David Cronenberg's 1981 horror filmScannersis a darkly paranoid story of a homeless man ... more
(Stephen Lack) mistakenly believed to be insane, when in fact he can't turn off the sound of other people's thoughts in his telepathic mind. Helped by a doctor (Patrick McGoohan) and enlisted in a programme of "scanners"--telepaths who also can will heads to explode--he becomes involved in a battle against nefarious forces. A number of critics consider this to be Cronenberg's first great film, and indeed it has a serious vision of destiny that rivals some of the important German expressionist works from the silent cinema. Lack is very good as the odd hero, and McGoohan is effectively eccentric and chilly as the scientist who saves him from the street, only to thrust him into a terrible struggle. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com
Postage & Packaging:£1.21 Availability:Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
David Cronenberg's 1981 horror filmScannersis a darkly paranoid story of a homeless man ... more
(Stephen Lack) mistakenly believed to be insane, when in fact he can't turn off the sound of other people's thoughts in his telepathic mind. Helped by a doctor (Patrick McGoohan) and enlisted in a programme of "scanners"--telepaths who also can will heads to explode--he becomes involved in a battle against nefarious forces. A number of critics consider this to be Cronenberg's first great film, and indeed it has a serious vision of destiny that rivals some of the important German expressionist works from the silent cinema. Lack is very good as the odd hero, and McGoohan is effectively eccentric and chilly as the scientist who saves him from the street, only to thrust him into a terrible struggle. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com
Postage & Packaging:Free! Availability:Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Production Year: 1981 - Horror - Director: David Cronenberg - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Stephen Lack, Jennifer O'Neill, Patrick McGoohan, Lawrence Dane, Michael Ironside
Production Year: 2006 - Horror - Director: Dave Payne - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Michael Ironside, Arielle Kebbel, Derek Richardson, Devon Gummersall
Advantages: Good Special Effects Disadvantages: Not many
"A Scanner Darkly" is based on the novel by Philip K Dick. Richard Linklater's film stars Keanu Reeves as undercover narcotics policeman; Bob Arctor. This is an interesting film but it didn't really move me deeply. There was some good acting but the story line was simply not exceptional. On deep reflection it is not a film that I would recommend. But if you want to watch it do so at your own risk.
1 hour forty mins
Rating (15)
The Product details
The Actors: Rory Cochrane, Robert Downey Jr., Mitch Baker, Keanu Reeves, Sean Allen (II)
Directors: Richard Linklater
Format: PAL, Widescreen
Language English
Region: Region 2 ( DVD formats.)
Aspect Ratio: Wide Screen:1
Number of discs: 1
Classification: 15
Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD Release Date: 22 Jan 2007
Run Time: 120 minutes ...
Advantages: Very Stylistic, gerat soundtrack Disadvantages: difficult to follow
Having read Philip K Dicks book, A Scanner Darkly, I was eagerly awaiting the film adaptation. Upon hearing that George Clooney had optioned it no less, and that Richard Linklater was down to direct it I was kind of ecstatic. I have a lot of respect for George Clooney, following his efforts to turn out less main stream Hollywood films, in favour of thought provoking and interesting films. So when I heard that Keanu Reeves had go the lead role as Bob Arctor, my heart sank.
To be fair to Reeves, his last couple of films have been stinkers. Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions were not bad down to his acting, more to the clunky direction of the Wachowski Brothers. But the lead character for A Scanner Darkly, in my opinion would always have needed someone who had a half decent range, and not someone who cam across as a bit of an airhead ...
Advantages: Graphics and humour Disadvantages: Creative licence taken too far?
I first saw this DVD case when i was browsing in Virgin Megastores. The graphical representation of Keanu Reeves and Robert Downey Jr. I looked it up on IMDB as i do for most films before i buy them, and it seemed like a good buy.
The way the film works is strange, i had never seen anything like it before, and havent seen anything like it since. The graphical animation of the characters, scenery and settings are amazing!!
Nothing was ever still, which added to the feel of the film as you knew that nobody could trust anybody else, it made each and every character look "sketchy" which is rather relevent for the style of the film.
As well as this, the plot for the film was good, with Keanu Reeves playing the main character who was just as untrustworthy as the drug dealers he was pursuing. The only thing that i found very strange ...
An evil man, with the power to explode other people's heads with his own thoughts, plots to rule the world. The only way to stop him is to find someone with equally powerful brainwaves.
Inside Scanners, The Director David Cronenberg Documentary, Biographies, Film Notes, Stills, Trailers
Aspect Ratio
1.85 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Sound
DTS, Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Dubbing Sound
DTS English Dolby Digital 5.1 English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo English
DVD Description
Scanners are men and women born with incredible telepathic and telekinetic powers. This breed of superbrains was developed as an accidental side effect of a tranquilizer administered to some women during pregnancy. Cameron Vale is one such scanner, and he, like most of those with similar powers, exercises the benefits of his special gifts in a safe and judicious manner. But a group of renegade scanners, led by the nefarious Revok, plans to create a race of telepathic ubermenschen who will rule the world. Vale must team up with a like-minded female scanner in order to thwart the plans of the fiendish gang. The protracted end game between Revok and Vale is heightened by a dark secret which is shockingly revealed just before their duel begins.
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