District B13
by Pierre Morel
List Price:
Our Price: $7.33
You Save: $7.65 (51%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.22 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD details
Actor: Bibi Naceri, Cyril Raffaelli, Dany Verissimo, David Belle, Tony D'AmarioDirector: Pierre Morel
Brand: MHE
Writer: Bibi Naceri
Cinematographer: Manuel Teran
Editor: Frédéric Thoraval
Producer: Bernard Grenet
Producer: Luc Besson
Writer: Luc Besson
Producer: Mehdi Sayah
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: French (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1 EX; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1 EX; English (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 5.1 EX
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 84 minutes
Published: 2006-09-01
DVD Release Date: 2006-09-05
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Model: 10020
Studio: Magnolia
Product features:
- In this action packed film set in the ghettos of Paris in 2010, an undercover cop and ex-thug try to infiltrate a gang in order to defuse a neutron bomb. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: FOREIGN Rating: NR Age: 876964000208 UPC: 876964000208 Manufacturer No: 10020
DVD Reviews of District B13
DVD Review: "Mange bien!"
Summary: 5 Stars
The plot, in brief: DISTRICT B13 is set in the dismal future of 2010 and posits a French government that has finally flinched in the face of an ever swelling suburban crime rate. The most problem ridden areas of Paris have been walled off and their 2 million inhabitants left to fend for themselves. The schools have closed, the post offices vacated, the police have shoved off. Into these sad slums venture a by-the-book police captain and an escaped felon, one to defuse a neutron bomb set to explode in less than 24 hours, the other coming home to rescue his kidnapped sister from a powerful drug lord.
My reaction: holy merde! In its take-no-prisoners leaning towards stylish action and in its two leads, DISTRICT B13 is the perfect cure for the bored action junkie. It's sub-titled, being a French flick and brought to you by action cinema maven Luc Besson (he was involved in The Fifth Element, The Transporter (Special Delivery Edition), Le Dernier Combat, The Professional, Taxi (Original French Version)). It is a dynamic film, and to hell with character development. Too, the notion of an in-depth storyline seems to have been sneered at. Instead, the one-note premise succeeds on the strength of the remarkable physicality of former stuntmen David Belle and Cyril Raffaelli (who do their own stunts here) and on the film's jaw-dropping showcasing of parkour, a discipline pioneered by Belle which mixes obstacle-navigating gymnastics and fluid, perpetual motion with martial arts. In an hour and a half of marvelous wall-to-wall action, two sequences stand out.
The first sequence happens shortly after the film opens as an astounding chase begins which has the well-tattooed David Belle Jackie Chan-ing it as he hurdles rooftops with abandon, skirts walls and staircases like a frenzied monkey, and at one point launching himself with pinpoint accuracy thru an aperture seemingly the size of a kleenex box (okay, it was probably larger than that). With each horrific, reckless leap he made, I just knew ankles were about to snap like brittle twigs. But it seems Belle's well trained for that. Secondly, about 20 minutes or so into the film, we meet Raffaelli's undercover cop character in an electrifying segment which establishes him as a balding but rugged expert in intense derriere-kicking as Raffaelli uses chop-socky, gymnastics, and guns to take down a host of ruffians in a covert casino.
DISTRICT B13 also works as a buddy-cop motion picture and does contain traditional elements of that sub-genre. There's even a negligible peppering of social and political commentary, but never mind that. The film thrills you with its kinetic energy and pace, its resolute heroes, and (again, because I can't say this enough) the explosive action sequences. The techno and hard-core rap music (but it's French rap, so "hard-core" may be laying it on too thick) help to generate a pumped up state for the viewer (it did for me). And, for this type of movie, the acting's not halfway bad. David Belle as the urban do-gooder Leito and Cyril Raffaelli as Captain Damien Tomaso are both charismatic, and, with the two characters having been introduced separately, I was interested to see how these two would meet, get along, and work together (and maybe even tussle). It turns out - regarding the two's mutual gamut of initial distrust, then grudging mutual respect, which warps to something like friendship - Belle and Raffaelli hit all the beats well enough.
