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Amazon.co.uk Review
Destined for cult status, this provocative thriller offers a grab bag of genres (gangster movie, comedy, sexy romance, crime caper) and tops it all off with steamy passion between lesbian ex-con Corky (Gina Gershon) and a not-so-ditzy gun moll named Violet (Jennifer Tilly), who meets Corky and immediately tires of her mobster boyfriend (Joe Pantoliano). Desperate to break away from the Mob's influence and live happily ever after, the daring dames hatch a plot to steal $2 million of Mafia money. Their scheme runs into a series of escalating complications, until their very survival depends on split-second timing and criminal ingenuity. Simultaneously violent, funny and suspenseful, Boundis sure to test your tolerance for bloodshed but the film is crafted with such undeniable skill that several critics(including Roger Ebert) placed it on their top-10 lists for 1996. --Jeff Shannon
Special Features
1.85 Wide Screen
16:9 Wide Screen
DVD 9
English
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Dolby Digital 5.1
Original Theatrical Trailers
Cast And Crew Biographies
Directors And Actors Commentary
Production Featurette
16:9 Wide Screen
DVD 9
English
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Dolby Digital 5.1
Original Theatrical Trailers
Cast And Crew Biographies
Directors And Actors Commentary
Production Featurette
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A tense and stylish thriller,
By A Customer
This review is from: Bound [VHS] [1997] (VHS Tape)
As they subsequently proved with 'The Matrix', the Wachowski Brothers are among the most stylistically distinctive directors currently working in Hollywood. Their talents are ideally suited to the earlier 'Bound', a modern film noir in which Violet (Jennifer Tilly), together with Corky (Gina Gershon), seeks to elope with $2 million which is in the possession of her boyfriend, Ceasar (Joe Pantoliano), who launders money for the mob.While the plot is familiar from numerous gangster movies, what it lacks in originality is compensated for by its visual appeal. The lighting complements the image of Violet and Corky clad in black leather and sunshades; Tilly's character is reminiscent of the traditional femme fatale while Gershon's ex-con is more brash and masculine. The sharp-suited mobsters are appropriately brutal; a finger-chopping sequence is not for the squeamish. Memorable scenes are dotted throughout 'Bound', especially one in which Ceasar enters his apartment carrying the blood-soaked $2 million, washes the banknotes and hangs them up to dry before ironing them smooth. 'Bound' develops the token feminism of 'Thelma and Louise'. Whereas Ridley Scott emphasised the buddy nature of his protagonists, leaving lesbianism as a subtext, the Wachowski Brothers are far more explicit. This is made effective by the genuine chemistry that appears to exist between Corky and Violet. Their personal and professional relationship is based upon trust which is a central theme in what is one of the tensest thrillers of recent years.
50 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"All we've got to do is wait him out",
By Jennifer Litchfield (Auckland, New Zealand) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Bound [DVD] [1997] (DVD)
Bound is a sexy, stylish and suspenseful modern visitation to the film noir genre that emerged in the 1940s and 1950s. Right from the outset - where the letters of the film's name cast deep dark shadows like high-rise buildings - the viewer is inducted into a world where duplicity is the norm and where choices made result in prices being paid. And with over $2 million of Mob money at stake, the risk to life and limb is very high indeed.Violet is a latter-day gangster's moll looking for a way out of 'the business'. Her chance comes when her boyfriend, Ceasar, brings home a fortune in cash to be sorted and collated before being passed on to the Chicago Mafia. She seduces the tough-talking ex-con who is renovating the next-door apartment (an impressively butch Gina Gershon) and together they scheme to relieve the Mob of the money. But when Ceasar doesn't react according to plan, suddenly there are dead bodies to deal with and events begin to spiral out of control. The women's trust in each other is stretched to breaking point as they are drawn into a deadly battle of wits. Directors Larry and Andy Wachowski make judicious use of the conventions of film noir, such as extensive chiaroscuro, and some imaginative and uncomfortable extreme close-up shots. The clever cinematography is backed up by a tension-laden script and an excellent cast (particularly Joe Pantoliano as the increasingly frenzied Ceasar). Although Bound may take some viewers out of their comfort zone with its graphic lesbian sex scene and depiction of Mob torture tactics, it is a film that will reward its audience with a stylish and intelligent foray into the eternally murky confluence of good and evil.
38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Think outside the box - as it were...,
By mr-benn (England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Bound [DVD] [1997] (DVD)
For far too long, this film has been misunderstood and misrepresented. Yes, okay, the central characters are lesbians; and yes, they get up to some of that stuff that lesbians get up to. Gosh, how shocking. It's a pretty sad reflection on our times that this is all people seem to think happens in this film, for, in actuality, this is a superbly plotted, intensely atmospheric film noir. Lusty viewers may be drawn in by the promise of girl-on-girl action, but they'll be kept glued to their seats by the tension as the plot progresses.
Essentially, 'Bound' is a great double-cross movie, using the staple film noir format of the femme fatale in league with the drifter - who, in this instance, happens to be another woman. Setting the action almost entirely in two adjacent apartments adds a clautrophobic edge to proceedings as the gangster's moll (Jennifer Tilly) does her best to misdirect her beau (Joe Pantoliano), so that she and the ex-con handywoman next door (Gina Gershon) can elope with a horde of mob money. Of course, things don't go entirely to plan; isn't it always so... It's a simple story, told well. Yes, it's kind of sleazy; mainstream movies don't get much more explicit than this. However, film noir always was a bit sleazy. Much like the horror genre, it explores the darker parts of human experience and imagination, allowing viewers to indulge their less socially acceptable tendencies in a safe, fantasy environment. And why not? I, for one, see absolutely nothing wrong with a bit of titillating sex and violence when it is performed in the right spirit, and 'Bound' does so admirably, and, for once, within a well written, well acted and well shot film. Hang up your hang ups, and enjoy.
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