or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
94 used & new from £0.48
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Hostage [DVD] [2005]
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images

Hostage [DVD] [2005]

DVD ~ Bruce Willis
3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
RRP: £19.99
Price: £3.98 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £16.01 (80%)
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
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Want guaranteed delivery by Wednesday, November 11? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
31 new from £1.73 60 used from £0.48 3 collectible from £1.99
Learn about Lovefilm
Amazon's choice for DVD rental.
With a 14 day FREE trial. Learn more

Frequently Bought Together

Hostage [DVD] [2005] + Tears Of The Sun [DVD] [2003] + Mercury Rising [DVD] [1998]
Total RRP: £38.97
Price For All Three: £13.63

Show availability and shipping details

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Hostage [DVD] [2005]
91% buy the item featured on this page:
Hostage [DVD] [2005] 3.7 out of 5 stars (35)
£3.98
Mercury Rising [DVD] [1998]
2% buy
Mercury Rising [DVD] [1998] 4.0 out of 5 stars (3)
£4.68
Inside Man [DVD] [2006]
2% buy
Inside Man [DVD] [2006] 3.7 out of 5 stars (52)
£4.78
16 Blocks [DVD] [2006]
2% buy
16 Blocks [DVD] [2006] 3.2 out of 5 stars (28)
£3.98
Explore similar items

Product details

  • Actors: Bruce Willis, Kevin Pollak, Serena Scott Thomas, Jimmy Bennett, Michelle Horn
  • Directors: Florent Emilio Siri
  • Writers: Doug Richardson, Robert Crais
  • Producers: Bruce Willis, Andreas Thiesmeyer, Arnold Rifkin, Bob Yari, David J. Wally
  • Format: Anamorphic, 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: 15
  • Studio: Entertainment in Video
  • DVD Release Date: 18 Jul 2005
  • Run Time: 113 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B0009PQX02
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 5,263 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

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

Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review

You get two hostage crises for the price of one in Hostage, an overwrought but otherwise involving thriller grounded by Bruce Willis's solid lead performance. Making a dramatic pit-stop on his way to Die Hard 4, Willis plays a traumatized former Los Angeles hostage negotiator, now working as a nearly-divorced police chief in sleepy Ventura County, California. Willis suddenly finds himself amidst two potentially deadly stand-offs when a trio of hapless teenagers seize hostages in the fortress-like home of an accountant (Kevin Pollack) whose connections to organized crime result in Willis struggling to rescue his estranged wife and daughter, who are being held hostage by faceless thugs at an undisclosed location. Having directed two of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell video games, director Florent Siri brings plenty of slick, competent filmmaking to Willis's desperate dilemma, and the film boasts a gritty, graphic style that draws attention away from implausible plot twists. The bothersome, over-the-top performances by the teenaged villains also slightly compromise this gloomy but emotionally gripping adaptation of Robert Crais's novel, named as one of Amazon.com's best books of 2001. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com


Synopsis

This well-made thriller harkens back to the gritty crime films of the 1970s. Bruce Willis plays Jeff Talley, a traumatized ex-LAPD hostage negotiator whose new career as small town sheriff doesn't turn out to be as restful as he had hoped; a hostage situation breaks out on 'low crime Tuesday' and he is thrown right back into the business he knows all too well. Some punk kids have shot a cop and are holed up in a local mansion inhabited by crooked accountant Walter Smith (Kevin Pollack), his two kids, and a lot of surveillance cameras. Walter's young son (Jimmy Bennett) escapes his bonds and reports to Talley from the air shafts via his sister's cell phone. The sister--a Goth teen played by Michelle Horn--draws the romantic attention of Mars (Ben Foster), the pot-addled sociopath in the gang, thus adding a unique twist to the damsel-in-distress factor. Meanwhile, amid the buzzing helicopters and mobilizing SWAT teams, another group of bad guys has kidnapped Talley's wife and daughter, in order to force him to retrieve a secret disc in Walter's study. Florent Siri's efficient direction keeps the action flowing in unexpected directions while allowing for plenty of interesting procedural details and sly bits of humour. The score is ominous and the performances are strong, with Foster memorably creepy and Willis excellent as the frightened hero.

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

16 Blocks [DVD] [2006]

16 Blocks [DVD] [2006]

DVD ~ Bruce Willis
3.2 out of 5 stars (28)  £3.98
Firewall [DVD] [2006]

Firewall [DVD] [2006]

DVD ~ Harrison Ford
3.3 out of 5 stars (26)  £2.98
Tears Of The Sun [DVD] [2003]

Tears Of The Sun [DVD] [2003]

DVD ~ Bruce Willis
4.4 out of 5 stars (13)  £4.97
Mercury Rising [DVD] [1998]

Mercury Rising [DVD] [1998]

DVD ~ Bruce Willis
4.0 out of 5 stars (3)  £4.68
Assault On Precinct 13 [DVD] [2004]

Assault On Precinct 13 [DVD] [2004]

DVD ~ Ethan Hawke
2.9 out of 5 stars (21)  £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.
 
(2)
(1)
(1)
(1)
See all 5 tags...

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags
 

Customer Reviews

35 Reviews
5 star:
 (11)
4 star:
 (13)
3 star:
 (5)
2 star:
 (3)
1 star:
 (3)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.7 out of 5 stars (35 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars The Plot Escapes before the End, 6 Feb 2008
By Mark Baker (Santa Clarita, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
Jeff Talley (Bruce Willis) is a top hostage negotiator in Los Angeles. But when one case ends badly, Jeff retires from the business. A year later, he's the Sheriff in a small Southern California town where nothing ever happens.

