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| Predator | 
 enlarge | Director: John Mctiernan
Actors: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Elpidia Carrillo, Bill Duke, Jesse Ventura
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Category: DVD
List Price: $29.98
Buy Used: $3.75
You Save: $26.23 (87%)
New (3) Used (20) from $3.75
Avg. Customer Rating:  402 reviews
Sales Rank: 41685
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Letterboxed, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 107
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
DVD Layers: 1
DVD Sides: 1
Picture Format: Letterbox
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
ISBN: 630516889X
UPC: 086162090684
EAN: 9786305168898
ASIN: 630516889X
Theatrical Release Date: June 12, 1987
Release Date: November 3, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com essential video
Rambo meets Alien in this terrific science-fiction thriller from 1987, directed by John McTiernan just a year before Die Hard made him Hollywood's most sought-after director of action-packed blockbusters. Arnold Schwarzenegger leads an elite squad of U.S. Army commandos to a remote region of South American jungle, where they've been assigned to search for South American officials who've been kidnapped by terrorists. Instead they find a bunch of skinned corpses hanging from the trees and realize that they're now facing a mysterious and much deadlier threat. As the squad is picked off one by one, Arnold finds himself pitted against a hideous alien creature that's heavily armed and wearing a spacesuit enabling the creature to render itself invisible. The title says it all in describing the relentless, escalating action that follows, maintained by McTiernan with an abundance of visual flair. The film's special effects are still impressive, and stunning locations in the Mexican jungles create a combined atmosphere of verdant beauty and imminent danger. The plot doesn't hold up to much scrutiny, but the movie's so exciting and tightly paced that its weaknesses seem irrelevant. --Jeff Shannon
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| Customer Reviews: Read 397 more reviews...
 It came for the thrill of the hunt. It picked the wrong man September 13, 2004
49 out of 70 found this review helpful
Now few may know this, but before Arnold Swarzenegger became `The Govenator' of California, he actually starred in a score of action films. It's true! Predator (1987), directed by John McTiernan, whose next film would be the hugely successful Die Hard (1988), solidifying his status as the director with the most machismo in Hollywood, stars the great lumpy one (Ahnold), although not quite as lumpy as he was in his first major action film, Conan the Barbarian (1982), along with Carl Weathers (Apollo Creed from the Rocky films), Jesse `The Body soon to be governor of Minnesota' Ventura, Bill Duke (he also appeared with Arnold in the mindless 1985 action flick Commando), and Sonny Landham (Billy Bear in the popular 1982 Eddie Murphy film 48 Hrs.). There are a few others, but these are main players...along with the Predator, played by the colossal 7'2'' Kevin Peter Hall, who passed away in 1991.
As the film begins, we learn some gooberment officials have been captured as their chopper (that's the cool way of saying helicopter, in case you didn't know) has been shot down in some unfriendly country, which, I believe, is somewhere in South America, but they never really specify. Maj. George Dillon (Weathers) calls in a group that specializes in rescuing captures officials, dignitaries, and so on, lead by Maj. 'Dutch' Schaeffer (Swarzenegger). Among his team are Sgt. 'Mac' Eliot (Duke), Blain (Ventura), who carries one of the biggest guns I've ever seen, and Billy (Landham), along with a couple others. The mission? Go in and rescue the missing men...or so it seems, as later we find out that Dillon knows more than he's letting on, but whatever...the group, with Dillon tagging along supposedly in command, enter the jungle, find the downed chopper, and make some horrific discoveries in that another team had been sent in prior to this one, a highly trained military unit, and only their `skinned' corpses remain. Now, it's never made clear whether Dutch's group is actually in the military, or an ex-military group for hire, or mercenaries. Dutch claims they only do rescue missions, which would seem to indicate they are no longer in the military, as you don't really get to pick and choose your missions, but his men still refer to him as `Major' so I don't know...I guess it doesn't matter...as they travel deeper into the nasty, hot jungle, we get the impression they are being tracked. They find and neutralize the enemy camp, and Dillon's true motives are revealed. This soon becomes a moot point, as they team begins to lose members one by one as a unseen hostile force starts picking them off. As they race back to a safe point for extraction (the choppers won't venture in too far as the area is now `hot', which I took to mean the group's presence is known, and unfriendly soldiers are now swarming, looking for this small band), they begin to understand what they're up against is more than they ever could have bargained for, as the elite team of fighters becomes fodder for something not of this Earth.
