The Road To Perdition

[Dr. Spec]

Who's seen it; whose getting it?

Also, BB has RTP AND American Beauty for $20!!!!!!!!

[dthomps]

Thanks for the heads up on the sale, good price I will go out and pick them up.
I just saw it, and it is really good IMO. Very well done and interesting plot. A few cool audio tidbits, I enjoyed one scene with heavy rainfall, it sounded really cool. A definite thumbs up.
Mike

[mangata572]

Doc, rented it yesterday, but have not had the chance to see it. I'll let you know soon.

[polkatese]

BB has it for $14.99 (amazing!) Just got it and will be the tonight's polkatese premier event!

[heavyismymetal]

Good movie. The wife and I watched it last night and we both liked it. I thought the dialogue was a bit too low (or maybe only because the gun shots made me jump throughout). But a good movie and definately worth getting.

[dlew308]

BB $20 deal for RTP & AB well worth it :)
dts...yummmmmmy

[Ron-P]

AB?


Peace Out~:D

[fireshoes]

AB = American Beauty. You get it and Road to Perdition for $20 at Best Buy. I haven't got a chance to watch it yet though.

[shack]

I picked up Road To Perdition and American Beauty today at Best Buy. I've never seen American Beauty but I figure for $10 it's worth a look.

I cant believe that they didn't try to sell me an extended warranty on those 2 DVDs. :rolleyes:

[Dr. Spec]

Man you guys are in for a treat if you've never seen AB - GREAT movie.

[mangata572]

Watched Road to Perdition last night. It is a good movie, not great, but not at all bad with a surprising twist at the end. The sound effects are decent with the gun blasts shaking the couch. Times when a band is playing off camera sounds really cool. The rain sounds cool also, but not as good as the rain in Crimson Tide. The rain in that movie is IMO the most realistic sounding I’ve heard.

[Ron-P]

$20 is not worth it, 2 for $10....maybe. Each is worth a one time rental at best...free if you can swing it.


Peace Out~:D

[Dr. Spec]

Ron- a little off topic here but did you pick up and see Four Feathers yet?

[Strong Bad]

Man you guys are in for a treat if you've never seen AB - GREAT movie.

I'm with you here! American Beauty is awesome!

The part with Kevin Spacey and his neighbor out back of the restaurant during that party...priceless! Spacey deserved the Oscar.

[Ron-P]

[quote]Ron- a little off topic here but did you pick up and see Four Feathers yet?[/quoe]
Good movie, not great. It tried too hard to be an epic. It came close, but didn't quite make the grade. An enjoyable story with decent acting. Worth the purchase in my book. Reminded me of the Gladiator story a little.


Peace Out~:D

[goingganzo]

i picked it up but best buy is out of them s i have to wait for american beauty to come in. but got a rain check for 5 bucks for it.

[Dr. Spec]

Originally posted by goingganzo
i picked it up but best buy is out of them s i have to wait for american beauty to come in. but got a rain check for 5 bucks for it.

I ran into the same deal so I bitched and I got RTP and Sling Blade for $20 instead. I already had AB and was planning on selling it for $10, but Plan B worked out OK, I guess.

[jdavy]

FYI there is two widescreen versions out there. Both have dd5.1 but only one has DTS. If you like DTS, keep an eye out for it. :-) Fun film BTW.

[Dr. Spec]

RTP was an excellent movie - it left me a bit empty inside - like it failed to tug at my heartstrings, but perhaps that was the intent of the movie. A tragic life IS empty and bereft of emotion.

This is one of the most dynamic soundtrack in DTS I have ever heard. The first machine gun blast was SO loud it sounded almost real - I read the above comments and thought I was prepared - no way. Bravo DTS.

This is REALLY a fabulous soundtrack in DTS - not only for all the gun blasts (the 12 gauge in particular shakes the room), but for the subtle ambient surround effects and also the bass from the passing subway is so strong you'd swear one was really passing by outside.

Ron-P, even if you thought RTP was a dog, you owe it to yourself to rent the DTS version for the soundtrack alone - it is very impressive.

[Frank Z]

I just got done watching RTP and was really left high and dry on this one. The DD5.1 sound track was superb, the rain scenes were erie to say the least. I guess the weak point was the extremely slow pace. This film could have been cut down to 60 minutes easily! I enjoy most of Tom Hanks' films but this one was a 1 time rental for me. I will say that the photographer gave me the creeps though!

[nellis8166]

Watched RTP last night and was really dissapointed. Could only rent the DD soundtrack and was not all that impressed. Sounds like the DTS version is better per usual.
Thought it was too slow, and certainly not worth 8 Oscar nominations or whatever it got.

-N

[Dr. Spec]

Man you guys are brutal.