Unfortunately, that's about to change. When three criminals attempt to steal a car, they wind up taking three hostages instead. Unfortunately, Walter Smith (Kevin Pollak), one of the hostages, has something to hide as well. Jeff is ready to turn the case over to someone else when his wife and daughter are kidnapped. Now he has to keep his family alive without compromising the hostages in the house. Can he do it?

This movie is based on a best selling novel. While I have never read it, I have enjoyed other books by the author. I've heard his fans are disappointed with this adaptation, and I can understand why. It starts well, with an interesting premise that really drew me in. However, the longer the movie went on, the more preposterous it became. And the ending was much weaker then I wanted it to be.

This movie is rated R. I caught it on TV, so I know parts were cut out. In fact, it was laughable when the language was removed. I don't know if any violence hit the cutting room floor, but there was still plenty of it here. It did get pretty dark and gruesome near the end. I was expecting this going in, so it didn't bother me. I'm just pointing out it was there.

The movie started out strong, but the ending lets it down big time. It's disappointing that an interesting premise lost such momentum.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Better than you might think, 16 April 2009
By Dead Ted Danson (Truth Or Consequences, New Mexicock) - See all my reviews
  
Great film here which I'd forgotten about since its release, til last month picking it up for £2. Don't let the second-rate cover fool you, this is no straight-to-DVD Fight Factory castoff, this is a proper classic action thriller, and one of Willis' absolute best.

The premise is simple; Bruce Willis is required to solve a hostage situation that has essentially come from nowhere. The film has two major turns in the plot (don't worry, it's not the kind of twist you'll now be looking for, I'm not that hateful) which makes each of three acts interesting for unique reasons. The film is shot beautifully for a relatively unknown director/DP combo, and holds off on the ridiculous action you might expect from a Willis film. Willis himself is on top form, playing a sort of spin on the put-upon McClane in the Die Hard movies (particularly the third), and rather than a cocky everyman hero he plays an aging father thrust into an impossible situation.

Support comes from Ben Foster, yet another excellent turn from one of this generation's absolute best character actors who really deserves to be a household name. Prison Break's Robert Knepper shows up with not much to do, as does Marshall 'LJ' Allman as one half of the sibling duo who find themselves in over their heads. Add to that the deadliest child character ever to appear in an action movie (sneaking through vents, perhaps a subtle nod to Willis' masterpiece?) and you've got yourself a surprisingly well-rounded set of characters for what would seem to be another cheap action flick.

A couple of genuinely tense set pieces and Willis' and Foster's performances put this up there as a must watch.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Stranger than fiction, 11 May 2006
By J. S. Meins "fiftyfirstfloorfilms" (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
There have been quite a lot of negotiator films over the years and they tend to be pretty derivative. Hostage starts out no different with a weathered cop (Willis) tormented by his failure to rescue a family and burning out in the process. However the rest of the film, for a Hollywood thriller, doesn't play by the rulebook. It's a really stylised film and there are elements of The Crow, Panic Room, Assault on Precinct 13, the TV series 24 and even Home Alone within it! Strange but true. Anyway, its well worth a watch, has much higher production values than I imagined (cool title sequence) and deserved to do better at the cinema.
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

5.0 out of 5 stars A Willis of a call
Hostage or Die Hard: It's a close call

Bruce Willis is the best actor on british cinema, he is my favourite actor and made a wonderful perfomrance is Hostage. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Stephen

4.0 out of 5 stars great movie!
I watched this last night, great introduction! the movie is fantastic, i loved the directing and the script was very well writen. Read more
Published 9 months ago by D. Shepherd

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good
Bruce Willis is always in danger of being a parody of himself, most often typecast as the maverick save-the-world cop a-la-Die Hard, but in fact he has tried to explore other... Read more
Published 14 months ago by OEJ

1.0 out of 5 stars Bruce Willis worst film by a long way
How this film has acquired so many stars from reviewers is beyond me. Have you all gone mad? The plot and script are awful, the actors who play the hostage takers are awful and... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Baribus

5.0 out of 5 stars Possibly the best thriller film ive ever seen!!
two words why this film is so good - bruce willis abslutely amazing almost as good as he was in die hard?! Read more
Published 23 months ago by D. Agar

4.0 out of 5 stars A COOL ACTION MOVIE FOR BRUCE WILLIS
rus Willis, in a departure from his previous roles in the last couple of years (movies i didn't even bother watching) plays a chief of police and a negotiator who, after a... Read more
Published on 12 Aug 2007 by stuart

4.0 out of 5 stars TRY HARD
All in all a very good film that has got a bit of everything for most viewers. In my humble opinion I think it is the best Bruce Willis movie to date.
Published on 29 Jul 2007 by L. Wilson

4.0 out of 5 stars Bruce was back on form here...
Hostage is a pretty decent film with plenty to keep you entertained. Bruce, playing a predictably, burnt out negotiator finds himself embroilled in a new and deadly situation... Read more
Published on 25 Jun 2007 by Gail Parnell

5.0 out of 5 stars Bruce At His Best
For any Bruce Willis fan your going to love this film. Theres plenty of classic Bruce action scences to keep u entertained. This film is in my top 50 fav films of all time.
Published on 4 May 2007 by T. D. Mooney

2.0 out of 5 stars Below average generic Willis action vehicle
In this one, Bruce is in need of a challenging, stressful situation in which he can confront his issues and, if he's lucky, also save the day and whatnot. Read more
Published on 9 Mar 2007 by Franklin T Marmoset

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

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


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject









i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

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