Amazon.com: 15 Minutes: Robert De Niro, Edward Burns, Kelsey Grammer, Avery Brooks, Melina Kanakaredes, Karel Roden, Oleg Taktarov, Vera Farmiga, John DiResta, James Handy, Darius McCrary, Bruce Cutler, Charlize Theron, Kim Cattrall, David Alan Grier, Vladimir Mashkov, Irina Gasanova, Noelle Evans, Mindy Marin, Christine Claibourne, John Herzfeld: Video

15 Minutes (2001)

Starring: Robert De Niro, Edward Burns Director: John Herzfeld Rating

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Actors: Robert De Niro, Edward Burns, Kelsey Grammer, Avery Brooks, Melina Kanakaredes
Directors: John Herzfeld
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
Language: Afrikaans, Czech, English, Greek, Russian
Rating:
Number of tapes: 1
Studio: New Line Home Video
VHS Release Date: August 14, 2001
Run Time: 121 minutes

Average Customer Review:

(114 customer reviews)

ASIN: B00005M2KF
Amazon.com Sales Rank: #81,588 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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Amazon.com
15 Minutes wants to be provocative, but it exists in an alternate reality where rules of logic and credibility no longer apply. In his underrated film 2 Days in the Valley, writer-director John Herzfeld wryly exposed the underbelly of California's San Fernando Valley, but in the artificial New York City of 15 Minutes, he attempts a timely mixture of satire and social commentary that's only marginally convincing. Herzfeld's premise is both vivid and valid in addressing the deterioration of morals in American mass media, but in exploring the dark side of fame, the last few minutes of Taxi Driver have more impact than this entire movie.

Robert De Niro stars as Eddie Flemming, a hotshot homicide detective whose current double-murder case teams him with arson investigator Jordy Warsaw (Edward Burns). Their investigation leads to a pair of Eastern European nut-jobs (one Czech, one Russian) who've embarked on an impromptu killing spree--all captured on video by the Russian, who fancies himself an auteur of the American dream. In a pileup of contrivances, a reporter (Melina Kanakaredes) is also Eddie's girlfriend, and a tabloid TV host (Kelsey Grammer) seeks the killers' video with the scruples of Adolf Hitler. Blink and you'll miss Charlize Theron in a throwaway role, but that's nothing compared to the killing of a major character--a scene devoid of emotion that's more grist for the media mill. With appalling bloodlust, 15 Minutes sheds a sickening light on America's twisted character, but instead of illuminating, it only darkens the gloom. --Jeff Shannon

From The New Yorker
There's life and fun in this trashy pulse-of-the-city thriller, much of which is set in and around the media pits of Times Square. Two recent émigrés kick the madness into motion-a Czech psychopath (Karel Roden), who takes the promise of American freedom with alarming literalness, and a movie-loving Russian (Oleg Taktarov), who films his partner's crimes. These two violent screwballs are pursued by a celebrated police detective (Robert De Niro) and a young fire marshal (Edward Burns). Director John Herzfeld serves up fires, knifings, and shootouts, and manages, in the midst of the extreme mayhem, to hammer away at the American habit of turning criminals into media figures. The villain of the piece is a sensationalizing newscaster (Kelsey Grammer) who puts the Russian's videos on the air. The movie is hypocritical through and through, but at least Herzfeld brings humor and rhythm to what he's doing. -David Denby
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker