Age of Innocence

UPC: 014381691320

Studio: Image

MPAA Rating: PG   Contains:[Adult Situations, Suitable for Children]

Summary: In Martin Scorsese's adaptation of Edith Wharton's 1920 novel, romance between an upper-class gentleman and an ostracized lady is doomed by 19th century New York society. Shortly after his engagement to blandly genteel May Welland (Winona Ryder), Newland Archer (Daniel Day-Lewis) is reacquainted with May's scandalous cousin Ellen Olenska (Michelle Pfeiffer). As the head of an esteemed family, Archer initially uses his standing to try to rehabilitate Ellen's reputation, but he finds himself increasingly drawn to her disregard for the codes of New York manners. Bound by ingrained society mores and his peers' insinuations, Newland tries to dodge his growing passion by rushing his marriage to May, but he cannot keep himself from confessing his love to Ellen. Recognizing that Newland could never abandon his sense of honor and be happy, Ellen pushes Newland to May and leaves town. The marriage proceeds as dictated, but when Newland unexpectedly sees Ellen again, he yearns for the affair to come to fruition. However, he underestimates not only what May knows but also her ability to uphold the rules of propriety. Sumptuously shot by Michael Ballhaus, the film offers meticulously designed costumes and settings that evoke a culture as seductively beautiful in its surfaces as it is stifling in its rituals. Unspoken emotions are expressed through such details as yellow roses or a clipped cigar, a fade to red or a single camera move. Using Wharton's original prose to comment on the setting's hypocrisies, Joanne Woodward's voiceover narration suggests how much decisive power is buried beneath dainty femininity. The Age of Innocence received five Oscar nominations, including Best Supporting Actress for Ryder and Best Screenplay for Scorsese and Jay Cocks, and a win for Best Costumes. Although The Age of Innocence seemed like a departure from Scorsese's prior work, Newland is as much at the mercy of his circle's Byzantine structure (and his own conscience) as are Scorsese's more familiar mobsters; Newland's persecutors just wear white tie and tails. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi

Category: Romance

Awards: Best Supporting Actress – 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 Picture - Drama – null Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama – null Best Supporting Actress – null Best Director – null Best Director – Directors Guild of America Best Adapted Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Adapted Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Art Direction – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Costume Design – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Score – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Supporting Actress – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – National Board of Review Best Director – National Board of Review Best Supporting Actress – National Board of Review Best Director – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Moti – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Picture - Drama – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Age of Innocence

Format: DVD

Release Date: 12/07/2010

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, DDS Dolby Digital Surround

Runtime: 138 Minutes

Language(s) English,French

Subtitles: English,French,Spanish,Portuguese

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 --
0. Scene Selections
1. Start [5:09]
2. The Welland Box [4:45]
3. The Annual Opera Ball [5:12]
4. Mrs. Mingott [9:40]
5. The Van Der Luydens [1:05]
6. Duke of St. Austrey Dinner [5:05]
7. Asking for His Help [4:50]
8. The Flower Shop [1:04]
9. The Aviary [2:37]
10. Talking Business [2:29]
11. The Shaughraun [3:47]
12. What She's Running From [5:29]
13. "Is There Someone Else?" [2:48]
14. "There's Another Woman" [6:20]
15. European Honeymoon [9:36]
16. Newport Archery Club [3:08]
17. The Blenker House [5:38]
18. Boston Common [2:07]
19. Why the Countess Stays [:07]
20. The Beaufort Finances [3:56]
21. In the Carriage [5:11]
22. The Art Museum [1:13]
23. Key to His Release [6:02]
24. Something Important to Say [5:28]
25. Farewell Dinner [1:22]
26. May's News [2:23]
27. In Paris [4:34]
28. Outside the Apartment [6:04]

Robert Firsching

The 1990s brought a number of films about forbidden romance in Victorian society. Apart from the contributions of James Ivory and Ismail Merchant, as well as Titanic and The Wings of the Dove, there was this beautifully acted, impeccably directed effort from Martin Scorsese. Repression and sexual longing are the order of the day, but Scorsese is too clever a filmmaker to allow Edith Wharton's themes of sacrifice and passion to lead him into melodrama. The film is about those things, but it is also a story about social and familial responsibility, one of the very few of its type in which the conventions of the time don't seem laughably hypocritical. These people are indeed playing emotional chess, and they are being very careful, because every move means a loss of one form or another. The cast is terrific and the production design is gorgeous, but -- like many of the public charades its characters are forced to enact -- there is more to this film than appearances. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Thomas Barbour  Actor 
Thomas Gibson  Actor 
W.B. Brydon  Actor 
Martin Scorsese  Actor 
Charles Scorsese  Actor 
Clement Fowler  Actor 
Brian Davies  Actor 
Catherine Scorsese  Actor 
Joanne Woodward  Actor 
Tracey Ellis  Actor 
Domenica Scorsese  Actor 
John McLoughlin  Actor 
Henry Fehren  Actor 
June Squibb  Actor 
Patricia Dunnock  Actor 
Claire Bloom  Actor 
Howard Erskine  Actor 
Zoe  Actor 
Elmer Bernstein  Composer (Music Score) 
Barbara de Fina  Producer 
Martin Scorsese  Director 
Martin Scorsese  Screenwriter 
Jay Cocks  Screenwriter 
Daniel Day-Lewis  Actor 
Michelle Pfeiffer  Actor 
Winona Ryder  Actor 
Miriam Margolyes  Actor 
Richard E. Grant  Actor 
Alec McCowen  Actor 
Geraldine Chaplin  Actor 
Mary Beth Hurt  Actor 
Stuart Wilson  Actor 
Sian Phillips  Actor 
Michael Gough  Actor 
Alexis Smith  Actor 
Norman Lloyd  Actor 
Jonathan Pryce  Actor 
Carolyn Farina  Actor 
Robert Sean Leonard  Actor 

Country: USA