Children of Men (Widescreen Edition) |  | Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Actors: Michael Caine, Pam Ferris, Julianne Moore, Peter Mullan, Clive Owen
Studio: Universal Studios
Category: DVD
List Price: $12.98
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Rating:  457 reviews
Sales Rank: 4238
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Languages: English (Original Language), German (Original Language), Italian (Original Language), Romanian (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 109 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: MCAD61032513D
UPC: 025193251329
EAN: 0025193251329
ASIN: B000N6TX1I
Theatrical Release Date: January 5, 2007
Release Date: March 27, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Set in 2027, scientists are at a loss to explain why humans can no longer procreate, but the discovery of a lone pregnant woman leads to a desperate journey to protect her and save the future of mankind.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 4-SEP-2007
Media Type: DVD
Amazon.com
Presenting a bleak, harrowing, and yet ultimately hopeful vision of humankind's not-too-distant future, Children of Men is a riveting cautionary tale of potential things to come. Set in the crisis-ravaged future of 2027, and based on the atypical 1993 novel by British mystery writer P.D. James, the anxiety-inducing, action-packed story is set in a dystopian England where humanity has become infertile (the last baby was born in 2009), immigration is a crime, refugees (or "fugees") are caged like animals, and the world has been torn apart by nuclear fallout, rampant terrorism, and political rebellion. In this seemingly hopeless landscape of hardscrabble survival, a jaded bureaucrat named Theo (Clive Owen) is drawn into a desperate struggle to deliver Kee (Clare-Hope Ashitey), the world's only pregnant woman, to a secret group called the Human Project that hopes to discover a cure for global infertility. As they carefully navigate between the battling forces of military police and a pro-immigration insurgency, Theo, Kee, and their secretive allies endure a death-defying ordeal of urban warfare, and director Alfonso Cuaron (with cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki) capture the action with you-are-there intensity. There's just enough humor to balance the film's darker content (much of it coming from Michael Caine, as Theo's aging hippie cohort), and although Children of Men glosses over many of the specifics about its sociopolitical worst-case scenario (which includes Julianne Moore in a brief but pivotal role), it's still an immensely satisfying, pulse-pounding vision of a future that represents a frightening extrapolation of early 21st-century history. --Jeff Shannon
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 457
 Not usually into dystopias, but this one worked for me March 8, 2010
hydrophilic (San Francisco, CA USA)
In many ways, "Children of Men" is a very typical futuristic thriller. It of course extrapolates the current worries of our time into a dystopian nightmare of tomorrow. World ravaged by terrorism, anti-terrorism, and global warming? Check. Shadowy, sem-fascist government? Check. Soulless capitalism relentlessly shilled in ubiquitous advertising? Check. Population stripped of dignity and basic compassion? Check. There is more than one reference to the war in Iraq, which will undoubtedly date this film in just a few years.
However, "Children of Men" manages to rise above this genre's cliches in several important ways. First, the most pressing problem is not one specifically related to the troubles of today: the world is dying because for some unknown reason, women can no longer have children. The film opens with the news that the youngest person on earth (18 years old) has died in a brawl.
Second, the film is only set about twenty years into the future, so while the there have been some technical advancements, the landscape looks largely the same. It's just different enough to be disquieting. The double decker buses of London are still there. It's just that now, those buses pass billboards that read, "Avoiding Fertility Tests is a Crime."
Most importantly, while this film does not break any ground in its genre, what it does, it does well. Other reviewers have complained that the film does not not make a tremendous amount of sense, and this is true. However, the film's main thrust is not a commentary on today's social moores. It is first and foremost a thriller, and we get just enough sense of what's going on to make us care, without getting bogged down in massive expositions on the hows and whys. We are told that the world is in a bad place, and we are drawn in with compelling cinematography, a fast-moving plot, and good acting.
I also found some of the final scenes involving Kee, the pregnant woman, quite moving, even more so because the film ends on a decidedly ambivalent note. Early on in the film, the hero says that even if scientists discovered the cure for infertility, it wouldn't help: the world's already gone to pot. And in fact, the movie does not even get that far. It's about saving ONE woman who is pregnant. Whether this will save the world is an open question. The film also does a good job of fleshing Kee out as a person, with an actual personality. I originally passed on this movie because I assumed that she would be treated as a precious, but essentially non-sentient vessel that holds The Antidote to the World's Troubles. While some characters in the film do see her as such, the viewers are allowed to experience her as a unique individual.
Final analysis: a very strong example of its genre. Not as imaginative as BladeRunner, not as satiric as Brazil, but 100x better than, say, Running Man. Definitely worth watching.
 Cuaron's elegance in its finest and more apocalyptic side. February 27, 2010
Roberto A. Ruiz Flores (Mexico City)
Cuaron is the best of the three caballeros (Iñárritu, del Toro and Cuarón). His film making style is elegant, clear, brave, authentic and one step ahead always. This is his best movie. Based on P. D. James novel Children of Men Cuaron keeps nothing to himself. Crude, brave and to the point. Clive Owen; Julian Moore and Michael Caine surrender us with great performances. The story is like a whip on the back and the final action secuence, filming it as if it was some news reporter in a war, soberb.
Children of Men (Widescreen Edition) February 26, 2010
Arnita D. Brown (USA)
Set in 2027, when no child has been born for 18 years and science is at loss to explain the reason, African and East European societies collapse and their dwindling populations migrate to England and other wealthy nations. In a climate of nationalistic violence, a London peace activist turned bureaucrat Theo Faron, joins forces with his revolutionary ex-wife Julian in order to save mankind by protecting a woman who has mysteriously became pregnant. This movie grabbed my attention right from the start, and never let go. Initially, it's the differences of this future world that intrigue. "Children of Men" is a cinematic milestone. Great special effects and an effective soundtrack accompany this heartfelt, moving and thought-provoking movie.
Children of Men (2006) February 17, 2010
N. Anno (Indiana)
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
In director Alfonso Cuaron's finest work to date, he attacks itchy subjects such as terrorism, overpopulation, pollution, and illegal immigration in a way that culminates in one of the very best cinematic examinations of the milliniem. Set in an irrevicable future in which women can no longer have children, Children of Men, adapted from P.D. James' book, reminds us -- with heightened intensity -- where our problems today could put us twenty years down the road. Top-notch performances and a crisply cut script, delivered via the depressingly beautiful backdrop of a dying country, amount to a devastating experience, impacting anyone with a pulse and tapping into the great watchful minds of the industry's scrutinizers with a powerful message: What's to come of mankind in twenty, fifty or a hundred years? I haven't the slightest clue. However, as long as we're given tidy diversions such as this, I'll be satisfied.
Solid and Moving Dramatic Thriller February 1, 2010
Media Lover
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I went into this film expecting "The International" meets "Minority Report." Instead, the film plays out more like "28 Days Later" meets "Saving Private Ryan." Either way, it's a solid piece of filmmaking that stands out due to it's emotional stance and amazing performances. I was genuinely impressed at the calculated tension the film delivered (the scene with the stalling car nearly stopped my heart!) I rate this movie as a solid 4, and it could have been a 5 if the ending were a little better. (As it stands, it's a sort of sad/abstract ending. Hope is coming, but there's no REAL climax.)
Highly recommended work of art!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 457
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