 | |
List Price: $9.98 | | Label: Lions Gate
Salesrank: 35708
Released: February 15, 2005 |
| Our Price: $2.99 |
| Used Price: $0.01 |
|
MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
|
Editorial Review:
"An ingenious and unsettling dark thriller guaranteed to make your skin crawl right off your bones!" -Jen Vuckovic, Rue Morgue Obsessed with teaching his victims the value of life, a deranged, sadistic serial killer is abducting morally wayward people and forcing them to play horrific games for their own survival. Faced with impossible choices, each victim must struggle to win back his/her life, or else die trying...
Description of Saw (Full Screen Edition):
Adam (Leigh Whannell) wakes up in a dank room across from Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) and the body of a guy who has blown his own brains out. Not a happy place, obviously, and it gets worse when both men realize that they've been chained and pitted against one another by an unseen but apparently omniscient maniac who's screwing with their psyches as payment for past sins. Director James Wan, who concocted this grimy distraction with screenwriter Whannell, has seen Seven and any number of other arty existential-psycho-cat-and-mouse thrillers, so he's provided Saw with a little flash, a little blood, and a lot of ways to distract you from the fact that it doesn't make a whole hell of a lot of sense. Wan and Whannell (who's not the most accomplished actor, either) pile on the plot twists, which after some initially novel ideas become increasingly juvenile. Elwes works hard but looks embarrassed, and the estimable Danny Glover suffers as the obsessed detective on the case. The denouement will probably surprise you, but it won't get you back the previous 98 minutes.--Steve Wiecking
Saw (Full Screen Edition) Reviews:
A true horror classic... 
2009-11-30 - I haven't seen this movie since it's release, but it's Halloween and I decided to do a Saw marathon. This movie is perhaps the best in the series. It has a lot of mystery and suspense. I think not knowing who Jigsaw is adds to the enjoyment. The later installments peeled the mystery away from him and it hurt the overall feel of the franchise. This movie does not have a lot of traps, they are not as elaborate as the traps in the sequel, but they are nicely used. There are so many twists and turns in this movie it's hard to even guess the next turn. I personally like Danny Glover and he does a great job. He should have been a more central character. The entire movie your trying to figure out who jigsaw is and that adds to the movie's greatness. As the series progressed the mystery element was taken away piece by piece. There are a lot of characters interacting around this "game" and that adds to the overall feel of desperation of this movie. This movie is a classic. The rest in the series decide to stand on gore instead of real suspense. This is a classic worth treasuring.
Great movie, disappointing Blu-ray 
2009-11-21 - Saw is a great movie, all the sequels can be skipped. However the video quality on the Blu-ray is pretty disappointing. Very grainy, never once really looked like a high-def video even in bright scenes. But what makes it even worse is that there are no extras whatsoever. No commentary, no deleted scenes, nothing besides some previews. Sad,sad,sad. At least it was cheap.
"I've Given Your Life a Purpose"
2009-11-01 - Initially I will admit that I had no desire whatsoever to watch 'Saw'. My expectations were that it was going to be nothing more than just another one of those splatter films whose sole aim was to nauseate and repulse the audience.
Miracle of miracles, I happened to be wrong. While the gore element is there, for the most part it is an anticipated horror more than an actually realized one (at least by today's standards). For most of the film the terror and dread is psychological in nature and proceeds from an intelligent storyline and a thought-provoking script which dialogues with the audience on such concerns as the nature of life, death and what a person would be willing to do to retain ones life.
For me what really makes the film work is the protagonist nicknamed Jigsaw. While his actions are indeed horrific and grotesque his reasoning comes across as rational, his goals subtle and his attention to detail flawless. Well worth a watch, or two.
My Rating: -3 1/2 Stars-.
Great Film, One Of My Favorites
2009-10-22 - I love the Saw series, and I noticed that this was a really great price on the UMD format of the film. Overall I am satisfied with the product and I would recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys an intense, gruesome movie experience with a shocking ending!
Bloody but good! 
2009-10-18 - The whole series is very, very gory, but at the same time has a very plausible plot line. Definitely falls within the "Psychological Thriller/Horror" genre. Plus, it has the cute Cary Elwes of "The Princess Bride" one of my favorite movies.
