The Iceman

Michael Shannon is simply terrific at playing the "creepy" guy...the one with perhaps a normal exterior, but whose inner life is deeply troubled. Usually, he delivers these shadings in the service of relatively nice guys (REVOLUTION ROAD, TAKING SHELTER [maybe his best role] and BUG, for example). These are all nice guys with issues. Shannon lets us see the surface and also the anguish just below. Whether it's a gaze that doesn't quite meet your eyes, or a furrowed brow or just a turn of phrase...he's never less than riveting and just a little scary.In THE ICEMAN, he has found the perfect character...one that no one but him could have played as well. While his lead role in the remarkable TAKING SHELTER is perhaps his most layered performance; his role in this true story is perhaps the most tailor-made for him. Which IS ironic, since it's a true story. Shannon plays a cold-blooded killer for the Jersey mob. Over the decades, it is estimated he killed over 100 people. In all manners of death and without remorse or pity. And without any seeming enjoyment. His face is a blank stare. When he is threatened with death, he has virtually no reaction beyond mild curiosity...and when he kills, there is even less going on. But when he is temporarily sidelined, he becomes like a caged animal, literally pacing and on edge and ready to explode. Killing clearly is his way of exorcising some kind of personal demon.At the same time, Shannon is married and has a lovely family he cherishes above all else. His feelings, though a bit tightly contained, seem genuine. He loves his wife (Wynona Ryder) and never strays from her. His daughters are the light of his life. He keeps them sheltered from what he really does, and provides for them well. He is a bit of an odd-bird, even to his wife...but certainly no one would suspect what he really does.This is a dark and low-budget film. There is little sunshine to be found, and given that much of it takes place in the '70s, it has an extra sheen of grime that comes with all the polyester. And the plot itself is pretty straightforward. We know (because the first scene shows us) that Shannon will be caught, but because he is surrounded by other low-life thugs who seem even more petty than him, we actually sort of root for the guy. The story is told through his eyes almost entirely, and we cannot help but side with him just a bit. There is, I reluctantly admit, something a bit gripping about seeing someone who is a master at what he does at work.Shannon is the main reason, by far, to see this film. He is mesmerizing throughout. Ray Liotta has a significant role as the mob boss...doing the exact same character he's been doing for about 20 years. Ryder is fine...the role is hardly one that would revive her career, but it's good to see her in something where she isn't making fun of herself too. Best of all is Chris Evans as another hit man, who embarks on a years long collaboration of sorts with Shannon. His personality is all flash and sparkle...and Evans, normally such a straight-laced good guy (CAPTAIN AMERICA, anyone?) looks great in the '70s garb and hair. He's busting out with energy, creating a stark contrast with Shannon's contained rage.We find out very little about this true to life character. We get a tiny glimpse at what may have broken in him, but no sense of what makes him so casual about killing. His love for his family seems genuine and shows real emotion. Yet he appears to be a sociopath of the first order. The two sides of him make for an uneasy reconciliation for the viewer, which I feel only adds to the power of the film.The climax of the film comes fast and surprising. And Shannon finally gets a chance to let loose...and it's a thing of power and rawness. And unlike with his silly character in MAN OF STEEL, when this guy sees his life instantly collapsing, his outcry of rage and horror is chilling.I highly recommend this film, although it does have a bleak outlook on life and humanity. I didn't feel depressed at its conclusion (not at all, it is so well done), but I wasn't exactly uplifted! [By the way, James Franco receives pretty high billing in the film and is on the cover of the disk. He is in exactly one brief scene. Just to warn ya.]

