Product Details

• Actors: Hugo Weaving, Genevičve Picot, Russell Crowe, Heather Mitchell, Jeffrey Walker (II)
• Directors: Jocelyn Moorhouse
• Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (DTS 5.1)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• 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: New Line Home Video
• DVD Release Date: November 2, 2004
• Run Time: 86 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0002XNT12
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #53,335 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Proof" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Proof, a brilliant allegory about trust, is at once mordantly funny, chilling, and touching. It keeps us off balance from the beginning, challenging our assumptions about everything from the art of filmmaking to the nature of human relationships. The tone is reminiscent of David Mamet and Harold Pinter, but Australian writer-director Jocelyn Moorhouse has a quirky outlook all her own. Hugo Weaving (later known as the villainous Agent Smith in The Matrix), plays Martin, a blind photographer who compulsively shoots photos as proof of the actuality of his existence. He relies on his spiteful housekeeper, Celia (Geneviève Picot), to tell him what's in his snapshots. But can he trust her to tell him the truth? Celia rearranges the furniture so Martin will trip over it. Why? Because she's in love with him. But Martin won't let her into his heart; he's never been able to trust anyone. Into this quagmire of mutual torment walks Andrew, a regular guy personified, to become the first real friend Martin has ever had. At this point the picture jumps up a notch, for Andrew is played by hunky, appealing young Russell Crowe, whose emotional range and star quality are already unmistakable. Just when we think that Proof has devolved into yet another feel-good buddy picture, the ground shifts again beneath our feet. There are no easy answers in this movie; that's the pleasure in it. --Laura Mirsky

Product Description

Multi-layered and intensely original this is the widely-acclaimed story of a blind man whose deeply rooted mistrust of humanity prompts him to compulsively take photographs that document his world. The only problem is he's got to get somebody to describe his pictures to him. And when there's no one you can trust it's hard to find someone on whom you can rely.Running Time: 90 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY UPC: 794043694226

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

74 of 79 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A touching, funny yet somewhat frightening view into "trust" May 18, 2000

By Shannon Malone

Format:VHS Tape

'Proof' is a wonderful, intriguing movie that keeps you riveted to your seat every moment. It's not an action film or a serious melodrama or even a rollicking comedy. It's a fascinating, plot-driven story with one underlying theme: trust. Why would a blind man insist on taking photographs? Why would a woman continue to torment a man she insists she loves? And why would a friend betray someone who puts all his faith in him just to 'play blind'? (see the movie...you'll know what I mean). All the performances are wonderful, particularly Hugo Weaving as our temperamental photographer. He gives Martin such depth that while he is generally a miserable SOB, you come to care about him and want to protect him from the evils around--much like Andy, his young friend. Speaking of Andy, Russell Crowe is delightful. A bit of warning though: this ain't Maximus of "Gladiator". Crowe is an incredibly diverse actor, ranging from the likable guy-next-door ("Sum of Us", "Proof") to imploding/exploding rage ("Quick and the Dead", "LA Confidential", "The Insider" and "Gladiator"). If you are looking for the latter, this is not the movie for you. You'll be bored and wonder if the body from the "rage" flicks were just creative lighting (no.....he just pumped up for "Romper Stomper" and never bulked down). But if you want to see Crowe smile and giggle uncontrollably, check this out. Overall, it's a moving, funny yet thought-provoking film that makes you think about what "proof" we all need in our lives.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A simple but powerful character study September 13, 2001

By Mkey

Format:VHS Tape

The thing about a simply made movie with a well-delivered message is that it will outlast any present-day film that reflects the glamour, glitz and special effects that today's audience seems to crave. And "Proof" will continue to hold its own against any film to come. It is simply great acting by three talented actors. Weaving commands respect from the audience for blind Martin, rather than pity. His character demonstrates how the a youthful interpretation of an event can shape a person's entire outlook on life. Picot's character Celia plays the desperation of a woman seeking intimacy to the hilt. Andy, played by Crowe, is Martin's light on the path to truth. And for once, Crowe doesn't "out act" his peers, making this a great ensemble piece that will always be relevant, no matter what era of movie making we pass through.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "Proof" - a small, great film with a large, great legacy June 1, 2001

By phimseto

Format:VHS Tape|Amazon Verified Purchase

I first discovered "Proof" a year ago on the Independent Film Channel, and thank God for it. The film is akin in quality to that great period of American cinema from "Midnight Cowboy" through "Ordinary People", featuring imperfect characters playing out their imperfect lives, hidden amongst the masses of the world and their misery only for us to see.

