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: #489 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: 1.25 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

Shaky but cool
I received the used CD in great condition, it was advertised as "like-new" - not a scratch or fingerprint - very clean. Fast delivery and great price. I can build my blue ray collection at DVD prices. Great vendor - will purchase again.

Spoilers Galore
CLOVERFIELD boasts a grade Z cast of unknown actors in an attempt, I expect, not only to save money but also to keep a low profile with the fanboy set, for it's not like photographers crowding around a Johnny Depp set, is it, there are almost 100 per cent nobodies in the cast. Wonder if any of them will be able to get a job on the back of this film--I hope so, since no one is really bad, except for the jackass holding the camera, who proves that whatever Seth Rogen has, he's not sharing it with his peers. I looked up his name in the credits, says it's "T. J. Miller," the sort of name female impersonators in the 50s used to go by to confuse nightclub patrons. But he plays "Hud," and otherwise steers clear of the androgynous spirit, always playing the big dumb guy so, he's consistent. No one's superbad, ha ha, and a few of the actors actually rise to the challenge and give it a go.

The best known actor, Mike Vogel, does a "Janet Leigh" here, which must have confounded all Vogel fans who paid good hard money to get into the theater! How'd you like it if, when you paid $12 to see a Jim Carrey movie, and then you find out that after 15 minutes, Jim Carrey's off somewhere else doing another movie? I'd be annoyed, but luckily for most of us that's around when we start getting glimpses of the hideous monster devouring Manhattan and the thrills and chills start exploding left and right!

Vogel is great by the way, and I am sure he'll go on to better parts, hopefully longer ones too. Maybe for his next movie he could come in for the last 20 minutes and people will be glad to see him--maybe a remake of SAVING PRIVATE RYAN sort of thing?

Terrible
Without a doubt, one of the worst movies I have ever seen. I thought Blair Witch Project was bad. Cloverfield makes Blair Witch look like a classic. The Director of this movies should not be given any more movies to direct. The actors should all report to the unemployment office and seek retraining in another field. This qualifies for the biggest rasberry of all time. I can't believe they charged money to see this movie. I feel as though I have been robbed. If this movie was a building it would be condemed; it's that bad.