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Features: DVD, Interviews
Hold on tight for a rush of pulse-pounding thrills, breathtaking stunts and unexpected romance in a film you'll want to see again and again. Keanu Reeves stars as Jack Traven, an L.A.P.D. SWAT team specialist who is sent to diffuse a bomb that a revenge-driven extortionist (Dennis Hopper) has planted on a bus. But until he does, Jack and passenger Sandra Bullock must keep the bus speeding through the streets of Los Angeles at more than 50 miles-per-hour--or the bomb will explode. A high-octane chase of suspense, non-stop action and surprise twists, Speed is a joyride sure to keep everyone on the edge of their seats. This 2-DVD Five Star edition is loaded with special bonus features.
"...a crackling blend of suspense and fun..." Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
"Two very enthusiastic thumbs up!" Siskel & Ebert
"Hang on for a wild and crazy ride." Pia Lindstrom, WNBC-TV
Editor's Note
SPEED: A mad bomber (Dennis Hopper) is out for revenge against LAPD rookie cop Jack Traven (Keanu Reeves), who, with the help of his partner, Harry Temple (Jeff Daniels), foils the criminals' plot to extort money from the city by holding hostage an elevator full of people. He plants a bomb on a bus, set to arm itself when the vehicle hits 50 mph, and detonate if it drops below that speed. The hero, with the help of a beautiful passenger named Annie (Sandra Bullock), must defuse the explosive device before the bus runs out of gas. This fast-paced thriller received two Academy Awards for Best Sound and Best Sound Effects Editing, as well as a nomination for Best Film Editing.
Plot Summary
Jack Traven is a risk-taking SWAT Team officer, pitted against a mad-bomber, Howard Payne. Howard has a pattern of coming up with ingenious, deadly schemes: for example, he rigs an L.A. bus so that, after it reaches a speed of 50 mph, it will explode if it slows to below that rate.
| Features | Scene Access | | Full-Length Screenplay | | Theatrical Trailer & TV Spots | | Interactive Menus | | Billy Idol Music Video | | Behind-The-Scenes Still Galleries | | Production Design Gallery | | Storyboard-To-Film Comparisons | | Interview Galleries With Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Dennis Hopper, Jeff Daniels And Jan de Bont | | HBO Behind-The-Scenes Special | | Bus Jump Featurette | | Metro Rail Crash Featurette | | Multi-Angle Stunt Comparisons | | On-Location Featurette | | Stunts Featurette | | Visual Effects Featurette | | Commentary By Director Jan De Bont | | Commentary By Screenwriter Graham Yost And Producer Mark Gordon | | Extended Scenes | | Widescreen Version | | Audio: English 5.1 DTS, 5.1 Dolby Surround; French Dolby Surround | | Subtitles: English, French |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Foxvideo |
| Release Date: 7/30/2002 |
| Running Time: 115 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1994 | | Catalog ID: 2004089 | | UPC: 00024543040897 | | Number of Discs: 2 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | 2.35:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Oscar (1995) |  | Stephen Hunter Flick, Winner, Best Sound Effects Editing | | Bob Beemer, et al., Winner, Best Sound | | | John Wright, Nominee, Best Film Editing | |
MTV Award (1995) | | Sandra Bullock, Winner, Best Female Performance | | Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Winner, Best On-Screen Duo | | Dennis Hopper, Winner, Best Villain | | Sandra Bullock, Winner, Most Desirable Female |
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| | Professional Reviews | Premiere
"...[De Bont] delivers a wild ride that's worth the fare..." - Recommended 11/01/1994 p.119Rolling Stone
"...A crackling blend of suspense and fun that gives you the rush of a runaway roller coaster..." 06/30/1994 p.79-80 New York Times
"...Delivers wall-to-wall action....[Reeves has] become an actor of real charisma....Hopper finds new ways to convey crazy menace..." 06/10/1994 p.C12 Entertainment Weekly
"...[A] dazzling action thriller....Even Hitchcock, I think, would have approved..." -- Rating: A 06/17/1994 pp.32-4 USA Today
"...It's one of those won't quit action pics that make Hollywood the frequent envy of world cinema..." -- 3 1/2 out of 4 stars 06/10/1994 p.1D Los Angeles Times
"...Invigorating....De Bont and his team have turned in a visually sophisticated piece of mayhem that makes the implausible plausible and keeps the thrills coming..." 06/10/1994 p.F1 Chicago Sun-Times
"...It's a smart, inventive thriller....A great entertainment..." 06/10/1994 p.41 Wall Street Journal
"SPEED has become a classic action thriller, and rightly so. It was made in the predigital days when special effects looked real because most of them were real..." 06/12/2009 TIME Magazine 9 of 10
...the film's sheer cut-to-the-chase straightfowardness is part of its appeal. Speed has terrified (and nicely particularized) passengers, a resourceful hero (Keanu Reeves), a gutsy heroine (the always appealing Sandra Bullock) and a terrific villain (Dennis Hopper, doing what he does best - rationalism gone gaga). - Richard Schickel
Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide 10 of 10
...Incredibly kinetic, supercharged action yarn... this is the way to do it--with expert pacing, eye-popping stunts and special effects, and characters who make sense. A bull's-eye! - Leonard Maltin
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