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Rendition | 
| Director: Gavin Hood
Actors: Jake Gyllenhaal, Meryl Streep, Reese Witherspoon, Alan Arkin, Yigal Naor
Studio: New Line Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.98
Buy Used: $1.75
You Save: $13.23 (88%)
Rating:  78 reviews
Sales Rank: 7800
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd-video, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 122 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: TRNDN11292D
UPC: 794043112928
EAN: 0794043112928
ASIN: B00102F5WK
Theatrical Release Date: 2007
Release Date: February 19, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Studio: New Line Home Video Release Date: 09/30/2008 Rating: R
Amazon.com
Roger Ebert called it "perfect," and certainly the timing couldn't have been much better: Rendition was released just as the U.S. was debating anew the issue of "extraordinary rendition," a policy (begun under the Clinton administration, accelerated after September 11, 2001) of handing over suspected terrorists to countries that use torture as an interrogation tool. Alas, the movie only rarely fills in the outlines of a prototypical "issue movie," the kind of thing peopled by cardboard characters tracing the patterns of an important, indeed urgent, subject. The plot kicks into gear when an Egyptian-born man (Omar Metwally) is sent to an unnamed North African country where torture is practiced, with the CIA in approval. The film takes a Crash dive through how this affects various people: his pregnant American wife (Reese Witherspoon), the reluctant CIA agent (Jake Gyllenhaal) on the scene, a severe interrogator (Yigal Naor), all the way up to a U.S. terrorism honcho (Meryl Streep) willing to turn a blind eye to the unpleasantness if it stops a terrorist attack. Things spark briefly when Witherspoon enlists an old beau (Peter Sarsgaard) to plead her case with his boss, a U.S. Senator (Alan Arkin), but for the most part director Gavin Hood (Totsi) can't find a way to color in these line drawings, despite the formidable actors doing spirited work. The issue is fully and lucidly explained, but the movie doesn't come alive. --Robert Horton
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| Customer Reviews: Read 73 more reviews...
 "I fear you speak upon the rack ,Where men enforced do speak anything"-Shakespeare January 5, 2009
Medusa (Troy, MI)
A detailed review of this movie might ruin the pleasure of discovering how each character makes the choice between acting morally or simply walking away and doing nothing.
The movie elucidates legal rendition used by the United States, where suspects are taken into US custody but delivered to a third-party state. Torture by proxy is the most abhorrent form of torture, because it frees you from direct involvement in what is being done to another person.
Since 9/11, the CIA has reportedly launched an investigation into such cases of "erroneous rendition" where suspects were subject to rendition, confessed to crimes they didn't commit and were later found to be innocent civilians.
The subject of rendition in this movie is a wrongfully accused Egyptian born engineer (Omar Metwally), who lives in the United States with his wife (Reese Witherspoon) and child.
For the first time in his life, CIA analyst Douglas Freeman (Jake Gyllenhaal) watches this torture, led by Fawal (Yiqal Naor, who gracefully played Saddam Husain in "House of Saddam"), and chooses to take a moral stand despite his boss's disapproval. At the same time, in juxtaposition to the torture event, a young suicide bomber, under the powerful control of a terrorist group, makes his own moral choice.
Great performances and a great story, enhanced by the presence of Meryl Streep and Yiqal Naor. Some might find the idea of a CIA member standing up to his bosses or a suicide bomber saying no to his recruiters incredible. In real life both people might not survive, but I believe that some hope still exist and the duty of the director and the movie is to propose the possibility of hope.
Is the idea of hero who dares to change things, merely a dream? Perhaps, but it's a grand dream!
 Thought provoking December 29, 2008
Bradley F. Smith (Miami Beach, FL)
Though this political thriller makes its sympathies clear from the outset, it raises numerous issues that will make you think about the policies a democracy should condone in the name of fighting terror. It's not as black and white as it may seem to either side in the torture debate. The script here is intelligent, the acting very fine and much of the dialogue is in subtitles, lending some authenticity, even if the trick is becoming more and more of a film cliche. This is a very taut drama. Watch it.
 A film that did very little with a lot of (potential) material. December 7, 2008
Georg Einarsson (Reykjavik, Iceland)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
"Rendition" sheds light on the outrageous policy of extraordinary rendition, a policy that allows the U.S. government to detain persons of interest with no formal warrant or explanation. The plot of the film has been well-explained by other reviewers, so I won't go into that. This film had so much potential to bring forth new, compelling information about rendition, but failed to do so. Instead, it succombed to typical Hollywood theatrics. I suppose it's still worth a viewing, though, if you want to learn the basics of this outrageous policy.
What's much more worthy of attention is the documentary "Outlawed", which is featured in the special features on this disc. "Outlawed" tells the story of a German man who was captured and detained for nearly 5 years. In those five years, he was transported between several "underground" prisons in several different locations around the world. The documentary is a long interview with the man recalling his nightmare experience. It is truly riveting. I wept openly when first I saw it.
All in all, the film is a disappointment, but, as I've mentioned, the documentary included in the special features is superb.
 Not vintage Meryl Streep December 2, 2008
R. R. Thornton (Huntsville, Al.,USA)
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
I am always interested in Meryl Streep. Her name was listed in a way suggesting she was a principal player. She is not.
This DVD will give you about 10 minutes of a character type that does not allow Streep to display her range of acting talent.
There are many other reviews which address the question of the use of interogation techniques in fighting terrorists and I don't wish to add another. This is not a "war" movie which will bring the country together.
Thought provoking film November 24, 2008
Stephen Marth (San Ramon, CA United States)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Some interesting twists in this one!
The acting is well done. The story is more political than I expected but is worth watching. Character portrayal seems genuine although harsh as probably it needs to be to depict the real world.
The film seems one sided at times as you are pulled into the situation the pregnant wife is facing waiting for for news about her husband after missing from an international trip.
There are no right or wrong answers here. Those in charge are guarded about what they are doing and those who can help are reluctant to risk their careers by getting involved.
For the viewer, who is not really sure if the captive is guilty or innocent, it's important to see things from both sides. The tactics are considered legal to fight terrorism but what if the suspect is innocent of the charges?
There is a related thread that does not connect until quite late in the film. I had to keep wondering how that story line was related to the main topic - then the surprise ending... and it all comes together.
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