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Desperate Measures [DVD] [1998]
 
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Desperate Measures [DVD] [1998]

DVD ~ Michael Keaton
3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
RRP: £15.99
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Frequently Bought Together

Desperate Measures [DVD] [1998] + The Unsaid [DVD] [2002] + Jennifer 8 [DVD] [1992]
Total RRP: £44.97
Price For All Three: £17.53

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Product details

  • Actors: Michael Keaton, Andy Garcia, Brian Cox, Marcia Gay Harden, Erik King
  • Directors: Barbet Schroeder
  • Writers: David Klass
  • Producers: Barbet Schroeder, Gary Foster, Jeffrey Chernov, Josie Rosen, Lee Rich
  • Format: Anamorphic, PAL
  • Language English
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: 15
  • Studio: Entertainment in Video
  • DVD Release Date: 30 Oct 2000
  • Run Time: 97 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00004XQTT
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 11,422 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

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Special Features
16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Dolby Digital 5.1
Theatrical Trailer
Featurette


Synopsis
Widowed police officer Frank Conner (Andy Garcia) has a cancer-stricken nine-year-old son, Matthew (Joseph Cross), whose only hope for survival is a bone-marrow transplant, but the only matching donor is Pete McCabe (Michael Keaton), a vicious, psychotic killer being held in a maximum-security prison. McCabe at first denies Conner's request for help but then agrees, devising an elaborate plan to use the medical procedure as an opportunity to escape. McCabe breaks loose before the transfusion can occur, and Conner is forced to become both his tracker and his ally, wanting to bring the serial killer back into custody but determined--for the sake of his son--to keep McCabe alive.
Keaton is chilling as the vicious, brilliant convict, while Garcia turns in a heartfelt performance as a devoted father caught in the middle of a bad situation getting worse. With DESPERATE MEASURES, director Barbet Schroeder (REVERSAL OF FORTUNE), renowned for his knack of combining urgent family drama with white-knuckle suspense, adds another crowd-pleasing, thought-provoking film to his list of successes.

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Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
5 star:    (0)
4 star:
 (3)
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Average Customer Review
3.8 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A Very Enjoyable Film, 5 Sep 2004
By Imperial Topaz (Marrakesh, Morocco) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   
A Very Enjoyable Film, September 4, 2004
Reviewer: Imperial Topaz (Marrakesh, Morocco) - See all my reviews
Were it not for the use of the "F" word, a number of times, and a few violent scenes, like showing a closeup of a needle being injected into a person, I would class this as a very enjoyable family film (for mature children over 12). It was probably classed as "Restricted" because of some scenes where the criminal threatens the child.

I watched this film on TV with my 11-year-old daughter, and we both really enjoyed it. I thought the actors' performances were fantastic. The reason my daughter enjoyed the film was because it was about a child's situation. I had to explain a few details to her, as we watched, but she was caught up in the story of the child who needed a bone-marrow transplant, and all that happened leading up to it. Andy Garcia plays a very loving father, who will do ANYTHING to help his son, thus overshawding the violence in the film. This is not a film kids under 15 should watch by themselves, but with parents, it would be quite OK.

Michael Keaton turns in a really masterful performance as a serial murderer with a super-high IQ, who manages to turn his supposed aquiescene to the bone-marrow donation into a masterful escape plan. The whole movie is a super piece of suspense. It kept both my daughter and myself on the edge of our seats. My husband arrived toward the end, and said he had previously seen the movie, and had enjoyed it as much as we did.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Fast paced thriller, 6 Oct 2007
By M. A. Ramos (Florida USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Desperate Measures [DVD] [1998] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC] (DVD)
Michael Keaton does a great job of acting in this role. He plays an intelligent psychotic killer. By far one of his best performances. I could actually believe him as a sociopath. Andy Garcia delivers a good performance as a father who will stop at nothing to save his sons life. But his acting does not come up to the same standard as Mr. Keaton's in this movie.

The movie is about a father who is trying to save his son's life. His son is dying of cancer and needs a bone marrow transplant. But we learn at the begining of the movie that there are no donor's that match. Garcia, as a police officer, and the boys father illegally breaks into the FBI's computer in order to use their resoures to find a compatible donor. And he does, in the form of an inmate played by Keaton.

Keaton's character has the right blood type to give the boy the required bone marrow. He finally agrees to help the boy. We see him prepare for what he hopes will be his escape to freedom from the hospital. Will he escape or decide to take his one chance at redemption by helping this boy. And if this would have been played out as a story of redemption, it would have easily gotten a five star rating.

But it seems a suspense thriller was wanted instead of a great drama. So Keaton escapes. And we have the time critical chase. The police just want him caught dead or alive. Of course Garcia's character needs him alive, in order to save his boy. Would any of this happen in real life....no chance. But it does make for a fast pace thriller. You will be caught up in the great direction and wounderful cinematography. This film has been underrated and does deserve to be viewed. I found it entertaining.
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4.0 out of 5 stars Adventure film but no real thriller, 9 Sep 2007
By Jacques COULARDEAU "A soul doctor, so to say" (OLLIERGUES France) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
A good film indeed but it does not compare to any Seven or Silence of the Lambs. It has punch, rhythm, inventiveness, creativity even. It has some good dramatic stuff with a kid who is going to die of leukemia as the main stake. It has the antagonistic situation needed for a good film with the only donor being the serial killer who is going to try anything he can to escape. A criminal donor for the son of a cop. We avoid the easy tear forcing unreal situations like when the child is confronted to the escaping criminal who had taken him hostage, but we are not far from it with a child of 9 slightly too mature for his breeches. The female doctor, or rather surgeon is quite valiant and faces danger with elegance and courage. But in spite of all it is nothing but an adventure film more than a thriller because we know the transplant will take place, hence we know the end and we also know that the killer is going to try to escape again and the last scene is outrageously amateurish on the side of the security forces. Well done, good rhythm, good suspense but not more than good, a few creative ideas but nothing really poignant with pathos at any moment.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines
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3.0 out of 5 stars THE FILM TURNED OUT OK
Andy Garcia and Michael Keaton star in the classic policeman vs bad guy story, but with a twist. Garcia is Frank Conner, a cop with a son named Matt who desperately needs a bone... Read more
Published 23 months ago by stuart

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