Highly recommend

FORMAT: Blu-Ray UPC: 6-87797-14016-6 RELEASED: 2013-09-03TITLE: The Iceman (2012) • R • 1:45:27 Michael Shannon, Winona Ryder, Chris Evans, James Franco Ariel Vromen (Director) "The Iceman" is a movie that I had heard very little about before Amazon put it on sale for one of its "Black Friday" events. Because of the LOW price, I took the plunge and bought it sight-unseen (which, for me, is HIGHLY unusual). I am VERY happy that I did, as this movie is an underrated gem; with a very interesting story and with very good to excellent performances by the cast. Highly recommended. See the other reviews for more detail and/or other opinions regarding the plot of the movie.VIDEO: 1.78:1 • Color • 1080p • MPEG-4 AVC (20.2 Mbps) While the images in this presentation of the "The Iceman" are mostly (but, not always) sharp, it has poor contrast (which, admittedly, may be a conscious decision by the director/cinematographer because of the dark gritty nature of the source material — which, by the way, is why I "generously" scored it a 3.6 for VIDEO quality; however, if the film's look was NOT intentional, then it deserves a 2.5 VIDEO quality score). However, because of this lack of contrast there are absolutely NO truly dark (i.e.—black) shadows anywhere in this picture (with the darkest of them looking like a not-very-dark hazy gray); and, since the vast majority of the movie takes place in dark indoor settings and at night, this makes for an image that, on the whole, appears to be washed-out and not very dimensional. Mercifully, there were no additional major picture anomalies (such as: specks, hair-lines, white dots, excessive banding, color fluctuations, etc.) to further mar this movie's image. Overall, I think that most of this movie's picture quality issues could be solved by placing it on a BD-50 disc (instead of its current DB-25 disc) and significantly increasing its bit-rate. In the end, because of all of its issues, I rate this movie's picture quality as barely adequate: meaning, that while it may satisfy the casual viewer (particularly on 40-inch or smaller TV's, with out-of-the-box picture settings), most serious viewers and videophiles will find it very, to severely, lacking.AUDIO: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (48KHz, 24-bit) The audio quality exhibited by the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack on this disc is, particularly when contrasted (pun intended) with its visual presentation, a revelation! The surround channels were very active and very directional, dialog was cleanly recorded and is natural sounding and is well-placed, and ambient sounds (which were used to convey the location of the on-screen settings and actions) were very effectively integrated into the soundtrack. Plus, surprisingly, there are plenty of occasions where deep, energetic bass is evident; and, not just in the subwoofer channel, but in ALL of the other channels as well. This is a very fine example of cinematic sound design, that while it is NOT a Dolby Atmos / DTS:X / 7.1 presentation, is still an excellent 5.1 soundtrack, which should satisfy all but the very pickiest of listeners.EXTRAS: Two 'Making Of' type videos None of the extras were reviewed.

So, I know what Hollywood does to true stories. They embellish, and take poetic license. I'm fine with that. I still liked and was moved by how much this guy loved his family. It was amazing how he compartmentalized how he made his living, keeping it together for his wife and daughters. I hope they were able tp carry on with their lives.

A+++++. Recomendado. EXCELENTE. Producto de alta calidad. Recomendable 100%. Excelente trato, toda la experiencia ha sido positiva. Genial. Bien hecho.

Shannon und Liotta- eine eiskalte Symbiose der Wuchtigkeit, die mir den Atem verschlägt,kaum Zeit für eine Pause lässt, mich ins Geschehen fesselt.....durch und durch." Seht euch das an,....dieser Wi*chser ist kalt wie Eis. Komm schon, dir kann doch nicht alles schei*ssegal sein....Hast du `ne Freundin? " - " Bin verheiratet. " - " Warum machst du dann auf Mr. mir ist alles egal? " -" Was wollen Sie? " - " Erlös`den Penner von seinem Elend. "THE ICEMAN entwickelt sich knallhart. So knallhart, dass mir das bisschen ausatmen, das mir bleibt, bald wieeine kleine eisige Wolke scheint...........trotz Dreiundzwanzig Grad im Zimmer." Erst kopiert er Trickfilme und jetzt ist er `n Banker. " - " Trickfilme? So nennt man Pornos heute? " - " Pornos? "Und ui ja, Chris Evans, der so saubere " Captain America ", erweist sich hier als Meister der Verwandlung,bringt den tödlichen Mr. Freezy authentisch und unheimlich rüber. Spekulative Schockszenen braucht`s hier nicht....wenn Kuklinski und Freezy ihre Leichen fachgerecht zerteilen, weiß ich genau, was sie da tun- ohne dass die Kameravoll drauf hält.***********************************************************************Story:Richard Kuklinski führt ein Doppelleben: Als Familienvater und als Killerfür Gangsterboss Demeo. Seiner Familie mit inzwischen Zwei Töchtern verräter dies natürlich nicht. Doch die Jahre vergehen und es fällt Richard immer schwerer,seiner Frau seine gewalttätige Seite zu verbergen...........*************************************************************************Mein boah!Fazit:THE ICEMAN beruht auf einer wahren! Begebenheit- und das macht ihn noch eindringlicher.Killer Kuklinski soll angeblich von den 60ern bis in die 80er Jahre über Hundert Menschen ermordet haben.Und eben in dieser Hauptrolle als kaltblütiger Killer überzeugt mich Michael Shannon auf ganzer kalter Ebene." Was hast du? Betest du? Na gut, bete zu Gott, dass er mich aufhalten soll. Na los!"Manche Geschichten klingen so unglaublich, dass man gar nicht glauben kann, dass diese auf wirklich wahrenBegebenheiten beruhen sollen. Eine genau dieser Geschichten eben ist THE ICEMAN, die das Leben eines Mannesabhandelt, dessen Kaltblütigkeit dem unglaublichen Kontrast eines liebenden Ehemanns und Vater gegenübersteht.Shannon`s Darstellung des Killers hat eine subtile Psychose, die unterschwellig brodelnd jederzeit auszubrechen droht und von einer völlig emotionslosen Gefühlskälte überdeckt wird, die nur durch die Liebe zu seiner Familieübertroffen wird." Die Sache ist die,........ich will, dass du da aufräumst. Kapiert? "Und Ray Liotta, ha, der spielt gewohnt versiert seine beinahe schon standardisierte wiederkehrende Mafia Badcop-Rolle, für die er geboren zu sein scheint. Und für die ich ihn so liebe.Und Winona Ryder klar wundersüß." Du denkst, du bist was besseres als ich........". - " Nein. Ich weiß es. "Und ja, alle Mitwirkenden liefern sehenswert schauspielerische Leistung ab, doch verblassen sie gegen Shannon,der den Film von der ersten Minute an zu seiner Geschichte macht. Auch ist es diese eine von einigen großartiggespielten Szenen, die viel ausdrückt über das Selbstverständnis des Killers Kuklinski; da draußen gibt es keinenGott, der dir hilft. Du bist ganz allein auf dich angewiesen. Wer dies nicht erkennt, ist ein Narr.Lauflänge: 101.08 Minuten (mit Abspann ) !Extras ( deutsche Untertitel ) :- Behind the scenes= 8.10 Minuten!- B- Roll= 3.09 Minuten!THE ICEMAN- mein eiskalter Tipp im November 2019. Absolut!

