Proof Of Life

Starring: Meg Ryan, Russell Crowe Director: Taylor Hackford Original UK Premiere: 2001 Dvd Release: 27th August, 2001 Number Of Discs: 1 Format: PAL, Widescreen, Region 2 Encoding Subtitled In: Arabic, Bulgarian, English, Romanian

Article Index: [Background Info] [DVD Extras] [DVD Review] [Biographies] [Articles/Resources] [Link To This Article] Looking To Buy? Buy This DVD Here

Proof of Life is a 2000 film starring Meg Ryan & Russell Crowe. It is perhaps best remembered as the film during which the two lead actors had a romantic affair. At the time of filming, Ryan was married to Dennis Quaid, but the two divorced in 2001. The films director, Taylor Hackford, blamed the films failure at the box office on the publicity over Ryan & Crowes affair. Alice Bowman contacts Terry Thorne after her husband Peter is kidnapped by South American Rebels. Thorne is an ex-military K&R expert whose inappropriate attraction to Alice drives him to rescue her husband in a twisted tale of romance amid the trauma of a kidnap situation. Proof of Life at The Internet Movie Database.

DVD Extras: From an animated menu there's the obligatory trailer & page of cast & crew names. The surprise in the latter is that it's static--No further information! A 14-minute HBO documentary hosted by David Caruso makes up for that. Mini-interviews with all the cast are intercut with behind-the-scenes footage. You see Morse losing weight as they shot, learn that there are 30,000 kidnappings a year & that the crew suffered a drifting wind of tear gas one day. The best feature is Taylor Hackford's commentary, which is breathlessly crammed with information. He talks about the detailed research undertaken on the script, which highlighted Columbia as the world's kidnap centre & London as the K&R reciprocal centre. The most fascinating fact is the reason for a deleted sex scene between Ryan & Crowe. While editing it, Hackford was about the last to discover they'd become an item off-screen. Ryan's lasting objections mean it's not included on this disc. A terrific 2:35:1 ratio dazzles the eye with the Ecuador landscapes, & the 5.1 surround does wonders for Danny Elfman's edgy score.--

Inspired by a Vanity Fair article, Proof of Life is that rarest of Hollywood commodities: the exploration of an original idea. Kidnapping may have graced our screens in the likes of Ransom, but the revelatory material here exposes a billion dollar industry. Engineer Peter Bowman is the kidnapee. Anti-government guerrillas in the fictional locale of Tecala in South America are his captors. More central to the plot is negotiator Terry Thorne . His wavering professional ethics allow him to overlook the fact that Bowmans company has reneged on the insurance payment, but dont prevent him from developing feelings for Bowmans wife Alice . Cutting between the threads, the film benefits from Crowe & Ryans obvious chemistry as well as an atmosphere of tense reality provided by the lush locations. Perfectionist director Taylor Hackford insisted on filming in Ecuador despite the studios better judgement. The crew suffered a consistently hostile environment, but the jungle helps in maintaining a believable threat against Bowmans life. Whats ultimately discovered by each of the principals is that they all had more to prove to themselves than theyd ever realised.

Meg Ryan is a blue-eyed, blonde-haired American actress. She was born Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra in Fairfield, Connecticut. She specializes in romantic comedies, but has dabbled in other film genres as well. Ryan studied journalism at New York University. She went into acting to earn extra money while in school. After a part in a feature film, Ryan, now using her new name Meg Ryan, landed the role of Betsy on the daytime drama As the World Turns from 1982 to 1984. Directors for this show especially liked working with her because she could cry on cue. After several TV film & smaller movie roles, her first full-blown hit in a leading role was the romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally. The movie was favorably received & crystallized Ryans on-screen persona as a bubbly, charming, feisty but incurable romantic, a role she has largely reprised in her biggest roles since. In 2003, she broke away from her usual roles & starred in In the Cut, an erotic crime/thriller/mystery. Many of her films of the 1990s have been hits not only in North America, but also abroad. Posters Of Meg Ryan

Editors Choice: In The Cut, Against The Ropes, Kate And Leopold, Anastasia, Proof Of Life, Hanging Up, Youve Got Mail, City Of Angels, View DVDology

Russell Ira Crowe is a film actor born in Wellington, New Zealand. When he was four years old, he moved to Australia. He attended the Sydney Boys High School & then moved back to New Zealand to attend the Auckland Grammar School. He then moved on to another school where he dropped out. After initial success in Australia, he became a Hollywood actor in the mid-1990s; he won the Academy Award as Best Actor in 2001 for Gladiator & was also nominated for the award for The Insider & A Beautiful Mind. On April 7, 2003, Crowe married singer & actress Danielle Spencer. On December 21, 2003, son Charles Spencer Crowe was born. Crowe has gained notoriety for his off-screen antics, particularly allegations of rowdiness & belligerence, as parodied in an episode of South Park. Master & Commander. The Far Side of the World. Posters Of A Beautiful Mind

Editors Choice: A Beautiful Mind, Gladiator, The Far Side Of The World, Cinderella Man, Master And Commander, The Insider, Proof Of Life, Mystery Alaska, View DVDology

©2004-2008 DVDArk.co.uk