Product Details

• Actors: Zoe Saldana, James Marsden
• Directors: Neil LaBute
• Format: AC-3, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Sony
• DVD Release Date: August 10, 2010
• Run Time: 92 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00275EHI2
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #18,732 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Death at a Funeral [Blu-ray]" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Less than three years after the 2007 Brit-com Death at a Funeral hit theaters, this remake offered a nearly scene-for-scene variation on the original. Once again a family has gathered for the dignified memorial service for a patriarch: older son (Chris Rock) has prepared a eulogy; younger son (Martin Lawrence) has flown in on his celebrity as a bestselling author; favorite niece (Zoe Saldana) has brought her fiancé (James Marsden, flipping out), unaware that he has accidentally ingested a hallucinogen manufactured by her pharmaceutically minded brother (Columbus Short, from Cadillac Records). You know, the usual fare for a funeral. The wild card is a stranger (Peter Dinklage, the only member of the cast to repeat his role from the 2007 film) who has something urgent to impart to the two sons. There's nothing terribly elevated about the slapstick, and one particular scatological sequence tests the boundaries of the bearable (30 Rock's Tracy Morgan, in his usual unbounded form, takes the brunt of this scene). The unexpected director is Neil LaBute, who shows off his sense of comic timing and keeps the whole apparatus moving along briskly. In addition to the relatively subdued lead turns by Rock and Lawrence, the big cast includes Danny Glover, Regina Hall, Luke Wilson, and Loretta Devine. It is almost irrelevant to debate whether this version improves or deflates the original; both hit their marks, deliver the broad yuks, and leave behind a mostly mechanical feel. But the job is accomplished--now rest in peace. --Robert Horton

Product Description

Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 08/10/2010 Run time: 92 minutes Rating: R

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Zany enough to leave grief buried at any funeral, May 22, 2010

By 

Harold Wolf "Doc" (Wells, IN United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Death at a Funeral (DVD)

WHY? A gag filled story filled with humor in a situation that's not supposed to be funny. You have to like this type of off-the-wall comedy drama. It is quirky humor. You have to decide if you like this US version or stick with the UK original of 3 years earlier. Both have great, top stars, doing awesomely in the roles of unusual characters through a bazaar affair.

Chris York is the deceased man's son in America. Well done. Or do you prefer a British Matthew MacFadyen taking a giant leap from Mr. Darcy in "Pride & Prejudice" for his work as the same character in the British film? Both top actors, both convincing, and creating laughs, although playing a solemn role. Directors have both done well with the same script. Even the blackmail amount of 15,000 pounds was accurately converted to 30,000 US dollars. Neil LeBute (US film) gets the most out of an American cast, Frank OZ (actually British born) puts together his cast and the story, which is as imaginary as OZ-the-Wizard's tale. Both the US & UK versions come with a munchkin-size star, Peter Dinklage (Frank in US; Peter in UK) who is fantastic in a difficult role, made only more difficult and strange in the US version due to skin tone significance. Dinklage is the only cast member to do the same role in both films.

The question is "Why?" first and then "Which?" for the viewers. Which may be best decided by buying both and making your own comparison. If you are one of the public that likes viewing the same movie multiple times, this story will give you some diversification in repetition, WITHOUT LOSS OF QUALITY.

You'll laugh till the film's end, when the bereaved son, after a day of mishaps, delivers a touching, philosophical ending that seems alien to all that happened beginning with the delivery of the wrong body to the family home on the morning of this "Death at a Funeral."

So do you want American scenery or British? American accents or British? English subtitles or ENGLISH??? This remake of a British hit for the American public reminds me somewhat of a British TV series "Life on Mars: UK Series" that was redone for American TV. Why? But both versions have their fans. There I preferred the UK.

Bottom line. If your not looking for depth in a movie, just weird stuff, this will fill your basket, US or UK. It's like picking your favorite chocolate variety--it all tastes like chocolate, and it's good.

17 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Skip this and go back to Oz, July 22, 2010

By 

W. Holland "WJH" (San Diego,) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Death At A Funeral (Amazon Instant Video)

Are you kidding me?!

I caught this flick at a friend's house (read not by choice) and when I saw Peter Dinklage reprising the very same roll of Peter from the original Frank Oz production of 2007 I asked my friend to turn it off. This film is a complete exercise of futility.

The art of the ensemble is something Frank Oz handles with deft hands. Oz understands the importance of chemistry and timing in comedy - subtlety. Three years later and Sony releases a near `frame by frame' remake that exemplifies all that can go wrong in an ensemble work. No matter how talented a cast - a director (Neil LaBute) should facilitate a comedic ensemble by stressing underplay and nuance. In this remake LaBute looses or exercises little control and we end up with a one-upmanship mash up that is simply not funny. I was actually surprised that this was a LaBute film as he has a strong talent for controlling and facilitating the emotion in an actor's performance (I had the opportunity to see Sigourney Weaver in "The Mercy Seat" a devastatingly rich performance that highlights his skill as a performance driven director).

