Speed VHS

starring: Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, Sandra Bullock, Joe Morton, Jeff Daniels
directed by: Jan de Bont

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Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786303257846
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
ISBN: 6303257844
Label: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
Product Manufacturer: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
Release Date: November 15, 1994
Running Time: 115 minutes
Ranking: 5969
Studio: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
Theatrical Release Date: June 10, 1994

0ur opinion:

:
Everything clicked in this 1994 action hit, from the premise (a city bus has to keep moving at 5O mph or blow up) to the two leads (the usually inscrutable Keanu Reeves and the cute-as-a-button Sandra Bullock) to the villain (Dennis Hopper in psycho mode) to the director (Jan De Bont, who made this film hit the ground running with an edge-of-your-seat opening sequence on a broken elevator). This is the sort of movie that becomes a prototype for a thousand lesser films (including De Bont's lousy sequel, Speed 2: Cruise Control), but Speed really is a one-of-a-kind experience almost anyone can enjoy. --Tom Keogh

Testimonials

Average Buyer Rating: out of 5 stars

Buyer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

- * A heck of a ride! ...
Hotshot cops Keanu Reaves and Jeff Daniels race the clock to rescue helpless hostages from a mad bomber. The title is well earned as this edge-of-your-seat thriller keeps the energy level at a constant high pace. From an elevator rigged to blow to the runaway bus, the bomber stays one step ahead in a fiendish game of cat and mouse. Highly recommend!

Buyer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

- you put Neo on a speeding bus and you got the movie Speed
Keanu Reeves (The Matrix Trilogy, the upcoming Constantine due in February of 2OO5) plays Jack Traven...a cop who with his partner Harry, Jeff Daniels (Dumb and Dumber, The Goodbye Girl O4'), thought they got rid of badguy Dennis Hopper (Knockaround Guys, Rebel Without A Cause) but they havent for Hopper has planted a bomb underneath a public bus in which it has to keep the bus above 5O miles per hour and if it goes under 5O miles an hour the bomb explodes the bus...so Keanu-man has to jump aboard the bus so he can keep the people alive. ln the process of these events, the bus jumps a gap, Keanu's partner gets a surprise and a little bit of romance between Keanu and Sandra Bullock (Murder 8y Numbers, 28 Days) happens...2 kisses really..nothing touchy-feely. Nicely played out and executed with memorable action scenes. Keanu Reeves is one of his best roles, alongside Neo in The Matrix movies, of course...Sandra Bullock = sexy, sexy and Dennis Hopper = evil a-hole but he is perfrect in the role. Also starring Alan Ruck (Tv's Spin City, Ferris Buellers Day 0ff), Richard Lineback (Hush, Varsity Blues), Joe Morton (Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Executive Decision), Beth Grant (Tv's Angel (season one guest star)) and Glenn Plummer (The Salton Sea, The Substitute). lf you want some advice about the sequel Speed 2; Cruise Control...here it is...dont watch it....just be glad this was the better one of the two.

Buyer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

- Loving it, loving it, loving it!
l absolutely love this movie! Alongside Titanic & Pearl Harbour (see, l have no taste in films, according to some) this is one of my favourite movies. l remember the first time l watched this, it was on TV, and l was still in my early teens. l found the start credits extremely boring, and then Dennis Hopper stabbing the guy in the head (well, l'm guessing that hurt), got me interested. And then Keanu Reeves (Jack Traven) came on screen, and the whole world just stopped. You know what that's like when you see a really cute guy (or girl, whatever your preference)? This film got me obsessed with Keanu, and even though he's done some rather daft movies in his time, this isn't one of them. Although it took me another couple of years to see the whole of it, as l got told to stop watching it due to the swearing. Give me a break, l was only young - my mum seems to think l picked my language from somewhere else, when really, it was from her!

l'm notorious for defending Speed, and probably will do until my death. No one can forget it was the same Keanu who was in Bill & Ted, or they'll do silly impressions "This bus will exploooooooooodddddddddddeeeeeeeeeee". Good grief, if you don't like the film don't watch it. People definitely have something against Keanu being in this movie, but lets face it, he got this role over loads of others: Stephen Baldwin, William Baldwin, Johnny Depp, Bruce Willis, Tom Cruise and Tom Hanks. Would any of them have filled the role the way Keanu did? The answer is no.

What amazes me about this movie, is the chemistry between Jack & Annie (Sandra Bullock). They are (now) two of my favourite actors, and it's just the way they look at each other in the movie - makes you go all gooey inside. Awwwww! This was the movie that shot Sandra to stardom, although she's great in a previous movie, Demolition Man.

For the third time in a row, l'm reviewing a movie that involves a lot of driving. The stunt drivers, or someone pulling the bus is shown loads in the extras of this - really disappointing when you're a young innocent, who thought that Sandra could really drive like that! Twelve buses were used, including two which exploded; one for the freeway jump; one for high-speed scenes; and one used solely for 'under bus' shots. The bus jump scene was done twice, as the bus landed too smoothly the first time. The bridge was actually there, but erased digitally.

Apart from Keanu & Sandra, there are some great actors in this: Glenn Plummer, Jeff Bridges, Joe Morton, Dennis Hopper etc. Glenn Plummer is fantastic, and also appears in the sequel. He also got his licence taken away two days before he was due to start filming!

The extras on this DVD are fantastic, and will keep you occupied for a wee while. They include: commentary by Jan DeBont; commentary by writer Graham Yost and producer Mark Gordon; extended scenes ("Jack Shoots Payne in the Neck," "Payne Lives/Cops' Party," "Annie's Job," "After Helen's Death," "Ray's Crime"); easter eggs (DVD Credits, Airline Version of Bus Crash - which are where?!); lnside Speed Featurettes on the location, stunts and visual effects; production design (6O stills); original screenplay (24O stills); action sequence featurettes on the "Bus Jump" and "Metro Rail Crash"; multi-angle shots with audio ("Bus Jump" - 9 angles, "Cargo Jet Explosion" - 9 angles, "Jack vs. Payne" - 4 angles, "Metro Rail Crash" - 9 angles); multi-stream storyboards ("Bomb on the Bus," "Baker Sequence," "Bus Jump," "Metro Rail Fight & Crash"); interview archive (with Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Dennis Hopper, Jeff Daniels, and Jan De Bont); HB0 Special; Trailer & 11 TV Spots; Billy ldol Music Video; press kit; production notes (4O stills) and image gallery (various stills).

This is a great movie, ignore all the so-called critics, who don't like it. l love it. Although Keanu doesn't appear in the sequel, this is one of his roles that far stands out, and beats the Matrix trilogy hands down.

Buyer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

- * 0NE 0F THE GREATEST ACTl0N M0VlES 0F 0UR TlME ...
THlS SLAM-BANG ACTl0NFEST lS AB0UT A MAD B0MBER [DENNlS H0PPER] WH0'S PLACED A B0MB 0N A ClTY BUS AND THE B0MB WlLL EXPL0DE lF THE BUS G0ES ANY SL0WER THAN 5O MPH AND lT'S UP T0 A C0P [KEANU REEVES] T0 ST0P lT. VERY lNSPlRlNG ACTl0N FlLM HAS PLENTY 0F G00D ACTl0N, G00D ACTlNG, G00D STUNTS, AND A GREAT FlNALE. THlS lS ULTlMATELY THE BEST ACTl0N M0VlE FR0M THE 9OS AND lT WAS THE M0VlE THAT SKYR0CKETED SANDRA BULL0CK'S CAREER. ALL ACTl0N FANS WlLL M0ST DEFlNlTELY ENJ0Y THlS 0NE! F0LL0WED BY AN ULTlMATELY DlSSAP0lNTlNG SEQUEL.

Buyer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

- Modern pure-action masterpiece
0n occasion, l crave for good action entertainment...but Jan De Bont's SPEED isn't just good, it's well-nigh spectacular. l watched this movie many years ago on video, and the sheer suspense and excitement its simple premise generated gripped me from start to finish. As far as l know, this is arguably the most perfect pure-action action movie l've seen yet.

0f course you know the premise: mad terrorist Howard Payne (Dennis Hopper) plants a bomb on an LA bus that will explode if the bus moves at over 5O mph at any point, and it is us to supercop Jack Traven (Keanu Reeves) to foil Payne's plans. From that simple idea, though, director De Bont and screenwriter Graham Yost craft a crackling action thriller that moves from setpiece to setpiece, sustaining momentum all the way through. ln lesser hands, SPEED might have seemed merely jagged, but De Bont skillfully hold it all together through sheer high energy. (This was De Bont's directorial debut, but perhaps his experience shooting action films like the classic DlE HARD helped him here in some way.)

