Product Details

• Actors: Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, Frank Langella, James Rebhorn, Holmes Osborne
• Directors: Richard Kelly
• Format: Color, Widescreen, Subtitled
• Language: English (DTS-HD High Res Audio), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: February 23, 2010
• Run Time: 122 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (152 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001UV4XX8
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #25,544 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Box [Blu-ray]" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Director Richard Kelly has crafted yet another evocative, spectacular, maddening film guaranteed to provoke passionate love-it or hate-it responses. Though far more straightforward than his previous cult favorites, Donnie Darko or Southland Tales, The Box is crammed just as full of stunning visuals and ambiguous metaphysics. Norma and Arthur Lewis (Cameron Diaz of Charlie's Angels and James Marsden of X-Men) find a plainly wrapped package on their doorstep one day. Inside is a strange box with a large, red button--and if they press that button, explains a courtly but alarming-looking gentleman (Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon), they will receive a million dollars… and someone they don't know will die. This is but the starting point for an increasingly creepy tale, featuring eye-popping wallpaper, spontaneous nosebleeds, allusions to Jean-Paul Sartre, overly attentive library patrons, boxes of water, warehouses full of light, and a bell-ringing Santa Claus standing in the middle of a road. Some of it makes sense, some of it doesn't, but the person who's going to love this movie won't care. The Box's true power lies in the slow accumulation of dizzying hypnotic images and a tangible sense of unease and anticipation. Kelly aspires to capture the beauty and terror of existence on film; even if he doesn't succeed--and every viewer will have to decide that for himself or herself--his sheer ambition is remarkable. --Bret Fetzer

Product Description

Push a red button on a little black box, get a million bucks cash. Just like that, all of Norma (Diaz) and Arthur Lewis's (Marsden) financial problems will be over. But there's a catch, according to the strange visitor (Lagella) who placed the box on the couple’s doorstep. Someone, somewhere – someone they don’t know – will die. Cameron Diaz and James Marsden play a couple confronted by agonizing temptation yet unaware they're already part of an orchestrated an – for them and us – mind-blowing chain of events.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Mystery That Will Push Buttons, November 6, 2009

By 

Chris Pandolfi (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

"The Box" is one of those films where a lot of adjectives are necessary. It's taut and suspenseful, but it's also metaphysical, ponderous, cerebral, unexplainable, and above all, preposterous. It goes in all different directions, sometimes caught up in circles, sometimes taking detours, sometimes going completely off course. It's a bizarre, unpredictable story of intrigue and paranoia, continuously twisting and turning, pushing the limits of comprehension with a slew of seemingly unrelated concepts; we begin with a button and a suitcase full of money, but this soon gives way to spiritual quandaries and sinister science fiction subplots, the latter of which involves radio signals from Mars, physical disfigurements, and hordes of mind-controlled drones with bleeding noses. There's even an ongoing social experiment, which could be indicative of a morality play.

Based on Richard Matheson's short story "Button, Button" and its 1986 "Twilight Zone" adaptation, "The Box" takes place in Richmond, Virginia in 1976, and I honestly don't know whether or not that's a significant plot point. We meet Norma and Arthur Lewis (Cameron Diaz and James Marsden), a cash-strapped suburban couple who awaken one morning to find a plainly wrapped package left at the front door. Inside is a black wooden box topped with an encased red button. Neither one knows what to make of it until receiving a visit from the mysterious Arlington Steward (Frank Langella), who, for as yet unknown reasons, is missing the left side of his face. If the Lewis' decide to unlock the box and push the button, he explains, two things will happen: They will be given $1 million dollars in cash, and someone they don't know will die.

Will one of them push the button? It's not as if they couldn't use the money. Norma, a literature professor, learned that her school will no longer provide free tuitions for children of the faculty, which doesn't bode well for her son, Walter (Sam Oz Stone). She also has a severely damaged foot in need of repair. Arthur, a NASA scientist involved in the creation of a Mars camera, is no longer being considered for the astronaut program because he failed the psychological exam. But the fact remains: Their financial security will come at the expense of ending someone else's life. Norma tries to reason that it may be a death row inmate. Arthur tries to reason that it may be their neighbor or a baby. Heck, it may even be himself or their son. How well does she know either one of them? How well do they know her?