Bottom line is this film made me angry. I was angry that Sony, Labute, and Dean Craig (the writer on both versions of this film) felt it was necessary to rework the property into a dumb downed in your face version for an American audience.

My friends and I did watch the remainder of the Labute version and subsequently the Oz version - all prefer the Oz version if for nothing else than it is a genuinely funny and entertaining ensemble comedy.

I feel Labute should stay away from re-visioning films that work in their original state - as "The Whicker Man" and this death are potential career lowlights.

I give this film one star for the tremendously talented and funny cast whose directed performance was the true death at this funeral of a film.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I Almost Died Laughing, April 17, 2010

By 

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

This review is from: Death at a Funeral [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

It seems like only yesterday I was giving a passing grade to "Death at a Funeral," the 2007 British farce from director Frank Oz. Amazing, how quickly a remake can come along. What's even more amazing is that, despite being virtually the exact same film, this new 2010 version is even funnier. It is, in fact, the funniest film I've seen since "Get Smart." Before, the premise was crazy, but now, it reaches levels of insanity that I simply could not ignore. Oh, I tried to tell myself that I'm an adult now, that I'm too old to laugh at any of this, that I'm supposed to be out of my dirty jokes phase. But on this particular trip to the theater, I felt very immature indeed. Essentially, I let my guard down and just allowed myself to enjoy what I was watching.

You see, I normally wouldn't be amused by the sight of an old man sitting on a toilet and doing his business while someone else's hand is pinned underneath the seat. And usually, I would find the ... aftermath of this scene disgusting, cheap, lowbrow, and needlessly vulgar. But boy, how I laughed. Sometimes, it's nice to stop being a critic and allow yourself to take pleasure in what you're viewing.

Perhaps it helps that it features a great variety of stars, all of whom are naturally funny. At the center of it all is Chris Rock, who successfully balances the screenplay's use of slapstick comedy, witty dialogue, and quiet interludes, the latter surprisingly rich, if ultimately brief. He plays Aaron, who seems to have the weight of the world on his shoulders now that his father is dead and everyone is gathering at his home for the funeral. His wife, Michelle (Regina Hall), wants to get pregnant -- on the day of the funeral. His mother (Loretta Devine) says nothing kind to Michelle and clearly favors her other son, a successful but financially irresponsible writer named Ryan (Martin Lawrence), who hasn't lived up to his end of the deal when it comes to paying for the funeral. Aaron, jealous because of his own failed writing ambitions, is continuously reminded that Ryan was expected to give the eulogy, not him.

Before long, he's approached by a dwarf named Frank (Peter Dinklage, reprising his role from the 2007 film). He has numerous pictures that prove he had been ... very, very close with Aaron's father. Unless he receives $30,000 in compensation, he will expose his secret to the rest of the family.

Other zany subplots are woven throughout the story, including the dead man's niece, Elaine (Zoe Saldana), having to get a handle on her boyfriend, Oscar (James Marsden), who mistook a hallucinogen for a valium and is now wreaking havoc all over the house. At the same time, she has to contend with her disapproving father (Ron Glass) and her ex-boyfriend, Derek (Luke Wilson), who seems incapable of taking no for an answer. We also meet the crotchety Uncle Russell (Danny Glover) and a family friend, Norman (Tracy Morgan), who Uncle Russell hates for no apparent reason. In one form or another, both find themselves drawn into the rapidly escalating Frank fiasco.

The director is Neil LaBute, whose film and stage work has been defined by unflinching depictions of human behavior (I exempt his remake of "The Wicker Man," a truly awful movie). Remember his previous film, "Lakeview Terrace"? Aside from being a genuinely thrilling ride, it was also one of the most intelligent, complex, and honest examinations of prejudice and relationships of recent memory. "Death at a Funeral" is certainly much different in tone, but it still benefits from LaBute's affinity for strong characters and themes. Yes, they're all greatly exaggerated, but not so much that we don't see some degree of truth in them; we believe in the reality of Aaron's personal and financial woes, we understand his wife's persistence, and we can sympathize with anyone who has had to deal with an Uncle Russell. As they say, there's one in every family.

I was also impressed with the quality of the performances, especially Marsden's; it's one thing to act like you're under the influence, but it's quite another thing to keep that act consistently interesting, and to make sure there's still a personality underneath it all. He manages this, making him not only funny, but engaging as well. Also of note is Danny Glover, who isn't given much screen time but definitely knows how to make the most of what little he has. He's over the top, but that's okay because, given the screwball nature of the plot, subtlety would not have been appropriate. I noted back in 2007 that the "fun" had been put back into "funeral." It seemed all right to say it then, but now I realize that I should have reserved it for this version. While the original was amusing, the new "Death at a Funeral" is truly a lot of fun.