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Shortbus (Unrated Edition) [DVD]

4.3 out of 5 stars 817 ratings
IMDb6.4/10.0

$14.86
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Genre Drama
Format Color, Closed-captioned, Dolby, Anamorphic
Contributor Paul Dawson, Raphael Barker, John Cameron Mitchell, PJ DeBoy, Sook-Yin Lee, Jay Brannan, Peter Stickles, Lindsay Beamish See more
Language English
Runtime 1 hour and 41 minutes

Product Description

Product Description

From the director of ‘Hedwig and the Angry Inch’ comes SHORTBUS, an exploration into the lives of several characters living in present-day New York as they navigate the comic and tragic intersections between love and sex. Male and female, straight and gay, the characters find one another – and eventually find themselves – when they all converge at a weekly underground salon called "Shortbus," a mad world of art, music, politics, and polysexual carnality. One of the true sensations of this year’s Cannes Film Festival, presents sex and sexuality as never before seen in mainstream entertainment, and promises to be one of the most talked-about films for months – and years – to come.

Amazon.com

In his aim to make an honest film about sex, John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) has taken a somewhat documentary approach to Shortbus, a film describing various New Yorkers' sexual pathos. Framed by shots roving a homemade diorama of the city, Shortbus is comprised of vignettes featuring actors who helped craft this story of people's disconnect in sexual endeavors. Jamie (PJ DeBoy) and James (Paul Dawson), a gay couple experiencing a lull in their relationship, visit Sophia (Sook-Yin Lee), a sex therapist whose inability to orgasm results in her clients inviting her to a sex club after which the film is titled. Sophia's husband, Rob (Raphael Barker), is also willing to experiment, so the two independently embark on adventures in self-pleasure. Dominatrix Severin (Lindsay Beamish) plays a crucial role in Sophia and Rob's lives, as her search for real humanity overlaps with their desire for passion. As each character's plot complicates, the viewer sees a similar melancholy bulldozing its way into these seemingly disparate lives. The depression is repeatedly used in comedic scenes, such as when James is asked on a date while still hospitalized for his attempted suicide. Yo La Tengo's score, which includes Animal Collective among others, lends this film a graceful ambience. Unlike porn, Shortbus has a resonance that encourages the viewer to consider one's own sex life as an important aspect of happiness. --Trinie Dalton

Product details

  • Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 1.78:1
  • Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
  • MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ Unrated (Not Rated)
  • Package Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches; 3.2 ounces
  • Director ‏ : ‎ John Cameron Mitchell
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ Color, Closed-captioned, Dolby, Anamorphic
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 41 minutes
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ January 1, 2007
  • Actors ‏ : ‎ Sook-Yin Lee, Paul Dawson, Lindsay Beamish, PJ DeBoy, Raphael Barker
  • Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ Spanish, French
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English (Dolby Digital 5.1), Unqualified
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ Velocity / Thinkfilm
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B000LAZDQA
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 out of 5 stars 817 ratings

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
817 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find this film thought-provoking, with interesting stories and a crafted narrative that makes them think. The movie features a highly original cast, and one customer describes it as an "amazing tapestry of art" with an incredibly beautiful simplicity. They appreciate its gritty realism, moving pacing, and great music, while noting it's in good condition and well-made.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

125 customers mention "Value for money"107 positive18 negative

Customers find the movie offers good value for money, describing it as beautiful and worth watching.

"...of writer/director John Cameron Mitchell, who brought us the delightful film, Hedwig and the Angry Inch...." Read more

"...Regardless of that I honestly think this was an incredible film. When it was over I felt good and I can't say that about many movies...." Read more

"...The result is a great film for folks, who are not squeamish about polyamory...." Read more

"...Genius Film I think! If you love Drama and Love. This movie is right up your alley...." Read more

86 customers mention "Thought provoking"75 positive11 negative

Customers find the movie thought-provoking, with interesting stories and a crafted plot that makes them think.

"...On the surface, this premise seems quite intriguing--aren't all threesomes supposed to be this way?..." Read more

"...The most poignant and challenging performances in Shortbus belong to Paul Dawson and Sook-Yin Lee, though the movie must have been challenging for..." Read more

"...indie film called "Shortbus", which they said was so clever, well-written, well-acted, etc.,..." Read more

"...Although there's some quirky humor to be found in several scenes and in all of the characters, there is also a dark undertow--an almost pessimistic..." Read more

29 customers mention "Character development"29 positive0 negative

Customers are impressed with the characters and acting in the movie, particularly noting the highly original cast.

"...All of the acting was very good, particularly Sook-Yin Lee (who I learned from the special features is a CBC broadcaster), playing a sex therapist..." Read more

"...worked with the actors to create the multi-dimensional and complex characters portrayed...." Read more

"...was assmbled is almost as interesting as the film itself: Actors helped craft the script as well as their own characters with Mitchell. "..." Read more

"...relate to each relationship in one way or another and felt quite connected to the characters...." Read more

24 customers mention "Visual quality"20 positive4 negative

Customers appreciate the visual quality of the movie, describing it as an amazing tapestry of art with an incredibly beautiful simplicity and graphic nature that serves as a nice change of pace.

"...a movie is the (NC-17, sexually explicit ) Shortbus (2006), a biting, edgy, sex laden amusing romp set in contemporary New York City, written and..." Read more

"...The Ashton Kutcher look alike was quite cute. The subtle humorous scenarios were always a surprise...." Read more

"...This movie for me was and still is so very amazing in my eyes. I can't seem to stop watching it...." Read more

"...The end of the film is also shot in incredibly beautiful simplicity..." Read more

17 customers mention "Realism"17 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the movie's realism, finding it informative and thought-provoking, with one customer describing it as an intimate and profound exploration.

"...The commentary featuring Mitchell and several of the actors is very informative and revealing--especially when it comes to the particulars..." Read more

"...John Cameron Mitchell and his cast have created the most intimately profound exploration of the human experience I have ever seen...." Read more

"...The sex scenes are the real thing, not simulated...." Read more

"...Highly emotional at points; but, funny, provocative, and philosophically challenging to a variety of individual interpretations of the feature...." Read more

13 customers mention "Pacing"10 positive3 negative

Customers find the pacing of the movie moving and intense, with one customer describing it as physically stimulating.

"Bottom-Line: Shortbus is at times physically stimulating, but not as much as it is emotionally and mentally)..." Read more

"...It is intensely and graphically sexual; but, it's so much more. It is masterfully performed by a highly original cast...." Read more

"...It is brutally honest, thought provoking, intense at times, and funny at others...." Read more

"...There is a sparse plot that is liquid & murky as quicksand and sinks twice as fast!..." Read more

11 customers mention "Sturdiness"11 positive0 negative

Customers find the DVD well made and in good condition, describing it as gritty.

"...I don't think so. The film already has a voyeuristic quality, and this "realism" just adds to the audience's feeling of being an observer of some..." Read more

"...The gritty, graphic nature of the sex throughout the film shows a side of relationships rarely captured on the big screen...." Read more

"Raw, moving fun gritty. Great music. I even bought the soundtrack. John Cameron Mitchell amazes me...." Read more

"The DVD was delivered promptly and in good condition. However, I was quite disappointed in the movie--couldn't watch it all...." Read more

9 customers mention "Music quality"9 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the music in the movie.

"...movie reminds us all that it takes darkness to see stars and silence to hear music...." Read more

"...The film combines love, humor, a fantastic soundtrack, and, of course, sex (of all kinds, with all genders) to truly show how beautiful all..." Read more

"...The music is also very inviting. Photography, music, and acting performance combine to make a movie worth seeing more than once...." Read more

"...Watching it is like an antidote to the Bush era. The music from the film is wonderful and I highly recommend purchasing the soundtrack...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2011
    Right off, I feel like I need to tell anyone who is planning on seeing this film, that it has adult content and situations that most people are not used to seeing in the mainstream cinema.

    I mean, this film has displays of human interaction that most directors have NEVER filmed in mainstream cinema EVER. So filmgoers PLEASE be warned before you watch!!!

    Moving on, I'd say this movie is basically about want. There's one character, the character who is a couples counselor, who wants to have an (Oh...I think a LOT of you know what I want to say.) But the thing is, is that this particular character seems to have an 'abundant' relationship with her husband (if you know what I mean), so why she has NEVER had an (Oh...you know what I'm getting at) is BEYOND me?

