Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4986 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-02-21
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 99 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Adam (Leigh Whannell) wakes up in a dank room across from Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) and the body of a guy who has blown his own brains out. Not a happy place, obviously, and it gets worse when both men realize that they've been chained and pitted against one another by an unseen but apparently omniscient maniac who's screwing with their psyches as payment for past sins. Director James Wan, who concocted this grimy distraction with screenwriter Whannell, has seen Seven and any number of other arty existential-psycho-cat-and-mouse thrillers, so he's provided Saw with a little flash, a little blood, and a lot of ways to distract you from the fact that it doesn't make a whole hell of a lot of sense.

Wan and Whannell (who's not the most accomplished actor, either) pile on the plot twists, which after some initially novel ideas become increasingly juvenile. Elwes works hard but looks embarrassed, and the estimable Danny Glover suffers as the obsessed detective on the case. The denouement will probably surprise you, but it won't get you back the previous 98 minutes.--Steve Wiecking

DVD Description
The dvd release of 'Saw,' cut for US audiences.

Synopsis
Be prepared to be scared. James Wan's directorial debut, written by and starring Leigh Whannell, is a violent, bloody, psychologically exhausting and exhilarating exercise in terror. Adam (Whannell) and Dr. Gordon (Cary Elwes) are chained in a vile, disgusting bathroom, separated by a bloody corpse holding a gun and a tape recorder. They are each given a saw--the only obvious way out is to cut one of their feet off. A serial killer who specialises in torturing morally bereft strangers is playing a game with them: Gordon has less than eight hours to kill Adam or else the doctor's wife (Monica Potter) and daughter (Mackenzie Vega) will be murdered. As the two men engage in a battle of wits, alternately trying to help each other or secretly attempting to win the game, a series of flashbacks reveals the history of the madman and the pair of detectives (Danny Glover and Ken Leung) handling the case. Some of the torture scenes are excruciatingly horrible and hard to watch, a real treat for fans of the genre. Inspired by the work of David Lynch (BLUE VELVET, TWIN PEAKS) and Dario Argento (SUSPIRIA, INFERNO), Wan has created a scintillating suspense thriller that will have audiences continually shocked, repelled, frightened, and surprised, right up to the very last second (which Whannell has said was influenced by the endings of such films as THE USUAL SUSPECTS and THE SIXTH SENSE). The accompanying heavy metal soundtrack is appropriately scary as well.

Customer Reviews

The first true horror masterpiece of the 21st century
Simply put, Saw is the best horror movie I've seen in years. I know some people don't seem to like it, but this horror fan is just wallowing in the bloody effectiveness of this extremely dark, intelligent, gory masterpiece of a film. It's such a thrill to see something certifiably different make its way to movie screens; these days, Hollywood horror filmmakers have gotten so lazy that they can't even make sequels of films - instead, they just remake old horror films that don't need remaking. Frankly, I'm a little tired of watching teenagers get slashed up in the woods by rednecks and inbred mutants. I want something new, something fresh, something bold, something ruthless in its execution, something that engages my intellect while assaulting my senses. Saw fits the bill perfectly.

As Saw moves toward its gory denouement, it unleashes a number of great surprises, and the ending is well-nigh perfect - I certainly didn't see it coming. You may think you know what is going on, but I'll wager that you'll be mistaken. Best of all, there's no deus ex machina plot device to ruin everything - i.e., as surprising as the final revelations are, everything comes together in a heartbeat to make perfect sense. I really can't say enough about the script put together by Leigh Wannell and James Wan - it's bloody brilliant. I love this movie.

The Bad Man in Saw is downright sadistic; rather than merely hunt his victims down and kill them himself, he creates elaborate "games" that lead to painful deaths brought about by the participants themselves. He chooses his victims carefully, selecting only those who are guilty of some "crime" or indiscretion that he feels should no longer go unpunished (and when one former victim won the game, he did in fact let her go - and in one twisted sense, she was better off as a result of having played the game). The particular game at the centerpiece of the film (which is actually rather mundane compared to some of the killer's previous ones) pits two men together in a filthy underground room and challenges one player to kill the other within a certain time limit if he wants to keep his wife and daughter alive. That would be Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes); his partner in torturous suffering is a young fellow named Adam (Leigh Wannell). Both of them wake up in this room without knowing where they are or how they got there. Our imaginative dark lord of sadism provides the two with some hidden clues and "tools" that do much to keep things really interesting. Did I mention both men are chained to pipes on opposite sides of the room, and that there's a bloody dead guy lying in the middle of the floor? Oh, how I wish I could tell you more about what happens, but I wouldn't dare deprive any Saw virgins out there from truly enjoying this magnificent film.

I must admit that I expected to see nothing but gore in this movie - mindless, bloody gore. Certainly, there's gore all over the place, but this is the exact opposite of a mindless thriller. Yet again, a small-budget film has far surpassed the best horror films Hollywood has to offer, proving once more that a strong and intelligent plot, not gore in and of itself, is the secret for succeeding in this darkest of genres. Saw is truly a horror film for the ages, the first true horror masterpiece of the 21st century.

He has never killed anyone in his life
It's true. They call him 'Jigsaw' because he cuts a puzzle piece-shape out of the skin of his victims, none of whom he physically kills. He sets up elaborate boobie-traps, providing the victims with ways in which to kill themselves.

This time, it's Dr. Lawrence Gordon who wakes up to find his foot chained to a rusty pipe in a squalid bathroom, and a stranger in exactly the same situation on the other side of the room. And all they have are a couple of hacksaws to try and get loose before 6:00 when things go bump in the night back at Gordon's house.

It's a brilliant idea, and is executed very well. The dialogue, admittedly, is in parts quite weak, as is some of the acting. However, there are some genuine cringe-inducing moments, such as the infamous amputation; and some chills, i.e. the laughing doll in a chair in an almost pitch-black house. The twist is absolutely mindblowing (courtesy of an incredible musical score). Tobin Bell delivers a good performance as the stolid Jigsaw.

Overall it's a wicked film and if you're into gore, terror and suspense I advise - nay, command - you to buy Saw.

Slightly hacked off
I've managed to miss this one over the last four years. Doesn't deserve four stars in my view. For a film that was obviously made on a reletively low budget it mostly works well though.

The story reminded me of the sort of thing Clive Barker might have written in his Books of Blood (a series of short stories). OK there are a few inconsistencies in the plot but I thought it was pretty well acted and the twist at the end is well done. There are some genuinely creepy, not to mention grisly, moments scattered throughout the film.

However do not be mislead by the hype and the advertising blurb. This isn't a touch on 'Seven', which is better written, acted and in a totally different class. I have watched 'Seven' many many times, but having just finished watching 'Saw' I really have no desire to see it again.