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| Average Rating: |
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| Sales Rank: | 144626 (lower is better) |
| Price Used: | $4.18 |
| Shipping: | Free Shipping on most orders over $25* |
| Availability: | |
| Director: | Mary Harron |
| UPC: | 057373146217 |
| Binding: | DVD |
| ASIN: | B000065I0R |
| Category: | DVD |
Actors and Actresses
Editorial Reviews and Product Descriptions
Amazon.com essential video
The Bret Easton Ellis novel American Psycho, a dark, violent satire of the "me" culture of Ronald Reagan's 1980s, is certainly one of the most controversial books of the '90s, and that notoriety fueled its bestseller status. This smart, savvy adaptation by Mary Harron (I Shot Andy Warhol) may be able to ride the crest of the notoriety; prior to the film's release, Harron fought a ratings battle (ironically, for depictions of sex rather than violence), but at the time the director stated, "We're rescuing [the book] from its own bad reputation." Harron and co-screenwriter Guinevere Turner (Go Fish) overcome many of the objections of Ellis's novel by keeping the most extreme violence offscreen (sometimes just barely), suggesting the reign of terror of yuppie killer Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) with splashes of blood and personal souvenirs. Bale is razor sharp as the blank corporate drone, a preening tiger in designer suits whose speaking voice is part salesman, part self-help guru, and completely artificial. Carrying himself with the poised confidence of a male model, he spends his days in a numbing world of status-symbol one-upmanship and soul-sapping small talk, but breaks out at night with smirking explosions of homicide, accomplished with the fastidious care of a hopeless obsessive. The film's approach to this mayhem is simultaneously shocking and discreet; even Bateman's outrageous naked charge with a chainsaw is most notable for the impossibly polished and gleaming instrument of death. Harron's film is a hilarious, cheerfully insidious hall of mirrors all pointed inward, slowly cracking as the portrait becomes increasingly grotesque and insane. --Sean Axmaker
Amazon.com
The Bret Easton Ellis novel American Psycho, a dark, violent satire of the "me" culture of Ronald Reagan's 1980s, is certainly one of the most controversial books of the '90s, and that notoriety fueled its bestseller status. This smart, savvy adaptation by Mary Harron (I Shot Andy Warhol) may be able to ride the crest of the notoriety; prior to the film's release, Harron fought a ratings battle (ironically, for depictions of sex rather than violence), but at the time the director stated, "We're rescuing [the book] from its own bad reputation." Harron and co-screenwriter Guinevere Turner (Go Fish) overcome many of the objections of Ellis's novel by keeping the most extreme violence offscreen (sometimes just barely), suggesting the reign of terror of yuppie killer Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) with splashes of blood and personal souvenirs. Bale is razor sharp as the blank corporate drone, a preening tiger in designer suits whose speaking voice is part salesman, part self-help guru, and completely artificial. Carrying himself with the poised confidence of a male model, he spends his days in a numbing world of status-symbol one-upmanship and soul-sapping small talk, but breaks out at night with smirking explosions of homicide, accomplished with the fastidious care of a hopeless obsessive. The film's approach to this mayhem is simultaneously shocking and discreet; even Bateman's outrageous naked charge with a chainsaw is most notable for the impossibly polished and gleaming instrument of death. Harron's film is a hilarious, cheerfully insidious hall of mirrors all pointed inward, slowly cracking as the portrait becomes increasingly grotesque and insane. --Sean Axmaker
Customer Reviews
My Review of American Psycho - Reviewed on 2008-11-10
2 customers found this review helpful.
I went into purchasing this film, feeling a tad uneasy of what I would be viewing. I didn't know whether I'd be seeing a horror movie or a satire and a comedy.
To my utter delight. It was a mixture of all three listed items. It was a horror in all of its fantasmic images, but it was also satirical. I laughed at several parts of the movie and cringed when I knew another death was coming! If you see it, you'll know what I mean. And of course the film is explicit, graphic in its sexual presentation. But that's only to further emphasize how utterly lost and dominant that man has truly become. For instance, he can't even handle the fact that another man 'has' a better business card than him. You can see it each time on his face.
There was another thing that got me. The man is crying out for help, crying out to be heard in all of the insanity that he's either brought on other people, but also, himself.
I've watched this movie once, but I will be watching it again, and again, and again...This coming from someone who vowed never to see it because of its alleged contents! It's a very cool movie.
Fact is, I only got this movie because Christian Bale was in it and I've been collecting his other movies since The Dark Knight.
But the man can act!
Oh! The ending. Well, that's just something that you'll have to sort out for yourself (not giving anything away, grins). But it's definitely something to see (you must rent or buy this movie!).
Again, I hope that this review was informative, coming from someone who really had no intention of viewing this movie at all.
Go out!
Buy it!
And enjoy it!
And then watch it again!
You'll be glad you did!
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