"Actor: Kristina Krofft"

• The Net | DVD | (01/08/2005) from £10.76   |  Saving you £-1.78 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  The Net, the first of Hollywood's big cyber-thrillers of the mid-1990s, was also the most successful, thanks in large part to the natural appeal of star Sandra Bullock. Still riding high from Speed and While You Were Sleeping, Bullock plays a computer expert victimised by sinister cyber-forces who steal her identity for reasons unknown. It's a clever combination of high-tech paranoia and Hitchcockian references (including Jeremy Northam as a romantic stranger named Devlin, after Cary Grant in Notorious). Film historians may look back someday on films like this--Roger Ebert calls them "hacksploitation"--to see what they reveal about our society's reaction to the increasing role of technology in our lives, just as we now study the fears of Communism and the atom bomb reflected in films of the 1950s. Dennis Miller and Diane Baker co-star. --Jim Emerson, Amazon.com

• The Net | DVD | (09/09/2002) from £7.40   |  Saving you £5.59 (75.54%)   |  RRP £12.99

  For a while The Net looked like it was going to be quickly outdated by the technology it showcased. But now we know that anyone can personalise their systems and Internet search engines, so the colourful displays endlessly intercut on Sandra Bullock's screens look perfectly contemporary. As a movie, the concept was already outdated by the time of its 1995 release, however. The plot takes pains to emulate the style and formula of a Hitchcock chase thriller. There's a computer disc "McGuffin" being sought after by conspiratorial baddies; while the lonely hero on the run is eminently sympathetic yet attractively flawed. Bullock, though, was perfectly cast at a point well before her star status took over. Although some of the suspense contrivances may seem simplistically predictable, there's an undeniable fascination in the theme of losing one's identity. Everywhere Bullock turns she's faced with either a bald reflection or mirroring metaphor of how the computer age strips us of individuality. And, indeed, privacy. Sooner or later, the technology will become outdated of course. Until then, be careful how you surf. On the DVD: The Net comes to disc in Dolby 5.1 sound and widescreen 1.85:1. It's hard to choose between the two commentaries included. Both the Writer's and the joint talk from the Director and Producer are crammed with anecdotal reference (with a little overlap). Then there are two documentaries of about 20 minutes each, but here the newest is by far the most interesting. Trailers and filmographies fill out the package. --Paul Tonks