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MOVIES / ON DVD / STANDER
Stander

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Stander (2004)

73%
75%
83%
N/A
N/A
N/A
73 %
Reviews Counted: 62 Fresh: 45  Rotten:17 Average Rating: 6.5/10
 
Consensus: An unsatisfying account of Stander's life. An unsatisfying account of Stander's life. more
 
Rated: R
Runtime: 1 hr 56 mins
Theatrical Release: Aug 6, 2004 Limited
Synopsis:
STANDER is the gripping true story of the life of Andre Stander, the youngest Captain in the Johannesburg Police Force and South Africa’s most notorious bank robber. Portrayed by Tom Jane (The Punisher, 61*) in a mercurial, star-turn performance, Andre Stander is a young, white... [More]
STANDER is the gripping true story of the life of Andre Stander, the youngest Captain in the Johannesburg Police Force and South Africa’s most notorious bank robber. Portrayed by Tom Jane (The Punisher, 61*) in a mercurial, star-turn performance, Andre Stander is a young, white policeman enjoying the comforts of middle-class married life in late-1970s South Africa, a country riven by Apartheid. Deeply affected by the indiscriminate killing he witnesses and takes part in during Riot Patrol, Stander wordlessly makes a decision to defy the very system he has spent a lifetime enforcing. Stander’s form of civil disobedience, however, takes an unusual form: a series of audacious, high-flying bank robberies, with the young police officer oftentimes returning to the scene of the crime as the lead investigating officer. Finally apprehended by his colleagues, Stander is jailed and subsequently befriends outlaws Allan Heyl and Lee McCall. Following a daring prison break, the “Stander Gang” commits dozens of bank robberies across the country, heists that grow increasingly bolder over time. In the eyes of the public, the Stander Gang’s nose-thumbing disrespect for authority makes them into near-legendary folk heroes, modern-day equivalents of Bonnie & Clyde. To the South African government, however, the former police officer is a cause of embarrassment, and the Stander Gang are the most wanted men in the country. Equal parts heist movie, love story, and historically accurate indictment of a corrupt political institution (on the tenth anniversary of Apartheid’s end), STANDER is the most riveting, uncanny biopic in recent memory. Filmed entirely on location in South Africa, STANDER is directed by Bronwen Hughes (Forces of Nature, Harriet The Spy), and co-stars Dexter Fletcher (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels), David Patrick O’Hara (Braveheart, The Devil’s Own), and Deborah Kara Unger (Crash, The Hurricane, The Game) as Andre Stander’s wife. -- © Newmarket Films [Less]

Genre: Action/Adventure

Starring: Thomas Jane, Dexter Fletcher, Deborah Kara Unger, Marius Weyers, Ashleigh Taylor

Director: Bronwen Hughes
Screenwriter: Ken Friedman, Bronwen Hughes
Producer: Julia Verdin, Martin Katz

DVD Info

Release:

Dec 21, 2004

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Region (unknown)
  • Keep Case
  • Widescreen - 1.85

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
  • Subtitles - English, Spanish - Optional

Buy It On DVD

Reviews

 
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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Ratings Image

better than expected

Full Review | Comment
05/08/08 06:19 PM
Stefan Birgir Stefansson
sbs.is
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
06/24/06 04:11 AM
Time Out
Ratings Image

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Full Review | Comment
04/01/06 04:13 AM
Empire Magazine
Ratings Image

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
12/06/05 08:03 PM
Film Threat
Ratings Image

Jane’s performance is a revelation. He is the rare actor who has the looks and the physique of a leading man while retaining the ability to disappear into a character.

Full Review | Comment
09/16/05 03:15 AM
Jeremy C. Fox
Pajiba
Ratings Image

STANDER deserves recommendation as fascinating film that confirms the old adage of truth being stranger than fiction.

Full Review | Comment
06/26/05 06:26 AM
Dragan Antulov
Draxblog Movie Reviews
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
06/07/05 03:15 AM
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]
Ratings Image

Jane’s performance is nothing short of revelatory

Full Review | Comment
05/26/05 03:15 AM
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
05/21/05 11:57 AM
BBC
Ratings Image

A rather entertaining (if style-over-substance) portrait of insane illicitness.

Full Review | Comment
05/04/05 09:14 PM
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness
Ratings Image

Stander é o anti-herói clássico – e a direção empolgante de Hughes e as performances do elenco principal fazem jus à incrível história do personagem-título.

| Comment
04/11/05 01:44 PM
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena
Ratings Image

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
01/15/05 10:49 PM
David Thomas
Filmcritic.com
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The bank robbery action, the nose-thumbing at authority, and the rise of an anti-hero -- a colorful action yarn.

Full Review | Comment
12/17/04 12:30 PM
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals
Ratings Image

Despite being based on an exceptional true-life story, Bronwen Hughes' "Stander" is uneven and somewhat sloppy in execution.**

Full Review | Comment
12/13/04 01:35 PM
Angela Baldassarre
Sympatico.ca
Ratings Image

Pumped by a soundtrack of period South African funk and dance music, propelled by whiplash montage sequences and rubber-burning Burt Reynolds-issue getaways, Stander is the very definition of good, old-fashioned outlawry.

Full Review | Comment
12/03/04 04:10 PM
Geoff Pevere
Toronto Star
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

A beautifully paced story.

Full Review | Comment
12/03/04 04:02 PM
Liz Braun
Jam! Movies
Ratings Image

Stander refuses to take a stand on its own subject matter.

Full Review | Comment
12/03/04 04:00 PM
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Embodies a certain brand of brooding outlaw cool that feels increasingly rare.

Full Review | Comment
11/19/04 05:02 PM
M.E. Russell
Oregonian
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Jane gives a terrific star-making performance.

Full Review | Comment
11/04/04 10:15 PM
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
Ratings Image

Stander is the political crime biopic starring Thomas Jane. Standard is the narrative and presentation. Snoozer is the effect it has on the audience.

Full Review | Comment
09/10/04 06:59 AM
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star
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Related Forums

REEL_REVIEWER
STANDER is an anti-Apartheid crime drama where 1 top cop turns to crime to do good?
by: REEL_REVIEWER 1/16/05


REEL_REVIEWER
STANDER is an anti-Apartheid crime drama where 1 top cop turns to crime to do good?
by: REEL_REVIEWER 1/16/05


REEL_REVIEWER
STANDER is an anti-Apartheid crime drama where 1 top cop turns to crime to do good?
by: REEL_REVIEWER 1/16/05


REEL_REVIEWER
STANDER is an anti-Apartheid crime drama where 1 top cop turns to crime to do good?
by: REEL_REVIEWER 1/16/05


RavenPhoenix
I can't wait for this movie
by: RavenPhoenix 9/6/04
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