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The War Zone [DVD] [1999]
 
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The War Zone [DVD] [1999]

DVD ~ Ray Winstone
3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

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The War Zone [DVD] [1999]
62% buy
The War Zone [DVD] [1999] 4.3 out of 5 stars (3)
£5.98
The War Zone [DVD] [1999]
22% buy the item featured on this page:
The War Zone [DVD] [1999] 3.6 out of 5 stars (7)
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Nil By Mouth [1997] [DVD] 4.7 out of 5 stars (23)
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Births, Marriages And Deaths [DVD] [1999]
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Product details

  • Actors: Ray Winstone, Lara Belmont, Freddie Cunliffe, Tilda Swinton, Colin Farrell
  • Directors: Tim Roth
  • Format: Anamorphic, Full Screen, PAL
  • Language English
  • Subtitles: English
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: 18
  • Studio: Cinema Club
  • DVD Release Date: 1 May 2002
  • Run Time: 95 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00004D0HT
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 52,543 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

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Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
As unflinching and bleak as it is beautiful, Tim Roth's directorial debut The War Zone is remarkably accomplished filmmaking. Adapted by Alexander Stuart from his own novel, the film centres on a family that has just moved from London to the wind-swept seaside during winter. The relative isolation soon reveals an ongoing incestuous relationship between the working-class father (Ray Winstone) and his 17-year-old-daughter, Jessie. The middle-class mother (Tilda Swinton) has just given birth to their third child and desperately avoids knowing the truth, leaving Tom, the younger brother, with the horrific responsibility of exposing the family secret. Fearless in its hard-fought depiction of incest, The War Zone pulls no punches; this vivid portrayal of abuse within a family and the scathed consciousness that results is not for the faint of heart. True to his theatre background, Roth doesn't explain how or where such brutal choices were first taken, choosing rather to let the actors bear the ambiguities and anguish of a terrible knowledge in the their body language.--Fionn Meade, Amazon.com

Special Features
2.35 Anamorphic Wide Screen
DVD 9
English
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Dolby Digital 5.1
English


