The Hunger Games (Blu-ray + Digital Copy) [Blu-ray] [2012]

"The Hunger Games" series is a standout favorite among many, blending gripping storytelling with a thought-provoking dystopian setting. Suzanne Collins' original trilogy, beginning with the eponymous first book, creates a world where survival and rebellion intertwine in a thrilling narrative.The books are renowned for their intense plot, rich character development, and powerful themes of resistance and sacrifice. Katniss Everdeen, the protagonist, is a compelling and complex character whose journey through the brutal Hunger Games arena captures readers’ imaginations and hearts. The tension and suspense are masterfully maintained throughout, making it difficult to put the books down.The film adaptations, featuring Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss, successfully translate the high-stakes drama and emotional depth of the books onto the screen. The movies are visually stunning and well-acted, bringing the dystopian world to life with impressive special effects and a strong supporting cast.Overall, "The Hunger Games" series is a beloved classic in both literature and film. Its engaging plot, memorable characters, and social commentary ensure it remains a favorite among fans of dystopian fiction.

great movie for kids 12+

Son read the books and wanted to watch the movie. Great to hear him say how some things were and weren’t in the book!

This was my second watch and I loved it just as much as the first time!

Good movies

When it comes to the hunger games I will admit that I fell into the category of people who had watched the movie(s) before I had even read the book and thought I had known everything based off what I saw in the cinema. I had recently read books 1-3 and my views on the movies changed. When I first watched the hunger games movies, I will admit I enjoyed them, but it is very easy to get bored with them. I didnt have a full grasp on why the franchise was so popular, because none of the characters were particularly interesting or had a persona that was easily relate-able based on what was shown on-screen.After I read the books, I became attached to the characters. I understood what it was like to be in the thinking head of katniss. I also had faces to put to names, and body language I was able to vividly imagine in my head. The books were hard to part with because of how relate-able the characters were and how touching the emotion I felt was.I had to watch the movies again after I had re-read the books. I without hesitation bought a 24 hour rental for the Hunger Games movie on Amazon. I needed to revisit Panem and understand what was so different about the movies. I was obsessed with finding out what made me so indifferent about whether or not I saw these movies and whether or not I truly cared what happened to the characters in them.I was followed by much expected disappointment. Small, minuscule details bothered me, mostly because I thought I had the movie all figured out, but also because it was unnecessary to play the stories out that way. We first see Buttercup a black and white cat, when he is really orange (the color of a buttercup flower) as explained in the book. I dont know why this detail bothered me when we only see the cat once in this movie, but it did. He plays a big part in the last book, and should at least I would hope make a bigger appearance in the very last two movies.A woman who I presume is Greasy Sae, gives katniss the mockingjay pin, and creates no significance. We dont even hear about madge. Not that her character really plays a part, but Katniss did have another friend aside from Gale, a person whom she co-existed with, was terminated from the movie, therefore we as the audience would never be able to feel the emotion behind the mockingjay pin, and instead only look at it as an insignificant bit, that had a minor exchange between prim and katniss.The exchange between peeta and katniss was hardly filled in detail as well. All we could tell from her flash back memory was that she was cold in the rain one day, and peeta had thrown her some bread. We never receive the context that he burnt it on purpose, and that his mother gave him a black eye for it, and that she was nearing death. We hear some what about this while they're in the games, but its a very bland conversation, and was meant for a pre-story climax, so that the characters can develop.The only thing we knew about Katniss before they got into the games (from the movie pov) was that she was a hunter, she deeply cared for her sister, she was rude to her mother (which is because her mother mentally abandoned them after their father died, but the movie doesnt tell us this) She and gale unless truth be told otherwise were most likely going to end up being together when they were older out of the convenience and mutual relationship that just kind of worked for them.Another thing that bothered me was the unnecessary inclusion of words that they had two weeks to win the hunger games. What? There was no mention of that in the book, if anything, it would have been easier to find some way to sneak into the script that they were in there for about a month. Because they were.I really needed answers about this film. it saddened me because the characters never developed. Peeta is never understood to truly be hopelessly inlove with katniss. all we get is that he loved her, and before I had read the books. I thought (because of an opinion developed having only watched the movies at first) that Both Peeta and Katniss were pretending to like each other. I had thought, based off movie personas, that they would fall in love based off the act, and thats how they would end up together. Boy was I wrong. And gladly I appreciated their relationship way more after I had read the books. I secretly loathed the idea throughout my reading that they may not be together.I highly suggest reading the books before ever considering watching this movie. The movie steps out of Katniss' head. So you dont have any forethought. All you see are facial expressions, that have no grounds. It is very confusing.At any rate, I am giving this movie 4 stars because it really brings panem to life and helps you plug in what you dont see in film, into your imagination from what you know about the books.

