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Resident Evil: Degeneration [Blu-ray]

Actors: Alyson Court, Paul Mercier, Laura Bailey, Roger Craig Smith, Crispin Freeman
ASIN : B001I9XOQ4
Sales Rank : 66
Director : Makoto Kamiya
Brand : Sony
Studio : Sony Pictures
Format : AC-3, Animated, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
Binding : Blu-ray
EAN : 0043396261327
UPC : 043396261327
Release Date : December 27, 2008
Publisher : Sony Pictures
Manufacturer : Sony Pictures
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Sony Pictures
Running Time : 97

Product Description

A zombie attack brings chaos to Harvardville Airport. Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield who fought the sinister Umbrella Corporation during the Raccoon City tragedy 7 years ago, are back. In high-octane Resident Evil style, they're ready to battle a rogue warrior who is seeking revenge after his family was killed in Raccoon City. The deadly G-Virus is unleashed and a new mutated monster goes on the rampage. Will Claire and Leon be able to terminate the virus before history repeats itself?

Amazon.com

Resident Evil: Degeneration, the first fully CGI animated feature in the dystopian horror series, presents fans of the game and its subsequent movies with all the things they crave the most: loads of gunplay orchestrated by an attractive heroine, a labyrinthine plot honeycombed with conspiracy theories and government double-dealings, and most importantly, an army of plague victims hungering for human flesh. The CGI animation certainly allows for richer, bloodier and more explosive scenarios than in the live-action features, and if the story itself--RE heroes Clare Redfield and Leon S. Kennedy must fight their way from a zombie-infested airport to the pharmaceutical company that hides a key to the virus, as well as a monstrous new enemy--is so densely plotted as to warrant multiple rewinds, the picture knows it can be simply enjoyed as a player-free version of the game that inspired it. Vocal talent is probably Degeneration's weakest link (the already purple dialogue sounds extra cringe worthy in the mouths of the cast (which includes several voice actors from the games)) with a subplot involving Leon and fellow agent Angela Miller running a close second. However, neither is so detrimental to fans' enjoyment that it might prevent them from checking out the latest--and, it should be noted, not the final--chapter in Resident Evil's complex and gruesome mythology. --Paul Gaita

James Bond Ultimate Edition - Vol. 2 (A View to a Kill / Thunderball / Die Another Day / The Spy Who Loved Me / Licence to Kill)

Actors: Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, Rosamund Pike, Roger Moore, Christopher Walken
ASIN : B00000BCPF
Sales Rank : 266
Director : John Glen, Lee Tamahori, Lewis Gilbert, Terence Young
Brand : BROSNAN,PIERCE
Studio : MGM (Video & DVD)
Region Code : 1
Format : Box set, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0027616060051
UPC : 027616060051
Release Date : December 07, 2006
Publisher : MGM (Video & DVD)
Manufacturer : MGM (Video & DVD)
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : MGM (Video & DVD)
Running Time : 642

Description

Disc 1: *Thunderball (1965) THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY: MISSION DOSSIER Audio Commentary Featuring Terence Young and Others

Disc 2: **Thunderball Bonus Disc DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT The Incredible World of James Bond - Original 1965 NBC Television Special A Child's Guide to Blowing Up a Motor Car - 1965 Ford Promotional Film On Location With Ken Adam Bill Suitor: The Rocket Man Movies Thunderball Boat Show Reel Selling Bonds - Original 1965 Television Advertisements 007 MISSION CONTROL Interactive Guide Into the World of Thunderball Audio Commentary Featuring Peter Hunt, John Hopkins and Others The Making of Thunderball The Thunderball Phenomenon The Secret History of Thunderball MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA Original Trailers, TV Spots, Photo Gallery & Radio Communications

Disc 3: *Die Another Day (2002) THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY: MISSION DOSSIER Audio Commentary Featuring Director Lee Tamahori and Producer Michael G. Wilson & Pierce Brosnan

