Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #604 in DVD
• Released on: 2009-03-30
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 123 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Set it next to the similar Middle-East intrigue of Syriana, and Body of Lies is easy to follow, in fact, this movie's plot is amazingly straightforward for an espionage flick. Leonardo DiCaprio is the CIA agent on the ground, an Arabic-speaking chameleon who believes in forging personal relationships based on trust and professionalism. Russell Crowe is his supervisor, a meddler who makes up the rules as he goes along and is more than willing to trade long-term benefits for a short-term "win". While working on a case in Jordan, DiCaprio gets a modest flirtation going with a nurse (Golshifteh Farahani), although his most intense relationship is with a Jordanian intelligence chief (great role for Mark Strong) who takes a wary view of the CIA's activities. Ridley Scott directs as though weary of all the fuss, and his merriment in Crowe's breezy sociopath gives the movie a rather strange aftertaste. It gets the job done, although after it's over you might find yourself craving the head-scratching complications of Syriana. --Robert Horton

DVD Description
Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio) is the best man US intelligence has on the ground, in places where human life is worth no more than the information it can get you. In operations that take him around the globe, Ferris' next breath often depends on the voice at the end of a secure phone-line - CIA veteran Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe).

Waging war from a laptop in the suburbs, Hoffman is on the trail of an emerging terrorist leader who has orchestrated a campaign of bombings while eluding the most sophisticated intelligence network in the world. To lure the terrorist out into the open, Ferris will have to penetrate his murky world. But the closer he gets to the target, the more he discovers that trust is both a dangerous commodity and the only thing that will get him out alive...

Customer Reviews

A review of Body of Lies - But only the truth !
Despite luke warm reviews and moderate box office performance this top notch thriller really exceeded my expectations.As you would expect from a Ridley Scott film it has stylish visuals aplenty but also has depth beneath the glossy surface.The basic plot line in itself is simple and is based around the US war on global terrorism.Within that frame work lies many shady characters,tailing of suspects,clues,red herrings,globe trotting adventures some decent action sequences and an horrific torture sequence which,all in all make for a quality film.True the plot is minimal and you could say that it's style over substance but hopefully you can see beyond that.What you have here is a stylish and intelligent piece of main stream film making that is more driven by character rather than plot and action.If you enjoyed the understated political thriller "Breach" starring Chris Cooper or the Gene Hackman classic "The Conversation" then you'll have an idea of the basic target audience here.Some of the films subtleties echo John le Carre rather than Tom Clancy and the action when it comes is relevant rather than something just to keep the audience awake !
Di caprio gives another top quality performance but Crowe is a disappointment in an underwritten role and not particularly convincing as a government intelligence chief.He could have been given so much more to do here to add to the film.
The running time at well over two hours could have been trimmed a little especially some of the earlier scenes but that's only a minor gripe.
All in all a pretty decent espionage thriller with brains as well as muscle.Enjoy

Very nearly great
I was really looking forward to Body of Lies. Two excellent lead actors with support from the equally excellent Golshifteh Farahani. All under the watchful eye of Ridley Scott whose visual execution is always a pleasure. Despite this I finished watching this film feeling a little short changed. The story isn't engaging enough. It isn't stong enough to run through the film as a spine. The basis of an idea was there but I just didn't feel it was carried all the way through like I had hoped. The real message being delivered here is how a more subtle approach can bring information dividends rather than taking a more clumsy, brash approach. The suggestion in the film being that the current American approach has not yielded the intelligence it could have if they had been as subtle as it may have been. Ferris (Di Caprio) recognises this whilst Hoffman (Crowe) is of the view that bad things have to be done to win the day. This is a standard approach for this sort of film - pupil and master disagree before parting company in the long term. It has been done before and whilst this isn't Ridley Scott's fault as the film is based on the novel by David Ignatius they could have dealt with this better. I have read the book and it is far more enjoyable than the film. Body of Lies is a well polished film but lacks a real core. The adaptation from written word to film has not gone well. Despite this it is worth watching but don't expect too much from it. It is just another Hollywood blockbuster and overall, despite some elements that were well done I didn't find it satisfying enough.

Entertaining Thriller
I'm a big fan of DiCaprio as I think he's made a string of excellent films (The Departed, The Aviator etc.). While Body of Lies isn't as good as either of these, it's still a solid effort that keeps you gripped with a plot that ebbs and flows with twist and betrayal across a variety of well-shot locations. The film has enough depth to keep you interested and moves along at a fair pace without seeming over long.

My only big gripe is the annoying American angle on it, whereby every middle-eastern character after 2 sentences of arabic (to give it "realism") suddenly bursts into perfect English. Iraqi insurgents, Jordanian secret service, ultra-secretive terrorist leaders, no-one is immune!

Probably not one for the collection, but definitely worth a rental or 2nd hand buy.