Chapter 27 | 
| Director: J.p. Schaefer
Actors: Jared Leto, Lindsay Lohan, Judah Friedlander, Ursula Abbott, George Bryant Ii
Studio: Peace Arch
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.95
Buy New: $4.48
You Save: $15.47 (78%)
New (44) Used (30) Collectible (1) from $2.50
Rating:  17 reviews
Sales Rank: 25368
Format: Color, Dvd, Widescreen, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 84 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: GEPD81510D
UPC: 796019815109
EAN: 0796019815109
ASIN: B001AR60GK
Theatrical Release Date: 2006
Release Date: September 30, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Studio: Genius Products Inc Release Date: 09/30/2008 Run time: 84 minutes Rating: R
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| Customer Reviews: Read 12 more reviews...
 unwatchable June 8, 2009
Juan Bwon Jovi (Prague, CZ)
I have to wonder why one would make a movie about the man who shot John Lennon. Seriously. Who cares about this piece of crap? But, I gave it a shot hoping to see a good performance from Leto. What a horrible movie. Completely unwatchable. The thing I kept asking myself, before hitting fastforward was, 'Why SHOULD I care?' The director/writer never convinced me that I should unless the allusions to catcher in the rye was all he had up his sleeve???
Redeeming Quality is Leto's Performance March 23, 2009
Joshua Miller (Coeur d'Alene,ID)
We all know that in December of 1980, ex-Beatle John Lennon was assassinated by Mark David Chapman. What we don't know, really, is why. Neither do the filmmakers of Chapter 27. Why this film was made is a mystery to me. It doesn't explore the psyche of Chapman nor does it explain his logic. It doesn't try to justify, glorify, or make sense of his actions...It merely shows us the 3-day period leading up to the death of Lennon, through the eyes of Chapman.
If not for the startling, chilling performance by Jared Leto it wouldn't even be worth seeing. It's a movie that not only fails to provide closure and answers, but barely succeeds in providing entertainment. It's carried by a performance in which an actor, whom has recently been more successful in the music industry, dives into the performance so thoroughly, it's hard to believe Leto is not Chapman.
We meet Chapman as he rides in a taxi on his way to stand in front of Lennon's residence; supposedly with the intent of getting an autograph. The middle is filled with awkward meetings, fictionalized events, and a storyline that seems like the script began as an adaptation of "The Catcher in the Rye." With no film version existing of the literary classic, "Chapter 27" is actually the closest we have to such a thing...It just happens to be a biopic of the murderer of John Lennon as well.
I don't think anyone knows why they made this film. It doesn't even sensationalize the crime. The reason for making the film seems as mysterious as Chapman's actions. I will say this again though...Leto is fantastic and his performance will enthrall you. This is an award-worthy performance that was blasphemously overlooked, probably due to the weak-nature of the film. If the subject of the John Lennon murder is what you want to see, you'll have a better time on the Wikipedia page.
"Chapter 27" isn't a bad film, just a confused and simple one. Taken solely for what it is, it's pretty well made actually. I don't praise it, but I do recommend it and it does show potential for Leto to one day become a celebrated actor.
C+
ACCESORY AFTER THE CRIME February 16, 2009
Francisco J. Calderon (Mexico City, Mexico)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
The nobody who murdered John Lennon did so in order to be somebody. To exact some recognition out of the victim's celebrity. To be remembered as "the man who shot John Lennon" rather than not remembered at all. Maybe to have a movie made after him someday -who knows; even to cash some royalties from it, perhaps...
If you buy this movie -if you pay for the guy's motive- you're not only rewarding his crime, you are encouraging the next. Think about it.
