Pleasantville (US)
Nothing is as simple as black and white
Certificate: PG-13
Running Time: 124 mins
Retail Price: $24.98
Release Date:
Content Type: Movie
Synopsis:
When 90`s teens David and Jennifer get zapped into the perfect suburbia of the black & white `50`s sitcom, PLEASANTVILLE, what results in a "visionary adventure" that Siskel and Ebert give "Two big thumbs up!"
Pleasantville`s perfect people include a mild-mannered soda jerk, a socially repressed mom, and a father who always knows best. But, when `90`s pop culture clashes with `50`s family values, chaos ensues, turning the town of Pleasantville upside down and black and white into color.
Special Features:
Interactive Menus
Scene Access
Audio Commentaries from Director Gary Ross, Producer Steven Soderbergh and Composer Randy Newman
Featurettes: The Making of Pleasantville and more...
Theatrical Trailer
DVD-ROM Screenplay
Music Video from Fiona Apple
Video Tracks:
Widescreen Letterbox 1.85:1
Audio Tracks:
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Dolby Digital Surround 2.0 English
Subtitle Tracks:
English
Directed By:
Gary Ross
Written By:
Gary Ross
Starring:
Don Knotts
J.T. Walsh
William H. Macy
Joan Allen
Jeff Daniels
Tobey Maguire
Casting By:
Debra Zane
Ellen Lewis
Soundtrack By:
Randy Newman
Director of Photography:
John Lindley
Editor:
William Goldenberg
Costume Designer:
Judianna Makovsky
Production Designer:
Jeannine Claudia Oppewall
Producer:
Allison Thomas
Steven Soderbergh
Gary Ross
Edward Lynn
Jon Kilik
Robert John Degus
Susan Borowitz
Andy Borowitz
Robin Bissell
Allen Alsobrook
Executive Producer:
Mary Parent
Michael De Luca
Distributor:
New Line Productions
Your Opinions and Comments
It would be rather difficult to categorize this movie either as a comedy or as a drama.
It is a mixture of both. And an excellent mixture too.
The movie is basically a story about a town losing its innocence. As simple as that. It is told in a beautiful, hilarious, nostalgic and sometimes sad way.
A movie like that deserves a superb video transfer and a superb video transfer it got. The picture is crystal clear and the transitions between black&white and color are breathtaking. You won`t find any compression signs because there aren`t any. An absolutely incredible transfer.
The DD 5.1 soundtrack is very good. It is never too harsh, but the surrounds are used occasionally. The dialog is always clear as well.
The menus are static and are simple to navigate through.
The extras are great. They include a behind the scenes look (the section regarding the color and black&white transitions is impressive and extremely informative), about half an hour of technical explanations, two commentaries (very nice and informative), a great music video and some DVD-ROM features as well.
This is a very special movie. It will make you smile and freeze in awe. It is stunning, both visually and script-wise.
"Pleasantville" revisited - December 2001
*********************************************
It`s been just over a year since I`ve reviewed this movie, but upon watching it for the 2nd and 3rd time, I decided to add some remarks to my previous review.
The symbolism of the script is quite obvious and not too subtle. The movie is a triumph for everyone who is different. For everyone who thinks differently.
Upon watching the movie on a big screen TV (61 inches), the magic of the black&white to color transition is even more impressive. The transfer does justice to the colors. The colors are deep and contrasted. The scene with the red rose is nothing short of amazing. You can almost smell the rose as it leaps out of the screen while the surrounding garden is still in black&white.
The music in the movie is truly awesome. Most of it belongs back in the 50`s. The piece with the violins is simply incredible (I won`t tell where it belongs, since that could spoil the plot for you). The 2nd commentary is by the composer of the music and I really enjoyed listening to him explain how he composed an appropriate score for each scene.
Bottom line - this movie is a remarkable achievement. It can be enjoyed over and over again since its main lesson that "nothing is as simple as black and white" is so very true.
A must have.