Movie of the Day (5/6/08)

It’s late, but it’s here: May 6’s selected movie is Crash, the second and most infamous film by Paul Haggis, writing and directing this effort, who had his big start on Walker, Texas Ranger. This tale of the interwoven lives of outstanding people, with racism on their minds, won three Oscars in 2006, with Best Picture being the most prominent (Editing and Original Screenplay were the others).  Winning the last award of the night came as a big shock to most as Brokeback Mountain, starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, was the favorite, having won Best Director, Best Music and Best Adapted Screenplay.

To date, many dislike Crash even more for its “undeserved” Oscar despite its fully formed cast, including the great Don Cheadle, Terrence Howard, and Ryan Phillippe (Breach is another example of his ability). The writing, in particular, is pointed out as too elaborate and unrealistic, making the claim that everyone is racist in some form.

Even though the movie is only a couple years old, it’s already been double-dipped with a second version on DVD. The Director’s Cut includes the extra material from the original release (DVD Intro with Haggis, behind the Scenes featurette, commentary with Haggis, Cheadle, and Bobby Moresco, and a few trailers) but with some new bonuses: Eight deleted scenes with commentary, three featurettes (One on Haggis, one called “Unspoken” and the other on LA), music montages, script to screen comparisons, storyboard to screen comparisons, and a music video by Bird York called “In the Deep”.

Basic information (IMDb Profile):

  • Director: Paul Haggis
  • Writers: Paul Haggis, Bobby Moresco
  • Producers: Don Cheadle,  Paul Haggis, Mark R. Harris, Bobby Moresco, Cathy Schulman, Bob Yari
  • Cast: Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Tony Danza, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito, Brendan Fraser, Terrence Howard, Thandie Newton, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Ryan Phillippe
  • Cinematographer: J. Michael Muro
  • Composer: Mark Isham

“Movie of the Day” highlights a specific film of importance with a release date that coincides with the current date.

Post a Comment