Ransom (15th Anniversary Edition) (1996)

RANSOM is probably Ron Howard's most fully realized film to date. Howard helms a tense, literate script, without letting its potential maudlin come through. Mel Gibson, who has "ruined" his career with the 350 million dollar+ gross of THE PASSION OF CHRIST (Notice tongue in cheek, folks) shows us what a powerfully commanding actor he can be. His role as the tortured, yet committed, father is beautifully performed. Mel doesn't parlay his looks into establishing his popularity. The Australian is a very good actor, and in some ways, has never been recognized for the fact. Rene Russo is amazing, too. Starting off in a cool, I've got things under control aura, she melts into a desperate, crazed, and passionate woman who loves her husband dearly, but can't believe he's risking their son's life. Gary Sinise once again brings a mercurial sense of villainy to his role as the mastermind behind the kidnapping, and his coldhearted murders only enforce his psychosis; Delroy Lindo as the head FBI agent gives a sturdy, tense and compassionate portrayal; Lili Taylor is devastating to watch as she crumbles under the pressure of her part in the kidnapping, but her cold hearted willignness to kill the little boy is frightening; Liv Schrieber and Donnie Wahlberg as the brothers are convincing, in view of their relatively little time on screen.

I liked this film a lot because it touched my emotions in the way a thriller of this type should. Nail bitingly good, it's one of Gibson and Howard's best works.

While I think the movie is great, I thought everyone should be warned that this is the exact same non-anamorphic transfer as the previous release. Amazon's technical details are in error. The back is absent of any 16x9 markings. Popping the movie in confirmed this. Stay away if you're looking to upgrade from the first disc.

Buy Ransom (15th Anniversary Edition) (1996) Now

Although this is actually a remake of a 1940s film in which the protagonist turns the tables unexpectedly on his child's kidnappers, this very well produced film directed by Ron Howard is quite contemporary and sophisticated. Mel Gibson shines as the controversial developer who has had shady dealings with union reps on his way to fantastic wealth, and is pursued unsuccessfully by the FBI even while they are suddenly called in to help on his son's kidnapping. When things go from bad to worst, Gibson takes control of the negotiation, and suddenly all hell breaks loose.

This is an entertaining and quite suspenseful film, wth a terrific supporting cast that includes Rene Russo as Gibson's wife, Gary Senise as a duplicitous local cop, and Mark Wahlberg as one of the kidnappers. The plot takes some interesting twists and turns, and although it is nt predictable, all works out quite well in the end. Or does it. In order to see, you'll just have to watch this very well made suspense thriller for yourself. Enjoy!

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This movie isn't like most Hollywood flicks about ransom, it's actually completely different! The entire cast and supporting cast does a surpurb acting job. RANSOM is about an extremely wealthy, multi-millionaire, Tom Mullen (Mel Gibson). Tom is an airline owner, and his top priority in life is his family that includes his wife, Kate Mullen (Rene Russo), and one son, Sean Mullen (Brawley Nolte). Soon, an enemy of Tom Mullen and his gang are after Tom's money. To get what they want, which is about a million dollars, they kidnapp Tom's son, Sean, while the family is at a district science fair in their hometown of New York City. Tom and Kate are so desparate to find Sean and bring him back home that they will do just about anything in their power to bring Sean back alive and safe. All throughout the film, the guy who kidnapps Sean (I forget his name), tries to give Tom clues on how he can get his son back and where he is. The ending of this film may surprise some people, because it's definitely not the usual ending of a Hollywood suspense film. A must-see for any Mel Gibson fan and is very well-worth watching even if you don't like Mel Gibson. I very much enjoyed it!

Want Ransom (15th Anniversary Edition) (1996) Discount?

Of course the movie deserves 4 stars, however I wish I could say the same for the DVD. What does it take for DVD company to release each DVD enhanced for 16x9 TVs? Nothing!

Recently I bought a SONY BRAVIA 32 INCH display and I have a collection of over 600 Dvds. I learned now about "Enhanced for 16x9 TVs" and how important it is, I did not care about it or even know about it since I own a standard TV, however all my Dvds are Region 1 and in widescreen, I never buy fullscreen Dvds. So I did an inventory on my collection and realized the following:

Out of 600+ Dvds, 42 are NOT enhanced for 16x9 TVs and they really look horrible when I played them on my PC. Anyway, according to my inventory.

THE FOLLOWING MOVIES / COMPANY HAVE FAILED TO PRODUCE ANAMORPHIC OR 16X9 WIDESCREEN and I hope that these company will release them in the near future so that we can enjoy them on our TVs.

MGM:

Runaway Train

Graduate

No Way Out

Prizzi's Honor

FX

Shallow Grave

Thief

House Of Games

Dead Man Walking

Misery

The Eye Of The Needle

Overboard

PARAMOUNT:

Private Parts

48 Hrs

Coming To America

Primal Fear

The Ghost And The Darkness

Breakdown

UNIVERSAL:

Day Of The Jackal

Psycho (AVAILABLE IN THE RECENT HITCHCOCK'S BOXSET AS ANAMORPHIC)

Vertigo (AVAILABLE IN THE RECENT HITCHCOCK'S BOXSET AS ANAMORPHIC)

The Game

FOX:

Abyss (I WAS SHOCKED TO LEARN THAT MY 2-DISC IS NOT ANAMORPHIC, NOR IS THE LATEST DIGIPACK EDITION)

Raising Arizona

The Edge

Great Expectations

Rising Sun

The Ref

Romancing The Stone

The Jewel Of The Nile

ARTISAN:

House Of The Spirits

The Last Seduction

The Last Emperor

The Eagle Has Landed

Bound

PS: PLEASE ARTISAN, INSTEAD OF RELEASING 'BASIC INSTINCT' FOR THE 4TH TIME, WHICH MOST HAVE ALMOST THE SAME SPECIFICATIONS, CONSIDER RELEASING SOME MORE INTERESTING MOVIES WITH PROPER ATTENTION SUCH AS THOSE MENTIONED ABOVE.

TOUCHSTONE / WALT DISNEY:

Ransom

What About Bob?

PS: IT IS A GREAT NEWS THAT TOUCHSTONE ARE RELEASING 'ENEMY OF THE STATE', CRIMSON TIDE' AND 'CON AIR' IN EXTENDED UNRATED EDITIONS ON MAY 16. I WISH THOUGH THEY DID THE SAME WITH 'RANSOM'

WARNER:

91/2 Weeks

Presumed Innocent

NOTE THAT WARNER STUDIO IS RELEASING ONE OF THE BEST 2-DISC SPECIAL EDITION SUCH AS 'SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION', 'HEAT', 'MALCOLM X', 'DOG DAY AFTERNOON', 'ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN' AND MANY MANY MORE.

The reason why they don't release every DVD in widescreen enhanced for 16x9 is beyond me since soon Widescreen Tvs will replace standard ones.

IT IS A RELIEF THAT AMAZON IS NOW STATING WHETHER THE DVD IS ANAMORPHIC OR LETTERBOXED.

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