If you are looking for sweaty muscle men with big guns, then you've found your Nirvana here. The characters never really reach much more than a two-dimensional level, but that's of little consequence, as the name of the game is guns shooting, things blowing up, and pretty much non-stop action. I swear, I think this film has the most gunfire of just about any movie I've seen, and I've seen lots of them. Ventura's character actually walks around with a Gatling gun, which looks uber-cool, but hardly the type of ordinance I'd take on a covert rescue mission. If you don't know what a Gatling gun is, it usually consists of about six barrels or ten barrels mounted in a revolving frame and fires about 320 rounds a minute. Overkill? Maybe, but when it comes to the Predator, they don't hit much. The battle scenes are exciting, as they're filmed in such a way that puts the viewer into the action, rather than just watching it from the safety of your funky couch. The dialog may evoke a fair deal of wincing, as it's chock full of macho witticisms, a few examples being, "If it bleeds, we can kill it", or, when a character gets his arm grazed with a bullet, another character says, "You're bleeding!", to which the injured character replies, "I ain't got time to bleed". If it had been me, I probably would have been on the ground, crying, but then I'm neither cool or battle-harden like the characters in the film. The Predator costume looks very good, despite the age of the film and the technological advances since, so much credit goes to special effects artist extraordinaire Stan Winston. All in all, Predator is fairly pure actioneer, with a dose of science fiction and a dollop of horror (the skinned bodies...). The film and it's makers know what it is, and there's very little pretense to make it anything more than that.
The wide screen picture looks about as good as it's going to get, and does show some minor flaws, but the audio seems to have been remastered for a DTS soundtrack as well as a Dolby Digital 5.1. There's scads of extras, including a commentary track by the director, text commentary, a making of documentary titled "If it bleeds, we can kill it", a section titled `Inside the Predator' which is broken up into seven featurettes proving a great amount of detail, a Predator special effects section with five featurettes, a few deleted scenes and outtakes, a Predator profile, a photo gallery, and even a few Easter Eggs (hidden features) scattered about. Is this two disc set the definitive Predator edition? I suppose so, that is until another one comes out, like they did with Terminator 2. (It's definitive for me as it's more than I ever wanted or needed)
Cookieman108
 Forget dogs. This movie IS man's best friend! April 23, 2005
42 out of 51 found this review helpful
"There's something out there waiting for us, and it ain't no man."
Arnold Schwarzenegger leads an elite group of U.S. commandos into the deadly jungles of South America to find and rescue a group of government officials who've been kidnapped by terrorists. But over time Arnold and his squad realize that the heavily armed terrorists are the least of their troubles, as they are picked off one by one by an unseen yet deadly foe in the jungle. This mysterious alien creature blends into the environment and takes pleasure from stalking his prey and mutilating them after a painful death.
"If it bleeds, we can kill it."
With future governors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jesse Ventura among the tough guys in the squad, you'd think that no one or thing would stand a chance, but finding and killing this unique foe will take much more than big muscles and machine guns. With incredible suspense, often hilarious dialogue, and awesome special effects that remain very impressive, this action movie is even more enjoyable now that it's finally gotten a special edition dvd release. Do yourself a favor, buy this dvd!
 Fox blows it on Blu-Ray again April 8, 2008
16 out of 17 found this review helpful
My 1-star review is not for the movie, Predator, which I love. I bought it twice on DVD: the first single-disc release with no extras, and then the excellent 2-disc special edition. I am not going to be buying on Blu-Ray, however, until the chowder-heads over at Fox start including all of the ALREADY PRODUCED extras on their Blu-Ray discs. Case in point: Predator.
Predator on Blu-Ray features a higher definition transfer (though on a single layer disc), but carries over none of the special features from the 2-disc DVD. How hard would this have been? Make it a dual layer Blu-Ray, and just throw them all on there in standard definition. That would have guaranteed and instant buy for me. But this habit of dumping the film bare-bones onto Blu-Ray is reminiscent of the early days of DVD, and I thought we were past that. Other studios are doing a fine job of including all the special features, so why is Fox being dumb? And why are they slapping a $40 MSRP on a bare-bones release?
You would have had me with a good release, Fox. I would gladly plonk down the cash for a true upgrade from my DVD version. But you blew it, and you're not getting my money.
required addition to the DVD collection of any Predator fan July 28, 2004
15 out of 21 found this review helpful
Predator is about as testosterone supercharged as you could possibly get in a movie. Every actor is pumped up. It has tough dialogue, big guns, and lots of macho action. Throw in a cool alien with amazing special effects and you have pure guy movie nirvana. It doesn't hurt matters that it was the film that John McTiernan directed right before making Die Hard. It established that he could really handle action.