Disc 4: **Die Another Day Bonus Disc DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT From Script to Screen Shaken and Stirred on Ice Just Another Day The British Touch: Bond Arrives in London On Location With Peter Lamont 007 MISSION CONTROL Interactive Guide Into the World of Die Another Day Audio Commentary Featuring Pierce Brosnan and Rosamund Pike MI6 DataStream Additional DVD-ROM Features Available! Madonna 'Die Another Day' Music Video MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA Photo gallery

Disc 5: *The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) **The Spy Who Loved Me Bonus Disc Newly Recorded Audio Commentary Featuring Sir Roger Moore THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY: MISSION DOSSIER Audio Commentary Featuring Director Lewis Gilbert, Production Designer Ken Adam, Co-Writer Christopher Wood and Michael G Wilson

Disc 6: DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT 007 in Egypt Roger Moore: My Word Is My Bond On Location With Ken Adam 007 Stage Dedication Original 1977 Featurette Escape From Atlantis: Storyboard Sequence 007 MISSION CONTROL Interactive Guide Into the World of The Spy Who Loved Me Inside The Spy Who Loved Me Ken Adam: Designing Bond MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA Original Trailers, TV Spots, Photo Gallery & Radio Communications

Disc 7: *A View To A Kill (1985) **A View To A Kill Bonus Disc Newly Recorded Audio Commentary Featuring Sir Roger Moore THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY: MISSION DOSSIER Audio Commentary Featuring Director John Glen and Members of the Cast and Crew

Disc 8: DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT Film '85 BBC Report Float Like A Butterfly Test Footage Deleted Scenes & Expanded Angles with Introductions by Director John Glen 007 MISSION CONTROL Interactive Guide Into the World of A View to a Kill Inside A View to a Kill The Music of James Bond Duran Duran 'A View to a Kill' Music Video MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA Original Trailers, TV Spots & Photo Gallery

Disc 9: *License To Kill (1989) THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY: MISSION DOSSIER Audio Commentary Featuring Director John Glen and Members of the Cast Audio Commentary Featuring Michael G Wilson and Members of the Crew

Disc 10: **License To Kill Bonus Disc DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT Deleted Scenes With Director John Glen Introductions Bond '89 On the Set With John Glen On Location With Peter Lamont Ground Check With Corkey Fornof 007 MISSION CONTROL Interactive Guide Into the World of Licence to Kill Inside Licence to Kill Production Featurette "Behind the Scenes" Kenworth Trucks Featurette Gladys Knight 'Licence to Kill' Music Video Patti LaBelle 'If You Asked Me To' Music Video MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA Original Trailers & Photo Gallery

Resident Evil: Degeneration

Actors: Alyson Court, Paul Mercier, Laura Bailey, Roger Craig Smith, Crispin Freeman
ASIN : B001I9XOQO
Sales Rank : 195
Director : Makoto Kamiya
Brand : Sony
Studio : Sony Pictures
Region Code : 99
Format : AC-3, Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0043396261297
UPC : 043396261297
Release Date : December 27, 2008
Publisher : Sony Pictures
Manufacturer : Sony Pictures
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Sony Pictures
Running Time : 97

Product Description

A zombie attack brings chaos to Harvardville Airport. Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield who fought the sinister Umbrella Corporation during the Raccoon City tragedy 7 years ago, are back. In high-octane Resident Evil style, they're ready to battle a rogue warrior who is seeking revenge after his family was killed in Raccoon City. The deadly G-Virus is unleashed and a new mutated monster goes on the rampage. Will Claire and Leon be able to terminate the virus before history repeats itself?

Amazon.com

Resident Evil: Degeneration, the first fully CGI animated feature in the dystopian horror series, presents fans of the game and its subsequent movies with all the things they crave the most: loads of gunplay orchestrated by an attractive heroine, a labyrinthine plot honeycombed with conspiracy theories and government double-dealings, and most importantly, an army of plague victims hungering for human flesh. The CGI animation certainly allows for richer, bloodier and more explosive scenarios than in the live-action features, and if the story itself--RE heroes Clare Redfield and Leon S. Kennedy must fight their way from a zombie-infested airport to the pharmaceutical company that hides a key to the virus, as well as a monstrous new enemy--is so densely plotted as to warrant multiple rewinds, the picture knows it can be simply enjoyed as a player-free version of the game that inspired it. Vocal talent is probably Degeneration's weakest link (the already purple dialogue sounds extra cringe worthy in the mouths of the cast (which includes several voice actors from the games)) with a subplot involving Leon and fellow agent Angela Miller running a close second. However, neither is so detrimental to fans' enjoyment that it might prevent them from checking out the latest--and, it should be noted, not the final--chapter in Resident Evil's complex and gruesome mythology. --Paul Gaita

