Join Amazon Prime and get unlimited Free First Class Delivery. Already a member? Sign in.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
11 used & new from £4.04
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Stephen King's Desperation [DVD] [2006]
 
See larger image 

See all 2 customer images
Share your own customer images

Stephen King's Desperation [DVD] [2006]

DVD ~ Ron Perlman
3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
RRP: £17.99
Price: £4.98 & eligible for Free UK delivery on orders over £5 with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £13.01 (72%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Usually dispatched within 6 to 10 days.
Items for dispatch to UK will be sold by Amazon's Preferred Merchant. (Why?) Gift-wrap available.

9 new from £4.04 2 used from £4.50
Learn about Lovefilm
Amazon's choice for DVD rental.
With a 14 day FREE trial. Learn more

Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this item with Stephen King's The Langoliers [DVD] [1995] DVD ~ Patricia Wettig

Stephen King's Desperation [DVD] [2006] + Stephen King's The Langoliers [DVD] [1995]
Price For Both: £9.96

One of these items ships sooner than the other. Show details

  • This item: Stephen King's Desperation [DVD] [2006] DVD ~ Ron Perlman

    Usually dispatched within 6 to 10 days.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    Eligible for FREE UK delivery on orders over £5 with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • Stephen King's The Langoliers [DVD] [1995] DVD ~ Patricia Wettig

    Usually dispatched within 7 to 11 days.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    Eligible for FREE UK delivery on orders over £5 with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Stephen King's Desperation [DVD] [2006]
63% buy the item featured on this page:
Stephen King's Desperation [DVD] [2006] 3.1 out of 5 stars (12)
£4.98
Stephen King's The Langoliers [DVD] [1995]
12% buy
Stephen King's The Langoliers [DVD] [1995] 4.0 out of 5 stars (14)
£4.98
Stephen King's It [DVD] [1990]
9% buy
Stephen King's It [DVD] [1990] 3.4 out of 5 stars (43)
£4.98
Stephen King's Nightmares And Dreamscapes [DVD]
8% buy
Stephen King's Nightmares And Dreamscapes [DVD] 4.5 out of 5 stars (4)
£9.98
Explore similar items

Product details

  • Actors: Ron Perlman, Tom Skerritt, Steven Weber, Annabeth Gish, Charles Durning
  • Directors: Mick Garris
  • Format: PAL
  • Language English
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: 15
  • Studio: Warner Home Video
  • DVD Release Date: 22 Oct 2007
  • Run Time: 126 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B000K7LQQ0
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 16,784 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
Director Mick Garris (Sleepwalkers), also recruited by Stephen King to remake The Shining, knows how to capture King's horror aesthetic on film. Desperation, based on a more recent King novel, is a pastiche of earlier King novelties, such as the psycho in uniform, this time Sheriff Collie Entragian (Ron Perlman), and dogs summoned by the devil, this time by TAK, an ancient Chinese demon. A town called Desperation in Nevada has a collapsed mine full of Chinese immigrant ghosts, whose spirits are trapped with TAK until they're accidentally unleashed. The TAK-possessed local sheriff is killing everyone, save a few travelers who stumble through on road trips. In the opening scene, Mary (Annabeth Gish) and her beau are pulled over by Sheriff Entragian, framed by his placing of marijuana in their trunk, then read their rights with a Satanic "I will kill you" thrown in. Later, Steve (Steven Weber), Cynthia (Kelly Overton), and Vietnam vet John Marinville (Tom Skerrit), ride into town, and they too encounter the evil policeman's wrath. They all meet a brave, imprisoned boy, David (Shane Haboucha), with whom they team up to end the mayhem. Desperation uses blue and green lighting to embrace the funhouse look, and camera shots highlighting the Sheriff's deranged face make the film occasionally spooky. But the rehashed plot detracts from the fear-factor, leaving one to pine for earlier King story adaptations, such as Misery or Cujo. --Trinie Dalton

Synopsis
In this TV adaptation of Stephen King's book, Ron Perlman (HELLBOY) plays Collie Entragian, a possessed cop in the desolate town of Desperation. A self-appointed authority in this tiny bend in the road, Entragian arrests an entire family in one night, as well as four other people passing through, and throws them in jail. Gradually, it emerges that the policeman is in need of bodies to contain the evil demon that now occupies him, and that the only hope for the captives lies in the strange powers of a little boy.

