| Frequency (New Line Platinum Series) | 
 enlarge | Director: Gregory Hoblit
Actors: Dennis Quaid, James Caviezel, Shawn Doyle, Elizabeth Mitchell, Andre Braugher
Studio: New Line Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $12.98
Buy Used: $1.92
You Save: $11.06 (85%)
New (76) Used (83) Collectible (3) from $1.92
Avg. Customer Rating:  293 reviews
Sales Rank: 1643
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 118
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: TRNDN5058D
ISBN: 0780631560
UPC: 794043505829
EAN: 9780780631564
ASIN: B00004YA66
Theatrical Release Date: April 28, 2000
Release Date: October 31, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Frequency is really two different--though inextricably linked--movies. First, the emotional drama of a father and son reunited after 30 years of separation. Then there's a science fiction thriller, in which a couple of chance solar storms, occurring exactly 30 years apart, can provide the agency through which the father and son can communicate using the very same ham radio in parallel time frames of 1969 and 1999. The son is John Sullivan (Jim Caviezel), a cop, and his father is Frank (Dennis Quaid), a firefighter who died on the job when John was 6, which just happens to be tomorrow for Frank when he and his now-adult son begin talking across time. This is great for John, because now he can warn his dad about the upcoming fire and avert the catastrophe that left him fatherless for most of his life. Accomplishing this gives John new memories of his life with Dad, but unfortunately alters the course of a serial killer, with tragic effect on John's family history. Since John's a cop, and the case he's working on turns out to be the same unsolved case from 30 years before, he and his father work together over the ham radio to solve the case and hopefully avert the tragedy that befell their family. Time-travel stories have always been problematic, demanding either an extra degree of credulity on the part of the audience or an extra level of explanation on the part of storytellers, which is invariably cumbersome. Frequency handles the troublesome time paradoxes by having John explain how, having altered his past, he now experiences both timelines, as if he's had two pasts that converge in his present. And as changes continue to be wrought in John's past, we see him becoming more and more confused. No doubt the audience can sympathize, at least those of us who try to follow the ramifications of the rapidly accruing time fractures. Luckily, the bond between father and son is so strongly realized in the deeply felt performances of both Caviezel and Quaid that you don't even need to consider the science fiction elements in order to enjoy the film. But if you can suspend your disbelief long enough to allow for the possibility of time shifts, you'll have a far richer experience. --Jim Gay
Product Description
A once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon of nature allows a young police officer to reach back into time to save the life of his long dead father. But changing the past leads to a string of brutal serial homicides. Now the father and son must race against time to prevent the killer from claiming his next victim. Studio: New Line Home Video Release Date: 11/11/2008 Starring: Dennis Quaid Andre Braugher Run time: 119 minutes Rating: Pg13 Director: Gregory Hoblit
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 288 more reviews...
 Echoes Through Time November 27, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
In the thriller Frequency, directed by Gregory Hoblit (Primal Fear and Fallen), audiences were given an unexpectedly well-made science fiction/suspense film. The film is an expertly directed piece of entertainment that will have viewers so absorbed in its thrilling story that they may have trouble coming back to reality after the end credits have rolled.
The film, which was written by Toby Emmerich, explores what happens if a person could alter the past by communicating through time. And while dealing with such heady quantum conundrums, the story also allows for moments of genuine emotion.
Troubled New York detective John Sullivan's life is changed forever when he contacts his father, Frank Sullivan, with an old ham radio. What makes their reunion so extraordinary is the fact that Frank died in a fire thirty years earlier. When John realizes that the Aurora Borealis (or Northern Lights) is enabling him to communicate with his father in 1969, he warns him of his death, thus giving Frank the opportunity to save himself and change the future. But altering the timeline proves to be complicated and dangerous as the Sullivan family soon finds out. When John discovers that his effect on the past has changed the future sequence of events, resulting in his mother's death at the hands of a serial killer in 1969, he must uncover the truth about who killed her so that his father can stop her murder before it happens. Utilizing his detective skills, John guides his father on a search for the killer, but the more they disrupt the course of events in the past, the more they find themselves endangered in the future. It's not long before the entire Sullivan family is under threat and their only hope for a life together is dependent upon Frank's resourcefulness and John's guidance. Can they solve the murder of John's mother before she's killed or will they be forced to watch as their temporal interference costs them that which they hold dearest; their family?
The film stars Dennis Quaid as Frank Sullivan and Jim Caviezel as John Sullivan. The supporting cast includes Andre Braugher, Elizabeth Mitchell, Shawn Doyle, and Noah Emmerich (the screenwriter's brother). Both Quaid and Caviezel give strong performances, as does the entire cast. Adding to the power of the performances is the subtle aging makeup that it is skillfully applied to the actors to help viewers differentiate between the characters in 1969 and 1999.
One of the things that makes Frequency truly unique is that it manages to root itself in the foundations of multiple genres. Being part science fiction, part murder mystery, and part family drama, the film could have easily fallen apart if it weren't for the concentrated efforts of its director.
Another interesting aspect of the film is that it's essentially a time travel film in which no one actually travels through time. Only information is relayed back and forth through the ham radio, which limits the opportunities for action and the visual effects set pieces while heightening the suspense.
Now the film isn't perfect. There are some serious flaws in the story's logic when it comes to quantum physics and the disruption of the space-time continuum, but the story is absorbing enough that this shouldn't bother many viewers.
Also adding to the film's overall impact is the exciting score by master film composer Michael Kamen, who combines taut, suspenseful musical cues with haunting themes that echo the emotions of the characters.
All in all, Frequency is an exhilarating thriller that should not be forgotten.
The excellent DVD includes an audio commentary by director Gregory Hoblit, an audio commentary by writer Toby Emmerich and actor Noah Emmerich, a trivia track, The Science Behind Frequency documentary, deleted scenes, image galleries, and more.
Also recommended:
Back to the Future - The Complete Trilogy
Flight of the Navigator
The Abyss
Seven
12 Monkeys
Contact
Pi
The Matrix
 Gripping and touching November 20, 2008
[Slight Spoiler Alert]
This is a great movie. The sci-fi aspect of it is very minimal and only serves to underscore the message of the rest of the story. Just how far would you go to save someone you loved?
When I saw it in theaters, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It has good action. It's a great thought exercise. I just loved Quaid (as always). It just had the perfect combination of elements. When I got it for my brother for Christmas however I was surprised by the reaction my mother had after we watched it with the whole family. She was just sobbing at the end. I figured she would enjoy it, but I did not expect that kind of reaction.
In hindsight, though, it is completely understandable. The scene at the end where Quaid shows up to save his son is actually very affecting. The constant rift of time between a young man an his father creates a very unusual but effective separation. They can talk to each other, but that's it. At the end, however, the breaking of that barrier just at the time of greatest need for one of them creates a very emotional scene.
Watch it. Love it.
Excellent...makes you come back for more... October 8, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
After watching this movie several time for the past years on VHS , i
decided to get the DVD, why ??? because this movie is very very good.
The music, the mood, the acting,,,,the STORY....WOW.
All involved with this movie, actors, directors did a great job.
I just finished watching the DVD and the impact is as strong as the first
time. A keeper for sure.
! August 5, 2008
This was a great thriller. It features making amends with your past, suspense, humor, and values, and combines them well. The movie features a cop who, due to a natural phenomenon, finds himself able to communicate with his father-who died 30 years ago battling a fire in a warehouse. He manages to convince him that he is telling the truth, and, as a result, the father survives the fire. However, this complicates things when, as a result, a killer survives and manages to kill more people. They have to work together to solve the mystery and stop him in this first-rate thriller. I think this was a good movie. You will like it too. Watch for the "yahoo" line. The movie was well-cast and executed.
Frequency March 30, 2008
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
Dennis Quaid and Jim Caviezel are so good in this movie. They play father and son able to communicate via an old ham radio even though his father passed away some thirty years ago. The explanation for this is due to unusual auroral activity and the effect it has on electronics. They discover they have the ability to change history by sharing information when John tells Frank how he died in the line of duty, so many years ago. They work together to stop a serial killer that was never caught, and that now threatens their family in both the past and present. Very on the edge of your seat suspenseful, and entertaining!
|
|
|
