Search - The Statement [Widescreen] on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Violence, Adult Situations Movie Release: 2003 DVD Release: 04/27/2004 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV - Closed Captioned Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 59 mins Studio: Columbia TriStar Total Copies: 13 Genres: Thriller, Period Film, Political Thriller

A man who has been able to avoid the consequences of his actions for nearly 50 years suddenly finds he must answer pursuers on both sides of the law in this drama, based on the novel by Brian Moore and inspired by a true story. After France fell to German occupation during World War II, the Nazi-controlled Vichy government established a law-enforcement group known as the Milice, who were under the direct control of Nazi authorities. In 1944, Pierre Brossard (George Williams) is one of a handful of Milice officers who round up and execute seven Jewish resistance members in the village of Dombey. After the liberation of France, Brossard is tried and convicted for his crimes, but he manages to escape capture, and years later is pardoned. In 1992, Brossard (now played by Michael Caine) is an elderly man living a quiet life in Provence and modestly supported by fellow veterans of the Vichy regime when he's ambushed and nearly killed by a man whom he learns was a hired killer. Brossard discovers this is hardly his only problem; new legislation will allow Vichy-era war criminals who escaped punishment to be charged and tried again, and Anne Marie Livi (Tilda Swinton), a bright and aggressive French prosecutor, has joined forces with Col. Roux (Jeremy Northam) to bring Brossard, among others, to justice. While Brossard is still being clandestinely assisted by church officials and Vichy sympathizers, he must go on the run to avoid capture, and finds himself hiding from the French police as well as a cadre of underground assassins, whose alliances and purposes are frustratingly unclear. The Statement also stars Charlotte Rampling, Alan Bates, and Frank Finlay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Michael Caine - Pierre Brossard
Tilda Swinton - Anne Marie Livi
Jeremy Northam - Col. Roux
Alan Bates - Bertier
Charlotte Rampling - Nicole
John Neville - Old Man
William Hutt - Le Moyne

Award-winning director Norman Jewison gathered a strong cast for his drama The Statement, including Michael Caine, Tilda Swinton, Jeremy Northam, and Charlotte Ramping. Although the film struggled to find space on movie screens, the DVD release of the film offers should help it find an audience. The movie is presented in a widescreen anamorphic transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital 5.1. English subtitles are accessible. Supplemental materials include a commentary track recorded by Jewison, interviews with both Jewison and Caine, deleted scenes, and a making-of featurette. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide