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The Gift [DVD] [2001]
 
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The Gift [DVD] [2001]

DVD ~ Cate Blanchett
3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

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The Gift [DVD] [2001]
81% buy the item featured on this page:
The Gift [DVD] [2001] 3.8 out of 5 stars (16)
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Product details

  • Actors: Cate Blanchett, Katie Holmes, Keanu Reeves, Giovanni Ribisi, Greg Kinnear
  • Directors: Sam Raimi
  • Writers: Billy Bob Thornton, Tom Epperson
  • Producers: Gary Lucchesi, Grant Curtis, Gregory Goodman, James Jacks, Richard S. Wright
  • Format: Anamorphic, PAL, Widescreen
  • Language English
  • Subtitles: 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: Lions Gate Home Entertainment
  • DVD Release Date: 17 Sep 2001
  • Run Time: 107 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00005BCEX
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 18,672 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

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Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
No one was better suited than Sam Raimi to fulfil co-writer Billy Bob Thornton's vision of The Gift. This supernatural whodunnit is set in the wooded and swampy Southern US town of Brixton, Georgia, which is altogether familiar territory for the director of the Evil Dead movies and producer of the TV series American Gothic. Raimi skilfully builds a sense of tension and unease, using his camera initially with pleasing restraint before letting rip with skewed angles and unpredictable editing effects in a series of disturbing dreams. These belong to local "Fortune Teller" Annie (a mesmerising Cate Blanchett), who "witnesses" the murder of a local good-time girl in her nightmares. As clues and red herrings pile up, it should become obvious that this is a tale more about people and place than plotting and the paranormal. After A Simple Plan it's clear that Raimi has become a mature film-maker as capable of handling psychological horror as he is at providing shocks. The top-notch ensemble cast give wholly believable performances, making the small-town setting and spooky events come alive superbly. Giovanni Ribisi and Keanu Reeves are ticking timebombs of problems, while Hilary Swank and Greg Kinnear are pathetic yet sympathetic bystanders. This is a movie of startling visions both in front of the camera and behind.

On the DVD: The deliberately diluted colour looks great in the 1:85:1 widescreen ratio. Swamp oaks loom tall and shadowy while streaks of sunlight pick out the brighter end of the spectrum. A Dolby Digital 5.1 track does justice to the dream sequence sound effects and Christopher Young's score dominated by scratch violin. The typical body of extras are included: a trailer, over-the-top TV and radio spots, but surprisingly no biographies for such a stellar cast. The "Making of" featurette is the usual clip-dominated TV promo and is seven minutes, not the advertised 10. Far better is a selection of interviews with Blanchett, Raimi (in constant suit and tie), Kinnear, Ribisi, Swank and Reeves. This is much more revealing about the production, but is also closer to 11 minutes than the stated 15. --Paul Tonks

DVD Description
DVD Special Features:

Behind the Scenes Featurette
Cast and Crew interviews - Kate Blanchette, Sam Raimi, Greg Kinnear, Giovanni Ribisi, Hillary Swank, Keanu Reeves
TV Spots
Radio Spots
Animated intro
Trailer
Scene Access
Interactive Menus
Widescreen 1.85:1
Languages/Subtitles/Hearing Impaired - English
5.1 Dolby Digital

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Customer Reviews

16 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:
 (10)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:    (0)
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Average Customer Review
3.8 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars 2 stars for the movie, +1 star for Blanchett, 5 Jun 2007
By H. Serkan SILAHSOR (Ankara, TURKEY) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
There is nothing new, fresh, and even special about this movie. With its unoriginal & slow-paced plot, and contrived & clinché-drenched ending, it's a mediocre, 3-star thriller at best. But it does not mean that it's totally worthless. Theoretically, mystery and suspense are relatively easy to achieve, but setting an groovy plot and inventing a satisfactory ending is not. "The Gift" undeniably falls into this pitfall.

From beginning to end, "The Gift" follows the traditional, straightforward, and tested-and-certified pattern of many average thrillers: At first, you are introduced to the people (with their good, bad, bizarre & dubious aspects) around Annie, not giving too much hint bringing in serious suspicions. Then mystery comes: "indecent but innocent" girl vanishes without a trace. The investigations of police produce no results, so our Annie, having a supernatural "gift" of clairvoyance to see/feel things and events occured before, provides her "mystic service" and discovers shocking secrets. And there will be some sort of confrontations and B-grade horror clichés in the latter half and lastly, the "bad man" is captured after a series of trite and stale twists & turns. We've seen these zillions of times...

Apart from a satisfactory casting, thanks to Cate Blanchett here, what you can't find in this type of thrillers, however, is originality, believability, and such a refreshingly high amount of energy that blows your mind up.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Truelly chilling., 31 Oct 2007
By Bezerus Bezby "Bez" (Leeds, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)      
I have to admit to being slightly puzzled by some of the negative reviews I have seen about this film. I saw this at the cinema when it came out and had quite low expectations of it. Therefore, I was surprised by how chilling it really is. Combined with the acting skills of Cate Blanchett, Keanu Reeves, "Buddy" (Phoebe's brother in Friends) and Hilary Swank, this really is a better then average supernatural yarn.

