Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #360 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-04-29
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Formats: Dubbed, PAL, Special Edition
• Original language: English, French, Hungarian, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 102 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Ever since this convoluted thriller dazzled audiences and critics in 1995 and won an Oscar for Christopher McQuarrie's twisting screenplay, The Usual Suspects has continued to divide movie lovers into opposite camps. While a lot of people take great pleasure from the movie's now-famous central mystery (namely, "Who is Keyser Söze?"), others aren't so easily impressed by a movie that's too enamoured of its own cleverness to make much sense. After all, what are we to make of a final scene that renders the entire movie obsolete? Half the fun of The Usual Suspects is the debate it provokes and the sheer pleasure of watching its dynamic cast in action, led (or should we say, mislead) by Oscar-winner Kevin Spacey as the club-footed con man who recounts the saga of enigmatic Hungarian mobster Keyser Söze. Spacey's in a band of thieves that includes Gabriel Byrne, Stephen Baldwin, Kevin Pollak, and Benicio Del Toro, all gathered in a plot to steal a large shipment of cocaine. The story is told in flashback as a twisted plot being described by Spacey's character to an investigating detective (Chazz Palmintieri), and The Usual Suspects is enjoyable for the way it keeps the viewer guessing right up to its surprise ending. Whether that ending will enhance or extinguish the pleasure is up to each viewer to decide. Even if it ultimately makes little or no sense at all, this is a funny and fiendish thriller, guaranteed to entertain even its vocal detractors. --Jeff Shannon

Amazon.co.uk Review
Bryan Singer's film noir The Usual Suspects casts a mesmerising spell, with the plot luring the viewer into ever-deeper and darker places. According to director, Singer, the premise for the film evolved from a magazine article. What does the phrase "usual suspects" actually mean, who are they and what happens when you probe their identity? Here, they are five expert criminals and a crippled con man in a line-up. The story, told via flashbacks, interrogation scenes and explosive sequences of a heist gone wrong, is a labyrinth of sub-plots and red herrings.

Kevin Spacey won a best supporting actor Oscar for his intriguing, blank-eyed turn as the crippled "Verbal" Kint. But Gabriel Byrne, Kevin Pollak, Stephen Baldwin and Benicio del Toro are equally fascinating as the mismatched misfits, creating hinterlands for their characters in a single gesture. Chazz Palminteri as the special agent is our main ally in solving the puzzle, but it's really a case of the blind leading the blind. Pete Postlethwaite's bizarre accent, as the sinister legal agent Kobayashi, adds its own layer of mystery to a film that earns cult status entirely on its own merits.

On the DVD: this is a dazzling two-disc set which will both please Usual Suspects aficionados and entice the uninitiated. The film itself is presented in widescreen format. The Dolby Digital surround sound quality throbs with tension so that you sense the dialogue and John Ottman's excellent, suspenseful music with your nerve endings rather than just experiencing them aurally. The original cinematic experience comes forcefully into your living room. Numerous extras include a fascinating director/screenwriter commentary (if you haven't seen the film yet, make sure this is turned off or it will wreck the suspense) and endless featurettes, each adding a layer of understanding to the film through observations from the actors, director and writer. A package that sucks you in, blows you out in pieces and still has you coming back for more, this is what special edition DVDs are all about. --Piers Ford

DVD Description
DVD Special Features:

Audio Commentary with Bryan Singer and Christopher McQuarrie
Audio Commentary with John Ottman
Keyser Soze: Lie or Legend featurette
Round Up -- Deposing the Usual Suspects
Pursuing the Usual Suspects
Doin't Time with the Usual Suspects
Bryan Singer's Gag Reel
Deleted Scenes -- Hosted by John Ottman
Heisting Cannes with the Usual Suspects -- featurette
Introducing the Usual Suspects -- featurette
Taking Out the Usual Suspects -- Interviews and Outtakes
Bryan Singer introduces Kevin Spacey and Friend
Interview with John Ottman
Interview Outtakes
US Theatrical TV Spots
US Trailer with Introduction by John Ottman
International Trailer
Collectable Booklet

Customer Reviews

SUPERB
I don't think I have ever seen a better film of this genre.

The whole film just works. It's brilliant to say the least.

I just wish I had been to see this in the cinema to see peoples reactions at the end.

Superb.... Brilliant.... BUY THIS FILM !!!!!!!!!!!

A well crafted film
I remember the first time watching the film and not being all that impressed with it. However you really need to wach it at least twice to fully appreciate it. A worthwhile DVD as well, excellent picture and sound with quality special features.

I was sorry when it had finished
A strange thing happened when I was watching this film. It seemed until the last twenty minutes to be going along nicely and could be categorised as an above average, rather 'noirish' heist movie which was exceptionally well conceived, crafted and very well acted. Then, the final twenty minutes started. Wow! What a superb film. It steps up a gear like no other and hits you with revelation after revelation, enigmas are revelaed and just when you think that's it, along comes another to supercede its predecessor. I was so blown away by the ending that I immediately had to watch the last twenty minutes again-something I had never done before not have I done since.

I felt such a sense of loss when the film had finished, I would never be led so willingly down the blind alleys of this film ever agin, once you know the end it stays with you for ever. ALl of this happened a long time ago, now I get enormous satisfaction with each viewing from the craftsmanship of the director (in a stunning debut)and the writer, the performances of the lead actors and the clues which present themselves so clearly on subsequent viewings.

What a film, and with the extra features on this edition this is a fantastic dvd package for one of the best heist noir movies of all time, one of th best films of the decade and one of the most rivetting films you will ever see. Nomatter how much the cost-buy it NOW!!!!!