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Knowing |  | Actors: Nicolas Cage, Rose Byrne
Studio: Summit Entertainment
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.99
Buy Used: $1.73
as of 3/10/2010 00:10 MST details
You Save: $18.26 (91%)
New (55) Used (102) Collectible (1) from $1.73
Seller: goHastings
Rating:  322 reviews
Sales Rank: 2546
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), Spanish (Dubbed)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 121 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.3 x 0.7
MPN: 66110365
UPC: 025192031885
EAN: 0025192031885
ASIN: B001GCUO02
Theatrical Release Date: March 20, 2009
Release Date: July 7, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
A TEACHER OPENS A TIME CAPSULE THAT HAS BEEN DUG UP AT HIS SON'E ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. IN IT ARE SOME CHILLING PREDICTIONS - SOME THAT HAVE ALREADY OCCURRED & OTHERS THAT ARE ABOUT TO - THAT LEAD HIM TO BELIEVE HIS FAMILY PLAYS A ROLE IN THE EVENTS THAT ARE ABOUT TO UNFOLD.
Amazon.com
Nicolas Cage stars in this largely unsatisfying science-fiction tale that begins as a taut and spooky story concerning psychic legacies and ends up falling back on Steven Spielberg's old, cosmic playbook for default explanations about weird phenomena. Cage stars as astrophysicist and widower John Koestler, whose young son attends a school where a 50-year-old time capsule is dug up and opened. Koestler's son, Caleb (Chandler Canterbury), is given an envelope from the capsule containing a sheet of paper inscribed with seemingly-random numbers. Koestler interprets groupings of the numbers as prophesies (made in 1959) of disasters leading up to a globally catastrophic event late in 2009. Moreover, some of the later tragedies involve him or members of his family, suggesting the paper was meant to fall into his and Caleb's hands. That’s not the only freaky thing drawing father and son in a direction they really don't want to go. Among other things, a quartet of mute strangers keeps showing up with a powerful interest in Caleb's whereabouts, and the daughter and granddaughter of the little girl who originally scribbled those numbers in 1959 are under the shadow of a separate prediction of doom. Everything goes swimmingly until it's time for director Alex Proyas (The Crow) to begin tying up all the strings, and cliches start falling like rain. On the plus side, Knowing includes a couple of breathtaking scenes of calamity, the most horrifying (and realistic) of which is a jet crash the likes of which has never been committed to film. --Tom Keogh
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 322
Great Special Effects March 8, 2010
Dee from Brighton, MI (USA)
This movie was good, until the end with the aliens. What I really liked about this movie were the special effects. Excellent with the subway disaster and the crashing plane. I was blown away by the special effects and I love the acating of Nicholas Cage.
 DEJA VU March 1, 2010
Stevie Tee
I've only just got around to seeing this film/movie (March 2010). A competent film of its type. The CGI was not too cardboard and generally realistic. This story is not an uplifting one but then it could never be. I haven't read all the reviews - too many - so someone else might have picked up the flavour of Childhood's End by Arthur C Clarke. I read it years ago so I can't remember if there was the prediction element, but I certainly remember being very depressed by it for some time. But, hey, if we expected every film/story to be jolly, we'd all be deserving of deletion from the planet.
Stevie
Breakneck Tension, Out-a-site Effects, Bummer Ending March 1, 2010
Ken Douglas (Landlocked in Reno)
It's 1959 and to celebrate the first year of a Lexington, Mass elementary school the students are asked to draw a picture of what they think the future will look like in fifty years. Most of the kids draw rockets, but not Lucinda Embry. She starts writing down numbers at an alarming rate, but when the teachers tells them times up, she keeps going, trying to get that last number out, but teach takes the paper before she can finish. Lucinda disappears and is found later, fingers bloody scratching on the inside of a closet door.
Flash forward to the present day and we see John Koestler (Nicholas Cage) teaching a class in astrophysics at MIT. During this lesson we learn he believes there is no divine order, everything is random. We later learn his father's a minister, who obviously has different beliefs. They have not spoken in years. Koestler's son Calib hears voices, whispers and guess what elementary school he goes to. Yep, you guessed it.
Now it's time to open that time capsule and each of the kids gets one envelope with a drawing from half a decade ago. Guess what envelope Calib gets. Yep, no drawing for Caleb. He gets those numbers and that night dad figures them out. They've predicted every major disaster over the last fifty years. There are three left. Can John change what Lucinda has predicted.
He's going to try.
Okay, that's a pretty good set up for a story. Had me and Vesta glued to our seats. We were sitting up close and let me tell you the special effects were so doggone good they were scary, but could you expect anything less from the man who directed I Robot. Alex Proyas seems to have been born to direct this kind of movie. Cage was born to play in it. The horror on his face as the plane crashes in front of him is real. He's nailed this roll. But unfortunately he shouldn't have been in it and Alex Proyas shouldn't have directed it. Don't get me wrong, they've done great work, but in my opinion nobody could have saved this movie from the bummer ending.
