Product Description

Five young New Yorkers throw their friend a going-away party the night that a monster the size of a skyscraper descends upon the city. Told from the point of view of their video camera the film is a document of their attempt to survive the most surreal horrifying event of their lives.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLERS UPC: 097363520641 Manufacturer No: 352064

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #140 in DVD
• Brand: PARAMOUNT PICTURES
• Released on: 2008-04-22
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, Russian
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Dubbed in: French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 84 minutes

Amazon.com
One of the first things a viewer notices about Cloverfield is that it doesn't play by ordinary storytelling rules, making this intriguing horror film as much a novelty as an event. Told from the vertiginous point-of-view of a camcorder-wielding group of friends, Cloverfield begins like a primetime television soap opera about young Manhattanites coping with changes in their personal lives. Rob (Michael Stahl-David) is leaving New York to take an executive job at a company in Japan. At his goodbye party in a crowded loft, Rob's brother Jason (Mike Vogel) hands a camcorder to best friend Hud (T.J. Miller), who proceeds to tape the proceedings over old footage of Rob's ex-girlfriend, Beth (Odette Yustman)--images shot during happy times in that now-defunct relationship. Naturally, Beth shows up at the party with a new beau, bumming Rob out completely. Just before one's eyes glaze over from all this heartbreaking stuff (captured by Hud, who's something of a doofus, in laughably shaky camerawork), the unexpected happens: New York is suddenly under attack from a Godzilla-like monster stomping through midtown and destroying everything and everybody in sight. Rob and company hit the streets, but rather than run with other evacuees, they head toward the center of the storm so that Rob can rescue an injured Beth. There are casualties along the way, but the journey into fear is fascinating and immediate if emotionally remote--a consequence of seeing these proceedings through the singular, subjective perspective of a camcorder and of a story that intentionally leaves major questions unanswered: Who or what is this monster? Where did it come from? The lack of a backstory, and spare views of the marauding creature, are clever ways by producer J.J. Abrams and director Matt Reeves to keep an audience focused exclusively on what's on the screen. But it also makes Cloverfield curiously uninvolving. Ultimately, Cloverfield, with its spectacular effects brilliantly woven into a home-video look, is a celebration of infinite possibilities in this age of accessible, digital media. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

either love it or hate it
I'm definitely in agreement with most of the previous reviewers. You will either love or hate this movie. There won't be much middle ground. (ex. I loved it, and my wife hated it) Something you SHOULD know before watching this movie, is that it is shot entirely from a handheld video camera. Entirely. That means there is alot of moving and shaking and bouncing all around. (think Blair Witch Project, but in NYC) I personally liked the personal frame of reference. I guess it just made it feel more real, and me feel less detached from it. The dialogue in some of the scenes didn't quite fit. Characters cracking jokes at times, and in situations, where they obviously wouldn't. There is no bow on this one tying everything together folks. The end is just the end. There's no twist, and there are no explanations. It's pretty simply. Monster attacks New York, and people run for their lives.

pathetic
i bought this on the strength of the reviews written on the cover, I think it is the worst "movie" that I have the displeasure of viewing, I will sue the writters of the good write ups if I can

Worst Movie Ever Made
What a waste of film, time & money!! I actually got my money back for this film in Riverside California. I am an avid monster fan of horror & the sci fi genera (as this is what my magazine has catered to fans for the past 20 years) Cloverfield delivered NOTHING with this hand held made movie, all it delivered was a nauseating experience. Even low budget documentaries do not have that much camera movement, the camera movement was OVERDONE!! "Have you ever heard of camera stabilization"?! You can't even see the monster or the crawling creatures because of this shotty camera work. It seems that everyone is always trying to come up with something new to awwwww it's audience & yet they have just re-created what has already been done (Blair Witch Project). It is evident that this director did not read all the negative reviews that Blair Witch received on it's over done camera movement. What these new directors need to do is stick to good old fashioned movie making without those cheap camera effects & stop trying to think of a new way to film. This movie would receive zero stars if permitted by Amazon. All I can say is, "It's the worst movie I have EVER seen & thousands agree with me"! Schroeder (Publisher/Owner) of Cult Movies Magazine