Cruel Intentions (1999 film)

[Official British DVD release]

British ‘first pressing’ of this DVD, which includes the booklet (often missing from used copies and not included with most reissues) and with a mirrored disc with all the text you would expect (inc the logo).  The case is also stronger, more sturdy and heavier than more recent editions.

Everything in outstanding near mint condition throughout.

Originally bought from a High Street retailer.  Beware of fake DVDs.

[My ref: 98039 1]

Details

Aspect Ratio : 16:9 - 1.85:1

Rated : Suitable for 15 years and over

Language: English, French

Package Dimensions : 18.8 x 13.6 x 1.6 cm; 100 Grams

Manufacturer reference : CDR 980339 ; EL-28039-UK-S ; EL-28039-ST ; VFC10679 ; 5050582343366 ; 5035822803930

Director : Roger Kumble

Media Format : PAL

Run time : 1 hour and 33 minutes

Release date : 2 May 2004

Actors : Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon, Selma Blair, Louise Fletcher

Subtitles: : Arabic, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish, Turkish

Language : French (Dolby Digital 5.1), English, Unqualified (Dolby Digital 5.1)

Studio : UCA

Producers : Bruce Mellon, Christopher Ball, Heather Lieberman, Michael Fottrell, Neal H. Moritz

Writers : Choderlos de Laclos, Roger Kumble

Number of discs : 1

Customer reviews: 4.4 out of 5 stars    518 ratings

Description

Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillippe sizzle as a pair of unscrupulous siblings in a deliciously sexy tale of seduction, revenge and conquest. After cleverly seducing and ruining the reputation of an unsuspecting classmate, the sparks fly when Kathryn poses the ultimate challenge to her insatiable stepbrother Sebastian: deflower the Headmaster's beautiful, virgin daughter Annette. If he fails, Kathryn gets his most prized possession, but if he succeeds, Sebastian gets to possess and bed Kathryn. The stakes are high, but for Sebastian, the payoff is feverishly irresistible and before the summer's over, no one will escape their relentless game of cat and mouse until one of them is bitten by the most unlikely sensation of all... love.

Info (from rear of case)

Kathryn Merteuil (Sarah Michelle Gellar – TV’s Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Scooby Doo) and Sebastian Valmont (Ryan Phillippe – Gosford Park) are two gorgeous, filthy rich, manipulative stepsiblings from Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

Bored of the girls he has so easily seduced in the past, Sebastian has set his sights on the ultimate challenge – the beautiful, virginal, headmaster’s daughter Annette Hargrove (Reese Witherspoon – Legally Blonde).

Kathryn sees the perfect opportunity for a wager.  If Sebastian fails to lure Annette into his bed, he will have to surrender his priceless vintage Jaguar; if he succeeds, he will win the most tempting prize of all – Kathryn.

Sparks fly in this wickedly sexy tale of seduction, as Katheryn and Sebastian play a dangerous game of sex and betrayal…

SPECIAL FEATURES / EXTRAS / BONUS MATERIAL

- Filmographies

- US Theatrical Trailer

- Director/Producer Commentary

- 5 Deleted Scenes

- 2 Music Videos (Marcy Playground and Placebo)

- Behind-The-Scenes Featurette

INTERACTIVE MENUS

Interactive menus feature choices of:

- Audio Set Up

- Language Choice

- Multiple Language Subtitles

- Scene Selections

OTHER INFO

- Languages: English/French

- Subtitles: English/French/Polish/Czech/Hungarian/Hindi/Hebrew/Turkish

- Arabic/Danish/Swedish/Finnish/Icelandic/Dutch/Norwegian/Portuguese/Greek

- Ratio: 1:1.85 widescreen

- Feature Running Time: 1 hour 34 mins / 94 mins approx.

Review

This modern-day teen update of Les Liaisons Dangereuses suffered at the hands of both critics and moviegoers thanks to its sumptuous ad campaign, which hyped the film as an arch, highly sexual, faux-serious drama (not unlike the successful, Oscar-nominated Dangerous Liaisons). In fact, Cruel Intentions plays like high comedy for its first two-thirds, as its two evil heroes, rich stepsiblings Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Sebastian (Ryan Phillippe), blithely ruin lives and reputations with hearts as black as coal.

Kathryn wants revenge on a boyfriend who dumped her, so she befriends his new intended, the gawky Cecile (Selma Blair), and gets Sebastian to deflower the innocent virgin. The meat of the game, though, lies in Sebastian's seduction of good girl Annette (a down-to-earth Reese Witherspoon), who has written a nationally published essay entitled "Why I Choose to Wait." If he fails, Kathryn gets his precious vintage convertible; if he wins, he gets Kathryn--in the sack.

When the movie sticks to the merry ruination of Kathryn and Sebastian's pawns, it's highly enjoyable: Gellar in particular is a two-faced manipulator extraordinaire, and Phillippe, usually a black hole, manages some fun as a hipster Eurotrash stud. Most pleasantly surprising of all is Witherspoon, who puts a remarkably self-assured spin on a character usually considered vulnerable and tortured (see Michelle Pfeiffer in Dangerous Liaisons). Unfortunately, writer-director Roger Kumble undermines everything he's built up with a false ending that's true to neither the reconceived characters nor the original story--revenge is a dish best served cold, not cooked up with unnecessary plot twists. --Mark Englehart