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The Machinist [Region 2] | ![The Machinist [Region 2]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5167G428D3L._SL500_.jpg)
| Actors: Christian Bale, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Brad Anderson
Category: DVD
Buy New: $67.00
Rating:  219 reviews
Sales Rank: 165854
Format: Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), German (Subtitled)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 2
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Running Time: 101 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.6 x 0.7
MPN: 115781
EAN: 4020974157810
ASIN: B000A0X6HE
Theatrical Release Date: 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
As a bleak and chilling mood piece, The Machinist gets under your skin and stays there. Christian Bale threw himself into the title role with such devotion that he shed an alarming 63 pounds to play Trevor Reznik (talk about "starving artist"!), a factory worker who hasn't slept in a year. He's haunted by some mysterious occurrence that turned him into a paranoid husk, sleepwalking a fine line between harsh reality and nightmare fantasy--a state of mind that leaves him looking disturbingly gaunt and skeletal in appearance. (It's no exaggeration to say that Bale resembles a Holocaust survivor from vintage Nazi-camp liberation newsreels.) In a cinematic territory far removed from his 1998 romantic comedy Next Stop Wonderland, director Brad Anderson orchestrates a grimy, nocturnal world of washed-out blues and grays, as Trevor struggles to assemble the clues of his psychological conundrum. With a friendly hooker (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and airport waitress (Aitana Sanchez-Gijon) as his only stable links to sanity, Trevor reaches critical mass and seems ready to implode just as The Machinist reveals its secrets. For those who don't mind a trip to hell with a theremin-laced soundtrack, The Machinist seems primed for long-term status as a cult thriller on the edge. --Jeff Shannon
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| Customer Reviews: Read 214 more reviews...
 Very dark and hard to watch. June 21, 2009
Cheryl Killian (Arlington, TX, USA)
This movie went around in circles and was very dark and hard to watch. As a matter of fact I never finished it. If you like creepy uncomfortable dark movies you will love this.
 Love The Machinist June 17, 2009
Katie M. Guerin
This movie came as promised. And the customer service provided was even better! I had moved about the time this was ordered and Customer Service worked with me to get the movie delivered to my new home! Thanks!
Blu-ray: THE MACHINIST' is disturbing, dark and terrifying psychological thriller but definitely a film worth watching!!! May 19, 2009
Dennis A. Amith (kndy) (California)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
In 2004, writer Scott Kosar ("The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (2003) and "The Amityville Horror" (2005) wrote a script titled "The Machinist". Director Brad Anderson (writer of "Transsiberian" and directed "Session 9 and "Happy Accidents") enjoyed Kosar's dark storyline so much but unfortunately, no American film studio was interested in picking the film up.
Fortunately, the film was picked up by Fantastic Factory of Filmax and Castelao Productions in Spain and the film known as "El Maquinista" was released and won multiple "Best Film" awards. The film although seems to take place in America was all shot in Barcelona, Spain and Director Brad Anderson who suffered a back injury during filming, directed the film while lying on a gurney.
"THE MACHINIST" would eventually gain momentum in the US and received rave reviews due to its dark storyline but most of all, the performance by Christian Bale who literally starved himself for four months going from 182 pounds down to 120 pounds.
VIDEO & AUDIO:
"THE MACHINIST" gets its High Definition treatment via 1080p on Blu-ray. The film showcases the world of Trevor Reznick in a dark, muted pallete and showcasing a brooding, dark monochromatic life that he is living. This is quite important because we know that there is something odd with Reznick and it was important to showcase the film without its vibrant colors. In fact, you'll feel that you watching a film that is focused on more of the blacks, the grays and the darker side of the color spectrum.
As for picture quality, you do see a bit of spots and speckles on some parts of the film but you will also notice that the transfer to HD also brings out the grain. Overall, this is probably one of the few films where vibrancy of colors is not what I wanted to see. And the depressing shades of darkness is what is more pronounced.
As for audio, The film is featured in English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD (Also, French and Spanish 5.1) the majority of the film is all dialogue based. Front channel, clear and understandable. The musical score by Roque Banos definitely highlights the eeriness of certain scenes of the film. There are some scenes where you do notice sound effects especially during the scenes shot at the amusement park and then at a scene that displayed thunder.
