Universal Studios announced the upcoming release Blu-Ray and DVD release of Oliver Stone's latest film "Savages". The DVD and Blu-Ray includes both the theatric and unrated versions of the film.

Special Features on the DVD includes Feature Commentary with Oliver Stone and Feature Commentary with producers Moritz Borman, Eric Kopeloff, Co-Screenwriter/Novelist Don Winslow, Executive Producer/Co-Screenwriter Shane Salerno and Production Designer Tomás Voth.

The Blu-Ray contains all the special features on the DVD plus "Stone Cold Savages" — A five-part profile of the film showcases the entire cast and crew as Oliver Stone pushes his loyal and talented company far past their limits in order to bring this story to life. From concept to completion, viewers get unprecedented access to a master storyteller's creative process and deleted scenes.

"Savages" hits DVD and Blu-Ray on October 23rd.

Press Release:

Acclaimed director Oliver Stone (Born on the Fourth of July, Platoon, Wall Street) plunges deep into the brutally violent world of Mexican drug cartels in the crime thriller Savages, coming to Blu-ray™ Combo Pack, DVD, and On Demand on October 23, 2012, from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Also available through Digital Download. Based on Don Winslow's audacious 2010 novel, Savages is an intense and graphic drama set against the harsh, swift justice of the illicit drug trade as a pair of peace-loving Southern Californians find themselves locked in an all-out war against a merciless drug lord.

The Combo Pack and DVD include an Unrated Edition of the film not shown in theaters. In addition, the Combo Pack also includes exclusive deleted scenes and a behind-the-scenes featurette with the entire cast that reveals the secrets of the visceral and sexy film that Ty Burr of The Boston Globe calls "a stylish, violent, hallucinatory thriller." The Combo Pack includes a Digital Copy of the film that is compatible with iPhone®, iTunes®, iPad®, iPod®, iPod® touch, Android™ or online retail partners, as well as UltraViolet™.

UltraViolet™ is the revolutionary new way for consumers to collect movies and television shows in the cloud to instantly stream and download to tablets, smartphones, computers, and TVs. Consumers can now truly enjoy their movies anytime, anywhere on the platform of their choice.

Savages features an all-star ensemble cast of international players including Oscar® nominees John Travolta (Pulp Fiction) and Salma Hayek (Frida), Oscar winner Benicio Del Toro (Traffic), and three of Hollywood's hottest rising stars, Taylor Kitsch (Battleship), Blake Lively (The Town) and Aaron Johnson (Kick-Ass). With a killer soundtrack and wall-to-wall action, Savages is an exhilarating and explosive spectacle.

Bonus Features on Blu-ray™and DVD

Feature Commentary with Oliver Stone

Feature Commentary with producers Moritz Borman, Eric Kopeloff, Co-Screenwriter/Novelist Don Winslow, Executive Producer/Co-Screenwriter Shane Salerno and Production Designer Tomás Voth

Bonus Features Exclusive to the Blu-ray™

STONE COLD SAVAGES—A five-part profile of the film showcases the entire cast and crew as Oliver Stone pushes his loyal and talented company far past their limits in order to bring this story to life. From concept to completion, viewers get unprecedented access to a master storyteller's creative process.

DELETED SCENES

UltraViolet™: The revolutionary new way for consumers to collect movies and television shows, store them in the cloud, and instantly stream or download to tablets, smartphones, computers and TVs. Consumers can now truly enjoy their movies anytime, anywhere on the platform of their choice. Currently available in the U.S. only.

Digital Copy: Viewers can redeem a digital version of the full-length movie from their choice of retail partners, to watch on an array of electronics and portable devices including computers, iPad®, iPhone®,
iPod™ touch, Android™ and more!

pocket BLU™ App: The popular free pocket BLU™ app for smartphones is now even better with newly updated versions for iPad®, Android™ tablets, PC and Mac computers, with features made especially to take advantage of the devices' larger screens and high-resolution displays.