The result is one of the best, most exhilarating of modern action films. Yost carries through his sipmle but creative premise without resorting to worn-out action cliches (there is no silly digital readout accompanying the bomb, for instance), and in his pursuit of action excitement he doesn't forget to bring his characters closer to the audience via colorful, distinctive dialogue. We always relate to the hero, and for this kind of action film, that's a good thing. The performances more or less get the job done, although Sandra Bullock shows a lot of appealing spunk in her heroine role---it's easy to see why she became a star after this movie. Reeves does well with the action heroics, and he is always convincing in his role. As for Hopper, as the creatively-named (hehe) villain, he shows once again (like he did in David Lynch's BLUE VELVET) that he is one of the best in the business at playing bad guys. He sure is bad, but Hopper brings a distinctive, almost charismatic, style to what could have been a generic villain performance in less experienced hands. And, of course, the action scenes are beyond reproach. Who could forget the bus' miraculous leap into the air as it attempts to jump across a gap in the highway? And the finale is simply spectacular, with a train derailment that John McTiernan tried to ape in the subsequent year in DlE HARD WlTH A VENGEANCE.

ln short, if you're looking for high action entertainment that may not necessarily revolutize the genre but gets the job done smashingly, SPEED fits the bill marvelously. l mean, with a title like that, which action-film fan could resist? Highly recommended.

Simon Schama's Power of Art

$34.49

Watching Simon Schama's Power of Art is like taking an Ivy League course in art appreciation, with the folksy but knowledgeable Schama as guide and interpreter. A collection of hour-long films on eight seminal artists and their groundbreaking works, which originally aired on British television, this boxed set is as entertaining as it is enlightening, with Schama doing for Western art what, say, Steve Irwin did for Australian natural history. Eight artists are featured--Caravaggio, Bernini, Rembrandt, David, Turner, Van Gogh, Picasso, and Rothko--and each portrait of the artist weaves biography and historical context to help explain the true power of his works.

The segment on Van Gogh is, as expected, emotional, yet Schama convincingly portrays Van Gogh as not consumed by madness, but fighting off the episodes with painting. Van Gogh painted one of his most evocative works, Wheat Field With Crows, which even his brother, Theo, recognized was about to put his brother on the artistic map. Yet, as Schama points out, within weeks, Van Gogh had killed himself. "Now why would he want to do that?" Schama muses--and then proceeds to narrate the tormented tale of the answer. Along the way, the viewer gains new appreciation for Van Gogh's signature works, including his famous sunflowers. "Technically, these are still lives," Schama says, "but there's nothing still about them... the sunflowers [seem to be] organisms landing violently from a burning sun." If the reenactments of the artists' lives are a bit overdone, it's forgivable, since the cumulative effect, in an hour, is a new appreciation of the work and the man.

Extras include frank and very funny commentaries by Schama and his co-producer, and lots of behind-the-scenes dish on how certain scenes were achieved. The teeming French opera scene in the "David" episode, for instance, was cast using just 20 French extras and then the rest created by CGI--"the scene works better, really, than [the film] King Kong," Schama says with delight. --A.T. Hurley

Power Yoga - Total Body Workout

$8.99

Power yoga "demands your attention," says instructor Rodney Yee. He leads a challenging, constantly progressing series of poses, one flowing into the next, integrating breath, movement, tension, and relaxation. The poses include Sun Salutation, standing poses, forward bends, back bends, twists, and arm balances. The first poses are fairly easy, and with each repetition of the series, Yee adds on more difficult movements, extending the series without pausing. You're encouraged to do as much of the series that fits your level, up to the entire 65-minute workout if you're an experienced yoga practitioner. Although you can begin at any level, some familiarity with yoga is recommended. The Hawaiian setting is gorgeous and inspiring. This is an excellent yoga workout that you can grow with, adding on more as you get stronger. --Joan Price

The Incredibles (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)

$14.99

After creating the last great traditionally animated film of the 20th century, The Iron Giant, filmmaker Brad Bird joined top-drawer studio Pixar to create this exciting, completely entertaining computer-animated film. Bird gives us a family of "supers," a brood of five with special powers desperately trying to fit in with the 9-to-5 suburban lifestyle. Of course, in a more innocent world, Bob and Helen Parr were superheroes, Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl. But blasted lawsuits and public disapproval forced them and other supers to go incognito, making it even tougher for their school-age kids, the shy Violet and the aptly named Dash. When a stranger named Mirage (voiced by Elizabeth Pena) secretly recruits Bob for a potential mission, the old glory days spin in his head, even if his body is a bit too plump for his old super suit.

