Spartan
 
See larger image
 
Buy New

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
or
Amazon Prime Free Trial required. Sign up when you check out. Learn More
Buy Used
Used - Very Good See details
$2.89 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
or
Get up to a $1.00 Amazon gift card

Spartan (2004)

Val Kilmer , Derek Luke , David Mamet  |  R |  DVD
3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (131 customer reviews)

Price: $5.98 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Want it delivered Monday, January 30? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details

Other Formats & Versions

Amazon Price New from Used from
DVD 1-Disc Version $5.98  
Other 1-Disc Version $2.86  
Trade In This Movies & TV Item for $1.00
Trade in Spartan for a $1.00 Amazon.com Gift Card that can be redeemed for millions of items store wide. See more Movies & TV eligible for trade-in

Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this DVD with Redbelt $4.68

Spartan + Redbelt
  • This item: Spartan

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • Redbelt

    In Stock.
    Sold by DIRECT Liquidations and ships from Amazon Fulfillment.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details


What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Product Details

  • Actors: Val Kilmer, Derek Luke, William H. Macy, Tia Texada, Jeremie Campbell
  • Directors: David Mamet
  • Writers: David Mamet
  • Producers: Art Linson, David Bergstein, Elie Samaha, Frank Hübner, James A. Holt
  • Format: AC-3, Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
  • Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
  • Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
  • Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Rated: R (Restricted)
  • Studio: Warner Home Video
  • DVD Release Date: June 15, 2004
  • Run Time: 106 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (131 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00022XE6S
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,902 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • For more information about "Spartan" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Writer-director David Mamet (House of Games, The Spanish Prisoner) applies his gift for con games to the world of politics with Spartan. A super-duper Secret Service agent (Val Kilmer, Wonderland) is assigned to find the kidnapped daughter of the President of the United States; was she kidnapped because of who she is, or as part of white slavery ring? Is she dead or alive? To find out the answers, Kilmer puts on disguises, engages in elaborate ruses, and kills ruthlessly--only to discover that he himself may be the one being fooled. Mamet pushes his macho/cryptic dialogue into laughably bad territory and some plot twists seriously test one's suspension of disbelief, but that's part of the game; like any con artist, Mamet knows how to hook you and reel you in, no matter how absurd things get. Also featuring Derek Luke, William H. Macy, and Ed O'Neill. --Bret Fetzer

Product Description

FBI. CIA. Secret Service. Black Ops. Robert Scott (Val Kilmer) is all of these. When he is recruited to find Laura, the daughter of a government official, Scott is paired with novice Curtis (Derek Luke). Scott and Curtis stumble upon a white slavery ring, which may have some connection to Laura's disappearance.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:Commentary by Val Kilmer
Scene Access
Theatrical Trailer


 

Customer Reviews

131 Reviews
5 star:
 (51)
4 star:
 (36)
3 star:
 (16)
2 star:
 (8)
1 star:
 (20)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.7 out of 5 stars (131 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A taut, intelligent movie, August 5, 2004
This review is from: Spartan (DVD)
I like David Mamet's screenwriting a lot, and his direction is good too. While this movie isn't his absolutely top-drawer material (_House of Games_, _Spanish Prisoner_), it's still way better than the usual run of 'political thrillers'.

If you know who Mamet is, you already know that his dialogue is lean, focused, and idiosyncratic to the point of surreality. You also know to expect a plot consisting of one mind-bending twist after another. This movie will meet your expectations.

It probably won't exceed them; as political films go, this isn't quite up to _Wag the Dog_ (another of Mamet's best screenplays). Its plot is actually -- for Mamet -- pretty straightforward: Laura Newton, the president's daughter, has disappeared, and super-duper Black Ops guy 'Scott' (Val Kilmer) is going to get her back.

By the time we're through we've been cycled through quite a bit of ruthlessness, cynicism, and unflattering revelations about political ambition. The direction is extraordinarily good -- and, for what it's worth, the deaths (of which there are many) are eerily realistic, not yer usual Hollywood screaming-bullets-and-exploding-cars BS. The ensemble cast is wonderful (particularly Kilmer).

But we don't really visit any new territory. For my taste there are a few too many cliches here -- which would be somewhat more acceptable if they were at least Mamet's _own_ cliches, but some of these are Tom Clancy's.

