FemaleFirst.co.uk: DVD: Phone Booth [2003] [DVD]

Phone Booth [2003] [DVD]
enlarge	Director: Joel Schumacher Actors: Colin Farrell, Kiefer Sutherland, Forest Whitaker, Radha Mitchell, Katie Holmes Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Category: DVD List Price: ~~£19.99~~ Buy Used: £0.10 as of 21/11/2009 13:52 GMT details You Save: £19.89 (99%) New (30) Used (157) Collectible (2) from £0.10 Seller: zoverstocks Rating: 54 reviews Sales Rank: 6770 Format: Anamorphic, PAL, Widescreen Languages: English (Subtitles For The Hearing Impaired), English (Original Language), Swahili (Original Language) Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over Region: 2 Discs: 1 Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Number Of Discs: 1 Running Time: 78 Minutes Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6 EAN: 5039036012874 ASIN: B00007KGCK Theatrical Release Date: April 4, 2003 Release Date: August 11, 2003 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days


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Editorial Reviews: Amazon.co.uk Review For a film confined almost entirely to one tiny location, IPhone Booth/I has been the centre of a lot of off-screen action: changing lead man from Will Smith to Jim Carrey to Colin Farrell, with various directors attached, and finally postponed as a result of the Washington Sniper attacks--and all this before its release. Still, Larry Cohen's taut 80-minute script finally hits the screens and, as public utility-based thrillers go, it's pretty gripping stuff. pColin Farrell plays slick and obnoxious PR man Stu Shepard who picks up a ringing payphone only to be informed by a mysterious sniper (Keifer Sutherland) that there's a gun pointed directly at him. What Stu initially believes to be a joke turns about to be a vendetta from the sniper who objects to married Stu's philandering ways, and it soon escalates into a prime-time TV siege. p Joel Schumacher's energetic direction--employing some snappy editing and nifty split-screen techniques--helps distract from an uneven and often predictable plot. It's easy for the audience to think of a dozen ways this siege could be averted, but by upping the tension stakes Schumacher still makes it fun to watch. pColin Farrell gives a compelling central performance, which runs the emotional gamut from anger to fear to anguish and even carries off a cheesy absolution scene. Keifer Sutherland's husky baddie voiceover is not exactly the stuff of nightmares but, like the rest of the film, you could do a lot worse. As a pure popcorn thriller, IPhone Booth/I hits all the right buttons. --ILaura Bushell/I

