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Matt Damon stars as an amnesiac master spy in the big screen version of Robert Ludlum's modern day espionage thriller.

The Bourne Identity

Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Identity - the first in his trio of international thrillers featuring master spy Jason Bourne, was a sensation when it was published in 1980. Now this potent novel gets an edgy 21st century spin from director Doug Liman (Swingers, Go) who delivers Ludlum's high-stakes tale with grit, style and nerve.

The story opens as an amnesiac - played by Matt Damon (Dogma, Good Will Hunting) is rescued at sea by the crew of an Italian fishing boat. Nearly dead, he carries only the bullets in his back and the bank account number implanted in his hip. Although completely without identity or background, he does possess an array of extraordinary talents in fighting, linguistics and self-defence that speak of a dangerous past. He sets out on a desperate search - assisted by the initially rebellious Marie (Potente) - to discover who he really is, and why so many people want him dead.

The Bourne Identity also stars Chris Cooper (American Beauty), Clive Owen (Sin City, Croupier, Children of Men), Brian Cox (L.I.E.) and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (The Mummy Returns). Doug Liman, Patrick Crowley and Richard N. Gladstein produced the film from a screenplay by Tony Gilroy and William Blake Herron. The executive producers are Frank Marshall and Robert Ludlum.

Here's what some of the critics have made of The Bourne Identity:

"The entertaining new film version of Robert Ludlum's 1980 spy thriller, The Bourne Identity, adds a crisp, tangy autumnal feel to the hot dog days of summer moviegoing." - Joe Baltake (Sacramento Bee).

"The Bourne Identity is a blockbuster without a point...Despite its good-looking veneer, its breakneck pace, its daisy-chain of expert set-pieces, some crucial logic or motive appears to have been junked along the way." - Xan Brooks (The Guardian).

"The screenplay never lets us forget that Bourne was once an amoral assassin just like the ones who are pursuing him...There is never really a true 'us' versus 'them'". - Frederic and Mary Ann Brussatm (Spirituality and Practice magazine).

"The Bourne Identity is what summer screen escapism used to be in the decades when it was geared more to grownups." - Mike Clark (USA Today).

For more information visit the official website: www.thebourneidentity.com

The Bourne Identity - and sequel The Bourne Supremacy are out on DVD, rated PG-13. The third part of the trilogy: The Bourne Ultimatum, is in cinemas in the UK now.

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More information available in DVD / Home Video