Pan's Labyrinth

Actors: Ivana Baquero, Sergi López, Maribel Verdú, Doug Jones, Ariadna Gil
ASIN : B000O76ZQC
Sales Rank : 519
Director : Guillermo del Toro
Brand : Warner Brothers
Studio : New Line Home Video
Region Code : 1
Format : AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0794043107177
UPC : 794043107177
Release Date : December 15, 2007
Publisher : New Line Home Video
Manufacturer : New Line Home Video
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : New Line Home Video
Running Time : 119

Description

Following a bloody civil war, young Ofelia enters a world of unimaginable cruelty when she moves in with her new stepfather, a tyrannical military officer. Armed with only her imagination, Ofelia discovers a mysterious labyrinth and meets a faun who sets her on a path to saving herself and her ailing mother. But soon, the lines between fantasy and reality begin to blur, and before Ofelia can turn back, she finds herself at the center of a ferocious battle between good and evil.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary
Theatrical Trailer

Amazon.com

Inspired by the Brothers Grimm, Jorge Luis Borges, and Guillermo del Toro's own unlimited imagination, Pan's Labyrinth is a fairytale for adults. Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) may only be 12, but the worlds she inhabits, both above and below ground, are dark as anything del Toro has conjured. Set in rural Spain, circa 1944, Ofelia and her widowed mother, Carmen (Ariadna Gil, Belle Epoque), have just moved into an abandoned mill with Carmen's new husband, Captain Vidal (Sergi López, With a Friend like Harry). Carmen is pregnant with his son. Other than her sickly mother and kindly housekeeper Mercedes (Maribel Verdú, Y Tu Mamá También), the dreamy Ofelia is on her own. Vidal, an exceedingly cruel man, couldn't be bothered. He has informers to torture. Ofelia soon finds that an entire universe exists below the mill. Her guide is the persuasive Faun (Doug Jones, Mimic). As her mother grows weaker, Ofelia spends more and more time in the satyr's labyrinth. He offers to help her out of her predicament if she'll complete three treacherous tasks. Ofelia is willing to try, but does this alternate reality really exist or is it all in her head? Del Toro leaves that up to the viewer to decide in a beautiful, yet brutal twin to The Devil's Backbone, which was also haunted by the ghost of Franco. Though it lacks the humor of Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth represents Guillermo Del Toro at the top of his considerable game. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Amelie

Actors: Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus, Lorella Cravotta, Serge Merlin
ASIN : B0000640VO
Sales Rank : 456
Director : Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Brand : TAUTOU,AUDREY
Studio : Miramax Home Entertainment
Region Code : 1
Format : Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0786936180893
UPC : 786936180893
Release Date : December 16, 2002
Publisher : Miramax Home Entertainment
Manufacturer : Miramax Home Entertainment
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Miramax Home Entertainment
Running Time : 122

Description

Nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Original Screenplay, this magical comedy earned overwhelming acclaim nationwide! A painfully shy waitress working at a tiny Paris cafe, Amélie makes a surprising discovery and sees her life drastically changed for the better! From then on, Amélie dedicates herself to helping others find happiness ... in the most delightfully unexpected way! But will she have the courage to do for herself what she has done for others?

