Product Description

A psychological thriller, Taking Lives is the story of an FBI agent who becomes involved with her key witness while tracking a prolific serial killer who assumes the lives and identities of the people he kills. She finds herself surrounded by numerous suspects and no one to trust.

DVD Features:
Additional Scenes
Documentaries:Four probing documentaries with the Cast and Crew. * The Art of Collaboration: How the filmmaking team came together * Profiling a Director: Inside D.J. Caruso's Mind * Bodies of Evidence: Stars confess their secrets of working on an ultra-intense thriller * Puzzle Within The Puzzle: The teamwork of Caruso and veteran editor Anne V. Coates
Outtakes
Theatrical Trailer

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17264 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2004-08-17
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: AC-3, Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 103 minutes

Features

• A psychological thriller, Taking Lives is the story of an FBI agent who becomes involved with her key witness while tracking a prolific serial killer who assumes the lives and identities of the people he kills. She finds herself surrounded by numerous suspects and no one to trust.Running Time: 103 min. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: NR Age: 012569431829

Amazon.com
While it doesn't rank with such grim classics as The Silence of the Lambs and Seven, D.J. Caruso's Taking Lives offers similarly heavy atmosphere, beginning well before fizzling into absurdity. Freely adapted from the novel by Michael Pye, and set in Montreal (although it was filmed in Quebec City), the plot trades in several familiar tropes of the serial-killer genre, beginning with the FBI agent (Angelina Jolie) who brings her unique skills (and brooding, low-key demeanor) to the vexing case of a killer who, out of apparent self-loathing, steals the identities of his victims and lives their lives until it's time for the next gruesome murder. Ethan Hawke plays the killer's alleged next victim, and in a film filled with twists that grow increasingly unconvincing, Keifer Sutherland is menacingly cast as a shifty suspect. Caruso's previous film was the creepy drug thriller The Salton Sea, so he's well-qualified to infuse Taking Lives with a darkly stylish sense of dread and at least one good shock to keep your adrenaline flowing. The second half essentially betrays the promise of the first, but there's enough going on to hold your interest to the end. --Jeff Shannon

DVD features
More sex. More violence. That's what you get in the unrated director's cut of Taking Lives, which ought to tell you where director D.J. Caruso's priorities lie. The hot scenes between Angelina Jolie and Ethan Hawke are extended (offering a bit more nudity for Jolie's lecherous fans), and the fate of Gena Rowlands's character is considerably more graphic, but none of the added footage makes the movie any better or worse. That said, this cynical director's cut is the only version worth buying if you're looking to fill out your serial-killer-thriller collection (or your movies-in-which-Jolie-gets-naked collection), and you might as well enjoy the gag reel outtakes because they contain the only footage on the entire DVD in which Jolie cracks a genuine smile. The four featurettes are really just one standard-issue promo reel chopped into thematic categories with a pretentious CSI vibe, and while they offer little of substance, seasoned film buffs will welcome the appearance of veteran British editor Anne V. Coates, who briefly explains her approach to cutting high-tension scenes. The rest is routine at best, but given the choice between the full-screen DVD and this steamier, more gruesome widescreen version, well, it's no contest. Jolie and her breasts await you. --Jeff Shannon

From The New Yorker
Angelina Jolie in Jodie Foster mode as an F.B.I. agent on the track of a serial killer. The cast, which includes Ethan Hawke, Kiefer Sutherland, and Gena Rowlands, does a satisfying job of fleshing out their thinly written characters, and the director, D. J. Caruso, imparts a murky visual flair reminiscent of early David Fincher films. But the haphazard story is packed with too many red herrings, and it's tedious to watch the cast hit all the marks of a serial-killer thriller (the psychosexual deviant, the lonely farmhouse, the suspiciously brooding detective, etc.). All in all, another undistinguished movie in a played-out genre. -Bruce Diones
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

IDENTITY CRISIS
Angelina Jolie is to be commended for taking on so many different kinds of characters from her Oscar winning turn in GIRL INTERRUPTED, to the athletic Lara Croft in those two movies, to this suspenseful, if predictable, serial killer thriller. She plays an FBI agent/profiler called in to help the Montreal police in trapping a serial killer. This particular nasty has been killing for over 20 years, and we find out early in the film who he is when he's a youngster, but what about now? Who has he metamorphosized in to?
Director D. J. Caruso gives us a probable suspect, but it's really a red herring, and the true identity should be detected early on. That doesn't spoil the movie, though; it actually makes you feel like a detective because you figured it out.
Along with Jolie's competent performance, Ethan Hawke does well as artist James Costa; Gena Rowlands gives a good performance as Mrs. Asher; and Kiefer Sutherland, looking a little older and heavier, does a usually good turn as a mysterious neighbor of Hawke's. There's a couple of jump out of your seat scares and overall, despite the predictability, TAKING LIVES is a good entry in the ever growing serial killer genre.