Customer Reviews: Showing reviews 1-5 of 54 1 2 3 4 5 6 ...11 Next » The art of listening. September 26, 2003 16 out of 17 found this review helpful Before I watched this film, I read several reviews on it. Most of them was negative. Than I checked out the director: Joel Schumacher. I found few mediocre films by him but at the same time I found few of my favorites: The Lost Boys (1987), Flatliners (1990), Falling Down (1993), The Client (1994). Based on this research I had no choice but to watch this film.brMain character Stu (Colin Farrell at his best performance) is one of this fake New Yorkers: some publicist, dressed in a fake coat of bogus fame and unexciting BIG contacts. He stops by at the phone booth to make his regular call to another women, the one which doesn't know that he is married... As soon as he hangs up? A phone call... A phone call for him... A phone call by a sniper. He has to play by the sniper's rules, or someone will die.brA thriller? An action? A psychological drama? I would say all of it at the same time... but much more. Did I want to know what will happen next? Yes! Did this film make me think? Yes!pFrom my point of view, this film mostly about art of listening. We often prejudge situations and people. But we forget to listen, to understand and hear the meaning of simple clues which might save our own life. And Forest Whitaker as Captain Ramey did this part very well.brOn the other hand it gives us a slight idea how one second can change our life forever. And it does every single day.brThe ending made me disappointed but I can't give this film less than A- grade. I've seen better, but not as many as you might think. brReviewed by "russianwriter.net" A Cheaply Made Film That Knocks The Spots Off Most Big Money Blockbusters July 17, 2007 Scott Fraser (Sheffield, England) 12 out of 13 found this review helpful Forget your Lord of the Rings or Star Wars and Harry Potter this feature has got to be the best film for years. It proves that movies don't need a multi-million dollar budget to be a class product. This film was shot in just ten days and in a way it shows but that is the appeal of a real-time drama, there is almost a documentary 'shoot-it-as-it-happens' feel that gives the impression of continuation. Too many retakes can end up spoiling the flow of a scene and as the film is technically one long scene with cutaway pictures to other participants on the phone it makes sense to record it like this. I suspect that the film was shot in narrative order, allowing the actors to build upon the emotions that arise from the mounting stress of the situation rather than having to remember how they were feeling if it was shot out of order. In writing terms this is called the Fleming Sweep, so named after the James Bond creator, his theory was that he would write a Bond novel from beginning to end without looking back over what he had done and when he had finished only then would he revise and polish his story, the idea being that it creates a better flow than the usual stop-start approach and for me this film is very similar. br / br /The acting is world class, that statement can be used too often but here it is true. Colin Farrell is wonderful and it needed a top-notch performance from Kiefer Sutherland as the Caller to match and even exceed Farrell. Sutherland steals the show and this was amazing considering that he only used his voice until the very end and actually upstaged Farrell, who himself was awesome. The director took the correct path in chosing Sutherland and resisted the obvious temptation to go for a darker voice ala Tom Baker, Patrick Stewart and James Earl Jones, I think a Vincent Price type of voice would have been a mistake as the true terror of the performance comes from the fact that it is an every day normal type of voice rather than the forced horror of a scarier vocal interpretation. br / br /The film ends at exactly the right time on 77 minutes, a very short film, but one of the things that annoy me about most films is their need for padding, I have always subscribed to the theory that when a film naturally comes to an end then end it, if it can be told in 77 minutes then do so, I think that had Phone Booth been fleshed out by just five minutes it would not be the masterpiece that it is today. br / br /There is however one little gripe that I have and that is that I would have prefered not to have seen the Caller at the end of the film and left it to the imagination, but when you cast an actor of Kiefer Sutherland's calibre I suppose that you do want him in there somewhere, this is just a minor irritation on my part that in no way spoils this fantastic psychological, manipulation thriller. And the making of... documentary is great too. br / br /If so-called 'cheap' films are always as good as this then I will take them over the big money Hollywood blockbusters any day. This is proper film making with actors rather than computers and such like. Go on give it a try. A Fantastically Gripping Film! May 3, 2003 4 out of 4 found this review helpful Phone Booth is a film that will glue your eyes to the screen, make your heart pump, and your nerves bounce!pThe story, in a sense, doesn't really go anywhere as it is all focussed upon a New York phone booth. But that doesn't matter because the film goes to new levels of acting in my opinion. Colin Farrel is excellent in this! He plays a New York Publicist who at the same time every day uses the same phone booth to call the girl who he's having an affair with, until one day, after a conversation with the girl the phone starts ringing, he picks it up later wishing he hadn't... I'll leave it at that, you'll have to see it to understand why I love this film so much, I mean you HAVE to see it! First class acting and direction July 22, 2003 12 out of 14 found this review helpful The moment I first saw the theatrical trailer for 'Phone Booth', I knew I had to see this movie. Colin Farrell had previously impressed me with his gripping performance in 'The Recruit' and it was obvious from the incredible '24' that Kiefer Sutherland could hold his own in an action thriller, so 'Phone Booth' had a lot to live up to, but it sure did it with style!pThis nail-biting thriller leaves you on the edge of your seat at every twist and turn with Farrell shining as the arrogant and cocky PR guy, Stu. Kiefer Sutherland was perfectly cast for his role as the hidden sniper and plays it with believeable cold-hearted precision that turns your stomach at each dramatic moment. Forest Whitaker provides a fantastic performance as Capt. Ramey, a frustrated yet intelligent cop who senses something strangely wrong on his immediate arrival.pJoel Schumacher's direction decisions also make the movie what it is. As hard as it must have been to do a pratically one-location shoot, Schumacher pulls it off with his split-screen and angle shots which add even more tension to the already gripping plot.pThis film presents us with first-class film making and acting at its best so I urge you to watch it - you won't be disappointed. Truth or consequences February 4, 2004 Joseph Haschka (Glendale, CA USA) 11 out of 13 found this review helpful PHONE BOOTH is essentially an 80-minute one-man show by Colin Farrell, and he pulls it off flawlessly.pFarrell is Stu Shephard, a glib New York press agent who'll concoct any story and utter any lie to further his own agenda. And he's also hoping to cheat on his wife Kelly (Radha Mitchell) with Pamela (Katie Holmes). In the pantheon of the world's villains, Stu is relatively minor. But not to The Sniper.pAll of PHONE BOOTH was filmed on a single set, depicted as the site of the last enclosed phone booth in Manhattan, at 53rd and 8th. Hearing the booth's phone ring, Shephard picks it up. The audience hears (as a voiceover) the disembodied words of The Sniper. Apparently peering from an overlook above the street, the caller threatens Stu with death if he hangs up and leaves. An appropriate demonstration of his shooting capability is provided, which anchors Stu in the booth.pThe Sniper has recently executed two of society's sleazebags, one a pornographer. Now it's Shepahard's turn, unless he repents publicly for his many sins, all knowledgeably listed by his tormentor. And to whom is Stu to make this confession? Well, to the hordes of police now surrounding the booth, who think the body in the street is Stu's doing. To the on-site police commander, Capt. Ramey (Forest Whitaker), who has to sort out the mess while wondering why Shephard is glued to the phone. To the broadcast media descending with soundtrucks and cameras. And to Kelly and Pamela, both drawn to the scene by the live TV coverage.pFarrell is the unquestioned star of this nail-biter, but it wouldn't work without The Sniper's mesmerizing voice (provided by Kiefer Sutherland). It could be the voice of Satan himself welcoming Stu to Hell, and Farrell's bravura performance leaves the audience with no doubt that he's burning in his own personal napalm of self-judgement, humiliation, and terror.pOnce one accepts the plot's premise, there's no fault to be found with this film. As an entertainment vehicle, it delivers edge-of-the-seat tension, a moral message, and a satisfying twist of an ending. And even a bit of humor, as when three local working girls berate the beleaguered Shephard for monopolizing the means of secure contact with their Johns.pPHONE BOOTH is a jewel of escapism. Showing reviews 1-5 of 54 1 2 3 4 5 6 ...11 Next »

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