Amazon.com

Perhaps the most charming movie of all time, Amélie is certainly one of the top 10. The title character (the bashful and impish Audrey Tautou) is a single waitress who decides to help other lonely people fix their lives. Her widowed father yearns to travel but won't, so to inspire the old man she sends his garden gnome on a tour of the world; with whispered gossip, she brings together two cranky regulars at her café; she reverses the doorknobs and reprograms the speed dial of a grocer who's mean to his assistant. Gradually she realizes her own life needs fixing, and a chance meeting leads to her most elaborate stratagem of all. This is a deeply wonderful movie, an illuminating mix of magic and pragmatism. Fans of the director's previous films (Delicatessen, The City of Lost Children) will not be disappointed; newcomers will be delighted. --Bret Fetzer

Friends - The Complete Sixth Season

Actors: Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry
ASIN : B0000X2ECE
Sales Rank : 1595
Director : David Schwimmer, Ben Weiss, Gail Mancuso, Gary Halvorson, Kevin Bright
Brand : Warner Brothers
Studio : National Broadcasting Company (NBC)
Region Code : 1
Format : Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9780790776507
ISBN : 0790776502
UPC : 085392426720
Number Of Discs : 1
Release Date : December 27, 2004
Publisher : National Broadcasting Company (NBC)
Manufacturer : National Broadcasting Company (NBC)
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : National Broadcasting Company (NBC)
Running Time : 569

Description

This smart, sophisticated comedy looks into the hearts and minds of a group of single friends, all struggling with love, careers, dreams and disappointments at a time in their lives when everything is possible. From Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:Prodcuer audio commentary on 3 episodes
Gag Reel
Interviews:"Friends of Friends" guest/celebrity interviews.
Other:Gunther Spills the Beans promo for next season. Casino Challenge trivia game

Amazon.com

Between Friends' fifth and sixth seasons, Courteney Cox and David Arquette were married, leading to "The One After Vegas" adding "Arquette" after everyone's title credits. Unfortunately, on-screen it's divorce time again despite "The One When Ross Hugs Rachel," since he secretly tries avoiding an annulment of their accidental marriage. Far more out in the open is Chandler (Matthew Perry) and Monica's (Cox) relationship. Moving in together creates lots of fun as the others move back and forth into each other's apartments. It also leads to Joey (Matt LeBlanc) finally showing a tender side toward temporary roommate Janine (Elle Macpherson). By now his chat-up catchphrase "How you doin'?" had caught on, but he needed to fall for someone. He kept the fun alive all year, pretending to have a Porsche, starting work on the show Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E., and falling for Chandler's (Matthew Perry) card game Cups in the excellent "The One with the Last Night" (one of many directed by David Schwimmer).

More fun came from Ross (Schwimmer) trying to teach everyone the mental discipline Unagi, popping ridiculous moves with Monica for their childhood dance routine and having a fluorescently dazzling smile in "The One with Ross's Teeth" (also featuring a near-silent cameo from Ralph Lauren). Far more talkative was Reese Witherspoon as Rachel's (Jennifer Aniston) sister--another temptation for Ross. What they briefly had wasn't as complicated as later in "The One Where Ross Meets Elizabeth's Dad," who turns out to be an Emmy-winning Bruce Willis (thanks to having become friends with Perry during The Whole Nine Yards). The fans' need for love interest and continuity had established the seasons' format now. Another two-part finale offers jeopardy--then resolution--from Tom Selleck's Richard in "The One with the Proposal" between Chandler and Monica. --Paul Tonks

Downfall

Actors: Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara, Ulrich Matthes, Juliane Köhler, Corinna Harfouch
ASIN : B0009RCPUC
Sales Rank : 516
Director : Oliver Hirschbiegel
Brand : Sony
Studio : Sony Pictures
Region Code : 99
Format : AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9781404987609
ISBN : 1404987606
UPC : 043396115453
Release Date : December 02, 2005
Publisher : Sony Pictures
Manufacturer : Sony Pictures
Availability : Usually ships in 1 to 2 days
Label : Sony Pictures
Running Time : 156

Product Description

This takes you into hitlers bunker during the brutal & terrifying last days of the third reich. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 04/24/2007 Starring: Bruno Ganz Julianne Kohler Run time: 155 minutes Rating: R

