In association with

Funny Games [1998]
from Tartan Video
starring Susanne Lothar, Ulrich Mühe, Arno Frisch, Frank Giering, Stefan Clapczynski
directed by Michael Haneke

Features:

• Full Screen
• PAL

Editorial Review:

It is impossible to have a neutral opinion about the Austrian thriller Funny Games--a movie so relentless in its ability to shock that it gained pariah status on the film festival circuit in 1997. In the warped tradition of A Clockwork Orange, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer and Blue Velvet, this is a film--directed with electrifying audacity by Munich-born Michael Haneke--that addresses the controversy of screen violence by making the viewer as guilty as the Leopold and Loeb-like killers who terrorise a young family of three during their summer vacation. They arrive as friendly neighbours, seducing the family with phoney congeniality, but soon Funny Games reveals its devious strategy, turning savage and appalling ... and completely captivating for those who can endure the terror. There's actually less violence than you'd see in a typical American horror flick such as Scream, but Haneke's forceful staging effectively fulfils his agenda of viewer complicity; we vividly experience this doomed family's fate and feel helpless to save them. So helpless, in fact, that Haneke dares to offer a hint of respite by giving a victim the upper hand, only to "replay" the same scene with the darkest of outcomes. Funny Games is guaranteed to outrage some viewers with its manipulative schemes, but there's no denying the film's visceral impact, generated by Haneke's expert handling of a superior cast. Don't even think of allowing anyone under age 18 to watch this film; all others should proceed with caution. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0

• Life changing?
  If you are a fan of the extreme psychological genre as I am, this film holds nothing new or inventive. I watch these films to feel heightened emotions, this example was just simple. The whole film seems designed to make one point: We get a kick out of violence and torture. It suggests that you consider what the ramifications of this are (pretentiously assuming that you haven't already)...
  If you are a fan of this genre, and you exercise your ability to think then this postulate will have been covered a... more info

• If you like to think for yourself.........you might like this film.
  Allowng myself to trust the director,(having been mightily impressed by Cache) belief was suspended.During the middle of this film my brain was in that place you find yourself when considering a tricky move at chess:-completely fascinating,butterflies in the tummy.Others have mentioned the rewind sequence,extraordinarily effective,but only one among an arsenal of film-making gags that Haneke uses so brilliantly.Having recently watched Errol Morris' "Fast,Cheap and Out of Control" one reviewer of this film... more info

• brilliance
  i found funny games to be a lot lot better than hanekes other well known film 'hidden.' I was genuinely gripped throughout the film and some moments leave you feeling slightly uncomfortable which shows how well the film is made as it keeps you thinking a while after seeing the film unlike conventional horror/thrillers.
  well worth a watch or three!

• Silly
  Michael Haneke once stated that the intention behind 'Funny Games' was that, if you couldn't watch it all the way through, then you didn't need to.
  I'm not sure about that. I don't think I like the idea that a film director knows better than I do what I need to watch, or what I don't need to watch. I did watch 'Funny Games' all the way through, and it's a movie about two guys who torture a family to death. No more, no less. Michael Haneke may want to believe that it's some sort of endurance test or... more info

More from Amazon