Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Theatrical Release Date: 2008 12 19 (USA) / 2008 12 25 (USA)

UPC: 097361430744

Studio: Paramount

MPAA Rating: PG13   Contains:[Profanity, Sexual Situations, War Violence, Smoking]

Summary: David Fincher's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's story, re-teams the director with Brad Pitt, who takes on the title role. What makes Button such a curious case is that when he is born in New Orleans just after World War I, he is already in his eighties, and proceeds to live his life aging in reverse. This sweeping film follows the character's unusual life into the 21st century as he experiences joy and sadness, loves lost and found, and the meaning of timelessness. Cate Blanchett co-stars along with Tilda Swinton, Elias Koteas, and Julia Ormond. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: Best Cinematography – Houston Film Critics Best Art Direction – Las Vegas Film Critics Association Best Original Score – Phoenix Film Critics Association Best Picture – Phoenix Film Critics Association Best Adapted Screenplay – National Board of Review Best Picture – National Board of Review Best Director – National Board of Review Best Original Score – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Screenplay – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Director – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Art Direction – Washington D.C. Film Critics Association Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Picture - Drama – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Score – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Adapted Screenplay – Southeastern Film Critics Association Best Picture – Southeastern Film Critics Association Most Original, Innovative or Creative Film – St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Best Picture – St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Best Editing – Alliance of Women Film Journalists Best Composer – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Director – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Acting Ensemble – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Actress – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Picture – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Art Direction – San Diego Film Critics Association Best Adapted Screenplay – Southeastern Film Critics Association Best Picture – New York Film Critics Online Best Editing – Alliance of Women Film Journalists Best Screenplay – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actress – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Actor – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actress – Austin Film Critics Best Picture – Austin Film Critics Best Supporting Actress – Screen Actors Guild Best Performance by a Cast – Screen Actors Guild Best Actor – Screen Actors Guild Best Director – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Picture – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Picture – London Film Critics Association Best Original Score – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Cinematography – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Adapted Screenplay – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Picture – Houston Film Critics Best Costume Design – Las Vegas Film Critics Association Best Cinematography – Las Vegas Film Critics Association Best Cinematography – Phoenix Film Critics Association Screenwriter of the Year – London Film Critics Association Best Picture – Producers Guild of America Best Picture – American Film Institute Best Adapted Screenplay – Writers Guild of America Best Cinematographer – American Society of Cinematographers Best Adapted Screenplay – Writers Guild of America Best Director – Directors Guild of America Best Edited Feature - Drama – American Cinema Editors Guild Best Edited Feature - Drama – American Cinema Editors Guild Best Makeup and Hair – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Visual Effects – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Visual Effects – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Costume Design – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Production Design – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Cinematography – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Music – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Picture – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Art Direction in a Period Film – Costume Guild Awards Best Makeup and Hair – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Visual Effects – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Visual Effects – 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 Actor – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Adapted Screenplay – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Director – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Director – Vancouver Film Critics Best Adapted Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound Mixing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound Mixing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Actor – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Adapted Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound Mixing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound Mixing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Original Score – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Editing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Director – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Costume Design – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Cinematography – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Supporting Actress – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Director – London Film Critics Association Best Supporting British Actress – London Film Critics Association Best Visual Effects – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Visual Effects – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Makeup – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Art Direction – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Visual Effects – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Visual Effects – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Art Direction – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – Dallas/Fort Worth Film Critics Association Best Art Direction in a Period Film – Art Directors Guild

Features: Interviews with Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett
Audio commentary featuring academy award-nominated director David Fincher
Footage revealing the innovative techniques behind the academy award-winning visual effects and makeup
Step-by-step examination of the motion-capture process aging Brad Pitt
In-depth exploration of David Fincher's creative process on the set
Interview with acclaimed composer Alexandre Desplat about the score
Featurettes on the film's storyboards, costumes, and academy award-winning art direction
Stills galleries, including costume designs and candid behind-the-scenes
Production photos
Plus: an essay by film critic Kent Jones

Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Format: Blu-ray

Release Date: 05/05/2009

Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 2.40:1

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, DHMA null

Runtime: 165 Minutes

Sides: 2

Number of Discs: 2

Language(s) English,French,Spanish

Subtitles: English,French,Spanish

Region: Blu-ray region A (North America, Central America, South America, Japan, Taiwan, North Korea, South Korea, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia)

