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The Constant Gardener (Widescreen Edition)
Director: Fernando Meirelles
Product Group: DVD
Studio: Universal Studios
ISBN: B000C65Z1G
Brand: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAIN.
EAN: 0025192629228
UPC: 025192629228
DVD
Region Code: 1
Running Time: 129 minutes
Original Release Date: 2005-08-31
Theatrical Release Date: 2005-08-31
Release Date: 2006-01-10
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
SKU: 40898
Condition: Like New
Comments: DVD AND CASE LOOKS NEW. ONLY VIEWED ONCE. RAPID SHIPPING. AIR MAIL.
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Editorial Reviews
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Amazon.com
The Constant Gardener is the kind of thriller that hasn't been seen since the 1970s: Smart, politically complex, cinematically adventurous, genuinely thrilling and even heartbreaking. Mild diplomat Justin Quayle (Ralph Fiennes, The English Patient, Schindler's List) has a loose cannon of a wife named Tessa (Rachel Weisz, The Shape of Things, The Mummy), who's digging into the dirty doings of a major pharmaceutical company in Kenya. Her brutal murder forces Justin to continue her investigation down some deadly avenues. This simple plot description doesn't capture the rich texture and slippery, sinuous movement of The Constant Gardener, superbly directed by Fernando Meirelles (Oscar-nominated for his first film, City of God). Shifting back and forth in time, the movie skillfully captures the engaging romance between Justin and Tessa (Fiennes shows considerably more chemistry with Weisz than he had with Jennifer Lopez in Maid in Manhattan) and builds a vivid, gripping, and all-too-justified paranoia. And on top of it all, the movie is beautiful, due to both its incredible shots of the African landscape (which at times is haunting and unearthly) and the gorgeous cinematography. Featuring an all-around excellent cast, including Bill Nighy (Love Actually), Pete Postlethwaite (In the Name of the Father), and Danny Huston (Silver City). --Bret Fetzer
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Product Description
Based on the best-selling John le Carr novel and from the Academy Award-nominated director of "City of God." In a remote area of Northern Kenya activist Tessa Quayle (Rachel Weisz) is found brutally murdered. Tessa's companion a doctor appears to have fled the scene and the evidence points to a crime of passion. Members of the British High Commission in Nairobi assume that Tessa's widower their mild-mannered and unambitious colleague Justin Quayle (Ralph Fiennes) will leave the matter to them. They could not be more wrong. Haunted by remorse and jarred by rumors of his late wife's infidelities Quayle surprises everyone by embarking on a personal odyssey that will take him across three continents. Using his privileged access to diplomatic secrets he will risk his own life stopping at nothing to uncover and expose the truth - a conspiracy more far-reaching and deadly than Quayle could ever have imagined.System Requirements:Features: Deleted Scenes Extended Scene: Haruma - Play in Kibera Embracing Africa: Filming in Kenya John Le Carre: From Page to the Screen Anatomy of a Global Thriller: Behind the Scenes of The Constant Gardener Running Time: 129 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLERS Rating: R UPC: 025192629228 Manufacturer No: 26292
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Customer Reviews
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Beautiful Film on "Corporate Murder"
Rating  (4)
Date: 2008-09-15
This is one of Rachel Weisz's best performances. The film although drags here and there, it does tell the story of how pharmaceutical companies ruthlessly do business in Africa. "This is how Africa gets f*cked", spoken by a character towards the end, sums it all up.
With gorgeous colors, and the beautiful landscape of Kenya, the story jumps back and forth and really does a good job of showing the love between Ralph Fiennes and Weisz.
Not for action fans, but for anyone who likes to think about the film they're watching and enjoying a decent tale of corporate deeds done ruthlessly.
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A Very Good Movie About a Greater Story
Rating  (5)
Date: 2008-09-09
This is a very good movie depicting a great story. The only flaw in what would have been an otherwise great movie is its overuse of the flashback technique to the point of being somewhat confusing and disjointed. But, that is a very minor flaw easily overshadowed by great drama, romance, mystery, suspense, and tragedy. The storyline remains intact and continues to convincingly fall into place as the movie progresses. Big Pharma's use of the desperately poor of Africa as expendable medical guinea pigs, whose poverty and living conditions are stunningly and accurately portrayed in the movie, serves as a backdrop to the mystery that gradually unfolds before the viewer. A real tearjerker that is ultimately about what constitutes a genuinely good person.
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Impossible to Rate
Rating  (3)
Date: 2008-06-25
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
Impossible to rate, because whether you consider this genius or stupidity depends very much on you--it's one of those films. There is little action--and what little action there is, a raid on an African village late in the movie, seems completely contrived. Instead, we come in late to the action scenes in almost every case--or in the final one, early. But almost nothing is shown directly, only the consequences. Much of the film is told in flashbacks or jumpcuts, making the story somewhat difficult to piece together; and the one scene in which most of the dubious characters are introduced happens quite quickly. I have to confess to quite a lot of confusion about who was who and what was happening--most of it cleared up, but frankly the ending didn't seem terribly satisfactory to me. My whole family was left saying, "hunh" and my 24 year old son further opined that it was much ado about nothing. The 'hero's' revenge was pretty understated, too--a public shaming doesn't really seem enough to pay for your wife's murderer, does it? It's certainly not an American action flick; exactly the opposite. But if you enjoy British reserve, this might be the film for you. As others have said, the acting, cinematography, and music were excellent--it's the plot and it's telling that left me cold.
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IT'S ONLY ME, BUT:
Rating (4)
Date: 2008-06-01
1 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
A THRILLER INVOLVING MURDER. THE WIFE IS BRUTALLY MURDERED AFTER INVESTIGATING THE DOINGS OF A DIRTY PHARACEUTICAL COMPANY. HER HUSBAND PICKS UP THE INVESTIGATION OF THE DIRTY DRUG COMPANY AFTER HER DEATH TO FIND OUT WHY SHE DIED. JM
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Heart-Wrenching Thriller
Rating (5)
Date: 2008-05-09
2 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
I don't think "The Constant Gardener" is what one would call a conventional thriller. The culprits are pretty transparent early on but what I think concerns the makers of the film is not whodunit but rather how to shed light on their malfeasence. In the meantime the film offers a lot of food for thought about how the Third World is exploited by the major pharmaceutical companies and their corporate and government accomplices. I think the film also concerns itself with passive diplomat Justin Quayle(Ralph Fiennes) bringing closure to the horrific murder of his activist wife, Tessa(Rachel Weisz). Fiennes is nothing short of brilliant in an understated performance that suggests the anger and frustration that lurks within. Weisz deservedly won an Oscar in an impassioned and effervescent turn so much so that Justin's loss is the audience's loss as well. A truly great film not to be missed.
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