Redbelt [Blu-ray]

Director: David Mamet David Mamet

Overview

Tim Allen and Chiwetel Ejiofor co-star in writer/director David Mamet's martial arts drama Redbelt. Ejiofor plays Mike Terry, a jujitsu master who co-runs a very modest martial arts studio in Los Angeles with his bossy wife, Sondra (Alice Braga). Mike demonstrates an unwavering commitment to his craft and draws a cadre of defiantly loyal pupils including Joe (Max Martini), an LAPD cop. All told, it appears that he has chosen a peaceful and conflict-free path in life. The dedicated martial artist's fate takes an unanticipated turn, however, one evening when a young woman named Laura (Emily Mortimer) bursts into the academy in a state of near hysteria, and reaches for a policeman's gun when he tries to restrain her. One thing leads to another, and before long, Laura is regularly receiving martial arts lessons from Mike. As master begins to teach pupil and his martial arts philosophies emerge, his path also crisscrosses with that of a Hollywood movie star, Chet Frank (Tim Allen), when he saves the fellow from a beating at a local club and gets invited (along with Sondra) to Chet's house for dinner. Chet extends gestures of friendship, and Mike's guard breaks down; he speaks openly and candidly of a special martial arts method he employs that requires one of the participants to "assume a handicap." In time, the association with Chet leads to involvement in the motion-picture industry, and relations with a bevy of characters who aren't exactly what they seem -- including a pay-per-view fight mogul (Ricky Jay) and Chet's slimy and manipulative manager (Joe Mantegna).

Product Details

Release Date:	08/26/2008
UPC:	0043396264151
Original Release:	2008
Rating:	R
Source:	SONY PICTURES
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:39:00

Special Features

Commentary with David Mamet and Randy Couture; Behind-the-scenes of Redbelt; Inside mixed martial arts; Q&A with David Mamet; An interview with Dana White; Fighter profiles; The Magic of Cyril Takayama

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Chiwetel Ejiofor	Mike Terry
Emily Mortimer	Laura Black
Alice Braga	Sondra Terry
Joe Mantegna	Jerry Weiss
Rodrigo Santoro	Bruno Silva
Ricky Jay	Marty Brown
David Paymer	Richard
Rebecca Pidgeon	Zena Frank
Jose Pablo Cantillo	Snowflake
Tim Allen	Chet Frank
Randy Couture	Dylan Flynn
John Machado	Ricardo Silva,Jean Jacques Machado
Dan Inosanto	Actor,The Professor
Enson Inoue	Taketa Morisaki
Ray Mancini	Actor
Matt Cable	Academy Fighter
Cathy Cahlin Ryan	Gini Collins
Luciana Souza	Singer in Bar
Cyril Takayama	The Magician
Scott Barry	Billy the Bartender
Ricardo Wilke	Actor
Caroline de Souza Correa	Actor
Jack Wallace	Bar Patron
Jake Johnson	Guayabera Shirt Man
Dennis Keefer	Knife Fighter In Bar
Robert Reinis	Officer
Dominic Hoffman	Detective
Michael Kenner	Actor
Mike Genovese	Actor
Bob Jennings	Actor
Kimko	Richard's Bodyguard
Jennifer Grey	Lucy Weiss
Linda Kimbrough	Murphy
Steve Decastro	Knife Fighter On Set
Ed O'Neill	Hollywood Producer
Matt Malloy	Lawyer
Allison Karman	Paralegal
Damon Harriman	Actor
Renato Magno	Romero
Rico Chiapparelli	Sanchez
Martin Desideriom	Sanchez's Handler
Frank Trigg	Sanchez's Cornerman
Gilbert Gomez	Romero's Handler
Kei Hirayama	Japanese Interviewer
Vincent Guastaferro	Eddie Bialy
Mike Goldberg	Mike Goldberg
Josh Rafferty	Josh Rafferty
J.J. Johnston	Ring Announcer
Christina Grance	Ring Girl
Galen Tong	Referee
Tony Mamet	Fight Commissioner
Justin Fair	Actor,Non-Smoking Attendant
Christopher Kaldor	Actor,Official Security Guard in Blazer
Scott Ferrall	Scott Ferrall
Simon Rhee	Bruno's Henchmen
Troy Gilbert	Actor,Bruno's Henchmen
Gene LeBell	Old Stuntman
Lee Cohen	Undercard Fighters
Max Martini	Joe Collins
Richard Wilke	Eduardo
Carole De Souza Correa	Monica
Damon Herriman	Official at Arena
Mordechai Finley	Undercard Fighters
Arvan Morgan	Undercard Fighter
Peter Smith	Undercard Fighter
Scott Voss	Undercard Fighter
Chris Lisciandro	Southside Jiu-Jitsu Academy Fighter
Tino Struckmann	Southside Jiu-Jitsu Academy Fighter
Adam Treanor	Southside Jiu-Jitsu Academy Fighter
Clay Woods	Southside Jiu-Jitsu Academy Fighter
Masato Baba	Taiko Drummer
Darren Endo	Taiko Drummer
Kene Kubo	Taiko Drummer
Jason Osajima	Taiko Drummer
Byron Yamada	Taiko Drummer
Bryan Yamami	Taiko Drummer
Stephen Endelman	Composer