I'm not going to reveal whether or not the button gets pushed. I will say that, from this point on, the story ventures into even stranger territory, befuddling itself with inexplicable paranormal occurrences, gateways that may or may not lead to salvation, deeply rooted scientific conspiracies, motel rooms with maps pinned to the walls, secret wind tunnels, and a brief discussion of Sartre's vision of hell. Who is Arlington Steward? Who are the people walking around with nosebleeds? If the box is capable of being programmed, then why are there no mechanisms inside it? What's the significance of a murder that has a man on the run? Does Arthur's Mars-related research have anything to do with what's going on? Does Norma's damaged foot?

As to whether or not all the above questions are answered, I'm not entirely sure. Writer/director Richard Kelly clearly has his own ideas about logical story patterns and how they should be followed. And yet, there is something to be said for creating a sense of apprehension out of nothing at all; if you can engage the audience in spite of a cumbersome plot, if you can keep them hooked by continuously building tension, then you've made a successful film. "The Box" may be a confusing mess, but it's also one of the most absorbing mysteries I've seen all year. The plot can be deconstructed any number of ways, but I suspect we're not supposed to learn so much as experience. And we do. For a film that's neither believable nor understandable, that's quite an achievement.

The ending unfolds in yet another display of twisted logic, and it culminates in a final shot that brings up an entirely new series of questions. What's the message "The Box"? That damnation can only be avoided by resisting temptation? That humanity must be willing to sacrifice for the greater good in order to survive? That existence as we know it is just a temporary state and death is a period of transition? Or is it that there isn't a message at all, that the whole thing is just an exercise in psychological thrills? I know Kelly is aiming for something here, but unfortunately, I have no idea what that might be. No matter - what I appreciated most was the film's ability to build suspense and maintain an air of mystery. That must count for something.

77 of 95 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting thriller (undeserving of so many poor reviews), December 27, 2009

By 

Shopper (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

My friend and I spent some considerable discussion time trying to find reasons for so many poor reviews for this film. There is one thing we both agree on: The Box is an auditory focused film. In fact, with only minor adjustments to the script, it would make a great radio play. So, unless you are committed to paying a great deal of attention to every word spoken, you are bound to get lost and confused by the complex plot. In these times of short attention spans, this is an obstacle the film makers may not have taken into consideration... Pity, as the film is actually quite original and the story intriguing.

The Box is based on a 1970 short story "Button, Button" by Richard Matheson (also the author of the celebrated "I Am Legend"). A financially overextended middle class couple receives a package containing a box with a button. A strange and grossly disfigured man later visits their house and explains should they choose to press the button, they will receive $1mil, tax free. The drawback? Someone they do not know will die. The couple's actions following the man's visit, as well as the consequences of their actions, constitute the meat of the story. The why's and the who's are mostly explained, though some questions are purposefully left for each viewer's imagination to tackle. The performance is satisfactory from all leads, except Cameron Diaz. She overacts in every scene, to the point of becoming a distraction. Her casting played a major part in my downgrading the rating to 3.5 stars.

If you feel you can ignore Diaz and focus on every word of dialogue, you will be rewarded with some original thinking and a somewhat creepy film. I was entertained.

43 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly enjoyable sci-fi thriller....., November 8, 2009

By 

Jason (Batesville, IN USA) - See all my reviews

I really didn't know what to expect from this movie considering the fact that Richard Kelly's last movie, "Southland Tales," kind of left a bad taste in my mouth. But upon the finished viewing of his latest film, "The Box," I think he has returned to the form that made me fall in love with "Donnie Darko." What a totally cerebral experience. A movie that jumps from a military experiment gone array to a noir thriller to a bout of existential looks at the causes and effects of free will and finally to a bit of theological looks at life after death. This movie completely and unequivocably held my attention throughout as any great director can do with a fantastic story. I've read quite a lot of reviews that just bomb this movie due to its confusing plot but I, for one, believe that this is highly enjoyable cinematic experience. I couldn't recommend this movie more.