Bus 174 details

Bus 174
Format: 15 DVD
Director: Jose Padilha
Genres: Documentary - Entertainment, World Cinema - Spanish
Studio: METRODOME DISTRIBUTION
Name Discs
Bus 174
15 Feature

DVD Information

Run time: 2 hours 20 minutes
Rental release: 20 Sep 2004
Main languages: Portuguese
Subtitles: English
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Most helpful review Bus 174

  • Brutal, shocking, compelling.

    Rated - 3.0 stars  
    By adiw from Leicestershire , 29 Oct 2004

    [Highly rated reviewer]

    Shocking, brutal and ultimately compelling, what starts life as a suspected robbery attempt transforms into a shocking insight into the inadequacies of an untrained police force, the media's effect on circumstance and the failure of society.

    Flashing back and forth between news reel footage of the events as they unfold and interviews with the hostages, the police officers present on the day and friends and family of the protagonist himself, we are not only compelled to feel anger and pity for the passengers aboard Bus 174 but also for the hostage taker himself.

    So in depth is this masterful yet excrutiating documentary that it becomes difficult to define exactly who is the victim and who is the villain.

    Bus 174 is essentially a criticism of modern day society, where it seems everyone has their part to play, even a young lady getting on a bus one morning to pick up some groceries. It could happen to anybody.

    At two and a half hours this documentary might not be to everyones taste but as an insight into the failure of society and societies compulsion to turn a blind eye, it delivers a powerful message that shouldn't be ignored.
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All reviews

(60)
  • Brutal documentary about reality of Rio's slums + consequences

    Rated - 4.5 stars  
    By Dai5 (4 reviews) , 29 Mar 2013
    I've watched this film so many times I can now tell Brazilian accents/Portuguese when I'm in a public place! Absolutely brutal story of 'what makes someone a criminal'. The mixture of real footage and back story of the protagonist is vivid and stays with you when it ends.
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  • NOT A FILM IT'S A DOCUMENTARY

    Rated - 1.0 star  
    By a customer from Reading, England , 17 Apr 2012
    and a bloody boring one at that
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  • Slow and disturbing documentary

    Rated - 1.0 star  
    By a customer , 19 Nov 2011
    This is a documentary not a film. The story is slightly interesting but the last few scenes are very disturbing. I had to fast forward through a lot of it because it was so long and slow. This is coming from someone who loves documentaries!
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  • thought provoking rather than violent

    Rated - 4.5 stars  
    By a customer from lancashire , 04 Aug 2010
    This is a great documentary-type film, although a little long-winded. There's a great fictional film about it too (called Last Stop 174). It explores social issues behind Sandro's kidnapping of the Bus in Rio de Janeiro, revealing through his life story that this could have happened time and time again. The film gives an insight both into what Brazilians saw on tv of the events that were unfolding, and of the hidden life that Sandro lead, and how he was affected in every way by forces beyond his control. All around a great film, and not the violence fest its packaging suggests.
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  • Compelling filmaking

    Rated - 5.0 stars  
    By Denno (25 reviews) from Southampton , 05 Apr 2010

    THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS Show review anywayHide

    Film can be many things to many people. Entertainment, art, thought provoking and fascinating to name a few. It is rare that it is all at once, but this superbly made documentary has it all.

    Where it suceeds firstly is in it's ability to pull so many strands of one persons life and their fatal end (not to mention their victims). What it actually manages to portray in addition is where society breaks down completely and what the affect of this is - from it's inherant violence, to it's selfishness, to it's lack of support, to it's inability and care to make people better. The end result is that not only is the subject the purportrator but also a victim.

    I cannot give this film the write up it deserves as that would require an essay on the ills of modern life and my studying days are over and I do not have the time tonight to give it justice.

    Superb on all levels.
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