Nonetheless it's all handled deftly and intelligently, and it's miles above the usual run of political thrillers. I'm giving this one four stars by comparison with Mamet's other films, but compared to everything else it's a five-star movie.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars An intriguing mystery for people who like to think, February 26, 2005
This review is from: Spartan (DVD)
Spartan-Rigorously self-disciplined or self-restrained. Simple, frugal austere. Marked by brevity of speech, laconic. Courageous in the face of pain, danger, or adversity.

If you like Ronin then Spartan is choc-full of the same kind of cryptic dialogue with double/triple meanings and clever touches. Not surprising really since Spartan is written and directed by David Mamet who worked on the Ronin script.

When the President's daughter is kidnapped a strict, no-nonsense Secret-Secret Service agent (Val Kilmer) follows an intriguing trail of clues and dead-ends to find out where she is, who took her and why. Hardly sounds original but Spartan dares to do what very, very few Hollywood movies are willing to try; it assumes its audience actually have brains and can figure things out by themselves.

Spartan is the slickest, smoothest and smartest thriller for a good while. Kilmer has his critics and is constantly given a hard time. But here he proves what an actor he can be given the right material. Ed O'Neill also pops up and adds some post-Married With Children credibility to his resume.

Like Ronin, the action is stern and serious. There's nothing far-fetched or unbelievable about this. It may lack the epic feel of Ronin but Spartan is by no means a small movie. I strongly recommend this if you are tired of idiotic action movies and need a fix of something with some class.

The DVD is in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby 5.1 sound and a commentary by Val Kilmer (should be interesting).
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars "Where is the girl?", July 22, 2004
By 
Cubist (United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Spartan (DVD)
This oft-repeated line lies at the centre of Spartan, a political thriller from writer-director David Mamet. At the heart of this film is a mystery, one that the central character must solve and, in doing so, discover something about himself.

When the daughter (Bell) of the President of the United States goes missing, the Secret Service brings in Robert Scott (Kilmer) to investigate. He is one of those shadowy operatives with no name (of consequence) that does all of the government?s dirty business under the veil of secrecy and plausible deniability. He is assigned a young, inexperienced partner named Curtis (Luke). They have very little time before the media gets wind of what has happened. The two men go undercover and trace the young girl?s whereabouts to an international prostitution ring.

Scott is a typical Mamet protagonist in that he wastes few words and everything he says has meaning. Val Kilmer is a perfect fit for Mamet?s tough, no-nonsense world. He does a good job with Mamet?s tricky, distinctive dialogue. Much like Gene Hackman?s character in Heist, Kilmer?s Scott is efficient and ruthless in his methods because time is of the essence and his way gets results.

On paper, the film?s story is a conventional one?it belongs to the action-thriller genres?but Mamet flips all of the clich?s and stereotypes on their head with his unconventional dialogue and characterization. Every bit of dialogue and every action are important. This requires the utmost level of attention from the audience because if you miss something, the film does not slow down and allow you to catch up.

Mamet is a breath of fresh air in this politically correct climate in that he never sentimentalizes his characters or their situations. Spartan remains true to this attitude right down the line to its satisfying conclusion.

There is a delightfully eccentric audio commentary by actor Val Kilmer. For every interesting factoid (he talks about all the training and preparation he did for the role), he drops surreal observations such as this, ?If you?re listening to this and watching the film for the first time?You?re really strange.? Imagine hearing that in Kilmer?s trademark cadences and you get an idea of what a surprising treat it is listening to this track. While, there are quite a few lulls in the actor?s commentary, there are enough bizarro gems from him to make it worth sitting through the dry spots.

The attitude of Kilmer?s character in Spartan reflects that of the movie itself?all business. Mamet?s film is a sleek, professional political thriller that was unfairly ignored by audiences and snubbed by many critics. Perhaps it was his not so thinly-veiled critique of the Presidency or the highly stylized prose that scared off mainstream audiences. Regardless, Spartan is a top notch thriller that is exciting as it is intelligent.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews











Only search this product's reviews



Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought


Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(11)
(10)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums



Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject

Search Movies & TV by subject:












i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...