|
Funny Games (Sub) | 
 enlarge | Director: Michael Haneke
Actors: Susanne Lothar, Ulrich Mhe, Arno Frisch, Frank Giering, Stefan Clapczynski
Studio: Fox Lorber
Category: Video
List Price: $14.98
Buy New: $11.50
You Save: $3.48 (23%)
New (3) Used (6) Collectible (1) from $8.97
Avg. Customer Rating:  141 reviews
Sales Rank: 34278
Format: Color, Letterboxed, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: French (Original Language), German (Original Language), Italian (Original Language)
Rating: Unrated
Media: VHS Tape
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 108
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 4.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 1572524138
UPC: 720917014333
EAN: 9781572524132
ASIN: 1572524138
Theatrical Release Date: March 11, 1998
Release Date: April 25, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
It is impossible to have a neutral opinion about the Austrian thriller Funny Games--a movie so relentless in its ability to shock that it gained pariah status on the film festival circuit in 1997. In the warped tradition of A Clockwork Orange, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, and Blue Velvet, this is a film--directed with electrifying audacity by Munich-born Michael Haneke--that addresses the controversy of screen violence by making the viewer as guilty as the Leopold and Loeb-like killers who terrorize a young family of three during their summer vacation. They arrive as friendly neighbors, seducing the family with phony congeniality, but soon Funny Games reveals its devious strategy, turning savage and appalling... and completely captivating for those who can endure the terror. There's actually less violence than you'd see in a typical American horror flick such as Scream, but Haneke's forceful staging effectively fulfills his agenda of viewer complicity; we vividly experience this doomed family's fate and feel helpless to save them. So helpless, in fact, that Haneke dares to offer a hint of respite by giving a victim the upper hand, only to "replay" the same scene with the darkest of outcomes. Funny Games is guaranteed to outrage some viewers with its manipulative schemes, but there's no denying the film's visceral impact, generated by Haneke's expert handling of a superior cast. Don't even think of allowing anyone under age 17 to watch this film; all others should proceed with caution. --Jeff Shannon
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 136 more reviews...
 The only shock here is this film's smothering self-righteousness. November 30, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
After watching Funny Games, I cannot comprehend the reasons for which people are upset and appalled. During my viewing, I kept hoping this movie would live up to its visceral reputation, but it was stuffy, stolid, and moved much too slow. I understand Haneke wants to manipulate the audience into feeling guilty as active participants in senseless torture, but with this film as the catalyst for such emotion? Really? Am I supposed to feel bad for these exceedingly pretentious people? The family is obnoxious--especially the impotent father and emotionally overwrought mother. I wanted them to suffer the second they began guessing opera singers and classical composers in their luxury vehicle. There were many opportunities where escape was possible, even easy, seeing as the captors were skinny, initially weaponless, prep school boys. Their entry into the home was even less comprehendible. Who the hell puts up with that from a complete stranger? I would have been too cheap to even give out my eggs, anyway. In all, I felt absolutely no sympathy for the family--and at least hoped their torture would be acerbic and compelling. Instead, I was subjected to the most genteel, accommodating, and BORING torture/murder ever. Their games could have been more inventive too. Far worse things could have happened to that family, and do happen to people every day in the news. The only shock is how self-righteous Michael Haneke is with this material. I'll admit it, I enjoy violence in cinema--but I don't feel bad about it, and the director's attempt to change that failed.
Well-Made, but Sick August 22, 2008
It is hard to fathom the point of this twisted tale. Surely it can provide some entertainment for sadists, but beyond that? Is there supposed to be some point about outsiders taking out their bitterness on that lynchpin of a mainstream society, the typical nuclear family? Or is it simply a cinema verite tale of sadistic manipulation and violence? Or does the writer-director want to remind us of the persistence of evil, even in the happy domain of bourgeois people on summer vacation? This is a coldly presented, intelligently made horror film that wants to mess with your head and leave you feeling bad about things. The most interesting moment occurs toward the end, when Haneke literally hits the rewind button and denies the audience the satisfaction of seeing one of the psychos get what he deserves. Very clever - but still repulsive.
