[.ca] The Edge (Widescreen)

From Amazon.com:
Writer David Mamet created two engrossing and memorable characters, played by Alec Baldwin as the urbane fashion photographer and Anthony Hopkins as a reserved and intellectual billionaire. They find themselves teamed up against a giant Kodiak bear, and their own inner demons, when lost together in the Alaskan wilderness. There is a lot going on in this picture, as the subject matter includes male rivalry, the isolationism of extreme wealth, and, most conspicuously, the survival of the fittest. Mamet's script, which sounds a little too arch in spots, is well served by New Zealand director Lee Tamahori, who knows how to capture beauty and brutality in one frame. Although the themes are enormous in scope, they are well balanced. One rarely overpowers the other, nor does the achingly beautiful scenery overshadow the acting. Even if you do not like the intellectualism of the dialogue, there are some great scenes with the bear. --Rochelle O'Gorman

The rabbit is smoking a pipe.:
A juggernaught of a film, THE EDGE delivers and then some. Extreemly well written, expertly lensed, wonderfully acted, mature, exciting, edge of your seat entertainment that moves like a hungry mankilling bear after a portly english thesbian. Fast. A great adventure tale that's grounded in reality, making it THE ultimate survival flick. THE EDGE also bennefits from a strong plot as well, a story thick with character development (another in the long string of superb HOPKINS performances) and edge of your seat cliffhangers. Oh, and a giant bear whose desire for dining on human flesh is insatiable. Great DVD viewing, there is a lack of extras on the disc but with a film this good all you need is the feature.

Mamet's Mutt:
This movie is so hokey and predictable, I can't believe it was written by the same mind who gave us "Glengarry Glen Ross." I have so many problems with this film, but I'll just list the main ones: (1) unoriginal plot (disaster strikes on a trip into the wilderness. Only the 999th movie to give us that lame storyline.) (2) After the "PLANE CRASH!!!", when the big bear is killed, all of a sudden there is no more bear threat. it's like there were only two bears in that whole wilderness. With all the bleeding going on between those three guys, bears would have been having a festival with those nimrods. (3) Then, it was so implausible to me that Alec Baldwin's character, Bob, would try to kill Anthony Hopkins' character, Charles, who had singlehandedly killed a bear and saved their lives --- because he, Bob, was SECRETLY in love with Charles' wife, the beautiful supermodel back at the warm cozy hunting lodge! Wouldn't he at least have waited until he was a little bit closer to being found? (4) Later, when Bob is injured and bleeding badly, he fades out for a second and Charles says "Don't die on me, Bob!" Hello! Is that not the most hackneyed line in show business? and (5) my personal favorite: just when Bob is playing his deathbed scene --- cue the helicopter to appear through the mountain fog! They're saved! All is well! But, (6) Ooops! Bob just died while the helicopter was buzzing the mountainside! Then, when it mercifully fades to black, we see "The producers would like to thank 'BART THE BEAR' for his contribution to this motion picture. Puhleeeeeeze! Just a horrible, unoriginal film. The only redeeming features were two performances: First and foremost Anthony Hopkins. He made chicken salad out of you know what. And believe it or not, supermodel Elle Macpherson, in the small role of Charles' wife, is not bad. It was a revelation to be a supermodel come through with an understated performance with some nice depth even when she's not speaking; it was very nice. As far as the other actors, they were all right, but nothing great. Alec Baldwin did his usual grimacing, shouting and gnashing of teeth; nothing new from him. I stayed up until 3:30 in the morning watching this thing, waiting for it to become a good film. I kept telling myself "This is Mamet. Come on!" A total disappointment. At least the cinematography was good. And the music was quite good. But the rest of it: A big ole stinker. But I am giving it 2 stars, just because it's Mamet, and I'm sure if I know Hollywood, they probably made him put in some of that junk.

ANTHONY HOPKINS IS INCREDIBLE IN THIS MOVIE !:
A man who possess many bilions dollars and a privats plane has not friend every people see his fortune an nothing other as this hunter qui speak to him, after a few minutes, he can discern than he is same at the other, but he possess a trump in his play, he has an instinct to be able to the survival at any problem witch can arrives without attain his force morale he will be bound to rescue his life, and the lifes of his real enemy after a crash witch bring about the death of the pilot of the plane, and also later a young man who will be devoured by a GRIZZLY who can smell the blod at many miles around a wound the three men, thus, when they will be only two, the reals sentiments will appear time after time INCREASINGLY ! But who will be SURVIVOR at this reculiar fight for the life AGAINST the death ?

