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List Price: $12.98 | | Label: Universal Studios
Salesrank: 4148
Released: April 18, 2006 |
| Our Price: $5.96 |
| Used Price: $4.48 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted) Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Out of Sight scored critical raves, but its title sums up the theatrical fate of Steven Soderbergh's coolly comic crime caper and misfit romance based on Elmore Leonard's novel. But this is the sort of buried treasure home video was created to rescue.
George Clooney comes into his own as a leading man in the role of inveterate bank robber Jack Foley. Incarcerated, he uses another inmate's prison break as a cover for his own escape. Waiting for him, according to plan, is his partner, Buddy (Ving Rhames). Also waiting for him, not according to plan, is federal agent Karen Sisco (the ravishing Jennifer Lopez). She finds herself disarmed in more ways than one when she is deposited in the getaway car's trunk with Jack. But that doesn't stop her from joining the task force created to capture him, while he plans "one last heist."
Out of Sight is a rich, entertaining film, stylish without being showy, faithful to the integrity of Leonard's potent dialogue and quirky characters, and seamlessly acted by a dream ensemble. Standouts include Albert Brooks as convicted insider trader Richard Ripley, who while in prison brags to the wrong people that he has $5 million in uncut diamonds hidden in his house; Don Cheadle as Maurice (don't call him "Snoopy") Miller, with whom Jack warily teams up to steal said diamonds; Dennis Farina as Karen's protective father (his idea of a birthday gift is a Sig-Hauer .38); and, in unbilled cameos, Michael Keaton, reprising his Jackie Brown role as FBI agent Ray Nicolet, and Samuel L. Jackson.
If you liked Get Shorty and Jackie Brown, you'll find this, well, Out of Sight. --Donald Liebenson
Description of Out of Sight (Collector's Edition):
Out of Sight was one of the best movies of 1998, but ironically this superior crime comedy was a box-office disappointment. Fortunately the movie can enjoy a long life on home video, where it can be savored by anyone who missed its original release. Making his best film since 1989's sex, lies, and videotape, director Steven Soderbergh pays tribute to the signature wit and intricacy of Elmore Leonard's novel, brilliantly adapted by Scott Frank, the gifted screenwriter who previously adapted Leonard's Get Shorty. The movie's a prime showcase for the talent and chemistry of George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez, respectively playing a career bank robber who's escaped from jail and the federal agent who falls for his charms while tracking him down. Soderbergh directs with confident visual flair, shifting time- lines (à la Pulp Fiction) to weave together subplots and maintain vivid focus on Leonard's splendid characters and smooth-as-silk dialogue. While the sexy repartée between Clooney and Lopez recalls the vintage interplay of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, Ving Rhames and Steve Zahn add ample comic relief as Clooney's accomplices. Dennis Farina is memorable as Lopez's father, and Albert Brooks is almost unrecognizable as a Wall Street crook whose mansion--and a cache of uncut diamonds--provides the setting for the film's climactic caper. As orchestrated by Soderbergh, the film offers a feast of plot twists and surprises, but it never loses track of its delightful characters and the clever wit that brings them so vividly to life. The Collector's Edition DVD includes commentary by Soderbergh, deleted scenes, production notes, theatrical trailers, and more. --Jeff Shannon
Out of Sight (Collector's Edition) Reviews:
This film is far from `out of sight'... 
2008-09-29 - A lot of people love this movie. I was not one of them. Sure, it was decently enjoyable and it kept me entertained for the most part, but in the end there is really nothing special about `Out of Sight', nothing that makes it stand out as superior to the other million crime capers out there today. Much like Clooney's other misfire `Oceans Eleven', `Out of Sight' has all the right pieces but it fails to put them in the correct order.
The film tells the story of bank robber Jack Foley. He finds himself behind bars, but he has a big score going down that he needs to be a part of and so he tags along with a few other inmates planning an escape. The escape is partially botched when police detective Karen Sisco happens to be across from the prison when the men bust through the ground. Jack and his friend Buddy (who showed up with the getaway car) throw Karen in the trunk of her own car and head off down the road. In the truck Karen gets to spend a few minutes alone with Jack and the two share a moment that sparks an attraction that will put a major damper in Jack's plans.
The rest of the film is a hodgepodge of plot twists and interwoven characters who play major roles in each other characters development. You have Glenn who came up with the current scheme to steal uncut diamonds from a former inmate. You have Snoopy, the former boxer turned criminal who wants a piece of the action. You have Adele, Jack's ex-wife who finds herself part of the action when Jack's mess catches up with him. You have Marshall, Karen's father, who makes himself part of it as he tries to guide his daughter to the right decision. You have Richard, you know, the guy with the diamonds, and you have a number of other criminals who try and weasel their way into the heist. At the center of this collective mess of wrong-doers there is a steamy romance building between Jack and Karen.
First off I'll say that the film can be kind of confusing at times, which is a drawback. There are so many flashbacks to prison days that one is left wondering who is in jail when and where and what is really going one; and this happens more than once. The chemistry between Clooney and Lopez is great, but they don't really share enough screen time together, and their romance is a tad improbable, especially when you factor in the ending. The acting is all fine, especially that of Don Cheadle who is by far the best thing about this movie, but the acting can't make up for the lapses in plot. There are just too many times when the film fails to work that the times it does work just can't hold their own.
Also, is it just me or does Ving Rhames play the same character in every movie?
I don't hate this movie, but I can't rally behind it either. It is an average crime capper with a less that desirable construction which brings it down a few notches. Clooney is charming, but no more so than usual, and Lopez sizzles when given the opportunity, but aside from a choice bathtub scene and a interesting striptease the film seems uninterested in investigating this unlikely romance long enough to keep us hooked. Cheadle's spicy gangster is the biggest draw to this film, and it is really the only above average part of it.
Husband's Fave!!! 
2008-09-15 - I ordered this movie for my husband. It is one of his all time favorites!! Great movie for a great price!! Highly recommended!!
Clooney, Lopez & Soderburgh are Out of Sight!! 
2008-07-09 - This neglected film noir by Elmore Leonard and excellently directed by Steven Soderburgh with a fine script by Scott Frank still didn't quite make it at the box office despite great reviews. Some breakout performances by Clooney and Lopez plus their chemistry and a great cast (Don Cheadle, Albert Brooks, Ving Rhames) make this one a winner. Clooney plays an escaped thief who while escaping from the pen, falls in love with government agent Lopez. Their characters provide the heat but the rest of the supporting cast provide the color. It's been reported that Lopez & Clooney didn't get along while filming this but you wouldn't know this from their scenes together!! The HD DVD transfer of this neglected film noir is excellent and also a bargain at a price under $10.00!! So if you still have an HD unit and haven't abandoned it do get this one. It is definitely OUT OF SIGHT!!
Great Caper Flick 
2008-06-03 - What great fun this movie is. If you like humor mixed in with your dramas you appreciate this. The chemistry between characters is wonderful.
A really good movie 
2008-02-08 - This is a well done movie with Jennifer Lopez when she used to be hot, before she became a self-proclaimed diva. George Clooney is a smoothe character as usual and playing the bad guy you can't help but like. Although a lot of the dialogue feels like they're reading right off the script, it's a good plot and has some good roles, with actors that have come up since this movie was made.