Advanced Remote Control: A sleek, elegant new way to operate your Blu-ray™ player. Users can navigate through menus, playback and BD-Live™ functions with ease.

Video Timeline: Users can easily bring up the video timeline, allowing them to instantly access any point in the film.

Mobile-To-Go: Users can unlock a selection of bonus content with their Blu-ray™ discs to save to their device or to stream from anywhere there is a Wi-Fi network, enabling them to enjoy content on the go anytime, anywhere.

Browse Titles: Users will have access to a complete list of pocket BLU™ enabled titles available and coming to Blu-ray™. They can view free previews and see what additional content is available to unlock on
their device.

Keyboard: Entering data is fast and easy with your device's intuitive keyboard.

BD-LIVE™: Access the BD-Live™ Center through your Internet-connected player to access the latest trailers, exclusive content and more!

SYNOPSIS

Three-time Oscar®-winning filmmaker Oliver Stone returns to the screen with the ferocious thriller Savages, based on Don Winslow's bestselling crime novel, one of The New York Times' Top 10 Books of 2010. Laguna Beach entrepreneurs Ben (Aaron Johnson) and Chon (Taylor Kitsch) raise and sell some of the best marijuana ever developed, while sharing a one-of-a-kind love with the extraordinary beauty Ophelia (Blake Lively). Their idyllic life is shattered when the Mexican Baja Cartel demands that the trio partner with them. But the cartel's merciless boss, Elena (Salma Hayek), and her brutal enforcer, Lado (Benicio Del Toro), underestimate the unbreakable bonds among these three friends. Ben and Chon—with the reluctant, slippery assistance of a dirty DEA agent (John Travolta)—launch a seemingly unwinnable war against the drug lords that escalates into a savage, high-stakes battle of wills.

“Savages” is being looked at as Oliver Stone’s comeback movie, as if he hasn’t made one worth watching in years. Granted, movies like “World Trade Center,” “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” and even “W.” made it look like Stone was being too nice, but none of those movies however showed him to be losing his power as a director. I guess we just miss him generating some kind of controversy to be witnessed on the big screen.

“Savages,” based on the book by Don Winslow, shows Stone getting down and dirty again as the movie deals with a couple of weed producers who, unfortunately for them, capture the attention of a brutal and greedy Mexican cartel. The movie doesn’t reach the exhilarating highs of Stone’s other movies like “Natural Born Killers” or “Scarface” (which he didn’t direct but wrote the screenplay to), but it’s still a compelling film to watch. Whether you think the movie is among his best work or not, Stone doesn’t play it safe with the story or its characters this time around.

Blake Lively stars as O (short for Ophelia) who begins “Savages” by saying that just because she’s narrating the movie doesn’t mean she’ll be alive at the end of it. It’s a clever start as Stone teases us with the possibilities of what is to come, fully ready to take the rug out from under us if the occasion calls for it. It’s nice to see any movie director attempting that today.

O lives with her two boyfriends, former U.S. Navy SEAL Chon (Taylor Kitsch) and University of California at Berkeley graduate Ben (Aaron Johnson), who also happen to grow some of the best pot you can smoke. They live their days in Laguna Beach, California which is so beautifully captured by cinematographer Dan Mindel that it makes me wonder how long it’s been since I’ve gone down there.

Anyway, Chon and Ben get a very cryptic message from the Baja Cartel which comes along with a video featuring beheaded drug dealers which, like these two guys, were independent sellers. Basically, the cartel wants to go into business with them and take a cut of their profits. Chon and Ben however refuse to get involved with any cartel, and they make plans to move out of the country with O for a year or so. But the head of the cartel, Elena Sánchez (Salma Hayek), believes these guys need to show her some respect, so she gets her henchmen to kidnap O to make them comply with her demands. But Chon and Ben are not about to let go of their O without a fight.

