Product Details

• Actors: Annabella Sciorra, Rebecca De Mornay, Matt McCoy, Julianne Moore, Ernie Hudson
• Directors: Curtis Hanson
• Writers: Amanda Silver
• Producers: David Madden, Ira Halberstadt, Rick Jaffa, Robert W. Cort, Ted Field
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Walt Disney Video
• DVD Release Date: December 8, 1998
• Run Time: 110 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (85 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6305213305
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,247 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

A potboiler featuring a demented caretaker and a seemingly hapless suburban family, this is The Nanny of the 1990s. However, it is much more predictable than that 1965 Bette Davis psychodrama, and more graphic. It works only because Rebecca De Mornay makes us intensely uncomfortable as the disturbed au pair who wants to take care of much more than her employer's well-being.

Annabella Sciorra plays the perfect mother of a flawless family. Her obstetrician, however, is less than wonderful, having enjoyed her examination much more than he should have. When she files sexual harassment charges against the repugnant doctor, he loses face--literally--after shooting himself in the head. Several months later, an ideal nanny shows up at her home. You guessed it--she's the doc's widow.

The movie follows a tried and true formula, with the audience in on everything. However, the story does surprise us in intense and intimate ways. The visit to the obstetrician is one of the creepiest moments in the film. You definitely hear the voice of writer Amanda Silver in a plot concerned with the vulnerabilities of a family, a newborn, a marriage.

Since we know so much up front, there is an overall lack of inventiveness in the plot machinations. It may not jolt us, but De Mornay does. It's unsettling to watch someone who appears so attractive and who behaves so kindly suddenly reveal hideous psychopathic tendencies. Restraining herself from going over the top, she instead oozes such malevolence you'll want to shudder. --Rochelle O'Gorman

Product Description

Get ready for edge-of-your-seat excitement with the hit that rocked the nation! In this entertaining thriller, Claire Bartel (Annabella Sciorra -- THE HARD WAY, INTERNAL AFFAIRS) has the perfect life and family -- and exactly what Petyon Flanders (Rebecca De Mornay -- RISKY BUSINESS) desires desperately. But once Peyton deceptively becomes the Bartels' live-in housekeeper, how far will she really go when the life she wants belongs to someone else? From absorbing start to heart-stopping finish, this critically acclaimed winner delivers a lively mix of thrills, chills, and surprises equaling 100% fun!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars De Mornay's finest film ever!, March 15, 2000

By 

D. Litton (Wilmington, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (DVD)

Who would've thought that The Hand That Rocks The Cradle would've become so popular ever since its 1992 release? After being broadcast on the networks many times and finally put on cable, the viewers ratings show that this thriller is one that manages to gain more popularity with each showing. Starring Rebecca De Mornay as the estranged wife of an obstitrician accused of sexual molestation, she seeks out the woman who brought up the charges (Annabella Sciorra) after her husband kills himself. De Mornay's character, Peyton Flanders, worms her way into Annie's home, posing as a nanny in order to make Sciorra's family her own. The suspense builds to sometimes frightening heights as Peyton begins to destroy Annie's life, misplacing papers and making things not what they seem. The climax is one of the best suspense endings I've seen in my life, and the acting from each person in this film is amazing and truly believable. Unlike so many other movies, this one is not anticlimactic, and flows very steadily from start to finish. A must-see for an De Mornay fan as well as followers of the suspense genre.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A little revenge never hurts, right?, July 14, 2008

By 

ADRIENNE MILLER (TENNESSEE) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (DVD)

The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is one creepy film but I enjoyed it. Rebecca de Mornay plays a manipulative and revenge-seeking nanny. I am kinda surprised this thriller is directed by Curtis Hanson, doesn't seem like his type of movie. I won't give away too much but De Mornay's character has been through a tragedy and she will stop at nothing to seek solace even if it means driving a happily married couple insane. I highly recommend this cat and mouse game, enjoy!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining time, February 14, 2004

By 

Scott FS (Sacramento, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (DVD)

The plot is a bit predictable. You'll probably guess most of the plot twists before they come. The demented nanny. The saintly, stuttering black handyman whom she has fired. The mousy, asthmatic wife. The clueless husband. There are sadly, few surprises in this movie.

So why four stars instead of zero or one? Well, Rebecca DeMornay is superbly chilling in the role. She's absolutely believable as the nanny who has her very real reasons for going off the deep end. (In fact one of the few surprises in the film is that she is given a solid reason for flipping out. I sort of hate to say this, but I was kind of rooting for her over the very mousy Annabella Sciorra.)

The scene with DeMornay in the woman's bathroom at the arboretum was great. Her character, Payton, was quite soulless, and she made you feel her chill. She never plays a false note. The stares she gave could stop people in their tracks. You really do think this woman could kill.

Recommended. Worth watching if you want a good, entertaining. And DeMornay's character will stick with you for quite some time. She's that good (and beautiful, to boot.) Because of her story, you actually start rooting for her, except that she's gone around the bend a bit.