Overall Rating:  4.52 out of 5, including 16 reviews
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fucking amazing
4.25 out of 5.00 - Film: 5 Features: 3 Video: 5 Audio: 4 - 12/2/2004 |
american beauty is one of those films that comes along every 20 years with its breathtaking screenplay superb acting and its brilliant directing american beauty is an absolute classic if you dont own it buy it right now!
- bryan |
Wow! whenever i watch this dvd i think of what is going on in america right now, like the whole gay marriage issue, lester being layed off, the neighbor who seems to be troubled turns out to be quite normal, divorce, homosexuals in the military and i could go on and on and on. I love this move it is one of the few where i agree with the central character kevin spacey, who knocks it out of the park, and annette benning one word breath taking, it deserved the whole awards shebang, truly a must have if you are american
- jordan reinders |
Wonderful film!
5.00 out of 5.00 - Film: 5 Features: 5 Video: 5 Audio: 5 - 9/16/2002 |
I adore this film with all of my heart!
Kevin Spacey and Sam Mendes rock!
- Lauren Gulliver |
My favorite film!
5.00 out of 5.00 - Film: 5 Features: 5 Video: 5 Audio: 5 - 9/15/2002 |
I adore everything about this film: The acting (Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Wes Bentley, and Chris Cooper are stand-outs), the direction (Sam Mendes is a genius), the writing (Alan Ball's snappy and insightful dialouge practically made te movie), the inventive cinematography, the quirky music, etc.
This is a film that says a lot about a bunch of sensitive subjects: Infidelity, homophobia, drug use, mid-life crisises, dysfunctional families, etc.
This is an excellent movie. If you haven't seen it, please do so IMMEDIATELY!
- Robert Rosado |
Great movie!
4.50 out of 5.00 - Film: 5 Features: 3 Video: 5 Audio: 5 - 6/6/2002 |
Buy this DVD. Great movie. Good DVD. The features on the DVD were ok. Nothing in my mind stood out.... but that doesn't matter tooo much because this movie kicks ass! This is a must buy. It deserves all the awards bestowed upon it. BUY THIS!!!!!
- ike4014 |
This was an awesome movie, visualy and content wise. Did it have dull parts, of course, but all in all this movie deserved the Oscar for best picture. It was so well acted and had so much to it, that it would be a shame not to see this film. Any TRUE movie buff would agree, rent then BUY!! Thanks
- Dow |
A fantastically acted film about man going through a mid life crisis and his view of the world around him.
- Rob |
9.1 out of 10 very good movie
- mr ron |
Stunning
4.00 out of 5.00 - Film: 5 Features: 3 Video: 4 Audio: 4 - 1/14/2001 |
In an age of MI2's, Deep Blue Sea's and other no-brainers, it's refreshing to have an intelligent well written piece of celluloid. Director Sam Mendes and writer Alan Ball have crafted a moving, funny and tragic look at not just American life, but life people can relate to all around the world. Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening are simply compelling from start to finish. The story never for one instant loses your interest and after it's all over you should truly believe you've watched a true masterpiece. The disc is a nice, not outsatnding package and picture and sound are up to the usual high specs. If you have not seen this film then do so right away, otherwise you will have denied yourself the experience of a lifetime - Enjoy.
- Russell Witheyman |
Great movie
5.00 out of 5.00 - Film: 5 Features: 5 Video: 5 Audio: 5 - 12/1/2000 |
When I first heard all the hype about this film I thought it was going to be another sappy run of the mill mid life crisis flicks to apease all the critics who are also balding mid life crisis people themselves. But I was wrong, this movie has a great story, it's funny and it brings up a few great points about life and the way it turns out. Definatly worth buying.
- Blake |
Beautiful
4.00 out of 5.00 - Film: 5 Features: 4 Video: 4 Audio: 3 - 11/1/2000 |
I think that "American Beauty" deserved it's academy award for best picture, most movies that win a lot of awards these days don't deserve them but "American Beauty" does. The DVD is very nice the picture quality is clear and nice, the sound is good also but since this film is dialogue driven, the sound really isn't spectacular, I enjoyed the extras package, the extras are very informative and you learn a lot about the film.
- Daniel |
spectacular
5.00 out of 5.00 - Film: 5 Features: 5 Video: 5 Audio: 5 - 10/27/2000 |
when i saw the movie for second time, but in video something was missing, now i own the dvd and i know what was, i am refering to the sound and image, this dvd offers one of the best i have ever seen, i am so happy to owm this movie, is a classic.
- fer |
This amazing film is presented with a gorgeous transfer that I felt captured the film beautifully.
The featurette is nice but more of a promotional item rather than offering anything new about the film. The commentary is fantastic, instantly one of my favorites. Director Mendes has much to say which unfortunately doesn't allow writer Ball much room to talk. One minor disappointment is Mendes mentioning things we'll see 'in the outtakes', which aren't included on the disc.
The 60 minute storyboard comparison is much different than any I've seen before. Give this feature a shot and you'll be treated to a wealth of information about lighting and framing scenes, and you'll notice things in the film which aren't so obvious otherwise.
Overall an excellent presentation and a must-own disc.