Appreciate the predictive programming even if I didn’t know it at the time

I love this so much best movie of all time. make more!!!!!!!!

Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson are spectacular in this movie; they really capture the very different outlooks the two characters have. The movie is also quite true to the book which is a huge plus. Definitely the best of the series.

Ces dernières années Hollywood s'est laissé aller à produire des franchises cinéma à tour de bras souvent adaptées de livres pour la jeunesse. Si pour certaines de ces productions, le succès a été éphémère voir nul, il en est une qui a su non seulement ravir les fans de science-fiction mais aussi plaire à un public plus large, et pas seulement adolescent : Hunger Games. Se voulant à la fois une véritable satire de la société de consommation tout en mettant en exergue le combat des classes sociales, cette saga a l'intelligence de ne pas prendre son public pour des idiots. Réussite tant critique que commerciale, elle fait montre d'une grande capacité à renouveler son concept de fiction d'anticipation par une grande maîtrise de ses effets visuels et ses concepts architecturaux. Brillant et percutant. Ce premier volet qui installe son univers et ses personnages nous dévoile une Jennifer Lawrence aussi à l'aise dans les scènes d'action que dans l'émotion. Le reste de la distribution est à l'avenant avec des pointures telles que Donald Sutherland, Stanley Tucci, Woody Harrelson ainsi qu'Elizabeth Banks méconnaissables et parfaitement intégrés à l'intrigue. Une vraie réussite.Pour ce faire, l'éditeur français Metropolitan Filmexport a fait les choses en grand avec ce coffret prestige gavés de bonus et de jolies trouvailles : Le film au format Blu-ray (Disque 1), le film au format DVD (Disque 2), les suppléments du film (Disques 3 et 4), le CD de musique (Disque 5) dans un très beau digipack en noir aux effigies des héros du film.En goodies : le poster du film, 8 cartes postales ainsi qu'un magnifique badge métallique de collection. Le coffret est superbe et permet d'intégrer le tout de façon très ergonomique. Collector absolu. En ce qui concerne l'image et le son, là aussi on est aux anges avec la présence du français et de l'anglais en 7.1 DTS (Haute définition) et du français et anglais en 5.1 dolby digital (Standard) avec sous-titres français pour les deux versions. Probablement l'une des plus belles éditions faites pour une franchise par Métropolitan. Franchement si vous aimez la SF et les récits d'anticipation, Hunger Games vous ravira !

