FUNNY GAMES (DVD/1.85/ENG-SUB)

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Product Description

It is impossible to have a neutral opinion about the Austrian thriller Funny Games--a movie so relentless in its ability to shock that it gained pariah status on the film festival circuit in 1997. In the warped tradition of A Clockwork Orange, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, and Blue Velvet, this is a film--directed with electrifying audacity by Munich-born Michael Haneke--that addresses the controversy of screen violence by making the viewer as guilty as the Leopold and Loeb-like killers who terrorize a young family of three during their summer vacation. They arrive as friendly neighbors, seducing the family with phony congeniality, but soon Funny Games reveals its devious strategy, turning savage and appalling... and completely captivating for those who can endure the terror. There's actually less violence than you'd see in a typical American horror flick such as Scream, but Haneke's forceful staging effectively fulfills his agenda of viewer complicity; we vividly experience this doomed family's fate and feel helpless to save them. So helpless, in fact, that Haneke dares to offer a hint of respite by giving a victim the upper hand, only to "replay" the same scene with the darkest of outcomes. Funny Games is guaranteed to outrage some viewers with its manipulative schemes, but there's no denying the film's visceral impact, generated by Haneke's expert handling of a superior cast. Don't even think of allowing anyone under age 17 to watch this film; all others should proceed with caution. --Jeff Shannon

• Actors: Susanne Lothar, Ulrich Mühe, Arno Frisch, Frank Giering, Stefan Clapczynski
• Director: Michael Haneke
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Audience Rating: Unrated
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language (Original Language): French
• Language (Subtitled): English
• Region Code: 1
• Release Date: 2006-05-16
• Running Time: 104 minutes
• Theatrical Release Date: 1998-03-11

Customer Reviews

Reviewed on 2008-07-16 Worthwhile, Not Despicable! I believe that part of the survival instinct is a fascination with these kinds of scenarios. What would you do if this happened to you? What is the best strategy overall when confronted with a similar attacker? Do you think the victims here used any poor judgement or missed opportunities for escape? Should they have been better prepared for such a possibility? The question of whether it inspires copycat violence is totally independent of why non-violent people might watch the movie and even benefit from seeing it. People who are inclined to be violent and terrorize others have no shortage of inspiration or ideas for doing so. Who cares if they adopt this particular template? Such individuals represent long-gone failures of society and will be hurtful to others in one way or another, with or without this story to provide them with clever how-to ideas. Everyone is free to choose their own path, but I for one think it is completely naive to live life ignoring the potential perils we may all face. Is it not a valuable exercise to mentally go through the victims' ordeal, feel the adrenaline, and imagine how you would handle the problem or avoid it to begin with? Should we not all think about how life can go horribly wrong? Is life well lived if one ignores the dark side of humanity? How can we value peace and love without the awareness of evil? For a mature viewer, this movie, along with other well-executed, hyper-realistic horror films, stimulates valuable thinking -- both philisphical and practical -- about real, live evil and how me might cope with it. Personally, I found this one to be a satisfying dose of psychological terror.

Reviewed on 2008-07-14 Creepy and ultimately empty Funny Games is the tale of two sociopaths who enjoy killing rich people. The dialogue is a stark statement on the chilling emptiness that can be found inside the human mind. I am jaded enough that the executions and gore didn't really touch my blood pressure (maybe a little). The victimology and wimpiness of the victims was what set me off. Western society is really training people to play roles like the one portrayed in Funny Games. By the time you realize you're f**ked it is too late to do anything about it. Funny Games is neither good nor bad. It portrays what happens when senseless evil visits and you haven't spent any time getting ready for your guest to arrive. Another reviewer stated strongly that this is not a film for children. I disagree. If I were a father, I would sit through this film with my teenager and then explain to him or her that yes, there really are people like these people in the world, and yes, if someone can fake it on film, then it can really happen to real people. Yes, there are psychos roaming the world. Yes, you can be mentally prepared better than the victims portrayed in Funny Games for that rare unlikely encounter that will probably never happen. But it could.

Reviewed on 2008-07-04 Wouldn't You Like To Spend An Evening Witnessing Misery? I think this is the first movie I've seen where I can say all the elements are in place-it's innovative, well-written, the acting is great-and yet I couldn't wait for the games to end. Spoiler Alert- Geog, Ana and their son Schorshi go to their remote vacation home. Two clean cut boys that look like they belong in a mundane country club show up at their door asking to borrow eggs for a neighbor...and the games begin. The dog is killed-beat to death with a golf club. A sweet kid gets shot-his blood splattered all over the television set. A woman is tortured all night and then thrown into a lake-hand and foot bound, tape over her mouth. A man is shot. And two of the most passive-agressive annoying little men on the planet go about their games of torturing and killing with flippancy and innovation. The psychos don't enjoy the torture they inflict, which makes it all the more annoying. This film is very well made and contains novel elements. One of the killers talks to the audience-breaking down the so called fourth wall-in an attempt to link the audience with the violence. And for no apparent reason, the killers can also use the remote control to "rewind" when things don't go their way. The acting is very good. In the end though, I just wasn't entertained by the novelty or the violence. This film was tedious. While I am aware that people are tortured in real-life and showing that torture was the director's point, watching people slowly die at the hands of two characters dressed for tennis was boring. Finally, passive-agressive people annoy the **** out of me. I hated these characters for all the wrong reasons. I didn't hate them because they killed a couple of families. No, I just wanted to slap them because they were a bunch of smug little wankers. And two hours with characters that annoy the hell out of me was two hours wasted. I would have been begging these two to kill me just to escape their annoying manners. This film is a sadists dream, but it wasn't for me. For more stories about people who love being miserable, watch Haneke's The Piano Teacher (Unrated Edition)...guaranteed to provide you with another evening of good times. Or if you're just looking for sadism without the psychology or horror, there is always the classic The Story of O. For a realistic drop into a killers mind, you'll find Brett Easton Ellis's American Psycho more satiating than this film.

