Ice Storm [Criterion Collection] [2 Discs]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Set on Thanksgiving weekend of 1973, The Ice Storm looks into the lives of a wealthy Connecticut family who are calm and civil on the outside, but whose lives are quietly falling into chaos. Sixteen-year-old Paul Hood (Tobey Maguire) is home for the holidays from prep school; he'd just as soon have stayed at school, given the usual level of tension around the house and his desire to win the affections of Casey (Katie Holmes), a girl living in Manhattan. His 14-year-old sister, Wendy (Christina Ricci), is already a hardened cynic obsessed with the ongoing Watergate investigation, and she has begun acting out sexually with a neighbor boy, Mikey (Elijah Wood). Apparently, this runs in the family: Wendy's father, Ben (Kevin Kline), is having an affair with Mikey's mother, Janey (Sigourney Weaver), though Ben sees a future in the relationship and Janey does not. Elena (Joan Allen), Ben's wife, knows something is wrong with her marriage and her life, but she has no idea what she should do about it. As the teenagers surreptitiously experiment with drugs and alcohol, and the adults drift into mate-swapping, a dangerous blanket of freezing rain begins to cover New Canaan. The Ice Storm was adapted from the acclaimed novel by Rick Moody. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 2
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 (Theatre Wide Screen)
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Audio: Dolby Digital Surround
• Features:
  • Disc 1: Audio comentary featuring Lee and producer-screenwriter James Schamus
  • Theatrical trailer
  • Disc 2: New documentary featuring interviews with actors Joan Allen, Kevin Kline, Tobey Maguire, Christina Ricci, Sigourney Weaver, and Elijah Wood
  • New video interview with novelist Rick Moody
  • Deleted scenes
  • Footage from an event honoring Lee and Schamus at New York's Museum of the Moving Image
  • Visual essays on the look of the film, featuring interviews with the cinematographer, production designer, and costume designer
  • Plus: a new essay by film critic Bill Krohn
  • New video interview with novelist Rick Moody

AWARDS

• Cannes Film Festival

•     Won Best Screenplay - 1997 (James Schamus)

• Hollywood Foreign Press Association

•     Nominated Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pic - 1997 (Sigourney Weaver)

• Toronto Film Critics Association

•     Won Best Director [Runner-up] - 1997 (Ang Lee)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Kevin Kline - Ben Hood
       Joan Allen - Elena Hood
       Sigourney Weaver - Janey Carver
       Tobey Maguire - Paul Hood
       Christina Ricci - Wendy Hood
       Elijah Wood - Mikey Carver
       Henry Czerny - George Clair
       Jamey Sheridan - Jim Carver
       Katie Holmes - Libbets Casey
       Adam Hann - Byrd - Sandy Carver

• Director:

  Ang Lee

• Producer:

  James Schamus, Ang Lee, Ted Hope

• Screenwriter:

  James Schamus

• Book Author:

  Rick Moody

• Cinematographer:

  Frederick Elmes

• Composer (Music Score):

  Mychael Danna

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Alex Steyermark

• Editor:

  Tim Squyres

• Production Designer:

  Mark Friedberg

• Art Director:

  Bob Shaw

• Associate Producer:

  Alysse Bezahler, Anthony Bregman

• Set Designer:

  Stephanie Carroll

• Costume Designer:

  Carol Oditz, Elizabeth Shelton

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Drew Kunin

• First Assistant Director:

  James W. Murray, Jr., Stephen Wertimer

• Casting:

  Avy Kaufman

REVIEW:

• Many films have claimed that, beneath the sparkling Formica and easy-clean linoleum, there's something's rotten at the heart of suburbia. Few, however, have addressed the topic with such memorable characterizations, disquieting imagery, and thematic coherence as director Ang Lee's The Ice Storm. Though set in the 1970s, the film doesn't use the era as an ironic punch line. Lee and writer James Schamus (adapting Rick Moody's acclaimed novel) portray the decade as a time of ambivalence and displacement, when America was left rudderless in the wake of the 1960s. The stellar cast -- including Joan Allen, Sigourney Weaver, and budding talents Tobey Maguire and Christina Ricci -- adroitly convey the vacant desires and casual misgivings of different generations of an affluent New England community. Though punctuated by some moments of dark humor, The Ice Storm is as bleak as its title suggests, and may not be for all tastes. ~ Matthew Doberman, Rovi