Equilibrium [Blu-ray]

Director: Kurt Wimmer Kurt Wimmer

Overview

A man who dares to feel finds his life in danger in this cautionary science fiction drama. In the future, after a Third World War has decimated much of the Earth's population, a new nation known as Libria rises up under the unquestioned leadership of Dupont (Angus MacFadyen). Believing human emotions and their expression were to blame for the failings of past societies, The Father has decreed that all citizens must take a daily dose of Prozia II, a drug which levels out the emotional landscape, and that all forms of creative expression are against the law; violating either regulation can be punished by death. John Preston (Christian Bale) is a Grammaton, an elite law enforcement officer who tracks down and punishes "sense offenders." One day, Preston accidentally fails to take his Prozia II, and for the first time begins experiencing emotions himself. Preston becomes aware of an underground of rebels who refuse to take their medication and have embraced art and literature, and he finds himself becoming infatuated with one of their number, Mary O'Brian (Emily Watson). Equilibrium is the second feature-length directorial effort from Kurt Wimmer, whose screenwriting credits include The Thomas Crown Affair and Sphere.

Product Details

Release Date:	07/27/2021
UPC:	0191329202203
Original Release:	2002
Source:	Miramax
Language:	English
Time:	1:46:00
Sales rank:	12,783

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Christian Bale	John Preston
Taye Diggs	Brandt
Angus Macfadyen	Dupont
Matthew Harbour	Robbie Preston
Sean Bean	Errol Partridge
Emily Watson	Mary O'Brien
Sean Pertwee	Father
Emily Siewert	Lisa Preston
Maria Pia Calzone	Preston's Wife
Dominic Purcell	Seamus
William Fichtner	Jürgen
David Hemmings	Proctor
David Barrash	Evidentiary Storage Officer
Christian Kahrmann	Officer in Charge
John Keogh	Chemist
Dirk Martens	Gate Guard
Florian Fitz	Guard
Francesco Calabras	Rebel Leader
Anatole Taubman	Crematory Technician
Kurt Wimmer	Rebel Victim
David Barrass	Evidentiary Storage Officer

Technical Credits

Kurt Wimmer

Kurt Wimmer	Director,Screenwriter
Jan de Bont	Producer
Lucas Foster	Producer
Bob Weinstein	Executive Producer,Executive Producer
Andrew Rona	Executive Producer
Donald Flick	Sound Effects
Jon Mete	Sound Effects
Martin Lopez	Sound Effects
Greg ten Bosch	Sound Effects
Annette Borgmann	Casting
Euro Ean	Casting
Post Logic Studios	Special Effects
RIOT Pictures	Special Effects
Byron Miller	Sound/Sound Designer
Frank Kruse	Sound Mixer

Editorial Reviews

For action movie fans, it's rare to find a film that has anything on it's mind other than trying to out-explode the biggest and latest brainless romp in the theaters. With director Kurt Wimmer's Equilibrium, audiences were given a little more to chew on, deliberately echoing Orwell's 1984, with touches of Brave New World and Fahrenheit 451 just to be safe. While some scoured at the heavy-handedness of the science fiction material and the lack of originality in the ideas, those who stayed were treated to one of the freshest films in a now-tired genre. By inventing a fighting technique known as "Gun-Kata," the filmmakers created an excuse for filmgoers to buy into some of the most stylish, fun, and kinetic gun battles this side of Hong Kong cinema. Far too easily compared with The Matrix, this low-budgeter relies on virtually no wire-work and instead turns the focus onto the play of light, well-staged choreography, and fierce editing as its main filmmaking allies. It's surprising then that some of the film's best moments are the most quiet ones. Christian Bale's awakening to the senses he's been taught and bred to ignore is note-perfect and the most memorable of the film. With equally strong performances from the rest of the cast and gorgeous art design surrounding them, Equilibrium deserved more of a chance than its studio, Dimension, originally gave it upon release. And while the ideas it embraced admittedly weren't the most original, they are timeless and strong enough to be reexamined and interpreted every so often by artists such as these. Exciting, beautiful, and filled with probably more intelligence than it should have, Equilibrium is the thing that cult classics are made of.

All Movie Guide - Jeremy Wheeler