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    About This Item

    Unique ID Code: 0000062535
    Added by: DVD Reviewer
    Added on: 26/7/2004 16:41
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    Rain Man (Special Edition) (UK)

    8 / 10
    2 votes cast
    Rate this item
    Inline Image

    A funny and moving tale of brotherly love
    Certificate: 15
    Running Time: 125 mins
    Retail Price: £19.99
    Release Date:

    Synopsis:
    In an Oscar-winning role Dustin Hoffman joins Tom Cruise to bring a funny and moving tale of brotherly love to the screen. Heartless Charlie Babbitt (Cruise) expects a vast inheritance after his estranged father dies. But Raymond (Hoffman), his institutionalised older brother, someone he`s been totally unaware of, is willed the entire fortune instead. Raymond is an "autistic savant" with severely limited mental abilities in some areas but with genius gifts in others. When Charlie kidnaps Raymond, the cross-country drive back to Los Angeles teaches them both a few lessons in life. For as they overcome their mutual distrust of each other, a deep bond is forged as they painfully share past memories, present problems and a possible shining future together.

    Special Features:
    `Lifting the Fog: A Look at the Mysteries of Autism` featurette. `The Journey of Rain Man` featurette - interviews with Barry Levinson, Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass, Valeria Golino, and producer Mark Johnson on making the film. Original featurette - interview with Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman. Deleted scene. 3 audio commentaries by Barry Levinson, Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass. Photo gallery. Original theatrical trailer.

    Video Tracks:
    Widescreen Anamorphic 1.85:1

    Audio Tracks:
    Dolby Digital 5.1 English
    Dolby Digital Mono Hungarian

    Subtitle Tracks:
    Hebrew
    Polish
    Czech
    Swedish
    Finnish
    Romanian
    English
    Portuguese
    Greek
    Croatian
    Hungarian
    Dutch
    Danish
    Norwegian
    Slovenian

    Directed By:
    Barry Levinson

    Written By:


    Starring:
    Jack Murdock
    Gerald R. Molen
    Valeria Golino
    Tom Cruise
    Dustin Hoffman

    Casting By:
    Louis DiGiaimo

    Soundtrack By:
    Doc Pomus
    Hans Zimmer

    Director of Photography:
    John Seale

    Editor:
    Stu Linder

    Costume Designer:
    Bernie Pollack

    Production Designer:
    Ida Random

    Producer:
    Gail Mutrux
    Gerald R. Molen
    David McGiffert
    Mark Johnson

    Executive Producer:
    Jon Peters
    Peter Guber

    Distributor:
    Metro Goldwyn Mayer

    Your Opinions and Comments

    9 / 10
    Introduction
    Rain man - saw it a long time ago can`t remember where.
    Its a good film which addresses an interesting area.

    The Plot
    Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise) is a wheeler dealer, importing high performance cars, and is about on the edge of his credit. He gets a call that his estranged father has died, and goes to attend the funeral and subsequent reading of the will.

    He finds he inherits his fathers car, but the bulk of the $3million estate is put in trust for someone else. Determined to try and get some of the money he tracks down the trust fund controller, and is suprised to discover he has a brother.

    His brother Raymond played by Dustin Hoffman is an autistic savant. He effectively kidnaps his new found brother in an attempt to get his hand on some of the money, and so begins the film as they travel back across the US. Slowly Charlie begins to understand something of Raymonds problems, and rediscovers dim memories of his childhood.

    The Cast
    Tom Cruise - an excellent performance here, as basically he is the one who can show emotion, become chaned etc.
    Dustin Hoffman - another excellent performance, sticks to his character throughout.

    The Visuals/Audio
    Visuals are ok, and the sound is in 5.1 but really its not used much.
    A lot of dialogue but I really didn`t notice any particular use of the surrounds.

    The Extras
    A number of extras on the disk.
    Three audio commentaries - none of which I`ve had time to listen too yet.

    The Journey of Rain Man - A recent feature on the making of, how it had 4 different directors before getting made.

    Lifting the Fog: looking at the mysteries of autism - Interviews with a couple of the autistic savants that the film characters were inspired with, together with their family and some experts. The characters are scarily like Dustin Hoffmans portrayal!

    Original featurette - Some original stuff about the making.

    Deleted scene - One deleted scene with Raymond getting into trouble. Its similar to other material in the film.

    Theatrical Trailer - yep

    Summary
    Its a good film, and the extras that I`ve seen so far are good background. Well worth another watch, and deserving of some of the oscars it won.
    posted by Julian Onions on 21/12/2004 10:34