Product Details

• Actors: Sandra Bullock, Jeremy Northam, Dennis Miller, Diane Baker, Wendy Gazelle
• Directors: Irwin Winkler
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: English, Spanish
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• VHS Release Date: June 4, 1996
• Run Time: 114 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (82 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0800179552
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,138 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The Net, the first of Hollywood's big cyberthrillers of the mid-1990s, was also the most successful, thanks in large part to the natural appeal of star Sandra Bullock. Still riding high from Speed and While You Were Sleeping, Bullock plays a computer expert victimized by sinister cyberforces who steal her identity for reasons unknown. It's a clever combination of high-tech paranoia and Hitchcockian references (including Jeremy Northam as a romantic stranger named Devlin, after Cary Grant in Notorious). Film historians may look back someday on films like this--Roger Ebert calls them "hacksploitation"--to see what they reveal about our society's reaction to the increasing role of technology in our lives, just as we now study the fears of Communism and the atom bomb reflected in films of the 1950s. Dennis Miller and Diane Baker costar. --Jim Emerson

From The New Yorker

Irwin Winkler's cyber-thriller shuffles morosely from action sequence to action sequence, like a long bus trip with multiple transfers. Sandra Bullock (who drove the bus in "Speed") plays a computer whiz who stumbles on evidence of a sinister conspiracy; she's pretty and likable, but this wan chase picture needs a lot more than she can give it. The screenplay, by John Brancato and Michael Ferris, is remarkably free of ingenuity, and therefore of suspense. It's unlikely that the movie's intended audience-computer-savvy viewers addicted to the speed and versatility of their machines-will be impressed by a thriller that unfolds at the deliberate pace of a "Matlock" episode. With Jeremy Northam and Dennis Miller. -Terrence Rafferty
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This one may make you wonder WHO is watching YOU online, July 14, 2001

By	K. Corn "reviewer" (Indianapolis,, IN United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Net [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Not exactly designed to be reassuring about computers and technology, the film's premise is that a hacker group has infiltrated the nation's computer systems and is behind major terrorist attacks. Sandra Bullock is excellent as a computer expert who is unwittingly helping the bad guys until she finds out what is going on....and then she's on the run for her life as the terrorists try to get to her before she exposes them. While I think Sandra Bullock is at the top of her form in this one, I think Jeremy Northam hasn't gotten nearly enough credit for his role as Devlin, the romantic stranger/hacker/bad guy. You'll get a kick out of Dennis Miller, too, as Bullock's ex-boyfriend who nearly comes to her rescue. I have only one quibble about this film. If you pay attention to Bullock's mannerisms, you'll notice that there's rarely a scene where she isn't fiddling with or playing with her hair- tucking it behind her ears, pulling it back in a pretend ponytail, brushing a strand off her forehead. What is THAT all about anyway? I felt like saying, "Get a haircut already!"

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thriller, Meet Ms. Bullock, June 9, 2001

By	Josh "Josh" (Sc, Usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Net (DVD)

I think Sandra Bullock has covered almost every movie genre but horror. And she's done each with expertise and fun. In The Net, Sandra plays Angela Bennett. A woman committed to her job as a computer virus-detector. After having a one-night stand with a guy on her only vacation in 6 years, her life ... is suddenly gone. All because of a single disc in which the man she slept with wanted. Now she must run from the police, and the group of people out to get her. With only the aide of her old shrink and lover, played by Dennis Miller. Sandra tackled the role of Angel Bennett as well as she has all of her roles. She shines throughout the whole movie. Although her character falls deeper and deeper into insanity. Dennis Miller was the comic relief, and did well at that. The story itself is something that could happen in real life, and that made the premise frightening in a way. To have your whole life stripped away from you in one second is absolutely terrifying. The directing in The Net wasn't topnotch, but does keep you on the edge of your seat. I wish the DVD would've had at least a featurette or something. It doesn't even come with a theatrical trailer. But the picture and sound quality are good, and there are scene selections. The menus look like they're right from a computer program. The Net isn't one of Sandra's best movies (Leave that to Miss Congeniality), but it certainly is one of the entertaining ones.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SUSPENSEFUL!!!!, July 17, 2002

By	retrowens (Alabama, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Net [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Angela Bennett (Sandra Bullock) leads a life that is unlike most. She doesn't have much excitement in her life; her life is built mostly around her being a MAJOR computer ace. Unfortunately, her favorite hobby and job just might get her in trouble when she comes in contact with the wrong group of people and when she finds a top-secret program that can faulter computer networks.

"The Net" is a GREAT movie to say the least! The majority of the best suspense movies are built around a story having to do with a kidnapping, murder, or something else like that. The makers of this movie did a spectacular job of making "The Net" intriguing, compelling, interesting, and best of all, suspenseful. Sandra Bullock also puts on an unforgettable performance that makes the movie believable and even more compelling.

An identity can be stolen and a life can be changed dramatically by a simple computer hacker or even a simple diskette. Whether you're a fan of the internet, things having to do with computers or not, at least give "The Net" a rent. If you're a big fan of movies that keep you on the edge of your seat, don't even think about renting "The Net", BUY it instead!