Product Description

AFTER ARRIVING AT NY'S JFK AIRPORT, VIKTOR VIVORSKI GETS CAUGHT IN BUREAUCRATIC GLITCHES THAT MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR HIM TO RETURN TO HIS HOME COUNTRY OR ENTER THE U.S. NOW CAUGHT UP IN THE WORLD INSIDE THE AIRPORT, VIKTOR MAKES FRIENDS, GETS A JOB & FINDS ROMANCE - ALL INSIDE THE TERMINAL.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7580 in DVD
• Brand: Paramount
• Released on: 2004-11-23
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• ESRB Rating: Teen
• Formats: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: Bulgarian, English, French
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Dubbed in: French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 128 minutes

Amazon.com
Like an airport running at peak efficiency, The Terminal glides on the consummate skills of its director and star. Having refined their collaborative chemistry on Saving Private Ryan and Catch Me if You Can, Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks mesh like the precision gears of a Rolex, turning a delicate, not-very-plausible scenario into a lovely modern-age fable (partly based on fact) that's both technically impressive and subtly moving. It's Spielberg in Capra mode, spinning the featherweight tale of Victor Navorski (Hanks, giving a finely tuned performance), an Eastern European who arrives at New York's Kennedy Airport just as his (fictional) homeland has fallen to a coup, forcing him, with no valid citizenship, to take indefinite residence in the airport's expansive International Arrivals Terminal (an astonishing full-scale set that inspires Spielberg's most elegant visual strategies). Spielberg said he made this film in part to alleviate the anguish of wartime America, and his master's touch works wonders on the occasionally mushy material; even Stanley Tucci's officious terminal director and Catherine Zeta-Jones's mixed-up flight attendant come off (respectively) as forgivable and effortlessly charming. With this much talent involved, The Terminal transcends its minor shortcomings to achieve a rare degree of cinematic grace. --Jeff Shannon

From The New Yorker
As Viktor Navorski, a stolid, jazz-loving bachelor from Eastern Europe, Tom Hanks speaks only a few words of English and walks with his feet turned out in a rapid waddle. He puts on a good show in difficult circumstances: Viktor's tiny country has fallen into chaos, and he's left stranded and stateless at JFK airport. For months, he sleeps in a lounge, scrounges for food and work, and carries on a wan flirtation with a slightly masochistic "stew" (Catherine Zeta-Jones) who is touched by his gentleness. Viktor's nemesis, an ambitious customs bureaucrat (Stanley Tucci), tries to stymie him, but the phantom of the terminal turns into a modern-day Robinson Crusoe, exercising his resourcefulness not in the natural world but in a peculiar corner of Western consumer society. "The Terminal" is essentially an exploration of the inner life of an airport-the humming lights and glaring emptiness of the late-night lounges, the quirks of the food-service and maintenance men who become Viktor's allies, suppliers, and then his adoring fans. Steven Spielberg directs this fable with his customary fluency and warmth, and the movie has some charming passages-a dinner party served by the maintenance men is a highlight-but the narrative lacks drive and a serious reason to exist. The time passes pleasantly, but one feels that only Hanks' talent and Spielberg's enormous facility are keeping the movie alive. -David Denby
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Has its issues, but is irresistably charming and sweet...
A noted critic is famous for saying that the worst movie the Marx brothers could ever make would still be better than most films out there. That's how director Steven Spielberg is these days - though not at the top of his critical or popular peak, he continues to make movies that - though not shoo-ins for a Top 100 list - are 'good.' Case in point: The Terminal is the worst movie he's made in a decade, and I still had a pretty good time.

If anything, The Terminal (like Young Adam with Ewan McGregor) proves that an immensely talented star and American Everyman like Tom Hanks can rise above just about anything and make it worthwhile. His plight as the immigrant stuck in the airport terminal is alternately hilarious, touching, and so incredibly nuanced that you do - believe me on this - forget it's a megastar playing the role. Hanks plays the role with a Chaplinesque grace that compliments everyone around him, especially airport workers Diego Luna, Kumar Pallana, and Zoe Saldana. And the movie works...to a point. What I found most shocking about Terminal is that it really comes apart with the introduction of the plot strand involing Catherine Zeta-Jones' flight attendant. Her Amelia is a schlocky, As the World Turns-inspired piece of character writing that is too often contrived and sappy. And unconvincing at that - quite a feat considering Zeta-Jones is the most beautiful woman on the planet.

I don't really know what was going through the minds of writers Sacha Gervasi and Jeff Nathanson when they decided to throw this movie away in its final act. This movie has so much wistful charm it's easy to throw off the 'Amelia situation' and succeed, but the plot spotlight hits her too much near the end; and it gets so sappy. Ebert hails Spielberg as an American director who can make audiences cry without manipulation, but The Terminal becomes too noodging as one act of kindness after another guides the movie to its close. And I admired the film's aim for simplicity in its final tie of the plot strands (yes, this movie turns on a peanut canister), but as the credits rolled, I felt a vague feeling of dissatisfaction (a la A.I.).

