Crash [WS]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Issues of race and gender cause a group of strangers in Los Angeles to physically and emotionally collide in this drama from director and screenwriter Paul Haggis. Graham (Don Cheadle) is a police detective whose brother is a street criminal, and it hurts him to know his mother cares more about his ne'er-do-well brother than him. Graham's partner is Ria (Jennifer Esposito), who is also his girlfriend, though she has begun to bristle at his emotional distance, as well as his occasional insensitivity over the fact he's African-American and she's Hispanic. Rick (Brendan Fraser) is an L.A. district attorney whose wife, Jean (Sandra Bullock), makes little secret of her fear and hatred of people unlike herself. Jean's worst imaginings about people of color are confirmed when her SUV is carjacked by two African-American men -- Anthony (Chris Bridges, aka Ludacris), who dislikes white people as much as Jean hates blacks, and Peter (Larenz Tate), who is more open minded. Cameron (Terrence Howard) is a well-to-do African-American television producer with a beautiful wife, Christine (Thandie Newton). While coming home from a party, Cameron and Christine are pulled over by Officer Ryan (Matt Dillon), who subjects them to a humiliating interrogation (and her to an inappropriate search) while his new partner, Officer Hansen (Ryan Phillippe), looks on. Daniel (Michael Pena) is a hard-working locksmith and dedicated father who discovers that his looks don't lead many of his customers to trust him. And Farhad (Shaun Toub) is a Middle Eastern shopkeeper who is so constantly threatened in the wake of the 9/11 attacks that he decided he needs a gun to defend his family. Crash was the first directorial project for award-winning television and film writer Haggis. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV, Color
• Subtitle: Spanish, English
• Features:
  • • cc DVD introduction by director Paul Haggis
    • Crash behind th escenes
    • Commentary with Paul Haggis, Don Cheadle and Bobby Moresco
    • Widescreen version
    • 5.1 and 2.0 Dolby Digital Audio
    • Trailers
    • English and Spanish Subtitles

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Won Best Editing - 2005 (Hughes Winborne)
•     Won Best Original Screenplay - 2005 (Bobby Moresco, Paul Haggis)
•     Won Best Picture - 2005 (Cathy Schulman, Paul Haggis)
•     Nominated Best Director - 2005 (Paul Haggis)
•     Nominated Best Song - 2005 (Michael Becker, Kathleen "Bird" York)
•     Nominated Best Supporting Actor - 2005 (Matt Dillon)

• American Cinema Editors Guild

•     Nominated Best Edited Feature - Drama - 2005 (Hughes Winborne)

• American Film Institute

•     Won Best Picture - 2005

• Art Directors Guild

•     Nominated Best Art Direction in a Contemporary Film - 2005 (Laurence Bennett)

• British Academy of Film and Television Arts

•     Won Best Original Screenplay - 2005 (Bobby Moresco, Paul Haggis)
•     Won Best Supporting Actress - 2005 (Thandie Newton)
•     Nominated Best Cinematography - 2005 (J. Michael Muro)
•     Nominated Best Director - 2005 (Paul Haggis)
•     Nominated Best Editing - 2005 (Hughes Winborne)
•     Nominated Best Picture - 2005
•     Nominated Best Sound - 2005 (Sandy Gendler, Richard van Dyke)
•     Nominated Best Supporting Actor - 2005 (Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon)

• Broadcast Film Critics Association

•     Won Best Ensemble Acting - 2005
•     Won Best Screenplay - 2005 (Bobby Moresco, Paul Haggis)
•     Nominated Best Director - 2005 (Paul Haggis)
•     Nominated Best Picture - 2005
•     Nominated Best Supporting Actor - 2005 (Terrence Howard, Matt Dillon)

• Chicago Film Critics Association

•     Won Best Picture - 2005
•     Won Best Screenplay - 2005 (Bobby Moresco, Paul Haggis)
•     Nominated Best Supporting Actor - 2005 (Terrence Howard, Matt Dillon)
•     Nominated Most Promising Performer - 2005 (Ludacris)

• Dallas/Fort Worth Film Critics Association

•     Won Best Supporting Actor - 2005 (Matt Dillon)
•     Won Top Ten Film - 2005

• Directors Guild of America

•     Nominated Best Director - 2005 (Paul Haggis)

• Hollywood Foreign Press Association

•     Nominated Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pictu - 2005 (Matt Dillon)

• Independent Spirit Awards

•     Won Best First Feature - 2005 (Paul Haggis)
•     Won Best Supporting Actor - 2005 (Matt Dillon)