The first two thirds of this move are simply outstanding. Tension, tension and more tension. And when that plane falls from the sky, you are there like you've never been in any movie plane crash before. And the subway disaster, jeez Marie that was scary stuff. Even the boy meets girl stuff doesn't detract from the excitement, then it all goes away with that bummer ending.
 SHould have been a 1 Hour Cable Movie March 1, 2010
P. B Rubalcaba (Redlands, CA USA)
I loved it...but it was much t-o-o long. It could have been a 60-minute special on cable. The special effects (particularly the plane crash on the highway) were spectacular, but the in-between scenes were l-o-n-g and boring. Nicolas Cage has been much better in his previous films...this one he shows how lethargic he can be...almost like he wasn't too thrilled to star in this lazy sci-fi sleeper. Don't get me wrong, it had its moments...but it seemed to rob and steal from other flicks...like "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". I'm not sure why the children had little rabbits when they were escorted to a new planet...but the ending just didn't seem to fit the drum roll I was expecting. This film was all over the place. It is worth a rental, but not a buy. Nicolas can do much better than this. Granted, he's not the heart-throb of "Moonstruck" anymore, but he needs to be cast in quality films. This one was poorly scripted and edited. I hate to see actors lower themselves to this level after so many years of success.
What you need to KNOW before buying this... February 26, 2010
N. Allison (Virginia Beach, VA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is the first review I have ever posted to Amazon and I am writing this because I felt compelled to dispute the reactionary opinions I read about this film. I want to address really briefly the four main problems people have with this film: the subpar acting, the CGI, its supposed multiple personality disorder, and the themes of the film.
First of all, yes, Nick Cage is the star of this film. Yes he has done many, many horrible films recently and because of that many people have written him off as an actor and have a tendency to be predisposed to hating whatever he does next. I also had my doubts going into this film, but I'm a fan of Proyas so I gave it a shot. I felt that Cage's understated performance was surprisingly believable and perfect for the tone of the film. Obviously films like Adaptation etc. have shown us that Cage can, in fact, act so lets try to be reasonable and not write off an entire production because of one person's past mistakes. Also his hair is pretty normal here, which is a huge plus.
Many people have also made flippant remarks about the CGI effects in this film. I've watched these scenes with the purpose of picking this element apart and found nothing. The CGI is TOP NOTCH!! These epic set pieces are beautifully staged and shot, I seriously cannot believe that these people have watched the same film as I have and I too can't stand it when CGI is haphazardly thrown together.
I agree that there is a lot packed into this storyline, a story line that is equal parts horror, drama, sci-fi, and apocalyptic. I've got to say that there are plenty of movies that have attempted this sort of hybrid before and failed miserably, but this is not one of them. Every 'personality' this film evokes blends seamlessly together, complimenting each other, and each has a purpose in telling this epic story. Never did I feel like something was out of place or laughably inserted just to please the director's indulgences. Yes there are outlandish and "unbelievable" elements to this story, but this is a story about finding a greater meaning in life, about events that are part of a bigger picture working together harmoniously for a greater purpose. This is about finding faith...so understandably those without faith will find it hard to stomach.
This brings me to the themes of the films, which will be a little touchy for people so try to have an open mind. We live in a world that praises the individual, that promotes that power of self, and our ability to control our destiny. A film that so blatantly shows a man's journey from a dark place where he believes everything is random and there is no meaning or purpose to life, to a new perspective where he is part of a predetermined destiny (releases control) and embraces faith, would cause today's "individual" to become uncomfortable and react as if he is being boxed in or preached at. While this film mirrors certain religious themes, it certainly is not "preachy" (in fact from the commentary alone Proyas practically refuses to paint it in a religious light), and it leaves much to be interpreted by the audience. I think this is a bold move, which I respect and admire, which treats the audience with respect, but it is a move that has sadly proven to be dangerous in the age of the individual. Remember, the more we reject bold films like this, the less studios will be willing to pay for them, leaving us with more 2012s.
As for the blu-ray disc, well its no surprise that a film so universally maligned would get a rather bare-bones release (hence four stars), but there are some bright spots. Besides the fact that you will be able own what could quite possibly become the next cult film ala 'Dark City', the video is pristine! Shot with the latest Red Camera digital technology it was made to take full advantage of the blu-ray format. Other than that, obviously, Proyas' commentary is definitely one of the more interesting I've heard. If you still haven't seen this because of all the negative propaganda give it a shot. If you like it, fight the power, and give it a second life on blu-ray!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 322
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