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 American Psycho (Uncut Killer Collector's Edition)
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| The Bret Easton Ellis novel American Psycho, a dark, violent satire of the "me" culture of Ronald Reagan's 1980s, is certainly one of the most controversial books of the '90s, and that notoriety fueled its bestseller status. This smart, savvy adaptation by Mary Harron (I Shot Andy Warhol) may be able to ride the crest of the notoriety; prior to the film's release, Harron fought a ratings battle (ironically, for depictions of sex rather than violence), but at the time the director stated, "We're rescuing [the book] from its own bad reputation." Harron and co-screenwriter Guinevere Turner (Go Fish) overcome many of the objections of Ellis's novel by keeping the most extreme violence offscreen (sometimes just barely), suggesting the reign of terror of yuppie killer Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) with splashes of blood and personal souvenirs. Bale is razor sharp as the blank corporate drone, a preening tiger in designer suits whose speaking voice is part salesman, part self-help guru, and completely artificial. Carrying himself with the poised confidence of a male model, he spends his days in a numbing world of status-symbol one-upmanship and soul-sapping small talk, but breaks out at night with smirking explosions of homicide, accomplished with the fastidious care of a hopeless obsessive. The film's approach to this mayhem is simultaneously shocking and discreet; even Bateman's outrageous naked charge with a chainsaw is most notable for the impossibly polished and gleaming instrument of death. Harron's film is a hilarious, cheerfully insidious hall of mirrors all pointed inward, slowly cracking as the portrait becomes increasingly grotesque and insane. --Sean Axmaker Editorial Descriptions are usually submitted by the manufacturers, publishers and authors. Contact us if you are one of them, and wish to change the above description. |
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Author: Guest
I popped this sucker into my DVD player ready for a boring social commentary, and was utterly spun around. Christian Bale plays his character with conviction and purpose that is hardly seen in movies today. To call it an oscar performance might be a little over the top, but it was excellent. We follow Christian as he struggles through work days strung out of his mind and bored to death of the time spent with his "friends". Even his gf/fiancee has no clue what's going on in his mind. The violents scenes are excellent, and the balance of horror and social commentary bring to mind a mix of Romero's Dead Trilogy (SOCIAL COMMENTARY) and History of Violence (Violence). If you enjoyed any of the aforementioned films you might enjoy this. Highly recommended, and doesn't suffer from the dreaded lack of replayablilyt issue so many films suffer from today.
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Author: Guest
Anyone with a degree of wit will enjoy this film, though may question themselves for doing so, considering the dark content.
If you've read the novel, this is very much a lightened version, with gore exchanged for biting black humour, with most of the original hilarious Bateman quotes kept in.
The film centres around Patrick Bateman, a well-educated, self-obsessed 'yuppie' living in 1980s New York. Shallow Bateman feels little empathy with his fellow man, and even less for his fellow woman.
Bateman is engaged to the lovely Evelyn(Reese Witherspoon) but is too busy listening to Robert Palmer on his walkman,drawing a corpse in crayon on a tablecloth in a very exclusive restaurant or "returning video tapes" to pay much attention to her. Their relationship typifies the 80s culture, summed up by Evelyn's "my friends are your friends" justification for their love-less association. Both are having affairs with each other's drug-addicted best friends.
Bateman's only friends(or associates) are his generic entourage of Wall Street colleagues, all sporting identical armani suits, versace sunglasses, crisp business cards, hairstyles and outlooks. Bateman, brilliantly captured in all his perfect clinical detail by Christian Bale, spends his days honing his physique with a mind-numbing exercise itinerary and facial-cleansing routine then 'trying to fit in' at his Father's accountancy firm Pearce & Pearce while scribbling pictures of the unfortunates he mutiliated the night before.
At times the film becomes almost too surreal(FEED ME A STRAY CAT screams the hole in the wall machine), with the viewer never quite sure if Bateman really did murder a string of hookers, vagrants and various other victims or simply imagined the whole thing- his liberal use of cocaine, halcium and any other substance he can lay his hands on suggests the latter. Bateman and friends spend much of the film enjoying Cocaine-fuelled dry whiskey benders while being mistaken for other identikit businessmen and paying lip-service to world issues in Sri Lanka, the nuclear arms race and Apartheid.
Bateman's geeky love of 80s music characterised by his emotional critique of Genesis, Huey Lewis and Whitney Houston is very very funny, and I don't mind admitting despite his murderous leanings, I really enjoyed the character, and don't be suprised if you find yourself nodding along to some of his insanely bitter rants or laughing at his egotism and withering put-downs.
Make your own mind up whether Bateman's a murderer or just a fantasist, but be sure to see this film, and if you enjoy it, add the book to your haul too.