A young girl is missing and psychic Annie has visions of her decomposing body. But who is the murderer?

The relationship between Cate Blanchett and her on screen children is touching and relieves the tension well from some of the more frightening scenes. I actually had a nightmare after watching this film and it involved violins! (Watch the film to see what I mean)

If you liked What Lies Beneath, you will enjoy this. Discard scepticism and enjoy.
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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars SOUTHERN GOTHIC..., 13 Feb 2003
By Lawyeraau (Balmoral Castle) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)   
This is an interesting movie with a stellar cast. The performances are notable, particularly that of Giovanni Ribisi, who plays a mentally troubled auto mechanic who is on the verge of a complete meltdown. Keanu Reeves also does a star turn, as Hilary Swank's abusive and philandering husband. Cate Blanchett is excellent as the young, impoverished widow with kids, who just happens to have psychic gifts. The always underrated Greg Kinnear gives his usual excellent performance.

The action takes place in a rural Georgia town, where Cate reads cards for clients in an attempt to make ends meet. Hilary Swank is one of Cate's clients. Cate counsels her to leave her abusive and womanizing husband, played by Keanu Reeves. This just earns Cate the enmity of Keanu, who begins a campaign of terror against her. Cate also reads cards for Giovanni Ribisi, who is a standout with his dazzling performance in the role of a mentally traumatized young man, whom Cate treats kindly.

Cate is called to her son's school one day, where she meets with Greg Kinnear over something her son did. While there, she meets his kittenish fiancee, well played by Katie Holmes, who recognizes Cate as the local psychic and asks what she sees in their future. What Cate sees does not bode well for them.

When Kinnear's fiancee predictably turns up murdered, the hunt is on for her killer. The obvious suspect is Keanu Reeves, who is tried and convicted for the murder, after Cate testifies at his trial. You see, the body was found in a pond on his property, after Cate had a vision about it, and Keanu had been having an affair with her and had been the last person known to have seen the deceased alive.

After the trial, however, Cate has visions that lead her to believe that the real killer has escaped justice. While there are a number of red herrings that are thrown the viewer's way, the viewer should have no trouble zeroing in on the real killer. What is surprising is the way Cate escapes death at the hands of that killer. Therein lies the real surprise. Viewers should enjoy this quirky, though interesting, film.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Just as good as What lies beneath
When a local woman (Katie Holmes) disappears and the police can't seem to find any leads, her father (Chelcie Ross) turns to a poor young woman (Cate Blanchett) with psychic... Read more
Published on 19 May 2007 by The Beast

4.0 out of 5 stars Slow builder...but stick with it...
Wrongly billed as a outright horror flick upon release, the Gift is more like a psychological drama, with a bit of courtroom thrown in, and ending with some pretty nifty... Read more
Published on 15 Feb 2006 by Mr. Jd Ware

1.0 out of 5 stars Snooze.
I tried to watch this film on 3 seperate occasions. Every time I fell asleep about half an hour into it. Read more
Published on 10 Dec 2005 by A. J. Brodie

4.0 out of 5 stars "Always use your instincts, honey"
Whenever I come across a movie that has Cate Blanchett as the main protagonist I know that I am in for a good ride. Read more
Published on 16 Mar 2005 by Sebastian Fernandez

3.0 out of 5 stars solid entertainment
Psychic woman helps unravel the mystery surrounding the disappearance of a local girl, finally exposing whodunnit - it's not a particularly original premise, but what makes this... Read more
Published on 3 Mar 2004

4.0 out of 5 stars Fine performances all round
Excellent work by Blanchett and Giovanni Ribisi in particular, but everyone does a good job in this film. Read more
Published on 5 Aug 2002

4.0 out of 5 stars THE ALMOST PERFECT GIFT
A fortune-teller uses her psychic powers to help the cops catch the killer responsible for a gruesome small town murder. Read more
Published on 3 Aug 2002 by Kelvin MacGregor

4.0 out of 5 stars The Gift: well worth the watch
I didnt know what to expect when i saw this film in the multiscreen, but wow was i empressed, the story is well paced and plotted and the characters are believable ad well as the... Read more
Published on 9 Nov 2001 by black_boy_white@yahoo.co.uk

5.0 out of 5 stars one to watch, more scary than jeepers creepers!
This purily a film to watch!!!!

There is a cast that is from different acting backgrounds, period to serial teen shows, you would think Cate Blanchett would not be suit to... Read more

Published on 24 Oct 2001 by adam@broadhead1.free-online.co.uk

5.0 out of 5 stars B O O !!!
Can't believe how jumpy this film made me! It got my wife so badly, she knocked a bowl of Minstrels over! Read more
Published on 27 Sep 2001 by julesjjb

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