Alpha Dog (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) [HD DVD] Nick Cassavetes Digital Life DVD

Alpha Dog (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) [HD DVD]
starring: Bruce Willis, Matthew Barry, Emile Hirsch, Fernando Vargas (II), Vincent Kartheiser
directed by: Nick Cassavetes

List Price: $26.98

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Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: HD DVD
Brand: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAIN.
EAN: 0025193268129
Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen
Label: Universal Studios
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Universal Studios
Region Code: 1
Release Date: May 01, 2007
Running Time: 118 minutes
Sales Rank: 37506
Studio: Universal Studios
Theatrical Release Date: January 12, 2007

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Description:
They grew up together in the suburbs of LA, living their own version of the American dream, with every day a blur of partying and looking for the next thrill. Johnny (Emile Hirsch, Lords of Dogtown) is the leader in their sordid world of drugs, greed, power and privilege. But when he is double-crossed by another dealer, things quickly begin to spiral out of control, and an impulsive kidnapping leads to a shocking conclusion. Justin Timberlake (Edison), Sharon Stone (Bobby) and Bruce Willis (Lucky Number Slevin) co-star in this powerful and controversial film.

Amazon.com:
With harrowing intensity, Alpha Dog dramatizes one of the most tragically notorious murders in recent history. Ripped from the headlines, writer-director Nick Cassavetes' flawed but riveting crime drama (a polar opposite to his previous film, the romantic hit The Notebook) is based on the real-life case of Jesse James Hollywood, a drug dealer in California's San Gabriel Valley who, in 2000, became one of the youngest men to appear on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list. Names and details have been changed, but the criminal circumstances remain the same: With family links to organized crime, Johnny Truelove (Emile Hirsch) is on the warpath against Jake Mazursky (Ben Foster), a sleazebag addict who owes him money. Fate intervenes when Johnny and his stoner pals including Frankie (Justin Timberlake) encounter Jake's 15-year-old half-brother Zack (Anton Yelchin) and hold him as collateral until Jake pays his debts. What begins as a casual, seemingly harmless situation escalates into a crisis of capital crime, as Alpha Dog employs split-screen, docudrama, and mock-documentary interviews to chronicle a tragic tailspin of reckless events and lawless behavior.

Cassavetes himself became part of the real-life drama when prosecutors (hoping to locate then-fugitive Jesse James Hollywood, who was captured in 2005) gave him legally controversial access to their case files. Alpha Dog clearly benefits from this inside information, and while the film's grueling depiction of underage squalor (including rampant drug and alcohol abuse) is inevitably off-putting and at least partially exploitative, there's no denying that Cassavetes has worked wonders with a well-chosen ensemble cast including Timberlake, who contrasts his music-industry stardom with a convincing performance as a likable, not-too-bright party animal who quickly gets in over his head. The film is ultimately compromised by Cassavetes' ambitious attempt to cover too much dramatic territory, but like his father John before him, he demonstrates a remarkable skill with actors (including Sharon Stone, Bruce Willis, and Harry Dean Stanton in supporting roles), and Alpha Dog is full of powerful, dangerous moments that aren't easily forgotten. --Jeff Shannon

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Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- A Disturbing True Story
Shadow Watcher
Nobody Drowns in Mineral Lake

ALPHA DOG may be an excellent motion picture, a thinly disguised account of the real-life kidnapping and murder of an innocent teenager by a cowardly young drug dealer and his not-too-bright cohorts, but it is also a very disturbing film. Indeed, it elicits the same uncomfortable feelings that I had after viewing the equally fine RIVER'S EDGE (1986), and prompts two questions, "Where is the morality in today's young people?" and "Where are their parents?"

Ben Foster is a drug addict who, like most of the other characters in this film, comes from a fairly well-to-do family. When he can't pay his narcotics tab to drug dealer Emile Hirsch, he declares "war" against the young, conscienceless man. Hirsch retaliates by kidnapping his younger brother and putting his henchman, Justin Timberlake, in charge of the hostage.

During ... Read More

Rating:

- Highly Entertaining
I actually went into this movie expecting the worst, since I was told by a close friend of mine that this movie was absolutely horrible. I can say without a shadow of a doubt, that my friend was DEAD wrong. Alpha Dog was highly entertaining, from beginning to end.

Emile Hirsch was absolutely fantastic as Johnny Truelove, and he stole the show with his performance. But I must say, Justin Timberlake did an OUTSTANDING job as well. His performance was so believable, that you'd never know in a million years that he hasn't been acting all of his life.

This movie was based on a very compelling, real life story, which made watching the movie even more intense.

If you're thinking of watching this movie, but haven't seen it yet, because someone told you it stinks, think again. 4 stars all the way.

Rating:

- Outstanding cautionary tale, a message to the madness
"Alpha Dog" presents us with the image of a group of teens, and we should rightfully ask, is this the director's, is this the writers' depiction of post-modern American youth, the portrait of a generation, or is it merely the documentary presentation of one group of teens in California circa 1999? If it is the former, then they are making a bold and broad statement indeed. Because we have not seen a picture of youth so enormously depraved and rudderless since the young ruffians of "A Clockwork Orange". In the past we saw crime arise in the American landscape due to the effects of stultifying poverty, and film has done an admirable job of chronicling this cause and effect. In "Alpha Dog" the equation is altogether different. These kids have too much money. What they suffer from, what they have not the least faintest idea of--is the influence of a moral example in their lives. These parents, with the exception of young ... Read More

Rating:

- Disturbing but a great true story
The fact that the story is true makes the movie more disturbing. Actually a great film in HD. The visuals are great and the story and acting is very good. The lead character is a wimpy coward and Timberlake plays it well.
The Combo HD DVD is a great deal and a good addition to your HD collection.

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DVD : Alpha Dog (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) [HD DVD]
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