Enjoyed the movie and nice picture quality

Gleich zu Beginn erwähnt: Ich habe alle drei Bücher der 'Die Tribute von Panem'-Reihe gelesen und liebe sie.Und noch etwas, ich werde mich nicht zu sehr auf die Story konzentrieren und sie so knapp und Spoilerfrei wie möglich erzählen.Nun zur Rezenssion. Ich glidere sie folgendermaßen: Story, Regie, Kamera, Musik, Darstellerische Leistungen, Effekte, Make Up / Kleidung, Kulissen und zu guter letzt diese Edition.Story:Panem, ehemaliges Nordamerika. Vermutlich mehrere hunderte Jahre nach unserer heutigen Zeit. Naturkatastrophen haben die Welt zerstört. Man kann annehmen das nur noch Panem existiert. Denn sonst wird in den Romanen von Suzanne Collins nichts anderes erwähnt. Katniss Everdeen ist die Protagonistin der Buchreihe. Die gerade erst 16jährige kümmert sich um ihre Familie, denn der Vater starb bei einem Mienenunglück mit mehreren anderen Personen als Katniss noch sehr klein war. Die Mutter ist davon anscheinend traumatisiert und kümmert sich kaum um Katniss und deren kleinen Schwester Primrose. Seitdem geht sie heimlich in den Wald um dort zu jagen und die erlegte Beute zu Verkaufen. Sie ist eine sehr begnadete Bogenschützin. Eines Tages, am Tag der Ernte, finden die 74. alljährlichen Hungerspiele statt. Dort werden je ein Mädchen und ein Junge zwischen 12 und 18 Jahren ausgelost bei diesen teilzunehmen. Warum eigentlich? 74 Jahre zuvor gab es noch einen 13. District. Dieser begann einen Aufstand gegen das Kapitol und wurde kurzerhand bombadiert und somit zerstört. Um die Bewohner Panems somit an dieses Ereignis zu erinnern und einzuschüchtern, finden jedes Jahr die sogenannten Hungerspiele teil. Dabei wird Primrose, die 12jährige Schwester von Katniss ausgewählt. Voller Panik und um sorge ihrer Schwester, meldet sich Katniss freiwillig.Ich könnte noch weiter erzählen, aber ich denke soweit reicht das die Story betreffend. Wir haben noch viel vor uns.Regie:Diese übernahm Gary Ross. Ich kannte ihn bereits vom Film "Seabiscuit". Man hätte keinen besseren finden können. Ross ist mit sehr viel Leidenschaft an die Sache herangegangen. Was man auch an Behind the Scenes Footage beeindruckend erleben kann. Ebenso war er auch Drehbuchautor, zusammen mit Billy Ray und Suzanne Collins höchstpersönlich. Er achtete auf die kleinen Details und versuchte so wenig wie möglich auszulassen.Kamera:Ich bin ebenso kein Fan der Shaky-Cam, wie ihn viele an diesem Film kritisieren. Vor allem da dies in Situationen geschieht, wo es gar nicht hingehört. Damit meine ich, alles außer Kampfszenen. Auch wenn es damit dort vermieden wurde brutale Szenen zu zeigen um die FSK auf 12 runter zu bekommen. Dennoch passt dieser Stil auch in den 1. Film. Gott sei dank bekommt man ab "Die Tribute von Panem - Catching Fire" (dem 2. Film der Reihe), keine Shaky-Cam mehr serviert. Das Filmbudget wurde in "Catching Fire" auf satte 130 Mio. Dollar erhöht.Musik:Atemberaubend. James Newton Howard zeigt sein begnadetes Talent. Ich bin ein großer Fan seiner Musik. Traurige, actionlastige und auch nachdenkliche Klänge. Und der Soundtrack "The Hunger Games: Songs from Discrict 12 and beyond" kann ich Ihnen auch ans Herz legen. Die Musik darauf passt ebenso wunderbar zum Film. Mit damit sind u.a. Taylor Swift, Maroon 5, The Decemberists, Birdy, The Low Anthem und Oscarpreisträger Glen Hansard. Reinhören und genießen.Darstellerische Leistungen:Wo fange ich da nur an? Zuerst möchte ich Jennifer Lawrence erwähnen. Sie verkörpert Protagonistin Katniss Everdeen und das perfekt! Die 23jährige Amerikanerin gewann im Februar 2013 bei den Academy Awards den Oscar als beste Hauptdarstellerin. Leider nicht für "The Hunger Games". Aber für einen genialen Film, der Comedy und Drama zu vermischen weiß. "Silver Linings". Zu empfehlen!Ebenso liefern sehr viele der Darsteller starke Performances ab und haben mich beeindruckt. Newcomer Alexander Ludwig und begnadete Schauspieler wie Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Donald Sutherland, Josh Hutcherson und Stanley Tucci. Selbst Lenny Kravitz ist dabei und bietet eine sehr gute Leistung als Cinna, Stylist von Katniss!Effekte:Sind klasse. Für ein Budget von 78 Mio. Dollar sehr beeindruckend.Make Up / Kleidung:Oscarwürdig! Die Mode in Panem ist abgedreht, so sehr das selbst eine Lady GaGa beeindruckt wäre. Ebenso wurde der Kontrast von dem armen Discrict 12 und dem reichen Kapitol beachtet. Das Make Up hat sehr hohes Niveau und ist neben der Schauspielerei die beste Sache am Film.Kulissen:Eindrucksvoll! Vom Mittelalterlich wirkenden District 12, über das futuristisch, beeindruckende Capitol, das Trainingscenter bis hin zu einem normalen, dennoch hübschen Wäldchen nachempfundenen Arena (Dreharbeiten fanden in North Carolina statt). Die Setbauer haben einen großartigen Job geleistet, Locations auszuwählen bzw. zu bauen. Für die 78 Mio. Dollar teuere Filmproduktion ist dies alles wahnsinnig gelungen und eindrucksvoll.District 1 Edition:Das Steelbook ist stabil und wunderschön gestaltet. Man findet alles darauf wie auf der normalen 2 Disc Edition auf DVD und Blu-Ray. Ebenso ist tatsächlich eine Kinofreikarte enthalten für den in 3 Wochen erscheinenden Nachfolger "Catching Fire". Ich bin beeindruckt und kann Ihnen diese Edition dank dem schönen Steelbook (bin eigentlich kein fan von Steelbooks) und den neuen, interessanten Extras ans Herz legen. :)

