Smoke Signals

Starring:Adam Beach, Evan Adams, Irene Bedard, Gary Farmer, Tantoo Cardinal, Cody Lightning, Simon Baker (III), Monique Mojica, John Trudell, Chief Leonard George, Michael Greyeyes, Darwin Haine, Michelle St. John, Elaine Miles, Cynthia Geary, Gary Taylor, Perrey Reeves, Nicolette Vajtay, Molly Cheek, Robert Miano
Director: Chris Eyre
Studio: Miramax
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Based on a couple of short stories (from The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven) by Sherman Alexie, Smoke Signals is a lean and assured feature that speaks well of its lengthy, rich evolution, including a development stint at Sundance. The first feature made by a Native American crew and creative team, the film concerns two young Idaho men with radically different memories of one Arnold Joseph (Gary Farmer), a former resident of the reservation who split years before and has just died in Phoenix. Arnold's strapping, popular son, Victor (Adam Beach), remembers him best as an alcoholic, occasionally abusive father who drove off one day and never came back. By contrast, Thomas Builds-the-Fire (Evan Adams), whom Arnold had saved from certain death years earlier, has chosen to exaggerate the man's life and deeds in a mythmaking fashion that drives Victor crazy. Circumstances bring the two together, however, in a bus ride to retrieve Arnold's ashes. There, in Phoenix, a confrontation with the reality of the dead man's fullest legacy has a profound effect on both characters. Alexie, who wrote the script and was personally involved in all aspects of the production, and first-time director Chris Eyre are so polished in their approach that you can barely feel the cinematic engine at work here. This is the kind of movie in which the characters seem to be driving everything forward, a captivating and pleasant experience that gets a little too tidy at the end (can we call a moratorium on scenes of human ashes lovingly disposed to the winds?), but which is undeniably moving. The cast, including Irene Bedard (the voice of and physical inspiration for Disney's Pocahontas) is outstanding. --Tom Keogh
Description
Critically acclaimed as one of the best films of the year, SMOKE SIGNALS was also a distinguished winner at the Sundance Film Festival! Though Victor and Thomas have lived their entire young lives in the same tiny town, they couldn't have less in common! But when Victor is urgently called away, it's Thomas who comes up with the money to pay for his trip. There's just one thing Victor has to do: take Thomas along for the ride! You're in for a rare and entertaining comic treat as this most unlikely pair leave home on what becomes an unexpectedly unforgettable adventure of friendship and discovery!

Smoke Signals
Average customer rating:

Perhaps the Best Native American Movie

Very funny, in a Napoleanic way

Very charming

Put this in your pipe and smoke it

Good, but flawed

Smoke Signals
Starring: Adam Beach , Evan Adams , Irene Bedard , Gary Farmer , and Tantoo Cardinal
Director: Chris Eyre
Manufacturer: Miramax
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video
Beach, Adam | ( B ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Bedard, Irene | ( B ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Cardinal, Tantoo | ( C ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Farmer, Gary | ( F ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Geary, Cynthia | ( G ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Greyeyes, Michael | ( G ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
John, Michelle St | ( J ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Miles, Elaine | ( M ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Reeves, Perrey | ( R ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Trudell, John | ( T ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
All Titles | Miramax Home Entertainment | Studio Specials | Stores | DVD | Video
Comedy | Miramax Home Entertainment | Studio Specials | Stores | DVD | Video
Drama | Miramax Home Entertainment | Studio Specials | Stores | DVD | Video
DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video
( S ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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Amazon.com

Based on a couple of short stories (from The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven) by Sherman Alexie, Smoke Signals is a lean and assured feature that speaks well of its lengthy, rich evolution, including a development stint at Sundance. The first feature made by a Native American crew and creative team, the film concerns two young Idaho men with radically different memories of one Arnold Joseph (Gary Farmer), a former resident of the reservation who split years before and has just died in Phoenix. Arnold's strapping, popular son, Victor (Adam Beach), remembers him best as an alcoholic, occasionally abusive father who drove off one day and never came back. By contrast, Thomas Builds-the-Fire (Evan Adams), whom Arnold had saved from certain death years earlier, has chosen to exaggerate the man's life and deeds in a mythmaking fashion that drives Victor crazy. Circumstances bring the two together, however, in a bus ride to retrieve Arnold's ashes. There, in Phoenix, a confrontation with the reality of the dead man's fullest legacy has a profound effect on both characters. Alexie, who wrote the script and was personally involved in all aspects of the production, and first-time director Chris Eyre are so polished in their approach that you can barely feel the cinematic engine at work here. This is the kind of movie in which the characters seem to be driving everything forward, a captivating and pleasant experience that gets a little too tidy at the end (can we call a moratorium on scenes of human ashes lovingly disposed to the winds?), but which is undeniably moving. The cast, including Irene Bedard (the voice of and physical inspiration for Disney's Pocahontas) is outstanding. --Tom Keogh

Description

Critically acclaimed as one of the best films of the year, SMOKE SIGNALS was also a distinguished winner at the Sundance Film Festival! Though Victor and Thomas have lived their entire young lives in the same tiny town, they couldn't have less in common! But when Victor is urgently called away, it's Thomas who comes up with the money to pay for his trip. There's just one thing Victor has to do: take Thomas along for the ride! You're in for a rare and entertaining comic treat as this most unlikely pair leave home on what becomes an unexpectedly unforgettable adventure of friendship and discovery!

