Product Description

Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared from a family gathering on the island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger clan. Her body was never found, yet her beloved uncle is convinced it was murder and that the killer is a member of his own tightly knit but dysfunctional family. He employs disgraced financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) and the tattooed and troubled but resourceful computer hacker Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) to investigate. When the pair link Harriet s disappearance to a number of grotesque murders from almost forty years ago, they begin to unravel a dark and appalling family history. But the Vanger s are a secretive clan, and Blomkvist and Salander are about to find out just how far they are prepared to go to protect themselves.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1125 in DVD
• Brand: SOUTHPORT MUSIC BOX CORPO
• Model: MBFHE005
• Released on: 2010-07-06
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• ESRB Rating: Adults Only
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Original language: Swedish
• Subtitled in: English
• Dubbed in: English
• Dimensions: 5.50" h x 5.50" w x 7.50" l, .17 pounds
• Running time: 152 minutes

Features

• Condition: New
• Format: DVD
• AC-3; Color; Dolby; Dubbed; DVD; NTSC; Subtitled; Widescreen

Amazon.com
Fans of Stieg Larsson's Men Who Hate Women may have been concerned about how the Swedish author's novel would translate to the screen, but they needn't have worried. Significant changes to the source material have been made, but director Niels Arden Opley's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, as it's now called, is mostly riveting. As the story begins, middle-aged investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) has just been convicted of a bogus charge of libel against a rich and corrupt corporate hotshot when he's unexpectedly offered a most unusual gig. An aging captain of industry named Henrik Vanger (Sven-Bertil Taube) wants Blomkvist to figure out what happened to Vanger's niece, who disappeared more than 40 years earlier; not only is the old man convinced that she was murdered, but he suspects that another member of his large and rather disagreeable family (which includes several former Nazis) is the culprit. Blomkvist takes the job, which includes spending at least six months on Vanger's isolated island in the middle of winter. But what he doesn't know is that he's being spied on by twentysomething Lisbeth Salander (brilliantly played by Noomi Rapace in a career-making performance), the titular Girl and the possessor of remarkable skills as a sleuth and computer hacker. With her gothlike piercings and all-black clothes, Lisbeth is a vivid character, to say the least. While we don't exactly know the details of her dark past, it's obviously still with her; indeed, she's just been assigned a new "guardian" (like a parole officer) to look after her finances and other matters. We also know that she is not someone to mess with; when the guardian turns out to be a thoroughly vile monster, Lisbeth gets back at him in one of the more satisfying revenge sequences in recent memory. That Lisbeth and Mikael should end up working together, and more, isn't especially surprising. But the horrifying details and depths of depravity they uncover while working on the case (parallels to The Silence of the Lambs are facile but appropriate) definitely are, and Opley does a nice job of keeping it all straight. At more than two and a half hours, the film is long, with its share of grim, graphic, and scary moments, but The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a winner. --Sam Graham

Review
This haunting and hypnotic movie gets under your skin, in a word, wow! --Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Review
A character driven mystery of considerable emotional power, harrowing, and always compelling. --Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter

Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews

424 of 442 people found the following review helpful.
I'm still speechless... This will be a classic!
By Shopper
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is the first in the trilogy of crime novels written by Swedish journalist Stieg Larsson. Larsson wrote them during his spare time, as a form of amusement. However, the novels were not published until after Larsson's untimely death in Nov 2004. The author never had the opportunity to enjoy the critical and the commercial success his books eventually earned. In 2008 Larssen became the second best selling author on the planet.

Now, on to the story:
Mikael Blomkvist is a journalist, convicted, unjustly he believes, of libel against a powerful industrialist. As Blomkvist awaits the commencement of his sentence, he is hired by a scion of a wealthy family to investigate the disappearance of the man's bellowed niece 40 years earlier. Everyone, initially including Blomkvist, believes the case is hopeless. Unexpectedly though, help comes in form of "the girl with the dragon tattoo", Lisbeth Salander. The mysterious woman clearly has a severe past: despite being 24 years old, her person and finances are being managed by a court appointed guardian. She does however, have a brilliant mind and, as we are about to learn, a powerful will... She quickly becomes the driving force of the investigation. We watch transfixed, as the past reaches into the presence, and touches the lives of Blomkvist, Salander, her guardian, the industrialist and the wealthy scion.

The story, as written by Larsson, is extremely brutal (consider that the original, and the very apt, Swedish title is "Men Who Hate Women"). However, I am inclined to believe the violence serves as another character in the story and as such is necessary. I am therefore glad that the filmmakers did not seek to tamper it, thus neutering the punch the story delivers. Though this Swedish adaptation is scripted and directed to the highest standard, the focus must be on the performance of the actress Noomi Rapace. Her portrayal of Lisbeth is shockingly faithful to the text and the actress manages to take over the film with her very appearance.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is one of the best adaptations I have seen, ever. I encourage you not to miss it; though do see it with friends, as you will afterwards feel strongly compelled to discuss the various explosive plot twists. I hope Hollywood never touches this gem. I am anxiously waiting for the next two installments to hit US screens.

PS: Keep in mind, this film is NOT for the underaged.

199 of 213 people found the following review helpful.
The rare movie that is even better than the book
By Book lover -Philadelphia
A terrific movie that develops a complex story in a fast-paced way. The screenwriter has done an excellent job at shaving away any excess in the book (which I liked very much) and really focused on the action without losing anything. Actors are wonderful, totally believable and unknown to this American - which goes a long way to making them inhabit their roles so completely. Swedish countryside is almost another character and the audience also gets a travelogue from seeing these great moody swaths of land, snow and island woods.

The movie is enjoyable whether or not you've read the book and is one of the rare ones that improves upon the book. [THE GODFATHER is the only other one that comes to mind.]

Highly recommended!

153 of 168 people found the following review helpful.
Spare, Lean, Gritty and Explosive
By Susan G. Wagenhofer
The best screen adaptation from a book in years. The director has honored this well writtten work by following the book almost perfectly without omitting or sacrificing parts of the story. Lisbeth Sanders is perfectly cast. Rapace is Lisbeth. She creates a cult of somewhat envious admiring viewers wanting to become like Lisbeth. She is a fiery hellcat with an appealing naivete. This has viewers cheering for her to be avenged. Mikael too is equally well cast. Using orthodox methods, he step-by step partners with Lisbeth to peal back the layers of the mystery. Lisbeth stays always a step ahead of Mikael in her discoveries. The less well developed character Erika plays a lesser role. However, it is obvious there is bond if not a deeper relationship between Erika and Mikael. This relationship is given little emphasis in the directors efforts to focus on the real plot. Fast moving,well filmed and worth seeing.