J. Edgar [Blu-ray]

This film is one of Eastwood's best directorial efforts, with its cool, detached mise-en-scene and muted, paled out monochrome cinematography (not warm colors, but cold, glassy grays and gun metal blues; the period set and costume designs are on target but not at all engaging as is any episode of "Boardwalk Empire", which is as accurate but titillatingly so, and thus the violence in "Boardwalk" is aestheticized like a Smithsonian diorama come to bloody life; I believe "Boardwalk" could have been influenced by "J Edgar"}. Instead, Eastwood makes that verisimilitude of Hoover's world seem like an absolute alien place, somewhat nauseatingly uncanny. This is fitting, since the past literally IS an alien place we did not live in. The violence of "J Edgar," unlike "Boardwalk," is mostly implied (fleeting and few are the scenes that let us see it, such as the savage beating by Hoover's agents of a communist in a bomb factory that the FBI raids), so the violence, I felt, is all the more horrifying because instead of seeing it, we get to FEEL it as it insinuates itself through the prism of a psychotic protagonist into our democracy, souring freedom and liberty and dissent with Hoover's pathetic paranoia and self righteousness. The violence ultimately is not physical but cultural and political: America is taken apart by this man, and we imagine, all the men like him; taken apart piece by piece and one blackmailed president at a time until in the end both Hoover and the United states Bill of Rights are misshapen, twisted, bloated, stiffened to a sclerotic and arthritic crawl across the rooms of the offices shown on the screen.What a horror film. I was caught off guard by just how horrified it made me feel. DiCaprio is perfect for the role of Hoover, because DiCaprio has always even in the full blush of his brat pack youth (the pansy 'Romeo and Juliette' romp he did years back, for instance and that insipid 'Titanic' crap that made him a celebrity) he always had a barely discernible thickness about the jaw and neck that came to the fore in "Gangs of New York" and then leaped full up in his face in later films), and the weight of his increasing gravitas as an actor (His work with Scorsese, for certain!) comes through roaring as his Hoover characterization ages, thickens, and fills out. It's like the Sinatra transformation America saw from the thin youth-fullness of Frank in "From Here to Eternity" to a hardened, round headed aging Frank in "The First Deadly Sin." It is stunning to see DiCaprio get aged and transformed as Hoover--as if we are looking at DiCaprio tapping into some part of HIMSELF that he will age into naturally in his own future.Supporting roles are competent here, but the tour de force is DiCaprio, and he carries them all, carries the production itself, across the finish line on his own two shoulders. It seems fitting. The monster who was Hoover did much the same with the real FBI: in his evolution into a golem. This film only benefits from Eastwood's decision to let everything in it, from actors to set and costume design, to soundtrack, to cinematography, revolve around DiCaprio's gradual transformation from a callow, awkward, virgin youth to an old, closeted, shuffling but shrewd manipulator of men's souls.Yes, I admit, as much as I am raving about this film I punked out, I couldn't finish it; it made me feel so horrified that, like watching the Zupruder film, you might have to turn away before the morbid, terrible end of it when Kennedy's head blows apart and lovely Jackie Kennedy scrambles across the back of the limo, no, NOT trying to save herself but horribly, trying to retrieve the pieces of her husband's head. It's real, it's true, but after a lifetime of seeing the Zupruder film I can no longer watch it all the way to the end. I had to stop watching "J. Edgar" for the same reason--I baied out on the final twenty minutes. I mean that as a tribute to this film, however, not a rebuke. It was so real, so true, so terrible, that I couldn't bear it. What greater achievement can we expect from real art works?

Good movie about Hoover who I knew almost nothing before, and now know a lot.

J. Edgar [Blu-ray] DVD & Digital Copy IncludedPlayed the HD bluray disc on PS5 and it played the entire movie perfectlyIncluded code DID NOT WORK on Vudu / Fandango or Movies Anywhere(contacted support via email and was advised that the included code was expired and could not be replaced so use caution with Warner Bros. if the digital movie is an important part of the deal)Case arrived in perfect condition did not include slip cover

I first watched this in the theatre. I thought it was fascinatingwhich is why I purchased the blu ray dvd of this movie.The fact that J Edgar Hoover came up with the card catalog system inthe Library of Congress was interesting. Before the internet and computers,that saved countless minutes for millions of students searching for a book toresearch on in the future. This was used in every library in every State. Everyoneshould be grateful for that. The movie showed why he was fearful and strictwhen it came to enforcing the law. Anarchists and communists were thoughtto be a threat to the country. In the case of the anarchists in the early 1900s,they were a major part of history that has been virtually forgotten. The bombingsand threats to those in power can be seen clearly in the movie because of the anarchists.The shooting of the veterans parade and killing of World War I soldiers by anarchists hiddenon top of buildings, should be a parable on todays world.Nothing really changes, it just comes and goes, sometimesin circles. The idea of the movie is that he took it too far. A case can be made thathe didn't. The Bay of Pigs is overlooked in the movie and the wars in Korea and Southeast Asia. Notto mention the countless interventions in middle and south america or latin america.Clearly the government and the citizens also took the threats seriously. Yet, the moviedoesn't seem to go into this subject and seems to focus solely on the actions of one man,clearly taken out of context in the movie. I'm not sure if they were trying to make him look bad or what.They could have showed more of his accomplishments in the later years I believe. J Edgar Hoover had nothing to do with these typesof wars or interventions during the 1950s up to the early 1970s. He just secured the country from within, whichis what the FBI was suppose to do. So what exactly haschanged you may ask. Other than it seems to have gotten more bloated and powerfulin regards to the law than it has ever been, with each new threat towards us from any country or any one person.Maybe we can look upon this movie and notconjure up these thoughts but to look at it from the perspective of J Egar Hoover. To understandthat he did the right thing during the time he was living. Whatever faults he had and whateverhe could not reveal about his personal life at the time is revealed in the movie, but we shouldkeep in mind the good that he brought out.

