 |
|
Related Categories
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Action Stars |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Syriana (Widescreen Edition) |
 enlarge
|
List Price: $28.98
Buy New: $11.89
You Save: $17.09 (59%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $9.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  (based on 131 reviews)
Sales Rank: 1
Category: DVD
Director: Stephen Gaghan
Publisher: Warner Home Video
Studio: Warner Home Video
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
Label: Warner Home Video
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 128 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.6
UPC: 012569807723
EAN: 0012569807723
ASIN: B000F7CMRM
Release Date: June 20, 2006 (New: This Week)
Theatrical Release Date: December 9, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
|
Similar Items:
| " |
Munich (Widescreen Edition) |
| " |
Good Night, and Good Luck (Widescreen Edition) |
| " |
Firewall (Widescreen Edition) |
| " |
Capote |
| " |
King Kong (2-Disc Widescreen Special Edition) |
|
|
Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Syriana is an oil-based soap opera set against the world of global oil cartels. It is to the oil industry as Traffic was to the drug trade (no surprise, since writer/director Stephen Gaghan wrote the screenplay to Traffic): a sprawling attempt to portray the vast political, business, social, and personal implications of a societal addiction, in this case, oil. A major merger between two of the worlds largest oil companies reveals ethical dilemmas for the lawyer charged with making the deal (Jeffrey Wright), and major global implications beyond the obvious; a CIA operative (George Clooney) discovers the truth about his work, and the people he works for; a young oil broker (Matt Damon) encounters personal tragedy, then partners with an idealistic Gulf prince (Alexander Siddig) attempting to build a new economy for his people, only to find hes opposed by powers far beyond his control. Meanwhile, disenfranchised Pakistani youths are lured into terrorism by a radical Islamic cleric. And thats just the start. As in Traffic, in one way or another all of the characters fates are tied to each other, whether they realize it or not, though the connections are sometimes tenuous. While Syriana is basically a good film with timely resonance, it cant quite seem to measure up to Gaghans ambitious vision and it very nearly collapses under the weight of its many storylines. Fortunately they are resolved skillfully enough to keep the film from going under in the end. To some viewers, Syriana will seem like an unfocused and over-loaded film that goes, all at once, everywhere and nowhere. Others will find it to be an important work earnestly exploring major issues. In either case, its a film that deserves to be taken seriously, and its likely to be one that will be talked about for a long time to come. --Dan Vancini
Beyond Syriana
The soundtrack |
More from Participant Productions |
Why We Love Jeffrey Wright |
Starring George Clooney |
Oscar Central |
See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism
|
Stills from Syriana (click for larger image)
Description
Big oil means big money. Very big money. And that fact unleashes corruption that stretches from Houston to Washington to the Mideast and ensnares industrialists, princes, spies, politicos, oilfield laborers and terrorists in a deadly, deceptive web of move and countermove. This lightning-paced, whip-smart action thriller grips your mind and nerves with an intensity that doesn't let go for an instant.
DVD Features:
Additional Scenes
Featurette:Make a Change, Make a Difference
Interviews:Conversation with George Clooney
|
|
Customer Reviews: Read 126 more reviews...
 A potent political parable regarding those evil oil companies June 26, 2006
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
From a rhetorical perspective "Syriana" is probably preaching to the choir. The idea that oil companies are motivated by profit and will do anything to make more money today than yesterday, and even more tomorrow, has been clear ever since J.R. Ewing ran rampant on "Dallas." The reality that the "record" gas prices of recent days are relative and less than they were during the oil crisis of the 1970s once you adjust for deflation is lost on a public that would rather keep the math simple and not bring algebra into the equation. Oil companies make big profits and they make them off of us, but then you can say the same thing about fast food restaurants or pretty much any other American business. Besides, there is nothing we can do about hurricanes that affect oil production in the Gulf of Mexico, but during an election year you can get politicians desperate to keep their jobs willing to babble empty promises about taking the oil companies to tasks. It has been sixty years since the end of World War II and Nazis are too old to be functional boogeymen anymore, but the oil companies we will always have with us (well, actually, that is not true, as this film tries to indicate).
The plot of "Syriana" is pretty complex, but the situation is relatively simple. One the oil producing nations of the Persian Gulf signs a deal to supply its oil to China, which was what the Texas-based oil company Connex wanted to do. Meanwhile, Killen, a small oil company, signs a deal to drill for oil in Kazakhstan, so Connex strikes a merger deal, which gets the attention of the U.S. government because there are things here that do not add up (unless you think in terms of petrodollars). "Syriana" was written and directed by Stephen Gaghan, who won an Oscar for Best Screenplay Adaptation for "Traffic," which matters because it provides a point of reference which tells viewers that thinks are going to get complicated and convoluted before long, but in the end everything will be revealed in the fullness of time to be parts of a single pattern. So just watch the proceedings and follow along as best you can.
