True Lies
by James Cameron
List Price:
Our Price: $5.93
You Save: $9.05 (60%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.56 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bill Paxton, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tia Carrere, Tom ArnoldDirector: James Cameron
Brand: FOX
Producer: James Cameron
Writer: James Cameron
Producer: Lawrence Kasanoff
Producer: Pamela Easley
Writer: Claude Zidi
Writer: Didier Kaminka
Writer: Simon Michaël
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); Arabic (Original Language); English (Original Language); French (Original Language); German (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 141 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1999-05-25
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Movie Reviews of True Lies
Movie Review: An action film that knows how to give more than just `action'...
Summary: 5 Stars
From start to finish, `True Lies' is nothing short of engaging. In fact, it is more than that. It is funny, tense, gripping and even, get this, shockingly tender. Yes, `True Lies' has just about everything you could ask for all rolled up in one nicely constructed package. It is so `complete' that it doesn't even matter that the film is above and beyond ridiculous (that is to say that it makes no sense whatsoever and manages to be very, very unrealistic). It makes up for every flaw with stellar performances, witty dialog, eye-popping visuals and endearing characters.
One great thing about this movie is that, even when the action sequences are beyond unrealistic (the horse chase scene and the jet rescue ending are two of the more over-the-top sequences) they never look fake. This isn't so CGI ridden that the film appears nothing more than a videogame. Thankfully each and ever scene looks as if it is really happening and thus adds to the film a layer of credibility.
It works even if it technically shouldn't.
The film follows a seemingly boring family, the Tasker's, as their world unravels when Harry, the `computer salesman' husband, begins to suspect that his wife Helen is having an affair. He overreacts and thus compromises his own identity (he's a secret spy, duh) when he uses his position to investigate his wife. When a real case he's working crosses the line into his home life he finds that his entire family is thrown in the frying pan and he desperately tries to pull them out.
The entire cast works wonderfully; even Arnold. Well, I guess I should specify that, since there are two Arnold's here. Tom Arnold is hilarious. I really like him as the goofy sidekick (which he plays in EVERY film really, although he stretched himself with major success in 2005's `Happy Endings') and here he delivers each line with the right amount of comedic sarcasm. The other Arnold, Schwartzenegger that is, is also perfect for the role. He even emotes here, which I was shocked to see. He's funny and debonair and moving at times. He's not perfect, that's for sure, but he works far better than I though he would. Bill Paxton has a hilarious supporting role as a used car salesman trying to put the moves on Helen.
Speaking of Helen, Jamie Lee Curtis is above and beyond spectacular here.
Curtis knows how to make this character feel human. She has the right comedic touches to her general being to make her appear naturally out of her element, which adds layers of realism to her giddy nature and even her over-controlled side. She also knows how to add enough heart to her character to make her tenderer and sincere moments feel genuine. Her interrogation scene is a marvelous example of an actress adding so many layers and so many notes that her character becomes so much more than just a `housewife'. She plays the funny, awkward, confused, desperate housewife with a tough-as-nails side to utter perfection.
Director James Cameron is no stranger to special effects and action spectacles and so the action scenes are no real surprise. Whether Arnold is galloping through a hotel on a horse or he's crashing into buildings with a jet or he's smashing dogs together by their heads, he looks in control because Cameron was in complete control. What was shocking to me were the tender moments that Cameron was able to capture. That interrogation room scene as well as Curtis's dance scene are two precise and appropriate sequences that elevate the film and give it a human feeling. He found that humanity in `Titanic' three years later, but even still, what he does here surprised me. When you factor in that he added so many wonderful layers of comedic perfection it makes the complete finished product all the more lovable.
Summary of True Lies
Arnold Schwarzenegger is special agent Harry Tasker, a top spy in the ultra-secret Omega Sector who also dances a mean tango- although to his neglected wife, Helen, (Jamie Lee Curtis) he's just a dull computer salesman. But while Harry's been busy fighting terrorists, Helen's been gathering secrets of her own. And when their two secret lives unexpectedly collide, Harry and Helen find themselves in the clutches of international terrorists, fighting to save not only their marriage but their lives as well. Packed with non-stop action, spectacular special effects and unprecedented stunts, this "domestic epic" from director James Cameron (Titanic, Terminator 2: Judgment Day) is a rollicking '90's twist on the super spy genre.From The Terminator to Titanic, you can always rely on writer-director James Cameron to show you something you've never seen on the big screen before. The guy may not consistently pen the most scintillating dialogue in the world (and, especially in this movie, he doesn't seem to have a particularly high regard for women), but as a director of kinetic, push-the-envelope action sequences, he is in a class by himself. In True Lies, the highlight is a breathtaking third-act jet and car chase through the Florida Keys. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a covert intelligence agent whose wife of 15 years (Jamie Lee Curtis) finally finds out that he's not really a computer salesman and who becomes mixed up in a case involving nuclear arms smuggling. Tom Arnold is surprisingly funny and engaging as Schwarzenegger's longtime spy partner, and Bill Paxton is a smarmy used-car salesman (is that redundant?) whom Arnold thinks is having an affair with his wife. Purely in terms of spectacular action and high-tech hardware, True Lies is a blast. --Jim Emerson
Similar DVD Movies
Collateral DamageWarner Brothers; Release date: 2004-06-01; DVD
Best price: $1.68
Price in other shops:
Speed (Widescreen Edition)REEVES,KEANU; Release date: 2005-02-01; DVD
Best price: $5.92
Price in other shops:
Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy Favorites Collection (Twins / Kindergarten Cop / Junior)Universal Studios; Release date: 2007-09-18; DVD
Best price: $8.33
Price in other shops:
Commando (Director's Cut)Fox; Release date: 2007-09-18; DVD
Best price: $8.99
Price in other shops:
The TerminatorSony; Release date: 2007-06-05; DVD
Best price: $7.23
Price in other shops:
The Running Man (Special Edition)LIONS GATE HOME ENT.; Release date: 2004-03-16; Published: 2004-03-01; DVD
Best price: $6.00
Price in other shops:
Last Action HeroSony; Release date: 1997-10-07; DVD
Best price: $5.26
Price in other shops:
Kindergarten CopUniversal Studios; Release date: 1998-01-20; DVD
Best price: $3.19
Price in other shops:
Total RecallLions Gate; Release date: 2005-05-31; Published: 1990; DVD
Best price: $3.97
Price in other shops:
EraserSCHWARZENEGGER,ARNO; Release date: 1997-03-26; DVD
Best price: $2.65
Price in other shops: