8.3 | / 10 |
Users | 4.1 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.8 |
Lester Burnham's wife Carolyn, who's cheating on him, hates him, his daughter Jane regards him with contempt, and his boss is positioning him for the ax -- the typical suburban nightmare. When you've got nothing to lose, you might as well risk everything. Provoked by forbidden passions, Lester decides to make a few changes in his life that are less mid-life crisis than adolescence redux. The freer he gets, the happier he gets, which is even more maddening to wife and daughter alike. A pandora's box of fantasies as he begins lust after his daughter's over-developed friend. But Lester Burnham is about to learn that the ultimate freedom comes at the ultimate price.
Starring: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley, Mena SuvariDrama | 100% |
Dark humor | 59% |
Coming of age | 37% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Welcome to America's weirdest home videos.
Sam Mendes might be the best director in the world who's name doesn't normally pop up in conversations revolving
around the topic of world's best director. Sure, he has an Oscar win under his belt for American Beauty, Jarhead may be one of the most
unheralded War films ever made, and Road to Perdition is one of the best
films of the 2000s, but he's not normally grouped in with the likes of Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, or Quentin
Tarantino. That needs to change, because his films are not only immaculately crafted, but they're also
intellectually-stimulating and thematically complex. It might be too easy to call his Oscar-winning American
Beauty "a thing of beauty," but
that's exactly what it is. Sam Mendes' picture -- winner of five Oscars and the recipient of several additional
nominations -- examines what it is that truly defines beauty in the world and laments the absence of real beauty in
favor
of the superficial, the routine, and the seemingly immutable lifestyles of today that have sacrificed beauty in the
name of popularity, self-satisfaction, material possession, and closed-mindedness. Accentuated by Mendes'
stunningly reserved but structurally superb direction, Conrad Hall's (Cool Hand Luke) faultless
cinematography, Thomas Newman's (The Shawshank Redemption) sublime
score, and several performances that get to the heart of the picture's very essence, American Beauty takes
its audience on a journey of discovery and meditation on the state of the world as seen through the microcosm of
the crumbling lives of several suburbanites and, yes, it's a thing of sheer beauty inside and out.
Aren't my feet beautiful?
Paramount's "Sapphire Series" presents Oscar-winning and nominated films on specialty Blu-ray releases, and it's off
to
a
shaky start. The first pressing of Gladiator was marred by an unsightly
transfer riddled with edge enhancement and digital noise reduction, while Saving Private Ryan's initial release left
listeners in search of a soundtrack not hindered by an audio sync problem in the film's critical third act. The studio
made good with both discs; the remastered Gladiator is a thing of high
definition beauty, while a recall and second pressing of Saving Private Ryan elevated the release to the point
where it's a contender for the year's top Blu-ray disc. Unfortunately, the fan-favorite and Oscar-winning
American Beauty features another flawed transfer; it's not as egregiously bad as Gladiator's first
release, but it's not up to par with the wonderfully filmic and nearly perfect Braveheart, either. It's a transfer of
pluses and minuses that will leave some viewers satisfied and others once again demanding a superior release. As to
the good first,
American Beauty's vibrant color palette mostly sparkles in high definition. Though reds -- the most important
color
throughout the film -- can appear somewhat smeary and slightly over-pumped, the remainder of the palette delivers a
stable, honest appearance that lends an eye-catching tint to brighter shades while maintaining a strong neutral look
to the less-vibrant hues. Nevertheless, several scenes clearly appear washed out compared to the remainder of the
film. Detailing is adequate for a high definition transfer, too; American Beauty certainly
doesn't capture the absolute finest textures and nuances of anything within its frame like the finest film-like transfers
achieve, but viewers will be pleased with the solid upgrade in clarity and definition that's apparent over the film's
standard-definition DVD release.
Unfortunately, there are some other minor-to-moderate issues that drag the
transfer down from where it needs to be. Occasional spots and speckles cover what is a rather harsh-looking image
with excessively sharp edges and readily-visible edge enhancement through much of the film. Whites occasionally
bloom and overpower the frame in several scenes, and black levels fluctuate between appearing a bit too pale in some
places and overwhelming foreground details in others. Fortunately, however, both whites and blacks are more often
than not steady and honest, with the problem areas appearing only intermittently throughout the film. Noise dots
the image on occasion as well, though American Beauty does retain a bit of grain and doesn't appear to have
suffered from overzealous noise reduction. Nevertheless, there are several instances where parts of the image -- and
faces in
particular -- appear overly smooth and pasty, though flesh tones tend to capture a pleasantly neutral shade through
most of the runtime. Of the observed issues, only the overly sharp, digital-looking sheen and edge
enhancement are major causes for concern; the other problems add up but don't dominate and drastically lessen the
transfer in quite the
same way.
