Product Details

• Actors: Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke, Scott Glenn, Cliff Curtis, Dr. Dre
• Directors: Antoine Fuqua
• Writers: David Ayer
• Producers: Jeffrey Silver, Bobby Newmyer, Bruce Berman, Davis Guggenheim
• Format: AC-3, Blu-ray, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
• Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
• Dubbed: French, Spanish
• Region: Region A/1 (Read more about DVD/Blu-ray formats.)
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: August 1, 2006
• Run Time: 122 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (521 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000H1RFKU
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,460 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Training Day [Blu-ray]" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

A powerhouse performance by Denzel Washington fuels this brutal urban police drama, in which a rookie narcotics cop learns the hard way that even good cops can go very, very bad. Washington plays veteran detective Alonzo Harris, a self-proclaimed "wolf among wolves," eager to teach his rookie partner Jake (Ethan Hawke) that normal rules don't apply on the mean streets of Los Angeles. Caught in a web of deception, Jake watches with escalating horror as Alonzo uses his badge (and the support of his superiors) to justify a self-righteous policy of corruption. In stark contrast to most of his previous work, Denzel unleashes his dark side with fearlessness and fury, and the result is excellence without compromise. Director Antoine Fuqua (The Replacement Killers) won't score any points for subtlety, but gritty details (including actual L.A. gang members as extras) and Hawke's finely tuned performance are perfectly matched to Washington's frightening volatility. --Jeff Shannon

Product Description

DVD Features:
Alternate endings
Audio Commentary
DVD ROM Features
Deleted Scenes
Documentary
Filmographies
Music Video
Theatrical Trailer

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

106 of 120 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Thumbs up for two extremely absorbing performances. March 19, 2002

By D. Mok VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

I must say, my preconceptions about Training Day were all wrong. The trailer I saw in the theatres made it look like a belated ripoff of The Corruptor, while director Antoine Fuqua's disastrous fumble with The Replacement Killers several years ago did nothing to boost my confidence.

My doubts were dispelled the minute Denzel Washington looked up from his newspaper. It is indeed good to see Washington, one of the most gifted actors of our time, abandon the saintly martyrs he's been prone to playing for 10 years and sink his teeth into a role which allows him to show a mix of deep charisma and dangerous viciousness. That same alchemy had made his breakthrough performance in 1989's Glory amazingly compelling, and in Training Day, there isn't a single moment where Washington is less than completely absorbing. Ethan Hawke also gives the performance of his career as Jake Hoyt, an idealistic but easily swayed young cop who finds himself drawn into a web of corruption, violence, and twisted morals.

Fuqua's directing is still overly stylish at times, but after a hyperactive first act, the film begins to roar. David Ayer's script is dazzling, a combination of rat-a-tat street vernacular and relentless forward momentum, and after the midpoint of the movie, the intensity of the scenes would reach incredible levels. And that's when Fuqua's show-offy camerawork finds a raison d'etre. In this film, Fuqua even finds room for some comparatively simple scenes which are really like a breath of fresh air to his filmmaking -- for example, the "you're a leader" car scene, and that beautifully understated ending shot. I hope he makes this part of his regular style, because there's only so much virtuoso camera one can take before it gets tiring, as is the case in the opening of the film.

A white-knuckle thriller, well worthy of the accolades it received. I stand humbly corrected on my original predictions.

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Blisteringly Brilliant Performances by Washington & Hawke February 17, 2002

By D. A. Martin

Format:VHS Tape

In all honesty, I had grown a bit tired of Denzel Washington's "goodie-two-shoes" roles in recent years, as great as they were. His performance in TRAINING DAY, however, has given me newfound respect for him as an actor. Not only does he play "the bad guy," but he milks it for all its worth - his Alonzo Harris would make Clint Eastwood's DIRTY HARRY look like Barney Fife from "The Andy Griffith Show." The last time I walked out of a movie theater so rattled was after seeing DANTE'S PEAK in the early '90s - mainly for its special effects. In TRAINING DAY, it was Denzel Washington's performance alone that blew me away! The fact that he has recently received his fifth Oscar nomination - and third for Best Actor - should come as no surprise.

Kudos also to Ethan Hawke for a great performance and a well-deserved Supporting Actor Oscar nod this year. Any young actor who can hang with the likes of Denzel Washington in a film like this DESERVES recognition. Hawke proves that he has a stellar film career ahead of him.

The Academy Awards telecast is March 24, and my money is on both these tremendous performers to come away with well-deserved Oscar gold. TRAINING DAY is a film with no special effects, no colorful cinematography, and no Picasso-esque art direction - just a movie that slaps you upside the hide from start to finish, with two powerhouse performances that stay with you long after the closing credits.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A few things. June 23, 2002

By Rock

Format:DVD

I've had many conversations with my friends about this movie. Conversations turned into debates. Debates turned into arguments. And there are many, many things to argue about concerning this particular movie, which I guess is part of its allure, at least for me. Whether it was realistic or not. Whether Denzel's performance, while indisputably good, was Oscar-worthy or not. Whether it was too violent, or simply a portrayal of the violence that goes on every day in a big city.

One at a time.

I believe this movie is realistic in all aspects dealing with the situations on the street. There are vicious people who's kill you just as soon as look at you. People who are out to get your money and your livelihood. People out to take your heart, sometimes literally. I believe that there are no clear-cut right or wrong answers out on the street. You just have to stick to some basic code of conduct and hope everything works itself out. I believe that not all cops are the knights-in-shining-armor people would like them to be in this post-September 11th world. That's probably not the most fashionable thing to say right now, but that's what I believe. I believe that mostly good and decent men can be corrupted by that sense of power and authority. And since my father was a cop in West Philly for 20 years, I have a pretty fair basis for my beliefs.

Whether Denzel's performance was Oscar-worthy or not... I don't put much stock in the Academy Awards myself. Usually, the Academy's criteria and mine differ a great deal. But they are supposed to reward people for excellence in film, and on that basis, Denzel certainly did deserve it. You could see the subtle shifts in Alonzo's character from scene to scene. Now, I didn't believe the character was stereotypical. If anything could be construed as stereotypical, it was his street persona. But that was only a persona, only a part of the character. It was the glimpses of the good man still lurking inside that made the character fresh and original. There isn't another actor working today that could've captured all those nuances. No Hopkins, no DeNiro, no Pacino, no Rush... nobody. He most definitely earned that Oscar, for what it's worth. And even if--IF--it was only a "freebie" for ignoring his tour-de-force performance as Malcolm X, it was certainly no different from Russell Crowe's situation last year, when he won for "Gladiator" after being passed over for "The Insider" a year before. And that reparation didn't even have the added wrinkle of any white actors having been ignored for 3 decades.

About the violence... I've never lived in LA. I've never even been off the East Coast, so I can't say I know how it is there. But I do know how it is here. This movie has no more violence in it than anything you might see on 52nd Street, or K & A, or 5th and Lehigh, or the Badlands, or even Broad and Olney, where I saw a crackhead jump on the hood of a man's car and promptly get the [stuff] beaten out of him. (If you live in Philly, or have ever lived here for an extended period, you know the areas I'm talking about.) It's not violent for the sake of violence, like other Hollywood movies. It's violent because it's a reflection of a certain lifestyle which happens to be very violent sometimes. That's what I believe.

Now I don't think that my opinion will change anybody's mind about this movie one way or the other, but maybe it'll help you see the other side of the argument. But if you haven't seen the movie, don't let this review or any other review sway you. Watch it with an open mind and judge for yourself.