The Virgin Suicides [Criterion Collection] [4K Ultra HD Blu-ray/Blu-ray]

Director: Sofia Coppola Sofia Coppola

Overview

A dark comedy punctuated by moments of drama, The Virgin Suicides explores the emotional underpinnings of a family starting to come apart at the seams in 1970's Midwestern America. The Lisbons seem like an ordinary enough family; Father (James Woods) teaches math at a high school in Michigan, Mother (Kathleen Turner) has a strong religious faith, and they have five teenage daughters, ranging from 13-year-old Cecilia (Hannah Hall) to 17-year-old Therese (Leslie Hayman). However, the Lisbon family's sense of normalcy is shattered when Cecilia falls into a deep depression and attempts suicide. The family is shaken and Mother and Father seek the advice of psychiatrist Dr. Hornicker (Danny DeVito), who suggests the girls should be allowed to socialize more with boys. However, boys soon become a serious problem for Cecilia's sister Lux (Kirsten Dunst). Lux has attracted the eye of a high-school Romeo named Trip (Josh Hartnett), who assures Father of his good intentions. But Cecilia finally makes good on her decision to kill herself, throwing the Lisbons into a panic; and after attending a school dance, Trip seduces and then abandons Lux. The Lisbons pull their daughters out of school, as an emotionally frayed Mother keeps close watch over them. Meanwhile, Lux continues to attract the attentions of the local boys, and she responds with a series of clandestine sexual episodes with random partners as often as she can sneak out of the house. The debut feature from Sofia Coppola (whose father, Francis Ford Coppola, co-produced this film), The Virgin Suicides also features supporting performances from Scott Glenn and Giovanni Ribisi. The film was shown as part of the Directors Fortnight series as the 1999 Cannes Film Festival.

Product Details

Release Date:	07/05/2022
UPC:	0715515274111
Original Release:	1999
Rating:	R
Source:	Criterion Collection
Language:	English
Time:	1:37:00
Format:	Blu-ray
Sales rank:	8,005

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Kirsten Dunst	Lux Lisbon
James Woods	Mr. Lisbon
Kathleen Turner	Mrs. Lisbon
Josh Hartnett	Trip Fontaine
Hanna Hall	Cecilia Lisbon,Kurt Siles,Cecilia
Danny DeVito	Dr. Horniker
Chelse Swain	Bonnie Lisbon
A.J. Cook	Mary Lisbon
Leslie Hayman	Therese Lisbon
Jonathan Tucker	Tim
Anthony DeSimone	Chase
Noah Shebib	Parkie
Robert Schwartzman	Paul
Lee Kagan	David
Chris Hale	Peter
Joe Dinicol	Dominic
Scott Glenn	Father Moody
Suki Kaiser	Lydia
Dawn Greenhalgh	Mrs. Scheer
Allen Stewart-Coates	Mr. Scheer
Sherry Miller	Mrs. Buell
Jonathan Whittaker	Mr. Buell
Michele Duquet	Mrs. Denton,Actor
Murray McRae	Mr. Denton
Paul Sybersma	Joe Larson,Joe's Mother, Mrs. Larson
Roberta Hanley	Mrs. Weiner
Peter Snider	Trip's Dad
Gary Brennan	Donald, Trip's Dad's Friend
Charles Boyland	Curt Van Osdol
Dustin Ladd	Chip Willard
Kirsten Fairlie	Amy Schraff
Melody Johnson	Julie
Sheyla Molho	Danielle
Ashley Ainsworth	Shelia Davis
Courtney Hawkrigg	Grace
Francois Klanfer	E.R. Doctor
Mackenzie Lawrenz	Jim Czeslawski
Amos Crawley	John
Andrew Gillies	Principal Woodhouse
Mairlyn Smith	Mrs. Woodhouse
John Deans-Buchan	Lydia's Boss John
Jaya Karsemeyer	Reformed Teen Gloria
Leah Straatsma	Reformed Teen Rannie
Marianne Maroney	Teacher Intro Mrs. Woodhouse
Derek Boyes	Football `Grieving Teacher'
Sally Cahill	Mrs. Hedlie
Tracey Ferencz	Nurse
Scott Denton	Mr. O'Connor
Tim Adams	Buzz `Rope' Romano
Joe Roncetti	Kevin Head
Hayden Christensen	Jake Hill Conley
Michael Michaelessi	Parks Dept. Foreman
Megan Kennedy	Cheerleader
Sandi Stahlbrand	Meredith Thompson
Neil Girvan	Drunk Man in Pool
Ann Wessels	Woman in Chiffon at Pool
Mark Polley	Cemetery Worker No. 1
Kirk Gonnsen	Cemetery Worker No. 2
Catherine Swing	Mrs. O'Connor
Sarah Minhas	Wanda Brown
Michael Paré	Trip Fontaine '97
Giovanni Ribisi	Narrator,Narrator
Fred Scialla	Stand-In (Danny DeVito)
Air	Composer

Technical Credits

Sofia Coppola

Sofia Coppola	Director,Screenwriter,Producer
Willi Baer	Executive Producer
Fred Fuchs	Executive Producer
Dan Halsted	Producer
Chris Hanley	Producer
John Buchan	Casting
Julie Costanzo	Producer
Robert McGee	Casting
Linda Phillips-Palo	Casting
Richard Beggs	Sound/Sound Designer
Gary Marcus	Producer
Fred Roos	Producer

Editorial Reviews

Teen angst in the '70s takes on tragic proportions in this haunting adaptation of the Jeffrey Eugenides novel. Sophomore director Sofia Coppola, the daughter of Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather, The Conversation), breaks out in her own right with this tale of five beautiful blonde teenage sisters (Kirsten Dunst, Hanna Hall, Chelsea Swain, A. J. Cook, and Leslie Hayman), who mesmerize the adolescent male population of their suburban Michigan neighborhood before ending their own lives. Dunst, playing the most charismatic of the sisters, is superb as a rebellious yet vulnerable dream girl, but the film also features fine (and surprising) performances from James Woods as the girls' nerdy science teacher father;Kathleen Turner as their frumpy, repressed mother; and Josh Hartnett as a high school stud whose fling with Dunst has dire consequences. What makes The Virgin Suicides truly memorable, though, is the atmosphere of dreamy nostalgia and melancholy that suffuses every frame. The boys' uncomprehending idealization of the sisters is expressed in slow-motion, soft-focus fantasy sequences of the golden-haired girls running through sun-dappled fields -- distorted images of femininity derived from '70s shampoo commercials. The score's deft use of period arena-pop by acts like Heart and Styx enhances to the '70s scenario. At once lyrical and creepy, The Virgin Suicides is a modern fairy tale that casts a lingering spell.

Barnes & Noble - Gregory Baird

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.

All Movie Guide - Perry Seibert