Involved in these machinations are a whole bunch of characters, with veteran CIA field agent Bob Barnes (George Clooney) as the film's focal point (which might sound like it is at odds with winning an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, but with everybody vying for screen time it makes sense). His counterpart in the dynamic of the film ends up being Bryan Woodman (Matt Damon), an oil trader working out of Geneva who becomes a bit more honest in the truth he speaks to power after a personal tragedy. The cast also includes Christopher Plummer, Chris Cooper, Jeffrey Wright, Akbar Kurtha, William Hurt, and Aleander Siddig, and I refrain from identifying roles and motivations because that is something best left to you in watching the film.
The relationship between Robert Baer's "See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Solider in the CIA's War on Terrorism" and Gaghan's screenplay is that the film is "suggested" by the non-fiction book. In other words, nothing is real here, but it is expected to ring true with audiences and it probably well. However, "Syriana" got me thinking: the assumption has been that President Bush has is beholden to the oil companies because they have bought him body and soul (not to mention that he tried to be an oil man once upon a time). But this film suggests that Bush or any other American president should follow their whims and orders because if they do otherwise they may well lose more than their job.
Jameson Thottam with some thoughts on Syriana June 26, 2006
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
Jameson Thottam with some thoughts on Syriana
Oil, is perhaps the most precious natural resource on the planet and also one of the most controversial. It powers industry and the economies of many nations, yet the regions that contain the largest amounts are often the most unstable, and this instability often results from the influences of the very nations that purchase the oil.
It is a tenuous situation where buyer and seller are wary of one another and at times regard the other as a necessary evil. The money paid for the oil has made suppliers and handlers rich and powerful, but many on the outside of this privileged circle believe that greed has caused both sides to lose focus on what is most important for the people of their nations.
Back to the Film (Jameson Thottam)
In the film Syriana viewers follow the paths of different people from various walks of life who for the most part do not know one another, yet are all linked by the same cause, oil.
The Characters (Jameson Thottam)
There is the C.I.A. agent Bob Barnes (George Clooney), who spends time in locales such as Iran and Beirut eliminating threats to national security.
A lawyer, (Jeffrey Wright), who is caught in the middle as he attempts to find, and if need be eliminate damaging material that can prevent a pending merger between two oil companies.
There is the grieving energy analyst Bryan Woodman (Matt Damon), who deals with his loss by siding up with a powerful Prince, (Alexander Siddig), even at the alienation of his family.
There is also a displaced Pakistani worker who after losing his job when a Chinese company acquires the refinery where he worked, falls in with a group of radicals with a militant agenda.
The above is just a small sampling of the characters as there are numerous business, political, and Middle Eastern citizens who all play very prominent parts in the story.
The Key Focus ( Jameson Thottam )
The main focus of the film is not only to illustrate the connectivity between the characters but to show how politics and big business influence policy in oil rich nations and how through secret deals, political intrigue, and treachery policy in and towards the same oil producing nations are set into place and maintained.
While this is not much of a shock to people who follow the news, it is the way that director Stephen Gaghan uses ordinary and in some ways unremarkable people to tell the story and how it affects those who deal with oil.
The Complexities ( Jameson Thottam )
Even those who are supposed the big players are often simply being played by forces outside their control in a world where reality and perceptions are often miles apart. The complex nature of the story is actually a model of simplicity as cause and effect, as well as the ability of big business to influence lawmakers is what drives the film.
The cast is strong especially Clooney and Siddig who make their characters sympathetic while at the same time captivating. The contrast of the men who are a Prince and an agent, yet whose destinies often cause them to walk along the same paths is amazing.
Closing (Jameson Thottam)
Syriana is an amazing film that is so complex in its simplicity. The basic message is very clear, yet the layers that must be uncovered like a tangled web of lies in telling the story is a far reaching journey that will shock and anger most viewers.
Some may find fault with a so called liberal agenda to the film, but politics aside, "Syriana" is a very captivating and entertaining film that makes you think.