« Hunger Games » is certainly the best film I have seen since many many months, and it is a very successful adaptation of an excellent book.In my personal opinion, both the book and the film are much deeper and much more ambitious, than what most critics and reviewers would make us believe. After reading the reviews in "New York Times", "Le Monde" and on "Msn.com" (to cite only few) I was surprised that they mostly missed everything that is important in this film. With a kind of amused superiority (like people from Capitol in the film), the "professional" reviewers pointed at the obvious allusions to gladiator fights, the reality shows, the importance of trashy entertainment in today's TV, the search for a new franchise able to replace "Twilight", etc., etc.But they almost entirely failed to see that this film is first and above all about much more important things: how to keep hope, not lose the courage and preserve humanity and dignity under a totalitarian oppressive regime.I believe that almost everybody now knows that when writing "Hunger Games" Susan Collins attempted basically a modern (even futurist) retelling of the old Greek myth of Theseus and Minotaur. According to this ancient tale, after losing a war, every year the city of Athens had to send a tribute of seven young men and seven maidens to the king of Crete. Once there those young people were locked in the Labyrinth, to be devoured by the monster Minotaur. This yearly punishment and humiliation lasted until Theseus, crown prince of Athens, volunteered to be one of the tributes - then, once locked in the Labyrinth, he defeated and killed the Minotaur.In "Hunger Games" what was once United States (and I think also Canada) is now called the Panem. It is a country divided in twelve Districts remaining under the control of the Capitol central metropolis. There was once thirteen Districts, but when they rebelled against the central power, the Capitol destroyed completely the District 13 with all its population and then defeated and submitted again the twelve others. In order to remind to its subjects how absolute is its power, the Capitol claims a yearly tribute - one girl and one boy of ages from 12 to 18 from every District. The tributes are then send to an arena and forced to fight, until only one remains alive. This yearly event is called the Hunger Games and it is shown live on TV to all the population of Panem. This film tells the story of what happened at the 74th edition of Hunger Games...For Capitol the purpose of Hunger Games is to remind yearly how powerful is the central metropolis and how dire can be the consequences of its wrath, but also - and even more importantly in my opinion - to humiliate and degrade the people of the Districts by forcing them to become accomplices (even if under duress) of a barbarian custom in which some of their own children are send to the slaughterhouse. And as all bullies and abusers know, it is much easier to oppress, abuse and brutalize victims who lack self-esteem...Well, in this film we can see how one of the tributes from District 12, an exceptional young girl named Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), manages to turn the tables on the Capitol and by allowing people of Panem to regain some of their dignity she will be the pebble which starts the avalanche. The exact way in which she does that will not be revealed here, but both in the book as in the film it is described in a very intelligent and very moving way...This may seem a rather improbable thing that a 16 years old child can do something that will ultimately bring down a seemingly invincible and all-powerful tyranny, but let's not forget that in the real world, the great wave of revolutions of Arab Spring began on 18 December 2010 with a desperate gesture of a dirt-poor 27-years old Tunisian street vendor, Mohamed Bouazizi, who set himself on fire after having been robbed and beaten by the corrupt local police one time too much... Less than two years after, the oppressive regimes in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya already collapsed, the seemingly eternal dictator of Yemen had to resign and the Syrian brutal regime is now facing a massive armed rebellion..Bottom line, this film is first and before all a story about how even a seemingly powerless person can horribly hurt a tyrannic regime with a magic potion made of lots of courage, an ice-cold determination, a great personal dignity, a little compassion, a handful of flowers, a couple of tears and one defiant and powerful challenging gesture...The powerful message and excellent scenario are