• Las Vegas Film Critics Association

•     Won Best Screenplay - 2005 (Robert Moresco, Paul Haggis)
•     Won Best Supporting Actor - 2005 (Matt Dillon)

• London Film Critics Association

•     Won Best British Supporting Actress - 2005 (Thandie Newton)
•     Won Best Screenplay - 2005 (Robert Moresco, Paul Haggis)
•     Nominated Best Actor - 2005 (Don Cheadle)
•     Nominated Best Director - 2005 (Paul Haggis)
•     Nominated Best Picture - 2005

• National Board of Review

•     Won Breakthrough Performance by an Actor - 2005 (Terrence Howard)
•     Nominated Best Picture - 2005

• Online Film Critics Association

•     Won Breakthrough Filmmaker - 2005 (Paul Haggis)
•     Nominated Best Original Screenplay - 2005 (Bobby Moresco, Paul Haggis)
•     Nominated Best Picture - 2005
•     Nominated Best Supporting Actor - 2005 (Matt Dillon)

• Phoenix Film Critics Association

•     Won Best Ensemble Acting - 2005
•     Won Best Original Screenplay - 2005 (Robert Moresco, Paul Haggis)
•     Won Breakout Performance of the Year - Behind the Camera - 2005 (Paul Haggis)
•     Won Top Ten Film of the Year - 2005

• Producers Guild of America

•     Nominated Producer of the Year - 2005 (Cathy Schulman, Paul Haggis)

• Screen Actors Guild

•     Won Best Ensemble - 2005
•     Nominated Best Supporting Actor - 2005 (Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon)

• Toronto International Film Festival

•     Film Presented - 2004

• Writers Guild of America

•     Won Best Original Screenplay - 2005 (Bobby Moresco, Paul Haggis)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Director:

  Paul Haggis

• Producer:

  Don Cheadle, Bob Yari, Paul Haggis, Mark R. Harris, Cathy Schulman, Bobby Moresco

• Screen Story:

  Paul Haggis

• Screenwriter:

  Paul Haggis, Robert Moresco, Bobby Moresco

• Cinematographer:

  J. Michael Muro

• Composer (Music Score):

  Mark Isham

• Songwriter:

  Michael Becker, Kathleen "Bird" York

• Editor:

  Hughes Winborne

• Production Designer:

  Laurence Bennett

• Art Director:

  Brandee Dell'Aringa

• Co-producer:

  Randi Hiller, Sarah Halley-Finn, Betsy Danbury

• Associate Producer:

  Dana Maksimovich

• Executive Producer:

  Andy Reimer, Tom Nunan, Jan Körbelin, Marina Grasic

• Costume Designer:

  Linda M. Bass

• Set Decorator:

  Linda Sutton

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Richard van Dyke

• First Assistant Director:

  Scott Cameron

• Casting:

  Randi Hiller, Sarah Halley-Finn

• Stunts Coordinator:

  Gary Wayton

• Supervising Sound Editor:

  Sandy Gendler

• Second Unit Camera:

  Dana W. Gonzales

REVIEW:

• The Oscar-nominated screenwriter of Million Dollar Baby takes the helm of his own project in Crash, an ensemble study of race relations in Los Angeles, which uses the city's daily preponderance of motor-vehicle collisions as a central metaphor. The film recalls the work of Robert Altman (Short Cuts) and Lawrence Kasdan (Grand Canyon) in its attempt to interweave different segments of the city's socioeconomic and ethnic landscape, but uses a blunter hammer stroke to drive home its points. The film's many supporters led to surprising Oscars for best picture, screenplay and editing, as well as a 55-million-dollar box-office take. While some viewers were undoubtedly drawn to the unfiltered language and uncompromising intensity with which racism is depicted, others found that the film veers into contrived territory. As the characters are more often symbolic types than fleshed-out individuals, they butt up against each other according to what will create maximum incendiary dialogue and the potential for explosive conflict. Whether it's Dillon spewing anti-affirmative-action rage, Sandra Bullock spraying racial epithets in as many directions as a lawn sprinkler, or an Iranian business owner and a Latino locksmith using their mutual preconceived notions to block off communication, most of the scenes play out at the highest possible emotional pitch, with mixed results. While a number of scenes work well individually -- most notably Dillon's creepy frisking of Thandie Newton -- their coincidental interconnectedness undermines them enough to seem gimmicky. Even if some viewers found the material preachy, there's no denying that Crash reached a wide audience, its fans identifying a forthright frankness on race relations that they hadn't seen since Do the Right Thing. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi