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The Osterman Weekend (Commemorative 2 Disc Edition) | 
| Director: Sam Peckinpah
Actors: John Bryson, Cheryl Carter, Meg Foster, Anne Haney, Rutger Hauer
Studio: Anchor Bay
Category: DVD
Buy New: CDN$ 21.95
New (3) Used (8) from CDN$ 6.76
Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 26245
Format: Dolby, Ntsc, Widescreen
Language: English (Original Language)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.4 x 0.7
MPN: D12587D
UPC: 013131258790
EAN: 0013131258790
ASIN: B00012FX4K
Theatrical Release Date: October 14, 1983
Release Date: March 23, 2004
Availability: Usually ships within 1 - 2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW! FACTORY SEALED! In stock, ships immediately, no custom's duties when ordered in Canada. 100% satisfaction. Always compare with Amazon's after tax price.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Very disappointing July 16, 2004
pm444 (Okemos, MI USA)
I read the book and enjoyed it back when it first came out, but I never saw the film in its theatrical release. I read the reviews here and figured it would be worth a try. Big mistake!br brI usually enjoy films based on thrillers, even if they are not totally faithful to the book. But in this case, the film failed on a much more profound basis than simply taking some liberties with the plot. A thriller, whether it's a book or film, should at the very least provide some thrills, and it's here that the film falls far short of the mark. pEven though the movie was made in 1983, it is one of the most dated films I've ever seen. I'm not just talking about the outdated room decor and fashions, I mean the whole look and feel of the film. It looks as if it were shot in the early '70's. This sense of being very dated and amateur-ish is underscored by the music, a strange concoction of seedy pseudo-techno and cheesy jazz that would be more at home in a porno film. pThe screenplay is painfully dull, with none of the suspense of the novel. Production values are tacky and below the standards that one would expect even in a TV-movie of the same era. Some tight editing could have improved the situation significantly, but instead we repeatedly end up gazing at someone's face far longer than is necessary. It's almost as if the director wanted to go for a sort of retro-Euro look for the film, but he didn't come close.pThe various "high tech" devices, mostly video cameras and monitors throughout the house where the action takes place, look ridiculously outdated. This wouldn't be so annoying if the director had not insisted on zooming in for a close-up almost every time someone touches a push-button, as if to tell the audience, "See, I'm all up-to-date with the latest new gizmos". The movie is filled with shots of people pushing old-style backlit clear plastic pushbuttons that used to adorn those boxy desk phones and were also used on some of the very first VCRs. Some of this stuff would have looked dated even in 1983.pPeckinpah is apparently best remembered for his penchant for violence and his use of slow motion in depicting violent scenes. There are admittedly several excellent sequences where he uses slow motion very effectively: a car/truck collision early in the film (totally unnecessary to the plot, but well done nonetheless) and several other scenes at various moments, but not enough to salvage the film. pWhat is so unfortunate is that the cast was made up of very capable actors, many of whom have given much better performances with other directors. If you compare this movie to "Marathon Man" and "Three Days of the Condor", both made in the mid-1970's, they have aged much better than "The Osterman Weekend". They move more quickly, they keep you in suspense, and you actually care about the characters. By the time people started getting killed in this movie, I couldn't have cared less. Another fatal flaw is that this movie is totally lacking in humor of any kind. There are some nasty sarcastic comments, but they are not funny, or even particularly intelligent. pAnchor Bay does an outstanding job of providing a quality video transfer for this turkey. Even more impressive is the remastered 5.1 soundtrack, which is surprisingly realistic and is one of the few things that makes the film watchable. The second DVD contains the director's cut of the movie, presented in full screen and without the remastering of the theatrical release. I could not bring myself to watch it (this is definitely not a film to be viewed more than once), but at least the die-hard fan will have both versions to view. There is a nicely done booklet with more information about Peckinpah and his films than I needed to know, but again, credit is due to Anchor Bay for giving the movie a much better presentation than it deserved.
Sam's Cut Falls Short April 3, 2004
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
If you are mainly going to purchase this movie to see Sam Pekinpah's original cut you will most likely be disappointed. The film quality of the original cut is about equal with a bootleg VHS tape (it's also full-screen). Extremely disappointing and painful to sit through.
 The Osterman Weekend April 1, 2004
Nial Westwood (London UK)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
A great swansong to a dying man plagued by his personal demons.brThis is not classic Peckinpah admitedly, however this is great viewing. The action scenes for 1983 are up there with any (good) John Woo movies of later years. Rutger Hauer, John Hurt and Craig T Nelson are very watchable. This is defientely worth a second look.brThe very rough cut on the 2nd DVD gives this film a more ambigious feel.brLike the train wreck of A man Apart, it shows that test screening clearly does not work!
i hope this is the beginning.... January 16, 2004
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
it's daft, tired and hollow... But i find this Peckinpah movie quite entertaining, but i've just taken an oppurtunity to say the following:pI hope this is the beginning of a 'Peckinpah collection' from anchor bay, a double disc edition of his most neglected masterpiece 'Bring me the head of Alfredo Garcia' would be greatly appreciated. I find 'Convoy', 'The Getaway', 'Junior Bonner', 'The Killer Elite' and 'Cross of Iron' all either tedious, revolting or both. They are all available, but not Peckinpah's last real achievement, strangely a film derided by even some of those that write books about him. It's time this ugly but wonderful, totally unorthodox love story was given a new life on DVD, restored. It's both the most typical and atypical film Peckinpah made.
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