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Specifications: - Region 1 - Run time: approx. 124 minutes - Subtitle: English -
Menus: Static - Package: Keep case - 18 chapters
Video Features:
Audio Features: - English: Dolby Digital 5.1
Bonus Materials: -
Exclusive director's cut with -
Director's cut commentary by director - Original theatrical cut scenes (8) - Behind the scenes featurette - Theatrical trailer
Release Dates: Theatrical Release: 2000 DVD Release: 03/27/01 Review Date: 05/01/01
List price: $ 29.99 On-line price: $ 21.49 Pre-order price was: $ 21.49
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| Reindeer
Games Exclusive Director's Cut |
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Starring: Ben Affleck, Gary Sinise, Charlize Theron,
Dennis Farina, James Frain, Donal Logue, Director: John Frankenheimer
MPAA Rating: R Genre: Action - Thriller Studio: Dimension
Films |
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Movie: A- Video: A- Audio: B+ Extras: B
Summary:
"Reindeer
Games" is a witty and smart action-thriller that should not
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The Story
Ben Affleck stars as Rudy, an inmate at Iron Mountain maximum security prison who is serving time for auto theft. During his time in prison, he shares a cell with Nick (James Frain) who has a very beautiful female pen pal, Ashley (Charlize Theron). Nick has managed to build a meaningful romantic relationship with this woman through his numerous letters. Though Nick has many pictures of the gorgeous Ashley posted on his prison cell, she has yet to meet him or sees a picture of him. With three days to go before the end of Nick and Rudy's sentences, another inmate makes a move on Rudy's life during an unexpected food fight but Nick intercepts the fatal jab. With Nick out of the picture, Rudy is tempted to pose as Nick when he sees the strikingly beautiful Ashley waiting for Nick outside the prison grounds when he is discharged. Though he tried to resist (yeah, right), Rudy jumps off the bus and introduces himself to Ashley as "Nick". Not knowing any different, the shy and reserved Ashley thought that Nick had wanted to skip out on her because of the way she was dressed.
After a meal and briefly getting acquainted, Rudy (posing as "Nick") and Ashley consummates their relationship. In this particular scene, the director's cut is clearly steamier, explicit, and extended in length. So much so that I was shocked realizing that these two are big-name stars acting out this very explicit scene. I am surprised at Charlize Theron's agreement in doing such an explicit scene. Anyway, Ashley's brother, Gabriel (Gary Sinise) surprises them with his friends and asks about the plot to rob the Tomahawk, a casino on an American Indian reservation that the real "Nick" had always talked about robbing.
Rudy now realizes that he's gotten himself into something that he had not bargained for. Trapped in his new identity as "Nick", Rudy is forced to go along with the plot to rob the Tomahawk. Rudy has to rely on Nick's detailed accounts of the Tomahawk during the time they shared a prison cell. As with many poorly planned heists, the gang gets deeper and deeper in trouble with the law as they encounter unexpected obstacles in meeting their objective. The movie is spell-binding, and I particularly enjoyed the ending. That's all I'll say about it.
In addition to the far more explicit sex scene that we had mentioned earlier, the director's cut extends a number of scenes to better the pressure that Rudy experiences when Gabriel and his gang suspect him of not being the real "Nick", someone that really knows the layout and inner workings of the Tomahawk casino. These scenes should have been included in the theatrical cut as they add more to the formulae of suspense and thrill. The acting performances were solid from Ben Affleck, Gary Sinise, and Charlize Theron. Charlize, in particular, plays her character "Ashley" to the T. In this director's cut, she demonstrates that she's willing to go the distance to portray her character. (I have to give her that.)
In the all-new audio commentary, John Frankenheimer talks about the differences between the theatrical version and this director's cut version. The behind-the-scenes featurette is the typical, self-promotional spots where the actors and director take turn patronizing themselves. It's the same featurette included in the previously released theatrical cut DVD. The eight original theatrical cut scenes are entitled: "Oh, Ashley", "Sex Scene", "Welcome Home Nick", "Casino Shuffle", "First Time Robbers", "Cowboy and Indians", "The Chase Is On", and "No More Games". All in all, the bonus material is fair. Keep in mind that this DVD is not a special edition release (which would imply lots of bonus features), but rather a director's cut release.
Video & Audio
The image quality of this anamorphic widescreen DVD is very good. The colors are accurate and saturated, while shadow detail is very good. Generally, a fine transfer to DVD. The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is well balanced and generally effective, though the surround channels are not as aggressively used as we had hoped. The dialogue is crystal clear.
Recommendation
For those who haven't seen "Reindeer Games", I recommend this Exclusive Director's Cut version. If you've seen the theatrical release version of "Reindeer Games" and enjoyed it, you may want to rent this DVD. This is the version that director John Frankenheimer had intended. It delivers as promised, both in terms of a steamier sex scene and a more "edge-of-your-seat" thriller. The plot remains consistent with the theatrical release.
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