Ides of March

Theatrical Release Date: 2011 10 07 (USA - Limited)

UPC: 043396392465

Studio: Sony Pictures

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Profanity]

Summary: George Clooney goes behind the camera for the fourth time to direct The Ides of March, an adaptation of Beau Willimon's play Farragut North. The movie stars Ryan Gosling as Stephen Meyers, an idealistic deputy campaign manager for Governor Mike Morris (Clooney), who is in a major political battle in Ohio that could be the key to winning the Democratic presidential nomination. When the opposing candidate's campaign manager (Paul Giamatti) offers Stephen a job on his staff, Stephen neglects to inform his boss (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Just as that omission is revealed, Stephen uncovers a dirty personal secret that could sink Morris' political career. The Ides of March screened at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: Film Presented – Toronto International Film Festival Film Presented – London Film Festival Best Picture – National Board of Review Best Acting Ensemble – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Actor in a Drama – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Screenplay – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Picture - Drama – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Screenplay – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Director – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Screenplay – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Picture – Producers Guild of America Best Picture – Producers Guild of America Best Picture – Producers Guild of America Best Adapted Screenplay – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Adapted Screenplay – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Supporting Actor – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Adapted Screenplay – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Adapted Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Adapted Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Adapted Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Features: Commentary with George Clooney and Grant Heslov
Believe: George Clooney
On the Campaign: The Cast of The Ides of March

Blu-ray Exclusives
Developing The Campaign: The Origins of The Ides of March
What Does a Political Consultant Do?

Ides of March

Format: Blu-ray

Release Date: 01/17/2012

Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 2.40:1

Audio: DHMA null, DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 101 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Subtitles: English,Spanish

Perry Seibert

As a director, George Clooney has done a solid job of trying different genres, but the two themes he returns to each and every time are, invariably, the media and politics. The Ides of March focuses so intensely on these two subjects that you shouldn't need to see the director's credit to know it's his film. Adapted from Beau Willimon's play Farragut North, the movie stars Ryan Gosling as Stephen Myers, a campaign press secretary for a governor (Clooney) who is in a tight race to become the Democratic presidential nominee. Stephen is the wunderkind on the campaign, earning the trust of his boss Paul (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and commanding the respect of the staffers and volunteers. But Stephen is involved in this particular campaign because he's a true believer in what Governor Mike Morris stands for, and he knows in his heart he will be an excellent president. One day, Stephen gets a call from Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti), the campaign manager for Morris' rival in the primaries, and Tom offers the young man a chance to jump ship; he explains how his candidate is going to run away with the victory and that for Stephen's own good he should join them. Just as Stephen gets this intriguing proposition, he learns from Molly Stearns (Evan Rachel Wood), a staffer he's been sleeping with, that Morris may have a skeleton in his closet that could torpedo not just the campaign, but his political career as well. In a cast this impressive, it's a sign of his genuine star power that Ryan Gosling carries this movie. He's in just about every scene, and it's the crumbling of Stephen's innocence that provides the movie's backbone. He has a scene early on with a reporter, played by Marisa Tomei, where his idealism about Morris is laid bare, and the penultimate scene in the movie has the two meeting face to face again. These two scenes illustrate not only Stephen's journey, but how talented Gosling is -- how fully he can take his seemingly effortless charisma and curdle it into something dark and foreboding. Even if you were unaware of the movie's source material, it's fairly obvious that The Ides of March is based on a stage play. The big moments are all thrilling monologues, and seemingly every member of this powerhouse cast gets one, with Paul Giamatti making the most-vivid impression when he explains to the na?ve Stephen all the things his idealism didn't allow him to see. Clooney smartly adds some darkness to his own stereotypical screen persona -- he was savvy to cast himself in the part. And Hoffman has all the brusque, no-nonsense focus of a man who has spent his life getting other people to do what he wants them to. For all the expert acting, though, there is a flaw in the narrative that's troublesome. Namely, Stephen seems to let go of his innocence a little too easily. When he finally sees the whole truth of the situation, when he understands how all the sides are playing the game, his cynicism arrives too quickly -- so much so that we don't have time to mourn the loss of the person he used to be. The film is admirably brief, but a few more scenes of Stephen wrestling with his conscience might have given it a more-satisfying dramatic payoff. But that's not to say that The Ides of March fails as drama. The ending certainly packs a punch thanks to Gosling's immense skill, and the entire movie has been crafted by Clooney to showcase his actors. It's the work of a professional filmmaker who wants to give audiences a good time, but still wants to bring up a few unpleasant truths while he's at it. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Cast and Crew: George Clooney  Director 
George Clooney  Producer 
George Clooney  Screenwriter 
Leonardo DiCaprio  Executive Producer 
Grant Heslov  Producer 
Grant Heslov  Screenwriter 
Nigel Sinclair  Executive Producer 
Guy East  Executive Producer 
Alexandre Desplat  Composer (Music Score) 
Stephen Pevner  Executive Producer 
Nina Wolarsky  Executive Producer 
Barbara Hall  Executive Producer 
Beau Willimon  Screenwriter 
Jennifer Davisson Killoran  Executive Producer 
Brian Oliver  Producer 
Todd Thompson  Executive Producer 
Ryan Gosling  Actor 
George Clooney  Actor 
Philip Seymour Hoffman  Actor 
Paul Giamatti  Actor 
Evan Rachel Wood  Actor 
Marisa Tomei  Actor 
Jeffrey Wright  Actor 
Max Minghella  Actor 
Jennifer Ehle  Actor 
Gregory Itzin  Actor 
Michael Mantell  Actor 
Yuriy Sardarov  Actor 
Bella Ivory  Actor 
Maya Sayre  Actor 
Danny Mooney  Actor 
John Manfredi  Actor 
Robert Mervak  Actor 
Fabio Polanco  Actor 
Frank Jones, Jr.  Actor 
Rohn Thomas  Actor 
Peter Harpen  Actor 
David McConnell  Actor 
Mark Stacey White  Actor 
Lauren Wainwright  Actor 
Kris Reilly  Actor 
Michael D. Ellison  Actor 
Jill Hayley Meyers  Actor 
Leslie McCurdy  Actor 
Rob Braun  Actor 
Rachel Maddow  Actor 
Chris Matthews  Actor 
Charlie Rose  Actor 
Deb Dixon  Actor 
Neal Anthony Rubin  Actor 
Loretta Higgins  Actor 
Joe Dinda  Actor 
John Repulski  Actor 
Cherie Bowman  Actor 

Country: USA