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Special Features
Director's Commentary
Deleted and Extended Scenes
The Making of The Road
Theatrical Trailer #1
Theatrical Trailer #2
Deleted and Extended Scenes
The Making of The Road
Theatrical Trailer #1
Theatrical Trailer #2
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
In many ways a close adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's grim novel, The Road dutifully plods through the basics of McCarthy's nightmarish post-apocalyptic landscape: a father (Viggo Mortensen) and his young son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) try to survive as they trek along through the sodden, sunless remnants of some awful disaster. Scrounging for food and huddling together to stay warm, they spend most of their time trying to avoid the cannibalistic marauders who roam the highways. The film strikingly demonstrates that McCarthy's book was almost entirely dependent on his extraordinary language for its literary life; the story, such as it is, is so skeletal and spare it doesn't translate well into movie terms. The Proposition director John Hillcoat brings his grungy physicality to the material, so in the matters of the damp clothes and starved bodies and cheerless forests, the movie rings true. But the longer it trudges on, the more it seems a thoroughly conventional conclusion is at the end of this dystopian tale. The Road has one notable selling point: the performance of Viggo Mortensen. In his character's fierce determination to live--but also the gentle sighs he lets forth when confronted with, say, his first sip of whisky in years--Mortensen is completely in the moment, and all too human in the post-human world. --Robert Horton
Stills from The Road (Click for larger image)
Stills from The Road (Click for larger image)
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Product Description
From Cormac McCarthy, author of No Country For Old Men, comes the highly anticipated big screen adaptation of the beloved, best-selling and Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Road. An all-star cast are featured in this epic post-apocalyptic tale of the survival of a father and his young son as they journey across a barren America that was destroyed by a mysterious cataclysm. A masterpiece adventure, The Road boldly imagines a future in which men are pushed to the worst and the best that they are capable of - a future in which a father and his son are sustained by love.
Customer Reviews
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
207 of 214 people found the following review helpful
By Val
VINE™ VOICE
Format:DVD
Someone asked me if I liked The Road, upon watching it. I had no answer. The Road is just one of those films that is too hard to describe. Is the movie good? Well, yes it is-that is a far easier question to answer. I have read the book and must say that the film really does it justice. It is bleak, dreary, utterly depressing and flawlessly acted.
Viggo Mortensen is a man with no name, who, alone with his son (also no name) is attempting to survive what seems to be some sort of apocalypse. We never see what transpired-we only see the aftermath. We are not given a timeline, though you can judge for yourself how long man and son have been attempting to 'live'. Mortensen carries the entire film on his weathered and weary shoulders. I cannot gush enough about his performance-in any film really. But here, you only have to look into his eyes-so full of soul and despair to realise that not only is this man acting, he is really and truly transformed. Just incredible really.
The atmosphere is grainy and desolate, without color of any kind and as you watch, you slowly go mad envisioning what you would do in such a situation. The film features horrors that include cannibalism and at one point, you see the father teach his son how to properly kill himself if anything should ever happen to him. Very disturbing.
By film's end, you are mentally exhausted. This is not a fast-paced film at all. It is purposefully slow-going and I believe that was done with the intent to transport you inside the film itself, and in my mind, it succeeds. After the credits started to roll, I found myself depressed for the rest of the day. This is probably one of the most desolate films I've ever seen, so I would avoid it if you like your films with satisfying ending-because this isn't it.
Viggo Mortensen is a man with no name, who, alone with his son (also no name) is attempting to survive what seems to be some sort of apocalypse. We never see what transpired-we only see the aftermath. We are not given a timeline, though you can judge for yourself how long man and son have been attempting to 'live'. Mortensen carries the entire film on his weathered and weary shoulders. I cannot gush enough about his performance-in any film really. But here, you only have to look into his eyes-so full of soul and despair to realise that not only is this man acting, he is really and truly transformed. Just incredible really.
The atmosphere is grainy and desolate, without color of any kind and as you watch, you slowly go mad envisioning what you would do in such a situation. The film features horrors that include cannibalism and at one point, you see the father teach his son how to properly kill himself if anything should ever happen to him. Very disturbing.