 DVD-Chapter 27 January 28, 2009
E. Price (Florida USA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Ordered "Chapter 27" as a gift. They had been looking for the DVD but were unable to find it. They were very pleased.
phenomenal film, uneasy 2 watch but a true vision of psychosis January 23, 2009
Becky B. Lewis (n.c.)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
this movie had me from the opening lines, delivered in jared leto (as mark david chapman)'s hushed, disconnected, lilting whisper "i knew what i had to do. i knew i had to kill john lennon." fanacticaclly taken with the salinger novel "catcher in the rye" and relating easily to holden caulfield, the book's own severely emotionally disturbed main character, chapman easily relates to the protagonist of the famous counter-culture novel's pathological hatred of "phonies." chapman's obsession with eliminating lennon as the embodiment of all things false and pretentious is thus cautiously explained. we are not meant to FORGIVE it, we are meant to UNDERSTAND it. "it" being the outgrowth of an increasingly paranoid and depressed man's unraveling mental condition.
jared leto's transformation from hollywood pin-up boy to hulking, suspicious, ungainly , overweight and morbidly withdrawn and socially estranged chapman is nothing short of revolutionary. i have never seen an actor make more of a stunning commitment to such an unsympathetic character and display such a complete lack of vanity. it truly is his "raging bull" and he is perfect in the role.
lindsay lohan and judah freidlander are compelling in their brief ammount of time onscreen as, respectively, fellow lennon-stalkers, though of the more benign variety, one a lovestruck super fan, the other a street-savvy, no-nonsense ambitious photographer. lohan displays a delicate edginess amidst her character's sweetly winsome nature, and as she gets to know chapman the nervousness and discomfort she begins to feel as he displays his increasingly more and more abnormal behavior becomes slowly palpable. she is a lovely and talented actress, no matter what her tabloid reputation may be. friendlander has an even briefer part but is effective as a vaguely suspicious photographer who actually takes a picture of chapman with lennon the first time they met, in which he heart-achingly reveals, through the interior monologue that is heard throughout the film, that he, at that instance, is startled to discover lennon is in fact, much to his astonishment, not a despicable "phony" at all, but is indeed quite humble, kind, and polite. we hear him struggle to figure out what to do...
but we are shown that he has felt like a failure all his life, and that this is the one thing he MUST "succeed" at, that he believes this will be his mark on humanity, this cruel act is somehow his destiny, given to him by his disturbed mind and obsessive mistaken interpretations of the novels and books which seem to be his sole comfort. perhaps it is also implied chapman follows through with his horrid, despicable crime only b/c that is merely "the plan" and as an army man he has spent a significant portion of his adult life following orders and seeing to plans -- you don't quit no matter WHAT, whatever you start, no matter even if you have a change of heart, you finish it, or fail once more. it's almost as if lennon's murder will, in a sick way, provide him with the redemption the formerly devout believer found christ could not. as chapman makes these bizarre interpretations of the bible and how it and "catcher" speak to him; how he analyzes random coincidences occurring outside the famous dakota building he shot him in front of, in those fateful weeks, to have deeper, more significant meaning (magical thinking) is also apparent. this inner dialogue is so warped and paranoid, so sadly macabre twisted and macabre one cannot help but infer that it is the rambling self-persecution of a tormented individual, suffering most likely from an intensive schizophrenic and delusional state. again, leno's performance cannot be understated in it's effectiveness at doing this, it is a remarkable achievement. his is almost the ONLY voice we hear throughout the movie. it is not that he creates sympathy for the character, it is more that he, most remarkably, allows us to see how this man's senseless act MADE SENSE TO HIM. how the immorality of it all paled in comparison to what chapman thought was the bigger outrage and hypocrisy of celebrity worship replacing "true" deity worship, and the likely bitter anger, resentment, and jealousy he, as a depressed unhappy, socially ostracized failure felt towards a man whom he did not have a relationship with beyond that of being, at one time, a self-described huge fan .
this is a difficult film to watch, it is about a subject which struck horror in the hearts of many of us who loved the Beatles and john lennon's music and will never forget that awful day. but it is an important movie to see, and the viewer will walk away with a deeper understanding on mental illness, those whom it affects and it's impact on society as a whole, even years after it's most vicious feared outcome and scenario takes place. you can't defend the indefensible, but you can understand and have knowledge of how the indefensible occurs, and why the undefendable allow it to.
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