    I mean, a better character development for her would've been if she had quite the opposite with her husband. Because to see the two of them go at it--like at the very beginning of the movie, it's kinda shocking (to say the least) that the two of them have NEVER hit pay dirt. I think that for this part of the movie, the screenplay sorta over thunk the wheel.

    Though nevertheless, this dilemma is the reason we are pretty much introduced to the 'Shortbus' a type of social club where individuals go to meet and experience other people for these particular 'encounters' of...(well, insert adult content here.)

    I guess this couples counselor feels like this is the ONE place that will help her get to what she's trying to find--even though, given her status as a sex therapist/counselor, you'd think she'd approach this place with a certain amount of suspicion. Though wouldn't she be the eager beaver!

    Though backing up a little, she finds out about this 'Shortbus' place because of the couple she is currently treating--the two Jamie's--though one of them is now going by the name James.

    Going back to the theme of want, Jamie just wants to sustain his relationship with James--hence their session with the counselor.

    The want of James...well, that's a little more complicated because he has these issues that's making him quite depressed--he even takes pills to try to combat this depression. Only he's thinking ahead a bit and not wanting his lover Jamie to be...well, alone, initiates the two of them going to the 'Shortbus' to meet a third person.

    On the surface, this premise seems quite intriguing--aren't all threesomes supposed to be this way? Only James has a sort of ulterior motive working, because deep down he knows just how depressed he really is and well, because of this depression, he knows how things are probably going to turn out...so, like I said, he doesn't want his lover Jamie to be alone.

    Now just moving to this part of the film, I can honestly say that I was 'IN'. Forget that James and Jamie and their newly found third lover Ceth (pronounced Seth) move things along rather quickly to the point where they're all pretty much engaged in certain 'activities'. By this point, I was 'IN'!!! REALLY, I was!!! But then...I don't (can't) really elaborate on what happens. Though I CAN say that the national anthem is sung by Jamie and all I could think at that point was 'I'M OUT'!!! Because to have to have Jamie sing the anthem (as it were) was sooo unnecessary. It's like the director was afraid to do the scene straight (seriously, no pun intended!) And so he had to insert these 'funny' moments. Though to me, they came off as 'funny odd'?

    It's like I wish I could've told the director to trust his audience to be able to take the scene as it was. Or as it could've been.

    Because all of the silliness of the singing of the national anthem, sorta reduced the scene and really threw it away. Like the scene could've really did something amazing. It could've shed some light and truth and honesty. And been really powerful. Only with the singing, the whole thing came off as a big 'WHAT'?

    And the thing that kills me, is that the actors involved in the scene were TOTALLY on board with the whole thing. (And that's what can make an audience be on board too!) I mean, I didn't notice any of the actors holding back, so why did it seem as though the director was holding back? (By resorting to comedy.)

    I felt like this movie did this a lot. It was all trying to be out there with this level of (well, insert adult content here) but then it would sorta turn the corner with all this zany stuff--like this big confrontational scene at the 'Shortbus' between the couple's counselor and this guy who's been hanging kinda close to James and Jamie. Well, because of this egg the counselor is 'holding' onto, here comes more of the zaniness.

    Oh well, this movie did a lot. (Was this movie supposed to be a comedy?) I guess I just wish it could've been more dramatic.

    Five stars anyway. : (
    6 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2008
    Shortbus is the dream child of writer/director John Cameron Mitchell, who brought us the delightful film, Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Mr. Mitchell wanted his next film to be about sex and sexuality and he had seen foreign films where the actors actually had sex on screen as part of the film, but he had not known of any English-language ones. He wanted to make the first, and what he has come up with is a delightful essay of a small group of people's sexual problems and their attempts to remedy those problems.

    This is a not-rated movie and the viewer immediately finds out why. The opening shot is of the head of Lady Liberty in New York City with the soundtrack belting out the words, "Is you is or is you not my baby? The way you have been acting leaves me doubt." As the song goes on the camera sails through the windows of several people's bedrooms while they are engaged in the most intimate of moments. In the first zoom through a window the audience sees a naked semi-erect man sitting in a bath tub taking film footage of his penis. Next we zoom through the window of an S&M hooker spraying off her assortment of dildos while being questioned by her john. Then we zoom back to the first man who is now filming himself trying to perform fellatio on himself. Next we zoom through the window in an apartment where a man is performing cunnilingus on an oriental woman who is sitting naked on a grand piano and then the couple goes through a wide assortment of gymnastic contortions of sexual intimacy. Zoom into apartment #4 and you see a good looking man watching the guy in the first apartment filming his oral feat. Finally all of the scenes end with orgasmic conclusions including our john with the S&M Dominatrix Hooker shooting his load onto a Sydney Pollack-style painting where it strangely seems to fit in.

    At first the viewer is shocked, but isn't this really closer to real life than what is typically portrayed? It seemed refreshingly frank.

    It turns out that the man who was trying the acrobatic fellatio, James (Paul Dawson), has a gay lover, Jamie (P J DeBoy). His lover is very attached to him, but James is pushing away in the relationship, wanting more. James wants them to try an open relationship. The oriental lady, Sofia (Sook-Yin Lee) with the acrobatic lover on the piano, is a sex therapist who has been faking her orgasms with her lover and actually in fact had never had one in her life. James and Jamie come to her for sexual relationship advice and through that relationship they find Shortbus, a large home whose owner, Justin Bond, describes the place as, "You know school busses. This is the shortbus. This is a salon for the gifted and challenged!" It features a wide variety of environments, all equally bizarre, including a sex party room. There is a cabaret room, a lesbian bar, and a very diverse group of people including the former mayor of New York. In this environment all of the principle characters introduced in the opening scenes work on their sexual problems. Sofia hooks up with the S&M Hooker, Seve (Lindsay Beamish). As the hooker said, "I will help you discover how to have an orgasm and you can teach me how to have a real human interaction with someone." James and Jamie find Seth a handsome man for a three-way romance, and the voyeur even finds a relationship fulfilled. The film ends in a carnival atmosphere where the Cabaret vocalist is singing, "We all get it in the end," to the accompaniment of a marching polka band. Did I say the environment of Shortbus is a little bizarre?

    However, Shortbus is a dramatic story of sexual conflicts and people trying to solve them. I heartily recommend it. Actually I was in the hospital the first time I saw the film and it got my heart going again! Perhaps it will perform miracles for you as well.

    Gary Kaufman
    8 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • stefano pettenon
    5.0 out of 5 stars fantastico
    Reviewed in Italy on August 17, 2013
    un film complesso, dal tema scabroso, ma senza veli e proprio per questo interessante... molto particolare la visione a volo d'uccello sul mondo ristretto dei protagonisti, in una città che non dorme mai
    Report
  • Dumont Thomas
    5.0 out of 5 stars J'ai beaucoup aimé
    Reviewed in France on January 23, 2015
    J'ai enfin regardé ce film, car je suis tombé sur ce dvd en faisant quelques recherches sur amazon.
    Ce n'est pas si tordu que ça, c'est assez émouvant et plutôt drôle même si un peu beaucoup loufoque. Les scènes de sexe quasi-porno sont d'un réalisme et je dis bravo aux acteurs et actrices de ne pas avoir eu froid aux yeux pour oser se montrer dans leur plus simple appareil. Il est extrêmement rare de voir ce genre de film, s'adressant à un public adulte et averti.
    Bref, j'ai passé un très bon moment devant ce film, qui nous fait finalement interroger sur qui nous sommes, ce que nous pourrons aimer ou ce que nous aimons. Plein de portes ouvertes s'ouvrent à nous, mortels.
  • Rik Haines
    5.0 out of 5 stars Very Honest Movie about Sexuality
    Reviewed in Canada on September 30, 2023
    Ignore the bitter and ridiculous review on here about this incredible movie. Shortbus is an honest and raw movie about sexuality and love in several relationships. One is a young gay couple who decided to introduce another young man into their sexual activities, another involves a man who hires a woman to dominate him sexually and the third is a heterosexual couple with a female sex therapist who can't enjoy an orgasm.

    It's a very sexually explicit movie that begins with James performing self fallatio and ejaculating into his mouth, graphic sex between a sex therapist and her partner, and a young man ejaculating so forcefully that it splatters onto a Jackson Pollock painting behind his head. All the sex to me illustrated that even though sex is available and physically fulfilling (some what), there is so much lacking in all of their individual lives around love, loneliness, insecurity and regret.

