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At Close Range [VHS]
 
 

At Close Range [VHS] (1986)

Starring: Alan Autry, R.D. Call Rating: R (Restricted) Format: VHS Tape
4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (56 customer reviews)


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DVD $14.98 $13.49 29 used & new from $5.91

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Product Details

  • Actors: Alan Autry, R.D. Call, Candy Clark, Jake Dengel, Stephen Geoffreys
  • Format: NTSC
  • Rating: R (Restricted)
  • Studio: Vestron
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: 6303141978
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #10,468 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
One of the overlooked films of the 1980s, perhaps because it is such a downbeat tale of an amoral family. Sean Penn plays a kid whose small-time criminal impulses are stoked to a new level when he falls in with his father (Christopher Walken), a vicious career criminal for whom no problem is so large that it can't be solved by a murder. At first exhilarated by the attention from his father (and the jobs he gives him to do), he gradually catches on to just what a bad guy Dad really is. But when he tries to extricate himself, he discovers that Dad now has him squarely in his sights. Penn is terrific in a role of emotional complexity, while Walken, king of the creeps, is positively frightening as this soft-spoken but highly lethal patriarch. --Marshall Fine

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Customer Reviews

56 Reviews
5 star:
 (39)
4 star:
 (14)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.6 out of 5 stars (56 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Devil in Blue Suede Shoes, August 4, 2005
By David Baldwin (Philadelphia,PA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: At Close Range (DVD)
The film purports to be based on true events. The saga of the Johnston gang, a "family" of burglars based in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and reigned circa 1980 and then unfolded into murder happened while I was in high school. The story got big play in the Philadelphia region and some national coverage. Oddly enough this movie was filmed in Tennessee. Also noteworthy is that when this film was released in 1986 it didn't even get a theatrical run in Philly. I had to wait until it was released later that year on home video before I saw it. Bear in mind that at the time Sean Penn was not the esteemed Academy award winning actor he is now but was better known as Madonna's husband. Christopher Walken, despite the Oscar he won for "The Deer Hunter", was a marketing challenge for Hollywood. As for the film itself, it perfectly captures the essence of the events and the place it occurred. I worked near Lancaster County around that time and my late brother-in-law was from the area and came to Philly because the mills had closed there. You can imagine if you were a young person at that time the desolation you might feel and Penn perfectly captures that restlessness. You can also imagine how someone like him would be drawn to a charismatic, albeit evil, father figure as assayed here by Walken. Walken's Brad Sr. is one of his great portrayals in an impressive career. With little histrionics or tics Walken embodies evil incarnate. There is also an excellent supporting cast here with Mary Stuart Masterson as Penn's innocent girlfriend, Chris Penn and Crispin Glover as Penn's buddies, and Tracey Walter as Walken's brother as standouts. This is most definitely one of the better and more underrated films of the eighties. Credit should also go to director James Foley and scriptwriter Nicholas Kazan for not only delivering a powerhouse film but for also getting it right.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A tug-of-war between father and son in a small town with no opportunities other than crime, February 20, 2006
This review is from: At Close Range (DVD)
At Close Range, which is based on a true-crime story from the 1980's, centers on the relationship between Brad Jr. (Sean Penn) and Brad Sr. (Christopher Walken). The younger Brad has a mess of a life, has no direction, and lives with his mom and a boyfriend who resents her pot-smoking grown children. Along with his brother Tommy (played by Penn's real-life brother, Chris Penn), Brad Jr. turns to his dad as a father-figure for an intro to the family business of small-time crime. Tensions run high has Brad Jr. is forced to faced the true demon his father is, and Brad Sr. has no qualms about hurting or murdering anyone, including Tommy (the bastard son) and his own son's girlfriend.

The is a gritty movie with great questions about family ties and what to do with your life when you have no real options. Most of the cast was relatively unknown at the time, so check out actors like Kiefer Sutherland, Crispin Glover, and Mary Stuart Masterson at the beginning of the careers.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Is this the Family Gun, Dad?, July 11, 2003
By Greg Nguyen (Miami, FL United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: At Close Range (DVD)
One of the best films of the 1980's, At Close Range tells the true story of the Johnston Family gang (changed here to Whitewood) which terrorized Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania in the 1970s by stealing tractor parts and generally being hoods. While the story may sound not too compelling, this film gets a huge boost from some great ensemble acting. This is the movie that got me over my aversion to Sean Penn and Christopher Walken delivers one of the most believably evil people in movies. I grew up in the town this all took place in and Bruce Johnston (Christopher Walken=Brad Whitewood) lived next door to my Uncle. And my Uncle said that Walken nailed this guy's persona. Scary Thought. What saves At Close Range from being just another crime movie is the flair that James Foley brings to the direction. It's often gorgeous, thank to Juan Ruiz Anchia's brilliant cinematography and in no small part to Patrick Leonard's haunting score, keyed to the melody of Live to Tell. How come there was never a soundtrack? Do yourself a favor, check it out and be reminded that evil does exist and in forms more insidious and banal than serial killers and possessed little girls.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good movie
A good but sad movie of a true story most people don't know about. Vintage Sean Penn and Christoper Walken.
Published 29 days ago by Ernest C. Cantrell

3.0 out of 5 stars Really good
I had never seen this movie before Jay Mohr talked of a scene on the Opie and Anthony Show. I love "based on a true story" crime movies. This family was messed up! Read more
Published 2 months ago by douglas a johnson

4.0 out of 5 stars At Close Range
Based on true events that occurred in Pennsylvania in the 1970s, At Close Range stars Oscar-winner Christopher Walken (Best Supporting Actor,The Deer Hunter (Universal Legacy... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Joshua Miller

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous Movie!
This is just one of the greatest movies ever made. Based on a true story, the writers and directors did a fabulous job showing the emotion and human struggles that comes with the... Read more
Published 4 months ago by fabulisinmn

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent drama based on true story
This movie is a great one and of course the acting is superb. Sean Penn never lets you down! The fact that it is based on a true story makes it all the more gripping.
Published 10 months ago by K. Hood

5.0 out of 5 stars "Hands Down, A Winner"
"At Close Range" is a classic example of a movie in which all aspects of the filmmaker's art shine; if it isn't already, it should be required viewing for students in film... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Stanley H. Nemeth

5.0 out of 5 stars "Is this the family gun, dad?" Hidden '80's Genre Gem
Somehow this movie vanished without a trace when in came out c.'86, but in my years as a video store clerk in that bygone epoch, whenever i recommended it to customers, they... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Thomas Plotkin

2.0 out of 5 stars dvd
was not to happy whit this item it as a copy and was all choped up alot of the seans were missing
Published 15 months ago by Donald E. White

4.0 out of 5 stars The Family Business of Crime
This movie is based on the true events of a crime family from Pennsylvania. Sean Penn and Christopher Walken are both outstanding in this film. Read more
Published 17 months ago by J. Carnes

5.0 out of 5 stars Underappreciated Gem
Sean and Chris Penn are perfectly cast as sons (Sean the fathers namesake)of rural theft ring boss Christopher Walken. When life in quiet PA. Read more
Published 20 months ago by jimmy_rants@yahoo

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