FemaleFirst.co.uk: DVD: Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind [DVD] [2003]

Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind [DVD] [2003]
enlarge	Director: George Clooney Actors: Drew Barrymore, Sam Rockwell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dick Clark Studio: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm Category: DVD List Price: ~~£14.99~~ Buy Used: £1.03 as of 23/11/2009 22:36 GMT details You Save: £13.96 (93%) New (21) Used (20) Collectible (2) from £1.03 Seller: market91 Rating: 14 reviews Sales Rank: 8321 Format: PAL Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitles For The Hearing Impaired), German (Subtitled), English (Subtitled) Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over Region: 2 Discs: 1 Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1 Number Of Discs: 1 Running Time: 113 Minutes Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6 EAN: 5017188888493 ASIN: B0000TEW2I Theatrical Release Date: January 24, 2003 Release Date: December 29, 2003 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days


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Editorial Reviews: Amazon.co.uk Review Showbiz autobiographies don't come any stranger than IConfessions of a Dangerous Mind/I, a fractured kaleidoscope of film styles--from sitcom to paranoid horror--accompanied by an infectious musical mosaic. It's based on a memoir by Chuck Barris--the mastermind behind IThe Dating Game/I (the format we know in the UK as IBlind Date/I) and IThe Gong Show/I--which interweaves a fairly straight account of his toils in the television industry with outrageous fictions about his secret life as a CIA hit man. First-time director George Clooney takes Barris' bizarre book and--working with screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, who similarly mutated the truth in IAdaptation/I--makes an extraordinary picture, with an awards-quality performance from Sam Rockwell as Barris. p Clooney takes the secondary role of Barris' enigmatic boss, and there's sterling work from Drew Barrymore as Barris' ditzy regular girlfriend and Julia Roberts as an espionage dragon lady. It's an acidly witty film that consistently turns the tables on its hero and the audience. Priceless tiny gags include: a silent Brad Pitt and Matt Damon as contestants of IThe Dating Game/I and Barris coming up with the idea for a TV quiz show while half-listening to a CIA instructor explaining torture techniques. --IKim Newman/I

