Jacob's Ladder [Blu-ray]

Director: Adrian Lyne

Overview

A tortured man finds himself caught in a middle-ground between hallucination and reality in this supernatural thriller, scripted by Bruce Joel Rubin of Ghost (1990) and My Life (1993). Jacob Singer (Tim Robbins) is a soldier stationed in Vietnam who undergoes a traumatic experience on the battlefield - the nature of which is initially unclear. The film then moves into his post-Vietnam experience in 1970s New York, where he feels consistently traumatized, but can never quite remember exactly what happened to him in Southeast Asia or to free himself from his anxieties over the recent tragic death of his young son (Macaulay Culkin). Though well educated, Jacob works as a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service and has become romantically involved with one of his co-workers, Jezzie (Elizabeth Pena), after divorcing his wife. Soon, Jacob's tenuous hold on reality starts to slip as horrifying events befall him; he is nearly run over by a subway train, pursued by faceless demons in cars, and spots reptilian tails and horns protruding from the bodies of those he encounters. Jacob also suffers severe panic attacks related to the chaos that may be reality, or may exist only in his mind. He seeks counsel from Louis (Danny Aiello), a kindly chiropractor, as his ex-wife Sarah (Patricia Kalember), fellow Vietnam vet Paul (Pruitt Taylor Vince), and enigmatic stranger Michael (Matt Craven) all try to help the tortured soul. Jason Alexander, Ving Rhames and Eriq LaSalle highlight the supporting cast.

Product Details

Release Date:	08/25/2015
UPC:	0031398223979
Original Release:	1990
Rating:	R
Source:	LIONSGATE - 600000-AEC LGE
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Language:	English
Time:	1:56:00
Sales rank:	12,828

Special Features

"Making of" featurette; Audio commentary by director Adrian Lyne; Deleted scenes; Theatrical trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Tim Robbins	Jacob Singer
Danny Aiello	Louis
Matt Craven	Michael
Pruitt Taylor Vince	Paul
Jason Alexander	Geary
Patricia Kalember	Sarah
Eriq La Salle	Frank
Ving Rhames	George
Brian Tarantina	Doug
Macaulay Culkin	Gabe
Anthony Alessandro	Rod
Brent Hinkley	Jerry
Elizabeth Abassi	Hospital Patient
Becky Ann Baker	Nurse
Brad Hamlet	Actor
Christopher Murphy	Actor
Doug Barron	Group Leader
S. Merkerson	Elsa
Stephanie Berry	Partygoer
Lewis Black	Jacob's Doctor
Suzanne Shepherd	Hospital Receptionist
Nora Burns	Hospital Patient
Jan Saint	Santa
John Capodice	Army Officer
Kisha Skinner	Street Singer
Thomas A. Carlin	Doorman
Dion Simmons	Street Singer
Scott Cohen	Resident Doctor
Patty Rosborough	Drunk
Sam Coppola	Taxi Driver
B.J. Donaldson	Eli
Evan O'Meara	Sam
Christopher John Fields	Actor
Gloria Irizarry	Mrs. Carmichael
John Louis Fischer	Machine Gunner
Ann Pearl Gary	Mourner
Kyle Gass	Tony
Raymond Thomas	Policeman
Alison Gordy	Hospital Patient
Jaime Perry	Field Medic
Dennis Green	Attendant,Partygoer
Michael Tomlinson	Field Doctor
A.M. Marxuach	Field Doctor
Antonia Rey	Woman on Subway
Barbara Gruen	Mourner
Elizabeth Peña	Jezabel
John McLaughlin	Army Officer
Bellina Logan	Emergency Ward Nurse
Davidson Thomson	Evil Doctor
Brian Larkin	Jed
Carol Schneider	Nurse
Diane Kagan	Nurse
Billie Neal	Della
Mike Stokie	Field Sergeant
Byron Minns	Orderly
Danny Aiello III	Louis
Arleigh Richards	Paul's Wife
Maurice Jarre	Composer
Joe Quintero	Street Kid
Alva Williams	Masked Man
James Reynolds	E.M.T. Bearer
Jessica Roberts	Hospital Patient
Reggie McFadden	Partygoer
Holly Kennedy	Hospital Patient
Blanche Irwin Stuart	Hospital Patient
Perry Lang	Jacob's Assailant

Technical Credits

Bruce Joel Rubin

Adrian Lyne	Director
Alan Marshall	Producer
Andrew G. Vajna	Producer,Producer,Executive Producer
Bruce Joel Rubin	Producer,Screenwriter
Mario Kassar	Producer,Executive Producer
Milton C. Burrow	Sound Effects

Editorial Reviews

Too dark and obscure to connect with mainstream audiences, Jacob's Ladder earned a devoted cult following based on its bizarre hallucinatory visuals and terrifying story of a Vietnam veteran apparently suffering a mental breakdown. The New York City inhabited by Jacob Singer is at first just a few degrees away from normal, but the differences make the viewer's flesh crawl. As he's exiting a subway, Jacob notices that the homeless man lying across the seats has a reptilian tail that slithers out of view; later, a nurse drops her cap to reveal a horn-like growth that is clearly inhuman. Whether these and the more extreme images that follow are figments of Jacob's henpecked imagination is open to audience interpretation. Although the film ultimately offers a satisfying explanation for the wartime mishap and subsequent demonization of Jacob's life, screenwriter Bruce Joel Rubin, who scripted Ghost the same year, is clever enough to leave things open-ended. Director Adrian Lyne's ease with special effects, never previewed in such prior outings as Flashdance and Fatal Attraction, is that of an experienced horror director. The hospital/mental ward/afterworld purgatory he brings to twisted life near the end is both difficult to watch and impossible to look away from. Though all the supporting performances are strong, Tim Robbins has never been more nakedly emotional as the star of his own unrelenting nightmare.

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