Pleasantville (New Line Platinum Series)

Starring:Tobey Maguire, Reese Witherspoon, William H. Macy, Joan Allen, Jeff Daniels, J.T. Walsh, Don Knotts, Marley Shelton, Jane Kaczmarek, Giuseppe Andrews, Jenny Lewis, Marissa Ribisi, Denise Dowse, McNally Sagal, Paul Morgan Stetler, Heather McGill, Kevin Connors, Natalie Ramsey, Justin Nimmo, Kai Lennox
Director: Gary Ross
Studio: New Line Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Fantastical writer Gary Ross (Big, Dave) makes an auspicious directorial debut with this inspired and oddly touching comedy about two '90s kids (Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon) thrust into the black-and-white TV world of Pleasantville, a Leave It to Beaver-style sitcom complete with picket fences, corner malt shop, and warm chocolate chip cookies. When a somewhat unusual remote control (provided by repairman Don Knotts) transports them from the jaded real world to G-rated TV land, Maguire and Witherspoon are forced to play along as Bud and Mary Sue, the obedient children of George and Betty Parker (William H. Macy and Joan Allen). Maguire, an obsessive Pleasantville devotee, understands the need for not toppling the natural balance of things; Witherspoon, on the other hand, starts shaking the town up, most notably when she takes basketball stud Skip (Paul Walker) up to Lover's Lane for some modern-day fun and games. Soon enough, Pleasantville's teens are discovering sex along with--gasp!--rock & roll, free thinking, and soul-changing Technicolor. Filled with delightful and shrewd details about sitcom life (no toilets, no double beds, only two streets in the town), Pleasantville is a joy to watch, not only for its comedy but for the groundbreaking visual effects and astonishing production design as the town gradually transforms from crisp black and white to glorious color. Ross does tip his hand a bit about halfway through the film, obscuring the movie's basic message of the unpredictability of life with overloaded and obvious symbolism, as the black-and-white denizens of the town gang up on the "coloreds" and impose rules of conduct to keep their strait-laced town laced up. Still, the characterizations from the phenomenal cast--especially repressed housewife Allen and soda-shop owner Jeff Daniels, doing some of their best work ever--will keep you emotionally invested in the film's outcome, and waiting to see Pleasantville in all its final Technicolor glory. --Mark Englehart

Customer Reviews:

wonderful movie despite the propaganda.......2007-07-04

i love this movie & enjoyed it immensely despite its many failings. yes, it is blatant leftist feminist propaganda & there is a nasty satanic undertone to it that comes out in the eve & the apple scene. sarcasm drips when they use the phrase "family values." they effectively ridicule the tightassed republican repressed redneck stereotype but the mirror leftist stereotype of the angry kinky brainwashed sleazeball is not there in the open. it's almost totally one-sided, although the modern people do benefit from going back to the 50's & there is some affection for the innocence of the beaver cleaver types as compared to the jaded neurotic moderns. that's what keeps this from being a five star movie for me, it's a little too caustic & superior. but having said all that, it's a very funny, beautiful film that does make a valid point--that it's better to express yourself than to be a repressed hypocrite. i think even tightassed republicans should watch this & have the good humor to laugh at themselves if they need to. it's a very imaginative, creative film with some hilarious performances, really delightful & full of the spirit of art.

Things are so much better now.......2007-06-30

All the positive comments from folks on this blatantly propagandistic film reflect their relief that those bad old 1950s (of which they know virtually nothing) are gone and targeted for terminal mockery, since things are so much better now, what with one out of five babies aborted, a majority of children born out of wedlock, and drug abuse and violence the major concerns of high-school-age kids, instead of all the poodle skirts and silliness of Pleasantville.

Wake up and smell the Prozac, lemmings: Technicolor-land is worse than Pleasantville, and no amount of clever revisionism is going to change it.

This film is a mendacious little piece of half-ignorant fantasy, and thus nearly perfect entertainment for most contemporary movie-goers, who can't even find Asia on a map, and had to have the SAT dumbed-down to jumpstart their self-esteem.

"Honey, I'm home!" (The 50s meet the New Millennium).......2007-06-26

Teen twins David and Jennifer (Tobey Maguire, Reese Witherspoon) are very different: Jennifer is quite the wild child while David's passion is watching re-runs of the 50s TV sitcom "Pleasantville." One night, the kids are magically whisked right into Pleasantville - a swell little town where the fire department only rescues cats in trees, books are as blank as the foks' minds, and everything is in black and white. David loves it there, but Jennifer starts changing things when she takes her boyfriend up to Lover's Lane for a lot more than hand-holding. Gradually people start seeing things in color, then it rains real rain, and *gasp* dinner isn't on the table at six o'clock.

