Product Details

• Actors: Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler, Will Patton
• Directors: Michael Bay
• Writers: J.J. Abrams, Jonathan Hensleigh, Robert Roy Pool, Shane Salerno, Tony Gilroy
• Producers: Barry H. Waldman, Chad Oman
• Format: Subtitled, Color, HiFi Sound, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English, Russian
• Rated: Unrated
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Touchstone / Disney
• VHS Release Date: November 13, 1998
• Run Time: 151 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1,305 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6305169195
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #400,858 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

The latest testosterone-saturated blow-'em-up from producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Michael Bay (The Rock, Bad Boys) continues Hollywood's millennium-fueled fascination with the destruction of our planet. There's no arguing that the successful duo understands what mainstream American audiences want in their blockbuster movies--loads of loud, eye-popping special effects, rapid-fire pacing, and patriotic flag waving. Bay's protagonists--the eight crude, lewd, oversexed (but lovable, of course) oil drillers summoned to save the world from a Texas-sized meteor hurling toward the earth--are not flawless heroes, but common men with whom all can relate. In this huge Western-in-space soap opera, they're American cowboys turned astronauts. Sci-fi buffs will appreciate Bay's fetishizing of technology, even though it's apparent he doesn't understand it as anything more than flashing lights and shiny gadgets. Smartly, the duo also tries to lure the art-house crowd, raiding the local indie acting stable and populating the film with guys like Steve Buscemi, Billy Bob Thornton, Owen Wilson, and Michael Duncan, all adding needed touches of humor and charisma. When Bay applies his sledgehammer aesthetics to the action portions of the film, it's mindless fun; it's only when Armageddon tackles humanity that it becomes truly offensive. Not since Mississippi Burning have racial and cultural stereotypes been substituted for characters so blatantly--African Americans, Japanese, Chinese, Scottish, Samoans, Muslims, French ... if it's not white and American, Bay simplifies it. Or, make that white male America; the film features only three notable females--four if you count the meteor, who's constantly referred to as a "bitch that needs drillin'," but she's a hell of a lot more developed and unpredictable than the other women characters combined. Sure, Bay's film creates some tension and contains some visceral moments, but if he can't create any redeemable characters outside of those in space, what's the point of saving the planet? --Dave McCoy

Amazon.com

The 1998 testosterone-saturated blow-'em-up from producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Michael Bay (The Rock, Bad Boys) continues Hollywood's millennium-fueled fascination with the destruction of our planet. There's no arguing that the successful duo understands what mainstream American audiences want in their blockbuster movies--loads of loud, eye-popping special effects, rapid- fire pacing, and patriotic flag waving. Bay's protagonists--the eight crude, lewd, oversexed (but lovable, of course) oil drillers summoned to save the world from a Texas-sized meteor hurling toward the earth--are not flawless heroes, but common men with whom all can relate. In this huge Western-in-space soap opera, they're American cowboys turned astronauts. Sci-fi buffs will appreciate Bay's fetishizing of technology, even though it's apparent he doesn't understand it as anything more than flashing lights and shiny gadgets. Smartly, the duo also tries to lure the art-house crowd, raiding the local indie acting stable and populating the film with guys like Steve Buscemi, Billy Bob Thornton, Owen Wilson, and Michael Duncan, all adding needed touches of humor and charisma. When Bay applies his sledgehammer aesthetics to the action portions of the film, it's mindless fun; it's only when Armageddon tackles humanity that it becomes truly offensive. Not since Mississippi Burning have racial and cultural stereotypes been substituted for characters so blatantly--African Americans, Japanese, Chinese, Scottish, Samoans, Muslims, French ... if it's not white and American, Bay simplifies it. Or, make that white male America; the film features only three notable females--four if you count the meteor, who's constantly referred to as a "bitch that needs drillin'," but she's a hell of a lot more developed and unpredictable than the other women characters combined. Sure, Bay's film creates some tension and contains some visceral moments, but if he can't create any redeemable characters outside of those in space, what's the point of saving the planet? --Dave McCoy

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent collection of material, October 2, 2000

By 

Charles Oppermann (Woodinville, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Armageddon (The Criterion Collection) (DVD)

The Criterion Collection release of Armageddon is a treat. It offers 2 commentary tracks, one featuring the director Michael Bay, actors Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer has comments on several interesting things. Affleck's commentary is sometimes very funny. The other commentary track features the Director of Photography and special effects people.

The commentary includes interesting details, including background information on the characters and filming locations. Note: The commentary is raw and sometimes laced with profanity, although the movie itself is rated PG-13, for reasons explained in the commentary.

Although it's not much, this collection is also a Director's Cut and has a couple scenes added, notable of which is Harry Stamper's character visiting his father before launch. Some other scenes are cut slightly differently, adding some depth to the story.

The Gag reel on the second disk is extremely funny, raw, and not your typical "behind-the-scenes" documentary.

The second disk also features a tremendous amount of information on the special effects and includes many different trailers and promo material. The Aerosmith song video is also included.

While the story can be nit-picked, it's still very exciting and enjoyable.

Overall, if you liked the movie, the Criterion Collection release is the DVD to have.

25 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars No anamorphic version? For shame!, April 12, 2002

By 

Lance Arthur - See all my reviews

This review is from: Armageddon (The Criterion Collection) (DVD)

Although I think the movie is an over-loud, completely illogical and fairly disorienting piece of Hollywood claptrap, as far as big Summer blockbusters go it's hard to beat Armageddon. But I wanted to add a large, hairy and potentially sales-limiting aside to all the other reviews. If you're upgrading to a widescreen TV thinking this DVD will showcase the new technological wonders of prograssive scan and 16x9 flat screens you'll be sorely disappointed when you find that there is no anamorphic version on this disc. That's right, friends, even with all the other extras, they couldn't be bothered to include the one feature that truly showcases the cinematography and special effects (which are, let's face it, this film's halmarks cuz it sure ain't the acting and script). On a widescreen TV, Criterion's Armageddon provides black bars above, below and side to side yielding a postcard view of the "big screen" action.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Let's go for a ride. . ., February 27, 2006

By 

D. Mikels "It's always Happy Hour here" (Skunk Holler) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Armageddon (DVD)

Hey, lighten up, oh puckered product reviewers who can't seem to blast this flick enough. Can we all agree the very premise of this movie--along with all the wacky, physics-defying pseudo-science--requires a suspension of disbelief the size of, say, the Milky Way Galaxy? Can't we all just get along?

ARMAGEDDON isn't a scientific treatise on how to successfully stop an asteroid the size of Texas from destroying the earth; it's a white-knuckled, strap-it-on and strap-it-up, grit your teeth and enjoy the ride roller coaster. This movie delivers nonstop action like a law firm cranking out past-due statements; ARMAGEDDON's got it all, from a slingshot lunar ride, to thrills and chills with a nuclear weapon, to even one spaced-out Russian cosmonaut.

All viewers please check quantum physics at the door.

Bruce Willis, a cantankerous leader of a bunch of renegade roughnecks (roughnecks who must fly to the asteroid and drill through 800 feet of solid metal and drop a nuke in the hole, mind you), is solid. Ben Affleck reminded me of a whiny, annoying teenager; Liv Tyler had me more solid than the meteor itself. Billy Bob Thornton. . .yeah, okay. The rest of the cast works well together--they look like they had fun making this movie. Which is only fitting: I dang sure had fun watching it.
--D. Mikels, Author, WALK-ON