ICE STORM (DVD/1997/CRITICS CHOICE) DVD

The Ice Storm
Set on Thanksgiving weekend of 1973, The Ice Storm looks into the lives of a wealthy Connecticut family who are calm and civil on the outside, but whose lives are quietly falling into chaos. Sixteen-year-old Paul Hood (Tobey Maguire) is home for the holidays from prep school; he'd just as soon have stayed at school, given the usual level of tension around the house and his desire to win the affections of Casey (Katie Holmes), a girl living in Manhattan. His 14-year-old sister, Wendy (Christina Ricci), is already a hardened cynic obsessed with the ongoing Watergate investigation, and she has begun acting out sexually with a neighbor boy, Mikey (Elijah Wood). Apparently, this runs in the family: Wendy's father, Ben (Kevin Kline), is having an affair with Mikey's mother, Janey (Sigourney Weaver), though Ben sees a future in the relationship and Janey does not. Elena (Joan Allen), Ben's wife, knows something is wrong with her marriage and her life, but she has no idea what she should do about it. As the teenagers surreptitiously experiment with drugs and alcohol, and the adults drift into mate-swapping, a dangerous blanket of freezing rain begins to cover New Canaan. The Ice Storm was adapted from the acclaimed novel by Rick Moody. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Cast Kevin Kline as Ben Hood Joan Allen as Elena Hood Sigourney Weaver as Janey Carver Tobey Maguire as Paul Hood Christina Ricci as Wendy Hood Elijah Wood as Mikey Carver Henry Czerny as George Clair Jamey Sheridan as Jim Carver Katie Holmes as Libbets Casey

Crew Bob Shaw - Art Director Anthony Bregman - Associate Producer Alysse Bezahler - Associate Producer Avy Kaufman - Casting Carol Oditz - Costume Designer Elizabeth Shelton - Costume Designer James W. Murray, Jr. - First Assistant Director Stephen Wertimer - First Assistant Director Ang Lee - Director Tim Squyres - Editor Mychael Danna - Composer (Music Score) Alex Steyermark - Musical Direction/Supervision Mark Friedberg - Production Designer Frederick Elmes - Cinematographer Ted Hope - Producer Ang Lee - Producer James Schamus - Producer Stephanie Carroll - Set Designer Drew Kunin - Sound/Sound Designer James Schamus - Screenwriter Rick Moody - Book Author

The Ice Storm
Many films have claimed that, beneath the sparkling Formica and easy-clean linoleum, there's something's rotten at the heart of suburbia. Few, however, have addressed the topic with such memorable characterizations, disquieting imagery, and thematic coherence as director Ang Lee's The Ice Storm. Though set in the 1970s, the film doesn't use the era as an ironic punch line. Lee and writer James Schamus (adapting Rick Moody's acclaimed novel) portray the decade as a time of ambivalence and displacement, when America was left rudderless in the wake of the 1960s. The stellar cast -- including Joan Allen, Sigourney Weaver, and budding talents Tobey Maguire and Christina Ricci -- adroitly convey the vacant desires and casual misgivings of different generations of an affluent New England community. Though punctuated by some moments of dark humor, The Ice Storm is as bleak as its title suggests, and may not be for all tastes. ~ Matthew Doberman, All Movie Guide
 

Ang Lee: Toronto Film Critics Association, Best Director [Runner-up] (winner) James Schamus: Cannes Film Festival, Best Screenplay (winner) Sigourney Weaver: Golden Globe, Best Supporting Actress (nominated)

General Specifications: Language Options: English, French Subtitle Options: English, Spanish Sound Processing: Additional Features: DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1: Theatre Wide-Screen MPAA Rating: R DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 114 min   DVD Chapters: Scene Selection 0. Scene Selection 1. Main Titles [:25] 2. A Libbets Fixation [2:22] 3. Family Phone Call [1:49] 4. The Dinner Party [3:04] 5. The Next Day [2:28] 6. Wendy & Mikey [1:38] 7. The Affair [3:08] 8. The Negative Zone [3:45] 9. I'll Show You Mine... [:54] 10. The Facts of Life [1:35] 11. Thanksgiving [4:35] 12. Waiting for Janey [2:46] 13. Safe Sex [3:31] 14. Elena's Suspicions [2:53] 15. The Key Party [5:02] 16. Mixing & Matching [3:53] 17. Special Feelings [1:34] 18. Under the Covers [3:17] 19. Janey's Choice [5:15] 20. The Last Two [1:29] 21. Wandering Out of Life [1:31] 22. A Death in the Family [1:36] 23. Safely Home [7:15] 24. End Titles [1:21]