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Pleasantville [Region 2]
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 4010324020192
Format: PAL
Languages: German (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1German (Subtitled),
Region Code: 2
Theatrical Release Date: October 23, 1998
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Editorial Review:
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
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Pleasantville
Greast film - a modern-day Morality Play (read Genesis first to fully appreciate it). Also beautiful cinematic techniques.
Rating:  - A splash of color.
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.
Rating: - How about some marshmallow rice-crispy squares? Those are swell.
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) ... Read More
Rating: - Thought Provoking and Underappreciated
I can't believe I missed this classic.
Turning the overused and predictable time-travel concept on its head, Pleasantville aims extremely high, posing the mother of all existential questions - would we do it the same way if given a chance to re-write our own history? With the exception of some very leaden sixties revisionism, the answer is ingenious and thought provoking.
Living in the highly sexualized, single-parented miasma of pre-Y2K suburbia, teenagers David and Jennifer ... Read More
Rating: - Sly, Rewarding Fantasy
Gary Ross's 1998 hit "Pleasantville" came as a, well, pleasant, surprise. This reviewer tends to shun works whose hallmarks are teen angst and cleverness for its own sake. Pleasantville, however, despite rolling in cleverness, manages to transcend its cleverness and its teen-angst focus, and exudes genuine charm and something of a soul. This is due partly to the excellent performances, partly to the sharp production that includes a wonderful original score by Randy Newman (yup, another one) incorporating ... Read More
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