Search - 1408 (Full Screen Edition) on DVD

Lisa T. from SALISBURY, NC
Reviewed on 11/6/2008...

This movie has some twist and turns but it must be watched and followed closely to catch what is really going on. An enjoyable movie!

3 of 5 member(s) found this review helpful.

Fine adaptation of Stephen King short story... Get the 2-Dis

dooby | 11/02/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Although I've enjoyed Stephen King's books for many years, the film adaptations have been pretty much hit-or-miss affairs. This film is one of the better ones. It is an adaptation of one of his short stories, a pretty straightforward tale about an "evil" hotel room and a skeptical horror writer's brief stay in it.

There is no gore, little blood, and little in the way of shocks. If those are your requirements for a horror film, you had best stay away. It is closer to a psychological thriller than a typical horror movie. It is essentially a one-man show and John Cusack as the writer acquits himself admirably. He is the quintessential everyman that we find in all of Stephen King's books. Actually the character could almost be King himself. The scene in the bookshop where he goes to promote his new book is pretty funny and reminiscent of something that King himself experienced in Australia when he was chased out of a local bookstore by clueless store-clerks who thought he was a vandal defacing their merchandise. The film is a fine mix of comedy and horror. Witness Cusack's cynical and deadpan "That's it?" when he first enters the much-hyped room 1408, followed by the room's welcoming ditty "We've Only Just Begun" sung by the golden-voiced Karen Carpenter.

The version to get is the 2-disc Collector's Edition. This is the only way you'll get to see the "Director's Cut" which is found on Disc 2. It also includes an engaging commentary from Swedish director Mikael Håfström and writers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. The Director's Cut is about 8 minutes longer and contains several new and extended scenes as well as a very different ending. Neither version is similar to the original short story. Håfström explains why the ending was changed - test audiences didn't like the original ending. Håfström claims that he eventually grew to prefer the ending of the theatrical cut but after watching both, my preference is for the darker ending of the original. In either case, there is no happy-ever-after. I found the original darker ending to be more in keeping with the logic of the film but from test screenings it would seem that most viewers would prefer something lighter. You can compare for yourself on this double-disc set. There are also 11-minutes worth of deleted scenes with Håfström explaining why they were removed and about a half-hour's worth of production featurettes. At just $3 more than the single-disc standard edition, the Collector's set is the one to go for."

Sometimes death is better.

Killerwokz | east coast usa | 12/02/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This film starts off a bit slow, and could have given a bit more of a back story to make the viewer understand about the tragic loss that the main character went through. The main character has become disillusioned with life and no longer thinks that there is any mystery in life. The mind bending qualities of 1408 really creeped me out, in about the same way that "Jacob's Ladder" creeped me out. I think on the undercurrent all people must be horrified of the same thing, the loss of family, your mind, reality itself. There are something's that are worse than death. I think that's what 1408 was about the horror that everyone has in them that people would rather die than face. On my creep meter I give 1408 ten skulls."