not the only reasons why I consider "Hunger Games" as a masterpiece. Actors were selected very carefully and they perform very well. Jennifer Lawrence is simply perfect - there is no other word to describe her performance! However, after seeing her in "Winter's Bone" and "X-Men: First class" I didn't expect anything less.But the real surprise in this film comes from Josh Hutcherson who plays Peeta Mellark, the boy tribute from District 12. His character is more difficult to play, because Peeta is in the same time more limited but also more complicated than Katniss. Josh Hutcherson could have very easily fall in one of the many traps which are build in Peeta's character. By overacting or underacting he could have make him a wimp or a passive follower or an immature kid, but he avoided those snares with grace and his Peeta comes out of this film as a surprisingly complex and also a very likeable character. He is certainly not a hero and a fighter like Katniss - but until the very end he preserves his honor, in a deadly place where he shouldn't ever be send...A special mention goes to little Amandla Stenberg, who plays 12-years old Rue, the youngest of all the tributes. Her character is both secondary and in the same time incredibly important - and this little cute pixie played it perfectly!Other, more known actors contribute to the success of this film. Woody Harrelson is excellent as Haymitch, the only person from District 12 who ever won in the Hunger Games and is now an advisor to Katniss and Peeta (and this is a high praise coming from me because I usually do not like this actor at all). Lenny Kravitz portrayed a perfect Cinna, the man in charge of image (clothes, haircut, make up, etc.) of tributes from District 12 in all public appearances before the games begin. And finally there is the giant figure of Donald Sutherland, who plays the supreme ruler of Panem, President Coriolanus Snow. He is purely incredible. There is a moment in this film when he says to somebody "I like you" - and I believe that I have never heard such a terrible and deadly threat in one short sentence since the famous Schwarzenegger's "I will be back" in "Terminator"...I also absolutely adored the using of the cameras. In some moments of this film we have the impression of going after the characters with a camera, like a war correspondent following the fighters (this style was also very skillfully used in "The Shield" series). Of course not all the film is turned in this way, but mixing this kind of scenes with more conventional ones gives here an excellent effect.The games themselves are very skillfully described and are a very dramatic tale, full of surprises and twists. I found them much much better than "Battle Royale", to which this book and film are often compared. The games are deadly and brutal, but there is only limited gore - I think this film is suitable for young teenagers, although not for children younger than 12. There is also absolutely no nudity, sex or strong language and I for one found it a most excellent thing.There are still many more good things to say about this film, but I believe you should discover them by yourself. One more thing however about the book - it is of course possible to see and greatly enjoy this film without reading the book, but I believe that reading the novel first is a good idea. If reading the whole book is out of question, I would advise to read at least the first hundred pages. It will not reveal much about the games themselves, but it will allow for a better understanding of some of the key elements: the strength of the bond between Katniss and her younger sister, the history that Katniss shares with her hunting partner Gale, the complicated relation between Katniss and her mother and last but not least, the mysterious bond existing between Katniss and Peeta Mellark.About this last point: if you did not yet read the book I do not want to spoil the pleasure of discovery so I will say just this - Katniss and Peeta lived for 16 years in the same village, but they never spoke one to another (except for an occasional "Hello") and they never touched one another in any way. And still, they share a secret as big as life and death, a secret which both bonded them together and in the same time separated them deeply... If you want to know the solution of this riddle you have either to watch very very carefully every scene of the film or simply read the book...Conclusion: this film is a masterpiece! I loved it and I am going to buy the DVD as soon as it is available. And I am SOOO going to see the second part, as soon as it opens!