| Pleasantville (New Line Platinum Series) | 
 enlarge | Director: Gary Ross
Actors: Tobey Maguire, Jeff Daniels, Joan Allen, Reese Witherspoon, William H. Macy
Studio: New Line Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.98
Buy Used: $2.75
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Avg. Customer Rating:  382 reviews
Sales Rank: 685
Format: Ac-3, Anamorphic, Black & White, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 124
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
DVD Layers: 2
DVD Sides: 1
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5 x 0.6
MPN: TRNDN4728D
ISBN: 6305308659
UPC: 794043472824
EAN: 9786305308652
ASIN: 6305308659
Theatrical Release Date: October 23, 1998
Release Date: June 1, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Life imitates art when two modern-day teenagers get sucked into the too-perfect black-and-white world of a 1950s sitcom. Trapped and trying to find a way home the two find themselves bringing color to the lives of pleasantvilles rigid naive townspeople. Studio: New Line Home Video Release Date: 12/11/2007 Starring: Tobey Maguire Joan Allen Run time: 124 minutes Rating: Pg13
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
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| Customer Reviews: Read 377 more reviews...
 Loved it October 12, 2008
I know it's kinda leftist and preachy, but I loved it and it touched something inside me. So I'm a bleeding-heart liberal...whatever. But the movie does make some great points about the stiff and unrealistic crap the 50's tried to paint everyone into. (80's kid here...but I've seen plenty of 50's TV and I know my history) I love the idea of this film and how...just as in the real world...as color TV came to be...so did a more open minded world. I've read some negative reviews and most just complain about the ideals this film portray...but hey...it's a free country for a reason folks. I do appreciate that most reviewers admit the acting and effects of this film are good...it's just a great film all around IMO and I would recommend it to anyone...regardless of your political ideals. Try putting those aside while watching. Either way it will spark a reaction and that is what art is all about.
Filmic Metaphor: Seeing Ourselves In Our Movies September 19, 2008
Pleasantville is more than just a small-town piece of Americana trapped in a time warp that is fixated on the conservatively clean-cut 1950's, it is a small fictional town that finds itself struggling with social issues that are all too real and timeless for those who continue to struggle with their divisive influences. Racism, bigotry, artistic and intellectual censorship, conformity without question or debate, non-conformity with purpose and hope, and the struggle for individuality are all beautifully and sensitively illustrated though filmic metaphors and touching performances in this family film. Whether you are one who has always found comfort and security conforming to the assertive voices and visions of others or know the personal struggle of leaving comfort to secure and assert your own voice and vision in a world that doesn't always agree, this is a poignant film that is highly capable of striking a chord in the hearts of us all.
Pleasantville August 29, 2008
Greast film - a modern-day Morality Play (read Genesis first to fully appreciate it). Also beautiful cinematic techniques.
 A splash of color. August 11, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Pleasantville starring Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon is a good comedy/drama but I was expecting so much more. The two leads are so talented and Joan Allen and Jeff Daniels bring realism to their roles. The problem I have with this film is the slow pace, it feels too long and dragged out and the black and white is kind of distracting when color is introduced halfway into the film. Interesting flick but poorly excuated.
How about some marshmallow rice-crispy squares? Those are swell. July 27, 2008
Pleasantville is an underappreciated movie full of interesting, deep concepts hidden fairly well with subtle acting and introspective dialogue, and with not-so-subtle visual images. In fact, the visual aspects of this movie, the blending of color with black-and-white, are incredible at times. Seeing a black-and-white tree burst into flames is quite beautiful. Seeing an entire town visually transform from stale black-and-white to vivid color is technically stunning.
David (Tobey McGuire) is a modern, nerdy teenager who follows a `50s-esque show "Pleasanville", a sitcom of sorts with the shucks and darns expected during the nicest dinner at Mayberry. It's a `50s utopia, where the men wear suits, work 9-to-5, and the women have dinner ready and ironing done promptly. All of that changes when a TV repairman (Don Knotts) gives David a fanciful TV-remote that transports him and his sister Jennifer (Reese Witherspoon) into the TV show.
As a big fan of the show, David - who is now Bud - knows everything about the perfectly balanced town. He believes in the town, and the harmonious nature with which everything works. He knows the town is perfect, and the basketball team has never missed a shot (possibly the funniest part of the movie - SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!) Jennifer - who is now Mary Sue - on the other hand, is a Pleasantville neophyte and none too happy about the step back in time. In no time at all, Mary Sue has her legs wrapped around the town basketball stud Skip (Paul Walker) at Lover's Lane where she teaches him to double-dribble. With Pandora's Box opened, the black-and-white town begins to show incredible changes: vivid colors appear out of nowhere. With color representing change and maybe even improvement, it's up to Bud to not only maintain the status quo, but also to explain the rapid changes to the townsfolk as he tries to find a way home amidst the chaos.
I could have done without the over-the-top racial connotation, with the town beginning a counter-rebellion against the "coloreds", and the infidelity angle was contradictory to the movie's actual message, but it's easily ignorable because of the superb acting and ground-breaking cinematography. Great movie.
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