Pleasantville [Blu-ray]

Director: Gary Ross Gary Ross

Overview

Gary Ross, Oscar nominated for his Dave and Big screenplays, made his directorial debut with this comedy. The cheerful '50s TV sitcom "Pleasantville" is revived in the '90s for a loyal cable audience. One devoted fan is shy suburban teen David Wagner (Tobey Maguire), who has an almost obsessive interest in the series. Living with his divorced mother (Jane Kaczmarek), David sometimes has disputes with his ultra-hip twin sister Jennifer (Reese Witherspoon). She wants to watch MTV just when a Pleasantville marathon is about to begin. They struggle over the remote control, and it breaks. A strange TV repairman (Don Knotts) supplies their new remote, a potent high-tech device which zaps David and Jennifer inside Pleasantville, where their new sitcom parents are businessman George Parker (William H. Macy) and wife Betty (Joan Allen). As "Bud" and "Mary Sue," the teens take up residence in a black-and-white suburbia where sex does not exist and the temperature is always 72 degrees. Life is always pleasant, books have no words, bathrooms have no toilets, married couples sleep in twin beds, the high school basketball team always wins, and nobody ever questions "The Good Life." David revels in Pleasantville's Prozac-styled peacefulness. He fits right in, but Jennifer's 1990s attitude upsets the blandness balance, painting parts of Pleasantville in "living color." Repressed desires surface, cracks appear in the '50s lifestyles, and the Pleasantville populace finds their lives changing in strange, wonderful ways. It's liberating -- but there's also a darker side. This film breaks an all-time record with more than 1700 special effects shots. Shown at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival.

Product Details

Release Date:	02/01/2011
UPC:	0794043146114
Original Release:	1998
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	New Line Home Video
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	2:04:00
Sales rank:	15,257

Special Features

Commentary with Writer/Director Gary Ross; Isolated Score Track with Commentary by Composer Randy Newman; Featurette The Art Of Pleasantville; Fiona Apple Across the Universe Music Video Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson; Theatrical Trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Tobey Maguire	David Wagner/Bud Parker
Reese Witherspoon	Jennifer Wagner/Mary Sue Parker
Joan Allen	Betty Parker
William H. Macy	George Parker
Jeff Daniels	Mr. Johnson
Don Knotts	Repairman
J.T. Walsh	Big Bob
Paul Walker	Skip
Dawn Cody	Betty Jean
Marissa Ribisi	Kimmy
Natalie Ramsey	Mary Sue
Kevin Connors	Bud
Justin Nimmo	Mark
Heather McGill	Girl in School Yard
Paul Morgan Stetler	College Counselor
Denise Dowse	Health Teacher
McNally Sagal	Science Teacher
Jane Kaczmarek	David's Mom
Giuseppe Andrews	Howard
Jenny Lewis	Christin
Kai Lennox	Mark's Lackey No. 1
Jason Behr	Mark's Lackey No. 2
Robin Bissell	Commercial Announcer
Harry Singleton	Mr. Simpson
John Ganun	Fireman No. 1
Maggie Lawson	Lisa Anne
Andrea Taylor	Peggy Jane,Actor
Lela Ivey	Miss Peters
Jim Patric	Tommy
Marc Blucas	Basketball Hero
Stanton Rutledge	Coach
Jason Maves	Paper Boy
Gerald Emmerick	TV Weatherman
Charles C. Stevenson Jr.	Dr. Henderson
Nancy Lenehan	Marge Jenkins
Weston Blakesley	Gus
Jim Antonio	Ralph
Danny Strong	Juke Box Boy
Kristin Rudrud	Mary
Laura Carney	Bridge Club Lady
Dan Gillies	Fireman No. 2
Marley Shelton	Margaret
Erik MacArthur	Will
Adam Carter	Boy in Soda Shop
David Tom	Whitey
Johnny Moran	Pete
Jeanine Jackson	Woman
J. Patrick Lawlor	Thug
James Keane	Police Chief Dan
Meredith Thomas	Actor
Randy Springer	Actor
John F. McCormick	Actor
Gerald Emerick	TV Weatherman
Patrick Thomas O'Brien	Roy (as Patrick T. O'Brien)
Randy Newman	Composer

Technical Credits

Gary Ross

Gary Ross	Director,Screenwriter,Producer
Robert J. Degus	Producer,Producer
Jon Kilik	Producer
Steven Soderbergh	Producer
Ellen Lewis	Casting
Ernie Orsatti	Stunts
Mary Parent	Executive Producer
Michael Southard	Special Effects
Chris Watts	Special Effects
Debra Zane	Casting
Jacob Chambers	Stunts
Michael DeLuca	Executive Producer

Editorial Reviews

The directorial debut of notable screenwriter Gary Ross, this whimsical take on television, modernism, and traditional values often tells its tale with a heavy hand (especially in vignettes involving racism and infidelity), but its strikingly-realized mise en scene compensates for the script's meandering. Armed with some of the late-90s' most outstanding acting talent, Pleasantville resonates with noble intentions: one cannot fault the film for lack of ambition, even if it's never as satisfying as it should be dramatically. Ross utilizes truly innovative special effects, combining vibrant color with rich black-and-white, often in the same scene, mirroring the personalities of the characters and their feelings. The second of two high-profile films in 1998 (the other being The Truman Show to address television's relation to society, especially pertaining to spectatorship, Pleasantville also marked the final big-screen appearance of beloved character actor J.T. Walsh, who shines as an old-school values family man.