Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #557 in DVD
• Released on: 2000-10-30
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 98 minutes

Special Features
16:9 Wide Screen
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Dolby Digital 5.1
Deleted Scenes
On Set Interviews
Trailer

Synopsis
Based on the popular novel by Bret Easton Ellis, Mary Harron's cinematic adaptation retains the over-the-top humor that made Ellis' book such a cult favorite. Christian Bale is hysterical as Patrick Bateman, the successful commodities broker whose disgust for everyone he encounters leads him to committing heinous murders. The film tackles all things 80s, including pop music, fashion, and the world of big business, all to hilarious effect. Graphic and brutal, AMERICAN PSYCHO is an unflinching satire, but one that should keep enlightened audiences laughing throughout.

Customer Reviews

Death by Filofax
American Psycho is a darkly hilarious indictment of 80s yuppie culture; an exploration of shallow hedonism and empty-headed materialism and the nihilistic desolation that these traits instil in the lead character. Christian Bale takes Patrick Bateman from tight-lipped obsession to wide-eyed mania with compellingly cheesy relish. His violent attempts to find meaning in an existence devoid of feeling are deftly handled and provide plenty of shocks without resorting to gratuitous gore. In truth we learn little of the inner workings of Bateman's mind but this darkly comic satire more than makes up for this shortcoming with its wry humour and razor-sharp performances.

Enjoyable, but lacking compared to the book
My four star rating is solely attributable to Christian Bales portrayal of Patrick Bateman. He is Patrick Batman, albeit a watered down, more sane and less homicidal version. He deserves five stars in truth, but the script stopped this from occurring.
While Bale is a pleasure to watch, and the other stars fulfil their roles, I felt the script ignored the depths explored in the book, and in doing so, the end result was a rather shallow film remembered for a chainsaw scene.
I can understand that it would have been a difficult book to film, but the rearrangements forced on the plot to push it to screen entirely changed the message at the core of the book.
Overall, not a bad film, but in light of reading the book - it's enjoyment is seriously reduced.

"Don't just look at it, eat it!"
Patrick is as shallow as a man can get. He almost doesn't really exist; he's a human brand who works where he works because he wants to fit in, his life is based on magazine reviews and his daily activities centre on maintaining an image. His obsession with image is perfectly depicted in the fantastic scene where Bateman and chums compare business cards and the font/off-white colour of the card.

The human side of the man starts to surface, but it's the dark side of humanity. He wants control over people, he has to dominate them - and this manifests itself as a series of mutilations and murders.

The film is gloriously black, with constant comedy ensuring that the film never feels too dark - but never risking becoming a slapstick farce. The character of Bateman is so awful, but his narratives help us to (worryingly) enter his mind and see the world through his eyes. It's not often you find yourself warming to a heartless, self centred, psychopath, but that's exactly what happens in American Psycho. The scene where Bateman is with two prostitutes and constantly watching himself flexing his muscles in the mirror should have you despising the man, but he remains incredibly endearing. Much of this credit goes to Christian Bale who plays the role without seemingly taking it too seriously. The character is so ludicrous that you start to question if any of the events actually happened, or whether they were simply the constructions of a damaged mind, realised in daydreams and notepad doodlings.

In a nutshell: Over-the-top, ridiculous, and sometimes a bit grisly. Welcome to the 1980's - Bateman exists in a world of top restaurants, high class nightclubs, and expensive drugs. A world more ugly than it is glamorous. Everything you hated about the `80s is here, and a little more besides. Christian Bale shows us a character so vacuous that he ends up quite likeable, even though he has no redeeming factors.