Brutally brilliant
Enjoy
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Author: Guest
I bought this film for a good price having heard alot about it and with the word psycho in the title, I just had to see it. The only good thing about this movie is the bloody killing scenes. Other than that, I found this movie boring at times. To call it terrifying is going a bit too far. Even scary is a bit too far. If you like the serial killer type movies, you might like this one but don't be prepared to be blown away!
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Author: Guest
The reason I say this is because, although the novel was over the top in the effect that it really pushed it's limits it still held a ring of truth behind the insanity that caused you to shiver at the sight of your own shadow. This film on the other hand doesn't deliver a single shiver because it's focused on proving the whole premise a joke. The director said she wanted to save Bret's novel from it's own reputation. DON'T! It's reputation is what makes it so brilliant. The novel as a whole delivers wonderfully, while this adaptation left me cold and feeling a little betrayed. The film went to much for the funny bone and that made it impossible to take it serious, and I know I know, the novel was never meant to be taken seriously, BUT in a large way you are supposed to be afraid of this guy and you just aren't in this film. Bale is a brilliant actor, and did very well with his wit and charm, but the script as a whole failed to bring the full effect that Ellis' novel brought to the table. My recomendation is, if you've read the novel and MUST see the movie do so with no expectations and if you've seen the movie and never read the novel...READ THE NOVEL!
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Author: Guest
Director: Mary Harron
Cast: Christian Bale, Justin Theroux, John Lucas, Bill Sage, Chloe Sevigny, Reese Witherspoon, Samantha Mathis, Matt Ross, Jared Leto, Willem Dafoe.
Running Time: 101 minutes
Rated R for strong violence, sexuality, drug use and language.
"American Psycho" is a disturbing movie filled with the brutal murders and executions of various people (mostly of the female persuasion). What's really scary is that through much of the movie, our funny bone is being tickled. Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale, in a star-making turn) is a shallow Wall Street banker who lives an empty life. He lives and dies by a soda pop advertising slogan: Image Is Everything. Set in the late 1980s, he is of a time when style reigns supreme over substance, obsessed with his physical beauty, getting into the trendiest restaurants, and nitpicking with his coworkers about who has the best business cards. Said co-workers (Jared Leto, Matt Ross, Justin Theroux, and Josh Lucas), all have the same haircut and business suits, and for all intents and purposes are interchangeable. Bateman's sex life isn't exactly lacking, by any means. He's engaged to the shallow Evelyn Williams (Reese Witherspoon), but cheats on her with her best friend Courtney (Samantha Mathis). He picks up a hooker off the street (Cara Seymour) and gets her in a threesome with another one of his friends, Elizabeth (Guinevere Turner, who co wrote the script). His secretary Jean (Chloe Sevigny) also secretly lusts after him. Little does she know that he seems to have knocked off his best friend Paul Allen (Leto), a nameless homeless man, and countless members of the fairer sex, all by increasingly imaginative killing methods (staple gun, chainsaw, ATM machine; he tries it all). Eventually he finds he's being trailed by detective Kimball (Willem Dafoe), who's investing Allen's disappearance but also seems to know a bit more about Patrick than he should. From this moment on Bateman's inner demons are unleashed as he descends into an unending frenzy of paranoia and murder.
Directed by Mary Harron ("I Shot Andy Warhol", "The Notorious Betty Page") made a clever social satire film mixed brilliantly with horror. This film is loaded with dark humor, while Bale gives a dynamic performance. This independent film has high production values, a fine music score by John Cale and good looking cinematography by Andrzej Sekula ("Pulp Fiction"). The film adaptation shows the depths of the novel refraining from its cruelty. Even though it boasts some shocking scenes (i.e. the chainsaw) the nature of the impact is mainly psychological and relies very much on the impressive performance by Christian Bale, once again proving the wonderful actor he is. Rather than being dark and ambiguous with respect to the main character, Mary Harron and Guinevere Turner have chosen to look at him from outside thus exposing his pantheism and twisted sense of reality, therefore avoiding any chance of glamorization of the character, and the film is constantly mocking his yuppie macho conceit, something the novel left the reader to do him/herself. Also, it deserves to be noted that the film is much more woman-friendly than the novel could possibly ever be, most female characters (including the melancholy Courtney) being sympathetic. There is no scope for misogyny here. American Psycho" is a movie that pushes the limits of the audience's ability to cope for a number of reasons. A film told from the point of view of a psychotic is harsh enough, but the film also beckons the audience to question their own sanity. You're forced to look at your own sensibilities and morals and put them to the test...can you condone Bateman's actions and thoughts? Do you agree with them? Sometimes you find yourself saying yes to these questions, and for this some people may call it a travesty. By the same token, it pushes the envelope, thus it could even be called a triumph. Be warned: this is not a film for all tastes, but one thing is certain, it is one of a kind.
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