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Movies / On DVD / The Machinist
The Machinist

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The Machinist (2004)

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Reviews Counted:32

Fresh:24

Rotten:8

Average Rating:6.6/10

Consensus: A suspenseful low-budget thriller where Christian Bale completely inhabits his role.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for violence and disturbing images, sexuality and language

Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Oct 22, 2004 Limited

Box Office: $939,471

Synopsis: Christian Bale delivers one of cinema's most sacrificial performances in Brad Anderson's mesmerizing thriller. Written by Scott Kosar (2003's THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE), THE MACHINIST takes place... Christian Bale delivers one of cinema's most sacrificial performances in Brad Anderson's mesmerizing thriller. Written by Scott Kosar (2003's THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE), THE MACHINIST takes place in a bleak and nondescript American city, where Trevor Reznick (Bale) is quite literally withering away to nothing. During the day Trevor works in a colorless industrial factory, while at night he seeks refuge in the bed of a tender prostitute, Stevie (Jennifer Jason Leigh). For reasons unknown even to Trevor, he hasn't been able to sleep for an entire year. In the process, he has shed over sixty pounds, making him look like a walking skeleton. After an accident at the factory costs Trevor his job, he finds himself tracking a mysterious figure that may or may not, in fact, provide some answers to his confusion. Meanwhile, he begins to connect with a pretty airport waitress, Marie (Aitana Sanchez-Gijon), who shows Trevor some much-needed sympathy. By the time the film builds to its revelatory conclusion, it becomes quite clear just what has been tormenting Trevor all along. Anderson and Kosar's vision is brought to spectacular life by cinematographer Xavi Gimenez and composer Roque Banos, whose haunting atmospherics recall the best work of Alfred Hitchcock. And then, of course, there is Bale, whose performance is as terrifying, brave, and devastating as the screen has ever seen. [More]

Starring: Christian Bale, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Aitana Sanchez-Gijon, Michael Ironside

Starring: Christian Bale, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Aitana Sanchez-Gijon, Michael Ironside, John Sharian

Director: Brad Anderson

Director: Brad Anderson
Screenwriter: Scott Kosar
Producer: Julio Fernandez
Composer: Roque Banos
Studio: Paramount Classics

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Release:

May 19, 2009

[DVD Details]
 
 

Blu-ray Disc Features:

  • Region [unknown]
  • NTSC
  • Widescreen

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby True HD 5.1 - English, French, Portuguese, Spanish
  • Subtitles - English - SDH
  • Subtitles - English, French, Portuguese, Spanish

Additional Release Material:

Audio Commentary:

  • 1. Director Brad Anderson

Trailers:

  • 1. Theatrical Trailer

Additional Scenes:

  • 1. Trevor Visits Mysterious Grave
  • 2. Alternate Intersection Crosscut with Burning Paper
  • 3. Pensive Trevor (Alternate Transition to Airport)
  • 4. Stevie's Mysterious "John"
  • 5. Alternate Chase Ending Revealing Chimneys
  • 6. Trevor Tries To Skip Town
  • 7. Trevor Confronts Mother at Cemetery
  • 8. Alternative Version of Holding Cell
 
 
 
 

Reviews for The Machinist

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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It begins dark and depressing, but ends up merely dull.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
12/03/04
Tom Long
Tom Long
Detroit News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It is well worth enduring for the performance of Bale.

Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | comment Comment
12/03/04
Terry Lawson
Terry Lawson
Detroit Free Press
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Though Bale deserves all the credit that can be heaped at his feet ... there is far more to this sinister psychological thriller than just exhibiting Bale's emaciated form.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
12/02/04
Bill Muller
Bill Muller
Arizona Republic
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Mainly this is all Bale's show. He is strangely sympathetic, taking us right into Trevor's pain without any special pleading.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
11/24/04
Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A superior exercise in mood and atmospherics, a drama that springs from a place of deep disturbance.

Full Review Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News | comment Comment
11/24/04
Robert Denerstein
Robert Denerstein
Denver Rocky Mountain News
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A powerful, accomplished movie that lingers.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
11/24/04
Michael Booth
Michael Booth
Denver Post
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If grimly atmospheric studies in alienation are your cup of tea, you should find director Brad Anderson's dark brew especially tasty.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
11/23/04
Colin Covert
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune
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It's an overly calculated, schematic graph of a script that eliminates the things we go to the movies to experience: interesting characters, a story we can relate to, an emotional release.

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
11/23/04
Steve Murray
Steve Murray
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The director Brad Anderson, working from a screenplay by Scott Kosar, wants to convey a state of mind, and he and Bale do that with disturbing effectiveness.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
11/19/04
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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It's a carefully layered, tautly directed and superbly acted psychological thriller.

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
11/18/04
Philip Wuntch
Philip Wuntch
Dallas Morning News
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A moody psychological thriller with a stunning performance by Christian Bale at its core.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
11/18/04
Achy Obejas
Achy Obejas
Chicago Tribune
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Smacks of a movie made by people who've spent a lot more time watching movies than absorbing them.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
11/12/04
Geoff Pevere
Geoff Pevere
Toronto Star
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Anderson's effort here isn't bad, but, as measured on the scary-intruder index, this is more of a front-porch flick. Movie over, it's not hard to shut the door on it.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
11/12/04
Rick Groen
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail
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Give Anderson credit for at least sustaining a mood.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
10/29/04
Mike Clark
Mike Clark
USA Today
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A stylish but fatally shallow puzzler that suggests a Twilight Zone episode filmed on the leftover sets of Seven.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
10/29/04
Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Boston Globe
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Psychological suspense at its finest.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
10/29/04
Michael O'Sullivan
Michael O'Sullivan
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There is more to Bale's performance than the stick figure physique. Trevor is a man literally being consumed with angst, eyes hollow, posture stooped and mouth agape.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment Comment
10/28/04
Lisa Rose
Lisa Rose
Newark Star-Ledger
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Elegant and shatteringly creepy.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
10/28/04
Carrie Rickey
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It is tortured and it’s consistently fascinating.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
10/26/04
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
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Christian Bale gives his all for his art in The Machinist.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
10/22/04
Rex Reed
Rex Reed
New York Observer
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Latest News for The Machinist

December 01, 2006: The Weekly Ketchup: A Third "Starship Troopers," Jack Black Collaborates With Michel Gondry, Tension Between Fox And Marvel Over "X-Men," And More!
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October 19, 2006: Critical Consensus: "Flags" Flies High; "The Prestige" Is Magic; "Flicka" Is A Pretty Good Ride; "Marie Antoinette" Spared Critical Guillotine
This week at the movies, we've got a complex tale of heroism (Clint Eastwood's "Flags of Our Fathers," starring Ryan Phillippe), a story of dueling magicians... More...

December 16, 2005: London Movie Critics Present Their '05 Nominations
Movie City News shares with us a press release from the London Film Critics Group in which their various nominations are announced. Keep in mind that the Brit crits use their... More...

November 01, 2005: New Distributor Makes a "Fragile" Purchase
You might not be familiar with the name "Bauer Martinez" just yet, but if you're a frequent moviegoer, you'll know it soon enough. Bauer Martinez Distribution is a... More...

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