FemaleFirst.co.uk: DVD: The Butterfly Effect - Director's Cut [DVD] [2004]

The Butterfly Effect - Director's Cut [DVD] [2004]
enlarge	Directors: Eric Bress, J. Mackye Gruber Actors: Ashton Kutcher, Amy Smart, Melora Walters, Elden Henson, William Lee Scott Studio: Icon Home Entertainment Category: DVD List Price: ~~£13.99~~ Buy Used: £0.87 as of 23/11/2009 16:04 GMT details You Save: £13.12 (94%) New (6) Used (34) from £0.87 Seller: zoverstocks Rating: 79 reviews Sales Rank: 21633 Format: PAL Language: English (Original Language) Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over Region: 2 Discs: 1 Number Of Discs: 1 Running Time: 113 Minutes Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.4 x 0.6 EAN: 7321900954990 ASIN: B0002KRTUW Theatrical Release Date: January 23, 2004 Release Date: September 13, 2004 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days


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Customer Reviews: Showing reviews 1-5 of 79 1 2 3 4 5 6 ...16 Next » Brilliant but unbearably sad June 8, 2007 Marshall Lord (Whitehaven, UK) 20 out of 21 found this review helpful This is an extremely clever, moving and well acted film, and a good antidote to the type of film in which changing the past is made to appear relatively straightforward. But it packs a major sting in the tail and is not one to watch if you want to be cheered up. br / br /The title "The Butterfly effect" is a reference to the behaviour of sensitive systems under chaos theory, and the film starts with the famous quote about how the flap of a butterfly's wings can cause a tornado on the other side of the world six months later. The film could almost have been subtitled "Or: The Law of Unintended Consequences." br / br /The central character is Evan, a boy whose father and grandfather died in mental hospitals and who appears to have inherited a strange condition from them. Evan is portrayed brilliantly as a young adult by Ashton Kutcher, as a 7-year old by Logan Lerman, and as a teenager by John Patrick Amedori. br / br /As a boy Evan has blackouts at times of extreme stress when he does things which can be very strange and scary, and then has no memory of them. To try to help with this, his mother (Melora Walters) encourages him to keep a daily journal. br / br /Evan grows up to become a brilliant student, and then discovers than by reading his diaries and concentrating he can send his consciousness, including his adult memories, back to the time he was reading about. The viewer eventually realises that the blackouts are the times he sent his mind back to. br / br /After the suicide of his childhood friend Kayleigh (played as an adult by Amy Smart) Evan sends his mind back to one of the first traumatic events, which he correctly identifies as the start of the process which put Kayleigh on the path to despair and premature death. At first it appears that he has succeeded in transforming her life for the better - but then a side effect of his actions causes something else to go horribly wrong. br / br /Each time Evan tries to go back to undo either one of the original mistakes of his life or the harmful results of his previous meddling, the butterfly effect - and the law of unintended consequences - means that a fresh disaster occurs. Evan does sometimes succeed in saving someone's life or happiness, but only at the price of devastating repercussions for someone else. br / br /All three actors who play Evan bring him to life brilliantly, and the acting of the rest of the cast is also excellent. Direction, action and special events are first rate and the pace works very well: there is inevitably quite a lot of repetition but it doesn't make the film boring because you're looking out for the changes or the explanation. And this film is so much more plausible and grown-up than most time-travel movies. But it really does deliver a kick at the end. br / br /There was a "sequel" made a couple of years later called "The Butterfly effect 2" with a different cast of characters, and in which the central character has a very similar condition to Evan. However, everyone I know who has watched them both says that the sequel is not nearly as good. br / br /Some great extras on the disc, particularly to sequences in which academics and film makers are interviewed about Chaos theory and about why we are fascinated by time travel stories. br / br /I can strongly recommend this as long as you're not looking for something sweet and cheerful. Butterfly Effect July 29, 2004 7 out of 7 found this review helpful Despite mixed reviews prior to seeing this, I thought this film was an absolute gem. The cast were well introduced at the start and you were led thru the film with mysterious gaps which were filled later on, shocking the audience at times. Subject matter was occasionally difficult but this made it all the more believeable in our hero's responses. Anything that offers a temporal paradox allows the mind to fulfil the 'whatif' question. It gets you thinking but this movie was difficult to 2nd guess which in my view makes for a great and unpredictable film rather than one where I'm climbing the walls waiting for it to end so I can get on with my life. Enjoy! A great Movie July 19, 2004 15 out of 17 found this review helpful This is a suprisingly great movie. The story is original, and at times shocking, and dark. Set in three different time periods, Evan (Ashton Kutcher) as a 7 year-old, a teenager, and a college student, the movie shows how each often trumatic event can shape a characters life. The movie deals with issues from child abuse to manslaughter, and at times can be quite dark. When Evan finds a way to go back and change some of these events he lerans that the effects are unexpected, and by changing one bad thing he causes another. The DVD comes with an alternative and dramatic ending. usually when a disc comes with an alternative ending it really isn't that special or different, but this one is shockingly different and a lot sadder than the original ending. Although Kutcher's first attempt at serious acting (having only appearing in comedies before) is sometimes shows a little inexperience, especially in such a big role, the movie would not of been the same without him. You really should watch this movie, everybody that I have shown it to (I have the R1 version) has been blown away by it. What a surprise! September 9, 2004 Dragoon (London) 5 out of 5 found this review helpful I had actually never heard of this movie before I saw it in my local supermarket when I was living in America. I read the back of the box and got the basic idea of the storyline, but I couldn't believe any movie with Ashton Kutcher as the lead role could take itself seriously. While I've always enjoyed the other things he did, I didn't believe he could pull this one off.pI was completely wrong. Kutcher pulls this one off with incredible ease, it's almost as if this is the kind of role he was supposed to play and just got sucked into silly comedy.pThe DVD I bought acually had the director's cut on it as well. I honestly don't know if the region 2 version has this, but if not, you're not really missing out. The original cut is quite a mind boggling experience, with the "what ifs" and the "should haves" that everybody experiences in life being shown in a context where they can be changed by Kutcher's character. He's able to momentarily travel back to a moment in his past by reading journals he's been keeping since he was 7. This gives him the ability to play God, but the uncertainty factor, or chaos theory as its more commonly known, plays havoc with his life and those of his friends. The directors cut takes this to a different plain, introducing a few shocking and disturbing scenes (especially the end), so I'd steer clear of this one.pBuy this movie. You absolutely wont regret it! An enjoyable #8220;what if#8221; film driven by a versatile cast March 19, 2006 Sha (UK) 4 out of 4 found this review helpful Time travel fiction in which one small change has unexpected knock-on effects is far from original but #8220;The Butterfly Effect#8221; does it so well that it#8217;s easy to forgive the clich#233;d theme. Evan (Ashton Kutcher) darts from adulthood back into episodes from his childhood to try and put the world to rights but finds that every time he thinks he#8217;s saved a friend he realises that another suffers as a consequence.pAmy Smart is particularly versatile as #8220;Kayleigh#8221; whose character varies dramatically with each reality. pDespite it#8217;s science fiction theme, this film is easy to follow and doesn#8217;t require the viewer to make huge guesses about the plot like some similar films such as #8220;Donnie Darko#8221;. pIt#8217;s certainly worth getting the DVD for alternative endings with the directors ending giving the film an entirely different ambience to the more corny cinema ending. Showing reviews 1-5 of 79 1 2 3 4 5 6 ...16 Next »

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