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Payback (1999) DVD Review
Payback (1999) DVD Credits:
Payback (1999) Directed by:
Brian Helgeland, Mic Rodgers
Payback (1999) Written by:
Donald Westlake, Brian Helgeland, Terry Hayes
Payback (1999) Cast:
Mel Gibson, Gregg Henry, Maria Bello, David Paymer, Bill Duke, Deborah Unger, John Glover, William Devane, Lucy Liu, Jack Conley
Payback (1999) Released by:
Not available at this time
Region:
1
Payback (1999) DVD Release Date:
9th April 2007
Our Rating: Extras Rating:

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Payback (1999) Synopsis:

The heist goes smoothly enough. The cash is already hot. So when Porter and Val steal it, they're in the clear. Time comes around to split the take and Val makes three grave mistakes: he takes Porter's cut; he takes Porter's wife and tries to take Porter's life. Problem is, when you kill this guy, you better make sure he's dead. Porter soon resurfaces, reborn with a serious case of tunnel-vision. He wants his cut and doesn't care what he has to do to get it. Now, everyone in the city's criminal underworld, including an air-tight syndicate called The Outfit, have Porter's cross-hairs trained on them.

Payback (1999) DVD Review:

Based on the novel, “The Hunter” by Richard Stark, Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential) tried to make a film where the protagonist is a ruthless person. Ads for Payback warned audiences to “get ready to root for the bad guy”. Adapting the script and directing the film, Brian Helgeland wanted to a make an accurate adaptation, one which made some people nervous and in the end it wasn’t the version seen in theaters. Although I loved the watered down version originally released, Helgeland’s version is a true work of absolute completeness. Usually these different versions of films being released on DVD have only slight changes, but the dramatic changes that Helgeland makes change the film, making me feel as though I was seeing the film for the first time again. It is a marvelous experience that any fan of the film really should have, although some might prefer the original version. The tagline suddenly makes much more sense, even if it isn’t as pleasing to the audience.

The raspy voiceover by Mel Gibson in the theatrical version gave the film a great pulp crime novel feel, and it feels somewhat strange without it in the director’s cut, especially since Porter talks so little in the film otherwise. It changes the mood of the film entirely to hear none of Porter’s thoughts, making him as much of a mystery to us as he is to the rest of the characters in the film when he starts demanding only the meager amount of money which was stolen from him, an odd act of principles coming from a ruthless thief.

The plot remains the same. A thief who calls himself Porter (Mel Gibson) is double crossed by his partner and his wife and left for dead. He survives and comes back to town to get his money, no more and no less. Aside from this the director’s cut is an entirely different movie. The film looks, sounds and ends so differently that it is hard to believe that these are the same film. There is more brutal violence in the director’s cut, but there are also entire scenes removed as well. The entire large explosive ending from the theatrical version is replaced with a simple and poignant ending which creeps up so suddenly that it is hard to believe the film is over. It truly left me wanting more, and I also believe this to be a far superior film because of it, but fans of the original version may be disappointed at the missing torture scenes and badass, yet unbelievable, car escape and destruction. There is no point comparing the two versions too closely, because they truly are different films, each with its own merits. They even removed the blue tint from the film, which is a sad missing element to the visuals, but it is still a great looking film.

There are a few unique special features to go with the film as well. An all-new director’s commentary by writer/director Helgeland is priceless, as is the featurette about the director’s cut, including comments by Mel Gibson. There is also a conversation with the author of the book the film is based on, Donald E. Westlake, and a featurette on the two different location shoots.


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Payback (1999) DVD review written by: Ryan Izay

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