Product Details

• Actors: Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Cate Blanchett, Troy Garity, Brían F. O'Byrne
• Directors: Barry Levinson
• Writers: Harley Peyton
• Producers: Barry Levinson, Arnold Rifkin, Ashok Amritraj, David Hoberman, David Willis
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• VHS Release Date: September 3, 2002
• Run Time: 123 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (154 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005V4YG
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #249,158 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Chemistry and quirkiness--and a stellar cast--help make Barry Levinson's Bandits more than just another comedy about ill-matched outlaws. Levinson's deft touch in Rain Man is evident in the film's road-movie structure, which follows bank robbers Joe (Bruce Willis) and Terry (Billy Bob Thornton) on a crime spree from Oregon to California. They're eventually joined by an aspiring stuntman and getaway driver (Troy Garity, son of Jane Fonda) and a neglected housewife (Cate Blanchett) who falls in love with both Joe and Terry after escaping her boring marriage. As scripted by Twin Peaks alumnus Harley Peyton, Bandits shifts from character comedy to crime thriller with reckless abandon, and the humor (particularly Terry's multiple neuroses) is occasionally forced and flat. Levinson compensates with offbeat moments of unexpected tenderness, allowing his cast to express depths of character not necessarily found in the script. A twist ending won't surprise attentive viewers, but it gives Bandits the extra kick it needs. --Jeff Shannon

From The New Yorker

Bruce Willis as a macho daredevil with thinning long hair and an impassively cool manner; Billy Bob Thornton as a fussbudget hypochondriac who squints and starts and hears bells ringing in his head. They work together as polite, nonviolent bank robbers. But why? God knows we're willing to be amused, but the picture needs a bit more reality in order for us to accept it as a fiction. Some of Billy Bob's tremors are funny, but we never understand what holds these two together. The director, Barry Levinson, wants to cross "Bonnie and Clyde" with "It Happened One Night," but the combination doesn't work. He also makes frequent intercuts to a droning TV news show about the bank robbers, a device that kills the movie's momentum every time. With Cate Blanchett as the madcap married woman who throws in her lot with the two men. -David Denby
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great flick, October 9, 2001

By 

"haggie76" (Wheat Ridge, Colorado United States) - See all my reviews

Barry Levinson has come through again with a great comedy that is really a very well made character story not unlike his previous work in Good Morning Vietnam or Wag the Dog. This is one of the few really good movies I've seen this year. This movie succeeds on the levels of comedy, characters, and technical achievement. Highly recommended.

42 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Seattle Sneak Preview Experience, October 9, 2001

By 

Robert Gately "Seattle Guy" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

I went to see this movie last night at one of the Seattle Sneak Preview venues. I have to say that this was the best film I had seen in a long time.

Joe (Bruce Willis) and Terry (Billy Bob Thornton) are convicts in the Oregon State Prison. On the spur of the moment Joe decides to hijack a cement truck and make good his escape. Terry, a certifiable hypochondriac, goes along for the ride. These two bank robbers become endearing figures to the audiance as they wreck havoc from Oregon, through Nevada into California. Kate (Cate Blanchett) joins up with them as a permanent hostage while she tries to escape her boring life and marriage.

This movie is incredibly funny and quirky and I rate it a must see for Bruce Willis fans. (p.s. there is some similarity between the comedic style and main character [Bruce] in this film and the film classic "The Hudson Hawk", also starring Bruce Willis!)

I also must mention an cameo apperance by the ever lovely KTLA Sky Cam reporter, Jennifer York. She is only on screen for 10 seconds, but she does add a bit of grace to the film.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars ORIGINAL, CLEVER, QUIRKY COMEDY, February 28, 2004

By 

Shashank Tripathi (Gadabout) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bandits (DVD)

Don't listen to the other reviewers. You seldom go wrong with Bruce Willis, especially if Billy Bob and Cate Blanchett are factored into the equation. Actors aside, the multi-layed flashbacks of the script are thrilling and clever, with a doozy scenario of the suavest outlaws you've seen in a while.

The romance (triangular, no less) is interesting and the dialogue sports several quotable quips. 75% into the movie, the romance dragged for a 5-6 minutes, but that is forgiveable.

Oh, and the soundtrack is marvellous. Get this one as soon as you can.