By film's end, you are mentally exhausted. This is not a fast-paced film at all. It is purposefully slow-going and I believe that was done with the intent to transport you inside the film itself, and in my mind, it succeeds. After the credits started to roll, I found myself depressed for the rest of the day. This is probably one of the most desolate films I've ever seen, so I would avoid it if you like your films with satisfying ending-because this isn't it.
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase
Agree with and can't really add to what other reviewers have said here. This is serious stuff. It does follow the book very closely and most scenes are exactly as I had envisioned them. It is a very dark, lonely, depressing story, BUT -- with a strong underlying element of hope and love. Specifically, that which makes us human, why we press onward when all seems lost. For what? In this case, a fathers love for his son. The mood expressed is not an especially popular one for a major motion picture and as such, is one of the reasons I bought it on Blu-ray, not because it is something I want to watch repeatedly, but because I have a LOT of respect for and want to support filmmakers that are willing to go against the trend of only producing light, pop-culture, feel-good, easily digestible "product".
34 of 36 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I wasn't sure if I should give this movie one star or five...
I settled on four.
.......(shaking head)
I've never read the book so all I knew about the movie was a guy and his kid survive the end of the world and that was about it.
They never say what it was that ended the planet. I'm guessing it was some kind of bomb but all that's left is man.
No animals.
No crops.
No trees.
Nothing.
Within the first ten minutes of the movie I was in tears and I knew I'd be in for a rocky ride.
I WAS NOT prepared for what this movie threw at me.
Ok, the good.
Why would I give the movie five stars?
Excellent acting, incredible score.
The movie sucks you right in and doesn't let go.
The direction is brilliant.
The pacing is slow but deliberate and very effective.
The movie is a masterpiece except for....
The bad?
Why would I give one star?
Umm....I don't know how many of you have played the Resident Evil video games but when you stumble upon a big scary mansion looming in the mist, RUN THE OTHER WAY.
Chances are said mansion will have scary, icky things in it.
And the mansion part of this movie will haunt me for years to come.
YUCK!
Not that this part of the movie is gory, it kind of is.
It's the mental impact of what is happening in the mansion and really all over the Earth.
This movie is the darkest, most depressing, desolate thing I have ever seen and I never want to see this movie again.
I settled on four stars.
The movie is a masterpiece and one of the scariest movies I've ever seen.
It's not even technically a horror movie but that's what kind of impact it had on me.
I guess what really scares me the most is the fact that this entire scenario is possible.
Funny....that great thing we call the mind of man is what has elevated us from the club wielding/rock throwing days to where we are now as a species.
It will be the same mind of man that reduces us right back to where we originated, maybe even worse if this movie is any indication.
I pray the bombs never fly during my lifetime but if they do.
I know where fallout shelters are...
I won't be going.
I'll go right outside and welcome the end with outstretched arms.
Even if you did survive, what kind of life would be left for you or your loved ones?
Is that really something you'd wish on them or yourself?
If the end really was as bad as this...
My prayers for the survivors.
Imagine a planet filled with Ted Bundy's and Jeffrey Dahmers running around in gangs.
For those who say "This could never happen".
It already has.
Go read about Holodomor in Ukraine. People can and will revert back to their most absolute brutish ways in very little time under the worst circumstances.
...Maybe this wasn't the best movie for me to watch.
I cry during car commercials if the music is sappy enough.
This movie will stay with me for years to come.
Excellent job by Mortensen, Theron and the boy.
Do I recommend this movie?
If and that's a HUGE IF you can stomach the subject matter of a post apocolyptic world filled with murdering cannibals, then yes.
Otherwise I'd say for sensitive viewers, don't watch it.
It's a masterpiece of utter brutality, desperation and hopelessness.
There is no happy ending here.
I settled on four.
.......(shaking head)
I've never read the book so all I knew about the movie was a guy and his kid survive the end of the world and that was about it.
They never say what it was that ended the planet. I'm guessing it was some kind of bomb but all that's left is man.
No animals.
No crops.
No trees.
Nothing.
Within the first ten minutes of the movie I was in tears and I knew I'd be in for a rocky ride.
I WAS NOT prepared for what this movie threw at me.
Ok, the good.