Excellent

Produit en bonne condition

ACHTUNG - ich bewerte nicht den Film, da es dieser leider nicht in unsere Kinos schaffte (ich glaube auch in Amerika wurde aus der Kinovorführung nichts) sondern das Buch "The Iceman: The True Story of a Cold-Blooded Killer" by Anthony Bruno, welches nicht nur unglaublich spannend, sondern auch als Vorlage für diesen Film diente. Verfilmt wurde das Leben vom Mafia-Auftragskiller Richard "The Iceman" Leonard Kuklinski, der zwischen 100 und 256 Leute getötet haben soll und selbst am 5. März 2006, im Trenton State Prison, New Jersey gestorben ist. Seinen Spitznamen bekam er durch den Fund eines seiner Opfer, welches er 2 Jahre in einem Industriegefrierer lagerte und dann ablegte, womit es unmöglich war, den genauen Todeszeitpunkt festzustellen. Kuklinski "arbeitete" ca. 32 Jahre für Privatleute ebenso, wie für die fünf New Yorker Mafiafamilien: Genovese, Gambino, Colombo, Bonanno und Lucchese. Bei Letzterer war Henry Hill ein sogenanter "Associate", dessen Leben von Martin Scorsese im Film "Goodfellas" wiedergegeben wurde.  Good Fellas Steelbook [Blu-ray] [Limited Edition ] Kuklinski arbeitete für den Killer Roy Albert DeMeo (im Film gespielt von Ray Liotta) der als "Soldato" für die Gambino-Familie diente und dem das FBI mindestens 70 Morde zur Last legte. DeMeo war Kopf der sogenannten "DeMeo-Crew" oder auch "Gemini-Crew", einer achtköpfigen Killer-Truppe, dem Mordkommando der Gambino-Familie, die sich vornehmlich in der Bar "Gemini Longue" aufhielten, wo sie auch etliche ihrer Opfer zerstückelten. Die Bar ist heute eine christliche Kirche. Es soll auch eine weitere Verfilmung geben, für die Philip Carlos Buch "Iceman" als Vorlage dient.  Ice Man: Bekenntnisse eines Mafia-Killers  In selbigen soll The Iceman von Mickey Rourke gespielt werden, welcher auch bereits für die Rolle unterschrieben hat. Wer sich für das Thema interesiert dem seien zwei Dokumentationen nahe gelegt. 1. "The Iceman Interviews" und 2. The Iceman: Confessions of a Mafia Hitman", welche beide über Amazon.com oder auch Amazon.uk bezogen werden können. Beide natürlich nur in englischer Sprache, wobei Nummer 2 englische UT hat, was bei Amazons' Produkt-Beschreibung jedoch fehlt. Beide Versionen sind überdies auch auf You Tube zu sehen. Good Fellas Steelbook [Blu-ray] [Limited EditionIce Man: Bekenntnisse eines Mafia-Killers