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Monster's Ball [DVD] [2002]
 
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Monster's Ball [DVD] [2002]

DVD ~ Halle Berry|Billy Bob Thornton|Heath Ledger|Sean Combs
4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
RRP: £19.99
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Frequently Bought Together

Monster's Ball [DVD] [2002] + The Sin Eater [2003] [DVD] + Four Feathers [DVD] [2003]
Total RRP: £50.97
Price For All Three: £11.94

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  • This item: Monster's Ball [DVD] [2002] DVD ~ Halle Berry|Billy Bob Thornton|Heath Ledger|Sean Combs

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  • The Sin Eater [2003] [DVD] DVD ~ Heath Ledger

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    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

  • Four Feathers [DVD] [2003] DVD ~ Heath Ledger|Kate Hudson|Wes Bentley

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Monster's Ball [DVD] [2002]
93% buy the item featured on this page:
Monster's Ball [DVD] [2002] 4.3 out of 5 stars (18)
£4.98
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The Sin Eater [2003] [DVD]
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Product details

  • Actors: Halle Berry|Billy Bob Thornton|Heath Ledger|Sean Combs
  • Directors: Marc Forster
  • Format: Anamorphic, PAL, Widescreen
  • 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: 24 Feb 2003
  • Run Time: 108 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00006681H
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 4,612 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
A harrowing portrayal of Deep South life in the 21st century, Monster's Ball hits you where it hurts most, in the complex realm of extreme human emotions. This is not a movie to pass the time on a Sunday afternoon. With intriguing juxtapositions and some of the best editing of recent times it has all the makings of a modern film noir, yet it's not only the men that end up on the wrong side of the track: pride and ill-fortune are the real femme fatales here.

Billy Bob Thornton is a death row officer whose redneck father has taught him that emotions make you weak, leading to an inability to love his son (Heath Ledger) and feel any compassion for the convicts in his care. When he loses a "loved one", he embarks on a relationship with the widow (Halle Berry) of a man whom he strapped in the electric chair, and the two of them search for comfort in sex, alcohol and chocolate ice-cream. The movie features fine turns from all actors involved, with Berry deservedly winning an Oscar for best actress and Ledger proving he is more than eye candy. Far from concluding the suffering, the ending leaves the viewer in an emotional void in which you will find yourself analysing your own shortcomings, prejudices and emotional ties. --Nikki Disney

Special Features
2.35 Wide Screen
16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround English
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Unseen Footage
Anatomy Of A Scene
Optional Commentaries
Films Music


See all Reviews


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Customer Reviews

18 Reviews
5 star:
 (10)
4 star:
 (5)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (18 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
25 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars **** TRAGEDY, COMPASSION & HUMANITY ****, 4 Sep 2003
By Mr. N. Carnegie (Kirkcaldy, Scotland, UK.) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
Monster's Ball is a prison drama/romance with a difference. It's about tragedy, compassion, forgiveness, humanity and the need for love but this is no traditional Sunday afternoon made for television weepie. Brilliantly acted by Billy Bob Thornton and Halle Berry, Monster's Ball is an intelligent but often bleak drama, subtly directed and utterly compelling.

The title, Monster's Ball is explained as being a condemned man's last supper before being executed. The condemned man in this case being Lawrence Musgrove (Sean 'Puff Daddy'/'P Diddy' Combs) an African-American who has been awaiting execution in a Georgia penitentiary for 11 years. Musgrove is married to a long suffering emotionally crushed waittress named Leticia (Halle Berry). Together they share an obese 13 year old son Tyrell who barely knows his father and seeks solace in junk food and candy bars.

Supervising officer on Musgrove's execution squad is one Hank Grotowski (Thornton), a widower and one of three generations of career prison officers. Hank's only child Sonny (Heath Ledger), a sensitive but unloved young man, is also reluctantly on the execution squad. Together they both live with Hank's retired father Buck, a bitter, nasty and brutal rascist physically disabled by the combination of chronic arthritis and emphysema. The wives of both Buck and Hank have committed suicide and all 3 generations of the Grotowski family are trapped in unhappy lives devoid of feeling, emotionally numbed and it is against this backdrop that enormously tragic circumstances conspire to bring Hank and Leticia together in this fragile love story.

As previously mentioned both Billy Bob Thornton and Halle Berry give stunning performances and contrary to popular opinion Berry's Academy Award was more than justified. Rather than being an act of political correctness it is actually one of the very few occasions where the Academy have actually got things right. Demonstrating a superb range of acting and range of emotions beyond most mere mortals Berry gives a touching and memorable performance as a woman crushed by an unfortunate catalogue of misfortune. Likewise, Thornton (one of American cinemas greatest talents) is captivating as an unloving bigot, bullied by his father and bully to his son, who begins a journey to back to life and emotional and spiritual salvation.

This is a very adult, unsentimental and intelligent drama that doesn't pull its punches. It's not what could be described as entertainment as the first hour of the movie particularly presents an increasingly bleak story of grief, loss and tragedy. However, as an examination of the human condition and our intrinsic need for love this is very powerful and thought provoking stuff, which against all odds ends on a positive note of hope. Uncompromisingly well written and directed, Monster's Ball also features great supporting performances (against type) by the likes of Heath Ledger and a surprisingly sombre Sean Combs. Recommended; 4 stars ****.

