shows what an interesting actor he can be. PRIMAL FEAR contains some of his best work..." 04/03/1996 p.45 Chicago Sun-Times
"The plot is as good as crime procedurals get, but the movie is really better than its plot because of the three-dimensional characters." 04/05/1996 ReelViews 6 of 10
One of the most unfortunate aspects of a courtroom thriller is the tendency to degenerate into preposterous melodrama. It's as if the basic situation of having a person on trial for their life isn't inherently powerful enough. As a result, cheap theatrics are thrown in to spice things up, and, in the process, wreck any semblance of credibility. Primal Fear, director Gregory Hoblit's adaptation of William Diehl's novel, is an obvious example. At times, it's taut, sharp, and astute, but those qualities are overwhelmed by a storyline that takes too many wrong turns...The big "twist" at the end (which won't be much of a surprise to anyone who has seen more than a handful of courtroom thrillers) isn't the only thing that hurts Primal Fear, since nearly every scene in the last half-hour has something wrong with it. Although the film would like the audience to believe that it's addressing important issues about justice and court procedures, those things are mere window dressing for a tawdry plot that involves sex-obsessed archbishops, suspects with multiple personalities, and a corrupt prosecutor. We've seen all these things before in more cleverly-written screenplays...Even had Primal Fear trimmed its length to something more reasonable, it still wouldn't have been involving. The flat, unsympathetic characters generate no interest and the overplotted story offers more cliches than legitimate surprises. Most of the film's better aspects, like Vail's cynicism about the judicial process, fall by the wayside to facilitate the absurd conclusion. Despite high production standards and a slick advertising campaign, Primal Fear is as trite and routine as any made-for-TV courtroom drama. - James Berardinelli
Chicago Sun-Times 9 of 10
Once it was cops who solved crimes. Then private eyes. In the Grisham era, it has been lawyers. ``Primal Fear,'' based on a novel by William Diehl, stars Richard Gere as a flamboyant Chicago defense attorney who chases defendants instead of ambulances and volunteers his services when a teenager from Kentucky is charged with murdering an archbishop...Why? Because he knows the case will be the most sensational of the year, and he wants to be where the action is. And maybe because he thinks the kid might be innocent, although the movie's literate, pointed dialogue makes it clear that guilt isn't an issue with this lawyer: Every defendant deserves a competent defense, he believes...The defense attorney is named Martin Vail. In playing him, Gere creates one of the best performances of his career, nuanced and smart, although the conventions of the thriller genre distract from how good it really is...The best crime movies and novels are not about who did it, or why. They are about how the characters feel about what happened. The screenplay for ``Primal Fear,'' by Steve Shagan and Ann Biderman, knows that and uses the labyrinthine plot details as backdrop to issues of the identity. Because this movie has a commercial destiny, of course the crime is sensational and the revelations are startling. But the character of Martin Vail is so well done that it could have supported a smaller, more plausible movie...Richard Gere's film choices could use more quality control, but at times, as in `` Days of Heaven,'' ``American Gigolo,'' ``Pretty Woman,'' ``Internal Affairs,'' ``Miles From Home'' and ``Mr. Jones,'' he shows what an interesting actor he can be. ``Primal Fear'' contains some of his best work. - Roger Ebert
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