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intereact!Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Actors: Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Luis Guzmán, and Jason Andrews
Rated: R (Restricted)
Retail Price (not our price): $28.96
Release Date: 2003-06-24
Theatrical Release Date: 2002-11-01
Studio: Sony Pictures
Run Time: 95 minutes
Format: Array
Format: AC-3, Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Discs: 2
Editorial Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
1) Amazon.com
Adam Sandler takes a shot at critical respectability with Punch-Drunk Love, a movie by director Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, Magnolia). Sandler plays Barry Egan, a lonely small businessman who calls a phone sex line one night, only to find himself the victim of an extortion scheme the next day--the very same day on which he goes out on a date with the woman who may be the love of his life (the utterly delightful Emily Watson). Barry is a lot like Sandler's popular comic characters--socially maladept, prone to violence, always on the brink of embarrassment--but here Sandler plays it real; the result is both off-putting and sympathetic. Anderson's writing skills, unfortunately, are not as strong as his visual sense. Punch-Drunk Love has many strengths (including great supporting actors Philip Seymour Hoffman and Luis Guzmán), but ultimately fizzles out. --Bret Fetzer2) Description
The Superbit titles utilize a special high bit rate digital encoding process which optimizes video quality while offering a choice of both DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. These titles have been produced by a team of Sony Pictures Digital Studios video, sound and mastering engineers and comes housed in a special package complete with a 4 page booklet that contains technical information on the Superbit process. By reallocating space on the disc normally used for value-added content, Superbit DVDs can be encoded at double their normal bit rate while maintaining full compatibility with the DVD video format.
Customer Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
Average Customer Rating: 3.5 out of 5
1) Wonderful [Rating: 5 out of 5]
It is beyond frustrating to listen to people talk about this movie as if they know what PTA's intentions were, or as if they secretly unlocked the mystery of the movie and the mystery of Sandler's and Watson's characters. When we watch this movie, we are given an outsiders view of the characters and their motives. We have no idea why Sandler is crazed and breaks his sister's husband's windows. Nor do we understand why Watson enjoys Sandler's company and pretty much falls in love with him. All of PTA's films have this theme and this constant mystery behind each character's relationship with one another. In Boogie Nights, Julliane Moore's character falls in love with Wahlberg almost immediately, without any reason or any justification. This is how the world of PTA works.I think Punch Drunk love is a unique and truly sophisticated movie. Yes, it is a character study and the plot is only the tail, and the dog is the character, but the visuals are undeniably the part of the movie that really stand out to me. The ambiguity of the artwork that is shown between scenes almost alludes to blotched spots that a psychiatrist asks his/her patients to interpret during a therapy sessions. PTA is almost acting as a psychiatrist to the viewer, making us interpret what this whole movie really means. Additionally, PTA always does a fantastic job making the action in scenes come out in quick and LOUD spurts. The beginning of this movie is slow and very quiet, almost tip-toeing around, and then all of a sudden...BOOM, a car comes out from no where and flips over, and then the Harmonium is abandoned. It creates a huge amount of tension for the viewer, almost making us anticipate that something horrible/exciting/unforeseeable is going to happen very soon.Additionally, PTA's use of color is phenomenal. The way he makes the colors brighter than they really should be, making some scenes glare as if they are not in focus, furthers this theme of disorder and ambiguity. All in all, I think people should give this movie a shot. It is an experience and is unlike any movie that is out there, and very different from PTA's other movies. I would say, however, that the movie that is most similar to Punch Drunk Love is There Will Be Blood. The love theme is not present, obviously, but the pace, the visual beauty and the character development being the central theme is the same as Punch Drunk Love. DDL and Sandler both run the show in both movies, and both do an excellent job keeping the viewer intrigued. 5 Stars!2) Quirkiness Abound [Rating: 5 out of 5]
Paul Thomas Anderson continues to impress me with his films. This is in stark contrast to his three prior films (Hard Eight (Special Edition), Boogie Nights (New Line Platinum Series), Magnolia (New Line Platinum Series)). This film only features two main characters. Adam Sandler does a wonderful job playing the neurotic Barry.It's a love story, in one of the most unconventional ways. Barry almost won't let himself love. ANd it's a wonderful film watching him actually get there.The two disc set includes scopitones, artwork, deleted scenes, and a few other things. It's quite worth a watch.Highly recommended.3) Synchronicity, free will, and sociology [Rating: 5 out of 5]
This is a great film and Paul Thomas Anderson's best film to date. His off beat approach to depicting life and people in awkward situations and how they deal with it is a joy to watch. It seems a given that films be assembled with care, but most films today are assembled as if one was piling up leaves in a yard. Very few film makers assemble their films with the care and attention to detail that Anderson obviously gives to each and every shot and scene. Camerawork, sound, audio, score, & soundtrack are all carefully assembled and used to create a unique work of art. This is a film. This symphony of varying elements composed together in harmony or disharmony all contribute to the beautiful result that is this film.Synchronicity and the underlying power of the universe is used as a force that propels this film forward. Free will is also examined and together the two forces, whether at odds or in harmony help show how our lives are pushed and pulled by fate, internal and external forces, and perhaps pudding. The pudding story is true by the way. It was based on a real guy who discovered the exact mistake in marketing that Barry did in the film.Adam Sandler delivers the finest performance of his career and takes a huge step away from schlock comedy. Anderson proves himself as one of the finest film makers alive today. I will be eagerly awaiting his next feature.4) "Punch Drunk Boring Waste of Time" [Rating: 1 out of 5]
I was well aware that this film was not going to be the funny Adam Sandler we are all accustomed to before I rented it. However, I was expecting a good offbeat serious movie. It was HORRIBLE! BORING! By far one of THE WORST movies I have ever seen in my entire life! I stuck with it assuming that there simply must be a point to it all. I was desperately clinging to the false hope that perhaps he would just explode or something...but I got nothing. NOTHING! I was tragically upset when it was over that I would never, ever get back those 2 hours of my precious life. I thought about suing the filmmaker for robbing me of those 2 hours, but decided instead that it must have been the universe punishing me for something wrong I've done in my lifetime. Let me redeem myself by doing something nice for other people: Don't bother watching this film, I will tell you what it all boils down to and prevent you from shaving 2 hours off your life... "If you call a phone sex line, you are expected to pay for those calls." The end, that's all, that was the point.5) Dvd [Rating: 3 out of 5]
The dvd skips in some parts but got it cheap so what can I expect.