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Movies / On DVD / 12 Monkeys
12 Monkeys

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12 Monkeys (1995)

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Reviews Counted:48

Fresh:41

Rotten:7

Average Rating:7.2/10

Consensus: The plot's a bit of a jumble, but excellent performances and mind-blowing plot twists make 12 Monkeys a kooky, effective experience.

Runtime: 2 hrs 10 mins

Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy

Synopsis: In this intriguing science fiction film from director Terry Gilliam, penal colony prisoner James Cole must travel back in time from the year 2035 to find the cause of a virus that killed five... In this intriguing science fiction film from director Terry Gilliam, penal colony prisoner James Cole must travel back in time from the year 2035 to find the cause of a virus that killed five billion people in 1997. Cole's trip into the past won't be easy. For starters, he winds up in the wrong year on his first attempt. Once, as he time-travels, Cole ends up a prisoner in an insane asylum in 1990. There, he meets psychiatrist Kathryn Railly and inmate Jeffrey Goines, who could hold the key to the epidemic's spread. Cole later winds up in the middle of a World War I battlefield. After meeting James for a second time, in another year, Dr. Railly gets further involved in his quest. Although she thinks at first that Cole must be crazy, Kathryn soon starts to believe him and attempts to help. But James has already started to question his own sanity and tries to figure out if his journeys through time are real or if he's just been imagining everything. [More]

Starring: Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt, Madeleine Stowe, Christopher Plummer

Starring: Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt, Madeleine Stowe, Christopher Plummer

Director: Terry Gilliam

Director: Terry Gilliam
Producer: Charles Roven
Composer: Paul Buckmaster

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Jul 28, 2009

[DVD Details]
 
 

Blu-ray Disc Features:

  • Region [unknown]
  • Widescreen

Audio:

  • DTS 5.1 Surround - Spanish
  • DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 - English
  • Subtitles - English, SDH, Spanish

Additional Release Material:

  • Audio Commentary: Director Terry Gilliam and Producer Charles Roven
  • Trailer

Featurette:

  • 1. The Hamster Factor & Other Tales of 12 Monkeys
  • 2. 12 Monkeys Archives

Interactive Features:

  • BD Live: Basic Download Center
 
 
 
 

Reviews for 12 Monkeys

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z)
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12 Monkeys seems to go down smoothly without compromising anything or dumbing itself down.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/26/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Gilliam gives the material a lunatic poetry of his own, but remains impervious to the requirements of narrative pacing.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out

Distinctly lacking in sentiment. Give me cataclysm, but at least act like you care.

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment 2 Comments
05/14/03
Jeanne Aufmuth
Jeanne Aufmuth
Palo Alto Weekly

This is action movie-making at its most suave.

Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
01/01/00
Joe Baltake
Joe Baltake
Sacramento Bee

A consistently engaging motion picture.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
01/01/00
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The sort of movie that disappears on you as soon as you leave the theatre, but it's a great ride while you're there.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
01/01/00
Liz Braun
Liz Braun
Jam! Movies

Weird meditation on time and apocalyptic possibilities.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
08/21/02
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

Gilliam's polarizing style is at its near-best...a dazzling feat of storytelling that bristles with provocative ideas. [Blu-ray]

Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
08/12/09
Peter Canavese
Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews

In its frantic mix of chaos, carnage and zoo animals, 12 Monkeys is Jumanji for adults.

Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment 3 Comments
01/01/00
Richard Corliss
Richard Corliss
TIME Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A messy mélange of action, adventure, sci-fi, romance, horror, and comedy.

Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com | comment Comment
12/05/04
Michael Dequina
Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com

As an entertainment, it appeals more to the mind than to the senses.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

I'm pleased beyond words to find a movie that cares deeply for its characters even as they fall under the wheels of destiny, instead of killing them just to be clever.

Full Review Source: Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus | comment Comment
01/01/00
Bryant Frazer
Bryant Frazer
Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus

Gilliam has taken on a conventional Hollywood sci-fi thriller with big stars and turned it into his own rough beast.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
07/23/07
Rob Gonsalves
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

In some ways, 12 Monkeys is the end-of-the-world thriller that Kathryn Bigelow's Strange Days wanted to be.

comment Comment
01/01/00
John Hartl
John Hartl
Film.com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Aside from his trademark visual style, Gilliam generally handles the chaos he depicts quite well, and he's come up with a marvelous cast.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
01/01/00
Chris Hicks
Chris Hicks
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Terry Gilliam's most mature film to date demands rigorous analysis from the viewer. Add to this the director's grotesquely comic hallmarks, and the resulting film is a complex and rewarding fantasy.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
11/04/02
Nick Hilditch
Nick Hilditch
BBC

A densely plotted, visually dynamic post-apocalyptic thriller.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Rita Kempley
Rita Kempley
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The whole scope of 12 Moneys is completely insane, often confusing, sometimes almost unintelligible; but somehow at the end it all comes together and everything makes sense if you look at it closely enough.

Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | comment Comment
02/27/01
James Kendrick
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk

This film hits a nerve a lot more effectively than either the director's Brazil or The Fisher King.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Tom Keogh
Tom Keogh
Film.com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The more I see this film, the more I'm impressed by it. I love movies that are rich and complex, filled with different layers of reading.

Full Review Source: Montreal Film Journal | comment Comment
09/10/02
Kevin N. Laforest
Kevin N. Laforest
Montreal Film Journal
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z)
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Latest News for 12 Monkeys

July 20, 2009: Five Favourite Films with Duncan Jones
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