Derivative Serial Killer Film...
Angelina Jolie seems to be falling into the same hole as other actresses who have won Oscars recently; Mira Sorvino and Halle Berry come to mind. The roles/films she has chosen have simply not been very good, and 'Taking Lives' is a prime example. It is a gory, derivative mess of a film.

The plot is essentially 'a young man grows to adulthood murdering other men to adopt their lives'. He (Ethan Hawke) finds men who are serial wanderers (no pun intended) who conveniently have no friends or family - really - then murders them in a most vicious fashion. He then 'assumes' their identity until he fancies someone else. Apparently the Montreal, Quebec police are too incompetent to figure this out, so they need Jolie's FBI agent to essentially perform the investigation for them. The Jolie character then proceeds to fall in love with the 'witness' to one of the murders - another instance where the woman cannot be in a film without falling in love with someone. This blew the movie out of the water for me.

The story is a direct derivation of two films: 'Silence of the Lambs' (female FBI agent), and 'Seven' (dark, ugly sets, gore, and general feeling of depression), both of which were done far better than this film. It's not that hard to figure out that the Ethan Hawke character is the culprit within the first hour of the film, even though the scriptwriters try to throw curves at the viewer to heighten the 'suspense'.

The gore is extreme. There are faces smashed in with rocks, stabbings, beatings and decapitations, all depicted in graphic detail. There is also the obligatory morgue/autopsy scene (again clearly lifted from 'Lambs').

I cannot recommend this film; it is simply too derivative and stereotypical. It disrepects Angelina Jolie's FBI agent character by having her get romantically involved with a witness in a murder case (another cliche that already been done elsewhere). The extra feature sections then proceed to behave as if the film is a marvelously original creation. It is indeed unfortunate that such good actors as Ethan Hawke, Tcheky Karyo and Kiefer Sutherland are wasted in such a film...

Potentially Good Film Ruined By A Lousy Ending!
"Taking Lives" stars Angelina Jolie as FBI profiler Illeana Scott who is assigned to Montreal, and the case of a particularly vicious serial murderer. The killer has been taking lives for 20 years, since his teens, assuming his victims' identities with each crime. There's a line in the movie to the effect that he's "like a hermit crab - when he grows out of his shell, (home), he moves on." OK! So it's not brilliant dialogue, but until we reach the film's halfway mark it is forgivable. After the 1st hour, or so, this scary, chiller-thriller loses its edge in a serious way. The last scenes are really contrived - just not believable by any stretch of the imagination.

Jolie is her usual sexy self as the loner, fast-track agent from Washington, DC. She is welcomed by her old friend and colleague, Captain Hugo Leclair, (Tchécky Karyo), of the Montreal Sûreté, but is resented by macho detective Paquette, (Olivier Martinez), who is handsome in a surly kinda way. Illeana's approach to crime solving is extremely intuitive and unconventional, to say the least - but her unorthodox methods get results, and this case is no different. She quickly comes up with some leads that her Canadian counterparts have missed. Then art gallery owner James Costa, (Ethan Hawke), an actual murder witness, steps in to help the detectives. Costa, who has some artistic talent, is able to sketch the suspect. The hunt picks up speed, and the plot begins to twist, turn and occasionally surprise. I had at least one major scare! There's a decent car chase, a steamy love scene, (super steamy in the Director's Cut), and an unusual take on Illeana's character - all pluses.

The cast is excellent. Ms. Jolie is good here and she develops her character well. If you're an Angelina Jolie fan, you will enjoy her performance. Kiefer Sutherland, Gena Rowlands and Ethan Hawke also bring some bright moments to the screen. I just wonder why all these talented artists agreed to make this film. Director D.J. Caruso made some really wrong turns, which is sad because he had such a great cast to work with, a potentially good plot, and the wonderful scenery of French Canada to assist him toward success.

I was entertained by much of the movie for reasons mentioned above, but the poor resolution soured me on "Taking Lives."
JANA