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Virtuosity

Actor(s): Denzel Washington, Kelly Lynch, Russell Crowe, Stephen Spinella, William Forsythe
Director(s): Brett Leonard
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Movie Details

MPAA Rating: R
Content Advisory: Violence, Not For Children, Profanity, Sci-Fi Violence
Movie Release: 1995
DVD Release: 05/25/1999
Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
Audio Tracks: English, French
Subtitles: English
SwapaDVD Credits: 1
Number of Discs: 1
Run Time: 1 hrs 45 mins
Studio: Paramount
Total Copies: 5
Genres: Science Fiction, Thriller, Chase Movie, Sci-Fi Action, Police Detective Film
See Also: Virtuosity

DVD Synopsis

In a futuristic, high-tech world run by huge corporations, Parker Barnes (Denzel Washington) is an L.A. policeman serving time for killing the psychotic who murdered his wife and child. Lindenmeyer (Stephen Spinella), a Dr. Frankenstein of the computer era, has created a monster, Sid 6.7 (Russell Crowe), a virtual reality entity which is programmed with the character traits of scores of mass murderers. Sid 6.7 has escaped the control of its creator and is now running amok. The privatized police force in charge of keeping the peace in the city is run by Elizabeth Deane (Louise Fletcher). Barnes has volunteered to test a new criminal tracking system based on a virtual reality device. His job is to find Sid 6.7, with the help of psychologist Madison Carter (Kelly Lynch). Barnes gets out of prison and reinstated to the police force to pursue his dangerous prey. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

Actors

Denzel Washington - Parker Barnes
Kelly Lynch - Madison Carter
Russell Crowe - SID 6.7
Stephen Spinella - Lindenmeyer
William Forsythe - William Cochran

Editorial Review of DVD

Brett Leonard's cyberspace themed thriller Virtuosity comes to DVD with a widescreen anamorphic transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1. English soundtracks are rendered in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital Surround, while a French soundtrack has also been recorded in Dolby Digital Surround. There are no subtitles, but the English soundtracks are closed-captioned. Supplemental materials include the trailer. This is a fine release from Paramount that boasts excellent sound and picture quality. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Member Movie Reviews

Jen L. from RALEIGH, NC wrote on 6/21/2009...

Russell Crowe absolutely makes this movie. Fantastic movie. I caught it first on one of those Saturday Movies on network television but it has beautiful acting and this DVD shows scenes that were missing from the TV spot. Everyone should watch this movie!

Jennifer F. (KnJFisher) from GILLETT, PA wrote on 5/24/2008...

For the most part, "Virtuosity" is basically another virtual reality-themed movie so full of action that it almost hurts. But interestingly enough, there is a little bit of a plot here. Denzel Washington plays Lt. Parker Barnes, who has to help find SID 6.7 (Russell Crowe), a virtual serial killer who has escaped into the real world in 1999 LA.

Yes, that certainly sounds like it could degenerate into the kind of garbage that Hollywood usually turns out. Much of the movie is in fact vaguely reminiscent of movies like "Demolition Man". But maybe we can interpret the movie as looking at the dangers of letting technology get too powerful, like what "2001: A Space Odyssey" looked at. Obviously, this isn't even remotely in the same league as that one, but given that it was released in 1995, it almost seems like a prediction of how computer-centric the world would become.

Not a masterpiece by any stretch - both Washington and Crowe have done much better work (and now they're both Oscar winners) - but worth seeing, if only once.