Product Details

• Actors: Julian Sands, Sherilyn Fenn, Bill Paxton, Kurtwood Smith, Art Garfunkel
• Directors: Jennifer Chambers Lynch
• Writers: Jennifer Chambers Lynch, Philippe Caland
• Producers: Brigitte Caland, Carl Mazzocone, James R. Schaeffer, Larry Sugar, Laurel Ayn Selko
• Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Subtitles: Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• DVD Release Date: April 10, 2001
• Run Time: 107 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000059H96
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #22,164 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #9 in	Movies & TV > Mystery & Suspense > Blackmail, Murder & Mayhem > Kidnapping & Missing Persons
  #52 in	Movies & TV > Drama > Love & Romance > Unrequited Love

• For more information about "Boxing Helena" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The movie Boxing Helena is probably better known for the court case that sprang from it than for itself. Kim Basinger was famously sued for violating her oral agreement to play the lead role; the jury ruled against her to the tune of almost $9 million. Those who felt the ruling was unjust have no better evidence than the movie itself--who in their right mind would agree to play a woman whose obsessively jealous lover cuts off her arms and legs to control her? Boxing Helena wants to be a penetrating investigation into the dark side of erotic desire. It doesn't succeed. But it does achieve the dubious but delightful status of being an entertaining disaster. Glory in Sherilyn Fenn's amazingly sincere attempt to take the script seriously! Thrill to the completely gratuitous sex scene between Julian Sands and a woman who doesn't appear at any other moment in the movie! Gaze, jaw agape, at the ridiculous ending! The movie features a wonderfully overwrought performance from Bill Paxton (A Simple Plan, Twister) and what is to date the last film appearance of Art Garfunkel. While Boxing Helena doesn't have the relentless ridiculousness of something like The Lonely Lady (with Pia Zadora!) or Showgirls, it has a giddiness that builds as it gets more and more improbable. Bad-movie fans will find it a delectable treat. --Bret Fetzer

Product Description
Fantasy, desire and manipulation make for a savory-yet-volatile cocktail in this psychological thriller about a woman held captive by a man who loves her. First-time writer-director Jennifer ChambersLynch (The Diary of Laura Palmer) brings "stylistic flair" (The Washington Post) to this haunting, erotic tale of love and lust that straddles the fine line between devotion and obsession. Nick Cavanaugh (Julian Sands, Timecode) is a brilliant surgeon who seems to haveit allmoney, looks, prestigebut all he wants is someone he can't have a voluptuous, cold-hearted seductress: Helena (Sherilyn Fenn, Three of Hearts). After Nick fails to impress her withhis wealth, Helena is struck down by a hit-and-run driver outside his mansion. The good doctor saves her life by amputating her legs, then seizes the opportunity of her immobility to hold her prisoner. Now, he's in control of Helena's body, but not her mind, for this shrewd, quick-thinking vixen ishellbent on keeping Nick on his toes in order to foil his selfish plan to have her not only as a trophy wife but his personal Venus de Milo.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An erotic, psychotic drama thats still bizarre to watch, October 3, 2006

By	Eddie Lancekick "A Regulator" (Pacific Northwest) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Boxing Helena is one of those films that became somewhat of a cult classic DVD more for its theme than its actors or overall dialogue and script. The plot is to good to pass up, its basically obsession driven to the extreme.

Boxing Helena stars Julian Sands as Dr. Nick Cavanaugh, who is somewhat of an introvert at heart, but can it be helped? The guy's mother was pretty much an aristocratic tramp who at the end of her life left him a giant mansion to stew in during his bachelorhood. Okay, he is not a hermit; he does have a girlfriend named Anne Garrett (Betsy Clark). It does not matter much though; as there is still a woman from his little black book he cannot stop thinking about. The woman's name is Helena (Sherilyn Fenn) and lives nearby. Nick is constantly trying to work his way back into her life, and eventually does. That does not matter either though, because she brushes him off time and time again like day old dandruff. Then the day comes when she is arguing with him near the street in front of his home, when something terrible happens to Helena.

