Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6760 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-07-28
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: French, Bulgarian, German, Arabic
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 135 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
A lot less momentous in subject matter than most recent Steven Spielberg films, Catch Me If You Can is the "inspired by a true story" tale of Frank Abagnale Jr (Leonardo di Caprio), a mature-looking teenager who spent the 1960s as an odd type of conman: passing himself off as an airline pilot to get free flights, holding down a job as supervisor of an ER team, and even passing a bar exam after only two weeks' study, all the while dealing in forged cheques. As his illicit earnings spiral up above four million dollars, Frank is dogged by FBI agent Hanratty (Tom Hanks), a plodder who begins to have a relationship with his quarry--the boy politely telephones him every Christmas to catch up.

It may have a Spielbergian running time (two hours and 20 minutes) and boast big stars usually found only in thumping epics, but it's basically a breezy character piece with tactful shots of melancholy amid the high-flying, no-harm-done criminality. DiCaprio does his best screen work as the compulsive impersonator, turning his rather vague presence to his advantage as he slips into his various roles, and the typical Spielberg fathers-and-sons theme is delicately played in the kid's scenes with his real (Christopher Walken) and surrogate dads. It's a pleasure to find that Spielberg can play it light without sacrificing depth. Set in the pastel 1960s, with James Bond and vintage Flash comics for context, the film has smart patter, a terrific mod-look credits animation and John Williams' most finger-snappin' score in decades. --Kim Newman

Synopsis
Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Frank W. Abagnale's autobiography CATCH ME IF YOU CAN follows the cat-and-mouse chase of Abagnale (Leonardo DiCaprio) and FBI agent Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks) as Abagnale travels the world passing forged checks and assuming false identities. Covering the time period from 1963-69, the film leaps from the suburbs of New York to Georgia, Louisiana, Miami, France, and the skies of Pan American airlines with Abagnale, who passes himself off as a pilot, doctor, lawyer, and socialite while constantly frustrating Hanratty's attempts to nab the increasingly cunning forger. CATCH ME IF YOU CAN finds Spielberg drawing on the father-son relationship that develops between Abagnale and Hanratty, filling a void left in the lives of each man: Abagnale's strained relationship with his tax-cheat father (Christopher Walken) and Hanratty's never-seen family left behind in the wake of a divorce. As Hanratty pursues Abagnale, their mutual admiration and respect grows, and finally they even come to rely on each other.

Customer Reviews

Very Nearly a 5* Movie!
Catch Me If You Can is a great movie. I would easily give it 5 stars, but it is not quite there, though very nearly.

Steven Spielberg directs this incredible-but-true story of the young life of Frank Abagnale Jr. Following the traumatic divorce of his beloved parents (Christopher Walken and Nathalie Baye) in the 1960s, at age sixteen Abagnale (Leonardo DiCaprio) goes AWOL, becoming a prodigious cheque forger and impersonator of a Pan-Am pilot, a doctor and lawyer. Soon he has the FBI fraud squad on his trail, in particular dogged agent Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks), who carries on a game of cat-and-mouse with Abagnale over a few years.

You will not be disappointed if you buy this movie. The special features on the double disc dvd are very good, and gives a great insight into the making of the film, and an interview with the real man, Frank Abagnale.

Now You See Him... Now You Don't
"Catch Me if You Can" is a smart and occasionally funny film that shows you that sometimes the most outrageous stories are the ones that are true. Yes, this was inspired by a true story. How close to the facts it stayed is unknown to me, but what is known is that this was a film that kept me intrigued and in awe from start to finish.

Leonardo DiCaprio plays Frank Abagnale Jr.; a young and bright kid who can con with the best of them. How he got there is that he has learned from the best, his father. Things get shaky when his parents are undergoing investigations from the IRS and his mother wants to get a divorce. Not knowing what else to do, Frank runs away and tries his best to make it on his own by doing what he does best: con. Posing in many different occupations such as an airline co-pilot, a doctor, and a lawyer triggers a cat/mouse chase conducted by FBI agent Carl Hanratty (Hanks). The movie keeps your attention throughout and leaves you unsure of what's going to happen next.

I loved everything about this movie. It was ten times better than I thought it would've been, mainly because the trailers do mislead you (as many have said) into thinking that you're going to be seeing a whacky chase comedy with all sorts of shenanigans and mishaps. Well, yes it is a funny movie at times, but I don't think I would really label it as a comedy. A lot of the things that happen in the film are actually heartbreaking and sad. So be aware of that when you decide to buy a ticket for this one.

The performances were more than ingenious. Tom Hanks is as great as ever and really takes his role to the limit while DiCaprio also proves to be a fabulous actor as well, and also is able to show us there is life after "Titanic." Everybody else was really great in the film, especially the great Christopher Walken as Frank Abagnale Sr. (your eyes never leave his sight when he's on the screen).

Stephen Spielberg does an outstanding job of orchestrating this wildly unpredictable film. It doesn't always have to be sci-fi this or aliens-that when it comes to his films. He's able to expose the heart of the story with ease in this film, not cheating us out of anything at any point during the entire movie. I wished he'd do more films like these because he's really good at it. Although I do love some of sci-fi films like "Minority Report," I think his more realistic films like "Saving Private Ryan" and "Schindler's List" is when you get to see his true and unique talent at its absolute best.

"Catch Me if You Can" was a pleasant surprise for me. I did not plan on liking it as much as I did, which in itself is a pretty neat quality of the film. Just remember that this isn't supposed to be a "dead-on" comedy. There are funny and amusing moments, but some of the things you will see are actually sad in some cases. Still, this is a very well-made movie with top notch performances that definitely deserve recognition. Very worth your time.

Highly recommended account of Frank Abagnale Jr.
I really liked this movie and i thought that it was real entertaining. i really liked how he kept switching characters.The story line moved rapidly and kept people on the edge of there sits. i would definitely recommend this movie to my friends. The only flaw was that it is kind of sad that it is true. Frank Abagnale Jr's life story acted out by Di Caprio comes out as a combination of sheer luck and guile. he is not a bad person just someone who is confident in front of the whole world but insecure to his father and Tom Hanks. I found the incident of how he passed the Bar Exam really interesting...the guy had brains. This DVD also does justice to the real life persona as well.