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The Bone Collector [HD DVD] [1999] [US Import]
![The Bone Collector [HD DVD] [1999] [US Import]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5120QCQ492L._SL160_.jpg)
Noyce expertly builds palpable tension around a series of gruesome murders that lead us into the darkest nooks of New York City. Now a bedridden quadriplegic prone to life-threatening seizures and suicidal depression, forensics detective Lincoln Rhyme (Denzel Washington) gets a new lease on life with a sharp young beat cop (Angelina Jolie) who's a wizard at analyzing crime scenes. She does field work while he deciphers clues from his high-tech Manhattan loft, and as they narrow the search their lives are increasingly endangered. As this formulaic plot grows mouldy, Noyce resorts to narrative shortcuts, using perfunctory scenes to manipulate the viewer and taking morbid pleasure in his revelation of the murder scenes. And yet it all works, to a point, and the cast (including Queen Latifah and Luiz Guzmán) is much better than the material. If you're looking for a few good thrills, The Bone Collector is a pretty safe bet. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com
Our Price: £8.99 (subject to change)
Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
Released in late 1999, The Bone Collector was originally promoted as a thriller in the tradition of The Silence of the Lambs and Seven, suggesting that it would earn a place among those earlier, better films. Nice try, but no cigar. The Bone Collector settles instead for mere competence and the modest rewards of a well-handled formula. With a terrific cast at his service, director Phillip Noyce (Dead Calm, Patriot Games) turns the pulpy indulgence of Jeffery Deaver's novel into a slick potboiler that is grisly fun only if you don't pick it apart.
Pretty good but....
Review date: 2008-05-04 Rating: 8 out of 10
I enjoyed it very much but...I'm not happy with the motivation of the crime. Pazzling the crime is pretty good.
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Reviews
GREAT THRILLER
Review date: 2007-09-19 Rating: 10 out of 10
Really enjoyed this one. Good cast with Denzel Washington, and a fresh faced (luscious lipped) Angelina Jolie.
Great story surrounding a serial killer, reinacting a book of the same title, with ritualised killings across New York.
Fast paced stuff. Recommend this one 100%
He's behind you.
Review date: 2007-05-07 Rating: 4 out of 10
A fairly predictable jaunt from start to finish. Although the acting is fine it's nothing new - Washington especially seems to be playing by numbers. The directing, script, photography is mostly average but there are a number of well-built suspense sequences.
The characters aren't really the most interesting bunch and it's hard to really care about any of them.
The major problem of the film, though, is the identity of the killer - an early scene is so mishandled that it becomes clear who's responsible for the murders early on in the film and you waste 2 hours of your life waiting for the rest of the cast to cotton on to the fact, leading to a not-very-climatic climax as the killer is revealed.
Hum-drum stuff.
Really not good.....
Review date: 2006-02-26 Rating: 2 out of 10
Far-fetched and full of cliches. Instead of an experienced forensic team, Angelina Jolie's character is sent in first, on her own, to a crime scene where a) she has no experience and b) she could be at serious risk. It just wouldn't happen, especially in a country where people sue if they break a nail!
The police investigation is conducted from Washington's characters' home, despite him being an ex-cop quadroplegic who was injured in the line of duty and so is really off the whole Police thing.
Jolie is miscast, she looks more like a Policewoman strip-o-gram!
I knew whodunnit from the moment I saw the person, their appearance in the story made me wonder about them, and soon I knew it was bound to them that was the killer. Almost every part of the film was flawed, and so unbelievable.
No skeletons in this closet...
Review date: 2006-02-20 Rating: 6 out of 10
What surprised me most about this film was Angelina Jolie. I think she is an amazing actress, but most of her roles are cocky, energetic people who are assured of herself. I couldn't believe she could pull off playing a rookie cop...but she does, and she does it well!
In fact, kudos to the acting all around here. Denzel Washington does very well considering his character, Rhyme, is bed-ridden, and Luis Guzman is cast against type here, which is a refreshing watch.
The only thing that is not refreshing about this film, however, is the occasionally stale character stereotypes and plot cliches.
It's the usual murderer killing spree, which the police have to stop before the next murder, thanks to the killer leaving some handy clues. The actual murder sites are interesting viewing, as we watch Jolie investigate, with Washington advising her over the radio. These scenes are well set up, occasionally creepy, and quite tense.
But the film can hit boring patches inbetween the murder sites that really drag. Coupled with the occasional stilted, cliched dialogue, these things really let the film down.
Still, it has a cracking ending, with a few surprises on the way, and people will keep guessing all the way through. Which is good, because the pay-off is really great...
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Queen Latifah
Michael Rooker
Mike McGlone
Ed O'Neill
Angelina Jolie
Creators:
Angelina Jolie (Primary Contributor)
Queen Latifah (Primary Contributor)
Craig Haagensen (Cinematographer)
Dean Semler (Cinematographer)
Geoffrey Erb (Cinematographer)
Recording label: Universal Studios
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
EAN: 0025193110121
Binding: HD DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Colour, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen,
Release date: 2006-08-22
Universal product code (UPC): 025193110121
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Running time: 118 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1999
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: French (Subtitled)
Language: Spanish (Subtitled)