tout est bien

PELIGULA DE LAS DE VOLVER A VER CON EL TIEMPO.FANTASTICAS INTERPRETACIONES, LEONARDO ESTA GENIAL, MUY BUENA CARACTERIZACION, MUY BUENA AMBIENTACION Y, LA DIRECCION Y GUION ES ESTUPENDA.MUY RECOMENDABLE

大変面白い作品でした。また商品を迅速にご送付くださりありがとうございました

John Edgar Hoover, bekannt als "J. Edgar" war der Begründer des Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) und vom 10. Mai 1924 bis zu seinem Tod im Jahr 1972 dessen Direktor.Hoover wuchs in Washington D.C. auf, die Nachbarschaft war durch Staatsbedienstete geprägt. Seine Eltern waren konservativ und christlich-religiös eingestellt, die Mutter war die dominierende Person des Haushalts.Clint Eastwood zeigt auf verschiedenen Zeitebenen das politische und private Leben eines der Urväter des kollektiven amerikanischen Verfolgungs- und Bedrohungswahns auf. Mit größter Hingabe schuf Hoover einen Sicherheitsapparat, den er in seine Obhut nahm und bis zu seinem Tod nicht losließ. Er führte dieses Amt unter 8 Präsidenten, war bei keinem sonderlich beliebt - aber durch seine geheimgehaltene Kartei über umfangreiche und kompromittierende Informationen konnte er seine Machtposition immer sichern.Die Bundespolizei der USA ist im Grunde seine Erfindung, er baute sie zu einer technisch hochgerüsteten Behörde zur Verbrechensbekämpfung aus - und zu einem gefürchteten Inlandsgeheimdienst.Seine Verdienste in den Gangsterkriegen der Dreißiger oder bei der Spionageabwehr im Zweiten Weltkrieg sind Fakt. Seit den vierziger Jahren rankten sich Gerüchte um seine angebliche Homosexualität.Clint Eastwood wandelt mit "J.Edgar" wieder auf dem Terrain, mit dem er schon in "Der fremde Sohn" erfolgreich war. Denn ein Großteil der Geschichte skizziert in starken Szenen diese Zeit vor dem 2. Weltkrieg. Hoover ist Zeitzeuge der amerikanischen Angst vor dem aufkeimenden Kommunismus, der dann von der Ära großer Gangster abgelöst wird. Auch die Entführung des Lindbergh-Babys - damals Weltschlagzeile - ist Thema von Eastwoods schillerndem Biopic.Drei Menschen sind die Verbündeten von Hoover: Zum einen seine Mom (Judi Dench), die ihm das Tanzen lernt, weil sie ahnt, dass der Sohn sich nicht für sonderlich für Frauen interessiiert.Zum zweiten seine Sekretärin Helen Gandy (Naomi Watts), der er in den zwanziger Jahren einen Heiratsantrag macht, die aber statdessen seine Sekretärin wird. Zum dritten sein späterer Stellvertreter Clyde Tolson (Arnie Hammer), der 1927 beim zweiten Anlauf eine Stelle bei Hoovers FBI bekommt - mehr noch: Er wird zu Hoovers Assistent.Es wird angenommen, dass J. Edgar und Clyde Lebensgefährten waren, denn die Männer arbeiteten tagsüber eng zusammen, besuchten am Abend die gleichen Clubs und führen oft gemeinsam in den Urlaub.Mit dieser Geschichte über diese schillernde wie umstrittene Persönlichkeit gelang es Eastwood noch einmal einen großartigen Filmklassiker zu schaffen, der in diesem Kinojahr viel zu wenig Beachtung fand. Mit einer sehr guten Darstellerleistung beeindruckt auch Leonardo di Caprio, der vor allem als alternder Hoover optisch imponiert.Dabei ist der Film insgesamt perfekt ausbalanciert, es ergänzen sich Spannung und Tiefgang in beeindruckender Weise.

I knew little about J. Edgar Hoover and was not sure what to expect from this movie but having watched it I was more than pleasantly surprised. It portrayed him in a very real way and displayed his character and all his flaws. It would appear that as the Director of the FBI he exerted more power over the people of the USA including 8 Presidents, than the Presidents themselves. As it says, knowledge is power and Hoover used this to exert the maximum amount of power and to always get what he wanted. He was a truly flawed and somewhat evil person who looked out for himself over all others and yet he still managed to bring in a number of innovative procedures which are still in use today. The actors and actresses in this film were outstanding. DeCaprio had it spot on and played the part of J. Edgar Brilliantly. Dame Judy Dench was outstanding, as always, in the role of Hoovers mother, and all the others parts were played well. The only slight criticism I have is that of the theatrical makeup wehn the actors moved into old age. Rather than looking old I felt most of them looked like their skin had cracked and they were going to fall apart. However, this did not detract from my enjoyment of the film, which I loved.