Product Description

Directed by Sam Raimi Spider-Man centers on student Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) who after being bitten by a genetically-altered spider gains superhuman strength and the spider-like ability to cling to any surface. He vows to use his abilities to fight crime coming to understand the words of his beloved Uncle Ben: "With great power comes great responsibility." System Requirements:Starring: Willem Dafoe Kirsten Dunst Tobey Maguire. Directed: Sam Raimi. Running Time: 121 Minutes Color. This film is presented in "Widescreen" format. Copyright 2002 Colombia Pictures Industries Inc. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: PG-13 UPC: 043396096615 Manufacturer No: 09661

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3859 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

My spidey sense is tingling
I remember when this movie first came out I was somewhat skeptical about seeing it but I finally gave in and was surprised of how good it was and how faithful it was to the comic book. The story itself is basically how Spider-man came to be. On a field trip Peter Parker(Tobey Maguire) gets bit by a radioactive spider and gains powers from the bite. He not only has to struggle with making ends meet he has to struggle with a destructive lunatic called Green Goblin(Willem Dafoe)and also revealing his true feelings about his long-time friend, Mary Jane(Kirsten Dunst).

This movie is so true to the comic book, its almost eerie. Tobey Maguire is great as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Willem Dafoe is excellent as The Green Goblin, J.K. Simmons is great as Jonah Jameson and even Aunt May and Uncle Ben are portrayed and acted accurately. The action sequences are pretty good and even though they use CGI its not an eyesore here as it is in other movies that use it heavily. My only gripe is I could do without the weak one-liners that appear once and awhile in the movie. All in all fans of the comic book as well as the cartoon series wont be disappointed.

Ultimate Spider-Man Experience
The Spider-Man (Three-Disc Deluxe Edition) has everything and more that you want to know about this great movie, bargain for what you get.

I don't know
People who gave this movie 5 stars, how did you get over the whole throwing web from wrist thing, or hideous goblin costume? Yeah, like army will order a suit with a stupid gargoyle face. I know the whole thing is made up but the movie could at least be faithful to the comics.

Other than the issues above I really liked the movie.