The cast of this film was perfect. It was a real ensemble piece with Schwarzenegger in the lead. In fact, I think Arnold was helped tremendously by the additional cast. He didn't have to carry the whole movie on his shoulders and they helped elevate the level of acting and characterization. You had Carl Weathers as the CIA agent. He seems more than a physical match for Schwarzenegger and he definitely acts better. You also had Bill Duke as Sgt. 'Mac' Eliot. His quiet, intense gaze said more than anything else he did. You had Jesse Ventura playing the tough, tobacco chewing, gun toting guy who ain't got time to bleed". (Did Ventura inspire Arnold to be a governor, too?) You had American Indian Sonny Landham as Billy, the guy with the haunting laugh. Then there was Richard Chaves as Poncho Ramirez who was also a favorite of mine.
The effects of Predator were also remarkable. Not only was the camouflage effect unique but the alien makeup itself was stunning. The alien was definitely a guy in a rubber mask, but the helmet, dreadlocks, and mandibles made him one of the more amazing looking aliens in movie history. Everything about the Predator was just cool. The character was a real high point in Stan Winston's career.
The music by Alan Silvestri was also unique and a perfect blend of military march and horror suspense to give the movie the right feel.
This is one of those rare movies where everything came together just right to make a fun film. The actors, director, effects, music, and everything fit together just right to make one of the best popcorn flicks ever made.
the extras
The Extras:
This is about the third or fourth edition of the Predator DVD. I don't have the others, so I can't compare this edition to them. However, it is a big treat for any Predator fan. It's on par with the Alien collector editions that recently came out. There are a ton of extras and bonus features that I had never seen before. Here are the highlights:
Commentary by John McTiernan - This commentary by the director is admittedly a bit dry. McTiernan comes across as a little flaky, but he does have all sorts of interesting trivia about the film. However, I don't think I learned much from the commentary that I didn't get from the other featurettes on the DVD.
Text commentary - If you turn on this option, subtitles appear on the screen. They are apparently transcribed commentary from the sound effects guys, some actors, editors, and other crew members. It's interesting, but it's a little distracting to have their conversations appearing as text on the bottom of the screen. I think I would have preferred an audio commentary. However, it is full of all sorts of Predator trivia that's quite interesting. Predator fans might find one or two new things here they haven't heard before.
Deleted scene: Arnold Schwarzenegger Fleeing Predator - In this deleted scene, Arnie hides under a log from the Predator and is covered in ants. He then runs and dodges explosions in the jungle as he runs from the Predator. The scene ultimately isn't that great and is not missed from the film.
"If It Bleeds, We Can Kill It" documentary - This is an extended documentary on the making of the film. It's about 30 minutes long. It shows interviews with the cast and crew from the 80's and more recently. You learn the origins of the script, what it was like filming in the jungle, and more. It's an excellent documentary.
Inside the Predator: seven featurettes - These are a series of 3 to 10 minute short features on various subjects. They include the special weapons from the film, the casting, the camouflage makeup, the Predator suit, Kevin Peter Hall, shooting in the jungle, and more. I was really surprised to see that the Predator in the film wasn't the original one they had in mind. It was originally more bug-like and it looked quite stupid on film. It was good to see they went with the design they did. You also learn that the film was originally called "Hunter" rather than "Predator". Again, there are all sorts of cool stuff for Predator fans here.
Three outtakes - One "outtake" shows Anna picking up a chameleon in the forest. Another shows Dutch preparing for battle with the Predator. I don't even recall the third one if that tells you anything. They are all better left on the cutting room floor.
Three Predator "red suit" special effects - In order to make the camouflage effect in the film, they had the alien actor in a big red suit that was optically removed later. These show the original shots of the suit. Even the cheesy original alien is shown here.
Two Predator camouflage tests - This shows the various camouflage effects they tried before settling on the one seen in the film. These tests happen to use the footage of the original sucky alien.
Alien vs. Predator and I, Robot sneak peeks - These are quick sneak peeks of AVP and I, Robot. The AVP one is only around 2 minutes long, but you get to see the mechanical alien, the making of the Predator helmets, and more. It's fun stuff.
An Arnie classic September 17, 2006
14 out of 15 found this review helpful
This is my favorite Governor Terminator flick. Great story and action. Predator boast some of the best action scenes and special effects of that time. The gore factor is incredibly high and so detailed, even now some of the scenes make me cringe. This is what a lot of so called action movies is lacking today. The raid in the beginning sets the tone for all the bloodshed soon to come. This movie is without a doubt a classic and belongs in anyones collection, if your into action. If you never seen this I dont know where the hell you been all this time. You'll be lucky as hell to find a flick a that can stand up to this, coming out now.
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