Product Details

• Actors: Natasha Richardson, William Forsythe, Ving Rhames, Frances Fisher, Jodi Long
• Directors: Paul Schrader
• Writers: Alvin Moscow, Nicholas Kazan, Patricia Hearst
• Producers: James D. Brubaker, Linda Reisman, Marvin Worth, Michael Rosenblatt
• Format: NTSC
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Media Home Video
• VHS Release Date: May 23, 1990
• Run Time: 108 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6301398998
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #9,867 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Paul Schrader's best film, April 6, 2005

By	Tommie T (IL) - See all my reviews

This movie is hard to take at times. The first part of the movie puts you right inside Patty's head which isn't a nice place to be. The movie asks some really hard qestions like what would I have done if I was Patty? How far is to far to take your beliefs?

Over all the movie is a good one. But if you are looking for some cheap made for TV movie of the week skip this one. If you are looking for a thought provoking, well acted movie this is the one for you.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Patchily brilliant, July 23, 2000

By	"lexo-2" (Dublin, Ireland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Patty Hearst [VHS] (VHS Tape)

"Patty Hearst"'s title is about as self-explanatory as they come. Natasha Richardson (Vanessa Redgrave's elder daughter) plays the eponymous, uhhh, heroine, kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army (don't even ask...) and eventually brought round to the point of joining them on a bank robbery.

The second half of the film, in which Patty and the gang are on the run from the cops, is exciting enough in its way. Schrader's trademark willingness to explore what many people would regard as total amorality enables him to make us care for this raggle-taggle bunch of outlaws, as one after another they're arrested, gunned down or burned. Richardson herself is very good as Patty, having to run the gamut from spoiled heiress via terrified captive to bitterly experienced convict.

It's the first half, though, that makes the second half work. Patty's captivity is rendered in a dark, surreal, almost theatrical way; we are locked in a room with her for much of the first half an hour, experiencing her captors only as black silhouettes against white light. The stylisation that worked so well on Schrader's "Mishima" is here employed to other ends, and suprisingly successfully. If the earlier portions of "Patty Hearst" weren't so good, the later part wouldn't carry the charge that it has; Patty's wish to join the SLA only makes sense in terms of the extreme experience she's been through.

The real Patty Hearst went on to act in a John Waters movie, which must make Schrader wince whenever he thinks of it. This is, by virtue of the subject matter, somewhere between drama-documentary, art film and chase flick, and some of the genre trappings hold it back a bit, but few directors would have this kind of understanding of where he wanted an audience to go. 3 stars if only because this is one of the less distinguished films in an illustrious career. But 3 stars for Schrader are worth five for the vast majority of directors. (Note to Amazon: need more stars!)

1.0 out of 5 stars DVD's for sale outside Region 1, May 5, 2009

By	Carol H. Brooks (Whittier, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Patty Hearst [NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2&4 Import - Australia] [Region 2] (DVD)

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to view this movie. I was not aware that a DVD in another region would not work on my VCR--I now know that I cannot purchase a DVD outside Region 1. I cannot understand why Amazon would sale a DVD from outside the U.S. region. I know there was a warning referenced but I really didn't notice it because I was totally unaware of different regions. Is there anyway I can purchase this DVD within Region 1? Thank you.