American Beauty/The Virgin Suicides [2 Discs]

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 2
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 (Cinemascope)
• Audio: Dolby Surround
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Features:
  • cc
  • American Beauty:
  • American Beauty: Look closer...
  • Film Commentary by director Sam Mendes and writer Alan Ball
  • Storyboard presentation with commentary by Sam Mendes and director of photography Conrad C. Hall
  • Digital screenplay with corresponding film footage and storyboards (DVD-ROM only)
  • Cast and crew biographies
  • 2 theatrical trailers
  • Production notes
  • Plus other DVD-ROM exclusives!
  • The Virgin Suicides:
  • The making of The Virgin Suicides featurette
  • "Playground Love" air music video
  • Photo gallery
  • 2 theatrical trailers

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Won Best Actor - 1999 (Kevin Spacey)
•     Won Best Cinematography - 1999 (Conrad L. Hall)
•     Won Best Director - 1999 (Sam Mendes)
•     Won Best Original Screenplay - 1999 (Alan Ball)
•     Won Best Picture - 1999 (Dan Jinks, Bruce Cohen)
•     Nominated Best Actress - 1999 (Annette Bening)
•     Nominated Best Editing - 1999 (Tariq Anwar)
•     Nominated Best Original Score - 1999 (Thomas Newman)

• American Society of Cinematographers

•     Won Best Cinematography - 1999 (Conrad L. Hall)
•     Won Outstanding Achievement Award - 1999 (Conrad L. Hall)

• British Academy of Film and Television Arts

•     Won Best Actor - 1999 (Kevin Spacey)
•     Won Best Actress - 1999 (Annette Bening)
•     Won Best Cinematography - 1999 (Conrad L. Hall)
•     Won Best Editing - 1999 (Tariq Anwar, Christopher Greenbury)
•     Won Best Film Music - 1999 (Thomas Newman)
•     Won Best Picture - 1999
•     Nominated Best Director - 1999 (Sam Mendes)
•     Nominated Best Makeup and Hair - 1999 (Tania McComas, Carol O'Connell)
•     Nominated Best Original Screenplay - 1999 (Alan Ball)
•     Nominated Best Production Design - 1999 (Naomi Shohan)
•     Nominated Best Supporting Actor - 1999 (Wes Bentley)
•     Nominated Best Supporting Actress - 1999 (Thora Birch, Mena Suvari)

• Broadcast Film Critics Association

•     Won Best Director - 1999 (Sam Mendes)
•     Won Best Original Screenplay - 1999 (Alan Ball)
•     Won Best Picture - 1999

• Chicago Film Critics Association

•     Won Best Actor - 1999 (Kevin Spacey)
•     Won Best Director - 1999 (Sam Mendes)
•     Won Best Picture - 1999
•     Won Most Promising Actor - 1999 (Wes Bentley)

• Directors Guild of America

•     Won Best Director - Feature Film - 1999 (Sam Mendes)

• French Academy of Cinema

•     Nominated Best Foreign Film - 2000

• Hollywood Foreign Press Association

•     Won Best Director - 1999 (Sam Mendes)
•     Won Best Picture - Drama - 1999
•     Won Best Screenplay - 1999 (Alan Ball)
•     Nominated Best Original Score - 1999 (Thomas Newman)
•     Nominated Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama - 1999 (Kevin Spacey)
•     Nominated Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama - 1999 (Annette Bening)

• Los Angeles Film Critics Association

•     Won Best Director - 1999 (Sam Mendes)

• National Board of Review

•     Won Best Breakthrough Performance by an Actor - 1999 (Wes Bentley)
•     Won Best Picture - 1999

• National Society of Film Critics

•     Won Best Cinematography - 1999 (Conrad L. Hall)

• Screen Actors Guild

•     Won Best Actor - 1999 (Kevin Spacey)
•     Won Best Female Actor in a Leading Role - 1999 (Annette Bening)
•     Won Best Performance by a Cast - 1999
•     Nominated Best Supporting Actor - 1999 (Chris Cooper)

• Toronto Film Critics Association

•     Won Best Actor - 1999 (Kevin Spacey)
•     Won Best Director [Runner-up] - 1999 (Sam Mendes)
•     Won Best Screenplay [Runner-up] - 1999 (Alan Ball)

