Product Description

Action superstar Bruce Willis (SIN CITY, DIE HARD, UNBREAKABLE, THE SIXTH SENSE, ARMAGEDDON, PULP FICTION) powers a nail-biting thriller that crackles with action and suspense! When Jeff Talley (Willis) became chief of police in a sleepy town, he thought he'd left behind the traumas of his career as a big city hostage negotiator. But when a random crime escalates into a deadly standoff, Talley finds himself thrust into a situation far more volatile and terrifying than anything he could ever imagine! Also starring Kevin Pollak (THE USUAL SUSPECTS, THE WHOLE NINE YARDS), Jonathan Tucker (THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE), and Ben Foster (SIX FEET UNDER, THE PUNISHER), this acclaimed hit is based on the best-selling novel by Robert Crais.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7193 in DVD
• Brand: BUENA VISTA HOME VIDEO
• Released on: 2005-06-21
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• ESRB Rating: Teen
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 113 minutes

Amazon.com
You get two hostage crises for the price of one in Hostage, an overwrought but otherwise involving thriller grounded by Bruce Willis's solid lead performance. Making a dramatic pit-stop on his way to Die Hard 4, Willis plays a traumatized former Los Angeles hostage negotiator, now working as a nearly-divorced police chief in sleepy Ventura County, California. Willis suddenly finds himself amidst two potentially deadly stand-offs when a trio of hapless teenagers seize hostages in the fortress-like home of an accountant (Kevin Pollack) whose connections to organized crime result in Willis struggling to rescue his estranged wife and daughter, who are being held hostage by faceless thugs at an undisclosed location. Having directed two of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell video games, director Florent Siri brings plenty of slick, competent filmmaking to Willis's desperate dilemma, and the film boasts a gritty, graphic style that draws attention away from implausible plot twists. The bothersome, over-the-top performances by the teenaged villains also slightly compromise this gloomy but emotionally gripping adaptation of Robert Crais's novel, named as one of Amazon.com's best books of 2001. --Jeff Shannon

Kevin Thomas, LOS ANGELES TIMES
"Made with energetic flair and no small dose of violence, mercifully handled with discretion, HOSTAGE exemplifies taut, confident filmmaking."

Lisa Schwarzbaum, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
"An interesting French action pic fights gallantly for dominance over a bulging, American-style shoot-'em-up."

Customer Reviews

Bruce Willis is overly motivated to save these hostages
Going into this film you should know that "Hostage" is an over the top sort of film. Based on the novel of the same name by Robert Crais, this 2005 release finds that one hostage drama is not enough, there needs to be two hostage dramas going on at the same time just to make things even more complicated. Then it decides that the hero should be burdened with guilt over a previous hostage situation that goes wrong. On the one hand this makes the scenario pretty unbelievable, but on the other hand you get to the point where you are wondering how they are going to get to the requisite happy ending so you will be hard pressed to call "Hostage" predictable. That being the greatest Hollywood sin, I am willing to forgive this film its faults.

The prologue finds Jeff Talley (Bruce Willis), with long hair and a long beard, dealing with a hostage situation in L.A. His goal is to make sure that nobody dies that die, but that does not happen. A year later Talley is the chief of police in Bristo Camino in Ventura County. His wife (Serena Scott Thomas) and daughter (Rumer Willis) are still living in the city and come out to visit on weekends. The daughter is not speaking to her father, apparently worried her parents are going to get divorced and unable to understand why daddy wants the relative peace and quiet of the sticks. But like Willis' most famous screen incarnation, John McClane of the "Die Hard" flicks, the rule of irony applies and his biggest nightmare shows up in town.

Three young punks are sitting in a stolen pick-up truck ogling a young girl who flips them off before getting back into her daddy's SUV. They decide to follow the family home and when they discover a beautiful home nestled in the hills outside of town they decide to break in and push the family around. The thing we know somebody is dead and Talley arrives on the scene to be greeted by a hail of bullets. The Smith family ends up being held hostage by these three punks and when the County Sheriff shows up Talley is perfectly happy to turn over command and walk away. However, there is an interested third party to the hostage situation who insists that Talley resume command and do everything in his power, not to make sure that everybody gets out alive, but that a certain computer disc is retrieved.

Again, this is a totally unbelievable situation, but it is not boring. You either buy into the scenario and go along for the ride or you do not. My only question is whether the red herring I picked up on to no good end whatsoever was intentional or an uncorrupted mistook. That and why the title credits look like a dry run for "Sin City" and also have no discernable payoff in the film. The most interesting character in the film ends up being Mars (Ben Foster), the trigger happy one of the punks who had be scared because I kept thinking at some point he would realize that the young girl he was holding hostage (Michelle Horn) was going to be the last female he was going to be near for the rest of his life. Earlier in the film her father (Kevin Pollak) tried to dissuade her from dressing like a tramp. Being eyeballed by punks with guns certainly seems to suggest that she might reconsider her clothing choices in the future (especially in terms of any words that might appear on her shirts).