Amazon.com

The riveting subject of Downfall is nothing less than the disintegration of Adolf Hitler in mind, body, and soul. A 2005 Academy Award nominee for best foreign language film, this German historical drama stars Bruno Ganz (Wings of Desire) as Hitler, whose psychic meltdown is depicted in sobering detail, suggesting a fallen, pathetic dictator on the verge on insanity, resorting to suicide (along with Eva Braun and Joseph and Magda Goebbels) as his Nazi empire burns amidst chaos in mid-1945. While staging most of the film in the claustrophobic bunker where Hitler spent his final days, director Oliver Hirschbiegel (Das Experiment) dares to show the gentler human side of der Fuehrer, as opposed to the pure embodiment of evil so familiar from many other Nazi-era dramas. This balanced portrayal does not inspire sympathy, however: We simply see the complexity of Hitler's character in the greater context of his inevitable downfall, and a more realistic (and therefore more horrifying) biographical portrait of madness on both epic and intimate scales. By ending with a chilling clip from the 2002 documentary Blind Spot: Hitler's Secretary, this unforgettable film gains another dimension of sobering authenticity. --Jeff Shannon

Pan's Labyrinth [Blu-ray]

Actors: Doug Jones, Eusebio Lazaro, Federico Luppi, Lina Mira, Maribel Verdú
ASIN : B000WSLAUO
Sales Rank : 640
Brand : Warner Brothers
Studio : New Line
Region Code : 1
Format : Closed-captioned, Color, Subtitled, Widescreen
Binding : Blu-ray
EAN : 0794043111136
UPC : 794043111136
Release Date : December 26, 2007
Publisher : New Line
Manufacturer : New Line
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : New Line
Running Time : 119

Description

Following a bloody civil war, young Ofelia enters a world of unimaginable cruelty when she moves in with her new stepfather, a tyrannical military officer. Armed with only her imagination, Ofelia discovers a mysterious labyrinth and meets a faun who sets her on a path to saving herself and her ailing mother. But soon, the lines between fantasy and reality begin to blur, and before Ofelia can turn back, she finds herself at the center of a ferocious battle between good and evil.

Amazon.com

Inspired by the Brothers Grimm, Jorge Luis Borges, and Guillermo del Toro's own unlimited imagination, Pan's Labyrinth is a fairytale for adults. Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) may only be 12, but the worlds she inhabits, both above and below ground, are dark as anything del Toro has conjured. Set in rural Spain, circa 1944, Ofelia and her widowed mother, Carmen (Ariadna Gil, Belle Epoque), have just moved into an abandoned mill with Carmen's new husband, Captain Vidal (Sergi López, With a Friend like Harry). Carmen is pregnant with his son. Other than her sickly mother and kindly housekeeper Mercedes (Maribel Verdú, Y Tu Mamá También), the dreamy Ofelia is on her own. Vidal, an exceedingly cruel man, couldn't be bothered. He has informers to torture. Ofelia soon finds that an entire universe exists below the mill. Her guide is the persuasive Faun (Doug Jones, Mimic). As her mother grows weaker, Ofelia spends more and more time in the satyr's labyrinth. He offers to help her out of her predicament if she'll complete three treacherous tasks. Ofelia is willing to try, but does this alternate reality really exist or is it all in her head? Del Toro leaves that up to the viewer to decide in a beautiful, yet brutal twin to The Devil's Backbone, which was also haunted by the ghost of Franco. Though it lacks the humor of Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth represents Guillermo Del Toro at the top of his considerable game. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

The Lives of Others

Actors: Martina Gedeck, Ulrich Mühe, Sebastian Koch, Ulrich Tukur, Thomas Thieme
ASIN : B000OVLBGC
Sales Rank : 600
Director : Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Brand : Sony
Studio : Sony Pictures
Region Code : 99
Format : AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0043396170858
UPC : 043396170858
Release Date : December 21, 2007
Publisher : Sony Pictures
Manufacturer : Sony Pictures
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Sony Pictures
Running Time : 138

Product Description

This critically-acclaimed, Oscar®-winning film (Best Foreign Language Film, 2006) is the erotic, emotionally-charged experience Lisa Schwarzbaum (Entertainment Weekly) calls "a nail-biter of a thriller!" Before the collapse of the Berlin Wall, East Germany’s population was closely monitored by the State Secret Police (Stasi). Only a few citizens above suspicion, like renowned pro-Socialist playwright Georg Dreyman, were permitted to lead private lives. But when a corrupt government official falls for Georg’s stunning actress-girlfriend, Christa, an ambitious Stasi policeman is ordered to bug the writer’s apartment to gain incriminating evidence against the rival. Now, what the officer discovers is about to dramatically change their lives - as well as his - in this seductive political thriller Peter Travers (Rolling Stone) proclaims is "the best kind of movie: one you can’t get out of your head."

