Product Details

• Actors: Steve Callahan, William Christian, Dennis Christopher, John Ganun, Dean Howell
• Directors: Dean Howell
• Writers: Dean Howell, Michael Kearns
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Here
• DVD Release Date: October 2, 2007
• Run Time: 74 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000UAE7N6
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #151,155 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Nine Lives" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Studio: Wea-des Moines Video Release Date: 10/02/2007 Run time: 86 minutes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Coincidences and Consequences, January 7, 2008

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Nine Lives (DVD)

Based on the Michael Kearns' play 'Complications', NINE LIVES introduces a sequence of the lives of nine men who are interconnected by the fact they are all participants in the roundelay of casual sexual encounters. The technique used is that of each actor speaking to the audience about his background and how each ended up in the rather sad state of living in which they find themselves. The stories are interesting if a bit repetitive (parental abuse of both the verbal and physical type, the agonies of 'coming out'. and the spectre of AIDS), but the script keeps the conversations mixed well with actual encounters so that we the audience are less confessional listeners so much as participants in the results of living life on the edge.

The cast is uniformly fine, a factor that keeps the film afloat in many instances. Particularly fine is Steve Callahan ('East Side Story') who seems to have a promising career. Director Dean Howell (who also wrote the screenplay) is another solid actor as are Eric Turic, William Christian, John Ganun, Dennis Christopher, Nick Salamone, Debra Wilson - well, the entire cast. The direction is tight and flows well from 'life to life', using sexual scenes where indicated, and keeping the focus on the darker side of the round of confessions. The cinematography by Mark A. Ryan keeps the look dark and coarse and a bit too much on the dreary side. The makeup artist Shari Balbien is none too kind to the actors' looks. Made in 2004 the film holds up well as far as content, a sad statement about the slow progress in the struggle against HIV infection. Grady Harp, January 08

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Emotional backstories of anonymous sexual encounters, October 10, 2007

By 

Bob Lind "camelwest" (Phoenix, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Nine Lives (DVD)

Like a gay "La Ronde", "Nine Lives" (2004) follows nine individuals in a string (actually, it's a circle) of anonymous gay sexual encounters of a diverse group of individuals. The sex actually is secondary to the obvious emotional baggage of the people involved, based on past and concurrent relationships in their lives, dissatisfaction with the curves that life has thrown them, all leading to a disconnected and potentially dangerous (physically and mentally) need for such encounters.

The cast is much more professional than one would expect from a (primarily) gay film, and includes Golden Globe winner Dennis Christopher ("Breaking Away") as well as several other actors with significant credits, including screenwriters Michael Kearns and Dean Howell (Howell also directs). The skill of the acting makes the film much more engrossing than it would be in the hands of a less talented cast. The technique of the characters talking directly to the audience, explaining their feelings, works well in this context.

DVD extras include a deleted scene, outtakes and commentaries. Not rated, but would be a hard "R" due to content, language, numerous scenes of simulated sex and some partial nudity. I give the film four stars out of five.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Shoulda Stopped After One Life, November 19, 2007

By 

Nick Archer "Nick" (Bloomington, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nine Lives (DVD)

This film takes us into the lives of nine people and shows how their lives are interrelated. The characters talk to the camera a lot which can be irritating but in this film works fairly well. Most of the characters spend time relating their darker sides to us. So far, so good, right? The problem is that most of these people are not people I would go to coffee with let alone desire to know. I just didn't care about the characters. They're all whiny, negative, out-of-control addicts. They keep making excuse after excuse for their behavior and blaming others for their lot in life. At the risk of sounding like a Fox News Channel pundit - can we get a little personal responsibility here? And with a wafer-thin plot there's not much else to recommend this movie. Not every movie has to end Happily Ever After but this movie simply spews ugliness, negativity, darkness and ultimately boredom. Two stars for decent production values, originality and acting. Still, I'd never watch it again.