World Famous Comics: Frequency (New Line Platinum Series)
Frequency (New Line Platinum Series)
Starring: Dennis Quaid, James Caviezel, Shawn Doyle, Elizabeth Mitchell, Andre Braugher Directed By: Gregory Hoblit Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Binding: DVD Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC Label: New Line Home Video Number of Items: 1 Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen Region Code: 1 Release Date: October 31, 2000 Running Time: 119 minutes Theatrical Release Date: April 28, 2000
Amazon.com: Frequency is really two different--though inextricably linked--movies. First, the emotional drama of a father and son reunited after 30 years of separation. Then there's a science fiction thriller, in which a couple of chance solar storms, occurring exactly 30 years apart, can provide the agency through which the father and son can communicate using the very same ham radio in parallel time frames of 1969 and 1999. The son is John Sullivan (Jim Caviezel), a cop, and his father is Frank (Dennis Quaid), a firefighter who died on the job when John was 6, which just happens to be tomorrow for Frank when he and his now-adult son begin talking across time. This is great for John, because now he can warn his dad about the upcoming fire and avert the catastrophe that left him fatherless for most of his life. Accomplishing this gives John new memories of his life with Dad, but unfortunately alters the course of a serial killer, with tragic effect on John's family history. Since John's a cop, and the case he's working on turns out to be the same unsolved case from 30 years before, he and his father work together over the ham radio to solve the case and hopefully avert the tragedy that befell their family.
Time-travel stories have always been problematic, demanding either an extra degree of credulity on the part of the audience or an extra level of explanation on the part of storytellers, which is invariably cumbersome. Frequency handles the troublesome time paradoxes by having John explain how, having altered his past, he now experiences both timelines, as if he's had two pasts that converge in his present. And as changes continue to be wrought in John's past, we see him becoming more and more confused. No doubt the audience can sympathize, at least those of us who try to follow the ramifications of the rapidly accruing time fractures. Luckily, the bond between father and son is so strongly realized in the deeply felt performances of both Caviezel and Quaid that you don't even need to consider the science fiction elements in order to enjoy the film. But if you can suspend your disbelief long enough to allow for the possibility of time shifts, you'll have a far richer experience. --Jim Gay
Description: A phenomenon allows police officer John Sullivan (Jim Caviezel) to save the life of his long-dead father (Dennis Quaid). But changing the past leads to a string of brutal, serial homicides. Now, they both must race across time to stop the killer.
DVD Features: Audio Commentary Music Only Track Photo gallery Theatrical Trailer
Frequency Dennis Quaid and Jim Caviezel are so good in this movie. They play father and son able to communicate via an old ham radio even though his father passed away some thirty years ago. The explanation for this is due to unusual auroral activity and the effect it has on electronics. They discover they have the ability to change history by sharing information when John tells Frank how he died in the line of duty, so many years ago. They work together to stop a serial killer that was never caught, and that now threatens their family in both the past and present. Very on the edge of your seat suspenseful, and entertaining!
Deep and meaningful; a film that is bound to touch and inspire you... I'll say this first off; I really like this movie a lot. When I first saw it in the theater I was in awe with it. Sure, I'm not in `awe' anymore, but after watching this movie again last night for like the twentieth time I can definitely say that it still warms my heart. I still get that same feeling every time I hear that Garth Brooks song start to play in the closing of this film; the tears welling in the eyes and this overwhelming happiness comes over me. That said I must admit that this movie has its detractors, they just aren't enough to make me forsake the entire experience.
The concept behind `Frequency' is one we've seen done many times before and after. The idea of changing the past is something that intrigues all of us I'm sure since there isn't one person on the face of the planet without regrets. So here we have John Sullivan; a thirty-six year old man who lost his father thirty years ago in a fire. His father Frank was a brave fireman who died saving a young girl from a burning warehouse. This tragedy has destroyed John. He walks around like a zombie with no cares in life whatsoever. He still lives in his father's house, the house he grew up in, the house he never left. It's interesting to me that his mother has since moved out but John stays behind, maybe further addressing the fact that John is the only one who has never moved on or recovered from his fathers death. He stays in the past in everyway possible. One night his best friend's son finds Frank's old ham radio and after tinkering with it John finds that he is able to contact a familiar voice from the past, his father. He soon realizes that he has the opportunity to save his father, to rewrite the past but when he does his future is also rewritten.