Technical Credits

David Mamet

David Mamet	Director,Screenwriter
Chrisann Verges	Producer
Sharon Bialy	Casting
Sherry Thomas	Casting
Jack Gill	Stunts
Tad Driscoll	Producer
Paul Lewis	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

David Mamet's Redbelt is a kind of Karate Kid for the intellectual, philosophical set -- a sober, action-peppered drama that asks what value there is in honor when one's opponents, and even adversaries, are willing to deceive and destroy lives in order to make a quick buck. It's a cynical meditation on the themes of nobility, integrity, and truth that successfully sidesteps the clichés of the typical action-drama, while still managing to deliver everything that audiences love about those films -- the struggling underdog, the serpentine villain, and the knockout final brawl -- all in ways that are sure to pleasantly surprise. The story revolves around Mike Terry (Chiwetel Ejiofor), an honor-bound Jiu-jitsu instructor who, along with his business-savvy wife, Sondra (Alice Braga), is struggling to keep his financially strapped self-defense studio in business. Mike believes that competition is weakening, but in fact, he's about to be drawn into the ring by circumstances beyond his control. Those circumstances -- involving a hard-drinking Hollywood action star, his shrewd producer, a disturbed lawyer, a troubled cop, and a crooked fight promoter -- might threaten to become unwieldy if assembled by a lesser talent, but writer/director Mamet ties them all together with a finesse that makes it look nearly effortless. The story moves along at a brisk and satisfying pace, the twists often arise out of what initially appear to be insignificant details, and the way Mamet subverts the concept of the final confrontation is truly inspired. Mamet may not be very adept at shooting a coherent action scene (they're mostly shot in a super-tight frame that was likely meant to portray the intimacy of the struggle but ends up dissolving the suspense by failing to give the viewer any true sense of perspective), but it's the emotional confrontations that prove to be the heart of Redbelt anyway. Performances are solid all around, with Ejiofor and Emily Mortimer standing out respectively as the warrior who shuns the spotlight to maintain his integrity, and the lawyer who fights on despite being traumatized. While Tim Allen's name may indeed draw some marquee value to the impressively cast film, he operates mainly on the periphery -- occasionally stepping in for brief scenes that primarily serve to propel Mike Terry's story. For those in search of an action-driven drama, Redbelt may disappoint as it frequently favors verbal sparring over full-blown fisticuffs. For those who know that words can hit as hard as fists, Redbelt is an absorbing, masterfully constructed story of a principled fighter who refuses to believe that true honor is dead.