Product Details

• Actors: Ashley Judd, Michael Shannon, Harry Connick Jr., Lynn Collins, Brian F. O'Byrne
• Directors: William Friedkin
• Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Special Edition, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Lionsgate Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: September 25, 2007
• Run Time: 102 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (175 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000T5O48K
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #31,770 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Bug (Special Edition)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

BUG SPECIAL EDITION - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A shattering of the soul, February 8, 2010

By 

C. Christopher Blackshere "Mackshere" (hampered by what's acceptable) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Bug (Special Edition) (DVD)

First off, totally exterminate any preconceived notions of the extreme horror you might be accustomed to. Bug is more of an alarming psychological journey into the human mind, an intense exploration of a broken soul. It's closer to the films Beautiful Mind and Conspiracy Theory than something like Aliens or The Fly. Director William Freidkin opens the crazy door and dares you to step inside.

The acting and character development in this movie is outstanding. Ashley Judd gives the performance of her lifetime as Agnes, an emotionally battered waitress who is hanging on by a thread. She has a trainwreck of a past, from her abusive ex-husband to her missing child.

She meets a mysterious loner named Peter, and he might offer a hand toward gaining some mental stability. Or he might push them both over the edge. We quickly realize it's most likely the latter, as this romance doesn't take long to unravel. Peter is a war veteran, and claims to be the victim of some extreme government experimentations. His military leaders apparently planted "bugs" under his skin. This may or may not be true, but one thing is for sure--his inner demons are about to come crawling out.

Freidkin unleashes a totally original and riveting psychological drama. The symptoms of this story frantically spread and feed off your mind in frightening fashion. A psychotically sick tale that plagues you with themes of loneliness, desperation, and mental instability. Plus it lightly touches on notions of government control and the devastating effects of war. Such a great film, one that might come off as ridiculous to some as it blazes an unfamiliar path. But for open-minded movie watchers ready to be challenged, this is must-see stuff.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Know The Difference Between Horror and Psychological Thriller? No? Watch This Film and Learn..., February 29, 2008

By 

B. Merritt "filmreviewstew.com" (WWW.FILMREVIEWSTEW.COM, Pacific Grove, California United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bug (Special Edition) (DVD)

***CONTAINS SPOILERS***

Based directly on the stage play by the same name, BUG will most certainly get under your skin. Although thriller in nature, horror fans should be warned that there are no supernatural or superhuman elements in the story. Looking at the DVD cover, one gets the impression that it might be a spin-off of something along the lines of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, but Bug couldn't be further from it. No mutant grasshoppers. No aligning of planets that results in bloodthirsty arachnids.

Stage play actor Michael Shannon reprises his role on the silver screen as drifter Peter who falls for lonely waitress Agnes played by Ashley Judd. Agnes is damaged goods to begin with; a woman who's lost her only child to a kidnapping and drowns herself in liquor and cocaine. And when she meets Peter, she believes she may have found someone to connect with other than her abusive ex-husband Jerry (Harry Connick Jr., The Iron Giant). But Peter brings with him his own unique brand of psychological luggage. A battered U.S. veteran who possibly was exposed to torture, Peter begins showing cracks in his psyche soon after their first romantic encounter. He claims that bugs are in the room with them. Then the bugs are in him. Then in her. Then everywhere and involving everyone. The paranoia reaches a crescendo that culminates in the death of someone trying to help Peter and Agnes, and the eventual destruction of everything around them.

First let's be clear what we're talking about here. There are no bugs. We, the audience, don't see a single flea. The bugs are internalized as demonic aphids implanted in Peter (Shannon) by military higher-ups. As Peter's paranoia builds, he brings Agnes right along with him, and it's a painful and frightening thing to watch. Initially having hopes that the two might be able to help one another, the story rapidly gives way to the psychological horrors of what happens when mentally damaged people feed off one another like ...well ...like bugs.

Second is that the story, too, is completely internalized, both character-wise and on the set. The entire production basically takes place in one room: Agnes' rundown hotel room in the middle of nowheresville. Don't expect panoramic shots of beautiful locales.

Third is that this story is exceptionally dark. There are no good and bad people, per se. Agnes' abusive ex is initially seen as a no good A-hole but later becomes a beacon of hope for survival. Even a psychologist who comes in to try and help Peter is damaged in that he's hooked on cocaine himself and seems only passively interested in telling the truth.

For horror fans, this one's going to disappoint. But if you're a psych major or interested in paranoid delusions and how far down those people can sink, Bug will crawl right up your alley.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FRIEDKIN MAKES A DISTURBING STUDY OF HUMAN PARANOIA, September 10, 2008

By 

Robert Blenheim (Daytona Beach, Florida) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bug (Special Edition) (DVD)

Of all people, William Friedkin, director of "The Exorcist", has come back with a vengeance with a terrific thriller based on the popular anti-establishment play by Tracy Letts of the same name, "Bug", a profoundly disturbing film on the nature of paranoia and vulnerability in love.

It is a true chamber film, with only two main characters: a lonely Oklahoma waitress named Agnes (played stunningly by Ashley Judd as a tour-de-force) and a somewhat unhinged war veteran named Peter (Michael Shannon powerfully recreating his original stage role), a man with delusions (perhaps) to whom she becomes attracted. Agnes is being harassed by her ex-husband (Harry Connick, Jr.), but what eventually happens as Agnes and Peter descend through various stage of (apparent) madness, is something you need to see for yourself to truly believe.

This is a magnificent achievement in cinema by master Friedkin who again shows that he still knows how to construct a sequence to elicit the darkest and most intense viewer response, but the fact the film also has many levels of meaning -- political, philosophical and spiritual - is what gives the viewer an experience to debate about with friends, and to keep thinking about for days afterwards.