Road to Perdition [Blu-ray]

Director: Sam Mendes Sam Mendes

Overview

The acclaimed graphic novel from crime writer Max Allan Collins becomes this big budget Dreamworks drama from director Sam Mendes and screenwriter David Self. Tom Hanks stars as Michael Sullivan, a morally conflicted Depression-era hit man committing murder in the name of his employer, John Rooney (Paul Newman). A kindly, aging Irish crime boss who raised Sullivan as his surrogate son, Rooney is affiliated with Al Capone in Chicago and thus wields great power in the "Tri-Cities" of Moline, IL; Rock Island, IL; and Davenport, IA. Curious about his father's mysterious profession, Sullivan's son, Michael Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin), stows away in his father's automobile one night and witnesses the execution of a man at the hands of Sullivan and Rooney's biological son, Connor (Daniel Craig). Although Michael keeps his promise to remain silent about what he's seen, the paranoid and unstable Connor tries to wipe out the entire Sullivan clan anyway, succeeding only in killing Sullivan's wife, Annie (Jennifer Jason Leigh), and youngest son, Peter (Liam Aiken). Enraged at this and another surprise betrayal by the Rooneys, Sullivan embarks on a path of bloody retribution, Michael in tow. Although he intends to leave his boy with relatives in the rural town of Perdition once the coast is clear, he ends up exposing Michael to the goriest aspects of his talents, slaughtering former associates as he dodges contract assassin Maguire (Jude Law) and cripples the cash flow of the Rooney and Capone organizations through a series of bank robberies, attempting to force either mob family to offer up the sequestered Connor as a sacrifice. Inspired by the popular Japanese comic book series Lone Wolf and Cub and based loosely on an episode from the life and career of notorious real-life crime figures John and Connor Looney, Road to Perdition co-stars Stanley Tucci as legendary Chicago mobster Frank Nitti.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/09/2017
UPC:	0032429257833
Original Release:	2002
Rating:	R
Source:	PARAMOUNT
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:56:00
Sales rank:	4,411

Special Features

Commentary by Director Sam Mendes; Sam Mendes Feature Introduction; A Cinematic Life: The Art and Influence of Conrad Hill; The Library: A Further Exploration of the World of Road to Perdition; Deleted Scenes (With Optional Commentary); The Making of Road to Perdition

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Tom Hanks	Michael Sullivan
Paul Newman	John Rooney,Composer
Jennifer Jason Leigh	Annie
Jude Law	Harlen Maguire
Stanley Tucci	Frank Nitti
Daniel Craig	Connor
Tyler Hoechlin	Michael Sullivan, Jr
Liam Aiken	Peter Sullivan
Dylan Baker	Alexander Rance,Crime Scene Policeman
David Darlow	Kelly
Doug Spinuzza	Calvino
Rob Maxey	Drugstore Owner
Nicolas Cade	Boy Michael Fights
Craig Spidle	Rooney's Henchman
Ian Barford	Rooney's Henchman
Stephen Dunn	Finn McGovern's Henchman,Finn McGovern's Henchman
Paul Turner	Finn McGovern's Henchman
Maureen Gallagher	Michael's Teacher,Michael's Teacher
Kevin Chamberlin	Frank the Bouncer
Juanita Wilson	Brothel Maid
Roderick Peeples	Nitti's Henchman
Keith Kupferer	Nitti's Henchman
Lee Roy Rogers	Secretary
Kathleen Keane	Irish Musician
Kieran O'Hare	Irish Musician
Jackie Moran	Irish Musician
Brendan McKinney	Irish Musician
John Sierros	Rooney's Business Associate
Jon Sattler	Rooney's Business Associate
Michael Brockman	Rooney's Business Associate
John Judd	Rooney's Business Associate
Christian Stolte	Rooney's Business Associate
Jack Callahan	Rooney's Business Associate
Kurt Naebig	Tenement Murderer
Monte	Living Corpse
Duane Sharp	Father Callaway
Diane Dorsey	Aunt Sarah
Michael Sassone	Motel Manager
John Sterchi	Cop at Diner
Robert Jones	Farmer at Diner
Lara Phillips	Ruby the Waitress
Harry Groener	Mr. McDougal
Mina Badie	Betty the Waitress
Ed Kross	Young Bank Manager
Heidi Jayne Netzley	Prostitute
Phil Ridarelli	Hotel Manager
Peggy Roeder	Farmer Virginia
James Greene	Farmer Bill
Jobe Cerny	Banker
Lawrence MacGowan	Banker
Timothy Hendrickson	Banker
Marty Higginbotham	Banker
Alfred Molina	Actor
Ciarán Hinds	Finn
Dylan Barker	Alexander Rance
The Monte Carlos	Living Corpse

