Customer Reviews

American Beauty (Academy Awards Edition)

5 star:		(478)
4 star:		(81)
3 star:		(66)
2 star:		(50)
1 star:		(98)

 

 

I like "out there" films, so I was surprised that I didn't like this film a lot. The cinematography is gorgeous, the scenes unique and fascinating, the actors at their best, the lines between on-screen reality and fantasy blurred, the script excellent, but, when it comes right down to it...
Father has lost his way and lost himself somewhere along the road of his life. Mother and Daughter pick and berate and b-tch at Father, and it's oh-so-wearing for the viewer. Daughter meets drug-dealer neighbour boy who has the proverbial "heart o' gold" (but boy is so weird it detracts from the film IMHO). Most of the characters seem to need medication -- for clinical depression as well as for other things. Or maybe the characters are over-medicated?
Either way, while this film has it's moments (the motel scene, the asparagus scene, etc) the ending left a bad taste in my mouth. And no, it wasn't a rose petal.
It's touted as a feel-good movie, but if you're already feeling blue, I doubt this is the movie for you. And if you detest people who have their head up where the sun don't shine, then these characters will make you foam at the mouth.

This was an interesting, but not spectacular film from 1999. Watching it again recently, I noticed how dull it was to watch - particularly the long drawn out scenes with the neighbour's son and Spacey's daughter.

Is American Beauty really as good as you may have heard? Unfortunately not. The hype that surrounded this film in 1999 made people go and see it. There was also considerable hype surrounding Anette Bening's performance. Let's just say her performance was okay, nothing spectacular.

American Beauty is a good, but over-rated film.

On the surface, this stunner from Sam Mendes is such a relentlessly bleak look at the vacuity of the supposed "American Dream" that viewers may just turn off to it en masse. And it shows in the acute polarization of reviews here on Amazon.

But if you can be a little less knee-jerk and not shut off all rational thought when confronted with what's disturbingly familiar, you may also find that the film is genuinely, voraciously amusing, and directed with such breathtaking flair that Spacey's bravura performance seems like a career-defining one.

Beneath the surface of all the seeming pettiness in our daily idiosynchrasies, the theme points out, is an entire world of such simple elegance that chortles to be seen and heard, but is neither recognized nor heeded to.

An interesting visual device in the film is the use of windows. Not just a use, but a splurge, come to think of it. Almost everything important happens in front of, around, or through windows. Could this be a metaphor perhaps for self-examination, for viewing one's life from the outside?

What I do not understand is why most films in this genre (Ice Storm, Ordinary People) end with a dramatically tragic finale. Does it take a shattering turn of events to break everyone out of their daily reverie? Something to think about.

Any rate, long story short: an evocative gem you need to own.

I love this movie. It doesn't get any better than this, especially for boomers. What happens when the American Dream is not enough, when things like happiness, love, fulfillment, have become lost along the way? Sometimes, you have to take a step backwards in order to move forward. This movie is a slice of life look at an ordinary hero's journey toward authentication and fulfillment, and how it affects those around him. Each of the characters is wonderfully drawn and executed, as are all aspects of "American Beauty". This movie is thing of beauty.

dear sir, the disc is in good shape and the movie was shown with excellent picture and great sound! Gus

If I had to name one american movie that is an example of great cinema done during the nineties, one movie that manages to stand out from the lot, both artistically and thematically, and which deserves all its awards, it should be American Beauty.

Why?

First of all because Alan Ball, who became more respected with this movie, with Six Feet Under and True Blood, forces us to take a closer look to what we take for granted, to see how one family, the Burnhams, really looks like inside its house, behind its curtains and perfect roses, how the wonderful suburban dream is one big lie. Just like Desperate Housewives, which was heavily influenced by this movie, Lester Burnham, who died under strange circumstances, make us witness how his family's interactions with new friends and neighbors make them do things they never did before, things that bring forth a tragedy.

