Product Details

• Actors: Linus Roache, Vincent Perez, Lia Williams, Adam Kotz, Soo Garay
• Directors: David Attwood
• Writers: Guy Hibbert, John Falk
• Producers: Charles Pattinson, David M. Thompson, Francine Lefrak, George Faber, László Helle
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Hbo Home Video
• VHS Release Date: March 2, 1999
• Run Time: 112 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0783111436
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #52,412 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Item Name: Shot Through the Heart; Studio: Hbo Home Video

Product Description

Two friends, each champion marksmen, are on opposite sides in war. One turns sniper for the enemy. One remains their town's last line of defense. In a terrible battle for power, two best friends must pull the trigger. Only one will feel the bullet - but both will feel the pain.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Movie Around to Understand Kosovo & Yugoslavia War, April 8, 1999

By 

Hayden M. Fink (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shot Through the Heart [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This movie grabs you and throws you to the ground. The true story of two members of Yugoslavia's Olympic riflery team, both accomplished marksmen, who are the best of friends until the war in Bosnia turns them into enemy snipers. Despite their lifelong friendship the two young men are still Serbian Orthodox and Bosnian Muslim, and the war in Sarajevo forces them to take opposite sides ... to the final showdown when one must fall.

We loved this movie. The actors and their performances are superb, the gripping drama of betrayal and survival takes the viewer for a ride full of unexpected twists and turns from compassion to cruelty amongst friends, family and community in Sarajevo during the Bosnian conflict.

The invasion and ethnic cleansing of Kosovo is pre-shadowed in this story of Serbs and Muslims living together in peace then crushed with violence into war. This movie puts a human face and voice to the inner ethnic conflicts in the Balkans. The real tragedy of Yugoslavia today finds expression in Shot Through the Heart.

Definitely one of the Best Foreign movies to make a statement about the human condition at war in Europe at the close of the 20th century. That this is a true story makes it all the more significant and relevant to the conflict in Kosovo, ethnic cleansing/genocide, and war between NATO and Yugoslavia. This is deeply moving emotional movie that engages you to step in the circle of hate and war between neighbors.

45 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This film conveys what it was really like...., March 23, 2000

By 

M. Gora (Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shot Through the Heart [VHS] (VHS Tape)

After spending three months doing humanitarian work in the former Yugoslavia in 1993, I didn't think a film in English, made by an "outsider", would ever convey what it was really like over there. I was wrong. Shot Through The Heart is remarkable in the way it shows the psychological effects of the war. Watching it, I felt transported back there. I recommend this film to anyone who wants to truly understand how the wars in Croatia, Bosnia-Hercegovina, and Kosovo happened. But I also recommend it to anyone who appreciates good film-making or wants a film that is an experience, not just a diversion.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars And your to blame, July 21, 2007

By 

P.K. Ryan "The Ryan Identity" (Albany, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shot Through the Heart (DVD)

This was really quite a well-made and compelling film. Set in 1992 Sarajevo, the film begins right before the region descended into war and ethnic cleansing. It follows two best friends, one Orthodox Serb, one Bosnian Muslim, who are both snipers for the Yugoslavian Olympic team. But with the break-up of the Yugoslav nation, there will be no Olympics for these brothers-in-arms, instead they will be pitted against each other in an ethnic war. This struck me as a very realistic and gripping portrait of this turbulent situation, and it was quite heart-wrenching to watch. The struggle between loyalty to your friend, and loyalty to your nation/ethnicity/religion is a universal theme that I think everyone should be able to relate to. The film was also very well-made, not at all "low-budget" feeling as I was expecting. Four stars.

PS- I found it quite interesting that the Muslims portrayed are indistinguishable from the Serbs. They look and act just like ordinary white Slavs. This is quite the contrast to the bearded and veiled fundamentalists that we are used to seeing.