Product Details

• Actors: Adrien Brody, Marcia Gaye Harden, James Caan, Christina Hendricks, Lucy Liu
• Directors: Tony Kaye
• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: New Video Group
• DVD Release Date: September 18, 2012
• Run Time: 97 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (81 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0086900TI
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #55,569 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Its sheer audacity grabs your attention...one of [Brody's] best performances since The Pianist" --The New York Times

"Kaye is an enormous talent. And Detachment proves it...[It] gets to you. It hits hard." --Rolling Stone

Product Description

Product Description

Director Tony Kaye's (American History X) long-awaited film DETACHMENT stars Academy Award® winner Adrien Brody (The Pianist, Splice) as Henry Barthes, a substitute teacher who conveniently avoids any emotional connections by never staying anywhere long enough to form a bond with either his students or colleagues. A lost soul grappling with a troubled past, Henry finds himself at a public school where an apathetic student body has created a frustrated, burned-out administration. Inadvertently becoming a role model to his students, while also bonding with a runaway teen who is just as lost as he is, Henry finds that he's not alone in a life-and-death struggle to find beauty in a seemingly vicious and loveless world.

Special Features:

• An Interview with Director Tony Kaye and Academy Award® winner Adrien Brody, Presented by American Express
• Interviews from the Red Carpet at the Tribeca Film Festival Premiere of DETACHMENT

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Provocative And Unrelenting: A Bold Drama About Education That Is Uncompromising, If A Bit Heavy Handed September 18, 2012

By K. Harris HALL OF FAMETOP 10 REVIEWER

Format:DVD

Controversial director Tony Kaye certainly doesn't play it safe. Notorious for "American History X," Kaye has proven himself both outspoken and challenging as a filmmaker (and as a person). Despite that film's positive reception by both audiences and critics (as well as its Oscar nominated leading performance by Edward Norton), Kaye publicly disavowed the movie after it was recut against his wishes. So it's no surprise that "Detachment," from a screenplay by Carl Lund, is like a brisk slap to the face. A bleak and depressing portrait of the American educational system, the film is unrelentingly dark. In its world view, it certainly has a refreshing candor and truth. At times, though, the stylized nature of the movie can detract from its essence. It is surely meant to provoke, which it does, but it also has the tendency to straddle the line of pushing over-the-top when a bit of restraint might have balanced the action. Still, though, it's hard to fault someone willing to make a bold statement in these days of formulaic filmmaking. "Detachment" has a lot to recommend it, but it presents a hyperreality that may not appeal to every viewer.

Adrien Brody plays a substitute teacher who embarks on a one month assignment at a struggling public high school. The students are alternately disaffected, disconnected, and/or outright confrontational. The film has a multi-media quality (with occasional voice over, animation sequences, and kinetic editing) that helps to establish a rather unsettling mood. Brody has weathered a difficult childhood, glimpsed in quick cuts, and is able to understand the silent cries for approval and recognition from the student body and his fellow staff. While he is supposed to be detached, it is this very calm that actually makes him stand out as a survivor and a positive role model. The longer he stays, the more influence he exerts (however inadvertently). It's an interesting idea, one that works in a very tangible way. "Detachment" makes no bones in creating high school as a modern hell. Whether Marcia Gay Harden is writhing on the floor of her office, Tim Blake Nelson is imagining that he is invisible, or Christina Hendricks is being assaulted--these moments have a visceral impact even as they might not always have real world believability. "Detachment," in my estimation, is a well constructed but overwrought parable about the decay and hopelessness inherent in our schools.

Brody is a primary selling point here. The other names in the cast (which also includes Blythe Danner, William Peterson, Lucy Liu, Bryan Cranston, and James Caan) all have showy moments, but this is largely Brody's show. He is both hard-edged and surprisingly likable, his unflappability has enormous appeal. I didn't love a subplot involving a young girl from the streets (it creates a scenario that, if challenged, would have ended any potential career in education), but it is effective in creating a fully rounded persona. I know some might proclaim "Detachment" a modern masterpiece. I'm not quite there, however, although it is definitely an experience I'd recommend to serious minded film lovers. The film is, perhaps, too arty and stylized for its own good. Sometimes power can be achieved through simplicity as well. Not a perfect film, but surely a memorable one. You don't want to believe this is where we've ended up, but "Detachment" strikes very close to home. KGHarris, 9/12.

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally , a teacher drama that tells it like it is April 1, 2012

By Peter J. Orleman

Format:Amazon Instant Video

I related to this wonderful film as a 38 year teacher. I watched it twice on on demand, tried to VCR it the second time, but it didn't come out that well. I can't wait until the DVD is released. While the sub plot involving the teenage prostitute is a bit too much, the classroom scenes are haunting and frightfully real, particularly when it is the first day. The faculty burnout scenes are beautifully scripted as a consequence of students bad treatment of teachers. Those not in the profession who villify teachers constantly should see this film and maybe have a degree of sympathy for us.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Adrian Brody's best yet March 19, 2012

By passionatereader

Format:Amazon Instant Video|Amazon Verified Purchase

To begin: the first third of the movie is out of synch which almost had me turn it off and ask for my money back. But I stuck with it, although it should be fixed, and am I ever glad I did.

This is a beautiful, and also a heartbreaking film. Adrian Brody has the most soulful eyes and is superb in this film.

The story is not very new, but it's approach is different.

I felt a lot of empathy for each character.

It is not for the faint of heart, for it has quite a few very difficult situations presented.

But it's not exploitative at all.

Rather it is tender. Yes, tender. And you feel for these people as if they were you and yours.