Secondly, Sam Mendes, with his gorgeous directing, show us the Burnhams lives in a very touching and comic fashion. He creates a dramedy so powerful that even its most funniest scenes, especially in the Burnham dining room, are also the most dramatic. This mix of comedy and drama may not please everyone, will shock and outrage some people, but it adds layers to this drama, which is also a powerful satire on the american dream. Not only that, Sam Mendes gives a more interesting ending. Instead of following the original script, which had trial scenes, tv news, and a big epilogue with a ghostly Lester Burnham flying over his neighborhood, Mendes ends "American Beauty" on a cliffhanger and encourages us to think of what we watched, to wonder how a family and a neighborhood will live on after what happened to one of them.

Thirdly, Thomas Newman's soundtrack gives a mysterious and eerie atmosphere to the lives of the Burnhams. Scenes that would seem banal under the hands of a different composer, and director, become touching and incredibly moving, especially one involving a plastic bag floating under the wind.

Finally, all the actors give wonderful interpretations to their characters, performances that stay in the viewer's memories. All the actors manage to turn their characters into real people, people who we may try to defend their actions, even when they are not the most honorable.

In the end, it is such a powerful movie that everyone, whether they like it or not, should see once in their life. Not only to see a great story, but also to take a closer look towards what we may not have looked at in the first place.

"American Beauty" is the story of Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey), a man unhappy in his home life, unsettled with the prospect of growing old and disenchanted with his career. Neither his wife, Carolyn (Annette Benning) nor his daughter, Jane (Thora Birch) respect him and his neighbors don't even know who he is. In short, Lester is a man swimming on the rim of a mid-life crisis. But the tide begins to turn in his favor when Lester decides to throw caution to the wind, blackmail his bosses and collect a hefty buy out settlement. Of course, Lester's new found independence does not sit well with Carolyn, who prides herself on being in charge of everyone's lives. To relieve her angst, she takes up with rival real estate agent, Buddy Kane (Peter Gallagher) while Jane attempts a misguided elopement with her strange boyfriend, Ricky Fitts (Wes Bentley). Of course all this upset leaves Lester free and clear to pursue a relationship with the high school trollop and Jane's best friend, Angela (Mena Suvari). What is so incredibly compelling about Sam Mendes' masterpiece of reflection, is not so much the way all these lives intersect on a crossroads ultimately doomed to destruction, but how ably the director has managed to capture a slice of the decline and fall of America's constitutional motto of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

The DVD transfer does a fine job of capturing the stylized color scheme. Colors are rich, bold and nicely balanced. Contrast levels are bang on. Blacks are deep and solid. There is a hint of pixelization that is more obvious during the darker scenes, but it does not distract from your viewing enjoyment. Fine detail is fully realized. Occasionally there is a hint of edge enhancement but again, it is not terribly obtrusive. The audio is 5.1 and delivers a very deep, rich bass, particularly in the music tracks. An audio commentary, featurette and stills gallery round out the limited extras on this disc.

*AMERICAN BEAUTY

Lester Burnham: Kevin Spacey
Carolyn Burnham: Annette Bening
Jane Burnham: Thora Birch
Ricky Fitts: Wes Bentley
Angela Hayes: Mena Suvari

Directed by Sam Mendes/ Written by Alan Ball/ 120 minutes (Rated R)

BY ANDREW KOCH
Beauty: The quality that gives pleasure to the mind or senses and is associated with such properties as harmony of form or color, excellence of artistry, truthfulness, and originality. Although, society has put this definite and limited meaning into beauty, realistically beauty is indefinable. The simple fact that something is beautiful to one person yet ugly and ordinary to another makes it such an abstract concept. Yet, what is finite about is beauty is the idea that society tends to make a mold of beauty. This cast that is produced is the cause of much "shaping" towards an ideological goal and is the cause of much internal and external conflict between people, institutions and entities of all sorts.
In, "American Beauty" the theme of beauty is deeply rooted throughout the movie. The scenes switch frequently from character to character, through which we are introduced to and dig deep within each character's conflict in beauty. Angela, who represents superficial and exterior beauty, directly strives for her society's ideological
concept of beauty. To her, beauty is what everyone else tells her and what she sees on the cover of Maxim Magazine. Conversely, Jane Burnham represents the inner beauty within the characters of the movie. Genuine, open, loving, independent and not ready to follow society's guidelines on beauty. She does and wears what she feels comfortable in. Her personality and behavior represent this inner and innocent beauty not found often in "American Beauty". To Carolyn Burnham, beauty lies in the way she seems to all others whom view her (society or her friends and family). The illusion of "happiness, a successful job and being a perfect wife/ mother type" makes her feel comfortable that people view her as a beautiful person. As society shapes, views and impresses upon the character's beauty and concept of beauty, there exists one character independent of this obligation. He watches and judges beauty, of the women in particular, because it brings him a sense of inner peace. Ricky is independent of the judgmental societal panoptican (all seeing and always watching). He becomes a significant silent and panoptical entity himself in the movie. Whenever shown in the movie, he has his camera and is taping/ observing the beauty of women to things like the wind-carrying bag through the air.
The movie "American Beauty" is more than just another "black comedy" or typical Hollywood film. It moves past the portrayal of beauty through images, actions and looks. It explores and critiques the modern stereotype of what beauty is in women of today. It also explores the interactions and conflicts that arise within the clashing of different ideas of beauty between characters. More importantly, it forces the viewers to reflect upon the idea of inner/ physical beauty and how others view it, themselves and society as a whole.

American Beauty, directed by Sam Mendes, is a brilliant film that invites us to "look closer" and examine the ideals of beauty. Jane Burnham and Angela Hayes are best friends who are on the cheerleading squad together. Jane is the "ugly," dark-haired gray-eyed sidekick to Angela, the blond-haired blue-eyed "beauty." Beauty is put under the lens when Ricky Fitts, Jane's neighbor, films Jane with his personal video recorder from his window. Angela embodies the stereotypical "perfect" female, so Jane isn't the typical object of affection and questions Ricky's feelings for her. Ricky shows the viewer through his eyes, his definition of beauty. There is not a single definition of beauty. It is our horizon of experience that shapes our ideals.

Caroline Burnham is the obsessive compulsive, whiny, housewife. She is the super female who works as a realtor and top dog in the matriarchal family driving the car and making the money. By contrast, the Fitts are the patriarchal, militant family under the command of Colonel Frank Fitts, who is abusive to his son Ricky. Their neighbors, the Jims, are a (...)couple living together. They have a very healthy relationship and respect each other and see each other as equals. Fascinating, how the most controversial relationship in society is the best functioning family of the three in the film.

American Beauty invokes a relationship between women and society. The main women in the film are shown to the extreme ends of feminity and beauty. Caroline, Jane, and Angela all have different aspects they bring to the film and each one symbolizes the true nature of women in the world outside of film.

Caroline is a housewife trying to make a name for herself in the world of real estate. She is the modern American woman trying to play the role of the mother, wife, business person, and typical woman in society. However, she seems to be on her way to failure for all of them. Caroline is an over achiever and it tears her apart that she is not perfect. Her daughter Jane, however, prefers to exhibit almost no feminine qualities. Caroline sees Jane as trying to be the opposite of herself. She even asks, at one point in the movie, if Jane is trying to be unattractive.

Angela is Jane's best friend. She is the typical beauty with blue eyes, blond hair, and a thin body. Yet Angela is extremely unhappy and seeks the attention of everyone she comes a crossed.

Jane is the one that becomes the true Beauty in this film, though she does not dress or act the part. Her Beauty comes from being surveyed by the next door neighbor, Ricky. Though his eyes, we come to see the beauty in Jane, and the ugliness in Angela and Caroline.

The lesson learned here, is that one does not have to be perfect or thin or successful to be beautiful. One simply has to be seen. If only the outside world would come to such an epiphany.