Product Details

• Actors: Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez, Eric Mabius, James Purefoy, Martin Crewes
• Directors: Paul W.S. Anderson
• Writers: Paul W.S. Anderson
• Producers: Albert Botha, Bernd Eichinger, Chris Symes, Daniel S. Kletzky, Jeremy Bolt
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Special Edition, 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: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• DVD Release Date: July 30, 2002
• Run Time: 100 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (726 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005JL3A
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #19,079 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #24 in	Movies & TV > Horror > Things That Go Bump > Zombies
  #57 in	Movies & TV > Horror > Things That Go Bump > Monsters

• For more information about "Resident Evil (Special Edition)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

• This is item 1 in The Resident Evil Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Marilyn Manson worked on the soundtrack, so it's no surprise that Resident Evil is best enjoyed by headbangers, goth guys, and PlayStation junkies. Like the interactive game it's based on, this horror hybrid pits a small band of SWAT-like commandos (including Milla Jovovich and Girlfight's Michelle Rodriguez) against a ravenous hoard of zombies, resulting in a gorefest that only sociopaths could love. The tenacious heroes are trapped inside the Hive--an underground complex where an evil corporation conducts illegal research with a deadly virus--and the zombies (reanimated corpses of sacrificed employees) are fodder for endless rounds of gunfire. It's utter nonsense (not unlike director Paul W.S. Anderson's previous Event Horizon), so your best defense is to wallow in it or avoid this trash altogether. A few cool sequences are borrowed from better films (that slice-and-dice laser is cribbed from the 1998 Canadian shocker Cube), but if you're in the mood for heavy-metal carnage, this movie's for you. --Jeff Shannon

From The New Yorker
The genetically superior Milla Jovovich does her best Angelina Jolie impression in yet another feeble attempt at making an entertaining movie from a video game. The plot has her trapped inside an underground research lab fighting zombies and computer-generated Dobermans. Mayhem ensues as poor storytelling, incoherent editing, and bone-crushingly bad rock songs tear director Paul W. S. Anderson's movie to pieces. -Bruce Diones
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Capcom's Resident Evil on the Big Screen!, April 12, 2002

By	Bankz "Cesar Z" (Dallas TX) - See all my reviews

To my surprise, Resident Evil was a excellent movie. I really did enjoy Anderson's, "Mortal Kombat" so it was no surprise that I would enjoy this movie. Don't get me wrong though, because I did have my doubts about this movie. Most video game movies tend to flop for example, Street Fighter and Super Mario Brothers. Don't get Paul Anderson confused with Mortal Kombat Annihilation because he had nothing to do with that HORRIBLE movie.

The movie actually takes place one month prior to the Playstation Game Resident Evil and ends at some point within Resident Evil 2 and 3. How? I will explain later in the review. The only think I disliked about the movie was the mansion set used in the movie itself. It looked nothing like the Mansion used in PSOne Resident Evil. The interior of the mansion followed the style of PSOne Resident Evil, but many hardcore gamers will immediately point out that the Mansion is completely different on the outside. Every thing else follows close the game format and can possibly be tied into the game.

Many people will immediately identify Milla Jovovich and Michelle Rodriquez in the movie. Other actors are no names, but one actor named Eric Mabius is one to keep a eye on. The movie is centered around a huge underground laboratory under Raccoon City called the Hive which is owned and operated by the Umbrella Corporation. A virus is unleashed by a insider within the Hive and you know what comes next...Zombies Galore! If you remember the games, Umbrella is known for one thing, cover ups and they attempt to cover up this mess by completely sealing the Hive off with everyone trapped inside. A special ops team is dispatched to clean up the mess by making sure if this leaks to the public, Umbrella will not be blamed. Milla is dragged into the mess not knowing that she also works for Umbrella. When the team fails to accomplish thier mission, their new mission is to get out of the Hive ALIVE! Get ready for some excellent nail biting suspense and action as they attempt to get out of the Hive.

It has been announced that a Resident Evil 2 is in the works already and will star Milla Jovovich and Eric Mabius who will play the "Nemesis". Resident Evil ends somewhere within PS1 Resident Evil 2 and 3. You have to remember that in the PS1 Resident 3, PS1 Resident Evil 2 took place when Jill Valentine was injurned and poisened by the Nemesis. Two other characters from the game will be showing up in Resident Evil 2. Gina Phillips will be cast as Claire Redfield and Natasha Henstridge will be cast as Jill Valentine. This is going to be interesting to see them together on the screen when they never really met in the Playstation Game Series Resident Evil. We know that Claire was in Raccoon City looking for her brother Chris and Jill Valentine was attempting to get out of Raccoon City Alive. I sure can't wait to see how Paul Anderson will bring this movie together in Resident Evil 2. If you are a fan of Resident Evil, I know you can't wait too!

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great action, drop-dead gorgeous lead actress..., March 18, 2002

By	Alvin Tanhehco "kerki" (Kowloon, Hong Kong) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This movie is based on a video game that I have never played, so I can't comment on how the movie's plot follows the game. When the movie starts, there is a really cool aspect to it. A naked woman has just regained consciousness in her shower and can't remember anything. The next few minutes are packed with action, and a team of military personnel take them to the Hive (an underground research lab). Slowly each of them get filled in on the details of the mission. What that mission is, you'll have to watch the movie (or e-mail me) for.

The movie goes along great. The plot starts to materialize and things seem all right when all of a sudden the movie got derailed. Right about the point where the first living dead is discovered is when the film started to take a downturn. From then on it starts to resemble one of John Carpenter's films (particularly Ghosts of Mars. They even have the requisite train scene at the end. If you haven't seen this. Don't.) I was disappointed by this.

What I can say is that the lead actress Milla Jovovich gave it a good performance (as far as action flicks go), on top of being HOT. Sure, being the femme fetale and kicking butt is cliche nowadays. But you should see her in action.

LEAP rating (each out of 5):
L (Language) - 3 (no unnecessary cursing)
E (Erotica) - 3 (2 scenes with close to full body nudity, but tastefully done)
A (Action) - 4 (living dead dogs were scarier than the living dead people, but their asses still needed to be kicked)
P (Plot) - 3 (plot elements were well explained, no big surprises)

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Movie but Terrible DVD Edition, September 16, 2004

By	"themagicplum" (Toronto, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Resident Evil (Deluxe Edition) (DVD)

It was really funny when this DVD came out because it is titled "Resident Evil: DELUXE EDITION" and in actuality there are more special features on the original release. The only thing one could label "Deluxe" about this edition is that it has a small about a 2 minute clip from Resident Evil 2.

So, if you are looking to buy Resident Evil, then its a fun movie. But if your looking for "deluxe special features", then this is most definately the wrong place.