    The love between the characters shows clearly throughout the movie and sex is an integral part of their individual needs.

    The anger of the sex therapist with her inability to have an orgasm spills over into her daily life. Her partner's guilt is internal, then externally expressed as his penis not being large enough to fill her desire (a common fear of many men).

    The depression of the main gay character James seeps into his daily existence with an uncanny feeling of loneliness that many with depression feel, beautifully portrayed with truth. His partner is filled with insecurity about their love for each other.

    All of this culminating in a group sex party called Shortbus .

    We have the voyeur who lives across from James, photographing his sex life from afar who observes through his lens what he believes is real. He confronts the 'twink' for coming between what he says is a perfect gay relationship and says what needs to be said about the incompetent sex therapist who calls her partner balding and impotent without acknowledging her own inability to enjoy her vagina and own her sexuality.

    James tries to kill himself in the gym pool with his voyeur saving him. The voyeurism is always afar and aloof, but understood by the voyuer as real and true. But in-between this is love for one another.

    All culminating in the therapist having her orgasm.
    Customer image
    Rik Haines
    5.0 out of 5 stars
    Very Honest Movie about Sexuality

    Reviewed in Canada on September 30, 2023
    Ignore the bitter and ridiculous review on here about this incredible movie. Shortbus is an honest and raw movie about sexuality and love in several relationships. One is a young gay couple who decided to introduce another young man into their sexual activities, another involves a man who hires a woman to dominate him sexually and the third is a heterosexual couple with a female sex therapist who can't enjoy an orgasm.

    It's a very sexually explicit movie that begins with James performing self fallatio and ejaculating into his mouth, graphic sex between a sex therapist and her partner, and a young man ejaculating so forcefully that it splatters onto a Jackson Pollock painting behind his head. All the sex to me illustrated that even though sex is available and physically fulfilling (some what), there is so much lacking in all of their individual lives around love, loneliness, insecurity and regret.

    The love between the characters shows clearly throughout the movie and sex is an integral part of their individual needs.

    The anger of the sex therapist with her inability to have an orgasm spills over into her daily life. Her partner's guilt is internal, then externally expressed as his penis not being large enough to fill her desire (a common fear of many men).

    The depression of the main gay character James seeps into his daily existence with an uncanny feeling of loneliness that many with depression feel, beautifully portrayed with truth. His partner is filled with insecurity about their love for each other.

    All of this culminating in a group sex party called Shortbus .

    We have the voyeur who lives across from James, photographing his sex life from afar who observes through his lens what he believes is real. He confronts the 'twink' for coming between what he says is a perfect gay relationship and says what needs to be said about the incompetent sex therapist who calls her partner balding and impotent without acknowledging her own inability to enjoy her vagina and own her sexuality.

    James tries to kill himself in the gym pool with his voyeur saving him. The voyeurism is always afar and aloof, but understood by the voyuer as real and true. But in-between this is love for one another.

    All culminating in the therapist having her orgasm.
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    Customer image
  • John Gammon
    5.0 out of 5 stars Recommended
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 7, 2011
    This film is a very cheerful, humorous and winning film that celebrates the diversity of human sexuality. This means that it's going to annoy some people. If you're looking for porn, you're not looking for diversity: frankly be better off buying something that appeals directly to whatever kink you have. For others it may open the mind to other possibilities, and I think it's a good watch for couples particularly. I enjoyed it very much - it's very likeable and jolly pic that encourages you to relax and enjoy yourself and put aside your prejudices about other people's behaviour. Of course there is explicit sex in it, and I feel that it's more positive than that in some of the real-sex movies we've seen recently, such as Romance and 9 Songs, which in an effort to avoid the charge of pornography seem to portray shagging as rather shabby, guilty pursuits. I liked one small relationship between an old and a young man, which is rather touching.

    It's worth watching the extras, particularly the orgy sequence material in which the actor playing Leah asks the director to wait a second as she really needs to cum...
  • Churuss
    4.0 out of 5 stars Sexo real
    Reviewed in Spain on March 28, 2016
    El envío llegó en el día estipulado y tal como se describía. La historia es amena, no para todo tipo de público. Sexo real y muy explícito, no queda nada a la imaginación.