The second adaptation of Robert Ludlum's espionage novel of the same name (the first, a TV-miniseries, featured Richard Chamberlain), The Bourne Identity stars Matt Damon in a sharply focused performance as a highly-trained CIA assassin with amnesia who is surviving on his lethal instincts while on the run in Europe from his own people--although, of course, he doesn't know who they are or why they are trying to kill him. Directed by the understated and resourceful Doug Liman (Swingers, Go), this is a film in which even a seat-gripping car chase through the streets of Zurich bristles with intelligence, yet the movie's best scenes are those character-driven moments of tension, suspense, and emotion between Damon and Franka Potente (Run Lola Run), who is much more than the traditional cinema spy's arm ornament here as a German girl he's offered $20,000 for a ride to Paris. I love James Bond flicks, but I'd take this kind of sensational, cerebral thriller over cartoon-like gadget- and stunt-driven pictures any day of the week. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include commentary by director Doug Liman, the 15-minute “The Birth of The Bourne Identity” making-of featurette, a two-minute alternate ending, four deleted scenes, a one-minute extended farmhouse scene, the Moby music video “Extreme Ways,” production notes, cast/filmmaker highlights, a trailer, and DVD-ROM Total Axess features. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a solid thriller.] (R. Blackwelder)[DVD Review--Universal, 119 min., PG-13, $29.98—Making its second appearance on DVD, The Bourne Identity: Explosive Extended Edition is being released to coincide with the arrival of the sequel, The Bourne Supremacy. Bonus features on this “Explosive Extended Edition” of the 2002 action-thriller include “The Bookend Scenes” (11 min.), featuring the never-before-seen opening and alternate ending sequences with an introduction by producer Frank Marshall, screenwriter Tony Gilroy, and costar Brian Cox; the production featurette “The Bourne Mastermind: Robert Ludlum” (6 min.), an “Access Granted” interview with Gilroy (4 min.), “From Identity to Supremacy: Jason and Marie” (4 min.), “The Bourne Diagnosis” (3 min.), “Cloak and Dagger: Covert Ops” (5 min.), “The Speed of Sound” (4 min.) with audio samples, four “Declassified Information” deleted scenes (7 min.), the five-minute featurette “Inside a Flight Sequence,” the music video “Extreme Ways” by Moby, cast/filmmaker bios and film highlights, text production notes, and DVD-ROM features. Bottom line: some of this material was already on the original “Collector's Edition” release, while Doug Liman's solid commentary track from the first release is missing here. If you already have the initial version, there's no need to pick this one up.]
The Bourne Identity
Universal, 121 min., PG-13, VHS: $79.99, DVD: $26.98, Jan. 21 Volume 18, Issue 1
The Bourne Identity
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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