Ransom (Special Edition)
by Ron Howard
List Price:
Our Price: $12.99
You Save: $2.00 (13%)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $3.15 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Brawley Nolte, Delroy Lindo, Gary Sinise, Mel Gibson, Rene RussoDirector: Ron Howard
Brand: GIBSON,MEL
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish (Subtitled); English (Published), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Special Edition, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 121 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-03-23
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Touchstone Home Entertainment
Movie Reviews of Ransom (Special Edition)
Movie Review: More Meat Than the 1956 Original
Summary: 5 Stars
The year Mel Gibson was born, Glenn Ford and Donna Reed had the roles of frantic parents dealing with the abduction of their son.
The original 1956 film version of "Ransom" was of its time, complete with docile Bible quoting servants and a mother who, while periodically confrontational with those working on the case, remains upstairs and in bed under sedation for most of the time, and the kidnappers remain unseen.
But this impressive 1996 remake is very much of its time, too, and as Tom and Kate Mullen (Mel Gibson and Renee Russo), and airline executive and a former High School Science teacher,we come to view a more complex couple, and we see how a shady business deal by someone who is supposed to be viewed as a "good guy" has led to the incident related in this story.
As young Sean Mullen, Brawley Nolte is a typical nine-year-old with an independent spirit. Abducted while at a science fair over which his mother presides, he spends much of the film bound, and blindfolded with Heavy Metal music as the main sound he hears while lying on a mattress in a dark room, occasionally being pulled into a sitting position by his captors, and making only one attempt to fight back.
In trying to retrive her son, Renee Russo is more than just a mom who lies upstairs under sedation, but as might any moderm woman in the same situation, takes a more active role in retrieving her son, even confronting the kidnapper and taking a few hard knocks along the way.
Delroy Lindo's Lonnie Hawkins leads the team of FBI agents working on the case in the Mullen's apartment. He monitors Tom Mullen's confrontation with an incarcerated mobster named Jackie Brown(Dan Hedaya), a suspect in the kidnapping, and a botched attempt at a money drop before having to really steel himself to deal with Mullen's most dramatic act of sabotage: Going on network TV to announce that the $2 million ransom will now become a bounty on the kidnapper's head. From there, the drama escalates.
Gary Sinese plays the devious Detective Jimmy Shaker, Lili Taylor is his conflicted lover, Maris Conner, who has a connection to the Mullens. Liev Schreiber and Donnie Wahlberg play Clark and Cubby Barnes, Evan Handler is Miles Roberts, and Iraida Polanco is the Mullens' not-so-docile housekeeper, Fatima, who lends a little assistance with the case.
Under Ron Howard's skillful direction, the 1950s censorship codes are lifted and viewers are presented with an intense gritty, realistic, and ultimately satisfactory drama.
Summary of Ransom (Special Edition)
When it comes to ramping up to vein-bursting levels of tormented anxiety, Mel Gibson has a kind of mainstream intensity that makes him perfect for his heroic-father role in director Ron Howard's child-kidnapping thriller. When you think of Ransom, you automatically think of the scene in which Mel reaches his boiling point and yells, "Give me back my son!" to the kidnapper on the other end of several torturous phone calls. Trapped in the middle of any parent's nightmare, Mel plays a self-made airline mogul whose son (played by Brawley Nolte, son of actor Nick Nolte) is abducted by a close-knit group of uptight kidnappers. But when a king's ransom is demanded for the child's safe return, Mel turns the tables and offers the ransom as reward money for anyone who provides information leading to the kidnappers' arrest. Thus begins a nerve-racking battle of wills and a test of the father's conviction to carry out a plan that could cost his son's life. The boy's mother (played by Rene Russo, reunited with Gibson after Lethal Weapon 3) disapproves of her husband's life-threatening gamble, and a seasoned FBI negotiator (Delroy Lindo) is equally fearful of disaster as the search for the kidnappers intensifies. Through it all, Howard maintains a level of nail-biting tension to match Gibson's desperate ploy, and the plot twists are just clever enough to cancel out the overwrought performances and manipulative screenplay. Ransom may not be as sophisticated as its glossy production design would suggest, but it's a thriller with above-average intelligence and an emotion-driven plot that couldn't be more urgent. Adding to the intensity is a superior supporting cast including Gary Sinise, Lili Taylor, and Liev Schreiber as the kidnappers, who demonstrate that even the tightest scheme can unravel under unexpected stress. Remade from a 1956 film starring Glenn Ford, Ransom is diluted by a few too many subplots, but as a high-stakes game of cat and mouse, it's a slick and satisfying example of Hollywood entertainment. --Jeff ShannonWhen a wealthy executive's son is kidnapped, he takes matters into his own hands in an effort to rescue the boy.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 10-JAN-2006
Media Type: DVD
Action & Adventure DVD Video
DVD Video
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness & Yoga
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Movies most talked about in Mel Gibson and Me
Ransom (Special Edition)GIBSON,MEL; Release date: 2004-03-23; DVD
Best price: $5.94
Price in other shops:
We Were Soldiers (Widescreen Edition)GIBSON,MEL; Release date: 2002-08-20; DVD
Best price: $4.39
Price in other shops:
Lethal Weapon 4Release date: 1998-12-15; DVD
Best price: $2.99
Price in other shops:
The Patriot (Special Edition)GIBSON,MEL; Release date: 2000-10-24; DVD
Best price: $5.47
Price in other shops:
Lethal Weapon (Director's Cut)GIBSON,MEL; Release date: 2000-06-06; DVD
Best price: $4.99
Price in other shops:
Forever YoungGIBSON,MEL; Release date: 1997-07-30; DVD
Best price: $4.10
Price in other shops:
MaverickRelease date: 2004-06-01; DVD
Best price: $6.07
Price in other shops:
Braveheart (Special Collector's Edition)PARAMOUNT PICTURES; Release date: 2007-12-18; DVD
Best price: $8.99
Price in other shops:
Conspiracy TheoryRelease date: 1997-12-30; DVD
Best price: $3.99
Price in other shops:
Signs (Vista Series)Release date: 2003-01-07; DVD
Best price: $3.75
Price in other shops:
Similar DVD Movies
What Women WantPARAMOUNT PICTURES; Release date: 2001-05-08; DVD
Best price: $3.80
Price in other shops:
The FugitiveFORD,HARRISON; Release date: 2001-06-05; DVD
Best price: $3.58
Price in other shops:
BreakdownRUSSELL,KURT; Release date: 1998-12-01; DVD
Best price: $5.86
Price in other shops:
MaverickRelease date: 2004-06-01; DVD
Best price: $5.71
Price in other shops:
The Pelican BriefRelease date: 1997-06-25; DVD
Best price: $3.99
Price in other shops:
Con AirCAGE,NICHOLAS; Release date: 1998-03-25; DVD
Best price: $5.95
Price in other shops:
PaybackRelease date: 1999-07-27; DVD
Best price: $19.86
Air Force OneBeacon; Release date: 1998-02-10; DVD
Best price: $4.95
Price in other shops:
The RockCONNERY,SEAN; Release date: 1997-12-03; DVD
Best price: $4.93
Price in other shops:
Conspiracy TheoryRelease date: 1997-12-30; DVD
Best price: $3.90
Price in other shops: