Short Cuts

UPC: 715515033626

Studio: Criterion

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Nudity, Adult Situations, Not For Children]

Summary: Based on stories by Raymond Carver, Short Cuts follows 22 Los Angeles residents whose lives intersect over the course of a few days. Ann and Howard Finnegan (Andie MacDowell and Bruce Davison) are preparing for their son Casey's birthday party when the boy is injured in an auto accident and falls into a coma. Meanwhile, Andy (Lyle Lovett), a baker, seethes with anger over the birthday cake that wasn't claimed, and Howard's father, Paul (Jack Lemmon), decides that a visit with his ailing grandson is a good time to discuss his infidelities. Lois (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is a new mother who watches over her baby when not making money doing phone sex, which bothers her husband, Jerry (Chris Penn), though he knows they need the money. Pilot "Stormy" Weathers (Peter Gallagher) takes a very literal approach to dividing up community property with his ex-wife (Frances McDormand). Doreen (Lily Tomlin) is trying on to hold her marriage with Earl (Tom Waits), who is a good man on the rare occasions that he's sober. Zoe (Lori Singer), a classical musician, is trying to find some way to connect with her mother, Tess (Annie Ross), a jazz singer. Dr. Ralph Wyman (Matthew Modine) and his wife, Marian (Julianne Moore) put their bickering on hold while they have dinner with another couple, Stuart and Claire Kane (Fred Ward and Anne Archer). Stuart and his pals Gordon and Vern (Buck Henry and Huey Lewis) earlier went on a fishing trip where they discovered the body of a drowned woman but decided not to report it until the end of the weekend. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: Best Screenplay – null Special Achievement – null Best Screenplay – null Best Director – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – National Board of Review Golden Lion – Venice International Film Festival Best Picture – Independent Spirit Awards Best Director – Independent Spirit Awards Best Screenplay – Independent Spirit Awards Best Screenplay – Independent Spirit Awards Best Supporting Actress – Independent Spirit Awards Best Supporting Actress – National Society of Film Critics Best Screenplay – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Special Achievement – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Screenplay – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Foreign Film – French Academy of Cinema

Features: Disc One:
Restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised by editor Geraldine Peroni and approved by director Robert Altman
Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack mix, plus isolated music track

Disc Two:
Video conversation between Robert Altman and Tim Robbins
Luck, Trust and Ketchup: Robert Altman in Carver Country, a feature-length documentary on the making of Short Cuts
To Write and Keep Kind, a PBS documentary on the life of Raymond Carver
Segment from BBC Television's Moving Pictures tracing the screenplay's development
One-hour 1983 audio interview with Carver, conducted for the American Audio Prose Library
Original demo recordings of the Doc Pomus - Mac Rebennack songs, performed by Dr. John
Deleted scenes
A look inside the marketing of Short Cuts

Short Cuts

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 10/14/2008

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Cinemascope

Audio: DD2 Dolby Digital Stereo, DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 183 Minutes

Sides: 2

Number of Discs: 2

Language(s) English

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1 -- Short Cuts: Feature Film
1. Logos [:26]
2. Opening Credits [9:14]
3. "Prisoner of Life" [2:43]
4. Stormy Weathers [4:52]
5. "Neighbors" [4:14]
6. "C-R-A-C-K" [6:25]
7. Casey's Accident [4:04]
8. "A Stroke of Luck" [4:18]
9. "Casey, Wake Up!" [3:33]
10. "One Big Candle" [2:15]
11. Dr. Wyman [2:34]
12. "How Many Clowns Can You Fit in That Car/" [3:31]
13. The Body [4:13]
14. Suzy Is Missing [4:10]
15. "Beyond Natural Color" [2:17]
16. Birthday Party [5:02]
17. "Conversation On a Bar Stool" [4:39]
18. String Players Are Weird [6:24]
19. Father and Son [6:56]
20. Hit and Run [6:14]
21. "He's Playing Around" [7:15]
22. "An Unlucky Day" [7:24]
23. Virtual Reality [5:32]
24. "We Found a Body Up There" [3:38]
25. "To Hell With Love" [8:56]
26. "Till the Wheels Come Off" [7:20]
27. "This Is Your Lucky Day" [5:32]
28. Code Blue [6:57]
29. "Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?" [9:11]
30. Jeopardy [6:16]
31. "I Don't Know You" [8:23]
32. Behind Closed Doors [3:36]
33. "A Smokin' Good Time" [5:55]
34. "I Threw It Away" [1:56]
35. The Earthquake [5:59]
36. "Here's to Lemonade"/End Credits [5:45]
Disc #2 -- Short Cuts: Supplements
1. Altman and Carver [2:18]
2. Tess Gallagher [1:53]
3. Adapting Carver [2:29]
4. Altman's Career [1:39]
5. Lily Tomlin and Tom Waits [3:05]
6. On Storytelling [1:40]
7. Tim Robbins and Madeleine Stowe [6:57]
8. Fishing [3:32]
9. "The Thingness of the Body" [1:43]
10. Experiments [3:41]
11. Tension and Menace [3:05]
12. Carver in Altman Country [4:03]
13. Trust [3:20]
14. Anne Archer and Fred Ward [4:30]
15. "Lemonade" [2:13]
16. Lori Singer [2:23]
17. Annie Ross [4:37]
18. The Low Note [2:50]
19. Luck [4:10]
20. Jack Lemmon [4:23]
21. Lyle Lovett [3:20]
22. Dailies [4:26]
23. Sexuality [3:30]
24. Trusting the Moment [6:44]
25. Appreciations [3:27]
26. Ketchup: End Credits [3:46]
1. "No Need" [3:46]
2. "Shiftless" [5:22]
3. "The Other Life" [7:04]
4. "From the East, Light" [4:52]
5. "Chef's House" [2:35]
6. "Cheers" [3:28]
7. "The Best Time of the Day" [5:39]
8. "The Cobweb" [2:48]
9. "The River" [4:38]
10. "Cathedral" [4:55]
11. "Errand" [2:36]
12. "Late Fragments"/Credits [8:56]

Mark Deming

A dazzling and dizzying adaptation of short stories by Raymond Carver, Short Cuts ranks with the finest work of Robert Altman's career; it's the sort of sprawling but intimate character piece for which he became known with such earlier classics as MASH (1970), Nashville (1975), and The Player (1992). While Altman's busy, overcrowded style might not seem a good match for Carver's clean lines and minimalist prose, Altman demonstrates an intuitive feel for the sleazy underside of Los Angeles (relocated from the Pacific Northwest in the original stories) that Carver's characters call home, and, like Carver, he knows how to let his characters express themselves with small gestures that say more than long speeches. The stories wind around each other with just enough connecting threads to hold the tapestry together. And as is his hallmark, Altman has assembled a superb cast and given them plenty of room to work; Jack Lemmon's monologue about cheating on his wife may be one of the finest dramatic moments of his career, and celebrated jazz singer Annie Ross creates an unforgettable portrait of a woman lost in her music. Short Cuts is the work of a master filmmaker in full command of his craft, and it's so absorbing that at the end of its three-hour running time, you may find yourself wishing you could spend even more time with these characters. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Greg Cohen  Actor 
Jarrett Lennon  Actor 
Danny Darst  Actor 
Jane Alden  Actor 
Robert DoQui  Actor 
Michael Beach  Actor 
Jerry Dunphy  Actor 
Natalie Strong  Actor 
Terry Adams  Actor 
Jay Della  Actor 
Dirk Blocker  Actor 
Debbie Falconer  Actor 
Alex Trebek  Actor 
Susie Cusack  Actor 
Charles Rocket  Actor 
Darnell Williams  Actor 
Andi Chapman  Actor 
Frank Barhydt  Screenwriter 
Robert Altman  Director 
Robert Altman  Producer 
Robert Altman  Screenwriter 
Cary Brokaw  Producer 
Scott Bushnell  Executive Producer 
Mark Isham  Composer (Music Score) 
Andie MacDowell  Actor 
Bruce Davison  Actor 
Tim Robbins  Actor 
Chris Penn  Actor 
Julianne Moore  Actor 
Matthew Modine  Actor 
Anne Archer  Actor 
Fred Ward  Actor 
Jack Lemmon  Actor 
Jennifer Jason Leigh  Actor 
Lili Taylor  Actor 
Robert Downey, Jr.  Actor 
Madeleine Stowe  Actor 
Lily Tomlin  Actor 
Tom Waits  Actor 
Frances McDormand  Actor 
Peter Gallagher  Actor 
Annie Ross  Actor 
Lori Singer  Actor 
Lyle Lovett  Actor 
Buck Henry  Actor 
Huey Lewis  Actor 

Country: USA