Ladykillers

Theatrical Release Date: 2004 03 26 (USA)

UPC: 786936239508

Studio: Walt Disney Video

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Violence, Not For Children, Profanity]

Summary: One of the best-loved films from the idiosyncratic British film studio Ealing Pictures gets an update from the equally idiosyncratic filmmaking team of Joel and Ethan Coen in this offbeat comedy. Marva Munson (Irma P. Hall) is a spry, elderly woman who attends church regularly, doesn't care for loud noises or harsh language, and is looking for a tenant for the spare room in her house. Enter Goldthwait Higginson Dorr (Tom Hanks), a silver-tongued college professor who moves in and gains Munson's permission to use the basement for rehearsals with his "medieval music ensemble." What Munson doesn't know is that Dorr's latest project is not academic, but criminal. Dorr is masterminding the robbery of a riverboat casino, and the fellow musicians in his ensemble are actually the crew he's assembled to pull off the job: foul-mouthed "inside man" Gawain (Marlon Wayans), clumsy demolitions expert Pancake (J.K. Simmons), quiet strong-arm man Lump (Ryan Hurst), and logistical expert The General (Tzi Ma). Despite the best efforts of Dorr and his cohorts (which aren't very impressive), Munson finds out about their scheme, and when she refuses to accept a share of the take in exchange for her silence, Dorr decides the best solution is to silence her permanently. The gospel tunes which grace the soundtrack to The Ladykillers were coordinated by T-Bone Burnett, who also helped assemble the acclaimed song score for the Coen brothers' O Brother, Where Art Thou?. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Category: Crime

Awards: Special Jury Prize – Cannes Film Festival In Competition – Cannes Film Festival

Features: cc"The Slap Reel" outtakes
"The Gospel of The Ladykillers" deleted music scenes
"Danny Ferrington: The Man Behind the Band" featurette - the master guitar-maker tells all
The Ladykillers ScriptScanner enhanced computer feature
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Widescreen (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 televisions
French language track
French and Spanish subtitles

Ladykillers

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 09/07/2004

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Theatre Wide-Screen

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 104 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,French

Subtitles: French,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 --
1. Opening Credits [12:01]
2. Members of the Ensemble [7:17]
3. Shine on Me [9:04]
4. Practicing Music [5:39]
5. The Bandit Queen [8:42]
6. A New Friend [6:47]
7. Bad Timing [6:25]
8. Trouble [9:21]
9. Entertaining the Ladies [9:51]
10. "A Middle Way" [8:19]
11. Dazzling Conversation [14:43]
12. End Credits [5:42]

Perry Seibert

There is something appropriate about Joel and Ethan Coen officially sharing directing credit for the first time with their remake of The Ladykillers. This film uses many tropes and devices familiar to fans of their work -- a big terse dumb guy, an overly loquacious main character, and American roots music, to name just three. While all these familiar elements add up to an entertaining film, The Ladykillers lacks the comic highs of their best work, though the film is well worth seeing for Tom Hanks. Finally playing an all-out bad guy allows Hanks to shred every ounce of movie-star self-consciousness. This is his first film since winning back-to-back Oscars in which he seems free from the need to have the audience like him -- and that sense of freedom comes through in the performance. The brothers have given him some of the most baroque dialogue they have ever devised, and Hanks twists and turns his voice so that he plays every nuance perfectly. His many speeches are certainly the best aspects of The Ladykillers. The final 30 minutes of the film feels like an extended version of the death of Wheezy Joe from their previous film Intolerable Cruelty, but the black humor loses shock value fairly early as if Joel and Ethan do not have the heart to stay wicked for such an extended period of time. While this is most certainly a minor work from Coen brothers, they never just go through the motions. The final joke, about what happens to the score from the heist, provides a scathingly funny final twist. Unlike most of Joel and Ethan's work, the pleasures here are mostly ephemeral. Fun while it lasts, The Ladykillers may be the first Coen brothers film that fails to stay with the viewer. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Carter Burwell  Composer (Music Score) 
Ethan Coen  Director 
Ethan Coen  Producer 
Ethan Coen  Screenwriter 
Joel Coen  Director 
Joel Coen  Producer 
Joel Coen  Screenwriter 
Tom Jacobson  Producer 
Barry Josephson  Producer 
Barry Sonnenfeld  Producer 
Tom Hanks  Actor 
Marlon Wayans  Actor 
J.K. Simmons  Actor 
Irma P. Hall  Actor 
Tzi Ma  Actor 
Ryan Hurst  Actor 
George Wallace  Actor 
Diane Delano  Actor 
Stephen Root  Actor 
Jason Weaver  Actor 
Greg Grunberg  Actor 

Country: USA