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Stephen King's The Langoliers [DVD] [1995]

Stephen King's The Langoliers [DVD] [1995]

DVD ~ Patricia Wettig
4.0 out of 5 stars (14)  £4.98
Stephen King's The Stand [DVD] [1994]

Stephen King's The Stand [DVD] [1994]

DVD ~ Gary Sinise
3.9 out of 5 stars (55)  £4.98
Stephen King's Nightmares And Dreamscapes [DVD]

Stephen King's Nightmares And Dreamscapes [DVD]

DVD ~ Tom Berenger
4.5 out of 5 stars (4)  £9.98
Stephen King's Needful Things [1993] [DVD]

Stephen King's Needful Things [1993] [DVD]

DVD ~ Max Von Sydow
1.8 out of 5 stars (4)  £5.98
Salem's Lot - The Mini Series [DVD] [2004]

Salem's Lot - The Mini Series [DVD] [2004]

DVD ~ Rob Lowe
3.5 out of 5 stars (15)  £4.98
› Explore similar items

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags
 

Customer Reviews

12 Reviews
5 star:    (0)
4 star:
 (5)
3 star:
 (4)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.1 out of 5 stars (12 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Great story, great acting and a great film, 26 Oct 2007
By KM (England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)      
'Desperation' is one of the very few Stephen King books that I haven't read, so I didn't know what to expect when I watched this adaption, but thankfully I was surprisingly impressed. When first hearing this had been made with director Mick Garris behind it all, I was really put off seeing it as his last King adaption, Riding the Bullet, one of the worst films I've ever seen (King adaption or otherwise) although I did enjoy his version of The Shining, so I did give it the benefit of the doubt and was not disappointed in the slightest, with the turnout being one of the best thrillers I've seen this year.

The film begins when a couple driving through Nevada on their way to New York get pulled over by Collie Entragian, a strange police officer who arrests them after planting a bag of weed in their trunk. He then takes them to his town called Desperation where it would seem that everyone is dead...and the deaths seem to be at the hands of the cop. Other travellers have also been held captive at the police station including a family whose daughter has been already killed by Entragian, best-selling writer and Vietnam vet, John Edward Marinville and an older resident of Desperation, Tom Billingsley. Elsewhere, hitch-hiker Cynthia Smith gets picked up by Marinville's roadie, Steve Ames and after a distressed phone call from Marinville (made whilst being taken by Entragian), the couple head to Desperation to try and help him.

First of all the story is very good and although not that original, it gives a new twist on this type of genre (with films like Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Children of the Corn being pretty similar), and the screenplay is also written by King himself, so he really knew what he wanted from this movie, with the outcome being a creepy and exciting thriller that would be worthy of the big screen if it was ever given the chance. There's enough tension and suspense to keep you interest thoughout the whole two hours and the acting is also above the quality you'd normally expect from a TV movie (and a King adaption on top of that!). Ron Perlman's performance as Entragian is truly scary and unnerving.

Overall this is a great horror flick that fans of the genre should love and isn't too wierd to put off viewers who are not too familiar with other works from Mr King (which can be quite strange and an acquired taste). I thorughly enjoyed it and now look forward to reading the novel, as King's books are usually better than his films, so going on the quality of this film I know it should be good!
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, but lacking something....., 10 Mar 2007
Being a big fan of Stephen King in general, and having enjoyed the book 'Desperation', I had to give this a look. It began life as a movie,then was converted to a mini-series, then converted again to a tv movie. As such, the budget limited the extent to which the book could be faithfully converted to film.
The writing and direction are good (Stephen King wrote the screenplay, and streamlined his book pretty well), although there are some quick jumps indicating some hasty editing, and papering over of cut out plot, and the acting is good, espercially Ron Pearlman as TAK, and Shane Haboucha as David Carver. The location is fantastic, and the town looks exactly as I pictured Desperation in the book.
My only real issue is with pacing. The first 30 minutes are excellent sweeping you along with the story, but once the plot slows, it never really regains enough momentum to be as exciting as it should be; the final 15 minutes expecially lacked something.
Overall, a decent stab at one of King's second tier books, and its production as a good tv movie tells you what was expected of it.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars I Just Wish Tak Had Won, 17 Jan 2008
By Green Man Music "green-man-music" (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   
Unusually with Stephen King Films, I found myself liking about the film exactly what I liked about the book. I found myself equally irritated by things that I disliked about the book - which the film really could have taken the opportunity to address.

