Spike Lee's bracing adaptation of David Benioff's novel is a vibrant, vital motion picture. Edward Norton plays Monty Brogan, a harmless drug dealer who has 24 hours of freedom before serving a seven-year jail sentence. Nervous, confused, and terrified, Monty turns to his closest friends for support: Frank Slattery (Barry Pepper), a cocky stockbroker who resents Monty for throwing his life away; Jakob Elinsky (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a hapless high school teacher who is attracted to one of his students (Anna Paquin); and Monty's heartbroken father (Brian Cox), who blames himself for Monty's demise. And then there is Naturelle (Rosario Dawson), Monty's beautiful girlfriend, who may or may not be guilty of ratting Monty out to the cops. Monty spends his last day trying to ignore the inevitability of time, but everyone and everything only reminds him of the bleak, unpromising days that lay ahead.

With 25TH HOUR, Spike Lee revisits the fiery territory of 1989's DO THE RIGHT THING. Frustrated by Hollywood's cold shoulder toward the tragedy of September 11th, Lee attacks the subject with fervor, resulting in a film that brilliantly captures the mood and atmosphere in New York City in the months following the attack. The film features stellar contributions from composer Terence Blanchard, cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, and Lee's ensemble cast.

Theatrical release: December 19, 2002

DVD Features:

Region 1
Keep Case
Anamorphic Widescreen - 2.35
Letterbox - 2.35
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
Dolby Digital 5.1 - French
THX Certified Audio
Additional Release Material:
Deleted Scenes
Featurette:
1. Ground Zero
2. Spike Lee's Evolution as an Anerican Filmmaker
Audio Commentary:
1. Spike Lee - Director
2. David Benioff - Producer
Interactive Features:
Interactive Menus
Scene Access

Distributor Notes: 25th Hour

Academy Award(R)-nominee Edward Norton (Best Actor, 1999, AMERICAN HISTORY X) heads an amazing all-star cast in the critically acclaimed Spike Lee (SUMMER OF SAM, DO THE RIGHT THING) film 25th HOUR. In 24 short hours Monty Brogan (Norton) goes to prison for seven long years. Once a king of Manhattan, Monty is about to say good-bye to the life he knew -- a life that opened doors to New York's swankest clubs but also alienated him from the people closest to him. In his last day on the outside, Monty tries to reconnect with his father (Brian Cox, THE BOURNE IDENTITY), and gets together with two old friends, Jacob (Philip Seymour Hoffman, ALMOST FAMOUS) and Slaughtery (Barry Pepper, THE GREEN MILE). And then there's his girlfriend, Naturelle (Rosario Dawson, MEN IN BLACK 2), who might (or might not) have been the one who tipped off the cops. Monty's not sure of much these days, but with time running out, there are choices to be made as he struggles to redeem himself in the 25th hour.

Source: Buena Vista Home Entertainment.

Edward Norton: Actor/Director
Brian Cox: British Actor, L.I.E. (2000)
Anna Paquin: Oscar winning Actress, THE PIANO
Barry Pepper: 
Philip Seymour Hoffman: Oscar-winning actor, CAPOTE, DOUBT
Rosario Dawson: Actress

Spike Lee: African American director, DO THE RIGHT THING (1989)

Julia Chasman: Producer
Tobey Maguire: American actor, THE CIDER HOUSE RULES/SPIDER-MAN series
Jon Kilik: 
Spike Lee: African American director, DO THE RIGHT THING (1989)

David Benioff: Source Writer, THE 25TH HOUR (2002)

Terence Blanchard: Composer, WAIST DEEP (2006)

"...The role plays right into Norton's gift for letting brainy anxiety detonate just beneath the surface of a scene....Lee, as he did in MALCOLM X and CLOCKERS, makes his hero's dread palpable..."
"...Lee's use of space expertly evokes the general air of a city bereft..."
"...25TH HOUR is a riveting, emotionally resonant New York drama....Edward Norton is dynamite..."
"...An impressive, affecting return to form from one of Hollywood's finest filmmakers..."
"...Undeniably beautiful..."
"...It produces a wrenching, dazzling succession of moods..."