Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24 in DVD
• Released on: 2009-04-06
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 117 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The big-screen adaptation of Twilight, Stephenie Meyer's bestselling vampire romance, is aimed squarely at its key demographic: teen girls whose idea of Prince Charming is a brooding, pale, undead teen who could kill you instantly at any moment. Such a prince is more fascinating than frightening to new girl Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), who moves to the rainy-gray town of Forks, Wash., to live with her dad (Billy Burke), the local sheriff who's puzzled by a series of "animal attacks." On her first day at school, Bella appears to (visibly) nauseate her lab partner, Edward (Robert Pattinson). Turns out the scent of her blood is this vampire's "brand of heroin," and his struggle not to kill her causes an irresistible pull toward her. Whether he's attracted for the normal reasons or because she smells especially sweet to him is vague in the book and even less clear on-screen; nonetheless, Bella falls hopelessly in love with Edward, which sets her on a dangerous path when a few nomad vampires show up in town, one particularly keen on tracking the human. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen), Twilight is full of funny moments--not all of which are intentional--and the casting, from Stewart to Bella's self-absorbed friend Jessica (Anna Kendrick) is spot-on. The weakest link, unfortunately, is Pattinson. While he certainly looks the part, his Edward could have used an extra injection of testosterone (Pattinson, who is British, used James Dean as a model for his American accent). In scenes where he growls about the temptation to kill those who would harm Bella, or flitting around a forest warning her how dangerous he is, he comes off more like a whimpering puppy than a debonair monster. The good news is, his chemistry with Stewart (particularly in their big kissing scene) is palpable, which, let's face it, is really what matters to Twilight fans most. --Ellen A. Kim

Special Features
EXTRAS – over 2 hours of additional material

Audio commentary
The Adventure Begins – The Journey from page to screen
A conversation with Stephanie Meyer
The Comic-Con phenomenon
Deleted scenes (with director introduction)
Extended scenes (with director introduction)
Video: “Muse” performing “Supermassive Black Hole”
Video: “Decode” by “Paramore”
UK premiere footage (exclusive to UK)
Theatrical trailer
Theatrical TV spots
Becoming Edward
Becoming Bella
Catherine Hardwicke’s Vampire Kiss montage
Edward’s piano concert
Music: The heartbeat of Twilight
Catherine Hardwicke’s “Bella’s Lullaby Remix” music video

Synopsis
TWILIGHT, based on the acclaimed novel by Stephenie Meyer, is the highly-anticipated movie of the ultimate forbidden love affair between a vampire and mortal. Boasting a whole host of bright young talent including Robert Pattinson (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), Kristen Stewart (Into The Wild, What Just Happened) and Cam Gigandet (Never Back Down, The O.C.), the screenplay is written by Melissa Rosenberg (Step Up, The O.C.) and directed by the Award-winning filmmaker Catherine Hardwicke (Lords of Dogtown, Thirteen).


Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) has always been a little bit different, never caring about fitting in with the trendy girls at her Phoenix high school.  When her mother remarries and sends Bella to live with her father in the rainy little town of Forks, Washington, she doesn’t expect much of anything to change.  Then she meets the mysterious and dazzlingly beautiful Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), a boy unlike any she’s ever met.  Intelligent and witty, he sees straight into her soul.

Customer Reviews

Twilight the movie, an outsiders perspective
I had never read the Twilight books when I went to see the movie. I vaguely remember the hype of Breaking Dawn's release, but it didn't mean anything to me. I saw the queues for the opening of the film and it meant nothing to me, apart from about 3000 people in Dublin being stupid enough to queue for hours in the rain to see a film.

I love vampires and werewolves though, so, at a loose end one weekend, I convinced my boyfriend that it wasnt a horror, and there was nothing else to do. we laughed for about the first hour. it was very funny. But by the middle of the tree top scene I was hooked. we both were.

I rushed home and ordered all four books that night. I read the series straight through twice, and dragged my mom to see the film with me. (I'm in my mid 20's, she's considerably older....)I sat, completely unmoving the whole way through the move. it was like I was greeting old friends. once I knew the story, all of the humour went out of the film, and it became totally engrossing. my mom thought so too.

lots of little things were changed, obviously. the book is better. obviously. I didnt like Stewert (?) as Bella. she played her as too self assured, too graceful. it wasnt Bella for me. But Pattinson brought Edward to life in a way that was so different. I actually liked him more after seeing the film that in the books.

Kellan Lutz is missing the dimples and curls but hes still the same adorable, deep as a puddle Emmet we all love.

the film is more of a companion to the book, it makes the scenery solid. I thought that was actually a plus of the movie, I knew what the characters looked like, I was a little fuzzy on what their neighbourhood was like. the film filled that in. when midnight Sun is published the three will stand together to give a 360 view of Bella and the Cullens world.

