Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product details
|
Reviews
Amazon.co.uk Review
Bryan Singer's follow-up to his post-modern caper-thriller The Usual Suspects trades in the flamboyant narrative flourish of that film for a moody meditation on the allure of evil. Based on the Stephen King novella (featured in the collection Different Seasons), Apt Pupil follows the disturbing downward spiral of a bright young schoolboy, Todd (Brad Renfro), who discovers a wanted Nazi war criminal is living in his town and then blackmails him into telling stories ("everything they're afraid to show us in school") of the horrors of the Holocaust. The old man, Dussander (a terrifying performance by Ian McKellen), comes alive while telling his tales and is soon reliving his past glories in a SS Halloween ordered byTodd. It's not long before Dussander's homicidal streak is unleashed and he is pulling Todd along with him. Although set against a backdrop of Holocaust history, the issues raised in the stories are ignored in favour of shocks and suspense and the film ultimately sacrifices the opportunity to be a fascinating psychological thriller about the seductive power of evil for a trip into Stephen King territory. Despite such limitations, Singer delivers a stylish and sometimes unsettling horror picture, which is largely due to McKellen's chilling portrait of a slumbering sadist awakened. --Sean Axmaker
Special Features
2.35 Wide Screen
16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
DVD 5
German
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 English German
Dolby Digital 5.1
Featurette
Theatrical Trailer
Filmographies
Czech\Danish\Dutch\English\Finnish\German\Hebrew\Hindi\Hungarian\Icelandic\Norwegian\Polish\Swedish
16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
DVD 5
German
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 English German
Dolby Digital 5.1
Featurette
Theatrical Trailer
Filmographies
Czech\Danish\Dutch\English\Finnish\German\Hebrew\Hindi\Hungarian\Icelandic\Norwegian\Polish\Swedish
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I have always regarded Apt Pupil as one of Stephen King's greatest and most compelling pieces of fiction. The film adaptation was a long time coming; years ago, a version starring Ricky Schroeder as Todd Bowden was stopped just as production began, and rumors and speculations about a possible movie frittered around for years-until 1998. While this movie is not quite as powerful as King's novella and substitutes a brand new conclusion to the story, it is still an incredible exploration of evil. Brad Renfro is effective as the disturbingly curious Todd, but it is Ian McKellen's superlative performance as Dussander/Danker that makes this movie an unforgettable psychological thriller. I also like to pay tribute to animals who contribute their talents to films without even a mention in the credits. There is a cat that appears in one powerful scene of this movie, conveying vivid emotions of curiosity, helplessness, and fear before delivering a truly frenzied, physically impressive, action-packed performance of high caliber indeed.
Todd Bowden is an intelligent, fairly normal teenager whose interest in Nazi Germany mutates into a dangerous obsession when he locates and identifies a Nazi war criminal living in his own neighborhood. Confronting the old man, he convinces him to admit who he is, promising him that he will tell no one his secret as long as Dussander does one thing for him. Todd wants to know everything about the Holocaust, what Dussander did, how he did it, how he felt, etc. A very strange bond develops between this odd couple, each character holding information that could destroy the other's very world, each seeking to gain the upper hand; it is a power struggle between two ruthlessly cunning individuals. As time goes on, both Dussander and Todd begin to change, affected by the evil that is their constant topic of conversation. The tension builds up throughout the film, culminating in a very satisfying conclusion (although I still prefer King's original conclusion).
This is not a horror movie so much as a movie about horror and, in particular, obsession. There are some disturbing events in the movie, and one has to question which character is more evil than the other. It is difficult to really like either leading character, but one is intensely interested in the final outcome that must inevitably come; true evil can be hidden only so long. When I first learned of this movie's release, I was thrilled to finally see the story brought to life, yet the movie seemed to come and go with little fanfare. This is one of the best Stephen King adaptations out there, and I feel this movie deserves much more attention and acclaim than it has received. The message of Apt Pupil speaks to everyone, not just horror fans, providing a very real warning about the dangers of obsession. Evil can be borne anywhere, even in the heart of Middle America.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Having just finished reading the story by Stephen King, I got hold of a copy of this film hoping that with a director like Bryan Singer (Usual Suspects) the film would be an excellent adaptation
For anybody who hasn't read Stephen Kings "Novella" (Short Story) featured in his book Different Seasons the film might seem good. Strong parts from the two lead cast members Ian McKellan and Brad Renfro help the film but because so much of King's original story has been emitted from the film it seems in places to drag and in others to move too quickly so that even the vital parts that have been included are easily missed.
