Product Details

• Actors: Tim Allen, David Paymer
• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: French
• Region: Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
  PLEASE NOTE: Some Region 1 DVDs may contain Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE). Some, but not all, of our international customers have had problems playing these enhanced discs on what are called "region-free" DVD players. For more information on RCE, click here.
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: August 26, 2008
• Run Time: 99 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (65 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001C5LLMI
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,236 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Redbelt" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

REDBELT - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MAMET'S LATEST KNOCK-OUT PUNCH, July 22, 2008

By 

Shashank Tripathi (Gadabout) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Redbelt (DVD)

You can hardly go wrong with someone who has given us the insouciant variety of Glengarry Glen Ross or Wag the Dog. Redbelt is a classic of the same cadre, hands-down the best martial arts movie you have seen in a decade, if not the very best of all time.

Without any flying dragons or crouching whatchamaycallits, mind you. Without even the guttaral shrieks of your standard issue kung-fu flick. So don't be going seeing it expecting your typical jumping jacks and shenanigans from Hong Kong.

It starts in what looks like your average ramshackle dojo teaching Brazilian Judo tricks. The authenticity of the maneuvers is instructive, and gripping. But this soon builds into a thrilling rumination of our common human tussle between staying true to our integrity and giving in to the practical conveniences of the moment.

The screenplay is vintage Mamet. We get a steady dose of one-liners ("I don't teach people to fight. I teach them to prevail.") The narrative offers some unexpected twists but exhibits a gentle unaffected beauty, an austerity that seems almost effortless. You'll watch it in one swoop.

For some inadequately explored reason Amazon and various other sources insist on billing this as a Tim Allen starrer, which is puzzling. He fritters a guest appearance at best (what happened--not enough dates?) and is basically quickly forgotten.

See it instead for the irrepressible tenacity of Ejiofor. He's one of those actors you have seen in strident supporting gigs before, but handed his first meaningful protagonist role here, he brings quite a spine to the film. His character calmly copes with the insidious commercialism and scheming all around him, but his resolve is not without its frailties. Still, we root for him from basically the first ten minutes onwards.

The ending may feel a trifle pat, or at least sudden, but this is undeniably a memorable work of art. Even for people without a flair for martial arts. A highly recommended keeper.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mamet At His Best, August 28, 2008

By 

Adventure Fan - See all my reviews

This review is from: Redbelt (+ BD Live) [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

Spoiler Free Review...

I own every Mamet play and dvd and I found Redbelt thrilling. Mostly because he was able to craft a killer story structure. A protagonist with a noble pursuit, in the shadowy underworld of the MMA.

But like most Mamet films, this is not an action movie, it's suspense-drama.

The dialogue is brutal, and the subtext is deep. This movie hits the viewer on a physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual level. It's a demanding film. If you watch and you only half pay attention, when the plot twists happen, you'll be struggling to understand.

I watched this with a group of seven, half Mamet fans, half virgins. We all watched the same movie, together, and three people just didn't get it... One fan, two virgins. The other four loved it.

The video and audio quality make this one of the best looking Blu-rays. It's razor sharp, deep black, rich color. Everything looks better and sounds better in HD, and, at least for me, Mamet in HD is wicked sweet.

I highly recommend Redbelt on Blu-ray.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Samurai/film noir Character Study, April 12, 2010

By 

Dr. James Gardner (California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Redbelt (DVD)

"Redbelt" is probably the finest martial arts film ever made, if one is looking for a combination of martial arts plus the underlying philosophy of the way of the warrior. This is not the kind of lip service paid in Bruce Lee and Steven Segal films (which I love) where the hero says that "peace is the way" and then proceeds to kill and/or maim hundreds of people. Rather it is a demonstration of the difficulty of "the way" and how being true to yourself is a struggle. But don't fret, at the end of the day, a very reluctant hero is forced into a confrontation, and the martial arts display is formidable.

The film is written and directed by David Mamet and stars Chiwetel Ejiofor with a great supporting cast that includes Tim Allen, Joe Mantega, Alice Braga, Max Martini, Ricky Jay, and MMA former champion Randy Couture.

David Mamet was twice nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe ("Wag the Dog" in 1998, "The Verdict" in 1983), was nominated by the Writer's Guild 4 times ("The Untouchables" in 1987 and "Glengarry Glen Ross" in 1992) and won a cable ACE award for "A Life in the Theatre" (1993). He produced such memorable series as "The Unit" and "The Shield".

Mamet has his own stock company that includes Joe Mantega, Rebecca Pidgeon, and Ricky Jay who appear in "Redbelt", but his other regulars are absent (e.g., William Macy, Alec Baldwin, J.T.Walsh).

