LIBERTY HEIGHTS (DVD/WS/1.85:1/CAST & CREW GALLERY/DD5.1/DUAL LAYER/DEL S) DVD

Liberty Heights
Writer/director Barry Levinson returns to his home town of Baltimore, where he previously set three nostalgic features (Diner, Tin Men, and Avalon) for this story of two brothers growing up in the tumultuous days of 1954, as rock 'n' roll, the atom bomb, and the civil rights movement changed the way teenagers looked at the world. One of the brothers has fallen in love with a beautiful girl who, to the chagrin of his family, is a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Protestant, while the other has an even bigger shock for his folks: his new girlfriend is black. Joe Mantegna and Bebe Neuwirth play the parents, with Adrien Brody, Vincent Guastaferro, Orlando Jones, David Krumholz, and Kiersten Warren also topping the cast. Tom Waits wrote several original songs for the film, while Andrea Morricone (daughter of Ennio Morricone) wrote the score. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Cast Adrien Brody as Van Kurtzman Ben Foster as Ben Kurtzman Orlando Jones as Little Melvin Bebe Neuwirth as Ada Kurtzman Joe Mantegna as Nate Kurtzman Rebekah Johnson as Sylvia David Krumholtz as Yussel Richard Kline as Charlie Vincent Guastaferro as Pete Justin Chambers as Trey Carolyn Murphy as Dubbie James Pickens Jr. as Sylvia's Father Frania Rubinek as Rose Anthony Anderson as Scribbles Kiersten Warren as Annie Evan Neumann as Sheldon Kevin Sussman as Alan Gerry Rosenthal as Murray Charley Scalies as Louie

Crew Alan Muraoka - Art Director Amy Solan - Associate Producer Michael Haley - Associate Producer Ellen Chenoweth - Casting Gloria Gresham - Costume Designer Michael Haley - First Assistant Director Barry Levinson - Director Stu Linder - Editor Patrick McCormick - Executive Producer Andrea Morricone - Composer (Music Score) Joel Sill - Musical Direction/Supervision Allan Mason - Musical Direction/Supervision Tom Waits - Songwriter Vincent Peranio - Production Designer Christopher Doyle - Cinematographer Paula Weinstein - Producer Barry Levinson - Producer William A. Cimino - Set Designer Steve Cantamessa - Sound/Sound Designer Tim Holland - Sound Editor Barry Levinson - Screenwriter

Liberty Heights
The 1950s were a more innocent time, yet the tensions that would explode in the following decade were beginning to simmer. Director Barry Levinson, who has made a number of autobiographical films about growing up in his native Baltimore, calls on his memories of his adolescence during this period. His 14-year-old alter ego Ben (Ben Foster) combines both his growing interest in girls and an increasing awareness of racial exclusion after he becoming attracted to Sylvia (Rebekah Johnson), a black girl in his school. Levinson is less interested in exploring any single relationship than in tracing the boy's first steps out of the family enclave he's known into a wider, more diverse world -- both fascinating, and, at times, threatening. There's also a fanciful Runyon-esque subplot involving Ben's father's (Joe Mantegna) mysteriously shady occupation. That story line is the only weak link in an otherwise absorbing film. The acting is uniformly excellent, with outstanding work by Foster, a brilliant turn by Orlando Jones as Little Melvin, and an especially memorable scene from James Pickens Jr. as Sylvia's father. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide
 

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General Specifications: Language Options: English Subtitle Options: English, French Sound Processing: DD5.1: Dolby Digital w/ sub-woofer channel Additional Features: Interviews and on-set footage with writer/director Barry Levinson and the film's stars Deleted scene Music-only track showcasing the film's classic 1950's songs Interactive menus Production notes 2 theatrical trailers Scene access Subtitles: English & Français 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: 128 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- 0. Scene Selection 1. The other kind [4:10] 2. It's tradition [2:04] 3. True story? [1:53] 4. Casting the future [3:33] 5. Sizing things up [2:15] 6. Fuhrer furor [3:46] 7. Jews are coming [2:10] 8. Make a wish [1:24] 9. Yussel's battle [3:16] 10. The party breaks up [2:56] 11. Revverence God and Sinatra [3:36] 12. Girl with a wand [1:35] 13. Ben and Sylvia [3:59] 14. Floorboard eye-view [1:59] 15. Dream girls [5:07] 16. Comparing notes [2:43] 17. Court disorder [2:15] 18. Redd Fox and Cinderella [3:27] 19. All worked up [2:22] 20. Banishment and respect [3:41] 21. Problems; Paterson Park [4:03] 22. Little Melvin's Payoff [3:56] 23. Flip for James Brown [3:28] 24. How Melvin sees it [2:07] 25. Heading out [1:58] 26. Slumming again [2:32] 27. The concert [3:23] 28. Ain't it romantic? [2:25] 29. Not a real Wand [3:30] 30. The slave thing [4:00] 31. Moment of entertainment [3:28] 32. Fair and square [2:33] 33. The fine print [5:26] 34. Negotiating [2:07] 35. The girl has everything [6:23] 36. When to get off [2:45] 37. The graduates [2:39] 38. A little sun [1:22] 39. "We're a family" [4:36] 40. If I knew [1:55] 41. End Credits [4:31]