Series 7: The Contenders - Marathon Edition (2001) DVD - Full Screen - 5.1 Retail
 

Series 7: The Contenders - Marathon Edition (2001) DVD - Full Screen - 5.1 Retail
Product Number   Shipping Weight 1.0 lbs
Warranty Period 1 Year Manufacturer Alliance Atlantis Co.
Condition New Manufacturer Part No.  
Packaging Retail Box Support Contact Dealer
 In Stock and Ready To Ship!
 
SERIES 7: THE CONTENDERS consists of six episodes of a fictional television game show called The Contenders. On the show, non-actors are given handguns, quickly explained the very basic rules (kill the other contestants) and told to "play," with a goal of winning by staying alive. Ultraviolent and psychologically disturbing, the film unrolls in the frenetic style of network television, never pausing for reflection. Written and directed by Daniel Minahan (co-writer of the screenplay for 1996's I SHOT ANDY WARHOL), SERIES 7 makes a timely comment on the rising popularity of actual television reality games shows.

It's the ultimate game show. The contestants are chosen in a random drawing, handed a weapon, and instructed to watch their backs. Then, the entertainment begins. The prescient SERIES 7 skewers American popular culture with wit and style. Conceived long before the phenomenal success of the television program, SURVIVOR, and the subsequent deluge of "unscripted entertainment," the film takes the idea a step further. The manipulation of lives in SERIES 7 is in bold face. The film is shot on digital video in a hand held, breakneck style, with a hysterically solicitous voice over narration and bold, jarring graphics pumping up the drama of every frame. Using unknown actors, the audience accepts the characters as ordinary citizens. These actors generate tremendous sympathy, even as they commit desperate and brutal acts. Brooke Smith is particularly engaging as Dawn, the pregnant reigning champion. But Minahan reminds his audience again and again that all of the images they're seeing have been filtered, and even what seems to be the direct presentation of an actual event, cannot, in the end, be trusted.

The screenplay for SERIES 7: THE CONTENDERS was written before reality game shows like SURVIVOR and BIG BROTHER aired in the United States. The fictional television show upon which its plot is based represents an exaggerated model of reality shows like TEMPTATION ISLAND and THE MOLE--which aired in 2000, years after the screenplay was written!!
    
Features/Specifications
  • Attractive Retail Box
  • Genre: Comedies, Adventure, Game Shows, Television, Violence
  • Rating: 18A (Canadian Home Video Rating)
  • Rating Reason: For Strong Violent Content and Language.
  • Starring: Brooke Smith · Glenn Fitzgerald · Donna Hanover · Richard Venture · Marylouise Burke · Angelina Phillips · Merritt Wever · Michael Kaycheck
  • Directed By: Daniel Minahan
  • Release Information:
  • Studio: Alliance Atlantis Co.
  • Theatrical Release Date: Mar 2, 2001
  • DVD Release Date: Sep 25, 2001
  • Run Time: 87 minutes
  • Production Company: Blow Up Pictures
  • Package Type: Keep Case
  • DVD Features:
  • Encoding: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only). This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other countries.
  • Aspect Ratio(s):
  • Full Screen (Standard) - 1.33:1
  • Available Audio Tracks:
  • English (Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround)
  • English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
  • Language: English
  • Available Subtitles: English
  • Closed Captioned: Yes
  • Bonus Features:
  • Commentary with Director Daniel Minahan
  • Sundance Director Lab
  • Extreme Promotion
  • Deleted Scenes
  • Filmographies
  • Interactive Features:
  • Scene Access
  • Interactive Menus
Product Requirements
  • DVD Player
Informational Links
 
 
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