Sweet Hereafter

UPC: 794043465420

Studio: New Line Home Video

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

Summary: Atom Egoyan's haunting adaptation of the Russell Banks novel The Sweet Hereafter was the Canadian filmmaker's most successful film to date, taking home a Special Grand Jury Prize at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival and scoring a pair of Academy Award nominations, including Best Director. Restructured to fit Egoyan's signature mosaic narrative style, the story concerns the cultural aftershocks which tear apart a small British Columbia town in the wake of a school-bus accident which leaves a number of local children dead. Ian Holm stars as Mitchell Stephens, a big-city lawyer who arrives in the interest of uniting the survivors to initiate a lawsuit; his maneuvering only drives the community further apart, reopening old wounds and jeopardizing any hopes of emotional recovery. Like so many of Egoyan's features, The Sweet Hereafter is a serious and painfully honest exploration of family grief; no character is immune from the sense of utter devastation which grips the film, not even the attorney, whose interests are in part motivated by his own remorse over the fate of his daughter, an HIV-positive drug addict. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: Best Adapted Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Director – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Grand Jury Prize – Cannes Film Festival FIPRESCI Award – Cannes Film Festival Best Picture – National Board of Review Best Ensemble Acting – National Board of Review Best Foreign Film – Independent Spirit Awards Best Picture – Toronto Film Critics Association Best Actor – Toronto Film Critics Association Best Actress - Runner-up – Toronto Film Critics Association Best Director – Toronto Film Critics Association Best Canadian Film – Toronto Film Critics Association Best Picture (Runner-up) – National Society of Film Critics Best Picture – Genie Awards Best Orignal Score – Genie Awards Best Original Song – Genie Awards Best Original Song – Genie Awards Best Actor – 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 Director – Genie Awards Best Cinematography – Genie Awards Best Editing – Genie Awards Best Art Direction/Production Design – Genie Awards Best Art Direction/Production Design – Genie Awards Best Art Direction/Production Design – Genie Awards Best Costume Design – Genie Awards Best Screenplay – Genie Awards Best Sound – 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 Film Presented – Telluride Film Festival Best Supporting Actor – Genie Awards

Features: Widescreen version
Audio commentary by writer/director Atorn Egoyan and novelist Russell Banks
"Before and After The Sweet Hereafter" discussion with Russell Banks and Atom Egoyan
Q & A interviews with members of the cast
"The Charlie Rose Show" interview with Atom Egoyan
"The Pied Piper of Hamelin" by Robert Browning and illustrated by Kate Greenaway
Isolated score by composer Mychael Danna
U.S. and Canadian theatrical trailers
Biographies and filmographies

Sweet Hereafter

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 05/27/1998

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Cinemascope

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 116 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,French

Subtitles: English,French,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Scene Selections
0. Scene Selections
1. Head Credits [3:34]
2. Fathers And Daughters [4:02]
3. Car Wash To Schoolbus [3:19]
4. The Walkers [7:08]
5. Mitchell And Allison [1:45]
6. The Ottos [3:54]
7. Billy [3:29]
8. Grief [13:04]
9. Babysitting [8:15]
10. The Pied Piper [4:02]
11. That Morning [3:45]
12. The Spider Story [5:22]
13. Memories [4:10]
14. The Mind Is Kind [7:37]
15. Billy And Mitchell [7:21]
16. Dolores' Deposition [5:04]
17. Billy's Visit [5:14]
18. Sam And Nicole [:02]
19. Testament [4:25]
20. The Sweet Hereafter [8:32]
21. End Credits [3:40]

Matthew Doberman

Rarely has a film offered a more haunting, poignant look at the aftermath of a tragedy than director Atom Egoyan's The Sweet Hereafter, skillfully adapted from Russell Banks' novel of the same name. As the class-action lawyer who may be motivated by his own concerns, Ian Holm aids the director immensely with his complex, sympathetic performance. Egoyan's unparalleled visual aptitude is in full flourish: the chilly Canadian landscape is a character unto itself, and the director renders the tragic accident in a haunting, non-manipulative manner. Some objected to the downplaying of the novel's incest subplot, and the film's nonlinear, deliberate pace may not be to all tastes. As a delicate, challenging study of pain, grieving, and healing, The Sweet Hereafter is a singular moviegoing experience. ~ Matthew Doberman, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Peter Donaldson  Actor 
Brooke Johnson  Actor 
Earl Pastko  Actor 
Stephanie Morgenstern  Actor 
Caerthan Banks  Actor 
Sarah Polley  Composer (Music Score) 
Mychael Danna  Composer (Music Score) 
Atom Egoyan  Director 
Atom Egoyan  Producer 
Atom Egoyan  Screenwriter 
Andras Hamori  Executive Producer 
Robert Lantos  Executive Producer 
Camelia Frieberg  Producer 
Ian Holm  Actor 
Sarah Polley  Actor 
Bruce Greenwood  Actor 
David Hemblen  Actor 
Gabrielle Rose  Actor 
Arsinée Khanjian  Actor 
Alberta Watson  Actor 
Maury Chaykin  Actor 
Tom McCamus  Actor 

Country: Canada