Product Description

Academy Award nominee Ralph Fiennes and Donald Sutherland give electrifying performances in this taut and gripping thriller. In an unnamed place and time, idealistic soldier Joe (Ralph Fiennes) strikes up an illicit friendship with a political prisoner named Thorne (Donald Sutherland) who eventually recruits him into a bloody coup to overthrow the corrupt regime. But in the post-revolutionary world, what Thorne asks of Joe leads the two men into bitter conflict, spiralling downward into madness until Joe's co-conspirators conclude that they must erase him from history.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #32487 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-05-26
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 98 minutes

Synopsis
There's no shortage of trenchant political satire in this film starring Ralph Fiennes and Donald Sutherland, written and directed by Robert Edwards. The story is set in an alternate reality amalgam of Great Britain and the U.S.A., where film and TV celebrities run the government and Max (Tom Hollander), the leader of the 'free' world, is a sado-masochistic freak who spends the nation's money on gaudy action movies. Outside the palace walls, the nation is being overrun by violent rebels while their idealistic leader, Thorne (Sutherland), resides in jail, quoting William Butler Yeats and being regularly tortured. Fiennes plays Joe, a sympathetic prison guard who gradually adopts Thorne's views and joins a plot to assassinate Max. But then when the revolution succeeds, Joe finds a whole new nightmare awaiting him.


Edwards plunders the history books for this jet black allegory, with references everything from Mussolini's Italy, Stalin's Russia, and Cambodia's Khymer Rouge all the way up to President Bush, and North Korea's Kim Jong III. In its cockeyed way the film resembles a more violent and disturbing version of the Marx Brothers' DUCK SOUP crossed with Terry Gilliam's BRAZIL. There are costumes from all different historical periods, hyper-gaudy architecture, semiotic brainwashing reminiscent of Orwell's 1984 and some extraneous bathroom humour. Tom Hollander steals most of his scenes as the Caligula-esque Max; Lara Flynn Boyle is also in fine scenery chewing form as his Imelda Marcos meets Evita Peron-style wife.

Customer Reviews

Fantastic satire, grim finale.
A film in two parts, first an incredibly funny political satire (just not really laugh out loud so you know) which makes the second part but final act all the more shocking. It's the essence of drama isn't it? Dramas all the more affecting when preceded by comedy, least that's what my drama teacher told me.

Great cast, very clever script with a final shot that suggests it could be too clever for its own good. Still with such fine performances its something you should definitely make your own mind up about. Ignore the wannabe anarchists giving it such a low rating; they evidently didn't get the satire aspect of it.

The films a 4 but I'm giving it a 5 to boost up its rating.

At times like this I wish I were blind....and deaf....
The general gist of Land of the Blind is as follows: an unnamed country is ruled by a tyrant, while the intellectual revolutionary hero of the resistance (Thorne aka Sutherland), is tortured in an inhuman prison. When the riots threaten to get out of control, the government is forced to release Thorne. With the help of Joe (Fiennes) Thorne brings down the despotic government and takes over control. However, the hope for freedom and a better world doesn't last long.

I just didn't get the point of this film really. It wasn't political, revolutionary, funny, sad, thrilling, exciting, interesting....the only word I can think of is dull. I always find Ralph Fiennes performances yawn inducing and in this movie he's stuck true to form. Donald Sutherland's performance was pretty good given the lack of script but the whole thing was just a waste of 90mins.

ORwell - Oh Well
This is not a very good film, if you have any awareness of things like 1984 or Animal Farm then you will not enjoy this film. The story is no brave new world and the subject matter has been covered far better in many other films.Very disappointing.