Product Details

• Actors: Mickey Rourke, Frank Senger, Adrien Brody, John Enos III, Fatmir Haskaj
• Directors: Julien Temple
• Writers: Mickey Rourke, Bruce Rubenstein
• Producers: Graham Burke, Greg Coote, John Flock, Roger Paradiso
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: New Line Home Video
• VHS Release Date: July 22, 1997
• Run Time: 96 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (58 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304274114
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #279,914 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Mickey Rourke is Butch "Bullet" Stein and the late Tupac Shakur is Tank in this stylish, Julien Temple-directed crime drama. Narrative is secondary to atmosphere in the violent, yet sensitive tale of an ex-con (Rourke) attempting to adjust to life on the outside. The minute Bullet emerges from the pen, however, the blood and profanity begin to flow just as freely as the references to Dali and Picasso (his younger brother is an artist). His drug problem is bad enough, but the biggest threat comes from the Kangol-sporting, eye-patched Tank, who intends to get his revenge for the eye Bullet took from him. Classical music and opera, meanwhile, bump up against hip-hop and Barry White. Despite the billing, this is Rourke's show all the way and Tupac's part is quite small in comparison. Ted Levine (The Silence of the Lambs) and Adrien Brody (The Pianist) star as Bullet's eccentric brothers. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not A Cookie Cutter Action Flick, July 26, 2003

By 

Brenley Forrester (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bullet (DVD)

This is a straight to video classic that I rented several years ago. It's good to rediscover it on DVD. If you're not a big fan of Hip Hop, don't let Tupac's presence in the film scare you off. There's plenty of dark humor and macho fight scenes to appeal to a broader demographic than just rap enthusiasts. Most of the dark humor is supplied by Ted Levine who portrays one of film's craziest Vietnam War veterans since Robert Deniro's Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver. Fans of Silence of the Lambs will remember Ted Levine's performance as that loveable genital tucking women suit making serial killer who was always making people rub the lotion on the skin. Ted is equally crazy in this film and will have you laughing at his lunacy. When you throw in a midget, a character named Franky Eyelashes, and some great Barry White tunes, you got yourself a great original guy flick to watch with your buddies. The DVD is lean on extras but includes wide/full screen and unrated/rated R versions of the film. There are some behind the scenes interviews with Mickey Rourke, Tupac, and recent oscar winner Adrien Brody.

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars criterion quality, all priceless, January 29, 2003

By 

doppelganger "dvd-archive" (Chicago) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bullet (DVD)

An important and contemporary film about street life to be sure, but there's something magical about Bullet. First of all, you'll never see anything like this again, Tupac: gone, Mickey: just different these days, and Wahlberg played "Big Balls". You can tell, that things just came together to make an incredible film. Little details of realism and humble, masterful performances. For example, even character interaction with "Big Balls" is given careful attention. Bullet says in a caring way "how you doin Big Balls?". He treats Balls with respect because Balls says exactly what he feels (and is not afraid - hence "Big Balls"). Even after Balls says "none of this ...happened until this crazy ... showed up" Bullet is calm and doesn't take it as a personal attack, he just sits there and let's them yell it out. Bullet is afraid of no-one. Neither is "Tank" (Tupac), and "men love to hate". So the story goes. It's not just drama, (I hate drama) it's priceless nuance and good filmaking. If you enjoyed New Jack, Menace2 or Sugar Hill, Bullet will blow em away. You'll be touched, but don't let that stop you. Don't miss Bullet.

As for the storyline: Bullet (Mickey Rourke) gets out of prison and the very same day, exacts revenge on Tank (Tupac) by robbing some of his smack customers and stabbing one his dealers in the eye. From there, we go through family and interpersonal dysfunctions of Bullet and his foemen. There is more tragedy than optimism, so be warned. One thing fer sure, you'll never shoot smack.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intense, gripping and realistic., March 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Bullet [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is one powerful film. It has one of the best openings I've seen in a long time. The camera pans over fall foliage then walls, until, gradually, a prison yard is revealed. The music changes too. From Vivaldi to rap. The shift in music sets up the whole film.

Bullet, played with a simmmering intensity by Mickey Rourke, has just gotten out of prison at age thirty-five and is returning to his parent's home. He is a boy gone wrong, a man whose life has spun out of control. He knows his future. The movie is about what he does while he is holding it at bay. It is realistic and gripping. You may be surprised at how much it moves you. I was.