The Dancer Upstairs

Director: John Malkovich

Overview

"John Malkovich's intelligent, talky and ultimately slow directorial debut The Dancer Upstairs comes to DVD. As is often the case with smaller, independent, or ""arty"" films, the DVD release will no doubt give this title more life than it received in the

Product Details

Release Date:	01/10/2012
UPC:	0024543088295
Original Release:	2002
Rating:	R
Source:	20th Century Fox
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, Dolby Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	2:15:00
Sales rank:	46,626

Special Features

Closed Caption;Full-length audio commentary by director John Malkovich and actor Javier Bardem; Sundance Channel featurette; Making-of featurette; Theatrical trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Javier Bardem	Det. Lt. Agustin Rejas
Juan Diego Botto	Det. Sgt. Sucre
Laura Morante	Yolanda
Elvira Minguez	Llosa
Alexandra Lencastre	Sylvina
Oliver Cotton	Merino
Luis Miguel Cintra	Calderon
Javier Manrique	Clorindo
Abel Folk	Ezequiel/Duran
Marie-Anne Berganza	Laura
Lucas Rodrigues	Gomez,Man in Convertible
Xabier Elorriaga	Pascual
Natalia Dicenta	Marina
Wolframio Sinue	Santiago
Ramiro Jimenez	Sgt. Pisac
Lam Chuen	Major Kwan
Jose Antonio Izaguirre	Quesada
Isabel Prinz	Quesada's Wife
Benjamas Boonnak	Chinese Ambassadress
Ignacio Carreno	Quesada's Bodyguard
Tito Garcia	Admiral Prado
Veronica Noboa	Model
Luis Gaspar	Judge
Steve Emerson	TV Producer
Eusebio Lazaro	Father Ramon
Montserrat Astudillo	Woman in Pick-up/Edith Pusanga
Galo Urbina	Indian No. 1 in Pick-up
Jairon Flores	Indian No. 2 in Pick-up
Carlos Carrillo	TV Technician
Paulina Aguilar	Shanty Girl,Boy with a Poster,Coca Cola Cap
Esteban Salazar	Shanty Policeman
German Nunez	Manager
Pachacutic Chugchilan	Bomb Boy
Santiago Carlos Vellido	Soldier No. 1
Diego Naranjo	Captain Montesinos
Celina Casari	Maria
Maribel Rivera	Patricia
Ignacio Duran	Theatre Manager
Frida Torresblanco	Woman in Theatre
Ana Lozano	Vera
Lola Peno	Nurse
Francisco Javier Paez	Army Colonel
Raquel Rocha	Woman in Convertible
Yousaf Bokhari	Radio Announcer
Montserrat Iglesias	Radio Announcer/Student,Composer
Natalia Tarnawiecki	Radio Announcer
Carlos Thiebaut	Radio Announcer
John Malkovich	Abimael Guzman

Technical Credits

Nicholas Shakespeare

Nicholas Shakespeare	Screenwriter
Cesar Abades	Special Effects
Katrina Bayonas	Casting
Andres Vicente Gomez	Producer
Lianne Halfon	Executive Producer,Producer
Camilla-Valentine Isola	Casting
John Malkovich	Producer
Angel Planas	Stunts
Russ Smith	Executive Producer
Antonio Bloch	Sound/Sound Designer

Scene Index

Side #1 --
1. Main Title
2. Checkpoint
3. Diplomacy
4. Presidente Ezequiel
5. Suicide Bomber
6. New Assignment
7. Home Life
8. Dead Ends
9. Nose Job
10. Political Philosophy
11. Book Club
12. Pas de Deux
13. On the Carpet
14. Assassination
15. It's the Fashion
16. Martial Law
17. Fear of the Dark
18. Homecoming
19. Character Judgments
20. Work and Play
21. Caught on Tape
22. Garbage Detail
23. A Gift of the Heart
24. Ready to Roll
25. The Takedown
26. Political Threat
27. Harsh Sentence
28. Ballet Recital/End Credits

Menu

Side #1 --
Play Movie
Language Selection
English 5.1 Dolby Surround
French Dolby Surround
Spanish Dolby Surround
Director and Actor Commentary
English Subtitles
Spanish Subtitles
Subtitles Off
Scene Selection
Special Features
Commentary by Director John Malkovich and Actor Javier Bardem
Sundance Channel's 24 Fram News - Journeys With John Malkovich
Revealing the Dancer Upstairs
Theatrical Trailer
In America Theatrical Trailer

Editorial Reviews

John Malkovich's debut as a feature-film director is a combination of political thriller, police procedural, and love story. Slow and methodical, the film fares better at developing mood (with considerable help from cinematographer Jose Luis Alcaine, who seems fond of dim lighting) than with building suspense or political commentary. Indeed, the film's terrorist organization remains an enigma even though the screenplay, which was adapted by Nicholas Shakespeare from his novel, was inspired by the real-life search for Abimael Guzman, the founder of the "Shining Path" terrorist group. The plot is rather vague at times and the characters remain somewhat distant and inaccessible. The major exception is Javier Bardem as Rejas. He delivers an excellent restrained performance in which the film's story line unfolds subtlety on his face. Unfortunately, he does not have a great deal of romantic chemistry with Laura Morante, although their mutual attraction seems relatively plausible given the contrast between Rejas and his wife, a poorly developed character whose relationship with him remains somewhat inexplicable. The film is sometimes interesting and often evocative, but it doesn't quite hold up as an emotionally engaging story.