I'd seen bits and pieces of "Pleasantville" on TV and liked it, but after watching the entire movie, I have to say it left me confused, angry, and disappointed. The point of the movie - that sexual promiscuity is the key to enlightenment - is a sad comment on our times. Maguire and Witherspoon are perfectly cast and give excellent performances, but the script ridicules wholesomeness and condemns morality. I think it's sad that old-fashioned values are labeled not only corny, but wrong. I did enjoy the photography changing slowly from black and white to color, but I cannot recommend the movie.

Exactly what I expected..........2007-05-14

This movie is great! I needed it for my classroom and it was available and mailed to me within a week.

Pleasantville - One of my favorite films.......2007-04-30

I love this film. It has a sweetness, a wistfulness, about it that is so compelling, yet explores many complex human issues, including individual rights. The writing is fabulous - so when I read that the writer of "Pleasantville" is the same man who wrote "Big", it all made clicked. This movie received so little notice that when I loan it to friends their reply is always the same: why didn't I know about this great movie?

Average customer rating:

Now and Then / Pleasantville
Starring: Christina Ricci , Rosie O'Donnell , Thora Birch , Melanie Griffith , and Gaby Hoffmann
Director: Lesli Linka Glatter , and Gary Ross
Manufacturer: New Line Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( N ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B0001WTWTW
Release Date: 2004-05-04

Average customer rating:

Pleasantville [Region 2]
Starring: Tobey Maguire , Reese Witherspoon , William H. Macy , Joan Allen , and Jeff Daniels
Director: Gary Ross
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

( P ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B00004D36B

Average customer rating:

DISSAPOINTING AND DISTURBING

Pleasantville [Region 2]
Starring: Tobey Maguire , Reese Witherspoon , William H. Macy , Joan Allen , and Jeff Daniels
Director: Gary Ross
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

( P ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B00004T8AC

Customer Reviews:

DISSAPOINTING AND DISTURBING.......2007-06-03

Well I thought this might be good as I watch old black and white movies, tv shows ect....But it was not. The thought of going back in time to the fifties is OK. I realize that they needed to spice up the plot a little to appeal to a modern audience; but they chose to use casual sex, masturbation, and added a racist or racial overtone. These choices did not make it a good movie at all.

In addition to the crummy plot I was somewhat disturbed by the black and white town and people vs. the colored objects and people. It's hard to describe my feelings here I guess. But now whenever I see a commercial (or any video clip) that changes from black and white to color I am reminded of this horrible movie. I would not recommend this movie.

This was a long boring movie and casting Don Knots could not save this movie. This plot is best viewed in a shorter half hour show like The Twilight Zone.

Charlie Rose with Fouad Ajami; Jeff Daniels; Hubert de Givenchy (October 21, 1998)

Average customer rating:

Charlie Rose with Fouad Ajami; Jeff Daniels; Hubert de Givenchy (October 21, 1998)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Description

First, Fouad Ajami, an analyst for U.S. News and World Report, discusses the Wye Peace Accord, the possible progress towards resolution in the Middle East, and U.S. foreign policy towards the Israel-Palestine conflict. Then, Jeff Daniels discusses his role in the movie Pleasantville and the implications for society in the movie. Finally, fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy discusses the new book that was written about him, Givenchy Style, and the influences that led to his signature style.

Average customer rating:

Charlie Rose (December 31, 1998)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose Inc.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Description

First, a rebroadcast of a conversation with actor Holly Hunter about her film "Living Out Loud," and recent career in New York theater.||Then, a rebroadcast of a discussion with Joan Allen about her role in "Pleasantville" and its social implications.||Finally, a rebroadcast of a conversation with actor Ally Sheedy about her film "High Art".

Charlie Rose with Dennis Ross; Richard Holbrooke; Joan Allen (October 27, 1998)

Average customer rating:

Charlie Rose with Dennis Ross; Richard Holbrooke; Joan Allen (October 27, 1998)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Description

First, Dennis Ross, Special Middle East Coordinator and Ambassador, discusses the Palestine-Israel conflict, the Wye Peace Accord, the future of the Middle East. Then, ambassador and U.S. Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke discusses the NATO involvement in the Balkans, the U.N. decision that Milosevic had met the deadline for pulling troops out of Kosovo, and the future of U.S. relations with the region. Finally, Joan Allen discusses her role in the blockbuster film Pleasantville and the social implications of that movie.

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