MEL GIBSON * GARY SINISE * RENE RUSSO

RANSOM (1996)

I'm surprised that when a 'definitive thrillers' conversation comes up, Ransom is hardly mentioned. I just watched it the other day and realized how good this movie really is.

Tom Mullen, rich airline owner, is shocked when his son is kidnapped. He is willing to pay the two million dollar ransom, but the drop goes wrong. Tom turns the ransom money into a bounty on the head of the kidnapper - a move no one sees coming.

Ransom is a smarter than usual thriller - the almost too-close-to-home subject of kidnapping makes it that much more hair-raising. Gary Sinese gives one of his best performances as an actor, a performance that had originally made me into a Sinese fan.

Roger Ebert's 3 Star review

The movie paces along perfectly and does everything right. Ransom could be the best thriller of the 90's.


Am I alone?

One more thing...the Laserdisc is said to have 18 extra minutes that were cut from theaters...can anyone tell me what these scenes were?

I loved it as well. Never bothered to pick up the DVD since I had the laser with the extra footage. Wish I could help you out with what's different but the extended version is the only one I've seen (blind buy LD). IMDB was no help on this one.

I have the LD but it's been a long time since I've watched it and I can't tell you exactly what's been added. But I can tell you it fills in information that makes for things like better transitions and smoother plot developments. I remember after seeing it in the theater and later watching the LD that it I thought it was much improved by the additional footage. I actually had not cared for the theatrical version that much.

I also, like matome, have never picked up the DVD because it is not the director's cut.

I was disappointed with the movie--I expected more from Mel Gibson and Gary Sinise. After the trailers gave away the big "twist" that Tom was offering the ransom as a bounty the movie just didn't have that much great emotional impact. Plus the fact that what he did would never EVER happen all made for a pretty ridiculous film IMO. Maybe the extended edition would make the movie that much better, but until Disney decides to release a SE of the movie on dvd I guess we'll never know.

The 1956 original with Glenn Ford and Donna Reed turns up on TCM every now and then, and is worth a look. (Unfortunately it's not on DVD or even VHS anywhere.)

I thought it was a great movie. I had the LD and from what I remember, Mel Gibson's character went to the press a second time to declare a ransom for his son's kidnappers (only to back out) - before the scene where he did it in the theatrical cut. Kind of hard to explain, but that's all I can remember.

If you liked this, watch Akira Kurosawa's High and Low. A much better film IMO.

Ransom is definitely underrated. I could care less about the reverse Ransom as that wasn't to me jewel of this movie. I too loved the performances of Sinise and Gibson. I mean how do you react to your child being kidnapped. I can assure you Gibson was much more torqued about it than the Family of Elizabeth Smart seemed to be. I'm definitely picking this one up.

Big fan of Ransom, good performances, Mel Gibson, good stuff. Got the dvd.

I really agree. The twist is a lot better as well.

Ransom really wasn't that bad, but as already mentioned the trailer gave away so many key plot points (I was even able to identify the villain) that the movie itself was spoiled.

A good film that could have been a great film if a certain someone had gotten away with the money. It would have been clever and unpredictable if the film had ended with this certain someone walking away a smart, rich man. Instead, we get an overlong, extended, unnecessary duel between father and kidnapper with an overly predictable ending. Great performances all around though. Grade : B +

"GIVE ME BACK MY SON!"

I watched it last month for the first time in a while. I still think it's a great film - especially the performances, imo. I thought it was very well done. My wife saw it for the first time and really enjoyed it, too.

I'll have to check out the Kurosawa film - thanks for the recommendation.

Love this movie.

I also have the LD. I'll dig it out and check out the extra scenes. As was stated it fills out the story.

Love this movie. Haven't watched it in a while though. Excellent performances all around. The ever present Delroy Lindo turns in a fine performance as well.

Not to mention that this was the movie that gave us Donnie Wahlburg as a actor. Not sure if that is a good thing or not. He was excellent in the Sixth Sense, but that was less than a 4 minute roll.