 This was so well done it was almost boring July 28, 2008
You know that the 2 boys are playing cat and mouse with their victims. Take out the male first, kill the dog, kill the boy, and when their good and ready they'll come back and finish the job. I don't think it was robbery, I think these two creeps where from wealthy family's themselves, and know the area, I don't know if they had any accomplices, and they seemed to be on college summer break, they were well dressed they didn't have any baggage with them so they may have lived in the area. What really bothered me is how passive the victims were. And did anyone ask why they were wearing gloves? Big Red Flag! And these are wealthy people in what looked like an exclusive gated summer community, no security systems? They only have 1 cell phone? Gimmie a break. And when the wife did escape she runs directly into the two psyco's instead of hiding in the brush and going to the neighbors, quietly, to look for a working phone or get in her car and go get help. You have to think, these guys aren't going to let us live, they already killed the dog and the boy, and probably their neighbors, so you got nothing to loose, take a chance. I really enjoyed this movie, of course one never knows what you'd do in the same situation. Enjoy!
Worthwhile, Not Despicable! July 16, 2008
I believe that part of the survival instinct is a fascination with these kinds of scenarios. What would you do if this happened to you? What is the best strategy overall when confronted with a similar attacker? Do you think the victims here used any poor judgement or missed opportunities for escape? Should they have been better prepared for such a possibility?
The question of whether it inspires copycat violence is totally independent of why non-violent people might watch the movie and even benefit from seeing it. People who are inclined to be violent and terrorize others have no shortage of inspiration or ideas for doing so. Who cares if they adopt this particular template? Such individuals represent long-gone failures of society and will be hurtful to others in one way or another, with or without this story to provide them with clever how-to ideas.
Everyone is free to choose their own path, but I for one think it is completely naive to live life ignoring the potential perils we may all face. Is it not a valuable exercise to mentally go through the victims' ordeal, feel the adrenaline, and imagine how you would handle the problem or avoid it to begin with? Should we not all think about how life can go horribly wrong? Is life well lived if one ignores the dark side of humanity? How can we value peace and love without the awareness of evil?
For a mature viewer, this movie, along with other well-executed, hyper-realistic horror films, stimulates valuable thinking -- both philisphical and practical -- about real, live evil and how me might cope with it.
Personally, I found this one to be a satisfying dose of psychological terror.
In the included interview, the director goes on about how he made the viewer complicit in the violence, and how the attacker addressing the viewer was so clever, etc., and while these are interesting twists, I think this film is so well executed as a mental exercise in real-life terror that the rest is superfluous. Regardless of his intentions, I feel no guilt or shame about my intrigue with this movie -- it's utterly captivating for the thinking, feeling, problem-solving viewer.
 Creepy and ultimately empty July 14, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Funny Games is the tale of two sociopaths who enjoy killing rich people. The dialogue is a stark statement on the chilling emptiness that can be found inside the human mind. I am jaded enough that the executions and gore didn't really touch my blood pressure (maybe a little). The victimology and wimpiness of the victims was what set me off.
Western society is really training people to play roles like the one portrayed in Funny Games. By the time you realize you're f**ked it is too late to do anything about it. Funny Games is neither good nor bad. It portrays what happens when senseless evil visits and you haven't spent any time getting ready for your guest to arrive.
Another reviewer stated strongly that this is not a film for children. I disagree. If I were a father, I would sit through this film with my teenager and then explain to him or her that yes, there really are people like these people in the world, and yes, if someone can fake it on film, then it can really happen to real people. Yes, there are psychos roaming the world. Yes, you can be mentally prepared better than the victims portrayed in Funny Games for that rare unlikely encounter that will probably never happen. But it could.
|
|
|
video game stores
Copyright ©2006-2007 All rights reserved.
| Links | |
Computer Games, Video Games, PC Games, Computer Video Games, Xbox, Xbox Games, Playstation 2, PS2, PS2 Games, PSP, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo, Nintendo DS, Grand Theft Auto, Warcraft, Action Games, Kid's Games, Children's Games, Dreamcast, Battlefield 2, Sims, Madden, Warcraft
Shipping Information Privacy Policy Disclaimer plasma tv review plasma tv reviews uk digital picture frame digital camera review canon digital cameras sony ericsson music videos garden furniture video games stores
|
|
|
|
| |
