Product Description

A shy intelligent outcast teenager is accidentally bitten by a genetically engineered spider. Suddenly he is empowered with the speed strength and agility of a spider transforming him into an extaordinary hero. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 09/27/2005 Starring: Tobey Maguire Kirsten Dunst Run time: 121 minutes Rating: Pg13 Director: Sam Raimi

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3238 in DVD
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 2002-11-01
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Extra tracks, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Dubbed in: French
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: .30 pounds
• Running time: 121 minutes

Amazon.com
For devoted fans and nonfans alike, Spider-Man offers nothing less--and nothing more--than what you'd expect from a superhero blockbuster. Having proven his comic-book savvy with the original Darkman, director Sam Raimi brings ample energy and enthusiasm to Spidey's origin story, nicely establishing high-school nebbish Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) as a brainy outcast who reacts with appropriate euphoria--and well-tempered maturity--when a "super-spider" bite transforms him into the amazingly agile, web-shooting Spider-Man. That's all well and good, and so is Kirsten Dunst as Parker's girl-next-door sweetheart. Where Spider-Man falls short is in its hyperactive CGI action sequences, which play like a video game instead of the gravity-defying exploits of a flesh-and-blood superhero. Willem Dafoe is perfectly cast as Spidey's schizoid nemesis, the Green Goblin, and the movie's a lot of fun overall. It's no match for Superman and Batman in bringing a beloved character to the screen, but it places a respectable third. --Jeff Shannon

DVD features
When so many DVDs offer making-of featurettes and commentaries, it's a real treat to get something different on the Spider-Man DVD: a 25-minute documentary, "Spider-Man: The Mythology of the 21st Century," that examines the history of the Marvel comic book through original art and interviews with co-creator Stan Lee and artists such as John Romita, John Romita Jr., Todd McFarlane, and John Byrne. There is also a comics archive and artists gallery. And if you want info about the movie, you can get that, too: a commentary track by director Sam Raimi, actor Kirsten Dunst, producer Laura Ziskin, and co-producer Grant Curtis, plus a technically oriented commentary by the effects crew; pop-up factoids offering trivia about the movie and comic book; occasional Easter eggs leading to featurettes (e.g., 90 seconds on wrestler Randy Savage as Bonesaw McGraw); and promotional documentaries, screen tests, outtakes, and the like. --David Horiuchi

From The New Yorker
The perils and advantages of being bitten by a genetically modified spider are made abundantly clear in Sam Raimi's enjoyable, if broken-backed, exercise in high-cost pulp. Tobey Maguire plays Peter Parker, who develops a useful ability to hurl threads of web from his wrists and thus becomes, to his delight, the highest swinger in town. This prowess earns him the adoration of Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) and the enmity of the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), whose infinite capacity for evil is slightly undercut by the fact that he began life as a man called Norman. The movie is all over the place, unable to decide, for instance, whether New York should be shot as a livable city or as a Gothamite gulf of crime; similarly, Dafoe delivers a cartoon while Maguire offers a funny, rueful study in uncertain heroics. The picture is more violent than it has any right to be: why bother to throw grenades at Spider-Man, when you can presumably chase him away with a stiff broom? -Anthony Lane
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

The Web-Slinger arrives in style!
SPIDER-MAN.
Sam Raimi.
Tobey Maguire.

In 2001, when the buzz started building on the new Spidey film due to open in the summer of 2002, the things that piqued my own interest were the two major factors of Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire. Being a big fan of Raimi ever since his EVIL DEAD trilogy, and his having already made a nifty Superhero film in DARKMAN, I thought "ya got the absolute right guy for this one!" And having seen the quality of the work of young Maguire in THE ICE STORM, THE CIDER HOUSE RULES and PLEASANTVILLE, the prospect of a well-made and acted SPIDER-MAN looked good.

And then came the finished product.

WOW!

Almost everything is right with this movie: the overall tone (very true to the Stan Lee/Johnny Romita/Steve Ditko eras of the comic), the dazzling visuals (supervised by the brilliant John Dykstra), the casting (Willem Dafoe made a great Goblin, although I wished they'd gone with a mask instead of the helmet, for more facial expression), the music (exciting and effective as always, by Danny Elfman).

WOW.

SPIDER-MAN deserved to be the huge hit it was, and still deserves to be seen and experienced. Kirsten Dunst (ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, MARIE ANTOINETTE) is just perfect as Mary Jane Watson, and the upside-down kiss is now the stuff of legend; James Franco (FLYBOYS, PINEAPPLE EXPRESS) looks and acts as if he could truly be the son of Willem Dafoe; Cliff Robertson (CHARLY, BRAINSTORM) and Rosemary Harris (BEING JULIA, BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD) are absolutely dead-on emotionally right as Ben and May Parker; and J. K. Simmons (TV's THE CLOSER and LAW AND ORDER, among hundreds of TV and film appearances) is a fabulous J. Jonah Jameson. Also look for Bill Nunn as Robbie Robertson, Elizabeth Banks as Betty Brant, Sam's bruddah Ted Raimi as Hoffman, and a nice guest appearance by the one and only Bruce Campbell (and check out Bruce's books "Make Love The Bruce Campbell Way" and "If Chins Could Kill" for a tremendously funny read).

Yes, Stan the Man has a quick cameo, too.

The David Koepp (CARLITO'S WAY, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE) screenplay keeps everything that comics fans love about the Marvel stories, so you know that beyond the action and adventure there are going to be characters with full personalities and real problems with which you can identify. The cinematography by Don Burgess is golden and Sam Raimi's staging of iconic Spidey poses within the frame is seemingly effortless.

Okay, if you haven't seen SPIDER-MAN, do so. And once you've decided that it most definitely is a keeper in the ol' DVD library, make sure you get the Two-Disc Widescreen Special Edition. The set comes with goodies galore, including onscreen factoids that pop up while watching the movie, commentary from Sam Raimi, Kirsten Dunst and producers Laura Ziskin and Grant Curtis, SFX commentary from John Dykstra (SILENT RUNNING, 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, BATMAN FOREVER) and his team, Webisodes, Trailers, Documentaries, Screen Tests, a Gag Reel, comic archives, DVD-ROM content and a whole lot more! The transfer to digital is every bit as crackerjack as you think it would be, with sharp blacks, beautiful color and a sound mix to die for (check it out on headphones!). And don't mess with the Pan and Scan edition: Raimi really knows how to use the 2:35 Widescreen format to its fullest extent.

So grab some popcorn, sit back and prepare to be blown away by Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. THWIP!

Awesome Movie
I love this movie. The actors were perfect for their roles and the action was great. It brings you into Peter Parker's world and allows you to discover with him, his new power. Probably the best in the trilogy, it introduces you to one of our favorite super heroes with great style.

How It Should Look & Sound!
Short and sweet a great purchase. Forget HD & Blu-Ray if u want to save money and get good DVD's buy Superbit or DTS DVD's. These days sound is progressing more than picture and DTS is still the standard. Recent movies look great and sound great espescially with DTS or Dolby EX. This is a great example. Oh by the way "Spiderman" 1 & 2 are in Superbit (excellent) and three is lame.