Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9405 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-09-22
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 108 minutes

Synopsis
Adrian Lyne's JACOB'S LADDER moves in time and space between Vietnam and New York with hallucinatory force. Something bad happened on the Mekong Delta, on October 6, 1971, and it is still affecting war veteran Jacob (Tim Robbins) in Brooklyn as he attempts to live a normal life with coworker and girlfriend Jezzie (Elizabeth Pena). Louis (Danny Aiello), an understanding chiropractor, tries to help him cope with his nightmarish visions--some of which occur at night, while others intrude into his daily life. When Jacob gets a call from Paul (Pruitt Taylor Vince), who was with him in Vietnam, it seems that Jacob is not alone in his visions. The film offers impressive and compelling performances by Pena, Aiello (no ordinary chiropractor), and Ving Rhames and Eriq La Salle (the latter of ER) as Jacob's comrades from Vietnam. Macaulay Culkin appears uncredited as Jacob's young son, Gabe. Director Lyne also guides an unerring interpretation of Bruce Joel Rubin's screenplay in Robbins's powerfully restless, searingly searching performance as Jacob; brilliant editing additionally rounds out this engrossing, disturbing film. JACOB'S LADDER is a jolting experience that is not easily forgotten.

Customer Reviews

Unexpected surprise
After being seriously wounded in the Vietnam war Jacob returns home and continues a seemingly ordinary life. But he soon expriences more and more weird phenomenon (akin to halucinations), and it becomes apparent to both the viewer and the main character that something is very wrong in his world or mind.

This movie is a very good movie, good acting, good direction, interesting plot and all in all very accomplished. It's in places a horror movie, but no more than e.g. 'The Sixth Sense'. It is more of a philosofical thriller, and when, in the end, everything is revealed, it comes across plausible and completes the plot in a believeable and even realistic manner.

It was an unexpected surprise for me to stumple across this movie, as it had completely escaped my attention when it came out many years ago.

Superb film
An intriguing plot. Seriously grotesque, nightmareish imagery. Real emotional resonance. A script that doesn't insult your intelligence. This film has it all. Don't be put off by the Culkin reference above either. His character counterpoints the pervading darkness of the film, and is essential to it's bittersweet resolution, plus he's not in it long anyway.
One of my all time fave films of all time.

An Out-Of-His-Depth Directorial Triumph
Director Adrian Lyne is one of those Auteurs who dredge up mixed feelings amongst cinemaphiles. Better known for his psychosexual dramas such as "Fatal Attraction" (Good) and "9 1/2 Weeks" (Utterly dire), Lyne somehow managed to get his paws on Bruce Joel Rubin's script and put his own sheen upon it.. And surprise surprise, it's rather good in all respects. From it's opening scene the movie reaches for the same heights as holier-than-thou movies such as "The China Syndrome" and "Coming Home" and almost reaches them - at least manages to touch their coattails.

The story revolves around tortured Vietnam Vet Jacob Singer(played with gusto by Tim Robbins)and his attempts to uncover what exactly the US Army did to his mind during a NVA offensive... faced with fuzzy memories of his compadres going ape, Singer is faced with hellish hallucinations and delusions as he makes his way through a drab, grim '70s New York. Was he the victim of an insidious experiment to increase a GI's kill-rate via drugs? The storyline is effective, the backdrop is remarkably viable. With sterling performances from Elizabeth Pena, Danny Aiello and others the movie deserves better accolades than it finally received. The only down-side? An irritating Macaulay Culkin pre-fame, playing Singer's beloved son. Hell, everything has a downside, but even so, I'd take a whole film starring the poisonous munchkin over "Indecent Proposal" anyday.

Concerning this DVD release - There is an earlier release, but bare-bones and in 1:85:1 Aspect ratio, so there is room for improvement there, and I'm an eternal optimist when it comes to DVD re-issues. Perhaps it'll be as good as the Region 1 Widescreen Anamorphic Special Edition? Hope srings eternal, but considering the recent rash of bare-bones Region 2 rubbish, perhaps not. How about a Blu-Ray release, God?