The Quiet American

The Quiet American
by Phillip Noyce

List Price: ~~$14.99~~
Our Price: $7.99
You Save: $7.00 (47%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.79 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details

Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada

DVD details

Actor: Brendan Fraser, Do Thi Hai Yen, Michael Caine, Rade Serbedzija, Tzi Ma
Director: Phillip Noyce
Brand: Disney
Producer: Anthony Minghella
Producer: Antonia Barnard
Producer: Chris Sievernich
Producer: Eyal Rimmon
Writer: Christopher Hampton
Writer: Graham Greene
Writer: Robert Schenkkan
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 101 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-07-29
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Miramax Home Entertainment

DVD Reviews of The Quiet American

DVD Review: Truly an outstanding production
Summary: 5 Stars

I was completely over awed by this production. Michael Caine and Brendan Fraser were outstanding. As a Southeast Asia wannabe, I would recommend this movie without reservation. Michael Caine provides a performance beyond and Brendan Fraser is excellent. The movie provides the "experience" Caine references at the beginning.

DVD Review: slow, but great scenery
Summary: 3 Stars

This was a solid film with good acting from Michael Caine and Brendan Fraser, but it was hardly the thriller I expected. It has all the right ingredients for a dynamic film with all the cloak and dagger stuff done by the CIA, but the film never took that direction. The film's tempo was pretty slow, and it seemed too much of a "chick flick" than I wanted. Having said that, it was worth seeing for the simple fact that it was all shot in Vietnam and the french colonial architecture really helps set the spirit of the times.

DVD Review: A Terrific Movie!
Summary: 5 Stars

"The Quiet American" is one of the best films I've seen in a long time. It offers political suspense, a love triangle, and beautiful scenery to capture the attention and interest of anyone who wants to enjoy the result of intelligent film making. A few reviewers here have written about the symbolism they seem to think is portrayed by the three main charcters, i.e., Thomas Fowler, an aging British reporter, who represented Old Europe's Colonialism; Alden Pyle, the "quiet American" with a secret imperialistic political agenda; and Phuong, the lovely mistress of Fowler who steals the heart of Pyle, as the innocence of Vietnam itself that has been fought over and violated by its two lovers. Personally, I don't think so. Graham was anti-American and pro-communism. Did that influence him? Sure it did. Did he consciously go about writing a political thriller foretelling the defeat of the French and then American military involvement in Indochina? I don't think so. The novel was written in the 50s before America got invloved militarily. At any rate, this was a terrific movie and I recommend it highly. Michael Caine as Fowler was perhaps the best cinematic role he ever played. He was nominated for an Academy Award and he deserved it.

DVD Review: A masterpiece of filmmaking
Summary: 5 Stars

Philip Noyce's remake of The Quiet American was until recently the only film I can recall in the last 20 years to make me cry. It is a beautiful film and the cinematography, editing and acting are incomparable. This
IS my favourite film of the last ten years...perhaps longer. If you
are not touched by this film then you must be made of stone.

DVD Review: Fabulous Performances, Beautiful-Looking Film
Summary: 5 Stars

This is a well-acted and beautifully-filmed movie that surprised me just how good it was. It's one of those "sleepers," meaning a good movie that gets little notice. Man, I'd like to see this on Blu-Ray.

I found it interesting from the get-go with Michael Caine doing a superb job, one of the highlights of his distinguished career. Some have even called it his best performance. The same might be said of Brendan Fraser, too, someone who is more known for his lower-brow characters in far less-intelligent films. Those two, and Do Thi Hai Yen complete the threesome who excel in the leads. The fact this film takes place in Vietnam and she is Vietnamese makes her all the more believable.

The colors in this film are very pretty, interiors and exteriors. The only negative I had was the obvious political bias in here. The movie paints an unflattering picture of the early days of America's involvement in Vietnam with Fraser playing "The Ugly American."

Politics-aside, at least half the film is really a love story, as both male leads go after the same woman (Hai Yen). That has a strange ending, is all I will say. All the way through the movie builds in suspense and intrigue in both the politics and the romance. I've seen it three times and thoroughly enjoyed it all three times.