Subtitles are presented in English, English SDH, Spanish and Portuguese.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
"THE MACHINIST" comes with the following extras:
* Commentary: Audio Commentary by Director Brad Anderson - A very informative commentary by Brad Anderson as he goes into what he wanted to accomplish with the film, shooting in Barcelona, talking about the various talens and really dissecting the certain scenes. In fact, he's a brutally honest director that is not afraid to pick apart his film not for the positive but also some of the negative. Overall, informative.
* Manifesting the Machinist - (23:00) This featurette is exclusive to the Blu-ray release and is in HD. We learn more about the narrative of the film, the performance by the cast including interviews with cast and crew and more!
* The Machinist: Hiding in Plain Sight - (13:58) This featurette is exclusive to the Blu-ray release is in HD and features the major twist of the film and how they wanted to put enough twists that would fool the audience.
* The Machinist: Breaking The Rules - (25:19) This featurette from the original DVD release features interviews with writer Scott Kosar, Director Brad Anderson and the cast. We learn about how the film came about, shooting in Spain and making people think it's America and a lot of informative information of the behind-the-scenes making of the film.
* Deleted Scenes - (12:05) The following are eight deleted scenes. These are actually solid scenes that could have changed the emotional impact of the film. The deleted scenes are in standard definition.
* 1) Trevor Visits Mysterious Grave
* 2) Alternate Intersection Crosscut with Burning Paper
* 3) Pensive Trevor (Alternate Transition to Airport)
* 4) Stevie's Mysterious "John"
* 5) Alternate Chase Ending Revealing Chimneys
* 6) Trevor Tries To Skip Town
* 7) Trevor Confronts Mother at Cemetery
* 8) Alternative Version of Holding Cell
* Theatrical Trailer - (2:32) The original theatrical trailer in standard definition.
JUDGMENT CALL:
"THE MACHINIST" is one of those films that you can look at it as quite a unique story. The film is a psychological thriller that has you on the edge of your seat at times, especially when you start to explore the psyche of Trevor Reznick and the dark and dreary world that he lives in. But what made this film believable was Christian Bale and what he put himself through to making his character seem real and odd.
Before the Batman films and "Terminator Salvation", we have always learned about how intense an actor, how dedicated Christian Bale was to character role. There are not many films that have featured an actor losing weight (the last major film which an actor had to gain and lose a lot of weight was "CAST AWAY" starring Tom Hanks) but for Bale to lose so much and look quite skeletal was shocking.
Having gone down to 120 pounds from 160+ pounds in four months is shocking and the pain and inconvenience he put himself to achieve the look for this role and still wanting to go down to 100 pounds is just amazing (and gaining it back with muscle for the following year with "Batman Begins"). And also a big applause to the make up crew who made Bale's character so eery with its dark shade around the eyes, knot on his forehead and blood scars throughout his face.
As for the Blu-ray release, although this is not a film that you want to show off for its picture and audio quality, the solid commentary and even for its few Blu-ray special features definitely make this Blu-ray release worth owning. If you owned the previous DVD release and enjoy the film, I can definitely recommend going for the double dip.
Overall, this is quite an intense psychological thriller that fans of films by Alfred Hitchcock can probably give a nod to. It's cleverly written and the challenges that the cast and crew had to go through (especially trying to make Barcelona, Spain look like a town in the US) to make this film possible was well-done. It may be a bit dark and eery for some but it was a film that definitely caught me by surprise at the end.
"THE MACHINIST" is definitely recommended.
Cold, Dark Nightmare April 9, 2009
Jetta Goudal's Fan (Los Angeles, CA USA)
Thoroughly enjoyed this disturbing film. Listening to the Director's Commentary gave some wonderful insights to shoestring budget movie making as well.
Awesome performance March 21, 2009
SisterSoldier (MD)
Christian Bale was awesome in this movie. He looked like a skeleton but he made the movie very realistic. I didn't know this movie existed until I saw his biography. I recommend this movie to anyone whom is a fan.
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