Product Details

• Actors: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Mitch Ryan, Tom Atkins
• Directors: Richard Donner
• Writers: Shane Black
• Producers: Richard Donner, Jennie Lew Tugend, Joel Silver
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: Unrated
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• VHS Release Date: April 8, 1992
• Run Time: 110 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (101 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6300271331
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #14,546 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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

  #4 in	Video > Action & Adventure > Action Directors > Richard Donner
  #8 in	Video > Action & Adventure > Action Stars > Mel Gibson
  #49 in	Video > Educational > English & Reading

• This is item 1 in The Lethal Weapon Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

Mel Gibson set aside his art-house credentials to star as a crazy cop paired with a stable one (Danny Glover) in this full-blown 1987 Richard Donner action picture. The most violent film in the series (which includes three sequels), it is also the edgiest and most interesting. After Gibson's character jumps off a building handcuffed to a man, and Gary Busey (as a cold, efficient enforcer) lets his hand get burned without flinching, there is a sense that anything can happen, and it usually does. Donner's strangely messy visual and audio style doesn't make a lot of aesthetic sense, but it stuck with all four movies. The DVD release includes production notes, Dolby sound, theatrical trailer, optional full-screen and widescreen presentations, optional French soundtrack, and optional English, French, and Spanish subtitles. --Tom Keogh

Amazon.com

Mel Gibson set aside his art-house credentials to star as a crazy cop paired with a stable one (Danny Glover) in this full-blown 1987 Richard Donner action picture. The most violent film in the series (which includes three sequels), it is also the edgiest and most interesting. After Gibson's character jumps off a building handcuffed to a man, and Gary Busey (as a cold, efficient enforcer) lets his hand get burned without flinching, there is a sense that anything can happen, and it usually does. Donner's strangely messy visual and audio style doesn't make a lot of aesthetic sense, but it stuck with all four movies. The DVD release includes production notes, Dolby sound, theatrical trailer, optional full-screen and widescreen presentations, optional French soundtrack, and optional English, French, and Spanish subtitles. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good film gets better, June 28, 2000

By	Martin W. Ward (Littleton, CO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Lethal Weapon (Director's Cut) (DVD)

The recent release of the director's cut of Lethal Weapon add depth to the film by the inclusion of approximately 7 minutes of new scenes. The additions are in the beginning of the film when the characters are still being developed. In one scene, Gibson's character walks into the line of fire of a sniper, and in another he has a rather violent reaction to a commercial on TV. In the context of this portion of the movie, it further establishes the pain Gibson's character is going through and his mental state...is he crazy or just not caring what happens to him? Additional scenes also establish Glover's character's concern at growing old...does he still have it?

The balance of the film is pretty much unchanged. Lethal Weapon is a fun buddy action/comedy movie, but shines more than the sequels, which emphasized comedy and cartoonish action. Gibson and Glover actually act here, Gibson in particular in the scenes where he is struggling with his wife's death. The interplay between the actors makes this movie a cut above the standard action movie.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Portrait of Greatness Getting Better..., August 22, 2000

By	Jason Anticevich (Schaumburg, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lethal Weapon (Director's Cut) (DVD)

I can't count how many times I've seen this movie, and I still don't get sick of it! I have to watch it all the way through once I start to watch a scene. Is there a better action movie with the depth of Glover's and Gibson's characters? I haven't found one. The interplay the guys have with each other is amazing. The dialogue and emotions are fluid and natural, much like the movement of the camera in recording this awesome spectacle. This new version finally gives everyone the opportunity to see the brilliant writing and thought processes behind the Glover and Gibson characters. The studio has added 7 minutes of footage to enhance the foundation of the characters' motivations. It's almost a new movie! The new DTS sound is as good as it gets with the old audio tracks. The picture is clean and crisp. The scene where Riggs is shot through the glass window of a store shows every cracking shard with absolute precision. The extra footage is seamless after being transfered brilliantly. I would recommend this disc as a starting piece for anyone looking to build a collection of solid movies. There is more to this movie than incredible action sequences. This is one of those action movies where you and your date are physically exhausted and sporting huge, goofy smiles at the end of the movie. There aren't many movies like this anymore. Magic like this only happens once in a great while. Get this disc and capture a little piece of it.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Movie Poor Blue-Ray Quality, April 17, 2009

By	Andres Ramos (New York City) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Lethal Weapon [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

As much as i love this movie, I was turned off by the poor job that was done on the tranfer to Blue-Ray quality.
Save your money, Hopefully a better version will be released in the future.