The movie’s title, “Savages,” makes you wonder who it refers to among its characters. It’s tempting to think that it refers to the Baja Cartel as they utilize horrific methods to get what they want, but it could really be referring to any of the characters. Stone is examining just how far we can be pushed before we are forced to embrace our animalistic nature, and he gets at that horrifying truth of what violence we are all capable of when we get pushed to our extremes.

“Savages” is far from original as its story will likely remind many of their favorite episodes of “Miami Vice.” With a movie like this, we might expect Stone to be pushing our buttons a little bit harder than he does here. But even though you come out of it feeling that Stone could have gone even farther with the violence, the action is jolting and at times extremely graphic; one guy even finds one of his eyes hanging out of its socket during a moment of torture. Stone also utilizes his many ways of shooting from black and white footage to scenes of psychedelic power as characters find themselves under the influence either by choice or by force.

Now I don’t care what anybody says, Blake Lively is a good actress. Many seem to sneer whenever she’s in a movie, but maybe that’s because she’s on “Gossip Girl;” a show I’ve never watched. Lively has to take her character of O from being a fun seeking woman to one who has to learn to live again, and she is excellent throughout. After her turn as a drug addicted single mother in Ben Affleck’s “The Town,” there should be zero doubt that she can act.

It’s been a tough year thus far for Taylor Kitsch who has seen two big budget blockbusters he starred in, “John Carter” and “Battleship,” bomb at the box office. Then again, those movies probably would have bombed no matter who starred in them. With his role as Chon, he shows a toughness and attitude that is not easily faked, and you can see why so many movie studios were looking to cast him. Many actors yearn to play a ballbuster when given the opportunity, and Kitsch rises to the occasion while giving a terrific performance.

Aaron Johnson, who plays Chon’s more philosophical partner Ben, seems to have grown up a lot between this movie and “Kick Ass.” Once again, Johnson is playing a character who is eager prove himself and yet completely unaware of what that will take. From start to finish, he does an excellent job of transitioning his character from a peaceful man to a bloody defender of what he loves.

But leave it to some acting demigods to give this movie its potent power which nails us right into our seats. Benicio Del Toro is brilliant as the sociopathic henchman Lado. Like the most entertaining sociopaths we see in movies, Lado is at times charming while more often menacing and extremely sick. He thinks nothing of killing people when the opportunity presents itself, and Del Toro looks to be having a blast as he explores the different facets of this character’s twisted personality.

And then there’s Salma Hayek who singes the screen as drug queen Elena Sánchez. All Hayek has to do is give the audience one look, and you know this is a person you do not want to mess with. She also gets a surprisingly complex character to play as Elena’s ascent to being a big time drug dealer had more to do with tragedy than it did with opportunity.

“Savages” also features strong performances from John Travolta as a corrupt DEA agent, Emile Hirsch as the money launderer Spin, and Demián Bichir as one of Elena’s representatives Alex. There isn’t a single weak performance to be found here as everyone looks to be as thrilled as can be to be acting in an Oliver Stone movie.

There has been some controversy over the movie’s ending as it offers up two very different conclusions. The way it’s presented reminded me of when Michael Haneke got one of his characters to grab a remote control to reverse and alter the events in “Funny Games;” both directors are looking to mess with our heads. While the fates of characters are not entirely resolved, it was worth seeing things turn out the way they did as certain characters end up getting very clever about the situations they are in.

Is “Savages” classic Oliver Stone? Not quite, but it is certainly more potent energetic than some of the films he has made in recent years. Give him the right story, and he can still give you a cinematic experience like few others can.

* * * ½ out of * * * *

Now, from the mechanics of hell, we bring you this week’s edition of the Hollywood Remake Machine. Yes they’re back, plundering the films of the past to suck you in with whatever dollars are left from your wallet (and that’s even if you’re unemployed). This week’s victim is “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3.” Based on the book by John Godey, it was first made into a movie back in 1974 with Walter Matthau as policeman Garber, and Robert Shaw as Bernard Ryder. Some may have forgotten, but there was another remake of this as a TV movie back in 1998 with Edward James Olmos, Lorraine Bracco, and Vincent D’Onofrio. But it looks like one single remake was just not enough, so Hollywood remade it AGAIN, and this one is further proof that… Oh wait a minute… This one is actually good! What happened? Could it be? YES!!! …Ahem… Excuse me for going overboard there. We aren’t exactly talking about a classic, but of one that delivers the goods.