Nick now has the opportunity he always wanted. Immobile from a severe injury, Nick keeps her at his house as a prisoner, constantly doting on her. The whole time of course, she is miserable and continues her verbal insults in hoping it's all just a bad dream. By this time the hospital is wondering where the doc is, and Helena's somewhat boyfriend Ray (A younger, and in this role MEANER Jim Paxton) who is like some sort of cast-off cowboy/biker type, is looking for her. The themes of love, obsession, and erotic desire are pretty thick in this film. Overall this part is done well. What drags is the acting I feel, of Julian Sands. At times he plays his character brilliantly, conveying Dr. Cavanaugh as a hopeless, sniveling person that has no confidence in himself. The dialogue gets a bit old as Nick continues to be caught in some dreamland of hope as he does an about face and despite Helena's verbal abuse (who can blame her?) continues to win her heart. Helena is at times extreme in the "shock and awe" department as we see how Nick continues to, um, do things to her to render her even more immobile. The ending is not expected at all, and overall this film is really one for the "contemporary" shelf, or something to watch if you want a mind tripping head game from that oh so recognizable obsessive male figure.

Sherilyn Fenn really steals the show here, although it's more for beauty and vicious vilifying than overall acting talent. Some always thought it was crazy that this was the movie Kim Basinger did a head fake on at the last second, dodging the role and going bankrupt because of the impending lawsuit. Looking at the careers of her and Sherilyn, I don't think in the big picture it really mattered. It is always fun to see Bill Paxton in this role as he's much younger and has not really played a character like this since. It's above mind popcorn, and below average, but considering the themes that it covers in an extreme and twisted kind of way, it works.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Middle of the Road, July 24, 2006

By	K. Balser "musicfan" (Lenexa, KS) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I agree with the many reviewers that said this movie was very poorly scripted with a barely believable plot. However, it was like a train wreck: you can't look away, especially when Sherilyn Fenn begins to lose a limb every other scene. Just bizarre! Julian Sands' acting left a lot to be desired, although it may just have been the script. Sherilyn Fenn, who plays Helena is absolutely beautiful and did an okay job, considering that her character didn't have much dialogue, other than to scream at Julian's character, Nick, every 5 seconds on "You make me sick! I hate you! You did this to me!"
All in all, it's not a great movie and would never be up for any kind of award, but if you're looking for an unpredictable and dark movie, this one will fit the bill.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Farewell To Arms....And Legs, March 26, 2008

By	Stanley Runk "Runkdapunk" (Camp North Pines) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This is a hard movie to defend, so most of the time I don't even bother to try. I really won't even try now, but just say that I really like this movie and I'm not sure why. It's reputation as a lousy film is almost legendary. Of course when you consider Michael Bay's filmography, you might want to re-evaluate this movie, or maybe not.
Julian Sands(an actor I love) is a rich surgeon obsessed with a woman he had a one nighter with. The woman, Helena, is played by Sherilyn Fenn, so it's easy to understand his obsession. However, Helena is a crass, mean, all around unpleasant woman who's on the search solely for boytoys. Julian's attempts to lure her in result in her being hit by a car. He now has the perfect opportunity to posses her as he brings her back to his home and begins a process of dismembering her. Julian quits his job and cuts off communication with his friends, even dumping his girlfriend so he can take care of Helena. She throws endless insults at him, screams at him, belittles him, and it makes you wonder just what it is that he's so in love with. Psychological games are played out between the two, and soon some sex is thrown into the mix(Sands brings home one of his tasty looking nurses and makes Helena watch him have sex with her to everybody's favorite Enigma song, Sadness Part 1). Meanwhile, Helena's sortaboyfriend, Bill Paxton, is trying to find out what happened to her. Now, this plot may sound kinda grim and gruesome, but it really isn't quite as demented as you'd think. I don't know why, but the movie sort of reminds me of one of those softcore Skinemax type movies even though there isn't much sex in it. Sands gives a decent performance, but his character is such a pathetic, whiny, lovestruck schmuck that you just wish you could reach into the tv and smack him one. As usual, Fenn will make your eyes bug out like something from a Looney Tunes cartoon. Yummy!! Apparently Madonna was originally supposed to have this role, and then the role went to Kim Basinger after Madonna dropped out. Personally I'm glad neither of them got it coz Fenn's my baby.
So no, I can't honestly recommend this movie to people coz the numbers say you might not care much for this one. I'm just here to tell you that I like it. So there.