Product Details

• Actors: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Willem Dafoe, James Franco, Cliff Robertson
• Directors: Sam Raimi
• Writers: David Koepp, Stan Lee, Steve Ditko
• Producers: Avi Arad, Grant Curtis, Heidi Fugeman, Ian Bryce
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Live, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• VHS Release Date: November 1, 2002
• Run Time: 121 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1,159 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00006G8LB
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #8,363 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

• This is item 1 in The Spider-Man Feature Films Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

For devoted fans and nonfans alike, Spider-Man offers nothing less--and nothing more--than what you'd expect from a superhero blockbuster. Having proven his comic-book savvy with the original Darkman, director Sam Raimi brings ample energy and enthusiasm to Spidey's origin story, nicely establishing high-school nebbish Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) as a brainy outcast who reacts with appropriate euphoria--and well-tempered maturity--when a "super-spider" bite transforms him into the amazingly agile, web-shooting Spider-Man. That's all well and good, and so is Kirsten Dunst as Parker's girl-next-door sweetheart. Where Spider-Man falls short is in its hyperactive CGI action sequences, which play like a video game instead of the gravity-defying exploits of a flesh-and-blood superhero. Willem Dafoe is perfectly cast as Spidey's schizoid nemesis, the Green Goblin, and the movie's a lot of fun overall. It's no match for Superman and Batman in bringing a beloved character to the screen, but it places a respectable third. --Jeff Shannon

From The New Yorker

The perils and advantages of being bitten by a genetically modified spider are made abundantly clear in Sam Raimi's enjoyable, if broken-backed, exercise in high-cost pulp. Tobey Maguire plays Peter Parker, who develops a useful ability to hurl threads of web from his wrists and thus becomes, to his delight, the highest swinger in town. This prowess earns him the adoration of Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) and the enmity of the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), whose infinite capacity for evil is slightly undercut by the fact that he began life as a man called Norman. The movie is all over the place, unable to decide, for instance, whether New York should be shot as a livable city or as a Gothamite gulf of crime; similarly, Dafoe delivers a cartoon while Maguire offers a funny, rueful study in uncertain heroics. The picture is more violent than it has any right to be: why bother to throw grenades at Spider-Man, when you can presumably chase him away with a stiff broom? -Anthony Lane
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Spider-Man! Amazing Movie!, May 5, 2002

By	Savant11 "Savant11" (Canada) - See all my reviews

What can I possibly say but WOW! This movie is truly a dream come true for a long time Spider-man fan like me. Not only was the movie made but the movie was made RIGHT!

Many directors and artists in Hollywood claim to be fans of comic book heroes, but when it comes time for them to actually put it together they fail miserably. But not here. Sam Rami is a TRUE Spider-man fan-- and he did what a true fan would do. He stayed true to the source and to the material. He captured the essence of Spider-man and his history. He didn't decide to pretentiously add his own mark like Tim Burton did with the laughable Batman movie. Rami stayed true to the comic. This is the Spider-man I read about month for the last 13 years.

I really did not think that anyone could top the X-Men, but Rami has and I don't just mean because of the special effets. I also mean in terms of the plot and character development. This is not a long drawn out movie filled with pointless violence. It is a well plotted story that moves effortlessly from point to point. Who would have thought that so much could be fit into two hours? And the end, I won't give it away , but who on earth would have thought that it would have ended that way. Instead of going for the same old boring cliche Hollywood ending--Rami tacks on an original one which hints towards the future.

Tobey Maguire was not my first choice to play Peter Parker. But boy does he deliver! I understand that he worked hard to get this part and boy does it show! He plays Peter just the way he was portrayed in the book! Kristen Dunst also was excellent,I did not think that she could pull off the part of Mary Jane. She's a lovely girl but not the super-model that MJ is in the comic book. But I was pleasantly surprised with what was done with the character.

After being disapointed with the unseeminly endless rubish that Hollywood has produced lately I am now, in the words of Mr. Stan Lee, a true believer. Thanks Sam Rami for not butchering a character I consider to be like a brother and restoring my faith that there are film makers out there who actually care about film making!