The filming, scene set-up, editing, and general cinematography is first rate. Acting is good all around, except for the mob boss' worthless son, who was too one dimensional; he's an idiot and an ******* - we get it. Jude Law was as skin crawling as it gets (shudder) - what a sicko. The subtle interplay between him and Hanks in the diner was fabulous - reminded me of the Pacino/DeNiro exchange in Heat.

Speaking of Gladiator, there is clearly a parallel here with Hanks being the kind of man the mob boss wished his loser son was. That was a nice secondary plot line that was pretty well fleshed out and explored.

Yes the pacing was slow, but soak in the friggin' scenes - the movie is visually gorgeous.

And (it bears repeating) that DTS soundtrack - wow - the most realistic gun fire I've ever heard. Get ready to replace your tweeters if you crank this one too high in DTS - wow. I've got 9 tri-lams and I thought the room was going to come down when that machine gun lit off. DTS nailed the painfully sharp timbre crack of gun fire perfectly.

The relationship between Hanks and his son was handled without any sappiness and I thought was very realistic considering his lot in life. Let's face it - he suffers from a certain detached morality - he has no choice. And his relationships in his life reflect that.

The film has no real emotional core and that's probably why it failed to impress some of you. I think that was the whole point of the movie - the lives of the characters are ultimately meaningless - they are inevitably spiraling toward their final destiny and they know it, but they can't do anything about it.

I didn't love this movie, but I admired the heck out of it.

[Frank Z]

***Warning***
***Spoilers Ahead***






Dr. Spec,
I think the only person that I gave a damn about in this whole movie was Paul Newman's Character. As with any film that he has made, he pulls you in a makes you interested in what his next line will be...I feel as though he truly becomes the character that he is portraying. Although I enjoy Tom Hanks previous films, I found nothing about his character to be interesting, kind of got the feeling that he was uncomfortable playing the role of the "Bad Guy." It was difficult to feel sorry/sad about the wife & son because you did not get up close and personal before they were removed from the story line. A little more background would have helped this film a great deal. Another thing that bothered me was the end was telegraphed, as soon as I saw the run down farmhouse and the older childless couple, I knew Tom's days were numbered and the his son would "Live Happily Ever After."

All in all this was NOT the worst film I've ever seen, I just didn't find a real good reason to care about the majority of the characters.

Now....What is the next film that we'll review?:)

[avelanchefan]

Dr. Spec,

Great review. Man My Lsi7's about fell off their stands when the machine gun went off. Some really fine tuned dts showcase in this movie. In fact I found the transfer to be some of the best to date.

At first I thought it was a little on the "hot" side, but there was no distortion in it like the DD 5.1 transfer of the LOTR. One of the few movies that I actually had to turn the volume down on(besides LOTR). Even the scenes where the boys are whispering in the bedroom was crystal clear. Good if not excellent job by Dreamworks.

I enjoyed the movie. Newman was fantastic.

[F1nut]

Quess I'm a little behind on this one, but I found it to be better than most of the crap coming out of Hollywood. Dr. Spec hit the nail on the head with his review. This is how to make a classic and not some "flash in the pan" with nothing but visual effects, tits and a soundtrack going for it.

[dthomps]

F1-
Yeah I agree- your generalization sounded a bit like xXx, except they couldnt even get tits into that flick. :lol:

[F1nut]

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

That Charger was nice though, wasn't it!!!

OOPS, you are correct and I'll take the out, thanks! I was thinking of the F&F. The GTO in xXx was beautiful too.

[dthomps]

Oh man that car was definitely sweet. I think you mean GTO, but its forgivable since its so late. The Charger in The Fast And The Furious was a nice ride too. I guess Vin is cool in that respect, when everyone is tooling around in Hondas and Mazdas he busts out the "Thousand horsepower of Detroit muscle", and when that torpedo thing was on the loose he chases after it in a GTO- OK a little on the unbelivable side, but still cool to watch. Time for bed! Mike

[Dr. Spec]

Originally posted by dthomps
F1-
Yeah I agree- your generalization sounded a bit like xXx, except they couldnt even get tits into that flick. :lol:

Yeah but did you check out the deleted stripper scenes? Ho mama!

[jdavy]

I do not know. I cared about the kid telling the story. He was telling us about his father and his feeling for him both good and bad.

FYI it seems that the DTS version is sold at Circuit City and Best Buy.

Enjoy!

[burdette]

Come lately... we rented Road to Perdition on Monday and finally got to watch it last night.

I agree with Doc.. in terms of being a visual and auditory experience, this was a great movie - and we didn't even have the DTS version. Great scenes, contrasts, lighting, sounds. I thought the twinkle of the Tommy gun flashing out in the rain was pretty cool. Also.. the flying glass when the bullet comes though the back window of the car after the diner...

My beef is that it was highly predictable... I'm not sure anything caught me off guard... and the one that really let me down in that respect was Hank's getting killed in the end by the photographer JUST when he thought 'it' was over. And of COURSE the kid ended up back at the farm.. you knew that the instant the woman said "no, we met too late."