Technical Credits

Max Allan Collins

Richard Piers Rayner

David Self

Sam Mendes	Director,Producer
Joan Bradshaw	Executive Producer,Producer
Doug Coleman	Stunts
Allen L. Hall	Special Effects,Special Effects
Michael J. McAlister	Special Effects
Walter F. Parkes	Executive Producer,Producer
Debra Zane	Casting
Dean Zanuck	Producer,Producer
Max Allan Collins	Screenwriter
Richard Piers Rayner	Screenwriter
David Self	Screenwriter
Bob Beemer	Sound Effects
Tara B. Cook	Producer
Cherylanne Martin	Producer
Thomas Kittle	Special Effects
Michael Petrucci	Special Effects
Jerry King	Key Grip
William S. Judkins	Stunts
Frank Calzavara	Stunts
Kelly Borisy	Key Grip
Jim Roorda	Key Grip
William Dambra	Special Effects
John J. Rigden	Special Effects
Tom Lowell	Stunts
Joey Box	Stunts
Allen Robinson	Stunts
Kevin Sorensen	Stunts
Bill Young	Key Grip
Gary L. Karas	Special Effects
Frank Toro	Special Effects
Kerry Rossall	Stunts
Richard Shuster	Stunts
Darrell Davis	Stunts
Jim Mammoser	Stunts
Rich Wilke	Stunts
Fred Thorne	Stunts
Rick LeFevour	Stunts
James Fierro	Stunts
John Pritchett	Sound/Sound Designer
Scott Hecker	Sound Editor

Editorial Reviews

Unquestionably one of 2002’s best films, this Depression-era crime drama demonstrates yet again that erstwhile sitcom star Tom Hanks is one of Hollywood’s finest actors. It also vindicates the judgment of critics who maintain that Sam Mendes (American Beauty) is among the most talented directors working today. Based on a graphic novel written by detective-story scribe Max Allen Collins, Perdition begins in a small midwestern city where Michael Sullivan (Hanks) works as an enforcer for his adopted father, Irish gangster John Rooney (Paul Newman). When Sullivan’s son, Mike Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin), witnesses one of his father’s killings on Rooney’s behalf, the gangster decides that his ward and his family are liabilities that must be removed. Mendes, working from a script that considerably expands on the Collins story, tells several stories simultaneously; the plot principally revolves around Sullivan’s efforts to safeguard his son and get even with the man who betrayed him, but it also focuses on the boy’s efforts to bond with his emotionally distant father, and in a tertiary sense it’s about the internal conflicts of a lawbreaking man governed by his own peculiar code of honor while functioning in a hopelessly corrupt and amoral societal structure. Mendes eschews flashy visual effects and quick cutting in favor of elegantly composed shots and subtle camera moves. This directorial restraint is carried over to the performances, which are mostly understated (Hanks, for example, suggests far more than he shows, forcing viewers to use their imaginations). The one exception is Jude Law, whose turn as a hired assassin is delightfully eccentric and over-the-top. Road to Perdition could have been a florid, melodramatic shoot-’em-up, but Mendes's inspired direction and the solidly grounded performances of Hanks and Newman made it something very special. This is a film viewers will want to see many times.