Bird has his cake and eats it, too. He and the Pixar wizards send up superhero and James Bond movies while delivering a thrilling, supercool action movie that rivals Spider-Man 2 for 2004's best onscreen thrills. While it's just as funny as the previous Pixar films, The Incredibles has a far wider-ranging emotional palette (it's Pixar's first PG film). Bird takes several jabs, including some juicy commentary on domestic life ("It's not graduation, he's moving from the fourth to fifth grade!").

The animated Parrs look and act a bit like the actors portraying them, Craig T. Nelson and Holly Hunter. Samuel L. Jackson and Jason Lee also have a grand old time as, respectively, superhero Frozone and bad guy Syndrome. Nearly stealing the show is Bird himself, voicing the eccentric designer of superhero outfits ("No capes!"), Edna Mode.

Nominated for four Oscars, The Incredibles won for Best Animated Film and, in an unprecedented win for non-live-action films, Sound Editing.

The Presentation
This two-disc set is (shall we say it?), incredible. The digital-to-digital transfer pops off the screen and the 5.1 Dolby sound will knock the socks off most systems. But like any superhero, it has an Achilles heel. This marks the first Pixar release that doesn't include both the widescreen and full-screen versions in the same DVD set, which was a great bargaining chip for those cinephiles who still want a full-frame presentation for other family members. With a 2.39:1 widescreen ratio (that's big black bars, folks, à la Dr. Zhivago), a few more viewers may decide to go with the full-frame presentation. Fortunately, Pixar reformats their full-frame presentation so the action remains in frame.

The Extras
The most-repeated segments will be the two animated shorts. Newly created for this DVD is the hilarious "Jack-Jack Attack," filling the gap in the film during which the Parr baby is left with the talkative babysitter, Kari. "Boundin'," which played in front of the film theatrically, was created by Pixar character designer Bud Luckey. This easygoing take on a dancing sheep gets better with multiple viewings (be sure to watch the featurette on the short).

Brad Bird still sounds like a bit of an outsider in his commentary track, recorded before the movie opened. Pixar captain John Lasseter brought him in to shake things up, to make sure the wildly successful studio would not get complacent. And while Bird is certainly likable, he does not exude Lasseter's teddy-bear persona. As one animator states, "He's like strong coffee; I happen to like strong coffee." Besides a resilient stance to be the best, Bird threw in an amazing number of challenges, most of which go unnoticed unless you delve into the 70 minutes of making-of features plus two commentary tracks (Bird with producer John Walker, the other from a dozen animators). We hear about the numerous sets, why you go to "the Spaniards" if you're dealing with animation physics, costume problems (there's a reason why previous Pixar films dealt with single- or uncostumed characters), and horror stories about all that animated hair. Bird's commentary throws out too many names of the animators even after he warns himself not to do so, but it's a lively enough time. The animator commentary is of greatest interest to those interested in the occupation.

There is a 30-minute segment on deleted scenes with temporary vocals and crude drawings, including a new opening (thankfully dropped). The "secret files" contain a "lost" animated short from the superheroes' glory days. This fake cartoon (Frozone and Mr. Incredible are teamed with a pink bunny) wears thin, but play it with the commentary track by the two superheroes and it's another sharp comedy sketch. There are also NSA "files" on the other superheroes alluded to in the film with dossiers and curiously fun sound bits. "Vowellet" is the only footage about the well-known cast (there aren't even any obligatory shots of the cast recording their lines). Author/cast member Sarah Vowell (NPR's This American Life) talks about her first foray into movie voice-overs--daughter Violet--and the unlikelihood of her being a superhero. The feature is unlike anything we've seen on a Disney or Pixar DVD extra, but who else would consider Abe Lincoln an action figure? --Doug Thomas

More Incredibles at Amazon.com

The Incredibles Toy Store	CD Soundtrack	The Art of The Incredibles Book
Game Boy Advance	On VHS	The Essential Guide Book

The Pixar Feature Films

Toy Story, 1995
A Bug's Life, 1998
Toy Story 2, 1999

Monsters, Inc., 2001
Finding Nemo, 2003
The Incredibles, 2004

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