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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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    41 - 60 (sorted by date)
    Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 >> >|
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    Bana so inhabits his part as Chopper that it becomes hard to belief that he is just acting.

    Full Review Source: Internet Reviews | comment Comment
    05/04/01
    Steve Rhodes
    Steve Rhodes
    Internet Reviews

    You walk away from Chopper feeling like you've met the man himself.

    Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
    04/27/01
    Tor Thorsen
    Tor Thorsen
    Reel.com

    If not quite pornography of violence, it comes sniffingly close.

    Full Review Source: San Diego Union-Tribune | comment Comment
    04/27/01
    David Elliott
    David Elliott
    San Diego Union-Tribune

    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

    Full of flawed, stylistic overdrive.

    Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
    04/18/01
    Jeremiah Kipp
    Jeremiah Kipp
    Filmcritic.com

    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

    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

    As the film quickly loses perspective of Chopper Read's alleged crimes and lifestyle, it begins to slowly glorify him as an icon of self-made celebrity.

    Full Review Source: Matinee Magazine | comment Comment
    04/15/01
    Chuck Rudolph
    Chuck Rudolph
    Matinee Magazine

    Dominik doesn't glamorize or glorify Chopper, but his film contributes to making Mark Brandon Read as mythical an Australian rogue as Ned Kelly.

    Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
    04/13/01
    Kevin Thomas
    Kevin Thomas
    Los Angeles Times
    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

    Too senseless and contrived to succeed as sociopathic comic opera, let alone as coherent character study.

    Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
    04/13/01
    Owen Gleiberman
    Owen Gleiberman
    Entertainment Weekly
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    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

    It's not really worth the price of a visit to the art house, but might be worth a rental.

    Full Review Source: Greenwich Village Gazette | comment Comment
    04/12/01
    Eric Lurio
    Eric Lurio
    Greenwich Village Gazette

    For every viewer who is revolted, at least as many will probably be intrigued, if not charmed. For Chopper is nothing if not fearless.

    Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
    04/12/01
    Stephen Holden
    Stephen Holden
    New York Times
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    A vivid portrait.

    Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
    04/12/01
    Lou Lumenick
    Lou Lumenick
    New York Post
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    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

    Thanks to the director's exceptional visual style, Chopper evokes a life of emotional baggage before a single word is spoken.

    Full Review Source: Citysearch | comment Comment
    04/12/01
    Sean O'Connell
    Sean O'Connell
    Citysearch

    A profoundly disturbing movie, and an important one.

    Full Review Source: Flick Filosopher | comment Comment
    04/11/01
    MaryAnn Johanson
    MaryAnn Johanson
    Flick Filosopher

    Though handsomely photographed and designed, the film doesn't really say much about Chopper or the cult of criminal celebrity. But it hardly matters, because Bana's performance is nothing short of electrifying.

    Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
    04/11/01
    Maitland McDonagh
    Maitland McDonagh
    TV Guide's Movie Guide
     
     
    41 - 60 (sorted by date)
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