Customer Reviews:

Perhaps the Best Native American Movie.......2007-06-27

I have been acquiring all of the movies I can find by and about Native Americans and their culture. This one is among the best if not THE best.

Very funny, in a Napoleanic way.......2007-05-22

This is one of those quirky sleepers I just love to see. No big name stars, just pure entertainment...a gem. I believe that this movie accurately depicts life on the reservation. It's a mixed bag, just like everywhere else in life, but the people are good , and struggling together with all of their strengths and flaws.

I've had frybread as a guest of the Navaho in Gallup, and this movie made me yearn for more. Don't miss it!

Very charming.......2007-04-19

This is a charming movie, very funny, but with statements on family and unsuspecting friendship that cut across all cultures. The only real problem is the WIG. Buy it and watch, you'll see what I mean. The WIG is, in itself so hilarious that it's worth buying the movie. Poor Adam Beach, to be subjected to that!

Put this in your pipe and smoke it.......2007-04-10

If only movies like "Smoke Signals" were box-office hits, the world would be a better place. Sundance Films recognized this movie's brilliance, so that is something. This movie of friendship and family is both incredibly moving and incredibly funny. I had no idea who the actors (Adam Beach, Evan Adams) were when I rented this movie. I think I was intrigued by the fact that it was a Native American film, and I have an interest in Native American art, literature, music and film. You will be even more touched if you happened to have grown up with an alcoholic father. I rented the movie twice, heard one of the songs from the film, "John Wayne's Teeth" on the radio this past Thanksgiving, and ordered the DVD online the next day. It is one of my favorite movies ever!

Good, but flawed.......2007-03-22

I see all these five-star reviews and wonder if I was the only one who found this move overwrought and a little bit corny? Overall I really enjoyed it, but it was sort of obtuse. I heartily enjoyed "Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven" and when I viewed Smoke Signals I thought "Whoa! They must have pried this from Sherman Alexie's hands and ran with it! I'm surprised he didn't insist on having his name taken off it!" I was surprised to find out that he co-produced it and wrote the screenplay!

The acting could have been better, although I thought Thomas Builds-the-fire was very cute with his braids and big smile. It bothered me that the characters in this movie were constantly expounding on the fact that they were Indian. They brought it up every couple of minutes! Somehow, I doubt that that is what real Indians do. We know you're Indian, you don't have to state it. "What are you going to trade us? Because we're Indian, remember? We barter!" I would think that most Indians don't see a lot of novelty in the fact that they are Indian and these characters certainly did. This made it seem like the film was presenting "Indians" in third person rather than letting them be themselves. It would have been improved if it had been a little more natural and less self-conscious.

Over all, though, it's worth seeing despite its corniness for its powerful message and, of course, the cuteness of smiley Evan Adams.

Sundance Film Festival Collection: Celebrating 25 Years

Average customer rating:

Sundance Film Festival Collection: Celebrating 25 Years
Starring: Sundance Film Festival Collection
Manufacturer: Sundance Channel Home Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( S ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Drama | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

General | Indie & Art House | Stores | DVD | Video

Sundance Channel Home Entertainment Collection
The Ultimate Oliver Stone Collection (Salvador / Platoon / Wall Street / Talk Radio / Born on the Fourth of July / JFK Director's Cut / The Doors / Heaven and Earth / Natural Born Killers / Nixon / U-Turn / Any Given Sunday Director's Cut)
Sundance Channel Film Series Collection
Reds (Special 25th Aniversary Collector's Edition)
Junebug

ASIN: B000BF0DCO
Release Date: 2005-12-13

Description

This limited edition, special collectors' DVD set celebrates 25 years of the Sundance Institute. It contains ten ground-breaking films that embody the sprit of independence, creative risk-taking, and diversity that define the Sundance Film Festival. Bonus materials include a booklet and an 11th disc with behind-the-scenes footage from the Sundance Institute Labs and never-before-seen interviews with filmmakers and founder Robert Redford.

Charlie Rose with Walter Mossberg; Nathan Myhrvold; Halsey Minor; Sherman Alexie (June 26, 1998)

Average customer rating:

Charlie Rose with Walter Mossberg; Nathan Myhrvold; Halsey Minor; Sherman Alexie (June 26, 1998)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Description

First, Walter Mossberg, a technology writer at The Wall Street Journal, discusses Windows 98 and Microsoft's success at combining Windows 95 with an Internet browser, and the future of the company's business endeavors. Then, Nathan Myhrvold, the Chief Tech Officer at Microsoft, discusses the new program Terraserver, which involves satellite imaging of the Earth. Then, Halsey Minor, CEO of CNET, the computer network, discusses his recent merger with NBC. Finally, Sherman Alexie, up-and-coming American Indian writer, discusses his screenplay for the movie Smoke Signals, and his career writing poetry, stories, and novels.

Average customer rating:

Reality Matters: Smoke Signals

Manufacturer: Discovery Education
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Educational | Genres | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000OIOYLY
Release Date: 2005-09-13

DVD:

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