Set in a former mining colony in the desert, the best part of the film (and book) is the first part. Here we have plenty of weirdness and tension as a sinister (and huge) cop, excellently realised by Ron Perlman, patrols the outskirts of town hauling in travellers and visitors on trumped-up charges and displaying a marvelously acted mania, jumping from easy chat to screaming insanity and back again as he grills his victims on just what exactly they are doing in town.

The second part of the film deals with what this cop actually is, and why the town's population lie butchered and strewn around (in scenes slightly reminiscent of the 1980s Stephen King film "Children Of The Corn").
But my major gripe, notwithstanding the excuse that someone was trying to keep close to the original story, is the heavily layered preaching from the smart-arse boy. It became pretty wearying pretty quickly. Despite the survivors having lost wives, husbands, baby daughters within the last 12 hours, the boy's frequent reminders about why it's ok for a loving wonderful God to be so cruel (Conclusion: it's because he's God - well, that's alright, then) someone should have kicked him up the arse and straight down the mine shaft.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Desperation
Another good Stephen King dvd to add to my collection.Although I prefer his earlier work I did enjoy this story.
Published 2 months ago by Mrs. Bf Collins

3.0 out of 5 stars A pleasant surprise
Having recently read and quite enjoyed King's novels Desperation and Dreamacatcher, I thought I would check out the films of the books. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Guv

4.0 out of 5 stars PRETTY GOOD

GOOD BUT MAYBE TOO LONG AT 2 HOURS

THE STORY GOES IN A DIRECTION I DID NOT SEE COMING

WORTH WATCHING

THE SHERIFF IS VERY SCARY
Published 15 months ago by A. Girvan

2.0 out of 5 stars Not a great Stephen King book
Disappointing. The story line is not up to Stephen King's normal standard. I'd say only buy it if you've nothing else to hand.
Published 17 months ago by John in Cornwall

1.0 out of 5 stars Not very good at all.
I rented this film without having read the book. Basically, most of the acting was bad, the props (dead people etc) didn't look real, the body double was not! Read more
Published 17 months ago by R. Wallace-taylor

3.0 out of 5 stars WHERE IS THE REST
Common problem with adapting Kings work is most of the good stuff is left out, the book is a wee bit smaller than The Stand and that book was huge as was the Mick Garris directed... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Peter J. Hodgson

3.0 out of 5 stars started very well, finished a little lame
Without giving anything away, this is pretty much the norm for transfering book to screen regarding stephen king. Read more
Published 20 months ago by el ramone

2.0 out of 5 stars Dull and Boring
Desperation is a typical stephen king film (well to be trueful its actually a teleplay which means you have been mislead already). Read more
Published 20 months ago by Mr. Shaun J. Nickeas

4.0 out of 5 stars Stephen King can definitely be better than that
The book was interesting especially in the descriptions of the decaying nature of Tack as embodied in the sheriff and any other being afterwards. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Jacques COULARDEAU

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Feedback

Fun for Everyone

Christmas Gifts
Achieve over 15,000 RPM with our great range of Powerballs.

›Shop the Powerball store

  

Make A Wish

Get what you want with an Amazon.co.uk Wish List Make sure you always get what you want with an Amazon.co.uk Wish List.

›More info on Wish Lists

  

Up to 53% off Braun Series Shavers

Braun Series 3 390cc Clean & Renew System Rechargeable Foil Electric Shaver
Get in touch with your smooth side with Braun Series shavers, now with Gillette blade technology.

›Discover Braun Series at Amazon.co.uk

  

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

  
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates