American Splendor

Theatrical Release Date: 2003 08 15 (USA - Limited)

UPC: 026359203121

Studio: HBO Home Video

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Adult Situations, Adult Humor, Profanity, Sexual Situations]

Summary: The documentary directing team of Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman makes their narrative feature debut with the biographical comedy drama American Splendor. Harvey Pekar (Paul Giamatti) is a comic book writer inspired by the work of his friend Robert Crumb (James Urbaniak). Pekar writes his comics about the sad monotony of everyday life, based on his own life in Cleveland, OH, working as a file clerk at a veteran's hospital and spending his time reading books and listening to jazz. He meets up with Joyce Brabner (Hope Davis) and they enjoy a depressive relationship together. The filmmakers employ a combination of live-action film, video, and animation, including narration and commentary from the real-life Harvey Pekar. The screenplay was based on Pekar's comic book series American Splendor, which he has been writing since 1976 on Dark Horse Comics, and the 1994 book-length comic Our Cancer Year, written by Pekar and Brabner. American Splendor won the Grand Jury Prize in the Dramatic Competition at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

Category: Comedy Drama

Awards: Dramatic Grand Jury Prize – Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize – Deauville Film Festival Best Supporting Actress – null Best Picture – National Society of Film Critics Best Screenplay – National Society of Film Critics Best Screenplay – National Society of Film Critics Best Actor - Runner-up – National Society of Film Critics Best Picture – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Screenplay – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Screenplay – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Adapted Screenplay – Writers Guild of America Best Adapted Screenplay – Writers Guild of America Best Adapted Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Adapted Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Breakthrough Actor – National Board of Review Special Recognition for Excellence in Filmmaking – National Board of Review Best Picture – Independent Spirit Awards Best Director – Independent Spirit Awards Best Director – Independent Spirit Awards Best Screenplay – Independent Spirit Awards Best Screenplay – Independent Spirit Awards Best Actor – Independent Spirit Awards Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Independent Spirit Awards Best First Feature – Toronto Film Critics Association Best First Feature – Toronto Film Critics Association Best Picture – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Screenplay – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Screenplay – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Actor – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Actress – Chicago Film Critics Association Most Promising Filmmaker – Chicago Film Critics Association Most Promising Filmmaker – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Picture – American Film Institute Best Actress – New York Film Critics Circle Best First Film – New York Film Critics Circle Best First Film – New York Film Critics Circle Best Supporting Actor – Independent Spirit Awards Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Moti – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Features: ccGroup audio commentary with directors and cast (including Harvey Pekar)
HBO featurette "Road to Splendor"
Audio version of Eytan Mirsky's "American Splendor" song Original theatrical trailer
Trailers for other HBO productions
Animated menus
Harvey Pekar's "My Movie Year" comic book insert
Website downloads
DVD-ROM features

American Splendor

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 02/03/2004

Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Alternate Wide Screen

Audio: DS Dolby Surround (4.0)

Runtime: 101 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Chapters: Side #1 --
1. Story Begins... [3:39]
2. Here's Our Man [4:18]
3. Flunky File Clerk [3:11]
4. Bob and Harv [5:14]
5. Standing Behind Old Jewish Ladies in Supermarket Line [5:04]
6. Words and Pictures [2:14]
7. From off the Streets of Cleveland [3:49]
8. Jellybeans, Lentils and Lent [4:55]
9. Alice Quinn and Jennie Gerhardt [4:43]
10. Dear Mr. Pekar... [4:28]
11. I Think We Should Skip the Whole Courtship Thing [7:25]
12. What Kind of Girl Is Your New Bride? [4:49]
13. Signs of Trouble [2:38]
14. Delusions of Grandeur [4:05]
15. Late Night With Harvey Pekar [10:06]
16. Startin' to Lost It [4:17]
17. You F----d Up a Great Thing [3:28]
18. Our Cancer Year [6:14]
19. Treatment Begins [1:52]
20. Who Is Harvey Pekar? [4:32]
21. Part of the Story [6:18]
22. Credits [3:38]

Josh Ralske

The best thing about the film adaptation of American Splendor is that it captures Harvey Pekar's unique voice, and the comic book's bristly tone. This is no small feat. Directors/screenwriters Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini cannily integrate documentary footage of Pekar, his wife, Joyce Brabner, and others commenting on the film and the real events that the film depicts. A black-and-white animated version of Pekar also appears frequently. At one point, Pekar (Paul Giamatti) leaves Brabner (Hope Davis) in the green room to appear on David Letterman's show. Davis watches the monitor as actual footage of Pekar's appearance is seen on the monitor. The filmmakers sacrifice some narrative momentum with their technique, but it's well worth it because American Splendor ends up capturing Pekar in all his uncompromisingly grizzled glory in a way that a straightforward biopic wouldn't have. Pekar has always tried to avoid pandering to his audience, and to the filmmakers' credit, they don't try to soft-pedal him; even when dealing with a character's terminal illness, they avoid any kind of sentimentality. Giamatti delivers a wonderfully cranky performance in the title role, while Davis is dependably superb as the hypochondriac and insanely impulsive Brabner. James Urbaniak brings depth to what could have been a cartoonish role as comic book artist Robert Crumb, while Judah Friedlander is surprisingly spot-on as the genuinely cartoonish Toby Radloff, Pekar's longtime friend and co-worker. Pekar's brittle relationships with Brabner and Radloff set the tone for the film. These aren't lovable goofballs, so much as full-bodied characters of whom one's opinion changes, depending on how they're behaving in a particular scene. The filmmakers allow the viewer to make up his or her own mind about these complex people, and that is the best service they could have paid to Pekar's work. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Mark Suozzo  Composer (Music Score) 
Ted Hope  Producer 
Shari Springer Berman  Director 
Shari Springer Berman  Screenwriter 
Robert Pulcini  Director 
Robert Pulcini  Screenwriter 
Paul Giamatti  Actor 
Hope Davis  Actor 
Harvey Pekar  Actor 
Shari Springer Berman  Actor 
James Urbaniak  Actor 
Judah Friedlander  Actor 
Earl Billings  Actor 
Joyce Brabner  Actor 
Madylin Sweeten  Actor 
James McCaffrey  Actor 
Danielle Batone  Actor 
Maggie Moore  Actor 

Country: USA