Review End
Jameson Thottam
 Fantastic, fascinating, and exciting June 26, 2006
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a very good, explosive, fascinating, and exciting movie. It really brings the real life about the global oil industry. For the story, it is so fascinating and everything is connected to each other without any plot/scene, which doesn't make sense for the whole movie. So, this story is well done. For the acting, George Clooney and Matt Damon are awesome actors for this thriller. Others are also okay and fit for this movie. For the direction, they are just great in all. All the plot and scene are good from head to toe. For the visuals, it is good because this action-packed movie always needs a good "letterbox" widescreen vision to fit the excitement. For the music, very tense and a job well done. This is as the same as the sound effects too. Overall, it is simply a recommended film.
 Syriana A Lie Told A 1000 Times Remains A Lie. June 25, 2006
5 out of 33 found this review helpful
The trick in Syriana is the idea that people will a believe a portion of what ever someone says. They are the ones who say, "If only half the things in Syriana are true then US must be completely evil." So a film maker who tells 100 lies knows that most people will believe 50 lies.
During the 1973 Arab oil boycott, there were no assassinations and the amount of oil coming to the US was unchanged. The reason is the market is too strong to be controlled by nations. Therefore the idea that the US assassinates people for cheap oil is a lie. Oil companies may be evil but even they want high oil prices because that means they can charge more for oil.
In 1776 Adam Smith thoroughly debunked the ideas found in Syriana. The use of force to secure raw materials or markets only impoverishes the country that uses force. That is why the USSR fell. Sure business can make money through the use of force but countries who use force for markets become weaker. Moreover as there are no US oil companies there is no reason for the US to help any oil company. The US wants to keep the oil flowing and the more it pays for oil the more oil will flow. Therefore, the US tends to support high oil prices.
OIL COMPANIES WANT OIL PRCES HIGH BECAUSE THEY SELL OIL
Only the rich liberals believe that the US uses force to keep oil prices low because don't consern themselves about gas prics. Instead they sit in the back of their limousines while their chauffeurs pump gas.
Ambitious...and yes, Siddig shines June 25, 2006
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
I still need to view "Syriana" again to figure out what it was all about. But then, I felt the same about "Traffic." I certainly admire the project's ambituousness--like the war on drugs, there is no easy answer to global terrorism and energy dependence, though the project doesn't mention beheadings such as the one of Nicholas Berg at the hands of al-Zarqawi in its plot about the assassinated Saudi idealist, played magnificently by Alexander Siddig with marvelous understatement and texture.
Siddig's role as Dr. Julian Bashir of "Star Trek" fame was not a stereotypical Arab role (the character was originally called Julian Amoros), but he seems to get the terrorist roles (Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in THE HAMBURG CELL, a guest shot in "MI5:Spooks") as well as the idealistic ruler roles such as Feisal opposite Ralph Fiennes (where, as in "Hamburg Cell" Sid puts on a convincing Arab accent instead of his marvelous British) in "A Dangerous Man," where Feisal got torpedoed by the West--in this case, the Brits and the French, forcing "dangerous man" TE Lawrence (Fiennes) to turn against his colleagues the way Clooney's Baer and Matt Damon's cynical economics expert do.
Prince Nasir is a blending of Feisal and Bashir, both idealists. My movie date and I agreed Alexander Siddig's was the best performance--with apologies to George Clooney, who convincingly did a Charlize Theron and shed his glam image, and whose torture scenes as well as the famous "Why am I being investigated" scene, not to mention the moment where he looks at Nasir just before Nasir buys it courtesy of Big Oil and the CIA, are excellent. In a cast this stellar, with everyone brilliant right down to Amanda Peet, who does drama brilliantly, it's hard to pick a standout--Jeffrey Wright is good, though his scenes with his father seem to go nowhere plotwise (although they're touching and maybe meant to humanize this lobbyist), and Chris Cooper and Christopher Plummer excellent.
As for the film's assertion of American assaination and manipulation of political affairs, we all know it happens (Siddig once played scenes with William Sadler in "Star Trek" where the latter guest-starred as a Baer-like spy with no conscience--Sadler made an unreleased film called "Purple Heart" involving a US Military plot to kill Saddam Hussein). Yes, it bothers any thinking person. The other side of the coin is that covert ops have saved countless lives (and in the first gulf War, people argued we should have taken out Hussein.) It's more troubling when the target is presented as a good guy, like Nasir, which is most likely the point. It's worth remembering we trusted Hussein and bin Laden once upon a time. Syriana tries to make us think about the complex sides of the issues--while people may debate Clooney's politics, he and Steven Spielberg certainly tried to move moviegoers.
|
|
|
Copyright Runningonkarma.com 2006
|
|
|
