FemaleFirst.co.uk: DVD: The International [DVD] [2009]

The International [DVD] [2009]
enlarge	Director: Tom Tykwer Actors: Clive Owen, Naomi Watts Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Category: DVD List Price: ~~£19.99~~ Buy New: £2.90 as of 23/11/2009 04:23 GMT details You Save: £17.09 (85%) New (21) Used (11) Collectible (1) from £2.90 Seller: mrhappy2008 Rating: 25 reviews Sales Rank: 1861 Format: PAL Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over Region: 2 Number Of Discs: 1 Running Time: 114 Minutes Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.3 x 0.6 EAN: 5035822094437 ASIN: B001U3ZIKS Theatrical Release Date: 2009 Release Date: July 6, 2009 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days


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Editorial Reviews: Amazon.co.uk Review emThe International/em is actually two movies in one: A highbrow thriller about a sprawling bank that resorts to murder and arms sales to retain its power, and a sleek visual essay on how architecture and interior design shapes your perceptions. Interpol agent Louis Salinger (Clive Owen, still not quite a star despite Inside Man and Children of Men) has been on the brink of conclusive evidence against the villainous international bank, but his sources always end up dead. With the aid of a Manhattan district attorney (Naomi Watts in a woefully underwritten part), he stumbles on the trail of the bank's favorite hit man, who might provide the (literally) smoking gun Louis needs. emThe International/em starts out smooth and silky, with visual style to burn and Owen's intense fervor. The plot gradually bogs down in incoherent moralising, but along the way there are some taut sequences, including a bloody shootout in the Guggenheim Museum where alliances shift unexpectedly. But what makes emThe International/em worth seeing is director Tom Tykwer's astute eye for public space: Chic postmodern buildings, broad Italian plazas, Turkish rooftops like mountain paths--Tykwer orchestrates actors through these architectural shapes, his hypnotic visual sense creating far more tension and excitement than the plot. Also featuring Armin Mueller-Stahl (Eastern Promises) and Ulrich Thomsen (The Celebration) as malevolent Europeans. --emBret Fetzer/embr / p/p pspan class="h1"strongStills from emThe International/em (click for larger image) /strong/span table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" width="100%" p/p p/p tbody tr align="center" valign="top" tdimg src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/uk-dvd/images/theinternational/International_1.jpg" width="300" //td p/p tdimg src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/uk-dvd/images/theinternational/International_2.jpg" width="300" //td tdimg src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02//uk-dvd/images/theinternational/International_3.jpg" width="300" //td p/p /tr tr align="center" valign="top" tdimg src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02//uk-dvd/images/theinternational/International_4.jpg" width="300" //td p/p tdimg src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02//uk-dvd/images/theinternational/International_5.jpg" width="300" //td tdimg src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02//uk-dvd/images/theinternational/International_6.jpg" width="300" //td /tr /tbody /table /p

Customer Reviews: Showing reviews 1-5 of 25 1 2 3 4 5 Next » Clive Owen Fan - rather biased August 3, 2009 Graham C. Frost (Chenonceaux, France) 0 out of 2 found this review helpful I have enjoyed many of the television and film appearances of Clive Owen, who has grown in his acting capabilities over the years. I awaited 'The International' on DVD and certainly wasn't disappointed with the end result - a fine thriller from beginning to end and well worth it as an addition to my collection. I rate this alongside 'Taken' starring Liam Neeson for an all action movie. A Bank Statement May 2, 2009 tallpete33 (London, UK) 6 out of 9 found this review helpful The film opens at Berlin airport; an Interpol agent meets a shady character who we later find is a whistleblower for the sinister Luxembourg based IBBC bank. Walking towards his fellow agent Louis Salinger (Owen), he is bumped by an innocuous individual, Bulgarian umbrella style. He shortly dies an unsavoury death in a pool of his own vomit in front of Salinger who on rushing to his aid, gets knocked out by a UPS truck wing mirror for his trouble.... br / br /Coming round in the same hospital where his colleague's cause of death is recorded as a heart attack, the permanently unwashed and glazed eyed Salinger suspects (ok, knows) different and like a dog with a bone goes after the IBBC bank. It transpires that the bank is deeply entrenched in the arms business and Lord Of War style shenanigans, for not only profit but influence and control; double dealing on both sides where it sees fit. It is totally ruthless and thinks nothing of taking out the head of the arms manufacturer (and Italian presidential candidate) that crossed them, a move they would later regret. As Salinger gets closer they have to dispense with their "consultant" (hitman) and the mother of all shoot-outs ensues in New York's Guggenheim museum, though why the consultant thought taking off his bullet proof vest in those circumstances was a good idea escaped me. Also, when Salinger and his colleague (Naomi Watts) discover that the two bullets fired in the assasination hit a post at different trajectories they fail to take into account that one took a slight detour....through the victims head! br / br /As the other reviewers said, there is not too much new in this film, old school thriller updated for the morally bereft financial bedlam we now find ourselves in. A freedom fighter approached the IBBC bank for arms and finance, complaining the Swiss had become too expensive....the irony. Kill one corrupt banker and there are a hundred more to fill his shoes. Lots of messages, but no answers. The worst thing is that after watching this movie and if you are up with current affairs, you are unlikely to be surprised by (this portrayal of) the "system" and how it works; only saddened that it will probably always be like that and it's not only "Freedom Fighters" but governments and their agencies from around the world that are seemingly complicit in all of it. br / br /Overall, this is a watchable, well shot and fast paced movie with some good set pieces in a variety of locations, special mention to the Istanbul finish. Owen is good as the hangdog, damaged agent though at times you really wish he would take timeout for a bath. Watts' character is slightly peripheral and not really developed, Neil from the Office holds his own as the bank attorney with just the right amount of slime; ditto his fellow suits. br / br /Anyway, must finish here, I need to be back at my desk early in the morning...in the bank (7/10) br / br / br / br / br / br / The International March 20, 2009 E. Ward (Portsmouth, UK) 3 out of 7 found this review helpful This isn't an unusual plot, in that our hero sends his time 'bringing down' a supergiant, megalomaniac-esque corperation with ideas above itself, the IBBC bank. This idea at its simplest form has been done countless times, but I think that film brings something new to the table. br / br /Louis Salinger (Clive Owen) is a down-and-out police officer who was shoved from Scotland Yard and ends up with a desk job with Interpol. His pairing with character Elanor Whitman (Naiomi watts) provides the usual and quite predictable double act. However, other characters who enter the scenes at later intervals save this film from being the usual chase to something with a bit more depth. I was surprised to see Richard from Mistresses moonlighting in a serious, actual film (I'm unfamiliar with any other parts he's had) and think he carried the part of untrustworthy, sleezy lawyer extremely well. His possy of henchmen also carry their parts well, with the usual number of casualties and escapees. br / br /The audience is instantly gripped in the opening scenes when we see a very old-school assassination of another Interpol agent, who had been at a covert meeting with an insider from IBBC. From here, the plot thickens into a chase-the-bad-guys film with some fantastic locations (which I think makes the film even better). br / br /The detail shown of the locations is superb, and really helps to bring the film to life. We're rocketed from New York to Milan and to Berlin before ending in Istanbul. The changing locations remind me of the Bourne films, as does the very impressive, edge-of-seat gun fight at the Guggenhein (I really felt for the building...). br / br /Overall, the plot is nothing special, there are no complications to grapple with, and this is one of those films you can tune in and out of without loosing the plot. But what brings this up from a 3* to a 4* is the quality of performances from Owen, Watts and Richard from Mistresses. They each bring a believable element to the tale and made it worth watching. The occasional humour further adds to the film, though this is counteracted by the cheesy "how long has it been since you slept/ate/got laid?" question, which is surely the most overused set of lines between female and male characters in films of this ilk?! br / br /I would recommend this film as an antedote to 'nothing on TV again' and it will definitely provide an evenings worth of entertainment. An epic story of almost credit crunch proportions. June 23, 2009 Gerry O'neill (Morrisville, NC United States) 0 out of 1 found this review helpful It seems to me that the story is based on real life bank of Commerce and Credit International (BCCI) which was under investigation by several jurisdictions and had connections with terrorists. br / br /The scope of the story