Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6144 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-03-17
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 112 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
A movie with an impeccable pedigree, Road to Perdition is director Sam Mendes' impressive follow-up to American Beauty, and features remarkable contributions from veteran cinematographer Conrad Hall, composer Thomas Newman and a cast of thespian brilliance led by Tom Hanks, Paul Newman and Jude Law. Unfortunately, all their fine efforts have been lavished on an essentially predictable story, adapted from the graphic novel, which here unfolds in an overly leisurely fashion. The result is a movie that looks wonderful but feels a little too much like a contrived morality play.

Hanks plays Michael Sullivan, a family man but also a hit man in the employ of mob boss John Rooney (Newman). A surrogate father-figure to Sullivan, Rooney also has a wayward real son, Connor (Daniel Craig), whose duplicity leads to a deadly alienation between the Rooney family and Sullivan. Forced to go on the run with his own 12-year-old son, Michael junior (Tyler Hoechlin), Sullivan seeks both revenge and a way to prevent his boy from one day taking the same dark road as himself. Thus the Road to Perdition becomes both a literal and metaphorical journey for the protagonists.

It wouldn't matter that there's little tension or doubt about the outcome, except that Hanks' character is all too clearly a decent chap at heart, thus undermining from the outset any sense of a real "journey" towards redemption. It remains a delight to see all the principals acting at their peak and so capably directed, but ultimately Road to Perdition seems like a series of magnificently staged set-pieces that doesn't quite add up to the sum of its parts.

On the DVD: Road to Perdition is presented in an anamorphic version of its original theatrical 2.35:1 ratio with accompanying Dolby 5.1 or DTS sound options. Both picture and sound make the most of the impeccable photography and production design. Extras are a feature commentary from Mendes, a series of deleted scenes also with optional commentary, a standard HBO making of featurette, plus photos, text notes and a trailer for the CD soundtrack. --Mark Walker

Special Features
Audio Commentary by the director Sam Mendes
11 Deleted Scenes
HBO Special: The making of Road to Perdition
CD Soundtrack - International Version
Photo Gallery (50 stills)
Cast Biographies
Filmmakers Biographies
Production Notes

Original Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 (Wide-screen 16x9) Sound & Picture Quality: Dolby 5.1/DTS
Subtitles: English for the hearing impaired, Swedish, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Norwegian

Synopsis
Directed by Sam Mendes and based on the graphic novel by Max Allan Collins and Richard Piers Rayner, the Depression-era crime epic ROAD TO PERDITION stars Tom Hanks as Michael Sullivan, a quiet hit man who is duty bound to Mafia boss John Rooney (Paul Newman). The mobster's close bond with Sullivan, however, leads Rooney's jealous blood son, Connor (Daniel Craig), to orchestrate a tragic series of events that results in Sullivan on the run with his 12-year-old son, Michael Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin). Soon an unscrupulous crime photographer/assassin named Maguire (Jude Law) is sent after Sullivan and his son, and Sullivan must decide on a course of action as young Michael comes to terms with his father's violent way of life.
Meticulously directed by Mendes and brilliantly photographed by Conrad Hall, each scene of ROAD TO PERDITION has the composition of an expertly rendered painting. Making effective use of rain, snow, and shadows, the filmmakers create a cinematic world that's as dark, cold, and unforgiving as many of its inhabitants. But the film also allows for glimpses of emotional warmth, particularly in Sullivan's relationships with his son and Rooney, his surrogate father. In these roles, the respective actors create complex characters that resonate even in their restraint; Hanks is outstanding as a man of action with little time for words, while newcomer Hoechlin creates an unsentimental portrait of a confused boy, and Newman once again proves why he's a screen legend. And, in a strikingly unflattering role, Law makes the most out of his screen time as a creepy, parasitic hit man. Even in its harshest moments, however, Mendes never fails to remind the audience that ROAD TO PERDITION is a film about fathers and sons; and this is what elevates it from an atmospheric gangster movie to a truly astonishing work of art.