Paramount has shown time and again that they know how to do Blu-ray right and as well as any other studio around.
They don't get much better than the 1080p transfers found on discs like Star Trek, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, War of the Worlds, and Road to
Perdition, so viewers have every
right to wonder why the "Sapphire Series" Blu-ray releases can't consistently capture that same level of excellence
the first time through. American Beauty isn't a terrible high definition release by any stretch of the
imagination, but it's not up to the same exacting standards of Paramount's other releases, either. The "Sapphire
Series" monicker seems to suggest a release of higher standards and greater prestige; here's hoping that future titles
in the series receive the same top-notch treatment found on the studio's plain old vanilla Blu-ray discs.
American Beauty features a DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack that shouldn't disappoint most listeners, but the track fails to rise above the level of merely "good." Paramount's lossless mix is stable but sometimes underwhelming, delivering its bread-and-butter element -- dialogue -- smoothly and strongly enough from the center channel. Atmospherics are nicely implemented in several scenes but lack that last little bit of clarity that defines the best tracks. Hoots and hollers and various crowd noises are heard off to the sides while blending well into the rears during a cheerleading segment in chapter four. Lesser environmental ambience is generally played across the front speakers, though the track does manage some incredibly lifelike discrete sound effects, such as a ringing doorbell that's heard off to the side and is sure to fool all but the most discerning listeners into believing that they have company at the door. Several gunshots heard during a firing range scene pack a suitably strong wallop, though that more aggressive echoing sensation and low end accompaniment that may have made for a more realistic experience aren't implemented with the level of potency that may have elevated the scene another notch. Fortunately, the track does well in capturing the thematically-critical sensation of heavy, saturating rain falling all around the listening area during exterior scenes that in part make up the picture's final act, the effect all but drenching the listening area. Music enjoys a good bit of space along with strong clarity across the front in most scenes, whether several Classic Rock tunes or the cheesy elevator music that plays over several dinnertime scenes. All in all, Paramount's American Beauty lossless soundtrack surpasses the video presentation. It's better than serviceable while not quite achieving top-tier status.
American Beauty's Sapphire Series Blu-ray release features only a few extras. Headlining the collection is an audio commentary track with Director Sam Mendes and Screenwriter Alan Ball that's well-paced, quick to share pertinent information, heavy on discussions revolving around the movie's themes and corresponding visual style, packed with technical information, praising of the cast's performances, and home to a great deal of additional information. Mendes certainly dominates the track to the point that Ball oftentimes seems to completely vanish from the proceedings, but the director's enthusiasm for sharing his insights and so intricately dissecting the picture makes this commentary a wonderful companion to the American Beauty experience. 'American Beauty' Look Closer... (480p, 21:52) is a decent enough interview/behind-the-scenes/clips-from-the-film piece that examines the process of bringing the film to the screen. Topics include the ideas and themes behind the script, the challenge of finding a studio willing to back the script, the choice of Sam Mendes as director and the qualities be brought to the picture, the assemblage of the cast and the bond formed between them, the way the film captures the oddity of life, and the work of Cinematographer Conrad Hall and Composer Thomas Newman. Next is Storyboard Presentation With Sam Mendes and Director of Photography Conrad L. Hall (480p, 1:01:20), an extensive piece that features the filmmakers discussing the process of translating the hand-drawn storyboards into the final filmed image. The piece features storyboards juxtaposed with their corresponding filmed shot with the participants speaking over the images. Rounding out this assortment of extras are two American Beauty trailers (1080p, 3:00 & 1:22).
Director Sam Mendes achieves with American Beauty an accomplishment that but a few filmmakers can boast. No, it's not just the Best Picture and Best Director Oscars adorning his mantle, but the way in which he has crafted a picture of such great thematic importance with both the respect the material deserves and craftsmanship that's second-to-none. Mendes' picture superficially examines sexual, personal, and psychological tensions in and around what might be described as a "typical" slice of suburbia, but he balances it all with an honest look beyond the superficial and an ending that, in the picture's own way, comes to define beauty as it's been hinted at throughout the story, even through the gloominess of a dark and unforgiving final setting. It's that contrast between light and dark and inner and outer beauty that seems so simple but is so effectively balanced, illustrated, and understood here that the picture was chosen as year's best and Mendes, most deservingly, as top director. If only Road to Perdition several years later had also earned him the same deserved accolades. American Beauty is in every way a masterpiece, but its Blu-ray release could use some work. Paramount's "Sapphire Series" once again delivers only a mediocre 1080p transfer, but the lossless soundtrack is of a sufficiently high quality. Unfortunately, the extras are a bit too few and far between, though the Mendes commentary is worth its weight in gold. American Beauty's Sapphire Series Blu-ray release comes recommended on the strength of the film alone.
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