Product Details

• Actors: Saoirse Ronan, Toby Jones, Bill Murray, David Ryall, Ian McElhinney
• Directors: Gil Kenan
• Writers: Caroline Thompson, Jeanne Duprau
• Producers: Diana Choi, Gary Goetzman, John D. Schofield, Steve Shareshian, Tom Hanks
• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Widescreen, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Surround), Spanish (Dolby Surround)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Dubbed: English, French, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• DVD Release Date: January 20, 2009
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (139 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001LPWGBO
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,881 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "City of Ember" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

A heart-thumping, edge-of-your-seat adventure comes to light in this exhilarating family film based on the best-selling novel by Jeanne Duprau. For centuries, the residents of the underground City of Ember have flourished in an amazing world of glittering lights and quiet contentment. But when the City's massive power generator begins to fail, the street lamps start to fade - along with the hopes and dream of the townspeople. Now it's up to two courageous teenagers to follow a trail of clues left by the ancient Builders and find a way out of Ember before their world is plunged into darkness forever!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

66 of 70 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A pretty good evening's entertainment January 24, 2009

By Michael D. Sepesy

Format:DVD

I was looking forward to this film after having seen the trailer, but it came and went quickly. While the story is a bit slight, and the last portion of the film plays out like an adventure game, I would recommend at least renting this one. I liked the fact that none of the kids were smart-alecky stereotypes and there was none of the usual pandering to popular culture that destroys so many other young adult films and renders them to the dustbin of history ten minutes after their release. Furthermore, it was refreshing to see a film that doesn't require main characters (especially children) to fight a war or kill something in order to succeed. Instead, the kids rely on their ingenuity to overcome obstacles. I don't necessarily assume "wholesome" means "worthwhile," but City of Ember retains a kind of innocence in its adventure while still remaining watchable and interesting.

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A beautifully visualized setting and set-up, but some questions March 22, 2009

By Celia Hayes VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

This is a movie which barely made a ripple at the box office, before apparently sinking without a trace, only to emerge in DVD release. Which is a pity, as it is eminently watchable, not least for the detailed visualization of the underground city of the title. It is based on a very popular series of `tween novels; I imagine that if you don't have children of an age to be entranced by the books, it would have been very easy to escape any knowledge of them at all.
The set-up for the story involves an unspecified disaster on the surface of Earth, and the setting up of a refuge city deep under the earth; an entire city, completely self-contained in a vast cavern, supplied with enough food for 200 hundred years, powered by an enormous water-powered electrical generator. The civil authority, in the form of the Mayor of Ember is supplied with a small metal box, with a set of crucial instructions and a timer which will go off when supposedly it will be safe enough to emerge from Ember and live on the surface again. But there has been a break in the chain of mayoral authority; the box has been lost and forgotten, sitting on a dusty shelf. The current Mayor is a corrupt and manipulative fool, willing to see all decay around him, if he can hold onto power and privilege for a little longer. More than 200 years have passed, and the electrical generator is breaking down. Blackouts are coming more often and lasting longer, and the only people who seem to have an interest in doing anything about it are a pair of teenage friends. Lina works as a messenger, relaying personal messages among the inhabitants of Ember, since any electrical messaging system has long since decayed. Doon works in the `pipes' repairing and maintaining an infrastructure tottering on the edge of collapse. Everything in this world has an authentic look of something worn out, used-up, patched and repaired many, many times. The movie works and works well, right up until the very, very end - the escape from Ember by Doon and Lina, and Lina's little sister, which apparently seems to involve a wild water-ride - and an abrupt ending which leaves a number of questions unanswered; like, what actually happened on the surface so many years ago, and what was with the monstrously huge beetles and moles in the outlaying caverns? And what would happen to everyone else, left behind in the crumbling city? The ending seems quite rushed, and unsatisfactory - as if the budget didn't allow quite enough time for a satisfactory wrap-up. Not having read the books themselves, we were left more than a little puzzled. But up until that point, it is an excellent movie, in comparison to some of the others which target the youth market. Lina and Doon are likeable, responsible teenagers, not a pair of bratty, spoiled know-it-alls.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Amazing cast, stellar set design, fun story April 22, 2010

By Time Enough At Last VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

When a film boasts a cast list comprised of some of the most talented Hollywood actors in Bill Murray, Tim Robbins, Martin Landau, and Toby Jones, not to mention newcomer and extraordinary talent Saoirse Ronan, it will most likely go one of two ways: Either the film deserves such a fine cast and will be a great film (take 'The Departed' (2006) for example) . . . or the cast is set in a subpar piece to make up for the film's lesser elements (like 'Valentine's Day' (2010)). Luckily, 'City of Ember' falls in closer with the former instead of the latter.

The film, adapted from the novel by Jeanne Duprau, tells the story of a small city named Ember that, over two hundred years prior, was locked away by the city's founding builders. The city is run solely on the power of its massive generator that lies beneath like a beating heart. However, the old generator is slowly falling apart, casting the city into short periods of darkness. Doon Harrow (Harry Treadway), a young boy recently assigned to work on the pipes of the city, is convinced that only he can fix the generator and help the city. During his explorations of the piping systems, he finds a mysterious room that is unmarked on his maps. With the help of Lina Mayfleet (Saoirse Ronan), the two teens discover the secrets of Ember and the answers that may help save the townspeople from eternal darkness.

When 'City of Ember' was released into theatres, it seemed to have gone by the attention of most people without much notice. With a production budget of over $50 million, the film only raked in about $8 million domestically. But, why was this film such a tremendous bomb? From the looks of it, it had little to do with the film's quality. It has a very solid cast behind it, the story is entertaining, kids movies at this level typically do well, and the trailers made it look to be very beautiful (which it was). It would seem, then, that the film was simply just undermarketed. Very little attention was given by the marketing team for this one and that's what killed it.

Had 'City of Ember' been given a proper marketing campaign, it could've been very successful. The film is really quite good. The acting, as expected, is fantastic. The cast of legends like Bill Murray & Martin Landau were fantastically chosen; and, the 'Lovely Bones' star Saoirse Ronan is quickly becoming one of the best actors of her age group, not to mention a definite for a few Oscars in her lifetime. The story is very entertaining, even if it isn't the most original or mysterious. The set design, however, is really what sets the film apart. Ember is built into a fantastic and beautiful city, from the underground and above. One issue that many seem to have deals with the CGI effects in the film, especially some of the scenes towards the end. While some of the CGI is spotty, it's hardly distracting enough to remove from the overall beauty of the film and no one should allow such small issues to detract wholly from an overall good film.

While book purists appear not to love the film for the oversimplification of the adaptation, those who have not read Duprau's novel should have a good time with it.

Final Verdict: 8/10.

-AP3-