Product Details

• Actors: Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, Sandra Bullock, Joe Morton, Jeff Daniels
• Directors: Jan de Bont
• Writers: Graham Yost
• Producers: Allison Lyon Segan, Ian Bryce, Mark Gordon
• Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: French (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
• DVD Release Date: July 30, 2002
• Run Time: 116 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (232 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000067G3C
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #47,968 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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• For more information about "Speed (Five Star Collection)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

• This is item 1 in The Speed Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Everything clicked in this 1994 action hit, from the premise (a city bus has to keep moving at 50 mph or blow up) to the two leads (the usually inscrutable Keanu Reeves and the cute-as-a-button Sandra Bullock) to the villain (Dennis Hopper in psycho mode) to the director (Jan De Bont, who made this film hit the ground running with an edge-of-your-seat opening sequence on a broken elevator). This is the sort of movie that becomes a prototype for a thousand lesser films (including De Bont's lousy sequel, Speed 2: Cruise Control), but Speed really is a one-of-a-kind experience almost anyone can enjoy. --Tom Keogh

DVD features

Fox puts the pedal to the metal for the two-disc Five Star edition of the high-velocity action hit. Check out the five brand-new production featurettes, especially the behind-the-scenes revelations of the two action highlights of the film--the bus jump and the subway crash--and then get a different angle (actually eight different angles) on the scenes in the multiangle comparisons. The highlight of the dozens of supplements, however, is the commentary on disc 1. Jan de Bont's reflective take is interesting if dry, but the high-spirited, back-and-forth duet by screenwriter Graham Yost and producer Mark Gordon, longtime friends and collaborators, has the feel of a vaudeville comedy act. All energy and ego, this funny, fast, and furious commentary is highly informative (tidbit: the script originally had a different villain) and unflaggingly entertaining. Like the bus, it never drops below 50 mph. --Sean Axmaker

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Speed, April 3, 2008

By	Kelly "Reviewer for The Sinfully Sensuous" (Littleton, Colorado) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Speed (Widescreen Edition) (DVD)

This is one of those rare action/suspense movies that will far surpass your expectations. You will be on the edge of your seat a lot because the suspense build up is done that well. The cast is what impressed me the most. I knew what to expect with the Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves pairing, but the supporting characters were a surprise as they were outstanding. Jeff Daniels is always wonderful on screen. Dennis Hopper was great as the lunatic holding them hostage.

31 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pop Quiz Hotshot!, July 10, 2002

By	A. Ross "indy31" (New Zealand) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Remember that Simpsons episode where Homer loops a videotape of him and the guys working while they goof off "I saw this in a movie where there was a bus and it had to keep it's SPEED above 50 and if it's SPEED dropped, the bus would explode! I think it was called: The Bus That Couldn't Slow Down!" Even Homer realises the cleverness of Jan De Bont's tautly-directed action thriller.

Starring Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Dennis Hopper and Jeff Daniels, Speed is one of those rare films that comes along every now and then that proves to be better than standard fare. Essentially one big extended action scene, the film's frenetic pace makes up for the frequent plot holes. The action never lets up, creating suspense- filled set-pieces and audience excitement. The premise of a bomb on a bus that wil explode if the speed goes below 50 makes for one far-fetched but fun thrill ride.

Keanu is the quintessential gum-chewing cool guy action hero Jack Traven who, along with Annie Porter (Bullock) tries not to get blown up by a bomb that retired cop Howard Payne (Hopper) has set on the bus to get money. The entire principal cast are great, especially Hopper, whose character is reminiscent of his crazy bad guy in Red Rock West (1992). With lines like "Poor people are crazy Jack, I'm eccentric", Hopper manages to give a good performance during his rather short screen time. Plus the added quality of the always-good Daniels is first-rate. And Keanu, now best known for The Matrix, is equally cool here.

Jan DeBont's direction makes the film a taut, entertaining action ride, and surprisingly, Bullock manages to change from nervy bus passenger to a strong character by the film's conclusion. And the pulse-driven score creates even more tension and excitement. But the film is not perfect, it's predictable at times and things get rather tedious at the end, with yet another gasping of "The track's not finished!" Minor quibbles aside, the action is impressive, and Jan DeBont's visual stylishness gives a really eye-catching look. This action-fest is one of the best.

The DVD extras are amazing, with commentaries from De Bont and the crew, extended scenes, Easter Eggs (DVD Credits, Airline Version of Bus Crash), "Inside Speed Featurettes on the location, stunts and visual effects", production Design, the original Screenplay, action Sequence Featurettes on the "Bus Jump" and "Metro Rail Crash", Multi-Angle Shots with Audio, Multi-Stream Storyboards, an interview Archive with Keanu Reeves and the cast, trailers, 11 TV Spots and production notes. Impressive stuff!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid gold classic from the Hollywood thrill-machine, September 30, 2002

By	Libretio - See all my reviews

SPEED

(USA - 1994)

Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 (Panavision)
Theatrical soundtracks: Dolby Digital / DTS

That rarity in modern American cinema - a high concept bubblegum movie which lives up to its own hype and doesn't insult the audience's intelligence - the film offers a three-act scenario (elevator, bus and subway) in which a ruthless terrorist (Dennis Hopper) pits his considerable bomb-making skills against the local SWAT team's finest agents, led by a pumped-up Keanu Reeves (whose career was subsequently launched into orbit, reaching iconic status in the ultra-popular MATRIX series). In one of the commentaries provided for the DVD version, producer Mark Gordon (SAVING PRIVATE RYAN) and writer Graham Yost (BROKEN ARROW) cheerfully acknowledge the film's one-dimensional characters and obvious plot-holes whilst celebrating the ultra-slick production values and breathtaking action sequences.

And it IS slick: Debut director Jan de Bont (an erstwhile cinematographer, usually associated with Paul Verhoeven) has marshalled a note-perfect creative team on both sides of the camera, turning Yost's modest screenplay into a super-charged thrill-machine, photographed (by Andrzej Bartkowiak) and edited (by John Wright) to perfection, and augmented by some of the best stuntwork and visual effects that money can buy. The cast is dependable and solid: Reeves and Hopper make a formidable virtue of their opposing characters, and leading lady Sandra Bullock 'makes cute' in a career-making performance, while Jeff Daniels (DUMB & DUMBER) and Joe Morton (THE BROTHER FROM ANOTHER PLANET) offer strong support in crucial secondary roles.

NB. To date, no one involved in the production has addressed the narrative parallels between SPEED and the Japanese thriller THE BULLET TRAIN (1975), in which a terrorist bomb is primed to explode on board a packed commuter train if it falls below a certain speed. It's possible that SPEED was written and produced in complete ignorance of the earlier film, but the two scenarios share uncomfortable similarities.