• Writers Guild of America

•     Won Best Original Screenplay - 1999 (Alan Ball)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Kevin Spacey - Lester Burnham
       Annette Bening - Caroline Burnham
       Kathleen Turner - Mrs. Lisbon
       Josh Hartnett - Trip Fontaine
       Hanna R. Hall - Cecilia
       Chelse Swain - Bonnie
       A.J. Cook - Mary
       Allison Janney - Barbara Fitts
       Danny DeVito - Dr. Hornicker
       Sam Robards - Jim Berkley
       Jonathan Tucker - Tim
       Anthony DeSimone - Chase
       Giovanni Ribisi - Narrator
       Hayden Christensen - Jake

• Director:

  Sam Mendes, Sofia Coppola

• Producer:

  Bruce Cohen, Dan Jinks, Francis Ford Coppola, Julie Costanzo, Dan Halsted, Chris Hanley

• Screenwriter:

  Alan Ball, Sofia Coppola

• Book Author:

  Jeffrey Eugenides

• Cinematographer:

  Conrad L. Hall, Edward Lachman

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Chris Douridas

• Composer (Music Score):

  Thomas Newman, Air

• Editor:

  Christopher Greenbury, Tariq Anwar, James Lyons, Melissa Kent

• Production Designer:

  Naomi Shohan, Yasna Stefanovic

• Art Director:

  David S. Lazan

• Co-producer:

  Stan Wlodkowski, Alan Ball, Fred Roos

• Executive Producer:

  Fred Fuchs, Willi Baer

• Set Designer:

  Jan K. Bergstrom

• Costume Designer:

  Julie Weiss, Nancy Steiner

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Richard van Dyke, Richard Beggs

• First Assistant Director:

  Tony Adler, E. Carey Dietrich

• Casting:

  Debra Zane, John Buchan

• Re-Recording Mixer:

  Bob Beemer

• Sound Editor:

  Scott Martin Gershin

• Pilot:

  Robert "Bobby Z" Zajonc

• Musical Performer:

  Hilton Ruiz

REVIEWS:

• A darkly comic critique of suburban stupor with a measured touch of redemption, American Beauty became the most laureled film of 1999. As written by Alan Ball and directed by theatre wunderkind/film neophyte Sam Mendes, the tale of Lester Burnham's final year of life keenly delves into the repressed desires, rampant materialism, skewed values, and gnawing insecurities lurking behind the crisply manicured lawns and meticulously decorated houses lining Any Street, USA. Anchored by Kevin Spacey's gleefully sardonic yet sensitively attuned performance as doomed "seeker" Lester, the superb ensemble cast of adults and teens (including Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Chris Cooper and newcomers Wes Bentley and Mena Suvari) navigate the myriad dysfunctions with wit and flashes of pathos. Complementing the voiced desire for some kind of escape, Lester's and video voyeur Ricky Fitts' search for beauty in the mundane, whether in rose petal-strewn dreams or grainy images of a dancing bag, is given luminous life by veteran cinematographer Conrad L. Hall. Despite the complaint from a few critics that it did not truly "look closer" at the terrain previously covered by The Ice Storm (1997), Happiness (1998), and Blue Velvet (1986), American Beauty garnered several critics' circle prizes and a fistful of Golden Globes on the way to winning the Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor and Best Cinematography. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi
• The Virgin Suicides paints an emotionally harrowing portrait of adolescence. Simultaneously nostalgic and foreboding, Coppola finds just the right tone to deliver a warning about the way girls grow up in society, while still having enough grace to show us there may be hope. The cinematography and acting reinforce the theme of fantasy colliding with reality. Ed Lachman utilizes a dreamy, nostalgic look which allows the tragedy of the film to hit the audience even harder. Kirsten Dunst gives a stunningly mature performance. She manages to simultaneously play both the fantasy dream girl and the pained reality that make up the conflicting aspects of Lux's personality. Giovanni Ribisi narrates the film with a voice that is simultaneously resigned and filled with wonder. It is the voice of maturity looking back on youth. He is a representation of the adult voice of all the boys in the neighborhood who spent their days fantasizing about Lux and her sisters. At the end of the film, he tells the audience that they now realize they knew nothing at all about the Lisbon girls. This understanding may be the first step. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi