- Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
- Language: English, French
- Region: (US and Canada This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other countries. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
- Number of discs: 1
- MPAA Rating:
- Studio: Warner Home Video
- Release Date: May 25 1999
- Run Time: 122 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
- ASIN: 0790742047
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#19,624 in DVD (See Top 100 in DVD)
- #94 in DVD > En français > Drame > Drames psychologiques
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Product Details |
Product Description
Amazon.com Essential Video
When Max Klein (Jeff Bridges) finds himself facing imminent death as his plane hurls toward the ground, he finds inner calm and release from fear in his acceptance of his own unavoidable end. His panic erased, he helps other passengers to relax, and when he survives the impact, to escape. What follows is his difficult and complex journey back to emotional and spiritual equilibrium. Along the way he helps Carla (Rosie Perez), a woman smashed by the belief that her infant son's death in the accident was the direct result of her inability to hold him tightly enough, and alienates his wife, Laura (Isabella Rossellini), who tries desperately to understand what he's experiencing. Peter Weir's film is emotionally intense in an absolutely unsentimental way (very rare), and the complexity of the protagonist's experience is refreshing (if you don't mind feeling deeply). The handling of the crash sequences is chilling in an unsensational way, and the directing in general is a triumph of story-serving restraint. Not the usual Hollywood fare, but intensely rewarding for those who are tired of mind candy. --James McGrath
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A forgotten masterpiece of the '90's - one of Weir's best,
By
This review is from: Fearless (Full Screen) (DVD)
There are directors making movies of modern cinema, and then there's Peter Weir. Here's a guy who has never gotten the commercial success of Spielberg, the artistic raves of Kubrick, but equals or surpasses them on so many levels. Case in point: Fearless, another great film in a slew of great Weir films that takes a genre and doesn't necessarily break from it but explores it in unexpected ways. The subject of choice is an airplane crash, of which Max Klein (Jeff Bridges, lacking a deserved Oscar nom for this one) is one of a few dozen survivors. While many would be racked with grief (he lost his best friend and business partner), Klein experienced an epiphany of peace and bravery that carries through his experiences post-crash as well. We've seen things of this vein so many times that I thought I knew where Fearless was going, but at each end I was surprised. I expected romantic subplots and the like, but Weir holds the film with a knowing, masterful grace that he fully concentrates into the character Bridges plays.Fearless is less an exploration of grief than it is simply an intense look at the entire world of someone whose life is nearly taken. Rosie Perez receieved an Oscar nomination for her great work as a fellow survivor whom Max befriends, but the movie veers away from melodrama and woe-is-me theatrics even with them, instead showing what comfort we find among those who share our trauma. And Fearless never always seems like it's like the movie it appears to be, proof again of Weir's incredible talent of looking at a theme from another angle (what made Master and Commander an intimate character drama and not a mindless actioner). So much territory is covered in the film, yet it never seems dense, and the catharsis at the end is a payoff like none other. I found myself weeping at the film's magnificent finale - a lot - and yet the tears that Fearless elicits are not ones of sadness or happiness, but of satisfaction and pure emotional movement. It's nice to know there are directors out there who can make movies so powerful and yet never make us feel manipulated one bit. GRADE: A
4.0 out of 5 stars
BRIDGES FALLING DOWN,
By
This review is from: Fearless (Full Screen) (DVD)
Masterful director Peter Weir helms this story of a man who survives a plane crash, and hangs on to his newfound fearlessness to help others, while basically destroying himself. Jeff Bridges gives a riveting performance, one of his best, in the role of Max Klein. Before the crash, Max lived in a world like others, afraid of flying, and a victim of strawberry allergies. He becomes a hero as he seemingly saves the lives of several other survivors; one little boy is so taken with Bridges that he continues to visit him after the traumatic experience. Rosie Perez won an oscar nomination and deservedly so for her role as Carla, a young mother who blames herself for her little baby's death in the crash. Isabella Rosselini, as beautiful as ever, plays Bridges wife who tries to bring him back into the real world he so seemingly willingly left behind. Tom Hulce plays their lawyer, a good performance, one that makes you like him rather than find him repulsive. John Turturro as a grief counselor is excellent in a small but well developed role. Benicio del Toro merely fills the space as Perez' opportunistic husband; Deirde O'Connell as the widow of Bridges' partner is startingly effective.FEARLESS moves at a slow pace, and I found myself getting angry with Bridges for neglecting his family to help Perez. The strawberry ending while definitely effective is also a tad too perfect in how it resolves Bridges' crisis. But even with its flaws, FEARLESS is an unusual and moving film, heightened by the wonderful performances of its cast.
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the most life-affirming films ever made,
By
This review is from: Fearless (Full Screen) (DVD)
"Fearless" is one of those great movies I decided to watch without any expectations. And I was absolutely floored, not only by the storyline, but by the letter-perfect performances, particularly Jeff Bridges (who is under-rated in general, never more so than here) and Rosie Perez (probably her best-ever performance). This film is second only to Kieslowski's "Three Colours: Red" in my all-time favorites. Both the opening and ending scenes are haunting, heartbreaking, and at the same time, fill you with a kind of hope based on the actions of certain characters. The ending scene, for me, is one of the great single scenes of the movies, and could reduce the most stoic man to tears. If you've never seen this film, you really are missing out on something truly special. I almost forgot about what could be the pivotal scene of the film: where Bridges tries to help Perez come to terms with her guilt by strapping her into the back seat of his sedan, placing a fire extinguisher into her arms, then taking off full speed in the sedan towards a brick wall while "Where The Streets Have No Name" by U2 plays on the soundtrack. The combination is flawless and absolutely heart-wrenchingly human. This movie is just crying out for the Criterion treatment, as the pan & scan version of the current DVD is the only flaw. Don't miss it.
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