A GRIPPING STORY OF SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST...:
This is a wonderful film that will keep the viewer totally absorbed. Written by the tremendously talented David Mamet (The House of Games, Oleanna), it is beautifully directed by the noted director Lee Tamahori (Once Were Warriors, Along Came a Spider). The film is a complex, fully fleshed story covering many themes, fully realized by a stellar cast. It also provides the viewer with breathtaking cinematography, as well as a compelling score written by Academy Award winner Jerry Goldsmith (The Omen). The film focuses an a mild mannered, self-effacing, slightly paranoid billionaire, Charles Morse (Anthony Hopkins). A brilliant and well-read man with a penchant for esoteric knowledge, Morse is married to Mickey (Elle MacPherson), a young and beautiful, successful model. On location with her in a remote area of Alaska, she is surrounded by her young, fun loving camera crew, while he is seemingly the odd man out. He is astute enough, however, to sense that there are romantic undercurrents between his wife and her photographer, Robert Green (Alec Baldwin). When Morse accompanies Robert on what was to be a short excursion into the Alaskan wilderness, looking for a local hunter to pose in the photo shoot, disaster looms ahead, and the test for the survival of the fittest begins. It is here that the superior mind and knowledge of Morse is put to the test, as they find themselves pitted against nature. Morse rises to the occasion, emerging as a natural leader, while his younger, fitter rival, Robert, is often at a loss as to how to cope in their peculiar situation. It is also through the emerging and changing conditions that they face, that their respective characters emerge. It is in the wilderness that they are both unmasked and emerge as their true selves. This is a film that will keep the viewer enthralled. Anthony Hopkins has never been better as the quietly heroic Morse, and Alec Baldwin is excellent as the craven and duplicitous photographer who has cuckolded him. Elle MacPherson is luminous as the beautiful, young, trophy wife. The rest of the supporting cast, including the giant Kodiac bear, are also terrific. This is a superlative survival story that has something for everyone. Bravo!

A Beauty That Can Devour!:
The Edge is a very much underrated film that sadly did not get the proper recognition it deserves, for it is an above average multi-layered movie that works very well on many levels, all equally well written and directed. New Zealander Lee Tamahori, with the excellent Once We Were Warriors to his name,and writer David Mamet manage to make a movie that offers much more than its genre might suggests, both on the drama and thriller levels. First there is the breathtaking Alaskan wilderness, spaces so vast they are equally inviting and menacing.A Napoleon general, lamenting the disaster that befell the French army once said: 'The vasteness of Russia devours us'. In the Edge you will too get the impression that the beauty of this untamed nature can also devour: break the bodies and souls of our heroes, Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin, both offering their most underrated acting best. Three men are lost in the middle of a wilderness after their plane crash.The hope for an early return/rescue is dashed by the misleading spaces and a huge and determined Kodiak bear.One man, played by Harry Perrineau gets to know first hand about this determination,leaving Hopkins and Baldwin, bewildered, and weary,to try and escape with their lives. This is when the film really starts. It becomes a journey of incredible hardship that will strip both men of their 'social' selves and replace it with the need to survive that will take them to the 'Edge' of endurance on one hand, and the depths of their own souls on the other. The animosities, tension and grudges that laid hidden between the two men emerge as a powerful and consistent force that mark their relationship from then on. David Mamet has managed to write the 'Edge' that any human being can face whether lost in an unforgiving wilderness or anywhere else for that matter.It is simply how human beings change,and how social niceties is slowly eroded when the need to survive becomes the single driving force. This is a fine piece of writing! Of course there is the thriller angle in the film..the bear, the master and primary predator of its environment,chasing two men that have been stripped from all the power and control they once possessed and taken for granted. The direction and cinematography of these scenes are of top quality. So if you want to watch gorgeous scenery, be scared of this huge and beautiful animal,or witness the changes incredible circumstances that trigger in men, then the Edge is the film for you eyes and mind, a journey that can easily be revisited in the safety of your own home.