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a review of Spider-Man Limited Edition Collector's Gift Set, November 24, 2002

By	[e-mail] "[e-mail]" (Beaumont, tx USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Spider-Man (Limited Edition Collector's Gift Set) (DVD)

First of all, this isn't a review of the Spider-Man movie or dvd. It's a review of the box set: Spider-Man Limited Eidtion DVD Collector's Gift Set. (I'll do a review of the Spider-Man dvd at a later time) It contains two dvds: 1) the Spider-Man widescreen special edition, and while I'm not going to go into it in this review, it is a great movie and a great dvd; and 2) Stan Lee's Mutants, Monsters & Marvels, which I've reviewed under the dvd, so I won't go much into this dvd here. But it is a very informative interview. These two dvds pretty much make the gift set worth the price. It also comes with a few 'collector's items' which I leave to you to decide if they make it worth picking up the gift set or just buying the dvds. There's a reproduction of the Amazing Fantasy comic that first introduced Spider-Man. It's monetary value is null, since it is a reproduction, but it is nice to get a copy of our favorite web-slinger's first appearance. A bit juvenile, but valueable for the Spidey-fan. There's a piece of artwork by John Romita Sr, nice but doesn't add much to the set. And finally there is a film cell from the movie (when Spider-Man is dodging Goblin's bats in the burning building). Also nice to have, but I found these collector's items don't add much to the enjoyment of the dvds. I'd say the gift set is only valuable to the hard core fan. Otherwise, just pick up the dvds.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An extraordinary movie on a splendid DVD edition., November 2, 2002

By	CMC "Diamondfist" (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spider-Man (Full Screen Special Edition) (DVD)

Sam Raimi was the best choice for director for Spider-Man. His parents had a Spider-Man mural painted on his wall for him in his childhood, and he had the perfect vision for how Spider-Man should be. Better actors could not have been picked to play these roles; Tobey Maguire made the role of Peter Parker his. Kirsten Dunst was an excellent Mary Jane, and Cliff Robertson and Rosemary Harris were the best as Uncle Ben and Aunt May. J. K. Simmons stole the show as Jameson, who played the part magnificently; he literally WAS Jonah. Sam's brother Ted Raimi (from Xena) was a nice surprise appearing in the Daily Bugle office. Willem Dafoe's Norman/Goblin over-the-top performance was superb, but the armored costume took some getting used to. If you look quickly, you'll see Stan (The Man) Lee making a little heroic appearance! Right from the start, the characters are believable, and the characters are fleshed out wonderfully from the comic. A great deal of time was invested in getting a costume for Spidey that looks awesome; this endeavor was obviously taken very seriously and the designers did a great job.

The CGI Spider-Man was fantastic! The talents involved with the CGI captured Spider-Man's movements so flawlessly, I almost believed at some points that it was actually a person performing Spidey's complex acrobatic abilities and fighting style, but would have liked to see a bit more jumping; Spidey can jump pretty high and far, but will hopefully be more prominent when the character is older (in the sequels!) I'll have to get used to the organic webs; which was my least favorite aspect of the film. The creators decided it was easier than having to explain how he was able to pay for the chemicals for the webbing. This doesn't allow us to see Pete as a scientist, which I love, but maybe they will bring some of that out (and some higher jumping) for the sequel! More of the Bugle characters hopefully will make an extended appearance in the sequels, too.

The DVD is literally packed with special features from on-screen pop-ups that display information and tidbits pertaining to what was said, or shown in a particular scene, and a "spider sense" that takes you from the main movie to a mini-movie when you press the proper remote button. The menu selection is a visual treat and the DVD-ROM extras are a nice bonus, from Marvel dot comics to an Activision Spider-Man PC game demo. I would have liked to see some deleted scenes, but disc 2 provides some outtakes and gags which are a delight to see. It finally took a true, talented Spider-Man fan to turn out the best Spidey production I've ever seen. Sam Raimi's love for Spider-Man and the hard work of all the talented people in this film gave those of us who love Spidey an unforgettable movie experience, and just as much work was put into this DVD edition that is a pleasure to own.