It's difficult to really judge a movie like this. The charm, heart, and wit displayed in most of it is enough to keep it afloat despite some serious missteps, but let me take a minute and be unfair. This is a director who has helmed some of the most enduring works of American film...so why didn't he notice some the soap opera-ish writing and cheesiness that pops up too often in this film? I look toward the movie's faults more because I know they could have been fixed: Amelia could have been more believable, the movie could have left out some "awww" moments at the end, and it could have trimmed off about 10 minutes. Had The Terminal taken the time to match the perfection of the film's first half, it would have been one of the best movies of the year. I had such a great time for a while, and wanted to follow it to even greater things. Even now, though, it's a warm, engaging little comedy stuck in an overlong melodrama's body. GRADE: B

Hanks is brilliant
"The Terminal" has a lot going for it.

It has the crowd-drawing director, actor, actress, and a plot that would make anyone say, "how in the world?"

And for the most part, it lives up to it. Hanks is absolutely amazing in his role. I forgot it was him for the majority of the film, and though that should be par for the acting course, it's not for many actors. He loses himself as Victor, and he's not afraid to lay it out for his character. He changed his walk, stance, everything for Victor. It's the complete package, and Hanks never misses a beat.

Spielberg delivers what you expect: excellent directing. There are so many little touches in the background during the entire film that you sit and smile when you catch it, and when a scene comes off as completely coherent, you realize there was so much reinforcing what had occurred. The typical (of recent films anyway) Spielberg lighting comes into play frequently, and it makes for a lovely film. He got such a marvelous performance from Hanks and the rest of the cast...must be a really famous director, eh?

Catherine Zeta-Jones had a smaller role than I expected, but she still pulled a decent performance. I believed her, for the most part. A couple scenes, no, but for the most part.

The supporting cast of Victor's airport friends is marvelous. The chemistry between them and Hanks is great, even with Hanks not speaking English very well. I really like those characters, and the actors pulled it off brilliantly.

The script is good, dialogue believable, and story followable and lovable.

My only complaint with the film is that it seemed a little drawn out at points. It's about 2 hours, and I thought it could've been shorter. But the subplots keep you entertained, and you really grow to appreciate the characters. There are some fascinating character developments and studies in this one. You'll want to think when it's over, though you may not know what about.

"The Terminal" may not be what you expect; but it is a good film, with comedy throughout and some nice dramatic moments too. I recommend it. Enjoy Hanks' brilliant work!

Kafka as Kartoon!
THE TERMINAL is a difficult movie to score - it is a highly entertaining film, very well crafted, with a dazzling set of actors in the leads and comprimario roles, and has a nice take on the microcosm of the airport as the confines of the universe - and for all the feel-good Steven Spielbergisms it engenders, there is still something that makes it not quite score a full five. The set is fantastic and very well used. The line between comedy and absurdity and tragedy is pretty well delineated, but there are a few too many bleeps in the continuity of the tale (and the characters) to overlook.
Tom Hanks proves again that he can create a memorable character as Viktor, a simple man with a mission who finds himself entrapped in JKF airport by an accidental loss of his country to villainous overthrow (beginning to catch the overtones Spielberg drives home?) and is kept 'prisoner' by the upwardly mobile Customs agent Frank Dixon ( played well by Stanley Tucci). At first Viktor speaks no English (tremendously comic scenes of how one reacts to a language that is completely foreign) and so must survive his prolonged stay in the airport by eating free crackers-and-mustard/catsup sandwiches, sleeping in the reconstruction site of the airport, 'bathing' in the restrooms (get it?). Slowly he encounters airport workers who come to his aid by mutual coercion (Gupta - the hilarious Indian custodian played exceptionally well by Kumar Pallana, Enrique who transports food and is lovable in the capable hands of Diego Luna, even the security clerk Torres played by Zoe Saldana and Mulroy played by Chi McBride), survives, suddenly able to speak a LOT of English (though with a delightfully consistent Slavic accent) he falls for a stewardess (Catherine Zeta-Jones) who has spent her life waiting for the right man to come along. The ending looks like it is going to be right out THE MUSIC MAN until the film takes a syrupy turn and ends not with a bang but with a whimper. There is nothing not to like about this warm movie, it is just a little too Hollywood. But all is forgiven if you can just watch it for 1) the performances and 2) for the simple quiet message that we all are dependent on each other in this far too busy, suspicious, and alien world. Good timing, Mr. Spielberg.