Product Details

• Actors: Joan Allen, Jeff Bridges, Sam Elliott, Philip Baker Hall, Kathryn Morris
• Directors: Rod Lurie
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Dreamworks Video
• DVD Release Date: March 6, 2001
• Run Time: 126 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (171 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00003CXP7
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #22,661 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Contender" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

Depending on your perspective, The Contender can be praised and damned for the same reasons. A political thriller with an insider's view, it's deadly earnest in its defense of truth, justice, and the American way, but writer-director (and former film critic) Rod Lurie resorts to the same manipulation that his film purports to condemn. But with political savvy, a timely idea (a female vice president), and a cast of first-rate actors, this high-office chess game is unabashedly entertaining. You can argue with Lurie's tactics, but you can't fault his patriotic passion.

In a role written especially for her, Joan Allen is outstanding (if a bit too saintly) as the Republican-turned-Democrat senator who is chosen by the president (Jeff Bridges) to fill a vice presidential vacancy. Bridges is a cagey chief executive, seemingly aloof as he gleefully challenges the White House's 24-hour kitchen staff but more than a match for the embittered and unscrupulous congressman (Gary Oldman) who plots to destroy Allen's character with seemingly dark secrets from her past.

As a gender-switching response to the Lewinsky scandal, The Contender asks potent questions with its impassioned plea for integrity in public service. That makes this a film well worth defending, and the stellar cast (which includes Christian Slater and William Petersen) triumphs over most of the plot's hokey machinations. The ideas are more compelling than their execution, however, and although Lurie's climactic revelation is a vast improvement over the reckless cheat of his previous film Deterrence, it still threatens to tarnish the gloss of an otherwise fascinating film. --Jeff Shannon

Product Description

When the truth becomes a weapon, power comes at a stunning price. Gary Oldman, Joan Allen, Jeff Bridges and Christian Slater deliver electrifying performances in this controversial, suspenseful and critically-acclaimed thriller that Ebert & Roeper and the Movies call "exciting and unusually intelligent, two very enthusiastic thumbs up!" Sometimes you can assassinate a leader without firing a shot.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars An insult to my intelligence, March 27, 2001

By	Simon Lee (Castro Valley, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Pretentious and preachy script ruined the excellent premise and the first 30 minutes of intriguing beginning. I am a BIG fan of films on politics (just ask my wife), but this movie simply failed to deliver any subtlty and inspiration. As entertainment, it succeeded by having first rate actors executing well (Gary Oldman was wonderful as usual). But as a film of art, this movie was pretentious and simple-minded, and characters have black & white-like stereotypes with absolutely no convincing development. What a waste as I had such high hope and high expectation :(

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars "Otherwise, it was pretty good....", October 22, 2001

By	Mark Y. Moromisato ""A reader....letters ... (Pasadena, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This movie brings to mind childhood memories - running across an open field of grass, barefoot and fancy-free. But then all of a sudden you feel that sickeningly warm gush between your toes and you realize that you've stepped-in "It". And you try to wipe it off...but that residue and smell just stays with you the whole day long.

This past weekend I "stepped-in" The Contender.

It's rare that I have such a visceral reaction to a movie and I'll admit that a good part of it has to do with the tripe that passed for political points of view on the part of the main characters.

But beyond that, the imagery, the dialogue, the costumes....nearly everything about it was intelligence-insulting manipulation of the worst kind.

