Product Details

• Actors: Matthew McConaughey, Ethan Hawke, Skeet Ulrich, Vincent D'Onofrio, Gail Cronauer
• Directors: Richard Linklater
• Writers: Richard Linklater, Clark Walker, Claude Stanush
• Producers: Anne Walker-McBay, Clark Walker, John Sloss, Keith Fletcher
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Fox Home Entertainme
• VHS Release Date: April 2, 2002
• Run Time: 113 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6305037744
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #586,429 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The Newton Boys were the most successful bank robbers in the history of the United States. They never killed anyone, never snitched, and only robbed banks (just bigger thieves, in their opinion), until their final deal, which was a botched train robbery for $3 million. Engagingly played by Matthew McConaughey, Ethan Hawke, Skeet Ulrich, and Vincent D'Onofrio, the Boys don't have the kind of flaws of more brutal criminals that make for more volatile dramas. The film ambles along in a leisurely way to tell its story of the Newtons' bank-robbing career, with an ever-present air of reverent Americana. This may make some viewers impatient, and cause a glow in others. It seems like a departure for director Richard Linklater (Slacker, Dazed and Confused)--a costumer to be sure, but Linklater's deliberately amiable pace perfectly balances the Boys' personalities. You may wander into this movie and feel right at home. The golden-hued cinematography of Peter James (Driving Miss Daisy) adds a level of comfort that makes everything warm-like. The end credits intercut archival footage of two of the real-life Newton boys toward the end of their lives, one from a 1980 appearance with Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. --Jim Gay

Product Description

It seems the only way "The Newton Boys" can make good is by goin' bad! Faster than you can say "nitroglycerin," they've knocked over more than 80 banks from Texas to Canada. Now their sights are set on a multimillion-dollar Federal Reserve train robbery, but the Feds are about to turn up the heat!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get Off My Leg!, March 17, 2000

By 

Edwardian Book Cellar "Edwardian_Book_Cellar" (Western NY State) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Newton Boys [VHS] (VHS Tape)

What is wrong with you people? This movie is hysterical. Vincent D'Onofrio (the great under-appreciated character vet) and Ethan Hawke are the best, you have to see the ad-libs and particularly the scene where they rob the moneybags in Toronto. D'Onofrio gets tackled and Hawke ends up dragging around a man on his ankle like a little kid on hanging on their mother. Ok, I'll watch anything with Vincent D'Onofrio, but the movie is still great besides the fact that he, my favorite actor, is in it. The movie is telling the true story, like it says in the opening ...DUH..., so why are you expecting soapy dramatizations and sex scenes when it's about them robbing banks and how they did it? I could watch it again and again, unlike most of these hyped-up garbage movies coming out of Hollywood now. See it or you're missing a piece of history!

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Film Overlooked By Most, March 19, 2003

By 

M. Gray (Justin, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Newton Boys (DVD)

I saw this in the theater and thought it was great, but no one else I knew had seen it. Then I saw it on DVD and bought it quickly. It was just as good as I remembered.

This is a "gangster" movie without gangsters. No one gets killed or tortured graphically. It's a real life story of depression era brothers trying to get some cash and having some adventures along the way.

I think Hawke puts in one of his best performances ever. Dwight Yoakam also contributes some good acting, especially when compared to his fabulous "Sling Blade" villan.

The only flaw is the length. The movie drags a little after a while, but it still manages to make you care enough about the characters to see it through to the end.

The final credits featuring Willis and Joe Newton at the end of their lives make the film worth owning. It's one of the most clever ways to make the credits worth watching I've seen.

Give this movie a chance. It's well acted and is aesthetically pleasing to watch. Plus it's really low cost!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth your time ? DEFINITELY!!!!, June 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Newton Boys (DVD)

This is the type of film that you don't see everyday. Four real-life bankrobbers who happen to be brothers, their safe-cracking accomplice and lots of gunfire, but no deaths. This is entertainment at its best. This is also a very different step for director, Richard Linklater whose other credits include DAZED AND CONFUSED, SLACKER, and SUBURBIA. Allof which were relatively low-budget but true to life. There has been much said about this movie and the "lack of plot" , but this is where you remember that this is a true story and none of Linklater's other films had plots either. The film moves along at a nice leisurely pace giving you a chance to learn about and like the characters. As far as performances go, there isn't a bad one in the bunch. (the cast is outstanding) There is plenty of action to satisfy all of the DIE HARD fans out there and when the action is toned down, it is fun to watch the poor old farmboys plan their next big heist. It has to be said that, of all the performances, Dwight Yoakam, playing a very different role than his Doyle in SLING BLADE, is the best. If you're looking for a night of action and good old fashioned, downhome characters, give it a try. It is suitable for the whole family and it is definitely worth owning. SO, forget renting. Go buy it on DVD. Now!!!