This version of “Pelham 1 2 3” comes to us from director Tony Scott, the man who gave us “Top Gun” and “Beverly Hills Cop II” among other movies, and who is also the younger brother of Ridley Scott. Along with Tony in this one is an actor he has worked with several times before, Denzel Washington. In addition, you have John Travolta as the chief hijacker of the bunch. They take on the roles that were first immortalized on the big screen by Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw. The basic premise of the movie remains the same: a group of hijackers (but of course, they are called terrorists these days) takes over a subway train, stops it in a tunnel, unhooks the other cars on the train, thus leaving them with one train car to worry about, and then they make their intentions clear. They want $10 million dollars in exactly 60 minutes, and not a minute over. For every minute they are late, they will shoot a hostage. This particular story will always be referred to as “Die Hard on a subway.” With all the amazing advances in technology, you’d figure that this premise would not work in today’s world with utter dependence on electronics to keep us informed and in touch. This is especially the case considering the paranoid feeling that the FBI and CIA are watching us all the time.

But Tony Scott gives us a film that, unlike the 1998 TV movie, is not simply a shot for shot remake. Tony takes the premise and updates it for today’s world, and gives us an action thriller that is more psychological than anything else. Just when you think you know where the story is heading, it takes a sharp turn and leaves you wondering what will happen next. I imagine there might be some gaps in logic to be found here, but I certainly wasn’t thinking about them while watching the movie. I was too busy getting caught up in the suspense and excitement of it all. For once, the excuse of cell phones not working actually makes sense and doesn’t simply insult our collective intelligence. Plus, all the characters (including the bad guys) make effective use of the technology available to them to where each side is manipulating the other.

Brian Helgeland, the screenwriter of “LA Confidential” and “Mystic River,” scripted this version (David Koepp did some work on it too, but he was not given credit). While the 1974 version functioned more as a cat and mouse game between the cops and the hijackers, this one is more focused on the relationship between Garber and (as Travolta’s character asks Garber to call him) Ryder. This brings me to one of the things I really liked about this version; we get characters who are morally compromised, and who have more in common with each other than they realized, and the line between them is not simply black or white. How they see each other really humanizes the story and keeps it from becoming just another average action flick.

Denzel Washington’s character of Garber is essentially a good guy, but he has been accused of bribery and is up on charges that leave is a heavy cloud of uncertainty hanging over his every move. For a ridiculously brief moment, I thought Denzel would be wrong for this role. Throughout his great career, we have seen him play many powerful leaders and of men in charge (or so they think) of everything and everybody around him. To see him play a regular blue collar kind of guy, being the big superstar that he is, made me worry that I wouldn’t buy him as a Garber the train dispatcher. What the hell was I thinking?! Denzel more than sells himself in the part as a regular joe, and you feel every ounce of his frustration as he struggles to maintain a situation he was not supposed to be put into. Whatever you think of his character, he makes you root for him despite the things he may have done wrong. Denzel once again reminds us (especially those who foolishly forgot) that he is one of the very best film actors, period.

John Travolta has had an iffy record in playing the bad guy, and this is mainly because we spent so much time watching him be the hero when we were younger. Sure, he did the bad guy really well in John Woo’s “Face/Off,” but then he played one of the most pussy-whipped bitches of a mob boss ever in “The Punisher.” By the way, that was one of the worst adaptations of a Marvel Comic ever! But as “Ryder,” Travolta gives us a furiously good performance and creates a very effectively dangerous character he doesn’t always sell you on. This is the same guy who a year or two ago, gave us the delightful Edna from “Hairspray.” Whereas Robert Shaw’s mercenary character was in control of his emotions, Travolta’s character is a powder keg of resentment and vengeance. Ryder is not a mercenary, but a former broker on Wall Street who just finished a stretch in prison, and now he has a score to settle with the city that sent him to the big house for 10 years instead of letting him plea bargain for 3. I almost wanted to laugh when I saw him with those tattoos on his neck, but Travolta really does come off as a bad ass mofo you do not want to mess with.

