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Movies / On DVD / Chopper
Chopper

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Chopper (2001)

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Reviews Counted:64

Fresh:45

Rotten:19

Average Rating:6.4/10

Consensus: Eric Bana's performance as the charming but twisted Chopper is the highlight of this disturbing portrait about Australia's notorious author/criminal.

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hr 33 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Apr 11, 2001 Limited

Synopsis: Australian comedian Eric Bana is Mark "Chopper" Read, a legendary criminal who wrote his best-selling autobiography, FROM THE INSIDE, while serving a murder sentence in prison. Beginning in the... Australian comedian Eric Bana is Mark "Chopper" Read, a legendary criminal who wrote his best-selling autobiography, FROM THE INSIDE, while serving a murder sentence in prison. Beginning in the blue-washed light of a maximum security Melbourne prison, Chopper establishes his dominance with the impulsive knifing of a fellow prisoner. Vaccillating between violence and regret, Chopper apologizes to his victim, but his good mate Jimmy (Simon Lyndon) later retaliates against Chopper in an excruciating contract stabbing, rife with sexual tension. Finally released from prison, the heavily-tattooed Chopper has lost the better part of both of his ears, as well as the ability to make any distinction between his own made-up stories and reality. At a nightclub with his prostitute girlfriend, Tanya (Kate Beahan), he runs into Neville (Vince Colosimo), an old victim who limps from the attack but glitters in drug-funded gold. In his paranoia, Chopper connects rumors of a new contract on his life to Neville, Tanya, and his old mate Jimmy, to whom he pays a visit and discovers a man rotting from drug abuse. Alternately wickedly funny and grotesque, CHOPPER gives no easy answer to the question of Chopper Read's motives, but his method is clear, "Ya bash people for no reason, just to get a name for yourself." [More]

Starring: Eric Bana, Simon Lyndon, Dan Wyllie, David Field

Starring: Eric Bana, Simon Lyndon, Dan Wyllie, David Field, Bill Young, Vince Colosmo, Kenny Graham, Kate Beahan

Director: Andrew Dominik

Director: Andrew Dominik
Screenwriter: Andrew Dominik
Producer: Michele Bennett
Studio: First Look

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Nov 13, 2001

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • Chopper (Eric Bana) is Mark "Chopper" Read, real-life convict and bestselling author of "How to Shoot Friends and Influence People." His story is frightening, savagely funny and twisted. The son of a devoutly religious mother and a one-time soldier with a fondness for sleeping alongside a loaded gun, Chopper dreams of making a name for himself as a legendary crime figure. His journey starts out as a wisecracking criminal failure, inside a maximum-security prison, but he manages to twist his life into a fascinating and wickedly funny take that the press and the public can't get enough of.
  • Source: Image Entertainment, Inc.
  •  
     
     
     

    Reviews for Chopper

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    1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating)
    Text View | 1 2 3 4 >> >|
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    Bana's gift -- and his triumph -- is that he makes us somehow care about this magnetic monster, without ever letting us feel as if we've figured him out.

    Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
    05/17/01
    Washington Post

    there is an unexpected melancholy that raises this film . . . into the ranks of a classic tragedy

    Full Review Source: Killer Movie Reviews | comment Comment
    07/01/03
    Andrea Chase
    Andrea Chase
    Killer Movie Reviews

    An absorbing chronicle of a highly unusual character

    Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
    03/29/01
    Andrew Howe
    Andrew Howe
    eFilmCritic.com

    Strong, effective but often stomach-churning portrait.

    comment Comment
    04/12/01
    Andy Klein
    Andy Klein
    New Times

    The excitement and tension comes from never knowing when Chopper is really going to lose it.

    Full Review Source: Associated Press | comment Comment
    04/12/01
    Anthony Breznican
    Anthony Breznican
    Associated Press

    Feels threatening from beginning to end.

    Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
    04/13/01
    Bob Strauss
    Bob Strauss
    Los Angeles Daily News

    fatally unforgettable tale of a man who makes you ashamed to be human.

    Full Review Source: Bay Area Reporter | comment Comment
    05/17/01
    Brandon Judell
    Brandon Judell
    Bay Area Reporter

    Chopper plays like a nonfuturistic A Clockwork Orange.

    Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
    06/15/01
    Bruce Westbrook
    Bruce Westbrook
    Houston Chronicle
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    [Bana] makes Michael Madsen in Reservoir Dogs look like a lightweight.

    Full Review Source: IFilm | comment Comment
    04/13/01
    Dave White
    Dave White
    IFilm

    Engaging even as it is appalling.

    Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
    05/25/01
    Duane Dudek
    Duane Dudek
    Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

    The charismatic and explosive performance of Eric Bana holds together the conventionally plotted film.

    Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
    03/07/01
    Ed Scheid
    Ed Scheid
    Boxoffice Magazine

    It's Eric Bana ... who justifies our interest with a dazzling performance of blunt humor, unpredictability and an edge of menace.

    Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
    04/27/01
    Edward Guthmann
    Edward Guthmann
    San Francisco Chronicle
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Worth seeing simply as a flamboyant cinematic exercise that explores the possibilities of the medium in ways you won't have experienced before.

    Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
    07/30/01
    Frank Swietek
    Frank Swietek
    One Guy's Opinion

    The fact that Chopper is so engrossing and effective stems from the powerful performance of Eric Bana.

    Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
    08/02/01
    Gary Dowell
    Gary Dowell
    Dallas Morning News
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Eric Bana ... plays him as an engaging villain with a deft talent for grotesque behaviour and caustic one-liners.

    Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
    04/16/01
    George Perry
    George Perry
    BBC

    A stunning portrait of a charming serial killer.

    Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
    03/29/01
    Harvey S. Karten
    Harvey S. Karten
    Compuserve

    With his metal teeth and deformed satyr-like ears, Chopper is a spectacular lowlife clown.

    Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
    04/10/01
    J. Hoberman
    J. Hoberman
    Village Voice
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Bana is electrifying in this plum role.

    Full Review Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | comment Comment
    06/15/01
    Jack Garner
    Jack Garner
    Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

    Dominik's direction is fresh and lively, and the camerawork is exceptional.

    Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
    04/16/01
    James Berardinelli
    James Berardinelli
    ReelViews
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Like a lot of video-game violence, much of Chopper is meant to be perversely funny. But it's a different kind of perversely funny.

    Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
    05/24/01
    Jay Boyar
    Jay Boyar
    Orlando Sentinel
     
     
    1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating)
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