W. (Blu-ray) PG-13
A life misunderestimated.
Price: | $13.50 |
List Price: |
|
You Save: | $1.49 (10% Off) |
Currently Out of Stock:
We'll get more as soon as possible
Brand New
|
Also released as:
W.
for $5
Blu-ray Details
- Rated: PG-13
- Run Time: 2 hours, 9 minutes
- Video: Color
- Encoding: Region 1 (USA & Canada)
- Released: February 10, 2009
- Originally Released: 2008
- Label: Lions Gate
Performers, Cast and Crew:
Starring | Josh Brolin | |
Performer: | James Cromwell, Ellen Burstyn, Elizabeth Banks, Toby Jones, Thandiwe Newton, Jeffrey Wright, Scott Glenn, Ioan Gruffudd, Richard Dreyfuss, Stacy Keach & Bruce McGill | |
Directed by | Oliver Stone | |
Edited by | Julie Monroe | |
Screenwriting by | Stanley Weiser | |
Composition by | Paul Cantelon | |
Produced by | Moritz Borman & Bill Block | |
Director of Photography: | Phedon Papamichael | |
Executive Production by | Paul Hanson, Jon Kilik & Eric Kopeloff |
Entertainment Reviews:
Rating: 2/5 --
This movie is one big pulled punch. Dubya himself becomes a blank hole of neutrality and balance. Almost anyone else shown here would have made a more interesting subject for a biopic.
Full Review
Guardian
Like Bush's presidency, it seems lost: it lacks direction. W. could very well stand for why?
Full Review
Maclean's Magazine
The trouble, basically, is that this film just doesn't know what it is about. Is it about dynasty? Imperialism? Ambition? The dark side of democracy? What? And, consequently, you are just not made to care about any of it.
Full Review
The Spectator
Brolin and Cromwell go at it with vigor, giving the film the psychological resonance it needs.
Rolling Stone
Rating: C --
The film lacks the sizzle of its subject -- Stone delivers a rather bland, middle-of-the-road bio pic.
Full Review
Bowling Green Daily News
While W. lacks the forensic rigour of recent documentaries dealing with Bush's legacy and recent history, it's a thumpingly entertaining ride.
Full Review
Times (UK)
Rating: 3/4 --
may not be the powerful, probing character study it could have been, but it's definitely a film worthy of more consideration than it has been given
Full Review
The Dispatch (Lexington, NC)
Product Description:
One might expect sparks to fly when one of America's most controversial filmmakers decides to take on America's most controversial president. Oliver Stone's biopic of George W. Bush, however, is rather gentle on the president; and, while the film clearly paints Dubya as a fool and makes no excuses for the debacle that has been his presidency, it does offer a surprisingly sympathetic character study of the man behind the chaos.
Told in a series of flashbacks that play as his greatest hits, W. portrays Bush (Josh Brolin) as a privileged yet decidedly lost soul. Stone makes light humor of the president's frequent malapropisms and complete lack of intellectual curiosity, but he places the dramatic focus on Bush's desperate attempts to get respect and acceptance from his father. While Bush's backstory and psychology make for relatively interesting drama, his place in history has nonetheless been formed entirely by his eight years as president. In this area, Stone's film offers almost nothing new; however, what W. lacks in revelations and insight, it makes up for with some wonderful performances. The supporting cast--which includes Ellen Burstyn (as Barbara Bush), Richard Dreyfuss (as Dick Cheney), James Cromwell (George H. W. Bush), and Jeffery Wright (as Colin Powell)--all offer nuanced performances that perfectly balance impersonation with genuinely evocative acting. Elizabeth Banks is both sympathetic and understandable as Laura Bush, presenting a woman who stands by her man not simply out of loyalty but also out of love. Brolin must also be given credit for a performance that deftly avoids parody in favor of something born from a true actor. In the end W. is a somewhat unremarkable film, yet its very existence is shocking; in that respect, it almost perfectly mirrors George W. Bush and his rise to power.
Told in a series of flashbacks that play as his greatest hits, W. portrays Bush (Josh Brolin) as a privileged yet decidedly lost soul. Stone makes light humor of the president's frequent malapropisms and complete lack of intellectual curiosity, but he places the dramatic focus on Bush's desperate attempts to get respect and acceptance from his father. While Bush's backstory and psychology make for relatively interesting drama, his place in history has nonetheless been formed entirely by his eight years as president. In this area, Stone's film offers almost nothing new; however, what W. lacks in revelations and insight, it makes up for with some wonderful performances. The supporting cast--which includes Ellen Burstyn (as Barbara Bush), Richard Dreyfuss (as Dick Cheney), James Cromwell (George H. W. Bush), and Jeffery Wright (as Colin Powell)--all offer nuanced performances that perfectly balance impersonation with genuinely evocative acting. Elizabeth Banks is both sympathetic and understandable as Laura Bush, presenting a woman who stands by her man not simply out of loyalty but also out of love. Brolin must also be given credit for a performance that deftly avoids parody in favor of something born from a true actor. In the end W. is a somewhat unremarkable film, yet its very existence is shocking; in that respect, it almost perfectly mirrors George W. Bush and his rise to power.