The mayor of New York is also back in the story, having been absent from the 1998 TV remake, and he is still despised as ever. This time, he is played by Tony Soprano himself, James Gandolfini. Once again proving to be another great actor working today, he manages to give us an elected official that is selfish and yet resourceful. James also keeps the character from becoming a simple caricature which is what we usually get with a character like this. Along with Washington, he gets some of the movie’s best lines thanks to Helgeland. Of course, does this mean that he will always be typecast as a crook since he is playing a politician? That’s just a thought.

I also have to say that I was really pleased to see Luis Guzmán cast as Phil Ramos, a disgraced motorman who is going along with Ryder’s revenge on the Big Apple. It feels like it has been far too long since I last saw Luis in a movie, and ever since I first saw him in “Carlito’s Way,” he has been and continues to be one of the most reliable of character actors. Always giving a memorable performance in every single movie he does, Luis gives a man who is a little more in touch with reality than Ryder is.

What I really liked about this version of “Pelham 1 2 3” is that it manages to not just repeat every single scene you saw in the original. Both Tony Scott and Brian Helgeland have effectively managed to update the story to a post 9/11 world where the threat of terrorism always feels like it’s around the corner, waiting like a snake to strike. Also, by giving a lot of focus to the two main characters and making them far from perfect adds a little more reality and genuine feeling to the more intense moments of the movie. I am so sick of the flawless hero in the movies who doesn’t have a single thing wrong with him or her. We need these characters to have flaws that we can recognize in ourselves so that we can relate to them and share in their danger, a danger they didn’t ask to be a part of. Thanks to the filmmakers and actors, they pulled it off very well.

The movie does share similar moments with the 1974 version, but it deviates from it in ways I couldn’t have seen coming. The ending is also a lot different from the original, which by the way was one of my all time favorites. All the same, I’m glad Tony Scott and company didn’t try to top the cleverness of that one. It would have been cool, but that is a hard ending to match. While this one ends in a more routine way, it is still exciting.

There’s also no topping the original’s film score which was composed by David Shire. The music was one of my favorite things about the film, and the soundtrack is one of my all time favorites. Still, frequent Tony Scott collaborator Harry Gregson-Williams gives us a combination of orchestral and electronic music that gives the film the propulsive feel it really needs. Looking back, I don’t think I have given Harry enough credit for the work he has done.

Tony Scott has more or less been in the shadow of his big brother Ridley, and while his career has been successful, his movies never seem to get the same amount of respect as do Ridley’s. His use of flash frames and slow motion can be off-putting at times, but this is the same guy who gave us “Crimson Tide” and “True Romance.” With “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3,” he gives one of the more exciting action movies that lifted me out of the doldrums of a so far weak summer movie season. Tony doesn’t bring a lot that is new to this kind of story, but he keeps things exciting throughout, and I felt myself on the edge of my seat in a way I didn’t expect to. In a lot of ways, this movie was a pleasant surprise, being that it is another gosh darn remake.

If I were compare, I obviously think the 1974 original is still the best adaptation of John Godey’s exciting novel. I won’t bother too much with the 1998 TV movie since that felt a lot like a shot for shot remake a la “Psycho” or “Funny Games.” But Scott’s film of “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3” is far more entertaining than any remake has a right to be these days. Scott has managed to take this material and make his own, and he is surrounded by a great cast. This makes me want to watch “Domino” at some point because I missed that one while it was in theaters.

Looking for a good action picture? I don’t think you can go wrong with this one.

***1/2 out of ****