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Tuesday, April 4, 2006
This Week's Hot Pick: 'Brokeback Mountain'
The "gay cowboy movie," the most talked-about film of the past year and the victim of the biggest upset in recent Oscar history, reaches DVD today.
The epic love story, which won a best director Academy Award for Ang Lee and Oscars for screenplay and music, chronicles a star-crossed affair between two modern cowboys (Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal) over 20 years.
It is the most uncompromising and unapologetic all-male romance ever made by a major Hollywood company with name stars. And it's extremely well acted (especially by Ledger) and both poignant and unthreatening.
Its eight Oscar nominations included Ledger for best actor, Gyllenhaal for best supporting actor and Michelle Williams for best supporting actress. "Brokeback" was named best movie of the year in most of the year-end critics awards, but lost the best movie Oscar to "Crash."
DVD extras include a making-of featurette plus pieces on Ledger's and Gyllenhaal's preparation, including rodeo and wrangling training, a profile of Lee and interviews with screenwriters Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana about adapting Annie Proulx's short story.
If you want to compare "Brokeback Mountain" with "Crash," the best picture Oscar winner returns to DVD today with a new two-disc "director's cut" that adds a couple of minutes to the film. "Crash," directed by Paul Haggis, is an impressive but very downbeat drama examining racism in contemporary Los Angeles. Its huge ensemble cast includes Don Cheadle, Sandra Bullock, Brendan Fraser, Thandi Newton and Matt Dillon. DVD extras include deleted scenes, commentary by Haggis and several making-of featurettes. (William Arnold)
"Brokeback Mountain": 134 minutes. Rated R for sexuality, nudity, language and some violence. GRADE: A-
"Crash": 100 minutes. Rated R for language, sexual content and some violence. GRADE: B-
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