The plot is about a blind man without trust, a desperate woman without love, a young man without direction, and what happens when their three paths intersect. No one character is without blame, and each word and action is understood for better or for worse by the audience. It is a simple story ("Proof" being the term that serves as a benchmark by which trust is gained) wrung through the complexities of people and of life.

Two of the film's stars, Hugo Weaving of "Matrix" and "LoTR" fame and Russell Crowe of "Gladiator" and "LA Confidential" fame, have gone on to recent and popular success. I can only hope that this leads to more exposure of this film, a small Australian production that is as well-executed, well-written, and well-acted as any classic American cinema. "Proof" is worth a video store search or purchase. It is truly a diamond in the rough.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Black Comedy from Australia January 12, 2000

By A Customer

Format:VHS Tape

I first saw this film at Sundance in 1991, and I was blown away then by how complete this film is, considering it was made for about $100,000. Good script, interesting characters and plot, and great acting. It's one of Russell Crowe's first and best performances, and Hugo Weaving (recently in The Matrix) is brilliant as the blind photographer seeking the truth. The film has a subtle musical score by the excellent Australian band Not Drowning, Waving, which highlights the tension perfectly.

If you like subtle, black comedies this is the film for you!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars People can fool you March 5, 2001

By Dennis Littrell HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:VHS Tape

If you're blind people can fool you. They can lie to you. And if you're a photographer and you are blind, who will believe you? You need proof, and this is what Martin (Hugo Weaving) seeks. He is a man who projects onto others the lovelessness of his own soul. He believed as a child that his mother died to get away from the shame of having a son who was blind. Even as an adult he believed she lied to him. He goes to the mortuary and is led to her grave where he reads the head stone with his fingers. He asks the mortician if a coffin is sometimes buried empty. The mortician asks why anyone would do that. Martin suggests a prank. The mortician replies, "Seems like a pretty expensive prank." Martin spends his whole life obsessively seeking proof because he can trust no one. Until he meets Andy. He trusts Andy.

It hardly need be said that Andy, played with boyish charm and just the right amount of discovery by Russell Crowe, will both disappoint Martin and teach him a lesson. Martin certainly needs some kind of lesson. He exploits his housekeeper Celia's obsessive love for him, tormenting her by keeping her on, while denying her love as he inflicts little humiliations. For her part Celia, played with a penetrating and desperate sexuality by Geneviève Picot, mothers him and seeks to dominate. She wants to keep Martin dependant on her in the hope that someday he will seek her love. She controls his life, teaching the dog to prefer her and to come to her when signaled. In her frustration she plays little tricks on Martin, such as putting objects in his path so he will run into them. When Andy threatens to become important to Martin, predictably she seduces him. Thus we have our triangle.... Andy also serves as an objectifying device to underscore the obsessions of Martin and Celia.

Jocelyn Moorhouse wrote and directed this original little masterpiece of dark humor from down under. She carefully worked out the character-driven story so that humor and tragedy are in balance and we experience the revelations from the perspective of all three characters. Nothing is fake or hackneyed and no one point of view is preferred. She has the gift of seeing more than one side of the human condition, and it is this gift that makes her scenes so effective. Note that the drive-in theater scene depends on our knowing what Martin is doing and why, while seeing his actions from the point of view of the bikers. He faces the bikers from the driver's seat in the next car and holds up a packet of prophylactics. The biker guy looks over and thinks that he is being taunted by a "fag"

I have seen Moorehouse's "How to Make an American Quilt (1995)", which also explored the underlying psychological motives of human beings, but this is a better film. It will be interesting to see what she does next. Read more ›