Search - Men With Guns on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Violence, Adult Situations Movie Release: 1997 DVD Release: 09/23/2003 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV - Closed Captioned Edition: Dual Layered,Restored/Remastered Audio Tracks: Spanish Subtitles: English, French SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 2 hrs 8 mins Studio: Columbia TriStar Members Wishing: 8 Genres: Drama, Adventure Drama, Political Drama

A powerful political allegory set in an unnamed Latin American country, Men With Guns concerns Dr. Fuentes (Federico Luppi), an elderly physician long involved with a group that trains young people to provide health care for the poverty-stricken citizens of the outlying hill country, where small agricultural communities struggle to survive under primitive living conditions. The doctor has heard rumors that many of his former students are lost and feared dead, so he goes into the hills to investigate. The deeper he digs into the jungle, the more Fuentes finds that the people are menaced by "men with guns'" -- military forces who use torture and execution to intimidate the people, and guerillas from opposition groups whose agenda is only marginally more benign. Accumulating several travelling companions -- a defrocked priest, a deserter from the Army, a boy who survives by stealing, and a woman who has turned mute since she was raped -- Fuentes finds that his journey becomes more revealing but also more perilous the deeper he ventures into the hills. American writer and director John Sayles filmed most of Men With Guns in Spanish (an language he speaks fluently), as well as several indigenous dialects; he claims to have based most of the film's incidents on actual events that have occurred in a number of different Third World nations. Mandy Patinkin has a brief role as an American tourist Fuentes encounters in his travels. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Federico Luppi - Dr. Fuentes
Damian Delgado - Domingo, the soldier
Dan Rivera Gonzalez - Conejo, the boy
Tania Cruz - Graciela, the mute girl
Damián Alcázar - Padre Portillo, the priest
Mandy Patinkin - Andrew
Kathryn Grody - Harriet
Iguandili Lopez - Mother
Danny Rivera

John Sayles' political drama Men With Guns comes to DVD with a widescreen anamorphic transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The Spanish soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital Surround. English, French, and Portuguese subtitles are accessible. Supplemental materials include a commentary recorded by Sayles. He is a very smart man with a great talent for storytelling, and is able to explain in revealing and humorous detail the various problems that occurred as they filmed in countries that were less than hospitable. Sayles also explains throughout how the film is modeled on classic storytelling structure. Trailers round out this strong release from Columbia/TriStar. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide