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List Price: $27.95 | | Label: Sony Pictures
Salesrank: 167138
Released: December 10, 1997 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Lurid thrillers don't get much more shameless than this movie, in which Robert De Niro plays a pathological baseball fan whose obsession is focused on a San Francisco Giants all-star outfielder (Wesley Snipes). While the newly signed baseball star is having trouble getting his favorite uniform number from a competitive teammate (Benicio Del Toro), De Niro is having career troubles at the knife company his father founded, and you can bet that his proximity to high-quality stainless-steel blades will be a factor in the suspenseful plot. Recycling parts of his maniacal roles in Taxi Driver, The King of Comedy, and Cape Fear, De Niro takes his idolatry to violent extremes, eliminating any obstacle to Snipes's stardom until the baseball hero is forced to confront his most terrifying devotee. Directed with brutal excess and souped-up style by Tony Scott (Top Gun, Crimson Tide), this manipulative nail-biter pulls all the right strings in predictable fashion, but it does have moments that are effectively intense. --Jeff Shannon
The Fan Reviews:
Depressing thriller/pseudo-character study 
2008-12-23 - It might say something about me that I'm not bothered too much by heavy screen violence, but what does bother me is the naked exposure of a tortured and twisted human being (films such as "Psycho", "Don't Go in the House", "Maniac", etc. -- which oftentimes DO feature heavy violence as well, but it's the psychological/personal display that disturbs me, not the violence).
One such individual is Gil Renaul, the crazed-fan/psycho-stalker that Robert DeNiro excellently portrays in "The Fan". When Bobby Rayburn (Wesley Snipes), star player of Renault's beloved San Franscisco Giants. goes into a huge slump and has problems of his own, Renault steps in and tries to take things into his own hands, kidnapping/killing/harassing all the way. There's little more that can be gone into without spoiling the movie, though it's easily predictable given the predictability of the plot.
DeNiro's performance gets under your skin and is incredibly hard to watch; he truly convinces you that Gil is a complete sociopath through and through and as he gets more and more intense and more deranged and violent as the movie goes on, so his performance becomes all the more disturbing, uncomfortable, and hard to watch (but in a good way). Overall the film is decent but nothing exceptional, but recommended if you like these sorts of things.
A thriller that showcases a true psychotic 
2008-09-30 - Gil Renard (Robert De Niro) isn't a lucky man. His separation from his wife is hostile, his business of selling knives is not going well, and he doesn't feel listened to. His only release is sports, watching and cheering for his favorite player, Bobby Rayburn (Wesley Snipes).
Bobby Rayburn, a 40 million dollar player, has troubles of his own as he falls into a slump, knowing his career is winding down as fellow player Juan Primo's (Benico Del Toro) star is rising. Primo now wears the "sacred" number 11 jersey. Rooting Bobby on every step of the way is manager Manny (John Leguizamo).
As Gil slides further down into the depths, he leans more and more on the game, forming an abnormal obsession with Bobby. With a restraining order taken out by his ex-wife, keeping him away from his son, and the loss of even his lowly job as knife salesman, how far will Gil finally lose himself in his fixation on Bobby Rayburn?
I tend to avoid movies that have even a dribble of sports in them, but I'm sure glad I tossed that rule aside for 'The Fan'. It's not about sports, its about an irrational fanatic. De Niro plays the psychotic fan so well, it could very well be his best performance yet. Snipes, Del Toro, and Leguizamo are fantastic, joined by the beautiful and talented Ellen Barkin as reporter Jewel Stern. The acting is superb and the tension is like a tight wire strung across your stomach. Adding to the film is the music of Nine Inch Nails during Gil's more psychotic episodes, complimenting the scenes with their grinding music and lyrics of alienation.
'The Fan' is a tense thriller that's not to be missed. Definitely worth a purchase. Enjoy!
Who's Bendix... I Get It! William Bendix, Right.
2008-03-30 - Bobby's agent says "Don't you get it, it's William #@! Bendix!
The actor from flatbush that gets billing over the actor Anthony Quinn.
Benicio Del Toro should have gotten a better credit instead of this deranged fan of this film with deniro.
Guadalcanal Diary is a excellent film giving tribute to our latin american fighting soldiers who have served our country! God bless you all
The Fan 
2008-03-24 - I think that this Movie The Fan show why Robert De Niro is probably one of our better actors today.
The Fan - a review
2007-08-21 - Robert De Niro stars as a man whose life is taking a turn for the bad, but it does not deter him from his one true love, which is the game of baseball. This film has several elements to it that connect to bring a tantalizing thriller of a script to the forefront. The game of Baseball, its adoring and loyal fans and the psychotic fever of a fan who goes over the edge all come together well. Some people might think this film is about De Niro's character obsessing over a particular player, but there is more to it than that. Wes Snipes plays a major league player who has recently transferred from the Braves to the San Francisco Bay area to play for the Giants.
Gil (De Niro) is an avid fan who realizes that in order for his team to have the best chance of succeeding during a hitting slump that Bobby Rayburn (Snipes) has, must up the stakes of his involvement in the players life. De Niro and Snipes are excellent together throughout this film, and if you are a baseball fan you might recognize John Kruk featured in the lineup as well. The Soundtrack is particularly good and it mixes eerie tunes from the score with hit singles from bands like The Rolling Stones and Nine Inch Nails. The final scene at the ballpark is a spectacular way for this film to cap it all off, and despite this film being over ten years old, I still found great enjoyment in viewing it. The Fan is a thrilling, diabolical and often times downright sinister film.
