American Beauty

Theatrical Release Date: 1999 09 15 (USA)

UPC: 667068538229

Studio: DreamWorks

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Violence, Nudity, Not For Children, Adult Humor, Profanity, Sexual Situations, Drug Content]

Summary: Noted theater director Sam Mendes, who was responsible for the acclaimed 1998 revival of Cabaret and Nicole Kidman's turn in The Blue Room, made his motion picture debut with this film about the dark side of an American family, and about the nature and price of beauty in a culture obsessed with outward appearances. Kevin Spacey plays Lester Burnham, a man in his mid-40s going through an intense midlife crisis; he's grown cynical and is convinced that he has no reason to go on. Lester's relationship with his wife Carolyn (Annette Bening) is not a warm one; while on the surface Carolyn strives to present the image that she's in full control of her life, inside she feels empty and desperate. Their teenage daughter Jane (Thora Birch) is constantly depressed, lacking in self-esteem, and convinced that she's unattractive. Her problems aren't helped by her best friend Angela (Mena Suvari), an aspiring model who is quite beautiful and believes that that alone makes her a worthwhile person. Jane isn't the only one who has noticed that Angela is attractive: Lester has fallen into uncontrollable lust for her, and she becomes part of his drastic plan to change his body and change his life. Meanwhile, next door, Colonel Fitts (Chris Cooper) has spent a lifetime in the Marine Corps and can understand and tolerate no other way of life, which makes life difficult for his son Ricky (Wes Bentley), an aspiring filmmaker and part-time drug dealer who is obsessed with beauty, wherever and whatever it may be. American Beauty was also the screen debut for screenwriter Alan Ball. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Category: Comedy Drama

Awards: Best Picture - Drama – null Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama – null Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama – null Best Director – null Best Screenplay – null Best Original Score – null Best Director - Feature Film – Directors Guild of America Best Director – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Actor – Screen Actors Guild Best Female Actor in a Leading Role – Screen Actors Guild Best Supporting Actor – Screen Actors Guild Best Performance by a Cast – Screen Actors Guild Best Original Screenplay – Writers Guild of America Best Picture – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Director – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Original Screenplay – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Actress – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Actor – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Supporting Actress – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Supporting Actress – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Film Music – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Cinematography – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Production Design – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Editing – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Editing – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Makeup and Hair – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Makeup and Hair – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Outstanding Achievement Award – American Society of Cinematographers Best Foreign Film – French Academy of Cinema Best Picture – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Director – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Original Screenplay – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Actor – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Actress – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Cinematography – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Director – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Editing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Original Score – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Original Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Breakthrough Performance by an Actor – National Board of Review Best Picture – National Board of Review Best Actor – Toronto Film Critics Association Best Director [Runner-up] – Toronto Film Critics Association Best Screenplay [Runner-up] – Toronto Film Critics Association Best Picture – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Director – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Actor – Chicago Film Critics Association Most Promising Actor – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Cinematography – National Society of Film Critics Best Cinematography – American Society of Cinematographers Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Original Score – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Picture - Drama – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Supporting Actor – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Screenplay – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Director – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Features: "American Beauty: Look Closer...": Behind-the-scenes featurette
Film commentary with director Sam Mendes and writer Alan Ball
Storyboard presentation with commentary by Sam Mendes and director of photography Conrad L. Hall
Digital screenplay with corresponding film footage and storyboards
Cast and crew biographies
Two theatrical trailers
Production notes

American Beauty

Format: DVD

Release Date: 10/24/2000

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Cinemascope

Audio: DTS Digital Theater Systems, DDS Dolby Digital Surround

Runtime: 122 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Subtitles: English

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Scene Index
0. Scene Index
1. The High Point of My Day (Main Title) [4:23]
2. Job Description [5:54]
3. I Will Sell This House Today [3:32]
4. The Gym [5:12]
5. Spectacular [4:46]
6. Welcome to the Neighborhood [2:36]
7. I'm Just Curious [3:32]
8. My Personal Hero [5:49]
9. I Love Root Beer [4:02]
10. America's Weirdest Home Videos [2:37]
11. Choking the Bishop [3:40]
12. I Want to Look Good Naked [3:53]
13. Mom's Mad [1:20]
14. An Ordinary Guy with Nothing to Lose [4:05]
15. The Royal Treatment [4:18]
16. The Most Beautiful Thing [5:12]
17. Pass the Asparagus [4:14]
18. Don't Give Up on Me Dad [4:10]
19. Mr. Smarty Man [:01]
20. Massive Psycholoical Damage [4:20]
21. The Day You Die [5:33]
22. Smile, You're at Mr. Smiley's [3:30]
23. You Like Muscles? [5:46]
24. Our Marriage is Just for Show [6:02]
25. You Couldn't Be Ordinary If You Tried [3:44]
26. I'm Great [6:18]
27. My Stupid Little Life [3:04]
28. End Credits [4:07]

Lucia Bozzola

A darkly comic critique of suburban stupor with a measured touch of redemption, American Beauty became the most laureled film of 1999. As written by Alan Ball and directed by theatre wunderkind/film neophyte Sam Mendes, the tale of Lester Burnham's final year of life keenly delves into the repressed desires, rampant materialism, skewed values, and gnawing insecurities lurking behind the crisply manicured lawns and meticulously decorated houses lining Any Street, USA. Anchored by Kevin Spacey's gleefully sardonic yet sensitively attuned performance as doomed "seeker" Lester, the superb ensemble cast of adults and teens (including Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Chris Cooper and newcomers Wes Bentley and Mena Suvari) navigate the myriad dysfunctions with wit and flashes of pathos. Complementing the voiced desire for some kind of escape, Lester's and video voyeur Ricky Fitts' search for beauty in the mundane, whether in rose petal-strewn dreams or grainy images of a dancing bag, is given luminous life by veteran cinematographer Conrad L. Hall. Despite the complaint from a few critics that it did not truly "look closer" at the terrain previously covered by The Ice Storm (1997), Happiness (1998), and Blue Velvet (1986), American Beauty garnered several critics' circle prizes and a fistful of Golden Globes on the way to winning the Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor and Best Cinematography. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Marissa Jaret Winokur  Actor 
Bruce Cohen  Producer 
Thomas Newman  Composer (Music Score) 
Dan Jinks  Producer 
Sam Mendes  Director 
Alan Ball  Screenwriter 
Kevin Spacey  Actor 
Annette Bening  Actor 
Thora Birch  Actor 
Wes Bentley  Actor 
Mena Suvari  Actor 
Chris Cooper  Actor 
Peter Gallagher  Actor 
Allison Janney  Actor 
Scott Bakula  Actor 
Sam Robards  Actor 

Country: USA