Sunshine

Theatrical Release Date: 2000 06 09 (USA - Limited)

UPC: 097363388043

Studio: Paramount

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Violence, Nudity, Adult Language, Sexual Situations]

Summary: The fortunes of a family of Hungarian Jews are followed over the course of nearly 150 years in this epic historical drama, with leading man Ralph Fiennes playing three different roles. The story begins in the late 18th century, as Aaron and Josefa Sonnenschein (the name means "Sunshine" in German) die in an explosion while making an herb tonic for sale in their village. Their son Emmanuel (David de Keyser), the only survivor of the tragedy, travels to Budapest, carrying the recipe for the medicine with him. He's able to parlay the formula into a successful business, and Emmanuel and his wife Rose (Miriam Margolyes) raise two sons, Ignatz (Ralph Fiennes), who becomes a successful lawyer, and hot-tempered Gustave (James Frain). The Sonnenscheins also make room in their home for Valerie (Jennifer Ehle), but Emmanuel and Rose become furious when Valerie becomes romantically involved with Ignatz. Eventually, Valerie and Ignatz raise two children, Istvan (Mark Strong) and Adam (Ralph Fiennes), and the family changes its name to Sors in hopes of avoiding the anti-Semitism sweeping Europe. In time, Adam goes so far as to convert to Catholicism, and he marries another Catholic, Hannah (Molly Parker). He soon begins an affair with his brother's wife, Greta (Rachel Weisz), who is unable to persuade Adam to leave as the Nazis rise to power. Adam and Hannah have only one son, Ivan, who is fated to watch his father die in a concentration camp; as Ivan grows to adulthood (now played by Ralph Fiennes), he swears revenge on the forces of fascism and embraces Communism. Ivan throws in his lot with Communist leader Andor Knorr (William Hurt), but a liaison with the wife of a party official (Deborah Kara Unger) leads Ivan to tragic consequences and a jail term. In time, Valarie and Gustave are reunited at the family's estate as the only two members of the Sonnenschein clan who survive to witness the Hungarian Revolution in 1956. Hungarian director Istvan Szabo co-wrote Sunshine's original screenplay in collaboration with American playwright Israel Horovitz. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Category: Epic

Awards: Best Actor – European Film Academy Best European Screenwriter – European Film Academy Best European Screenwriter – European Film Academy Best Cinematography – European Film Academy Best Picture - Drama – null Best Director – null Best Original Score – null Best Picture – National Board of Review Best Picture – Genie Awards Best Original Score – Genie Awards Best Actor – Genie Awards Best Actress – Genie Awards Best Actress – Genie Awards Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Genie Awards Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Genie Awards Best Supporting Actress – Genie Awards Best Supporting Actress – Genie Awards Best Director – Genie Awards Best Costume Design – Genie Awards Best Sound – Genie Awards Best Sound – Genie Awards Best Sound – Genie Awards Best Sound – Genie Awards Best Sound Editing – Genie Awards Best Sound Editing – Genie Awards Best Sound Editing – Genie Awards Best Sound Editing – Genie Awards Best Sound Editing – Genie Awards Best Supporting Actor – Genie Awards Best Original Score – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Picture - Drama – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Supporting Actor – Genie Awards Best Director – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Features: Widescreen version enhanced for 16:9 TVs
Dolby Digital: English 5.1 Surround; English Dolby Surround
English subtitles
Interactive menus
Scene selection

Sunshine

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 05/08/2001

Audio: 5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, 2 PCM stereo

Runtime: 180 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Subtitles: English

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 --
0. Scene Selection
1. Main Credits [:50]
2. Emmanuel's Warning To Ignatz [1:44]
3. Valerie Visits Ignatz In Vienna [9:32]
4. Ignatz Returns To Budapest [:35]
5. Changing Their Names [2:51]
6. Ignatz And Valerie's Wedding [2:28]
7. "you're A Bright Young Man, Sors." [:36]
8. The Invitation To Join The Ruling Class [1:52]
9. Ignatz Meets Emperor Franz Joseph [3:00]
10. A Family Separated By War [1:02]
11. The Monarchy Crumbles And Revolution Erupts [6:41]
12. Adam Becomes A Fencing Master [3:14]
13. Conversion And Assimilation: Adam Joins The Officers' Club [2:04]
14. Choosing A Winning Team [6:50]
15. Victory At The Olympics [2:32]
16. Adam's Affair With Greta [3:04]
17. The Jewish Laws [4:51]
18. Exile And Torture In The Labor Camp [4:57]
19. After The War: Gustave And Ivan Return Home [1:08]
20. Identifying And Interrogating The Collaborators [8:09]
21. Ivan And Carole Escape The Dreary Function [1:11]
22. The Family Rediscover The Taste Fo Sunshine [6:22]
23. Ivan And Carole's Illicit Affair [2:01]
24. Unvocering A Monstrous Jewish Conspiracy [3:18]
25. Andor Knorr's Confession [3:10]
26. Ivan's Speech At Andor's Funeral [5:25]
27. The Revolution Is Put Down And Ivan Jailed [5:56]
28. Ivan Finds Emmanuel's Letter To Ignatz [3:15]
29. End Credits [:50]