- Joe Mantega is perhaps best known for his role in the great TV series "Criminal Minds", but he's given us many memorable roles in the 100+ films and TV shows in which he's appeared, including winning the Volpi Cup at the Venice Film festival for "Things Change" (1988), 3 Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe nomination. My favorite Joe Mantegna roles include Joey Zasa in "Godfather 3" (1990), Dean Martin in "The Rat Pack" (1998), and Fat Tony on "The Simpsons" Mantega appears in several Mamet films including "House of Games" (1987), "Homicide" (1991), and "Things Change" (1998) and worked with him on Broadway ("Glengarry Glen Ross"). Mantega plays the fixer for Tim Allen and does a good job, although it's hardly a big enough part for the talented Mantega.

- Ricky Jay is a grizzled face you'll recognize even if the name escapes you. He's been in more than 2 dozen films and given us memorable roles as Kurt Longjohn in "Boogie Nights" (1997), the villainous Henry Gupta in "Tomorrow Never Dies" (1997), and Milton the Magician in "The Prestige" (2006). He's a favorite of Mamet and appeared in "House of Games" (1987), "Homicide" (1991), "The Spanish Prisoner" (1997), "Things Change" (1998), and "Heist" (2001). Ricky Jay plays the role of a sleazy corrupt individual extremely well.

- Max Martini worked with Mamet on "The Unit" where he played Master Sgt Gerhardt (the guy whose wife cheats on him). He had small roles in "Saving Private Ryan" (1998) and "The Great Raid" (2005) and has been very active in TV. Mac brings his usual intensity to the role of the policeman in "Redbelt" who is torn between his loyalty to his teacher and his loyalty to his family.

- Rebecca Pidgeon is Mamet's second wife, and appeared in several Mamet films such as "Homicide" (1991), "The Spanish Prisoner" (1997), "Things Change" (1998), "The Winslow Boy" (1999), "State and Main" (2000), and "Heist" (2001) as well as a recurring part as Charlotte Ryan in "The Unit" (2006-2009). She plays Tim Allen's wife with a cunning distain for others.

Chiwetel Ejiofor stars as the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu master. He was twice nominated for a Golden Globe for his film work ("Endgame" in 2009 and "Tsunami" in 2006) and once for TV ("Kinky Boots" in 2005). He's been in more than a dozen films and he's best known for his work in "American Gangster" (2007) as Denzel Washington's brother.

We know Tim Allen from his many comedies, including the hit TV series "Home Improvement" (1991-1999) and films like "The Santa Clause" (1994) and "Toy Story" (1995). Playing a Sinatra-like celebrity would be the last thing we'd expect from Allen, but he manages to pull it off and suggests that he has some real talent for dramatic acting.

Emily Mortimer plays a lawyer who comes to form the center of Ejiofor's quest, when everything else seems to have deserted him. She played Bruce Willis' love interest in Disney's "The Kid" (2002), Clouseau's love interest in "The Pink Panther" (2006, 2009), and Alec Baldwin's love interest in "30 Rock" (2009). She manages to be both vulnerable and nonetheless anchor the Jiu-Jitsu master.

Writer/director Mamet believes the film is a samurai film in the tradition of Kurosawa. That's not exactly true, as most Kurosawa films have a lot more action and a lot less philosophy. And very few Kurosawa films have such intricate plots. In truth, the film is more of a blend of Samurai film with film noir. Leaving the comparisons aside, this is a thinking man's film and gets better with additional viewings, as the interrelationships of the characters reveal themselves in layers.

The last 10 minutes or so of the film are basically without dialogue. Mamet allows the action to unfold and tell the story. We think of Mamet as a dialogue based director and not a visual director, but in this film he shows that he can match cinema shot for shot with the best of them. What is most interesting for me is that in Mamet's 1991 book "On Directing Film" he said "The job of the film director is to tell the story through the juxtaposition of uninflected images" (p. 60). Most of his films post 1991 don't refelect this goal, but Redbelt is probably the best example Mamet has ever produced of his own methodology.

The camera work by Robert Elswit is memorable. Elswit won the Oscar for his work on "There Will Be Blood" (2007) and was nominated for "Good Night And Good Luck" (2005). He also gave us "Boogie Nights" (1997) and "8mm" (1999) among his many films.

The film is enhanced greatly by the music. Stephen Endelman has scored dozens of films, including Home of the Brave" (2006), "The Proposition" (1998), "City of Industry" (1997), and "A Bronx Tale" (1993). He was nominated for a Grammy for his work on "De-Lovely" (2004).

If you love martial arts films, or character studies, this is the film for you. Photography, music, acting, story, and direction are all excellent. If the film has any fault at all it is the relative complexity of the plot, but this minor inconvenience will not stop you from having a great experience.