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Shutter Island |  | Director: Martin Scorsese
Actors: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Rufalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams, Max von Sydow
Studio: Paramount
Category: Movie
Buy New: $3.99
as of 9/8/2010 04:20 PDT details
Seller: Amazon Video On Demand
Rating:  235 reviews
Sales Rank: 51
Genre: Thrillers
Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: Video On Demand
Running Time: 139 Minutes
ASIN: B003NTSBUG
Theatrical Release Date: February 19, 2010
Release Date: June 8, 2010
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Synopsis:
Academy Award winning director MARTIN SCORSESE once again teams up with LEONARDO DICAPRIO in this spine-chilling thriller that critics say "sizzles with so much suspense that it's hot to the touch."** When U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels (DiCaprio) arrives at the asylum for the criminally insane on Shutter Island, what starts as a routine investigation quickly takes a sinister turn. As the investigation unfolds and Teddy uncovers more shocking and terrifying truths about the island, he learns there are some places that never let you go. **Peter Travers, ROLLING STONE. |
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 235
 Shutter Island (Blu-ray) September 8, 2010
Tony Khamvongsouk (Frisco, TX)
Movie - 4.5
Out of all the Scorsese films I've seen in the past decade or so (let's say, from Gangs of New York and up), I have to say Shutter Island is certainly the most surprising. Like a lot of people do, I'm sure the mere mention of the director's name is, more often than not, associated with gangster movies or gritty character dramas. But here, he delves into something new - a psychological thriller. Shutter Island follows U.S. Marshall Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) to the aforementioned facility for the criminally insane, in which he's been asked to help find an escaped patient. During his investigation, he stumbles upon revelations and discoveries that lead to even more mysteries as he starts to question the true intentions of Dr. Cawley (Sir Ben Kingsley), the rest of the staff, and even his own partner (Mark Ruffalo). But with dreams and broken pieces of his past beginning to haunt him, paranoia, distrust, and denial are bound to distract his attention and twist his beliefs. Without spoiling the plot, Shutter Island is an excellent film set in the 1950s with an old-school detective feel to it that manages, not only to intrigue, but also present a good deal of empathy for the characters (something Scorsese excels at). In addition, it also manages to put something into perspective that I've never quite appreciated, and that's the acting ability of one Leonardo DiCaprio. I didn't particularly care for any of his roles in the '90s outside of The Quick and the Dead, but ever since seeing him in this, I've been playing catchup from Gangs of New York till now, and I have to say he's certainly developed into a fine actor with a lot of screen presence and charisma. Equally supportive of his work in the film, though, are some stellar supporting performances by Sir Kingsley, Ruffalo, and what little parts there are for Max von Sydow and Jackie Earle Haley. Shutter Island is a great psychological mystery/thriller that managed to keep me suspended from beginning to end and also has a good deal of replay value as well. You'll know what I mean when you see it.
Video - 5.0
By far the best quality of this video presentation is the colors. I was amazed at how vibrant the different shades of primaries were from scene to scene and in-between reality and Teddy's memories/dreams. From the cold and murky flashbacks of his days during the war and the snow-covered fields that covered the dozens of corpses in his path to the bright yellows and oranges of his wife's dress and their apartment, Robert Richardson's eye-popping photography makes for an equally tripped-out vision of the many layers residing in the film's visual progression. Black levels and contrast are perfect, giving the movie that dark and gritty Scorsese feel, but also complimenting the atmospherics. The fine lines in clothing, the blades of grass and lush tree leaves in the courtyard, and all the little cracks and crevices within the island's surrounding rocks and cliffs look astonishing. This is by far the prettiest gritty picture I've seen from Scorsese yet and is something I'm very pleased with. One of my favorite shots is the scene where Teddy and Chuck (Ruffalo) are standing on the cliff with the deputy warden looking down at the water. I'm not sure whether or not the clouds and background behind them were green screened, but something about that shot just feels dark, spooky, and ominous and very befitting for the kind of movie this is. The picture is pristine and free of any artifacts or debris and shows no signs of any kind of manipulation whatsoever. Here's hoping to the same kind of quality for Scorsese's future projects.
Audio - 5.0
Complimenting the reference video is an equally reference audio track. While it's certainly lacking overall LFEs, I have to say I absolutely love what it does for general atmospherics and ambiance, regardless. Robbie Robertson's music supervision and use of pre-recorded compositions from various sources does a splendid job from the very beginning with the foghorn piece to string, brass, and other classical pieces played throughout. Dialogue is especially crisp with its varying amounts of indoor-voice, whisper, and scream volumes and never becomes muddled or lost in the music. Directionality of sound effects disperse themselves from the fronts and rears adding that extra sense of calm and craziness when need be in the form of screaming patients, storm noises outside the facility, metal doors slamming shut, waves washing ashore, birds chirping during the daytime, wind howling at night, the crackling of a fireplace in Dr. Cawley's study, and the dripping of water droplets within the silent tension of Ward C. Separation of said effects, music, and dialogue never bog one another down and really help to showcase the wonders of, yet, another commendable lossless track. While this probably won't hold up to the sound designs of modern day blockbusters, it was perfect enough for me and works very well with the subject matter of the plot.
Extras - 3.0
Shutter Island only comes with a mere 38 minutes of behind-the-scenes interviews from the cast, crew, author of the novel, and a mental health consultant. In the first vignette they explain bits and pieces of how the film came to fruition from book to movie, what Scorsese wanted to do with it, and a little bit of the actual filming process like set design and music. The second feature focuses more on the medical perspective and history of mental health from back in those days and talks about the transition that was occurring at the time, how the practice evolved between then and now, and the accuracy of how it's depicted within the film itself. While an audio commentary or a more in-depth look at how the movie was made would've been nice, the extras still provide a good deal of information about the story's themes and really helped me, personally, understand the kind of perseverance and dedication it takes to be a mental health professional. But given how fascinated I've recently become with Scorsese and his approach to film-making, I really wish Paramount had gone all out with a whole second disc of extras and one or two commentaries, at least. As much as I hate to double-dip, I actually wouldn't mind doing it for this, pending on what they might add.
Overall - 4.5
I took the film to be something more along the lines of a conspiracy thriller when I first saw the trailer, which it is in some fashion. But the big twist at the end really threw me in a loop and caught me by surprise. Some people may find this too "different" from the norm of Scorsese, but I found it quite refreshing and very entertaining at the same time. Shutter Island is certainly a mystery, but also a finely-crafted thriller that will more than likely have you duped the first time around. Thankfully, it has a lot of replay value and should make more sense a second or third time through. With reference A/V quality, though a much-to-be-desired set of extras, Shutter Island comes highly recommended.
 Yawn September 6, 2010
Kawika (San Diego, CA United States)
Ugh. I didn't know this was Scorcese, when I saw his name at the end, my jaw dropped and an old King Missile song started playing in my head. This could have been so much better. Has some interesting moments, but overall, quite boring and predictable. I predicted in one scene what would happen, just by the music and camera angle. If you've never seen Alfred Hitchcock movies, then you might like this. It's definitely not scary, but decent suspense.
 Shutter Inland September 5, 2010
elizabeth parrish
Good movie, surpring ending I enjoy it! Keep you on the want to know what would happen next.
Shutter Island August 31, 2010
Linda Clinger (Freedom, WY, US)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Shutter Island is a mystery thriller with not only a twist ending but a twist to the twist.
Action Suspence August 31, 2010
Leon W. Morgan (Nixa, MO)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
A suspenceful movie you might not catch the clues to the truth until the end.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 235
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