True Lies [DVD]

Picture quality is not great, but I don’t think any better is available yet…

If you are into action films with decent plots and have never seen True Lies, then this is one of the best around. Please do not be put off by the many bandwagon negative reviews that accuse it of misogyny, which are apparently penned by people that do not understand (i) that it is a story, and that (ii) storytelling involves character arc and dynamic tension. It also shows the intellectual and emotional costs of the modern approach to movie watching, which is to apply a tick-box list of moralistic "correct/incorrect" criteria to film elements AS THOUGH THE FILM WAS REAL LIFE.SPOILERS AHEADSo, for those of you that missed it: the story is called True Lies, so the central emotional theme is about lying, and the impact it has on relationships. The central dynamic is in the relationship between a man (Harry Tasker, played by Schwarzenegger) and his family, one that is emotionally crippled by the constant lying he has to engage in to cover up the fact that he is a spy in a world of male espionage that is indeed rather misogynist, emotionally dysfunctional and destructive on relationships (see Gib, his work partner's speech on marriage and spying around the middle). Put simply, the casual daily cruelty of constant lies and non-trust over fifteen years has destroyed his relationship with his wife (Helen Tasker, played by Jamie-Lee Curtis), whom he loves and who loves him. When she is eventually driven into the arms of a deceitful lothario in the hopes of some kind of actual intimacy, Tasker is driven overboard by jealousy and indeed renders manifest the actual cruelty and deceit that was implicit in their daily life before (by the way, many of these deceitful and crual scenes in the film, including the strip dance scene, were actually shocking to audiences at the time). This, however, leads Tasker however to discover that (i) his wife is actually far more trustworthy than he is; (ii) that even untrained she is capable of holding her own in a fight, and; (iii) that she actually made rather a good spy. in other words, that he should have trusted her in the first place.Does the film contain misogynist and cruel elements? Yes, many - indeed, it is about that. Does that make it a misogynist film? No, unless you are incapable of realising that films have plots to a purpose, which in this case is actually to discuss the negative impacts of such cruelty, deceit and misogyny.Could reviewers PLEASE start paying attention to the storytelling purposes and intentions of film-makers, and not just be triggered by random bits in isolation?

With a Blu-ray release looking unlikely I decided to purchase this special edition of True Lies to fill a gap in my collection.Firstly this is the German release, so expect the menus and default soundtrack to be in German. Secondly don’t expect much in the way of ‘special’ for this special edition.There is only one disc, and very little in the way of extras, the majority of the extras are text pages or still images and a couple of trailers. That’s really what I’d have expected with a standard edition so I’m not sure what, other than the cardboard sleeve, makes this qualify as a special edition.If, like me, you are a fan of James Cameron’s movies then this is probably worth picking up providing you can find it at a good price. Hopefully there will be a proper Blu-ray release at some point.

Very funny and a good suspense / crime story. Very good acting especially with Jamie Lee Curtis. Recommend. Thankyou.

‘True Lies’(1994) is a wow of a film with Arnold Schwartzenegger getting up to his usual tough-guy stunts but this time playing it for laughs. That shouldn’t be difficult should it? Just ham up the action a bit, overplay the heroism, kill ten times the number of nasties than usual in such films as ‘Rambo’ or ‘Terminator’. This film, however, offers so much more.There’s good direction, especially in the action sequences –for me the most exhilarating was Arnie on horseback pursuing a nasty on motor cycle and not a jump-jet hovering in the midst of chaos. An outrageous script - see what prompts the Bond-like comment, ‘You’re fired’ and you’ll understand. Did the ball scene inspire the one in ‘Mission Impossible 1’? Perhaps but the immediate effects REALLY go over the top. Throughout Arnie certainly outdoes most James Bonds in an unusual range of expressions in his eyes.Then there are the key players – Jamie Lee Curtis ranges from a bored housewife yearning for adventure via a sexy dance as a whore to a fitting companion for a super-hero, albeit with hysterics. And her final tango with Arnie is worthy of entry into ‘Strictly Come Dancing’. Art Malik is superb as chief nasty and I’m sure his many fans would be appalled at his treatment. Tia Carrere has a good stab at the ‘femme-fatale’ and Tom Arnold as the under-valued assistant.If you’re an aficionado of James Bond, ‘Mission Impossible’ and the like, you should enjoy this spoof: if you don’t, are you taking such films a bit too seriously?A well-deserved 5 stars.

True Lies sees Arnold Schwarzenegger play Harry Tasker, to his wife Helen (Jaimie Lee Curtis) and daughter Dana (Eliza Dushku) he's a safe husband and father working as a computer salesman. Away from the family home he's a top spy for one of America's highest secret services. When Harry is prompted to believe that Helen is having an affair, it signals the start of a sequence of events that will out Harry and lead them both to a confrontation with a deadly terrorist.To hell with misogyny and stereotypical Arab terrorist (Art Malik so OTT he's off the chain man), Cameron's True Lies really isn't concerned for political correctness. His aim, aided by his on form cast, is to chase, caress and explode stuff whilst having a laugh at every turn. True Lies, if anyone was in doubt prior to its release, shows Cameron to be supremely gifted at action set pieces. No expense spared of course, but you still gotta utilise those Harrier Jets, helicopters and horse carrying elevators to great effect. And so it proves. Throw in a tremendously funny script that gives Tom Arnold & Bill Paxton comedy gold roles to revel in; and what you get is a Worldwide box office profit of nearly $264 million.It knows its nonsense, but it's the good kind of nonsense that Hollywood has to offer. Ever re-watchable, True Lies is undeniably great fun. 7.5/10

Great movie, glad I finally have in my collection!!! 5Stars!!!