The movie left me with a very empty feeling... and I think that indeed was at least partially the intent. There was very little emotional connection ANYWHERE in the movie.

On a more personal note.. I've had more .. oh.. reservations about watching violence and death ever since living through others' deaths. My father died about 15 years ago, my wife's mother died 3 years ago, I'm the parent of two small kids. I find myself sometimes just not wanting to watch death for my entertainment. Nothing in Road to Perdition really bothered me until the end.. I **knew** Hanks was going to die, I knew the photographer was going to shoot him as soon as Hanks stood in front of that window, his back to the room. I chose not to watch the shots...

Which brings me to the beef I have that prompted me to search out this thread... Hanks is standing in front of a large plate glass window.. he is shot from behind, but obviously is bleeding from the front.. i.e. gunshot wounds through and through... but the glass remained intact...? Did I miss something, or is that like a very glaring mistake that stands out HUGE because the entire screen is filled with that window and Hanks figure in the middle of it?

I won't buy this... but once it goes to 99 cents for five days, I can see renting it again in a few months.

[Dr. Spec]

First, please add a prominent spoiler warning to your post and insert a bunch of empty space - not everyone has seen this movie and despite its predictability, might not appreciate knowing the specifics of the ending.

Yes it is a glaring mistake and not the only one.


Spoiler Alert:





















Surprised you missed the bullet through the back window of the car in the diner getaway scene that failed to exit the front window.

Either it was two glaring ballistics errors, or it was symbolic in a way I cannot yet comprehend.

Doc

[Steve@3dai]

Couldn't the bullet had more of a downward angle and went into the seat or something? ;)

[Dr. Spec]

Originally posted by Steve@3dai
Couldn't the bullet had more of a downward angle and went into the seat or something? ;)

And you have property where in Florida to sell me?

[burdette]

Sorry about the lack of spoiler notice... I guess I assumed anyone this far into this thread knew to be careful....

Anyway... the failure of the bullet to exit the windshield was noted on the nitpickers site. I hadn't really thought of it because I was focused on the flying glass fragments.. that 'error' also suggested that 1931 car glass would have shattered completely and not just had a hole.. not sure about that one, glass can be tricky stuff. It also wasn't mentioned that the photographer was one hell of a shot.. and that was one hell of an accurate tiny pistol.. at that range. But hey, if Oswald acted alone and the single-bullet theory is true... then the 1931 glass didn't shatter and the bullet was deflected down into the back of the front seat.

I worked as a projectionist through high school and some as an undergraduate. I still suffer from a heightened sense of noticing errors in movies, but have tried to ignore the impulse. It isn't quite so bad when I see a movie only a couple of times. I'd seen most of ET the Extra Testicle about 90 times before I was 18... and now we own it for the kids... whoo hoo! (actually, that movie is very nonoffensive).

For me, it is absolutely a sign that I was enjoying the movie that I *didn't* notice or wasn't bothered by the mistakes (except the picture window one at the end).

I just really thought RTP was visually enveloping ... I didn't find it slow or dragging. I suppose I consider Hanks a very ... I don't know... I 'bought' him as a Ranger Captain in SPR.. I bought him as a hit man in RTP. As a drastic contast, Robin Williams (and I like some of his movies) is ALWAYS Robin Williams, and I don't think that is a good thing. On the other hand, John Wayne was ALWAYS John Wayne, especially during the Big Jake, Sons of Katy Elder, El Dorado, etc phase. But that was a good thing.

[Dr. Spec]

While I have never fired any bullet from any firearm through vintage glass, I have shot through more than my share of auto safety glass with a variety of handgun and rifle calibers. I also have a more than passing knowledge of in flight and terminal ballistics.

The caliber of the handgun in question was probably .380 auto. These small guns were fairly accurate in the right hands, but the shooter needs to be practiced and skilled with the handgun in question to hit a target consistently at those ranges. I'd give his display of accuracy a 5/10 on the realism scale.

Regarding the glass - if a bullet passes through the rear glass with a horizontal angle of trajectory (such as in RTP), it would always hit the front window. A deflection might be in progress, certainly, but it cannot occur to that degree in such a short distance due to the velocity of the bullet, which was probably on the order of 800 fps. That would be akin to driving a car around an abrupt 90 degree corner at 90 mph - it can't be done.

Same thing with the finale - if it exits the body and there is a glass pane inches in front of the victim's chest, it MUST hit the glass; it cannot deflect to that extreme in that short of a distance.

I'd give both of these scenes a 1/10 on the realism scale.

Also, the shoot-out in the hotel. Unless that chest was lined with plate steel, those 12 gauge buckshot loads would have blown right through it at that range. He was using it for cover and it absorbed several blasts without losing major structural integrity. At that range, I have blown buckshot right through 55 gallon steel drums - no problem. 3/10 on the realism scale.

Doc