Customer Reviews

"There is only one guarantee. None of us will see Heaven."
This suspense-filled story of Michael Sullivan (Tom Hanks), directed by Sam Mendes, has as much style and cinematic brilliance as American Beauty, though it is much darker. Sullivan, the adoptive son of John Rooney (Paul Newman), is a cold-blooded killer working for his crime boss "father" in the winter of 1931, when his own twelve-year-old son, Mike Jr., inadvertently witnesses a "hit" in which his father participates. Subsequently, the Sullivans, father and son, take off for Chicago to meet with Frank Nitti (Stanley Tucci), underworld lieutenant to Al Capone. Mike Sullivan, Sr. is also hoping to get to Perdition, an appropriately named Midwestern town, so he can leave is son with his sister-in-law. Sadistic hitman Harlan Maguire (Jude Law), who enjoys photographing the death throes of his victims, is soon on the Sullivans' trail to the midwest.

Conrad L. Hall, to whom the film is dedicated, uses photography to its fullest advantage, winning a posthumous Academy Award for his cinematography. Shot in winter, the film preserves the flavor of early black and white films, with sharp, black and white contrasts, and the use of dark, somber colors, when colors are used at all. Snow, ice, rain, and fog perpetuate the cold darkness of the scenes, and Hall's use of architectural framing is stunning, particularly his repeated use of windows. He keeps the scenes simple, often focusing on individual characters in contexts which reveal their emotional states. In one memorable scene, for example, light from a streetlight outside a window casts the shadow of rain on an interior wall, suggesting both tears and cleansing.

Newman is terrific as an aging mob boss, playing his part with just the right mix of frailty and cruelty (for which he won the Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor). Tyler Hoechlin, as 12-year-old Mike, Jr., reveals his fears and vulnerabilities at the same time that he shows his satisfaction as the center of his father's attention (winning Best Young Actor from the Broadcast Film Critics Association). Jude Law, made up to look like a true, wild-eyed psychopath, is terrifying. Hanks looks menacing and acts viciously until his concern for his son overtakes all other emotions in a moving, climactic scene, though it is difficult to accept him in the role of a hitman. Period music adds style to the film, and original music by Thomas Newman (and the title song by John Williams), mostly piano and strings, preserves the period tone. Filled with the horror of violence and considerable suspense, this noir film gives a human face to mob violence in the thirties.

Best gangster flick since The Godfather
Tom Hanks again enhances his credentials as a first class actor for the incredible "Road to Perdition". He moves away from the typical sensitive romantic man to a hardened husband and father who must desperately separate his working life and his home life to preserve at least a little of his soul. However, when the two worlds collide with two ear-splitting gun-shots, Hanks must leave his previous life behind and begin a journey of sadness and self-revelation as he seeks simultaneously a violent revenge on his enemies and a deeper relationship with his son.

The cinematography and music add an extra depth of atmosphere to an already chilling environment. The use of shadow at key moments highlights the distance between good and evil and how we all veer from one to the other at some stage in our lives. Musical dynamics ensure tension as the audience becomes fearful of a shock around the next corner. Sometimes we may become lulled into a false sense of security by the seemingly calm surroundings, but in a film such as this, calmness can only ever be a deception.

This is certainly a film to be watched more than once. There is so much imagery to be dwelt upon and character development to be considered, that it will be necessary to buy the DVD as soon as it is released!

Intimate Dark Gangster Movie With A Predictable End
Road To Perdition is a 1930's classic gangster movie.
It doesn't have the violence and the epic feeling of other big gangster movies such as Godfather, Goodfellas or Casino. It has more of a feeling of intimacy and sorrow.

It has a few shocks that many main stream films would not put in your 'feel good' action/thriller movie. The crux of the plot is a young boy's realisation that his respected but somewhat distant father is a highly placed mob gunman.

Key moments of violence are portrayed less as gung-ho but in a more with world weary, down beat style. One act of revenge is particularly surprising in that its delivered coldly, briefly and virtually unseen.

The downbeat feeling is the heart of the movie. Newman ( who is particularly good ) and Hanks are reflective, sad and sensitive. It is never stated, but you can't help feeling Hank's gangster character is a decent man led astray in the past. Newman also shows regret at his life as a crime boss and his inability to control the events that unfold. Most scenes take place at night, in shadow or in the pouring rain giving a nice dark texture to events.

The ending is predictable and the final scenes had me gritting my teeth in frustration to stifle the need to shout 'behind you!!'.

Overall this is a good movie that satisfies. If you like Tom Hanks, Gangster movies or serious thrillers I would recommend
Road To Perdition.