Jason Buchanan

Think back a bit. How many times have you heard an old man spout that time-honored clich?, "If I knew then what I know now, things would have been a lot different growing up." In The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a man has the extremely rare opportunity to do just that. Adapted from author F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story by director David Fincher and Oscar-winning screenwriter Eric Roth (Munich, Forrest Gump), the film allows us to take two journeys simultaneously -- one physical, and the other psychological. At its core, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is an inventive and involving mortality fantasy that isn't as much about the eponymous protagonist as it is about the people he meets along the way in life, and the profound effect they can have on his existence and world view -- even if their names tend to escape him from time to time. Benjamin Button came into this world with the body of an old man, but the spirit of a newborn child. Raised in a retirement home after being abandoned by his father, the grandfatherly boy always assumed he was just another resident like all the rest -- until the day he met the lovely Daisy. And while initial appearances may have suggested that Daisy was merely coming into this world while Benjamin was surely on his way out, the truth is that this remarkable pair was on a most curious collision course. Later, as the old man grows into a young lad and ventures out into the world aboard a rickety tugboat piloted by crusty but kindly Captain Mike (Jared Harris), he finally starts to realize what living is all about. We experience Benjamin's life through not only the entries he has made in his diary, but the fading recollections of Daisy, who now lays dying in a New Orleans hospital as Hurricane Katrina begins to shake the skies above. As a result, we start to understand how Benjamin's unique circumstances afforded him the opportunity to view life from a perspective that most people dream about, but no one ever lives. Director Fincher is more than up to the task of following Benjamin as he learns about life -- and women -- while working in a Russian port during World War II and becomes embroiled in a battle at sea after the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, and screenwriter Roth does a fantastic job of showing how Button's many experiences enriched his life while simultaneously giving him a profound appreciation for the human condition -- and the love of a beautiful woman. Together, Fincher's and Roth's talents yield a fable that wrestles with some pretty weighty concepts, but still has something for everyone. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is brimming with intriguing concepts and brilliant visual effects, making it a stimulating treat for both the eyes and the intellect. Perhaps it's a small miracle that Fincher never lets the story get so heady that it becomes adrift within its own elaborate, time-shifting universe and loses sight of the human drama that drives it, but then again, the story wouldn't be nearly as affecting without the many characters that guide our protagonist along the way. There's nary a moment that Brad Pitt isn't entirely believable as the humble traveler at the center of the film -- whether he's hobbling along as an adolescent septuagenarian early on, or turning up as a fresh-faced teen later in life. The chemistry he shares with co-star Cate Blanchett radiates through the masterful special-effects makeup and digital manipulation that they both don at various points in the film, and when Benjamin and Daisy both meet halfway in life, it's a joy to see them interact in their "natural" skins. Supporting players Harris, Taraji P. Henson, Jason Flemyng, and Tilda Swinton are all a pleasure to watch as well, and newcomer Rampai Mohadi makes a hearty impression with his brief role as a jovial Pygmy who gives Button his first taste of freedom. As a director, the last thing David Fincher could be accused of is excessive sentimentality. Yet, in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, we begin to see a side of Fincher that wasn't afforded to us in such cool-to-the-touch classics as Seven and Fight Club. So has one of modern cinema's great cynics gone soft? In a sense, yes -- at least this time out. But while some jaded cinemaphiles might make the case that Fincher has lost his creative edge only because he isn't shredding consumerism or damning conformity outright, who's to say that force can't be equally as effective when turned in the opposite direction? After all, wasn't Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Am?lie every bit as intoxicating and spirited as his dreamily dark feature debut, Delicatessen, or the frightfully bizarre City of Lost Children? Just like everyone else, filmmakers are people who change with time. Sometimes that change involves moving in a direction that may surprise fans; sometimes, sadly, it means losing their creative spark. Have no fear, Fincher still has his spark. The only difference from before is that this time the spark serves to illuminate, rather than burn. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Lois Hall  Actor 
Ed Metzger  Actor 
Peter D. Badalamenti  Actor 
Robert Towers  Actor 
David Fincher  Director 
David Fincher  Producer 
Kathleen Kennedy  Producer 
Frank Marshall  Producer 
Eric Roth  Screenwriter 
Alexandre Desplat  Composer (Music Score) 
Ceán Chaffin  Producer 
Brad Pitt  Actor 
Cate Blanchett  Actor 
Taraji P. Henson  Actor 
Julia Ormond  Actor 
Jason Flemyng  Actor 
Mahershalalhashbaz Ali  Actor 
Jared Harris  Actor 
Elias Koteas  Actor 
Phyllis Somerville  Actor 
Tilda Swinton  Actor 
Lance E. Nichols  Actor 
Rampai Mohadi  Actor 
Elle Fanning  Actor 
Madisen Beaty  Actor 

Country: USA