Here's just a couple samples:

The Republican "bad guy" (apparently redundant terms in the eyes of the writer/director, Rob Lurie) is shown eating bloody red meat - with close-ups of the plate just so it wouldn't be missed ("Thanks, Rob!") - like a guy who just stumbled down a mountainside with the Donner Party. At first it didn't sink in because I didn't want to believe that a movie with the high-profile DreamWorks name behind it would go for such a banal metaphor. Thankfully the creators of the film resisted what must have been an overwhelming temptation to have the Republican congressman grow fangs and flinch at the sight of a cross (actually, they saved the animosity and reflexive aversion for anything religious for the main character)

The protagonist (or should I say, "protagonista"), Laine Hanson, was shown running/exercising in Arlington Memorial Cemetery several times during the course of the movie. In one scene she goes sprinting across the graves of the buried soldiers followed by a bout of stretching while standing between the rows of crosses marking the graves. I guess they were aiming at an allusion to the sacrifices of those who gave their lives for their country with Sen Hanson sacrificing her political aspirations for her moral stand....but instead they conjured scenes that were awkward, self-conscious and really pretty creepy if you think about it.

All in all a regrettable waste of 4 bucks and, more importantly, 2+hours of my life. In fact, I'm almost afraid to talk about it with friends and family for fear that I might lose some respect for those who actually find the movie worthwhile. I know, I know - intolerance of the diversity of opinions, and all that stuff - its just so difficult to suffer fools, or at least foolish opinions.

For those (like me) who are fascinated by dramatizations of the goings-on in the Oval Office, save your money and stick to "The Left...er...West Wing" . While this weekly drama has a tendency to lapse into the droning self-righteousness of liberal propaganda, it is at least, not generally mean-spirited in its partisanship. The same can't be said of The Contender.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not of "what is," but a representation of the possibility of politics, December 20, 2005

By	Kevin Mahoney (Perkasie, PA USA) - See all my reviews

I must admit from the onset that I am not one to sit down and write reviews here. But after reading some of the reviews, I feel compelled to write one of "The Contender."

Others have done an excellent job of providing a plot summary, so I will spare you the repetition. I want to address some of the reviews that have bashed the movie for being "totally unrealistic" or "biased," especially those who explicitly state their "liberal" leanings.

First, "The Contender" makes no claims to be "objective," nor should the movie be judged by a "realisitic" litmus test. Yes, the movie is polemical. It makes no bones about its leanings. Personally, I don't think this should be grounds for dismissing the movie. I found the movie incredibly refreshing for 1) providing a critical, and cutting, progressive critique of the "culture wars" that dominate so much of our public, political discourse; 2) by not being limited by the demands of being "realistic," "The Contender" gives us a glimpse of the possibility of public discourse, grounded in the SPIRIT of the US Constitution and representative democracy. Too often political thrillers limit themselves to the intrigue of negotiating and manipulating the strings of bureaucratic power within the terms of that power. By contrast, "The Contender" asks "what if?" That is, what would it look like for someone to act on an ethical basis? What would it mean to stand on principle?

When I first watched "The Contender," I didn't really know the details of the movie, and was frankly looking for something that would be fun to watch. I love the genre of political thrillers, but I also don't expect much beyond the demands of the genre (Patterson and Grisham have really dominated how political thrillers are brought to the screen). Yet, "The Contender" went beyond the genre. Instead of the well-(market)tested version of the political thriller, it felt more like an inquiry into the principles of our Constitutional democracy that stands in stark contrast to how our democracy is currently practiced. It was refreshing to see a film of possibility that resisted a cynical representation of political life or that simply reconfirmed the easy message that "the government is corrupt."

In addition, the film is beautifully filmed. It's quiet when it should be quiet. The angles and the juxtapositions of scenes are masterful.

If you're looking for a "realistic" political thriller, then, admittedly, "The Contender" is not for you. You'll find yourself frustrated by the film's principles. But if you approach the film as a reflection upon the principles of a Constitutional democracy (from a decidedly progressive position), then you just might find yourself intrigued and thoughtful.

I say this as someone who is a committed lefty. I think that our democracy is limited and a representational democracy is not the end of democracy...that the realm of democratic participation needs to be extended. I have worked for years as an activist, organizer, and critic of the Right's domination of poltical life, unbridled capitalism, and the rise of Empire in the post-Cold War world. I am by no means someone who believes the system is working. All the more my surprise to find such possibility in this little film.