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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.6 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars I am relatively surprised this one got past the censor!, 23 Feb 2001
Fundamentally, The War Zone is a drama that follows the misfortunes of what first appears to be a functional working-class family, who have moved from London to a remote house in the country. From the outset the film is as real a piece of social documentation as you will find (I could compare it to the masterful ONCE WERE WARRIORS, or perhaps NIL BY MOUTH; maybe even something by Mike Leigh), penetrating the heart of one of our deepest taboos with a big barbed hook, and yanking it roughly out into the open for all to see. Ray Winstone (SCUM; NIL BY MOUTH; THE FINAL CUT; LOVE, HONOUR AND OBEY) gives a tour-de-force performance as the sexually abusive sweet-talker who suddenly finds his whole world falling apart around him when his son stumbles upon a shocking incestuous liaison that will change all their lives forever. From the car crash that heralds the arrival of baby Alice, to the final, gruelling conclusion, I was both wrapt and horrified by the no-holds-barred attitude of nascent director Tim Roth - formerly an actor of no little talent (MEANTIME; MADE IN ENGLAND; THE HIT; RESERVOIR DOGS; PULP FICTION) who seems to have turned his somewhat ruthless efforts to writing and directing. Creditable performances are made by the entire cast, but the prize goes to Mr Winstone, who we can always rely on to take us to the edge - in this case we get a helping hand by Mr Roth, and are consequently plummeted into the dark, dank recesses of the human condition with very little in the way of a safety net. I will definately be keeping a nervous eye out for what he comes up with next...
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Bleak and Beautiful, 30 Jul 2005
This is one of the best films I have ever seen. The performances from all the cast are wonderful but I cannot praise Belmont and Cunliffe for their portrayals of the brother and sister. As Tom (Cunliffe) gives us our view of the drama, his performance is crucial but he truly excels. Jess (Belmont) has to go through some of the most difficult scenes in the film and express the most complicated emotions. These two young actors carry this film and make it the masterpiece it is.
Tim Roth's direction is also one of the best I have ever seen, especially considering this is his debut.
As others have said this film is not easy to watch, but it is very beautiful and contains some of the best performances I have ever seen.
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21 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars BRUTAL BEAUTY., 10 May 2003
By RYAN OLIVER AKA RID_ICULE. (YORK / BRISTOL, ,ENGLAND ,UK) - See all my reviews
This film is not going to appeal to everyone's taste so 'popcorn-pinheads'don't even bother! However, if you long to watch REAL drama with gut-renching emotion and the perfomances to match, then 'THE WAR ZONE' is challenging enough for even the sternest of stomachs.
Incest is the theme, however, the subject isn't just routinely 'tippy-toed' around. The director (Tim Roth) plummets us head first into this gulf of depravity with no safty net. As the story unfolds and suspicions are vindicated the tention becomes almost unbearable, climaxing with sheer horror and pure despair when the ghastly act is graphically demonstrated.
Every componant of the film making process shares the responsibility for sculpting this dark yet highly original, beautifully crafted masterpiece. Tim Roth's direction is economical, subtle yet strong and purposeful. The bleak, harsh landscape, accompanied by its fixed charcol skies and sodden terrain, increase the oppressive feeling of dread. A few rays of sunlight manage to intrude on the woe during the films main theme music; but only momentarily. A few light hearted keys are all to brief, when after a slight pause, the dirge looms back in; reminding us of what we are soon to be witness to.
The quality of the acting in this remarkable film can only be described as profound and is without question the film's crowning glory. Ray Winstone lends his reliable outstanding best as the foul father. However, it is the children who supply the gutsiest performances. Freddie Cunliffe is perfectly cast as the gorky teenage lad (Tom) with "..a face like a well slapped arse ", to quote the script. Thank God he's no D'Capprio. The camera soaks up his raw, natural attributes (or lack of them).
Above all these it is Lara Belmont's rendition of Jessie which is most poinant. I cannot praise Lara enough for her unflinching dedication to this most uncomfortable of roles. Whatever the scene demands, no matter how harrowing or extreme the emotion, she excels (and then some!). How this young woman can digest such unmanageable, controversial material and deliver a performance of such poise, beauty and power is beyond me. I'm at a loss to recall a role, male or female, which is as potentially disturbing as the plight of Jessie. Whoever won the Oscar for best actress in 1999 should return it to its rightful owner.
I have great admiration and a facination for films which push the boundaries of what is deemed exceptable. You could refer to such as 'extreme cinema'. I have a great curiosity and a resilient tolerance when confronted with images of this nature; and I am not in the slight bit squeamish. So when considering how 'THE WAR ZONE'S' most graphic scene rates on the shock metre, I believe it fairs favourably in the conpany of those from 'THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE' and 'HENRY:PORTRAIT OF A CEREAL KILLER'. However, unlike the latter two films it is not skin, flesh or bone but the trust, emotions and the rights of the victims which are being graphically torn apart.
'THE WAR ZONE' cannot boast 'A' list Hollywood actors or million dollar, CGI special effects. No seasonded director or 'feel good' ending.'THE WAR ZONE' is a 'small-scale' domestic drama, which emotively, feels epic in proportion. True enough, this isn't a film that you would dare to endure time and time again but one that will haunt your thoughts from the moment the credits start rolling.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars doesnt have alot of soul
the war zone is a very uncompromising film dealing with the last taboo subject of incest and offers no light and thats fair enough but the film offers little more than what you... Read more
Published on 23 Nov 2006 by sean paul mccann

2.0 out of 5 stars A cowardly adaptation of a truly controversial book
If you want a by the numbers exploration of a seemingly average family hiding an abusive sexual relationship this is the film for you. Read more
Published on 8 Sep 2006 by Malcolm Lawn

5.0 out of 5 stars my fav and worst film
There are no words to discribe how this film made me feel.. It has to be the best film I have ever seen.. but in many ways I wish I hadnt.. Read more
Published on 3 Dec 2005 by vsd02c

1.0 out of 5 stars A Little Too Close To Home
I live only a few miles down the road from Hartland where this movie was filmed and is set. The town is notorious for inbreeding but even ignoring that, it has a hideously... Read more
Published on 1 Jun 2005 by Oh Daesu

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