One thing that I love about `Frequency' is that it works at being a better film than it could have been. It could have merely been a film about a son contacting his dead father and working to save his life, but it does more than that. With an intricately woven sub-plot involving a serial killer from the past who was never caught `Frequency' manages to keep the audience at the edge of their seats throughout the running time. That is a huge plus. It adds layers of intensity that would not have been there otherwise.
As far as the acting is concerned, Quaid steals the show. I've always been a fan of this man. He's a very talented actor who never gets the credit or the film roles he deserves. He grabs a hold of Frank Sullivan with all he has and delivers the standout performance here. He masters his accent beautifully, which is essential in this type of role. Elizabeth Mitchell likewise delivers a beautiful performance. She shows a lot of depth even though she has limited screen time and is obviously taking a backseat to the two leading men. Shawn Doyle also delivers, sending shivers down my spine as the suspected killer, and Andre Braugher pulls off an impressive supporting performance as Satch DeLeon, Frank's close friend and John's eventual boss.
The biggest detractor for me though is James Caviezel. I've never been too impressed with this actor but here he manages to bore me to tears. I feel nothing from him. His `depressed' John is so overly dramatized that he comes across irritating and unsympathetic. I don't understand why anyone would want to be around him. He's gloomy and moody and whiney and just a complete and utter mess. James could have played him differently, could have played him better. Sure, after he rescues his father he changes his demeanor a bit but it's too little too late for me. The second half of his performance is far better than the first, I will say that.
`Frequency' manages though to still hold merit with me. It's a much deeper film than it lets on to be and has the ability to touch the heart and warm the soul. The final moments of the film, filled with this heart racing intensity are flawlessly performed and only add weight to the emotionally uplifting baseball game that closes this touching family film. `Frequency' is a film about love and loss and that desired reconnection with loved ones; a chance to right wrongs and make better decision; a film about getting the chance to live again the consequences and responsibilities that lie within that chance. In that respect `Frequency' works on a much greater level than one might expect and deserves to be seen and admired and talked about.
Pretty intense and the storyline gets pretty complicated Dennis Quaid and James Caviezel turned in a stellar performance as a Father and Son who talk over the radio 30 years apart to try and figure out the Nightingales killer, only to put themselves past and future in danger. The complexity shows up when they start changing history and things don't necessarily line up correctly anymore, but if you suspend you critical thinking, the movie is still very enjoyable. Great to watch, up to you if you want to own.
Wow, Family... This is one of my all time favorite movies. I haven't seen it with my father yet but I plan to because it really means a lot to me and I expect he'll like it as much as I do.
This movie tells a wonderful story of a sons love for his father. It's a story about family that grows into a murder mystery plot similar to what you might see in one of the Law and Order shows with only a minimal Science Fiction flavor.
Wow, thank you for letting fall into another world and be entertained for a couple hours. Every time I see this movie I walk away with a new sense of love and peace with the world.
Touching Father-Son Fantasy Thriller Wow, what a suspenseful film! This is a combination crime and fantasy story, a time-travel theme employed as a son is able to talk to his father 30 years in the past and help change history for the better. Far-fetched? Oh, of course, but it's not meant to be taken seriously as something that could happen. Like "Field Of Dreams," it's pure fantasy but a nice father-and-son vehicle that makes you - or at least it did me - bring a tear or two to your eyes.
The young guy is played by Jim Caviel and his dad is played by Dennis Quaid. Both are excellent and likable guys, as they usually are in the films they play.
I've watched this four times in the last four years and totally enjoyed it each time. It''s highly recommended.
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