Amazon.com

Nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, this is a first-rate thriller that, like Bertolucci's The Conformist and Coppola's The Conversation, opts for character development over car chases. The place is East Berlin, the year is 1984, and it all begins with a simple surveillance assignment: Capt. Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich Mühe in a restrained, yet deeply felt performance), a Stasi officer and a specialist in this kind of thing, has been assigned to keep an eye on Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch, Black Book), a respected playwright, and his actress girlfriend, Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck, Mostly Martha). Though Dreyman is known to associate with the occasional dissident, like blacklisted director Albert Jerska (Volkmar Kleinert), his record is spotless. Everything changes when Wiesler discovers that Minister Hempf (Thomas Thieme) has an ulterior motive in spying on this seemingly upright citizen. In other words, it's personal, and Wiesler's sympathies shift from the government to its people--or at least to this one particular person. That would be risky enough, but then Wiesler uses his privileged position to affect a change in Dreyman's life. The God-like move he makes may be minor and untraceable, but it will have major consequences for all concerned, including Wiesler himself. Writer/director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck starts with a simple premise that becomes more complicated and emotionally involving as his assured debut unfolds. Though three epilogues is, arguably, two too many, The Lives of Others is always elegant, never confusing. It's class with feeling. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Beyond The Lives of Others

Films from Germany

Other Cold War Films

More Arthouse Selections from Sony Pictures Classics

Stills from The Lives of Others (click for larger image)

The Orphanage

Actors: Geraldine Chaplin, Carmen Lopez, Andres Gertrudix, Fernando Cayo, Belén Rueda
ASIN : B0015ET3YO
Sales Rank : 1185
Brand : Warner Brothers
Studio : New Line Home Video
Region Code : 1
Format : Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0794043120718
UPC : 794043120718
Release Date : December 22, 2008
Publisher : New Line Home Video
Manufacturer : New Line Home Video
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : New Line Home Video
Running Time : 105

Product Description

A woman brings her family back to her childhood home where she opens an orphanage for handicapped children. Before long her son starts to communicate with an invisible new friend. Studio: New Line Home Video Release Date: 09/30/2008 Run time: 105 minutes Rating: R Director: Juan Antonio Bayona

Amazon.com

It's only his first film, but Spain’s Juan Antonio Bayona has already figured out the secret to a successful supernatural thriller: emphasize character over special effects. Like Walter Salles's Dark Water and Alejandro Amenábar's The Others, The Orphanage pivots on a pretty woman and an unusual child. When her old orphanage goes on the market, Laura (Belén Rueda, Amenábar's The Sea Inside) and Carlos (Fernando Cayo) settle in with their son, Simón (Roger Príncep). Once acclimated to the remote seaside surroundings, they plan to re-open it as a home for special-needs children. Meanwhile, their seven-year-old doesn't know he's adopted or that he has a life-threatening illness. He does, however, have a lot of imaginary playmates. When Simón disappears without a trace, his parents contact the police, but to no avail. Because Laura has been hearing odd noises and having strange visions, they proceed to consult a medium. Aurora (Geraldine Chaplin, speaking perfect Spanish) is convinced they aren't alone. Carlos has his doubts, but Laura makes like a detective and revisits her childhood--through photographs, home movies, and exploration of the spooky stone manor--to determine who or what abducted her son. Produced and presented by Guillermo Del Toro, The Orphanage is less fanciful than his works, though it does bear a vague resemblance to the ghostly Devil's Backbone. There are a few gory make-up effects, but Bayona mostly preys on our fear of the unknown to craft a first-rate fright fest. --Kathleen C. Fennessy