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MINOTAUR - Limited 2 DVD Steel Case Ed.
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Editorial
Product Description
Import from The Netherlands, which plays in English. Long ago in the Iron Age a shadow loomed over a lonely village. For generations the village youths are stolen from their families and delivered as sacrifice to a mythical beast - the Minotaur, that dwells beneath a great palace. Theo, haunted by the loss of his love in an earlier sacrifice is convinced that the beast isn't real and that his girl still lives as a slave within the palace. His father Cyrnan, the village leader, tries to reason with Theo not to go but Theo is driven by blind rage. He devises a plan and is taken with the other youths who are dragged screaming from their families. EXTRAS: Building the Monster, Building the Labyrinth, Building the Set, Scouting the Indoor Locations, Scouting the Outdoor Locations, Photo Gallery, Liner Notes, Trailer
unexpectly good
Review date: 2008-11-04 Rating: 10 out of 10
Once again a good film is available in the Netherlands but not in the UK. Please don't let that put you off buying.
The dvd gives you the options of English soundtrack, with or without subtitles.
The cast isn't bad, Tom Hardy as our hero Theo the village leaders son and shephard; Lex Shrapnel as Tyro a young hunter from the village who is a bit of a bully at the beginning and thinks Theo is a wuss who has it easy because he's the chief's son; Tony Todd of Candyman fame is Deucalion, the King of Crete, who fancies his own sister and feeds local youths the minotaur (which according to the film is a relative !!!) and Michelle Van Der Water who plays Raphaella "Queen" of Crete, and sister of Deucalion.
Rutger Hauer has a Marlon Brando (Superman) type role, in the film for only a few minutes at the beginning (as Theo's father Cyman) then never seen again.
There is an agreement that Theo is to hide when the raiders come for the tribute to the half-man half-bull. Theo is, however, influenced to go by the stories of a leper-witch, who convinces him that the love of his life, who was taken to be minotaur food 5 years previously, is still alive and in hiding in the passages beneath the palace on Crete. Determined to find his true love he joins those being taken.
If you've never seen Candyman then you probably won't have too much of a problem Tony Todd, but I have, and even if he could get passed that, his portrayal is, as usual, more hammy than a gammon steak. Michelle Van Der Water also over eggs it.
Other than that the cast is great, they play it well. Of note are Lex Shrapnel and Tom Hardy, both give committed performances.
There are a number of extras in this 2 disc set, unfortunately all are to do with location scouting, where are the commentaries from the cast, the outakes, etc. One or two mini documentaries on the problems of finding the right locations would have been alright but a disc full of them, seems like overkill to me.
The set comes in an amazing embossed tin, which only goes to show the difference in the standard of dvd packaging you can get.
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Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Tom Hardy
Rutger Hauer
Tony Todd
Director(s):
EAN: 8715664035054
Binding: DVD
Format: PAL,
Number of discs: 2
Region code: 2
Running time: 148 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2006