DVD : The Ice Storm
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Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: DVD
Brand: Storm
EAN: 0024543012245
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
Label: 20th Century Fox
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
Number Of Items: 1
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen
Publisher: 20th Century Fox
Region Code: 1
Release Date: March 13, 2001
Running Time: 112 minutes
Sales Rank: 9049
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Theatrical Release Date: September 27, 1997
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Editorial Review:
Description:
When a self-centered husband's relationship with his wife and mistress grow cold, it takes a wife-swapping "key party" and a freak ice storm to clear the air and change their lives forever. Director Ang Lee offers a compelling look at a controversial era.
Amazon.com essential video:
Asian American director Ang Lee sums up America in the early 1970s by focusing on the arrival of the sexual revolution in the 'burbs. Isolationism within a family, consumerism, and selfishness are personified by a cast that captures the self-obsession within two New England families. As the children struggle awkwardly with adolescence, their parents stumble through sexual experimentation. In the days of Watergate and Vietnam, society is breaking boundaries and ignoring convention. Following suit, these families are eschewing polite barriers and social taboos, with disastrous results. The "ice storm" of the title refers not only to a natural phenomenon but is a (rather heavy-handed) metaphor for a pervasive emotional temperament. The entire cast delivers textured, finely nuanced performances. This movie lingers in the psyche not only for the scope of the tragedy at its conclusion, but for Lee's often humorous and stingingly accurate assessment of pop culture. Based on Rick Moody's novel, this won the best-screenplay award at Cannes in 1997. --Rochelle O'Gorman
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
The Bottom Line:
A cold but incisive look into the American suburban life of the 1970s, Ang Lee's The Ice Storm is a worthy film even if it keeps viewers a bit distanced from its subject and characters.
Rating:  -
The Ice Storm is representative of those iconic days when the "me" generation explored all things daring, and it also depicts chillingly that the selfish behavior of the adults can have dire consequences.
Kevin Kline, Joan Allen and Sigourney Weaver are the key adults in this film, which highlights one holiday season in a Connecticut community -- with the festive dinners and holiday parties -- and reveals the superficial lifestyle of those who are bored by the surfeit of material possessions and the absence of meaning in their lives.
Even though the film was made in the late nineties, the production seemingly transplanted the viewer completely into that time. Like a flashback -- or time warp -- we can glimpse the lives of those disenchanted characters and really feel their malaise.
The youngsters are portrayed by Tobey Maguire and Christina Ricci, among others, and while they, too, are delving into sexual pursuits, they also seem to be going through the motions.
In the story, we see how a dangerous ice storm, which happens on the same night as an adult key party and while the young folks are left to their own devices, renders havoc for everyone concerned.
I had seen this movie a few times when it first came out, but when I watched it again this week, I felt "chilled" to the bone.
Laurel-Rain Snow
Author of:
Miles to Go and
Web of Tyranny, etc.
Rating: -
The Ice Storm is one of the best films ever released. Ang Lee proved to be one of our great contemporary film directors and he sure did justice to Rick Moody's novel. In fact, most people who enjoyed both will tell you that, surprisingly, they prefer the film over the book. One of the main reasons (besides great directing and solid acting) is the unforgettable music.
From the opening titles, Mychael Danna's hypnotic melodies take you effortlessly two generations back, in affluent yet creepy American Suburbia. Unfortunately, the opening titles theme is NOT included in this release (hence the star withheld). I would have loved to be able to listen to it while driving without Paul's (Tobey Maguire) monologue on top but no luck.
The same is also true for a number of memorable instrumental pieces. In fact, Mychael Danna's pieces on this soundtrack are limited only to Tracks 1-3. The rest are songs from the era that make a small or greater appearance in the movie.
Nevertheless, Danna's composition and execution are so powerful that this soundtrack deserves a place in your life.
Indeed, "the void we emerge from. And the place we go to when we die".
Everything in between is music.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Rating:  -
The Ice Storm directed Ang Lee is a strange and provocative film about swingers and families on the brink of chaos. An all-star helps which include Kevin Kline, Joan Allen, Tobey Maguire, and Christina Ricci. The characters are mainly lost and self-absorbed so don't expect strong and kind people here. Ricci's character is pretty sick and vile but she nails the performance. The ending is a bit of a letdown, this film is a mixed bag for me.
Rating: -
Two neighboring families experience a long and ultimately life-changing Thanksgiving weekend. The story moves from one house to the other where the adults are all bored with their spouses (but not with their neighbor's spouse) and the kids are restless and curious about sex. Everyone feels misunderstood and a big ice storm is coming.
This adult drama is full of outstanding performances: Kevin Kline and a luminously lovely Joan Allen play husband and wife who are both filled with pain and longing. Sigourney Weaver is great as the self-absorbed and callous neighbor wife who hooks up with Kline's character. The kids include a young, sensitive Tobey Maguire who lusts after classmate Katie Holmes, while younger siblings Christina Ricci and Elijah Woods suffer the pangs of adolescence. It's played very low-key with no sentimentality to show what self-indulgent and disconnected lives they lead. They're all miserable and the warnings about the coming ice storm intensify the feeling of impending doom.
This sobering look at middle-class woes is definitely not a feel-good movie, but it's very well-made. Recommended.
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starring: Kevin Kline, Joan Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Henry Czerny, Tobey Maguire
directed by: Ang Lee
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Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: DVD
Brand: Storm
EAN: 0024543012245
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
Label: 20th Century Fox
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
Number Of Items: 1
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen
Publisher: 20th Century Fox
Region Code: 1
Release Date: March 13, 2001
Running Time: 112 minutes
Sales Rank: 9049
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Theatrical Release Date: September 27, 1997
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