Director Florent Siri comes up with some interesting camera shots and even managed to impress me with a slow motion shot (I have been wincing at those pretty much since I saw the end of "Rocky II"). If anything, Siri is fascinating by the cinematic style of violence he can depict and if you are looking for an action film with flair this might fit the bill. The only one liner Willis' character has in the film is an echo of something just said by one of the bad guys and most of the key moments for his character are inarticulate looks of fear, rage, and despair. That is why I thought the two hostage situations were motivation enough without needing to resort to the one that went wrong. The end game of "Hostage" requires a couple of reverses to help things along, but I actually found it quite interesting to suddenly be rooting for a character that I was hoping to see dead and although I did figure out the finale surprise twist it was not telegraphed that far in advance, so I was more pleased with myself than disappointed in the film.

Double your hostage, double your action
Another dark drama that makes no pretense
Of having a plotline that makes any sense
With two hostage stories, it's double the action
Depending on violence to get your reaction

Bruce Willis does "anguish", the thing he does best
But the acting shouts "B" for most of the rest
He once lost a hostage and retired from the fray
Preferring to sit at his desk every day

But as fate would have it, some punks cross his path
And it blows up real quick when a cop feels their wrath
They hold the Smiths hostage, the alarm system sucks
The stakes get much higher when they find some big bucks

And wouldn't you know it, the Dad is a crook
By creative accounting, not quite by the book
He's hidden some files under "Heaven Can Wait"
And organized crime is now storming the gate

The punks are in shambles, they're out of their league
They're making mistakes out of greed and fatigue
But Bruce has no choice, he can't put it aside
His wife and his daughter are kidnapped and tied

The ending's predictable, violent and gory
A typical, everyday action-man story
With fiery effects and slow motion also
As a rental, this movie is packaged to go.

(Rated 3.5 stars)


Amanda Richards, October 10, 2005

Thrilling Action with Quick Changes of Direction & Clever Side Plots...
To be a hostage induces an dreadful experience to those under circumstances where the choice of options have ceased to exist. The only choice is to live under the constant observation of another party who controls everything within the area in which they confine the hostage. In order to prevent a deadly outcome in a stand-off with law enforcement the police have negotiators that communicate, usually over the phone, directly with the person in charge. The negotiator communicates with the hostage taker in order to gain ground and information in regards to the situation while trying to solve the issue in a peaceful manner. Jeff Talley (Bruce Willis) is negotiator who desires nothing else than to solve hostage situations peacefully, but it has taken it's toll on his life including his relationship with his wife and daughter. Consequently, Jeff has taken the job as a small town sheriff where he enjoys counting the peaceful days in contrasts to the violence of Los Angeles.

Hostage, directed by Florent Emilio Siri, has an interesting display of the opening credits through a vignette portraying the city of Los Angeles in black and gray while the sky is crimson red. This suggestively induces a notion of darkness and despair that suddenly cuts into a hostage situation where an extremely disturbed man has taken a woman and her son hostage who is also screaming out his demands over a phone. On the other side of the line rests Jeff on his back under the scorching L.A. sun located on top of a parking garage talking to the hostage taker with the cool calmness of a kindergarten teacher. During his conversation with the hostage taker the S.W.A.T. team informs him that they are ready to strike, but he holds them back. However, the situation begins to slip Jeff's grip and it is the violence of these working conditions that makes Jeff seek relocation in a more serene community.

The relocation takes its toll on his family. His daughter thinks they are getting a divorce while she feels the tension between her mom and dad. Jeff's wife even complains that she does not know what is going on, as Jeff keeps everything bottled up inside and does not share his thoughts or feelings. Yet, the job has its benefits compared to his previous job. It is a safer and more peaceful job for Jeff, as his biggest problem is speeding and maintaining the dress code among the police officers. However, somewhere in this low-crime background a dark and more sinister situation is about to boil into a deadly stand-off with the local police force. Three teenagers decide on trying to steal a luxury SUV from a richer family, but something goes wrong and the three adolescents become hostage takers.

Initially, it all seems like an ordinary break-in that went wrong and led the hostage situation to Jeff, but when some other factors come into play he finds himself being a hostage. His position turns into a race against time and the other police officers in charge at the lavish mountain top home where the hostages reside. It is crucial that Jeff remain cool and collected while trying to find an answer to his tough situation which calls for extreme measures. However, he cannot plan for the unexpected elements that might occur in a highly stressful circumstance and how it might affect others in this situation.

From the opening credits until the end of the film viewers will most likely sit glued to the edge of their seat. The story is highly engaging and it throws several different ideas at the audience to make the situation captivating, and it does so with much success. There are however, some elements in the story that feel awkward and far-fetched, yet somehow Florent Emilio Siri keeps the audience's attention until the very end. The cinematography touches on the borders of psychosis when it extravagantly spreads its black and crimson shades across the screen, which artistically elevate the level of suspense. Bruce Willis's performance balances well with Ben Foster's dark persona that brings another intriguing element to the story. All of the different aspects of the story prepare the audience for a thrilling journey that quickly changes direction with clever side plots and moments of surprise.