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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Monster's Ball, 19 Sep 2005
By Rich Milligan (Thatcham, Berkshire) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)   
"The Monster's Ball" begins with one of the finest opening sequences I have ever seen and really sets the tone for an intelligent, well acted and credible film. The tension and lead up to the main event in the first half of the film is superbly developed and really draws the viewer into plot.

Hank Grotowski (Billy Bob Thornton) is a prison guard at the local prison, this is like his father before him and his own son, Sonny (Heath Ledger) is following in his footsteps. Hank is in charge of the execution procedure and the film opens with him running through this grisly process which for the first time will involve his son.

The prisoner due for the electric chair is Lawrence Musgrove (Sean Combs - P. Diddy for those in the know) and we first meet him during his final visit with his ex-wife and their son. Leticia (Halle Berry) his wife is angry and venomous and shows no mercy to her soon to be executed ex-husband. Their son Tyrell (Coronji Calhoun) idolises his wayward father and presents a tragic figure of someone desperate for love and a guiding hand. He receives none of this from his mother who alternately smothers him and berates the poor chap for being a "fat little piggy".

Unfortunately the execution doesn't run smoothly and Hank violently berates Sonny for not performing correctly. In a dramatic and catastrophic sequence Sonny and Hank fight with appalling consequences. In a similar disastrous event of her own, Leticia must also come to terms with her own loss. It is here that fates plays a hand and puts the two baggage carrying characters together and they start to develop an ever deepening relationship with each other.

The success of the film is in the acting performances and the only surprise is that only Halle Berry won an Oscar here. She puts in a performance of great depth and feeling and her raw passion and needs are plainly obvious. Thornton on the other hand plays a much more taciturn role but even so the feelings of the character he plays comes shining through. Great support from Coronji Calhoun and Heath Ledger.

Some have questioned the composition of the film, especially the lengthy sex scene between the two leads. Admittedly this is a lengthy sequence and there's little doubt it could have been cut shorter but it still remains a powerful and raw piece of the whole film. It would also be wrong to concentrate on this scene alone when there are so many other good ones, the stand off between Leticia and Hank's racist and bigoted father or the tear jerking scene in the hospital. The ending also deserves special mention for being believable, credible and not taking the easy Hollywood get out that we all were probably expecting.

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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Touches some of the most polarizing issues without preaching, 21 Feb 2009
By Hugh Garske (Maidenhead, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This is a compelling movie that just kind of lingers with you well after the credits have rolled.
The acting is awesome. Although Halle Berry looked a little too young and a little too beautiful for the role, she made up for it in performance. The music by Asche and Spencer threaded everything together seamlessly.
The theme of racism is not condoned or condemned, but we are surreptitiously shown that not one good thing comes out of it, on top of that we also get an insight into the blind ignorance of those who are brought up in such an environment.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Rubbish
The worst film I have ever seen. It started okay but was a non entity, no twists (I thought there would be as many opputunities to make them) no real drama and left me thinking... Read more
Published 3 months ago by N. James

4.0 out of 5 stars Its ok
Presents a case against execution and humanises the effects of a murderer's execution on his family. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Keith Spooner

3.0 out of 5 stars well intentioned but stereotyped
This is, on the whole, a well acted, good intentioned and uplifting film. However, it some ways it is just another stereotypical Hollywood style love story of which we have seen... Read more
Published on 17 Oct 2005 by molly65

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful... and Brilliant
Billy Bob Thornton is brilliant. Halle Berry is brilliant, heck Peter Boyle is brilliant, the whole film is brilliant
It is a soft heart-warming story of two people being... Read more
Published on 2 Mar 2005 by bulleetz37235

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't read this... just watch Monster's Ball
This is a classic film, and I can totally understand why Halle Berry won her oscar, she played Leticia Musgrove, wife of Lawrence who at the start of the film is executed by the... Read more
Published on 1 Mar 2005 by bulleetz37235

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Film- Deeply Touching
This film is truely magnficant. One of the best films I've ever seen. Halle Berry and Billy Bob are beautifully cast in this intriging film. Read more
Published on 22 Jan 2005

5.0 out of 5 stars a shocking and beautiful piece of art
I had to write a review for this film.
Halle Berry is amazing, well deserving of the Academy Award, with her broken charactor entirely believable and perfectly played. Read more
Published on 1 Aug 2004 by Ms. P. Richardson

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding
Revealing look at the lives of damaged people, who together learn to love,trust and break free from their emotionally starved past's together
Published on 30 May 2004

4.0 out of 5 stars Intense Drama
There has been considerable negative criticism of this film, and I think it arises from the simple fact that it is not in the least what most viewers expect it to be. Read more
Published on 18 Nov 2003 by Gary F. Taylor

4.0 out of 5 stars Surprising quality
First of all, I totally disagree with the idea that the sex scenes are gratuitous and intended to sell the movie. Read more
Published on 26 Aug 2003 by daddy_p_buckley

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