Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5998 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-03-20
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 96 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
On the surface, David Cronenberg may seem an unlikely candidate to direct A History of Violence, but dig deeper and you'll see that he's the right man for the job. As an intellectual seeker of meaning and an avowed believer in Darwinian survival of the fittest, Cronenberg knows that the story of mild-mannered small-town diner proprietor Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) is in fact a multilayered examination of inbred human behavior, beginning when Tom's skillful killing of two would-be robbers draws unwanted attention to his idyllic family life in rural Indiana. He's got a loving wife (Maria Bello) and young daughter (Heidi Hayes) who are about to learn things about Tom they hadn't suspected, and a teenage son (Ashton Holmes) who has inherited his father's most prominent survival trait, manifesting itself in ways he never expected. By the time Tom has come into contact with a scarred villain (Ed Harris) and connections that lead him to a half-crazy kingpin (William ! Hurt, in a spectacular cameo), Cronenberg has plumbed the dark depths of human nature so skillfully that A History of Violence stands well above the graphic novel that inspired it (indeed, Cronenberg was unaware of the source material behind Josh Olson's chilling adaptation). With hard-hitting violence that's as sudden as it is graphically authentic, this is A History of Violence that's worthy of serious study and widespread acclaim. --Jeff Shannon

Synopsis
Canadian director David Cronenberg, whose impressive oeuvre includes such disparate works as THE DEAD ZONE, THE FLY, DEAD RINGERS, M. BUTTERFLY, and SPIDER, has made what might be the best film of his career with A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE. Loosely based on the graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke, the movie stars Viggo Mortensen as Tom Stall, a quiet, easygoing family man who runs a diner in a small Indiana town. But when two dangerous criminals come into the restaurant prepared to wreak havoc, Stall turns hero and shoots them both. After Stall's story is blasted all over the media, Philly mobster Carl Fogaty (an excellent Ed Harris) shows up, claiming that Tom is actually former hit man Eddie Cusack and they've got some important business to finish. While Stall insists that Fogaty is mistaken, his family his wife, Edie (Maria Bello); teenage son, Jack (Ashton Holmes); and young daughter, Sarah (Heidi Hayes) get dragged into the danger that constantly threatens to explode. Cronenberg, whose films often deal with the fantastical, the futuristic, and the supernatural, has done a masterly job creating a wholly believable modern world where evil lurks just around the corner. Howard Shore's tense, moody music complements the outstanding acting in a violent, powerful film that is not to be missed.

Customer Reviews

Worth the upgrade
No need to introduce this movie to film buffs but suffice it to say its worth the upgrade to blu-ray. The film is an anamorphic print and fills the screen. The opening shot of the motel in full sunlight is so sharp its almost unreal. The true dolby soundtrack is first class. Not too much in the way of extras but a worthy addition to your high def library.

Great Movie, Great Bluray!
If you're not familiar with this David Cronenberg gem, then you are missing out! It has style, substance & class performances from all. This new BD transfer is very good, with a very sharp & detailed picture & vibrant colours & inky blacks The DolbyTrueHD soundtrack is always fully immersive & given extra depth & dimensionality by a great musical score. This comes Highly Recommended!

The stand out movie of 2005
The message that violence begets violence has never been more powerfully represented by cinema than David Cronebergs “A History Of Violence”. Cronenberg has, of course, always been fascinated by violence and the both the social and physical breakdown of humanity but he has never explored the theme as explicitly and well as he does with this film. It’s clear he doesn’t like what he sees and he is asking the audience that maybe enjoying this level of violence , even as a form of voyeuristic entertainment , whether it’s entirely a good thing. A film maker who turns an accusing mirror on his audience’s fascination with his chosen subject…… . Blimey.
Tom Stall ( Vigo Mortensen) is the owner of a diner in the tiny town of Millbrook , Indiana and is also happily married to Edie ( Maria Belio) with a teenage son Jack ( Ashton Holmes) and a small daughter Sarah ( Heidi Hayes) Life is pretty much idyllic for this family in that slightly sickening way that is so common in American movies, even those directed by a Canadian with a penchant for the weird. One night two thugs attempt to rob the Diner at closing time and Tom intuitively realising these are guys who will not compromise on getting what they want bravely fights back and despatches both the would be robbers. You feel great at this point because Tom has done what we would all like to do in that situation, not only foiled the robbery but meted out instant and terminal justice. Not surprisingly Tom becomes a celebrity , his Diner is soon packed with people but Tom is reluctant to discuss the event.
Later three more men enter the Diner. They look like trouble and they claim that Tom is in fact called Joey and that he has been lying to everyone about his real identity. Tom answers that they are mistaken, that they have mixed up with someone else. The main man played by Ed Harris asks the question that’s been nagging at us all. “How come he’s so good at killing people?”
We as movie goers are used to seeing “normal “people react and act out extreme situations in extraordinary ways, so much so that we just accept that that’s the way it is in films. It’s rare for films to question one of the premises that films are so usually based around. “A History Of Violence” is asking us to do that and also posing the conundrum that have we become so inured to violence that we don’t question it ever and maybe even relish it a little. The film is also taking the mythology of the American Western and applying to contemporary America, that here in modern American frontier values still exist and they echo through to the country’s foreign policy.
This is far and away the best film of 2005. It’s wonderfully paced, the performances are terrific and Cronenberg handles the disparate elements with a sure touch. There are moments of sly humour, a fiendish plot and but mostly it’s tense and electrifying. The violence is visceral and thrilling and that’s the point. Violence often is unless it’s happening to or near you, then it’s something else altogether. And by ending in an opaque, ambiguous way the film is telling us that violence often leads to situations that cannot be easily resolved and that life just isn’t like it is in the movies. ….except for movies like this one.