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Breakdown [1998]
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Kurt Russell handles the role well, comfortable with the numerous action sequences but also adept at portraying Taylor’s increasing mental anxiety in the kind of role perhaps more associated with the likes of Harrison Ford (a man who loses his wife more often than you or I might lose our car keys). The locals, led in suitably sinister form by the excellent JT Walsh, are a straight out of Deliverance--presented as dumb hicks but also capable of organising a complex kidnap. The film zips by at a pace, dwelling briefly but effectively on the astonishing number of people who go missing each year before culminating in a high-action, edge-of-the-seat climax. Not rocket science but fun all the same. On the DVD: Breakdown has a suitably epic feel thanks to the vast expanses of desert, and the picture quality on the DVD and the soundtrack’s clear effects do much to enhance this perception. Extras are kept to the bare minimum, with the standard chapter and subtitle selection all that is on offer. --Phil Udell
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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
Tautly directed and superbly photographed, this crowd-pleasing thriller from 1997 is indebted to Steven Spielberg's Duel but more closely resembles Dead Calm in its strengths and weaknesses. Kurt Russell plays a stressed-out husband whose wife (Kathleen Quinlan) disappears after their car breaks down in the desert. Tracking down her whereabouts leads to an interstate theft and kidnapping ring, and as Russell pursues--and is pursued by--a vicious redneck played to perfection by J T Walsh (in one of his final film roles), the movie succumbs to several tense but utterly conventional action sequences. That doesn't stop the movie from being an above-average nail-biter. It is so effectively directed by co-writer Jonathan Mostow that even the more surreal situations seem plausible and altogether unsettling. Russell's performance is key to the film's success--he's smart enough to be admirable and we can readily identify with his frustration, confusion and torment. Through him, Breakdown takes on the edgy quality of a wide-awake nightmare. --Jeff Shannon
Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
The sinister side of the divide between urban and rural America has inspired countless film makers and, although by no means original, Breakdown is a tense and at times dark example of the genre. Travelling to California to start a new life, Jeff and Amy Taylor are the perfect American couple, young, prosperous and devoted to each other. When they find themselves stranded in the desert following the breakdown of their car their dream descends into a vicious nightmare. With his wife disappearing into what seems like thin air, Taylor becomes embroiled in an increasingly desperate to rescue her: repeatedly facing a wall of silence from the local community.
AMAAAAAAAAZING
Review date: 2008-03-24 Rating: 10 out of 10
This is a good old school film with the good family man battling furiously against criminal scum to save his lovely wife. There is so much tension in this film there may not be enough space for you in the room!
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Reviews
VERY MUCH LIKE THE CLASSIC DUEL!!
Review date: 2008-01-16 Rating: 10 out of 10
I picked this up cheap I thought I would give it a go and I am glad I did this was a brillant film. I know it is a little dated but the action and story was top draw and it kept you watching right to the end. It reminded of the classic film Duel so if you liked that you will enjoy this give it a go.
JOIN THE R.A.C OR ELSE
Review date: 2007-10-22 Rating: 8 out of 10
When Kurt Russell and his wife overtake a lorry on a remote desert highway they start a hair raising experience.
When Russell catches up with the angry lorry driver at a petrol station, the lorry driver sabotages the Russell jeep which breaks down in the middle of nowhere. A pickup driver offers Mrs Kurt a lift to help and promptly disappears without trace. The Sherriff thinks he's nuts or he has murdered his wife during a frenzied map reading argument and Russell cannot get official help. He is later contacted and uncovers a clever kidnap ring.
DON'T PANIC Kurt is here.
Good film.
An awesome gripping thriller.
Review date: 2006-05-14 Rating: 10 out of 10
I saw Breakdown years ago and I remmeber how much my heart pounded as I watched it. My hands were sweaty and I couldnt pull myself away from the screen. Obviously the first time you watch it the more gripping you'll find it but I've seen it about 7 times and I still feel the tension everytime.
I really cant believe that some people actually hate this movie. IMO this is the best thriller I've ever seen. The music is fantastic, the acting is superb and it kept me on the edge of my seat no matter how many times I watched it. I really cant see what could be improved in Breakdown. It does an amazing job in keeping you glued to the screen and the characters are excellent and make you really hate the bad guys. As soon as it starts to the very end it keeps you gripped. If you like Ransom you should like Breakdown.
Excellent movie. 10 out of 10.
Breakdown
Review date: 2005-05-22 Rating: 8 out of 10
It's always nice when you pick up a film, thinking that it won't be anything particularly special, and then it turns out to be a real cracker. I'd never heard of this film before and certainly the only actor I recognised from the blurb was Kurt Russell, who I'd always compartmentalised into a sort of poor man's Bruce Willis, so to say my expectations weren't particularly high would be an understatement.
What Russell does bring to his role is a complete normality in the way he plays it. There's no superman type stunts here, no ripped shirt heroics as Kurt leaps into actions and beats the baddies to a pulp. On the contrary, here is a regular man who has just had his normal mundane world turned upside-down, trying to battle against a foe he doesn't really understand to save the woman he loves. Russell's act is that of a man thrown in a perilous situation he cannot comprehend, his animal caught in a trap expression is exactly what the role calls for and heightens the tension brilliantly. His actions also are truly believable, what happens when he first overcomes one of the baddies and the police re-appear? Does he overcome the State Trooper also and then commandeer his patrol car to race to his wife's rescue? No he throws himself on the understanding of the authorities believing they will help him, such is his conviction in the normal way of things.
As I say, I hadn't really heard of many of the supporting cast before watching the film although I did recognise them from their other outings as the film progresses. J T Walsh, whom viewers will remember from his outing in "A Few Good Men" gives a pretty good account of himself as the "lead baddie". Indeed it is his very "ordinary-ness" that makes his performance that little more chilling. M C Gainey (ConAir) with a face that only a mother can love and Jack Noseworthy, a sort of cheaper version of Christian Slater are likewise good value as Walsh's henchmen. Kathleen Quinlan also deserves plaudits for her nice performance as Russell's wife, again a most realistic and competent routine.
All in all a very credible and tense thriller that uses all the tools to increase the pressure. Both the scenery and the music are great additions to great performances from the whole cast.
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
J.T. Walsh
Jack Noseworthy
Kurt Russell
M.C. Gainey
Kathleen Quinlan
Creators:
Kurt Russell (Primary Contributor)
J.T. Walsh (Primary Contributor)
Jonathan Mostow (Writer)
Artist W. Robinson (Producer)
Dino De Laurentiis (Producer)
Harry Colomby (Producer)
Jeffrey Sudzin (Producer)
Jonathan Fernandez (Producer)
Sam Montgomery (Writer)
Director(s):
Recording label: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
EAN: 5039036011556
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Anamorphic, Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2003-06-30
Number of discs: 1
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 89 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1997-05-02
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: Dutch (Subtitled)
Language: French (Subtitled)
Language: French (Dubbed)