MOVIE COMPANY: TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX
CAST: Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Virginie Ledoyen, Tilda Swinton, Guillaume Canet and Robert Carlyle.
DIRECTED BY: Danny Boyle
PRODUCED BY: Andrew Macdonald
RATING: Rated R
INTERNET MOVIE DATABASE URL: http://us.imdb.com/Title?0163978
TYPE OF MOVIE: Drama, Adventure
DURATION: 119 minutes
Leonardo DiCaprio is electrifying (David Sheehan, CBS-TV) in this adrenaline drenched, tantalizing seductive thriller from the director of “Trainspotting”. Richard (DiCaprio), a young American backpacker, is willing to risk his life for just one thing: that mind-blow rush you can only get from braving the ultimate adventure. But on a secret, deceptively perfect beach, Richard will discover that “heaven on earth” can instantly change into a jungle of seduction and danger. Co-starring sexy newcomer Virginie Ledoyen, this “journey for the unexpected, full of surprises, twists and turns, love and romance, list and desire” (Maria Sallas, GEMS) explores the hidden perils and dark places that lurk just beyond the shores of paradise…
DVD EXTRAS:
• Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
• Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby
• Commentary by director Danny Boyle
• Theatrical trailer(s)
• Deleted Scenes and Alternate Ending
• All Saints music video “Pure Shores”
• Storyboard Gallery and TV spots
• Widescreen anamorphic format
KNOWN DVD SECRET(S):
Hidden trailer:
Select the “Features” option at the main menu. Select the “Cast And Crew” option, and choose Robert Carlyle. Press Right to highlight the picture on the left side of his head and press Enter to view a trailer from The Full Monty.
DVD REVIEW:
As a fan of foreign films, I have seen many artsy films, films about rebellion and this film is very interesting, artsy, rebellious and could have been a very good story if not for the many loose ends.
The movie is like watching a beach story with parts from “Chung King Express” and some “Fight Club” mixed in. You pretty much don’t know what the hell is going on because at first you think it’s a romantic movie, then the trailers suggest something (which is not what you expect) and then the Fight Club like situation with DiCaprio.
There are times when I agree with a director by omitting deleted scenes but I think that certain deleted scenes may have filled up the loose holes in the movie but it appears the problem that Danny Boyle faced was the movie’s duration.
Anyway, the video quality is beautiful. With the nice colors of the Beach, the colors are vibrant. I did have a few problems in the beginning with some sort of wavy lines for a few seconds and not sure what that was. The audio is nice with the crickets coming out of your rear speakers to make you feel you are on that island.
The special features are nice with commentary and commentary on the deleted scenes (which is selectable), story board, trailers and a music video from All Saints.
I enjoyed this movie but I felt it had a few loose holes that the deleted scenes may have helped fill. Some people may be turned off with the movie’s weird segments (ala video game DiCaprio). Try watching this movie with an open mind but even doing this, you will be asking yourself “but…”
Definitely a renter!
THE MOVIE:Â C
THE DVD EXTRAS:Â B
THE DVD OVERALL:Â C+