Also beneficial are the performances of three of the supporting cast. Bibi Naceri, who shares co-writing honors, is very good as the caustic crime lord Taha Bemamud, who reveals a short-tempered hobby of shooting up his lackeys. Naceri imbues his villain with a memorable, larger-than-life touch and is rewarded with a stand-out death scene. Then there's Tony D'Amario, who rolls out enough big buffoon charm and a near unassuming quality that, in the end, he forces you to kinda like his role of Taha's prime henchman K-2 (or as it's pronounced: "Ka-Deux"). Lastly, Dany Verissimo, in her brief scenes and with her gamine looks and plucky demeanor, makes an absolute impression. And, when she was kidnapped, I actually felt the air go out of my lungs.
DISTRICT B13 is one of those films which simply overrides your bump of logic and carries you on its wave of bravura. I'd never heard of Belle and Raffaelli before this film, but, based on their providing me with so many of the film's "oooh and ah" moments, I'm on board with their next projects (I learned that Raffaelli had a part in Live Free or Die Hard (Unrated Edition)) - he was that guy jumping around all over the place -and that Belle starred in an inexplicable 2006 8-minute film short "Un Monde Meilleur"). Anyway, I liked DISTRICT B13 so much when I first saw it on TV that I went right out and ordered it on-line.
Now, can I think of any outright negatives regarding this film? Well, I don't really consider this a negative, but I did have a "Say what?" reaction when Damien, after bestowing all kinds of destructive mayhem on the bad guys, matter-of-factly states that "Violence is not the answer." Oh, c'mon now!
Description of District B13
Synopsis:Item Type: Unknown Type
Item Rating: R
Street Date: 09/05/06
Wide Screen: yes
Director Cut: no
Special Edition: no
LanguageENGLISH
Foreign Film: no
Subtitlesno
Dubbed: no
Full Frame: no
Re-Release: no
Packaging: Sleeve Please note: This supplier will be closed on 11/24, 11/25, 12/26, 1/2 for the holidays. The shipping cut off is 12/10 to try and have the products delivered by Christmas.
Bestsellers in DVD
![The Story of Jeremiah [VHS] Image](/images/noimg.gif)
The Story of Jeremiah [VHS]Vision Video; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Wresting With God [VHS]by Vision Video
Vision Video; Published: 1990-10-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
Study Bible Video with Workbook [VHS]Spring Arbor Distributors; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $7.95
Price in other shops:
Tempo:Childrens TV Favourites Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $9.17
Price in other shops:
Tempo.Herbs:Parseley'Sb/ Party Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
![Strike the Original Match [VHS] Image](/images/Strike-the-Original-Match-VHS-0001374079-X.jpg)
Strike the Original Match [VHS]New Liberty Films; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
![Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS] Image](/images/Medjugorje-The-Miracles-and-the-Message-VHS-0001373293-X.jpg)
Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS]JPN Film Production; Release date: 1995-12-15; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $29.99
Mayo Clinic Echocardiography Review Course for Boards and Recertification DVD 2008by Mayo
DVD
Price in other shops:
Pediatric Diagnostic Imaging DVD: Single Userby Oakstone
DVD
Price in other shops:
Cost Accounting [VHS]by Charles T. Horngren, George Foster, Srikant M. Datar, Howard Teall
Pearson Canada, Toronto; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
Ip Man 2: Legend of the GrandmasterWGU; Release date: 2011-04-19; DVD
Best price: $11.99
Price in other shops:
13 AssassinsMHE; Release date: 2011-07-05; DVD
Best price: $8.71
Price in other shops:
Ong Bak 3MHE; Release date: 2011-02-08; DVD
Best price: $7.53
Price in other shops:
OldboyRelease date: 2005-08-23; DVD
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops:
The Protector (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)Wellspring Media INC; Release date: 2007-01-16; DVD
Best price: $6.81
Price in other shops:
The WarlordsMagnolia Pictures; Release date: 2010-06-29; DVD
Best price: $7.52
Price in other shops:
Ong Bak 2: The Beginning (Two-Disc Widescreen Collectors Edition)MHE; Release date: 2010-02-02; DVD
Best price: $8.02
Price in other shops:
Ong-Bak - The Thai WarriorTCFHE; Release date: 2005-08-30; DVD
Best price: $6.03
Price in other shops:
ChocolateMagnolia Pictures; Release date: 2009-02-10; DVD
Best price: $4.64
Price in other shops:
District 13: UltimatumMagnolia Pictures; Release date: 2010-04-27; DVD
Best price: $4.95
Price in other shops: