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The Edge

The Edge

List Price: $9.98
Your Price: $9.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Rose Mary LOVED this one
Review: This is my husband's favorite movie, so of course, it is mine too. It was the BEST.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Hahahahahaha
Review: Well this film really [was bad]. It was just like every other lousy hollywood films I've seen. First of all. I got this dejà vu feeling when I started watching, and I thought: I've seen this before (I hope you all now what I mean with this), but I kept on watching the whole films. Later I realized how sentimental,silly and simple it was. Not even the bears looked real. I could (only) find one god thing with it though: Alec Baldwin...He's absolutely gorgeous!! He played the kind role he's perfectly capable for and did it pretty well actually...So if you like him. See it! Otherwise, don't!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Adventure!
Review: The score, photography, direction, screenplay and the marvelous interaction between Alec Baldwin and Anthony Hopkins all deserve high praise. It says much for the power of Baldwin and Hopkin's performances that the magnificent bear, Big Bart, did not steal every scene in which he appeared.

Billionaire intellectual, mildly paranoid Hopkins accompanies his trophy wife played by super model Elle MacPherson to a photo shoot in the Alaskan wilderness. The always faintly menacing Alec Baldwin is a trendy, sophisticated fashion photographer who has more than a passing interest in Ms. MacPherson. Hopkins reluctantly agrees to accompany Baldwin on a search for an elusive native trapper who Baldwin thinks will be an ideal photo subject. The plane goes down (in a jarringly effective scene). Three survive, but on their first night the weakest of their party is horrifyingly mauled and taken away by a giant Kodiak bear. Baldwin and Hopkins must make their way out of the wilderness with the terrifying knowledge that the bear is stalking them. Hopkins is a wonderfully effective survivor and Baldwin shows a toughness and perseverance that belies his sophisticated image. Will the bear triumph? Will they get out alive? Are Baldwin and Hopkins ultimately partners or deadly adversaries?

Thanks to David Mamet, the screenplay has depth and is probably full of deeper meanings that whizzed right by me. Lee Tamahori's fine direction lifted the film from a merely grand adventure saga to an absorbing study of two men and their inner beings. The script or the interactions never bored me. There is one fine scene setup that alone was worth the price of admission to me. Hopkins and Baldwin are peering over a fallen log desperately trying to ascertain the location of the bear. Only their upper faces are showing. Hopkins china blue eyes display enormous depth and intelligence while Baldwin's icy blues convey complete kill or be killed intensity. I think reviewers have been unjust to Ms. MacPherson's contribution. I believe she delivered just what she was supposed to: a beauty who was graceful, charming and perhaps a little shallow.

This film is about as perfect as it can be. The only flaw is a very disappointing DVD with no extras. Hopefully, another edition will come out. Anthony Hopkins is always marvelously articulate about his roles; it would be a treat to hear a few words from him. Outtakes on Big Bart's scenes would be priceless. I advise waiting for new edition before purchasing the DVD, but by all means, rent this one! In spite of its totally unimaginative title, it is one of the great films of the decade.
-sweetmolly-Amazon Reviewer

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Like Watching a Good Book Come to Life
Review: What's great about "The Edge"--beyond its engaging and literate Ernest-Hemingway-meets-Jack-London storyline--is that it features a good-hearted character that isn't borderine retarded (Forrest Gump), complete fantasy (Superman) or Hollywood camp (Mike and Carol Brady). How refreshing for a contemporary film! Anthony Hopkins is that character, a billionaire named Charles, whose keen intellect and thoughtful nature nonetheless make him a ripe target for his toothy supermodel wife and her photographer lover, Bob (played with just the right amount of oiliness by Alec Baldwin). Even after a surprise birthday party calculated to give him a heart attack fails, Charles joins Bob and others on a plane expedition to find the subject for a photoshoot. Disaster comes in the form of birds that cause the plane to crash in the Alaskan wilderness, setting into motion a chain of conflicts that include being stalked by a man-eating bear and the two men coming to terms with their true natures. Hopkins' little-boy-lost-style of acting is perfect for Charles, who despite his money still suffers from living in a world that values all the wrong things (illustrated nicely when the local innkeeper turns a friendly breakfast conversation into a sales pitch). But it's Lee Tamahori's steadfast direction and David Mamet's tight screenplay that add depth--the themes of good versus evil, thought versus physicality, and honesty versus deceit resonate with both symbol and action. The icing on the cake is Jerry Goldsmith's poignant score, which has just the right combination of nobility and sadness.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of my favorites of all time
Review: I cannot recommend this movie enough. It is one of the best screen plays I have ever seen (David Mamet), beautifully shot, superb score, brilliant direction, etc. It is so laden with irony and truth, humor, terror, it is really inspiring to watch. The performances are all also very truthful and gritty. Hopkins and Baldwin do some of their best work in this. For Baldwin probably his best, along with Hunt for Red October. I have seen this movie perhaps 15 times since it came out, and it still resonates for me. I know, I'm gushing, but see it and you'll know what I mean.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I LOVE this movie!
Review: This movie is well written and carried out. The film shots and scenery in Alaska are wonderful. Anthony Hopkins is such a convincing actor. I don't use the word "excellent" too often - but his performances in most things he does are truly excellent.

