Product Description

THE ONLY CLUES TO A SERIAL KILLER'S VICIOUS CRIMES ARE PIECES OF A BIZARRE PUZZLE. AND ONLY ONETIME TOP HOMICIDE INVESTIGATOR LINCOLN RHYME CAN PUT THE PIECES TOGETHER. WITH THE HELP OF A SHARP YOUNG ROOKIE, RHYME REALIZES HE AND HIS PARTNER MAY BE THE NEXT TARGETS AND THEIR FIRST CASE COULD BE THEIR LAST.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7984 in DVD
• Brand: Universal Studios
• Released on: 2001-08-28
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 118 minutes

Amazon.com
Released in late 1999, The Bone Collector was originally promoted as a thriller in the tradition of The Silence of the Lambs and Seven, suggesting that it would earn a place among those earlier, better films. Nice try, but no cigar. The Bone Collector settles instead for mere competence and the modest rewards of a well-handled formula. With a terrific cast at his service, director Phillip Noyce (Dead Calm, Patriot Games) turns the pulpy indulgence of Jeffery Deaver's novel into a slick potboiler that is grisly fun only if you don't pick it apart.

Noyce expertly builds palpable tension around a series of gruesome murders that lead us into the darkest nooks of New York City. Now a bedridden quadriplegic prone to life-threatening seizures and suicidal depression, forensics detective Lincoln Rhyme (Denzel Washington) gets a new lease on life with a sharp young beat cop (Angelina Jolie) who's a wizard at analyzing crime scenes. She does field work while he deciphers clues from his high-tech Manhattan loft, and as they narrow the search their lives are increasingly endangered. As this formulaic plot grows moldy, Noyce resorts to narrative shortcuts, using perfunctory scenes to manipulate the viewer and taking morbid pleasure in his revelation of the murder scenes. And yet it all works, to a point, and the cast (including Queen Latifah and Luiz Guzmán) is much better than the material. If you're looking for a few good thrills, The Bone Collector is a pretty safe bet. --Jeff Shannon

From The New Yorker
Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie may have signed on to this picture believing they were going to do a "Rear Window"-type thriller, but the film, while sharply directed by Phillip Noyce, is so badly plotted that it feels like an episode of "Ironside." Washington plays a forensics expert, a quadriplegic confined to his bed, who guides a police rookie (Jolie) through a series of clues to catch a gruesome serial killer. Noyce jacks up the slick production values and cool camera angles to give the picture some pizzazz, but the hokey dialogue and catch-the-killer philosophizing kills most of the tension. Although Washington's charisma shines, Jolie gives such a thin performance that it's almost laughable. -Bruce Diones
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

A class mystery thriller
If you like films like kiss the girls, copycat and silence of the lambs you will like this movie. The basic plot, Denzel plays a paralysed expert in police forensics who was injured in the line of duty. He is asked by his old colleague Ed o'neil to work on a new serial killer case and he accepts but requires that a young rookie cop help with the forensics, they then form a terrific partnership trying to solve the case by Denzel teaching his gained knowldege to his young apprentice. The acting is good along with an excellent storyline. The DVD has a few special features with the usual DVD superb picture and sound quality. Well worth the price.

Worth watching if you haven't read the Deaver novel of the
same name.

If you have, do not, I repeat, do not plan to enjoy the movie. I've no problem with the scripting changes necessitated when films are made from great books (although they usually don't work!)....but in this case, a truly unique first appearance of Lincoln Rhyme, a quadriplegic forensic specialist, is spoiled by some deliberate and wasted alterations of the characters and the plot.

The changes? Rhyme's nurse in the novel was a cynic, gay harpy...the perfect person to try to control Rhyme. In the movie, a big-hearted, dedicated career nurse is played by Queen Latifah. Why? The ending of the film was completely changed by the scriptwriters, and I urge you to read the novel to see the shocking conclusion that played so much better than the film ended.

I blame Noyce, the director, for the script annihilation, the "too dark" filming sequences outside of Rhyme's apartment, and the waste of a pretty cohesive cast.

I'm giving 3 stars instead of less because the cast does a fine job, and the sets are outstanding. Angelina Jolie may not have been excellent here, in Amelia's first appearance, but you can believe that she would be perfect for the part if filmakers chose to continue the Rhyme theme and film some of the later, greater novels. Supporting players are all strong, and Denzel is outstanding as Lincoln Rhyme, with his electronic life-giving toys, his attitude, and his willingness to give up life as every seizure (well played!) rocks his world. The chemistry between Jolie & Washington is strong and well-played, and, had the film been shot a little differently and been more of a success, Washington might have had the continuous role as Rhyme that Harrison Ford keeps winning in films...oh, well.

Read the novel, but then don't watch the DVD!!!!

One of the best
I read over some of the other reviews putting this movie at an "average" rating, but I kinda disagree. First off, I think the director and producer put this movie together perfectly. In case you do not know about this movie, Ill start off by describing it a bit... The main theme lies in the thriller/mystery department, so if you like these kind of films, you will most definitely like this movie. The two main charactors in the movie are Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. Denzel plays a disabled Crime Scene Investigator and Angelina plays a rookie police officer who laters finds out her talent as a crime scene investigator. The setting of the story takes place in New York City (which is a perfect spot for this type of movie) and is cast in modern day life. Basically, the plot of the movie is about a phsyco murderer who, very strategically, plans killings by using his job as a taxi cab driver to kidnapp people. I dont want to get too in depth, but the good guys would be Denzel and Angelina and a few other police bureau workers who try to solve the mystery behind all the kidnappings and hopefully get to the crime scene in time to save innocent people. You might have preconcieved notions about this movie being kind of average, but what makes this movie stand out is its outstanding film features. By features I mean, great music and excellent effects (everything such as lighting, settings etc). If your going to watch it, here are some VERY recommended suggestions...

1. Make sure its dark- 50% of the movies general "effect" comes from the ambience in which you watch it. 2. Watch on a fairly large television with a fairly good sound system. - try to get the best TV and sound system to watch the movie otherwise dont even bother with the movie. 3. Must get it on DVD! - Dont watch the VHS version, I saw it and its horrible. Film quality is bad and it doesnt include all the extras which tell about the Bone collector. Sound is also improved on DVD version. Any way you look at it, you need to give the Bone Collector a try. Great movie for all.