Customer Reviews: Showing reviews 1-5 of 14 1 2 3 Next » Who#x27;s the mole? February 23, 2006 Joseph Haschka (Glendale, CA USA) 7 out of 9 found this review helpful Close on the heels of his ADAPTATION, screenwriter Charlie Kaufman scored again with CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND, based on the (fictional?) autobiography of the same title by Chuck Barris. It#x27;s also George Clooney#x27;s initial outing as Director.pAt the very beginning when the audience sees a bearded and naked Chuck Barris (Sam Rockwell) standing as if in a trance while a frumpy housekeeper vacuums around him, the viewer suspects that the film will be something special, outrageous, or both. This is the starting point for an extended flashback as Barris recalls his young adulthood, when it seemed everybody but him was having sex, to his successful career as a TV game show creator and low-brow polluter of the American airwaves ("The Dating Game", "The Newlywed Game", "The Gong Show"). Pretty standard stuff except that along the way Barris is seduced by a penchant for violence into a double life as a CIA contract killer, and the schizophrenia brought on by his double life almost proves his undoing.pRockwell is superb in the leading role, as is Director Clooney, who plays his square-jawed, no-nonsense CIA recruiter and control, Jim Byrd. (Byrd to Barris: "Listen, you#x27;re thirty-two years old and you#x27;ve achieved nothing. Jesus Christ was dead and alive again by thirty-three. Better get cracking.") Drew Barrymore does a swell job as Penny, the on-again, off-again love of Chuck#x27;s life, but she#x27;s deliciously upstaged by Julia Roberts in a new sort of character for her, that of the seductive and deadly femme fatale spy, Patricia. ("Prove how much you love me, baby. Kill for me. Then I#x27;m all yours".) Brad Pitt and Matt Damon have hilarious two-second cameos on stools. And there#x27;s one scene where a Federal official lectures The Dating Game contestants on the dire repercussions of introducing risqu#233; material into their game show appearance that alone is worth the price of admission. I don#x27;t know who that actor was, but he deserves an Oscar for a one-minute speech.pThis is a movie that perhaps has to be seen twice to be fully appreciated for the deft and clever use of camera perspective, scene and timing changes, and almost-overexposed color, all of which keeps the audience on its toes wondering what#x27;s coming next. And the Big Question: who#x27;s The Mole?pThis is one of the best dark comedies that I#x27;ve seen in a long while. It was one of the must-see films of 2002/2003. Bravo, bravo! Dangerously good I must confess March 1, 2004 3 out of 4 found this review helpful I went to see this with some trepidation. George Clooney has certainly racked up a fair amount of screen time and A-list pals, but directing is, after all, a whole different kettle of fish. I was, however, pleasantly relieved/surprised by Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. It's pretty darn slick for a directorial debut and George Clooney has certainly been paying attention over the years, especially to his friends the Cohen brothers and Steven Soderbergh. Chuck Berry's controversial story is engagingly told, cameos from afore mentioned A-listers aren't too 'look at me!' and the whole cast turn in good performances. Although the film is faithful to Chuck Berry's version of events, (he claims to have been a government assassin whilst presenting junk-TV game shows) there room left for doubt. In short, this film is pretty entertaining and pretty classy - worth seeing. "I'm impressed. You're not like the other killers.." March 7, 2004 R. Fox (Shropshire, UK) 6 out of 9 found this review helpful This was the best film I saw of all last year, and boy do I watch a lot of films. Actually, I work in a cinema so I'm sort of paid to watch films, but man, was this the best one! I can't remember the last time I saw such a cool, witty, original, hypnotic movie, with a perfectly picked cast and an astounding script (by, of course, the inimitable Charlie Kaufman).pGeorge Clooney's first diretorial venture is so solid it's hard to believe he hasn't done it before, but what's even harder to believe is the way in which he really made the movie the tough way - the film is psychadelically layered and The Graduate standard in it's dramatic scene turns - but Clooney used no CG, and everything was done on rotating stages, bullet-fast costume changes and immaculate timing. The end result is a film that has every bit the feel of a grand, sinister theatre porduction, and the performances to back it. Sam Rockwell: what can you say? He's more like Chuck Barris than Chuck himself, and he plays the 'cool hitman' and 'psychopathic game show host' in violent measures of realism and prepsterousness. Julia Roberts is sexy and as frightening as a pair of scissors next to your groin as Barris's confedant in Russia. Clooney is great and mysterious as Barris's mentor, and Drew Barrymore is.. well, she almost acts in this one. Bless her, she does try.pThe music in the film is as unpredictable and weird as the scene changes and Gong Show Contestants themselves, and the cinematography is immaculate all the way through, taking the viewer directly into Barris's warped and tortured mind. Man, there isn't enough good things I can say about this absolute gem of a movie. It's like the movie version of a successful bank robbery, or the feeling you get from watching your sister's seventeen year old best friend getting naked through the bathroom keyhole.. so to speak. A great film from a great book December 12, 2003 3 out of 6 found this review helpful I think I was lucky to be one of the few people who actually bothered to read the book, before watching the film, and after watching the film, I had to read the book again.pThe story is a brilliant one, but one which has to be taken with a pinch of salt. Set in the era of the #8216;cold war#8217;, it takes its gritty style from films in this genre. pBasically the tale of Chuck Bariss, TV host by day and CIA assassin by night, but the story is so fantastic, that you think, there must be an element of truth in there somewhere, nothing this bizarre could be made up. pIf you don#8217;t think you know who Chuck Bariss is, he is inventor of Blind Date and Mr and Mrs and a rack of other commercial TV trash programmes pumped out in the late sixties.pYou can give Charlie Kaufman a lot of credit for this adaptation, because the story seems to have been lifted seamlessly from the pages to the screen. Though this not you archetypal Hollywood movie, it is a break from the mundane beat up, crash, pow, kaboom movies that are being produced at the moment, and it#8217;s not James Bond either, if this is what you were expecting then you will find this disappointing.pBariss in his time was seen as responsible for the dumbing down the middle American society, the inventor of trash TV and he was run out of the US for this. You may not like Bariss, but your not supposed to. He is a self loathing, chauvinistic, egomaniac, and a killer to boot. But because of the huge talents of Sam Rockwell, you begin feel somehow enamoured with this character.pThe films lifts a lot of the cast directly from Oceans 11, but they without a doubt a great cast, meticulously assembled by Clooneys team, who himself portrays his character with real flair. pJulia Roberts plays Bariss#8217; sardonically sexy agent colleague, and you#8217;ll even see Brad Pitt and Matt Damon making amusing cameo appearances as contestants in the dating game.pRutger Hauer is ideally cast and plays superbly, a character, who had a much closer role to Bariss in the book, but no so much in the film, but for me the real star aside from Rockwell was Drew Barrymore. I have never rated Barrymore, but she really shines as the dropsy, dingle-berry and very patient, long time girlfriend of Bariss.pNot everyone will like this film, and a few just wont get it. But it really is a movie worth watching. And if you get to the end of the movie and wonder, what is it with these hats, then you have to read the book. It#8217;s a fantastic rollicking read, and one which I recommend too. Fantastic in every way January 26, 2004 2 out of 5 found this review helpful This is a triumphant directorial dubut for Clooney who must have suprised everone except himself. The direction is confident and assured, he frames the action well without ever encroaching on the material or showing off, 'Look Hollywood, I can direct too!'. pClooney loved Charlie Kaufman's script but knew he had to recruit top talent for peanuts in order to get it made with him at the creative helm. He was in luck because top talent were queuing up. Who to play Chuck Barris? The first in a string of great decisions by Clooney was suggesting and championing the prodigious Sam Rockwell. In my opinion, Rockwell is the most watcheable actor in a generation, he has turned all his parts in all his films to solid gold. He steals every scene, the camera loves him, and he is perfect for Barris' mutli-layered personality. Along with Clooney himself, Julia Roberts and Drew Barrymore (at a career high), you have a brilliantly cast (and utilised) group of talent.pThis film has everything - a fantastic script, great Direction, wonderful acting and begs repeat viewing. The DVD features arn't bad either with excellent deleted scenes giving a little bit more to the story (especially on Barris' first 'hit'). Clooney's commentary is typically dry and humourous like the man himself and gives excellent insight into the creative process and his meticulous approach.pAs for Barris himself? CIA killer? I doubt it very much but i could be wrong... Showing reviews 1-5 of 14 1 2 3 Next »

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