Description of The Quiet American

The acclaimed performances of two-time Academy Award(R)-winner Michael Caine (Best Supporting Actor, THE CIDER HOUSE RULES, 1999; HANNAH AND HER SISTERS, 1986) and Brendan Fraser (THE MUMMY, GODS AND MONSTERS) power a stylish political thriller where love and war collide in Southeast Asia. Set in early 1950s Vietnam, a young American (Fraser) becomes entangled in a dangerous love triangle when he falls for the beautiful mistress of a British journalist (Caine). As war is waged around them, these three only sink deeper into a world of drugs, passion, and betrayal where nothing is as it seems. Based on the classic novel by Graham Greene -- you'll find yourself riveted by the fascinating intricacies and ever-developing intrigue of this outstanding motion picture.

The Quiet American proves that elegant and intelligent filmmaking can be emotionally powerful. Michael Caine plays Thomas Fowler, a British journalist in 1950s Vietnam with a lovely Vietnamese mistress named Phuong (Do Thi Hai Yen) and a jaded view of the political strife teeming around him. He befriends a seemingly innocuous American named Alden Pyle (Brendan Fraser), who falls in love with Phuong--and slowly, Pyle's real purpose in Vietnam becomes revealed. Fowler finds that, to hold on to the carefully balanced life he's created for himself, he must make choices he's long avoided. Caine and Fraser are both superb and give a human face to complicated politics; as a result, The Quiet American manages to be compelling as both history and a story about very specific people embroiled in a very personal conflict. An impressive film from director Philip Noyce (Rabbit-Proof Fence, Patriot Games). --Bret Fetzer

Thrillers DVDs

DVD Video

Bestsellers in Thrillers DVDs

Angels & Demons (Two-Disc Extended Edition)
Son; Release date: 2009-11-24; DVD
Best price: $20.29
Price in other shops: ~~$36.95~~

Ronin [Blu-ray]
DE NIRO,ROBERT; Release date: 2009-02-24; DVD
Best price: $8.99
Price in other shops: ~~$34.98~~

Quantum of Solace
TCFHE/MGM; Release date: 2009-03-24; DVD
Best price: $9.99
Price in other shops: ~~$29.99~~

Live Free or Die Hard [Blu-ray]
WILLIS,BRUCE; Release date: 2007-11-20; DVD
Best price: $11.99
Price in other shops: ~~$34.99~~

The Boondock Saints [Blu-ray]
Twentieth Century Fox; Release date: 2009-02-10; DVD
Best price: $12.25
Price in other shops: ~~$29.99~~

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (Two-Disc Edition + Digital Copy) [Blu-ray]
Par; Release date: 2009-11-03; DVD
Best price: $18.69
Price in other shops: ~~$39.99~~

Angels & Demons [Blu-ray]
Son; Release date: 2009-11-24; DVD
Best price: $17.99
Price in other shops: ~~$39.95~~

The Departed [Blu-ray]
DICAPRIO,LEONARDO; Release date: 2007-02-13; DVD
Best price: $13.13
Price in other shops: ~~$34.99~~

Angels & Demons (Single-Disc Theatrical Edition)
Son; Release date: 2009-11-24; DVD
Best price: $12.95
Price in other shops: ~~$28.96~~

Quantum of Solace [Blu-ray]
20th Century; Release date: 2009-03-24; DVD
Best price: $14.96
Price in other shops: ~~$39.99~~

Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs

The Quiet American (Critical Library, Viking)
by Graham Greene
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 1996-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.75
Price in other shops: ~~$20.00~~

The Scout
FRASER,BRENDAN; Release date: 2001-10-02; DVD
Best price: $4.99
Price in other shops: ~~$9.98~~

Journey From the Fall
WELLSPRING/GENIUS; Release date: 2007-10-30; DVD
Best price: $42.70

The Lover
Release date: 2001-12-11; DVD
Best price: $6.33
Price in other shops: ~~$14.98~~

Heaven & Earth
Warner Brothers; Release date: 2004-10-19; DVD
Best price: $2.49
Price in other shops: ~~$14.98~~

Gods and Monsters
MCKELLEN,IAN; Release date: 2003-06-17; DVD
Best price: $8.95
Price in other shops: ~~$14.98~~

The Quiet American (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)
by Graham Greene
Penguin Classics; Published: 2004-08-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.75
Price in other shops: ~~$15.00~~