Why would I give the movie five stars?
Excellent acting, incredible score.
The movie sucks you right in and doesn't let go.
The direction is brilliant.
The pacing is slow but deliberate and very effective.
The movie is a masterpiece except for....
The bad?
Why would I give one star?
Umm....I don't know how many of you have played the Resident Evil video games but when you stumble upon a big scary mansion looming in the mist, RUN THE OTHER WAY.
Chances are said mansion will have scary, icky things in it.
And the mansion part of this movie will haunt me for years to come.
YUCK!
Not that this part of the movie is gory, it kind of is.
It's the mental impact of what is happening in the mansion and really all over the Earth.
This movie is the darkest, most depressing, desolate thing I have ever seen and I never want to see this movie again.
I settled on four stars.
The movie is a masterpiece and one of the scariest movies I've ever seen.
It's not even technically a horror movie but that's what kind of impact it had on me.
I guess what really scares me the most is the fact that this entire scenario is possible.
Funny....that great thing we call the mind of man is what has elevated us from the club wielding/rock throwing days to where we are now as a species.
It will be the same mind of man that reduces us right back to where we originated, maybe even worse if this movie is any indication.
I pray the bombs never fly during my lifetime but if they do.
I know where fallout shelters are...
I won't be going.
I'll go right outside and welcome the end with outstretched arms.
Even if you did survive, what kind of life would be left for you or your loved ones?
Is that really something you'd wish on them or yourself?
If the end really was as bad as this...
My prayers for the survivors.
Imagine a planet filled with Ted Bundy's and Jeffrey Dahmers running around in gangs.
For those who say "This could never happen".
It already has.
Go read about Holodomor in Ukraine. People can and will revert back to their most absolute brutish ways in very little time under the worst circumstances.
...Maybe this wasn't the best movie for me to watch.
I cry during car commercials if the music is sappy enough.
This movie will stay with me for years to come.
Excellent job by Mortensen, Theron and the boy.
Do I recommend this movie?
If and that's a HUGE IF you can stomach the subject matter of a post apocolyptic world filled with murdering cannibals, then yes.
Otherwise I'd say for sensitive viewers, don't watch it.
It's a masterpiece of utter brutality, desperation and hopelessness.
There is no happy ending here.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
I read the book
I really enjoyed the book and I had to see the movie. I watched the movie with a friend and he was really impressed. I must say nothing really impress him, thumbs up for me.
Published 18 days ago by Donna Jackson
3.0 out of 5 stars
Read the book
The book was so much better. The movie was OK, but sometimes seemed to not always bear the weight of the story.
Published 20 days ago by TK
4.0 out of 5 stars
Yoo
It was real cool, i liked the movie and i like the book. 4 stars for sure. It was dope.
Published 1 month ago by Isaiah
4.0 out of 5 stars
Bleak but good
I really enjoyed the film, but it was not a feel good flick. The Road avoided all of the usual Hollywood urges to end on a high note.
Published 1 month ago by P. Nelson
5.0 out of 5 stars
great
Awesome, loved it, it was great, I hate writing these. It's just great, why do I need a minimum of a certain amount of words.
Published 1 month ago by Michael Warren
3.0 out of 5 stars
Very dramatic
Although the movie is quite grim and at times nerve racking, the score is excellent and includes and smart violin that is also dramatic.
Published 2 months ago by Trenton
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good
My advice is to get Cormac McCarthy's book by the same name, and read it before you buy the movie. While the movie follows the book quite closely, it is easier to understand once... Read more
Published 2 months ago by carol melcher
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dark, Sad and Poignant
I really liked this movie despite the overall doom and gloom. It keeps you engaged and the performances were excellent.
Published 2 months ago by 2 Tone Tommy
4.0 out of 5 stars
A very real experience!
When done viewing this movie, I found myself wondering what it would be like to actually experience such a disaster, if such were to ever occur in this life-time. Read more
Published 2 months ago by AZ Gal in NV now
4.0 out of 5 stars
If there was a "Most Depressing Film Ever" award, it would win
I'm not really sure how to rate it. This is the most convincing, human, gritty and "real" depressing fictional film I've ever seen. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Jupiter
