American Psycho [DVD]

Everyone knows American Psycho or at least knows some reference from it! After having not watched it for a very long time I just had to find it and order it because it’s just such a classic!If you’ve not seen it, then “Hey Paul” you’ve got to watch it!

Great Film

To be honest, I went into American Psycho expecting a banal bloodfest, not expecting this to be a film of any quality whatsoever but instead one of those films that you just watch and then carry on as if nothing has happened. Now yes, the film IS a bloodfest, I will tell you that straight away. The violence is in fact incredibly shocking so this is not for over sensitive people!However, once you past the violence this is actually a very sharp film, lots of black humour and satire, and it is in fact incredibly funny in places. Not only does it capture the looks and sounds of the 1980s perfectly, it also captures the "get-rich quick" mentality of the 1980s perfectly- and really takes it apart. 1980s Wall Street is portrayed as being fundamentally shallow, full of self-absorbed individuals aiming to make their own mark and based on looks and money- and consequently, it is the source of a lot of the biting satire. Of course, what is most amusing, you realise in watching the film 1980s Wall Street is not all that different to our modern society- society remains shallow, remains full of self-absorbed individuals, remains based on looks and money. And as for the Wall Street crew in the film, you still see them in the City of London, in Paris, in New York today. In this light, American Psycho becomes a good film.At the centre of this is Patrick Bateman, who looks and sounds the archetypal 1980s Wall Street slicker. Except of course that he is in fact a bloodthirsty psychopath. Yet he remains an attractive figure, whilst at the same time being inexplicably evil. In fact, probably what makes him attractive IS the fact that you do not ever understand what makes him evil-you just KNOW he is. There is indeed "no catharsis"- he does not change, he does not try and explain his actions, and therefore we do not get the satisfaction of working out what made him evil.Christian Bale's performance is very good, he comes across as seemingly normal in the day job and yet is obviously psychotic at night- the right portrayal for a madman. It HAD to be an OTT performance to capture this, and like Al Pacino in Scarface, I think Bale just about pulls this off- to the point that some of his actions as Bateman are, whilst obviously being against all moral norms; highly amusing. Certainly, "Hip to be Square" by Huey Lewis takes on a different light when you see Bateman killing with an axe during the song being played. As does "Greatest Love of All" by Whitney, given what follows! However, it is not amongst the best of films in terms of quality- but better than many I have seen.Overall I liked it because it gets across the message that we really do not know what unknown evils lurk in our society. Certainly Bateman is a respectable Vice-President of a Wall Street bank- who knows where another Bateman could be in our modern society? I kind of liked that subtle point. As I've said, I also liked the clever satirisation of modern individualism- people being concerned with shallow values and nothing else. Perhaps I'm just a critic of unbridled capitalism, but the way the film does it convinced me that this film was not your average bloodfest- but rather a satire of our times. Of not knowing what dangers are lurking in our society, of being overly concerned with looks and money. If you take this as being a satire of our times, believe me you will enjoy this as much as I did.

The name changes are a bit confusing but the horror effect is truly gripping

The media could not be loaded.  My name is Patrick Bateman. I’m 27 years old. I believe in taking care of myself, and a balanced diet and a rigorous exercise routine. In the morning, if my face is a little puffy, I’ll put on an ice pack while doing my stomach crunches. I can do a thousand now. After I remove the ice pack I use a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the shower I use a water activated gel cleanser, then a honey almond body scrub, and on the face an exfoliating gel scrub. Then I apply an herb-mint facial masque which I leave on for 10 minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine. I always use an after shave lotion with little or no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm followed by a final moisturizing protective lotion. There is an idea of a Patrick Bateman. Some kind of abstraction. But there is no real me. Only an entity. Something illusory. And though I can hide my cold gaze, and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours, and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable, I simply am not there

I was initially attracted to this social satire for two reasons: firstly, I had bought the novel and, on seeing it at the bottom of a pile of about twenty books that I have bought and am yet to read, I thought I would cut corners and watch the DVD first. The second reason that I was attracted to this film is because I enjoyed "Rules of Attraction" immensely, and on finding out the character of Sean Bateman is supposed to be Patrick Bateman's nephew, I wanted to see where evil was born.Briefly, "Patrick Bateman is handsome, well-educated and intelligent. He is twenty-six and living his own American dream. He works by day on Wall Street, earning a fortune to compliment the one he was born with. At night he descends into madness, as he experiments with fear and violence".By all accounts and purposes, "American Psycho" is a "hit and miss" film. On the one hand, you have the amazing set, a high quality of acting and a great soundtrack; on the other hand you have a one-dimensional leading character and a poor finale to the film. For those of you who have seen "American Beauty" or the "Truman Show", the amazing contrast of colours and product placement will seem mouth-wateringly familiar. There is an obsessive attention to detail throughout the course of the film, and given Bateman's minimalistic but attractive apartment, it is easy to see why '80's materialism flourished so profoundly. I must also praise Witherspoon's acting in this piece - she captures the detachment and estrangement personified by the newly-found independent women of the 1980's so well that it comes as no surprise that her character does not either notice her "partner's" odd behviour or seem particularly put-out when he ends their relationship. For those of you (like me) who are too young to really remember the music of the 80's, but who have been introduced to the era via "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City", you will love this soundtrack...get ready to tap your feet and long to be ten (five?) years older.What lets the film down, however, is the character of Bateman himself and the poor finale to the storyline. Before I criticise the character, I want to make two points clear: firstly, I am not criticising Christian Bale as an actor - I think when you see the contrast between this and "The Machinist", you will see what a talented man he is; clearly capable of turning his hand at any role. Secondly, I realise that the character of Patrick Bateman is supposed to be horrendously shallow - encapsulating the spirit of Wall Street at the time. After an hour of watching the film, however, the controlling nature of Bateman, coupled with his lack of subtance, identity or history, becomes remarkably tiresome and your mind starts to wander somewhat. For those of you who like clarity in the final scene, avoid this film as the credits seem to begin with a huge question mark over the climax of the film. We are led to believe (and some reviewers here have concluded) that Bateman didn't really kill any of his victims - their deaths were a figment of his imagination. In that case then, where does the police detective investigating the disapperance of Paul Allen (Bateman's second on-screen murder) come in? And if he is supposed to be a ghost pricking Bateman's conscience, how is it that Jean (his secretary) can see him?Look out for a lack of remorse (carthasis) at the end of the film: Bateman never gives any real reason as to "why" he murders people, because in truth, he doesn't know the answer himself. You may come away from this film needing another viewing - if you do go down this route (and I have), just don't expect any more answers the second time round.

Awesome film with great actors and action horror !

PERFETTO

Inte i närheten av så bra som boken, men det hade nog varit omöjligt. Trots det en klassiker, kanske inte för alla - och inte för en mysig familjekväll, men ändå riktigt bra.

Pulsion proprement psychopathe, Patrick Bateman est l'archétype de la démence schizophrénique. Le jour il fait l'objet d'un personnage exemplaire de la réussite, narcissique, comportement répulsif envers la médiocrité et le dégout de la laideur, il joue constamment sous la lumière d'un homme aux valeurs chic, discipliné, le meilleur dans son domaine & adule son image excessif d'un playboy beau & riche de Wall Street.La nuit retranché dans son appartement branché et luxueux à l'image du flamboyant playboy qui l'ait il voue secrètement une passion pour le sordide et le macabre et n'hésite pas à tuer, violé et décapité des femmes en l'occurrence mais pauvres & homosexuels y passe notamment.Des Scène cultes à l'image du meurtre à la hache de Paul Allen sous fond sonore de "phils collins sussudio" ou la folle scène dans les escaliers de son appartement ou Bateman est nue avec une tronçonneuse prêt à tuer une prostitué en cavale est particulièrement délirante et j'en passe et des mailleurs...,American Psycho jouis d'une franche réussite et mérite la curiosité. Un coup d'coeur que j'apprécie énormément & dont je vous recommande vivement.

Anche io volevo il blue ray Di uno dei miei film preferiti, American psycho.Amazon ha messo svariate edizione tra cui quella base (non in blue ray) dove troverete incluso L’ITALIANO, mentre le altre in blue ray NO, nessuna delle edizioni blue ray Di American psycho sono in italiano e non ci sono nemmeno i sottotitoli in italiano (non è colpa di Amazon ma la casa editrice non ha rilasciato proprio EDIZIONI IN ITALIANO).Se siete amanti della lingua madre come me vi consiglio vivamente l’edizione BLU e non NERA, l’edizione BLU è originale INGLESE, compresi sottotitoli, mentre l’edizione NERA è TEDESCA, ha sia pal INGLESE che TEDESCO ma i SOTTOTITOLI SONO SOLO IN TEDESCO.Spero di esservi stato d’aiuto e di avervi fatto chiarezza visto che le varie recensioni su questo prodotto sono abbastanza confusionarieRICAPITOLANDO:Ed. NO BLUE RAY BIANCA: SI ITALIANOed. Blue ray BLU: NO ITALIANO, si ENG + SUBEd. Blue ray NERA: NO ITALIANO, SI INGLESE E TEDESCO + SUB SOLO TEDESCO.