Reviewed on 2008-06-19 Far from funny; these games will shock, frighten and disturb you... My initial interest in watching this `97 horror film was the impressive trailers for the Naomi Watts vehicle that came out the beginning of the year. The orchestral music in the background; the rich clean whites; Watt's signature breakdown and Michael Pitt looking more intriguing than I've ever seen him; all of which caused me to really ache to see the film. Before I could do that though I needed to see the original, which isn't all that old in fact. Directed by Michael Haneke (who happens to also direct the `08 remake) with bravado and precision, `Funny Games' is probably the most effective film of its kind I have seen in a very long time. Knowing full well that less is more, Haneke is able to bring the fear and dread home to the audience without ever really (I say `really' because it's not absolute) showing a brutal murder onscreen. Yes, most of the violence takes place within earshot of the audience but the aftereffects of the sadism is seen and felt full force. The film opens with a family of three making their way to their summer home for vacation. Georg, Anna and their young son Schorshi are ready for some fun on the lake, boating and swimming and spending time with friends. Shortly after getting there though, their idea of fun and games takes a drastic change. While Anna is preparing dinner Peter shows up at her door claiming to be visiting their friends next door and wondering if he could borrow some eggs. The request seems innocent but it soon becomes apparent that Peter's intentions are anything but. Then Peter's friend Paul shows up, and despite Anna's efforts to get them to leave they refuse. The Georg and Schorschi come in from outside and suddenly the family finds themselves captives in their own home, playing a sick and twisted game for their own lives with two complete strangers that look harmless yet prove themselves to be more dangerous than anyone could have imagined. There are plenty of horror films that follow a similar formula to that of `Funny Games', the difference though lies in the direction, which is above and beyond flawless here. Michael Haneke (who also scripted this film) is pure genius; creating a prose that is so deep-rooted in the audience they can't seem to shake it from their skin. It was funny because I was telling my wife, shortly after the film ended, that while I've seen gorier more violent films I have yet to truly see a more emotionally disturbing one. Where `Funny Games' succeeds is making the situation and the people involved real to the audience, a part of us. We feel their fear and pain and hopelessness. There is one scene in particular; right after the first shot is fired with devastating effects, where we get to see raw human emotion at its most impressive. As the single shot (ten minutes or so in length) simply captures the emotional responses of Anna and Georg as they sit in silence or moan in agony merely trying to take in all that is happening to them, the viewer is brought to their level of pain and misery and we personally have our inners gutted from us and are left with that hollow feeling of solitude. The actors involved do a miraculous job of breathing a sense of reality into this film. Susanne Lothar and Ulrich Muhe are utter perfection as the distressed couple and Arno Frisch and Frank Giering are quite effective as their tormentors. Young Stefan Clapczynski does a capable job as Schorschi and actually handles himself extremely well in some of the films most heart racing scenes (the scene where he attempts escape had me holding my breath in pure manifested fear). Without dedicated performances by the entire cast this film could have fallen short or come up a tad cheesy, but it never falters from raw human fear and delivers strongly throughout its entirety. I still have yet to see the remake (which is on video soon so I will be seeing it shortly) but I have great expectations for it. I adore Naomi Watts and Tim Roth and with Haneke resting firmly in the director's seat once again I have a very good feeling about the American version of this film. It's a beautiful thing (I use the word `beautiful' very loosely) when a scary movie actually sends a chill down your spine. `Funny Games' sends a shockwave. I was on edge throughout the entire film, my nerves shot, my skin crawling, my chest constricting, my breath fighting for escape. I am not one who is easily spooked, but this film haunted me for days. I highly recommend this film to anyone detested with the current state of `horror' these days and looking for an honest and rewarding thrill. This is not a film that will make you feel good. It will repulse and depress you and may even make you feel dirty (Haneke goes to great lengths to make the audience feel party to the sadistic madness taking place on the screen) but in the end `Funny Games' surpasses all taboo's and simply delivers the goods.

Reviewed on 2008-06-16 Terrible waste of time That was one of the worst films I have ever seen. Not the acting so much as the script. I love the actors, which is why I rented the film, but the story itself is just so terrible. The odd little quirks meant to make it more interesting just made it more unbelievable and ridiculous. Don't waste your time. It's not scary. There is zero suspense. It's just silly.

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