This is a great story in its printed form but what makes the story so great and so compelling is Stephen King's ability to develop characters, give each of them their own seperate story nd get his reader interested in the outcome of each one. Here in the film most of the characters have no story nor development and again several of the important characters in the novel have been skipped completely.
In the case of both McKellen and Renfro's characters neither one of these is developed into the true evil people that the novel has them and this could have been don easily on the screen without fear of censorship or criticism.
Due to Singer's diluted telling of this tale it also means hat the film suffers from a truly weak ending and seemingly for me this led me to finish watching the film feeling somewhat duped.
I would have liked to have seen this film made in the same dedicated fashion as The Shawshank Redemption another adaption from Different Seasons. I think then the characters would have been more believable the story would have been strong throughout and an okay film would have been a masterpiece.
For anybody who hasn't read Stephen Kings "Novella" (Short Story) featured in his book Different Seasons the film might seem good. Strong parts from the two lead cast members Ian McKellan and Brad Renfro help the film but because so much of King's original story has been emitted from the film it seems in places to drag and in others to move too quickly so that even the vital parts that have been included are easily missed.
This is a great story in its printed form but what makes the story so great and so compelling is Stephen King's ability to develop characters, give each of them their own seperate story nd get his reader interested in the outcome of each one. Here in the film most of the characters have no story nor development and again several of the important characters in the novel have been skipped completely.
In the case of both McKellen and Renfro's characters neither one of these is developed into the true evil people that the novel has them and this could have been don easily on the screen without fear of censorship or criticism.
Due to Singer's diluted telling of this tale it also means hat the film suffers from a truly weak ending and seemingly for me this led me to finish watching the film feeling somewhat duped.
I would have liked to have seen this film made in the same dedicated fashion as The Shawshank Redemption another adaption from Different Seasons. I think then the characters would have been more believable the story would have been strong throughout and an okay film would have been a masterpiece.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
These have got to be three of the best film adaptation from Stephen King books. Shawshank is a powerful story of a man sent to prison for a murder he didn't commit, his fate lies in the hands of a corrupt prison warden who is laundering money using the innocent prisoner's law skills. Stand By Me is a coming-of-age story, it is my all time favourite film starring the late River Phoenix. Four boys go on a quest to find the body of a dead boy, learning the painful truth of life. Apt Pupil is a disturbing story of a boy who gets tangled in the horrific world of the Nazi's. A must for all Stephen King fans!
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Apt Pupil, Stephen King
Service received from Amazon.co.uk was perfect as always. The DVD was typical Stephen King and that leaves me nothing to add as I do not consider myself to be a qualified... Read more
Published 11 months ago by J L SVENDSEN
Expected Better
I expected better from the director of the usual suspects but was left disappointed by a poor film lacking any memorable moments. Read more
Published 11 months ago by ekb
Best Movie Ever
This has got to be the best movie ever great story great actors just great.
Published on 21 May 2010 by amazonbuyer1993
Well directed, tense thriller
I have not read the book so cannot compare this to the text; however, as a stand alone film it works very well. Read more
Published on 5 Sep 2008 by Ms. J. Lee
You really can't go wrong for this price.
Here we have some of the best adaptations of King's novels grouped together in one package, and you really can't go wrong for the bargain price. Read more
Published on 29 Jun 2002 by L. Andrews
Excellent view on the exsistence of evil
Anyone who didn't believe evil existed would after seeing this . Both acters play there part perfectly with the plot swinging back and forth between who has the advantage which... Read more
Published on 9 Jan 2002
OK
This film was OK. I have seen better though. This film was quite slow and nothing much happened until near the end (which was the best part). Read more
Published on 5 Feb 2001 by S. Brady
One of the best King's adaptations
Even is's one of the best Steven King's adaptations it can't be rated more than 3 out of 5. Steven King is a kind of writer that just can't be put to the screen without large... Read more
Published on 10 Nov 2000 by Vladimir Sergachev
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
