Secret Window [Blu-ray]

Johnny Depp, outspoken critic of `freedom fries' (`I was ecstatic they re-named 'French Fries' as 'Freedom Fries.' Grown men and women in positions of power in the U.S. government showing themselves as idiots.'), has certainly had long and colorful career, but I'll always remember him a Glen Lutz from his very first film A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984). His popularity seemed to wan a bit, that was until he appeared in the blockbuster hit Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), and is set to also appear in the following sequels, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006), and Pirates of the Caribbean 3 (2007). Somewhere in there he managed to find time to star in this film, Secret Window (2004), one of four films he appeared in during 2004. The film, based off a Stephen King story entitled `Secret Window, Secret Garden', was written and directed by David Koepp (Stir of Echoes), and, along with Depp, stars John Turturro (O Brother, Where Art Thou?), and Maria Bello (Payback). Also appearing is Timothy Hutton (The Dark Half), Charles S. Dutton (Mimic), and Len Cariou (About Schmidt).Depp plays Mort Rainey, a writer who's not only suffering from a mild case of writers block (and usually a wicked case of the bed head), but is also knee deep in divorce proceedings with his estranged wife Amy (Bello). Seems Mort found Amy in the arms (and bed) of another man named Ted (Hutton), and this prompted their separation (apparently their marriage had been suffering for some time, and Amy's liaison was the point when they decided to call it quits)...but the divorce has yet to be finalized, due to Mort dragging his feet on signing the papers. In line with the saying that `when it rains, it pours', Mort also finds himself accused of plagiarism by a hillbilly sort named John Shooter (Turturro), who turns out to be more than just your garden variety nut job, as he begins stalking Mort, leaving ominous messages and threatening even worse if Mort doesn't `make things right' (Mort claims to have proof that he didn't steal the story, as it was published in a magazine some years before Shooter claims to have written his). So not only does Mort have his wife and her somewhat greasy boyfriend to deal with (they're pushing him to sign the papers), but Shooter keeps upping the stakes, presenting Mort with little mementos regarding the ever increasing serious nature of his intent.Without actually giving away the nature of the story, specifically the characters, I will say I've seen similar aspects of this story before. It's not that I necessarily recognized the elements as they were presented, but about halfway through I sort of knew where we were headed. The interesting thing is how writer /director Koepp decided to `let the cat' out of the bag, in particular with the slow build up and relatively quiet realization (about three-quarters of the way in), rather than a more sensational revelation near the end (he describes his reasoning for this, and many other choices, in one of the featurettes). I thought it was a nice twist. While I did find some of the elements predictable, the film was still fun and entertaining to me based on the performances, scripting, and well thought out direction. I enjoyed Depp's character a lot, and I thought he did a good job bringing Mort to life, infusing him with all kinds of humanizing mannerisms and an overall realistic tone. I thought Turturro's character was a little off in the beginning (not the psychological make up of the character himself, but the performance) as his southern drawl distracted me a little bit, but I did get used to it, and given the true nature of the character, it worked (I still think the choice of a different actor for this part may have worked better, but that's neither here nor there). Maria Bello...I'm not especially particular to blondes (I like them brunettes), but I've always found her pleasing to watch, not only as an actress but also as a hot babe. I think she did relatively well, even if her role wasn't often as well defined as I thought it should have been, but perhaps this was the intent as we are supposed to focus our attention on Depp's character, and the fact that he was on the short end of the relationship stick. I thought the direction was very well done, as Koepp certainly knows how to relate a story and get a desired effect from the audience, that audience being myself. He used a lot of literal interpretations within the film (they not always obvious when first presented) and I was sort of on the fence about this aspect, but then I remembered one of Depp's previous films, The Ninth Gate (1999), by Roman Polanski, and how much trouble I had picking up on the subtle, sometimes completely obscure, concepts presented there, and found myself comfortable in the fact I didn't have to exert my brain as much here as I did there. I don't mind films with ambiguous stories, open to all kinds of interpretation, but some directors can take it too far, forgoing the audience's enjoyment for the sake of their own, bizarre conceptualizations (in terms of Polanski, I've found I either really like his films like Chinatown, or I'm completely annoyed by them as in The Ninth Gate.The wide screen (2.40:1 aspect ratio) looks really good on this DVD, as the colors are rich and vibrant, along with clear definition between the light and the dark. The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio is also excellent, and comes through clear. There are a number of extras on this DVD including three featurettes (From Book to Film, A Look Through It, and Secrets Revealed), Animatics (animated storyboards), a director's commentary, four deleted scenes (two with directors commentary), and a number of previews for other Columbia/Tristar releases.Cookieman108

Suspenseful

Great movie

Good moving with a nice twist at the end.

Super under rated, totally enjoyed this flick.

We really enjoyed this film, and I can't wait to watch it again! Johnny Depp is such a versatile actor and he does a fabulous job in this movie! Highly recommend!

Has anyone read the book "The Invasion of Heaven" by Michael B. Koep? No, I did not spell that wrong or screw up the name. (Re: David Koepp, the director and the guy who wrote the screenplay.) The whole time watching the movie, I keep thinking of this book. There were so many similar elements between the two. Afterwards, I go and pull the book off my shelf and see the slight differences in names and their profiles are very different. That's an odd last name. Then the fact that there were so many similarities between the story really blew my mind. Almost like within the movie itself. I'm truly not sure what to think of this.I'd really love to find someone who has both seen this movie and read the book to see what they think.

Yep

This one is one of Johnny Depp's best movies, there is not much to say because i don't want to spoil it if someone hasn't seen it yet... Just watch it! its about a writer who's got some issues, in he's life and in he's mind... Johnny Depp acts really good here, i think this is one of those movies he didn't do just for the money.It is 5/5 without that rating being restricted to any specific genre, it is 5/5 as a movie, its simple yet twisted enough to keep one interested and excited.

A psychological thriller and brilliantly assured film that faithfully reproduces the eeriness, chill factor and complexities of the writing by Stephen King and David Koepp. Johnny Depp is on seductively secretive top form as a writer separated from his wife and resisting signing final divorce papers whilst attempting to be creative in an idyllic retreat location. But tortured memories and indistinct realities forbid him any real peace. As lives are examined the plot unfolds and your enjoyment is assured. Particularly superb supporting work is in evidence by the convincing and much under appreciated John Turturro, who adds significantly to the film's realism and suspense. Buy this movie - it's one for anyone's collection.

An enjoyable, if somewhat predictable, Stephen King adaption. Anyone who has watched fight club or raising Cain will get the twist almost as soon as the movie begins, but that said there are still some fine performances, particularly from depp, whose role here is tailored here to suit his strengths - and so the book's sympathies are shifted entirely to his character. David keopp, is hollywood's finest writer - bar none, and here he makes a good fist of directing a psychological thriller. He hasn't directed many films, but what he has done is possibly the most varied range of genres, of any modern day filmmaker. He's done comedy (ghost town) and action (premium rush) as well as this one and they are all well made films.

I bought this a couple of months ago, but only just decided to watch it. It was working fine up until about half way through, then it froze and wouldn’t play anymore. Very frustrating. I ended up having to rent it digitally to finish watching the film. Very annoying. I won’t buy second hand DVDs again 😠.

After getting "Sleepy Hollow" (which is also a good film) thinking it was "Secret Window", I searched all stores for Secret Window, and none of them stocked it! So I was very happy to find it on amazon! It's an amazing film! It's a nice psychological thriller. And in my opinion, it's rather hard to find decent psychological thrillers nowadays. Most are extremely easy to guess, and even though it's still fun to watch them, I prefer a challenge when trying to figure it all out!