WIll I buy the DVD? yes. WIll I watch it a million times, of course. but I'll read the books one million and one ;)

Brilliant and disappointing, both at the same time.
Yes, of course if you've read the books you should definitely go see the movie. And yes, you will probably enjoy it. BUT, that said, as a book-to-movie adaptation, of course it could also be better.

Personally, I always wonder where they find the screenwriters who're crazy enough to take on a job like this. No matter what you do, no matter how faithful you are to the book, or conversely how much you change it, very, very rarely is a film version ever better than the novel that stemmed it. Twilight is no exception.

Certainly, it has it's good points. The casting, for one, I think is exceptional: while I had some qualms before I saw it, I loved all the actors, and wouldn't change a single one. They have their moments, of course, but for a young cast they're really rather impressive, particularly Robert Pattinson: I'm disappointed Catherine Hardwicke wouldn't let him play the part as 'dark' as he wanted to.

And that, I think, is where most of the problems with this film lie: with Hardwicke, its director, and Melisssa Rosenberg, it's screenwriter. For starters, I can't help but question Rosenberg's credentials. She's written a lot for TV, but only one other screenplay to date (that being 'Step Up', of all things) and sure, everyone's got to start somewhere... but with one of the biggest films of the year? Maybe not.

I can't fathom many of the changes Rosenberg made. Adding in scenes like the extra scenes with the 'bad' vampires, thus shifting the films emphasis from the 'love story' to the 'action' or 'horror' factor, or like the entirely pointless Biology trip (the conversation that took place there could easily have happened in its original setting), and shifting the order of scenes... the entire Port Angeles scene was thrown out of sync by the fact that Bella did not find out Edward was a vampire until after. And then when she planned to confront him, she went off into the forest with him, not knowing he was 'vegetarian'! In the book, I never thought of Bella as crazy... in the film, I can't help but question it. I simply do not understand the need to change things like that, which would have been so much better if left as they originally were.

Then there's the fact that both Rosenberg and Hardwicke seem greatly preoccupied with showing of the 'scenery' of the the American Northwest. Great, so there are lots of trees. We don't need to see Bella and Edward running off into the woods and climbing trees (besides the point that Edward would never let Bella do that anyway because he'd be too scared of Bella falling out of one), because its supposed to be from Bella's perspective... and Bella doesn't like the great out doors and Forks, in her opinion is far too 'green'. So, skip the theatrics, and give us the love story.

But, err... what love story? If you have not read the books, you could call Bella and Edward's romance entire non-sensical. They've barely talked to each other, and suddenly they're saying 'I'm only afraid of losing you' or 'you're my life now'. Although, never once do they say 'I love you'. And isn't that what it's really supposed to be about? The ultimate love story. Sadly, it's not.

But,all that said, i will see the film again, and I will be buying it on DVD because the essence of Stephenie Meyers work is still there. The plot is still good, the characters still similiar (though Bella is more annoying), and Kristen Stewart and Rob Pattinson do have good chemistry, they're just not given enough chance to prove it.

I really hope they do better with examining the love story in 'New Moon'... but seeing as there's less of it, I really doubt it.

Oh to be a teenage girl
Realistically, this is aimed at teenage girls: it's all but liberally sprayed with strawberryvanilla-scented Impulse. (Available in all good retailers soon. Probably.)

But, it has to be said, it's still jolly likeable. It's beautifully shot (the baseball scene in particular is very impressive... who knew baseball could be sexy?) and terribly green and lush and moody. The romance between Edward and Bella is very sweet (although, having grown up with Buffy and Angel, on the Romeo and Juliet Scale of Tragic Love, this doesn't come close) but the chemistry isn't really there, and there isn't enough time spent on their falling in love to make it feasible. On the other hand, it's a film about vampires so, ya know...

Maybe someone needs to have read the books in order to appreciate the nuances, so this review is aimed primarily at the people who haven't ever (and in all likelihood, will never) read the originals.

The film has a glut of teenage lovelies, both male and female... they explain it away wonderfully when they say that vampires appear beautiful to humans; makes them better predators. And better looking merchandise.

The script is clunky more than once, and the whole thing is terribly cynical, but I would love to be a teenage girl watching this. My friends and I would withdraw into our own Twilight world where we would write poetry and be misunderstood; where all that existed was Edward and Jasper (my fave :squeal:) and their unending love for us... ach, but I'm almost double that, and my friends are no fun.

Despite its problems, this is an entertaining film. Adults may wonder what all the fuss is about somewhat, but if you take it for what it is, it's very fun indeed. Its premise is actually a little darker than I initially expected: he falls for the smell of her blood after managing not to kill her over it. Who *wouldn't* reciprocate?

The entire thing needn't have happened had she just used the strawberryvanilla. Let that be a lesson to us all. Deodorant doesn't just smell nice... it saves lives.