is global, a fact which we are reminded of throughout the two hour film with constant images of large scale settings and buildings which dwarf the actors and the people in general. There is much symbolism and imagery throughout the movie, the gigantic scale and complexity representing global banking and finance, as well as the overarching power with multinational banks were able to exert over the developed nations through their recycling of petrodollars into loans for third world governments. br / br /The complexities are also shown to work against national governments and international organisations who owe their ability to act to treaties which circumscribe their abilities to investigate such huge corporations yet which at the same time permit the same financial conglomerates to obscure their dealings to hide slush funds and expenditure on almost anything you like. The ability of the conglomerates to exert power and influence both across borders and within political and investigative agencies without any aparent restraint is highlighted. As it is there are links to Godfather III The Godfather Part III - The Coppola Restoration with the imputation of a mafia or cosa nostra assassin at the conclusion of the story. br / br /As for the actors and the plot this is a pretty strong cast. Clive Owen is a clever choice for a variety of reasons. For me the choice is most apt given Owens role in the television show Chancer where strangely enough the setting was also mainly in the finacial world Chancer - Series 1. Naomi Watts Eastern Promises (Widescreen Edition) plays a convincing role as an American public official who goes out on a limb in pursuing the investigation but who also helps to establish the extent of the reach of the bank's central decision making body. br / br /The story meanders a bit but there again, that in itself is not a negative aspect. In a way it fits in with the overall view of a global strategy like a huge chess puzzle only, like American "Football" where the pieces are people. The meandering and philosophical nature of the film also suggests slow and deliberate contemplation of moves and trying to win the war before it begins. br / br /Overall I enjoyed the movie as a piece of cerebral entertainment though I suspect that for a lot of people they would rather have more action and more of the guy getting the girl. Oh well. An Excellent Stimulus Package June 29, 2009 prisrob (New EnglandUSA) 0 out of 1 found this review helpful br / br /I love thrillers and chillers and 'The International' lives up to all of this. I caught myself on the edge of my seat- this is a film that moves quickly from city to city with a mystery waiting to be solved. We are kept apprised just as the two main detectives put two and two together. br / br /Clive Owen as Louis Salinger, an Interpol agent and Naomi Watts as Elinor Whitman, a detective in the Brooklyn DA's office join forces to expose a high-profile financial institution's role in an international arms dealing ring. Strange duo but somehow it works. There is no romance in this film, but you can feel that these two like working together. Salinger and Whitman's investigation takes them from Berlin to Milan to New York and to Istanbul. And, in each city, they find the most beautiful architecture. The International Bank and Business Corporation, which appears to be the major business in selling arms to customers- no money, but lots of arms, is a beautiful large open building with wraparound windows in Berlin. In reality they used the Volkswagen building. The essence of architecture leads us to look at the cities that are visited and the visually stimulating cinematography. As one reviewer said "Banks are not lending much money these days, but if you want to buy some warheads, they might take a meeting." At IBBC anyone who is involved in an investigation of the bank winds up dead, and as the dead pile up, the story becomes fascinating. br / br /The acting is excellent, Armin Mueller-Stahl as Wilhelm Wexler , one of IBBC's bankers is really involved in leading 'The Consultant' Brian O'Byrne, to the people who need to be killed. One of the more riveting scenes takes place at the Guggenheim Museum in NYC. A shoot-out like none you have ever seen takes place. It is a remarkable feat, and worth the film for these few scenes. Salinger, wants to right the world as most heroes do, and Whitcomb is along for the ride. The lessons learned are well worth the price of the DVD. br / br /The International at times may be difficult to keep up with, but along with Salinger and Whitcomb, we figure it out. I loved the suspense and the story line, and I hope there is a sequel. After All, banks are the bad guys of this decade! br / br /Highly Recommended. prisrob 06-12-09 br / br /Derailed (Unrated Widescreen) br / br /Mulholland Drive br / Showing reviews 1-5 of 25 1 2 3 4 5 Next »

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