Karl Williams

A heartbreaking portrait of three generations in a Hungarian-Jewish family, the multinational co-production Sunshine (1999) is the most successful narrative film from co-writer and director Istvan Szabo since his Oscar-nominated films of the 1980s. With Ralph Fiennes, Szabo at last finds a worthy collaborator to replace his memorable trilogy of films with Klaus-Maria Brandauer. Tackling three different roles that encompass a family's 20th century history, Fiennes is most remarkable in the middle of his triptych. As Adam Sors, Olympic fencing star and victim of fascist atrocity, Fiennes creates a stark portrait of indomitable pride that creates a satisfying bookend to his blazing role earlier in the decade as a Nazi in Schindler's List (1993). If at times his film strays too far afield, displaying the literary pretensions of so much European cinema in the latter part of the century, Szabo manages each time to snap back into a breathtakingly merciless confessional mode that never fails to shock and surprise. Sunshine is a remarkable self-examination of a family broken by fate and political philosophy but finding its way back to its roots. It's also an important film that charts a possible route of navigation out of a long-suffering Europe's turmoil and into an enlightened peace. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Gábor Máté  Actor 
Peter Halasz  Actor 
Katja Studt  Actor 
Jacint Juhasz  Actor 
Ila Schütz  Actor 
Támas Juranics  Actor 
Lászl Szepesi  Actor 
Balazs Hantos  Actor 
Mari Töröcsik  Actor 
Lajos Kovács  Actor 
Gyorgy Kezdy  Actor 
Tamás Fodor  Actor 
Ádám László  Actor 
Bálint Trunká  Actor 
Sandor Simo  Actor 
Frigyes Hollosy  Actor 
Janos Kulka  Actor 
Dr. Zoltán Bognár  Actor 
Kotáany Bence  Actor 
Kati Sályom  Actor 
Peter Andorai  Actor 
Andras Fekete  Actor 
Attila Lote  Actor 
Istvan Bubik  Actor 
Ica Gurnik  Actor 
János Nemes  Actor 
Frederick Treves  Actor 
Buddy Elias  Actor 
Vilmos Kun  Actor 
Andrea Fullajtar  Actor 
István Fonyá  Actor 
János Nemes  Actor 
János Vészi  Actor 
Jozsef Fonyo  Actor 
Gabor Szabo  Actor 
Tamas Jordan  Actor 
Andras Stohl  Actor 
Kathleen Gati  Actor 
Sándor Dánffy  Actor 
Zsolt László  Actor 
Péter Takács  Actor 
Zoltan Gera  Actor 
Adam Rajhona  Actor 
Joachim Bissemeyer  Actor 
Eszter Onodi  Actor 
Lászl Gálfi  Actor 
Tamás Raj  Actor 
Trevor Peacock  Actor 
Israel Horovitz  Actor 
Istvan Hirtling  Actor 
Eva Igo  Actor 
Karoly Mecs  Actor 
Zoltan Seress  Actor 
Tamás Keresztes  Actor 
István Szliágyi  Actor 
Andras Hamori  Producer 
Israel Horovitz  Screenwriter 
Maurice Jarre  Composer (Music Score) 
Robert Lantos  Producer 
István Szabó  Director 
István Szabó  Screenwriter 
Rainer Kolmel  Executive Producer 
Jonathan Debin  Executive Producer 
Bonnie Kanner  Executive Producer 
Ralph Fiennes  Actor 
Ralph Fiennes  Actor 
Ralph Fiennes  Actor 
Rosemary Harris  Actor 
Rachel Weisz  Actor 
Jennifer Ehle  Actor 
Molly Parker  Actor 
Deborah Kara Unger  Actor 
James Frain  Actor 
John Neville  Actor 
Miriam Margolyes  Actor 
David de Keyser  Actor 
Mark Strong  Actor 
William Hurt  Actor 
Bill Paterson  Actor 
Rüdiger Vogler  Actor 
Hanns Zischler  Actor 

Country: Canada,Germany,Hungary,Austria