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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 source)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

..less an essay on the nature of madness than a crazy person’s poem. It is wild and beautiful and deeply disturbing all at once.

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
05/09/05
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

It often seems as though Gilliam is the least prolific of fantastic directors working today (with the possible exception of Alejandro Jodorowsky), but once again, it was worth the wait.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
03/10/03
Marc Savlov
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle

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

An intoxicating blend of existential SF and unrequited romance.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Kim Williamson
Kim Williamson
Boxoffice Magazine

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

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

The film is intelligently written, and deserves more than its guaranteed cult-film status.

Full Review Source: Cinematter | comment Comment
01/01/00
Madeleine Williams
Madeleine Williams
Cinematter

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

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

Overwrought.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
01/01/00
Susan Stark
Susan Stark
Detroit News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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

Dark and somber like Blade Runner, this sci-fi is a spectacular mess, a convoluted film with too many ideas for its own good, blending (among other things) the virus thriller with the post-apocalyptic genre.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
08/12/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Disorientating, but good performances all round. Will have you thinking for days afterwards.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
04/23/03
Kim Newman
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine

The acting is good, and the visuals are sharp. But at two hours long, they should have just settled for six monkeys.

Full Review Source: Film Scouts | comment 1 Comment
04/17/02
Leslie Rigoulot
Leslie Rigoulot
Film Scouts

Willis gives a quietly intense performance, looking like he's trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle in his head.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Sean Means
Sean Means
Film.com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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

At one point Cole says that viewing the past is like watching a good movie, 'Every time you see it it's different, because you're different.' 12 Monkeys is a film that will do that, change as you change.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Keith Simanton
Keith Simanton
Film.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

Despite my beef with the interminable convolutions of 12 Monkeys, the film has one major thing going for it: put simply, it's very, very cool.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

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
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by source)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
all

Latest News for 12 Monkeys

July 20, 2009: Five Favourite Films with Duncan Jones
Duncan Jones has done the impossible -- tell a smart, engaging and entertaining sci-fi story on a modest budget. In Britain. As his debut feature film. No wonder everyone's... More...

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October 04, 2006: Christopher Nolan Discusses "The Prisoner," "Following," and "Dark Knight" Rumors
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