What I liked most about this movie was the journey that Hopkins' character was on. He learned about himself and others and I believe became closer to fulfillment. We are all on this journey, and I think when things get tough true character is what separates people. In this movie it was evident that "character was king".

The interview at the end and the response by the person being interviewed is my favorite line - buy the movie to see it!

My second favorite character is the bear! What a face!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The Edge kept my interest all the way through!
Review: This film is one I recommend...an interesting character exploration of Charles and Bob develops as they undergo threat after threat to their lives...the interplay between the two brings out the best and the worst of human nature and values. I appreciated this film's depiction of a truth found in life: That those who have that which others seek (be it money, fame, success, respect, accomplishments, etc.) must always be cautious and wary of those around them and their motives for befriending or being involved with them. I appreciated this film because it depicted this predicament very well...who can be trusted? What are other's motives? It also illustrated that there are those of principle and honor...no matter what the provocation.

The beautiful videography of the Canadian Rockies...the musical score...and the bear encounters were all superbly done.

I enjoyed watching this very well made film...and must also add that Anthony Hopkins has again given us an excellent performance of a highly intelligent man--the type of character he is perfect in portraying.

I highly recommend The Edge.

Christine Smith

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Simply Amazing
Review: This is by far my favorite movie of all time. It is the greatest representation of what would happen if someone was to be stuck int he predicament that they were in. It is not only a seriouse story, there is much truth to it, unlike other hollywood movies. I love The Edge, it is simply amazing

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Reason as man's singular tool for survival...
Review: David Mamet and Lee Tamahori have delivered one of the great films in recent memory. Released in 1997 by Twentieth Century Fox, The Edge provides enjoyment at every level. Tamahori's rich, visceral directing drives a genuinely suspenseful story, and Mamet's screenplay is simply brilliant. Far from just another wilderness film, writer and director form a true collaboration that depicts a smart, sophisticated look into the reasoning mind and the nature of man's faculty for survival.

Equally impressive to the writing and directing is the casting in this film. Anthony Hopkins plays billionaire Charles Morse, who has embarked on a retreat to the Alaskan wilderness with a small entourage. The entourage consists of Morse's wife, a fashion model, and her photo-shoot team, including photographer Robert Green (played by Alex Baldwin). True to form, Hopkins captures the cerebral, mildly paranoid Morse perfectly, and Baldwin (perhaps typecast) shines as a myopic, range-of-the-moment thinker with clear envy of Morse and obvious designs on Morse's wife.

There is some mild character development as the entourage settles into the lodge at which they are staying, but these scenes serve mostly as a backdrop for the important scenes and themes that follow. Of particular note in the early scenes, however, is a brief exchange between Morse and John Styles, the lodge owner played by L.Q. Jones. The exchange involves a test of Morse's prodigious "book" knowledge, wherein Morse wins a bet put to him by telling Styles what image is depicted on the flip side of a Cree Indian canoe paddle. On the side shown to Morse is a panther, and Morse calmly recites that the rabbit smoking a pipe on the alternate side is a metaphor. When pressed for details, Morse states that the rabbit is smoking a pipe because he is unafraid: "The rabbit is unafraid because he is smarter than the panther." This brief exchange serves as wonderful foreshadowing for the events ahead.

The plot really gets underway when Green learns that a second model will not join the entourage. To salvage the photo-shoot, Green wants to include a native who he believes will give him a "truly non self-conscious photograph." Green convinces Morse to accompany him, and a small group sets out on a plane ride in search for this native. What follows is one of the great examples in film of man as a rational survivor.

Without giving too much away, circumstances force Morse to apply his theoretical knowledge and employ his rational faculties or face non-existence. He does this despite numerous setbacks and circumstances that might drive lesser men to despair. Morse is at once cool and collected and at the same time clearly struggling to remain so. In short, he is an incredibly believable hero. Couple this with an intentional absence of wooden speeches and grandiloquent stances, and the viewer can truly appreciate that the script has been deliberately stripped of all but the essentials needed to drive both plot and moral.

This is a milestone in Mamet's career, and it is a far cry from much of his earlier work. Unlike some of his prior works that involve characters of ill-repute and low moral character, here we see the essential nature of man the hero and his true faculty for survival. What is skillfully wrought in this film is a simple, memorable tale of how reason triumphs over animal cunning, brute force, and duplicity. Despite some unimportant flaws in Morse's character[1], the viewer is left with is a genuine sense-of-life reaction to Morse as a bona fide hero. The introspective viewer is left with is a genuine appreciation for the deeper moral of this story: Man's survival does not merely involve his rational faculty, it hinges on it...man's mind is his edge on reality.

[1] For instance, Morse is depicted as almost ashamed of his great wealth, and he seems occasionally like an apologist for those with less drive or ambition than he himself exhibits.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Brilliant Film
Review: Absolutely brilliant film. I don't know how well this movie did in the cinemas, but it is one that I have probably watched on video a dozen times. David Mamet's story is fantastic, the actors' work is right on, and the setting of the film is sheer perfection. This is a story of a man who has everything, goes LITERALLY into the wilderness having to fend for himself, and ends up rediscovering the essence of life through the betrayals of the people he previously trusted. The ONLY reason why this DVD gets 4 stars instead of 5 is because of the horrible format it has been released on. This was one of the first DVD's released, so it has virtually no special features, and it is also not enhanced for widescreen television.


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