- Jeffrey Ratliff |
1999 was a year of great movies like Magnolia, Being John Malkovich and The Sixth Sense, but there was a movie that instantly caught the attention of everyone: American Beauty, a movie that will be considered a masterpiece in the next 10 or 15 years, why?, because of all the amazing performances of the leads(Kevin Spacey and Anette Bening) and the rest of the incredibly talented cast, and also I hadn't seen a movie so original, realistic and compelling in such a long time. This movie is funny, intelligent, thought provoking and dark. It's a movie that will make you laugh, will move you and most important of all it will make you think. This movie gives one of the most powerful messages: Beauty is everywhere and that life is the greatest gift you can get. Watch this movie, the best movie of 1999, one of the best of the decade and a future masterpiece. 5 stars out of 5!
- Antonio Area |
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Rarely does a film have such am impact upon the audience that it not only becomes part of movie history, it transcends into a creator of a new standard for films. To do this, a movie has to push the envelope of writing, direction, cast and crew. It has been a very long time since such a film has been seen. American Beauty redefines the standard for American cinema. Like Death of a Salesman a generation ago, American beauty looks at the disintegration of a typical working man. Lester (Kevin Spacey) may have started out embracing his life but now he drifts along like so much flotsam. Love has left his life. His wife Carolyn (Annette Bening) tries her best to project the appearance of happiness and perfection that she has let the most important thing in life, family, degenerate into a mere charade. While she color coordinates her gardening shears to her outfit, while she is so busy being the perfect real estate agent, she ceases to be a wife and mother in all but the most superficial ways. The daughter caught in the middle of this battle of apathy is Jane (Thora Birch). Jane faces not only the usual turbulence of the teen years, she also must face the unbearable chill of her parents at home. After a performance with the cheerleaders at a big game her mother's compliment was 'You didn't screw up once'. As her mother is providing such warmth her father is drooling over Jane's best friend Angela (Mena Suvari). Angela is sexually precocious. She is always telling Jane every lurid detail of her sex life. Ironically, her surname is Haze, the same last name used in the notorious novel 'Lolita'. Moving in next door is another completely dysfunctional family. Ricky (Wes Bently) is a major drug dealer. His father is a retired marine Colonel and his mother is just shy of being completely catatonic. Ricky's hobby is video taping. He has a tape of a plastic bag blowing around a street for 15 minutes, dead birds, and, a lot of tapes of Jane when she wasn't looking. All in all, this neighborhood seems to advertise in 'Dysfunctional Family Circle' for members. What makes this a great movie is how difficult it is to even sum up the story. It is so rich in details that it is like a tapestry where every single thread is vital to the overall work. It is a movie that demands to be viewed time and time again.
The acting here is sheer perfection. Not one character from the leads on down to the extras is anything less than the embodiment of the role they play. Spacey once again shows that there is not a role around that he cannot play to the hilt. He makes Lester a real person, flawed, tragic but completely understandable. He reflects in Lester the fears and doubts we all have had. The simple way to play this would have been a man lusting after a teenage girl or a man who lost his job. Spacey did not take the easy way out. His portrayal of Lester is multidimensional. Lester has lost the ability to appreciate the details in life, the discovery of youth and he desperately needs this back. This is the best role and performance Spacey has had since Usual Suspects. Bening brings to Carolyn perfection as a flaw. The harder she tries to better herself the less human she seems to become. She practically chants phrases from a self-help tape as if it was a mantra. If not for the powerful performance given by Hillary Swank Bening would have been a shoe in for the Best Actress Oscar. Birch is best known for her child roles. Here she demonstrates that her career has just begun. She makes Jane into the one truly sympathetic character in the whole film. That is until the very end where Mena Suvari's character makes a surprising turn. These young woman are destined to become the great actresses of the new millennium
The director of this masterpiece is Sam Mendes. It is extremely rare for a director's freshman effort to be so polished, so powerful and so extremely well crafted. Best known for his stage direction Mendes brings a rare talent to the screen. Each scene is expertly done, perfectly blending lighting, cinematography, design and direction. There is not a single scene that is wasted or that does not add immensely to propelling the story line. The writer, Alan Ball, is also a freshman in this field. American Beauty represents the first screen play he has done. I sincerely hope that this pair teams up again. If this is the first time for both I can not imaging what a little experience will bring. Mendes has a great eye for framing a scene. This is especially true in this widescreen presentation. Take a look at the when Mendes frames the dinning room scenes in the Burnham household. Lester at the foot of the table, his wife Carolyn at the head, and Jane stuck in the middle. Watch the reactions of each character as another speaks, incredible, pure perfection. Another get setup is in the Fitts home while watching TV, Again the polarization of the family is made visible as they set on the couch watching TV, never touching, each in their own space. It is little touches like this that will make Mendes one of the great American directors of all time. Mendez uses the motif of the American Beauty rose to symbolize perfection in life. Carolyn seeks this perfection through her garden and the beauty of her flowers, as if this could make up for the distance growing between herself and her family. Lester's fantasies about young Angela are all marked with petals from this flower seemingly representing his need for a perfection that is absent in his life. Mendez is certainly a director that is concerned with the details. Notice as you watch this film the many shots of family photographs depicting the lost happy times in the lives of this estranged family.
The disc is excellent. The video is super clear 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer. The audio contains both Dolby 5.1 and DTS. Once again, subjectively, I felt the DTS provided better backfill in the rear. In the outdoor scenes the ambient sounds are subtle but really add to the experience. The extras include a commentary featuring the director, Sam Mendes and writer Allan Ball. Really excellent banter between them again showing that they seem to work very well with each other. There is also a group of storyboards and commentary to show how the film's look was produced. This DVD took a long time to come out but it was well worth the wait. Get it,, watch it and enjoy it for many years to come.
- Home Theater Info
by Doug MacLean |
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