FRIDA (DVD/2 DISCS) DVD

Frida
After being attached to a number of actors, directors, and producers, this long-gestating biography of one of Mexico's most prominent, iconoclastic painters reaches the screen under the guiding hand of producer/star Salma Hayek. Hayek ages some 30 years onscreen as she charts Frida Kahlo's life from feisty schoolgirl to Diego Rivera protégée to world-renowned artist in her own right. Frida details Kahlo's affluent upbringing in Mexico City, and her nurturing relationship with her traditional mother (Patricia Reyes Spindola) and philosophical father (Roger Rees). Having already suffered the crippling effects of polio, Kahlo sustains further injuries when a city bus accident nearly ends her life. But in her bed-ridden state, the young artist produces dozens upon dozens of pieces; when she recovers, she presents them to the legendary -- and legendarily temperamental -- Rivera (Alfred Molina), who takes her under his wing as an artist, a political revolutionary, and, inevitably, a lover. But their relationship is fraught with trouble, as the philandering Rivera traverses the globe painting murals, and Kahlo languishes in obscurity, longing to make her mark on her own. Frida was directed by Julie Taymor, whose Broadway production of The Lion King won her international acclaim. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

Cast Salma Hayek as Frida Kahlo Alfred Molina as Diego Rivera Geoffrey Rush as Leon Trotsky Ashley Judd as Tina Modotti Antonio Banderas as David Alfaro Siqueiros Edward Norton as Nelson Rockefeller Valeria Golino as Lupe Marin Mía Maestro as Cristina Kahlo Roger Rees as Guillermo Kahlo Patricia Reyes Spindola as Matilde Kahlo Saffron Burrows as Gracie Margarita Sanz as Natalia Trotsky Diego Luna as Alejandro Gomez Arias

Crew Bernardo Trujillo - Art Director Anne Ruark - Co-producer Julie Weiss - Costume Designer Julie Taymor - Director Françoise Bonnot - Editor Brian Gibson - Executive Producer Mark Amin - Executive Producer Jill Sobel Messick - Executive Producer Amy Slotnick - Executive Producer Mark Gill - Executive Producer Beatrice De Alba - Hair Styles Elliot Goldenthal - Composer (Music Score) Regina Reyes - Makeup John Jackson - Makeup Felipe Fernandez del Paso - Production Designer Rodrigo Prieto - Cinematographer Sarah Green - Producer Roberto Sneider - Producer Salma Hayek - Producer Nancy Hardin - Producer Jay Polstein - Producer Lizz Speed - Producer Lindsay Flickinger - Producer Santiago Núñez Rojo - Sound Mixer Rodrigo García - Screenwriter Diane Lake - Screenwriter Clancy Sigal - Screenwriter Gregory Nava - Screenwriter Anna Thomas - Screenwriter Amoeba Proteus - Visual Effects Hannia Robledo - Set Decorator Hayden Herrera - Book Author

Frida
The life of an uncompromising, iconoclastic artist has never seemed as rote and inevitable as it does in Julie Taymor's Frida, an intermittently engaging but wholly ordinary biography that wouldn't be out of place premiering on a basic-cable channel. Ticking off the events in Kahlo's life like a grade-school filmstrip, Frida's screenplay -- credited to no less than four writers, not including the purported rewrites from Ed Norton -- is full of clumsy passage-of-time indicators and halting, expository dialogue. Luckily, the performers manage to bring it alive somewhat: Though notably lacking in the kind of mythic swagger Kahlo requires, Salma Hayek digs into her long-gestating "role of a lifetime" with vigor. Better yet is Alfred Molina's Diego Rivera, who threatens to swallow the movie whole (both figuratively and literally). To her credit, Taymor attempts to infuse Frida with the kind of broad, expressionistic strokes she lent 2000's Titus -- the movie is nothing if not lush. Cinematographer Rodrigo Pietra renders Mexico as a paradise of reds, blues, and greens, playing up the contrasts between Kahlo's homeland and the steely, blue-gray New York sequences. But however brilliant they often are, Taymor's directorial flourishes are just that, and Frida -- which by all accounts could've been as daring as Vincent and Theo or Before Night Falls -- never rises above standard bio-pic fare. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
 

Alfred Molina: Broadcast Film Critics Association, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pic (nominated) Alfred Molina: Screen Actors Guild, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pic (nominated) Elliot Goldenthal: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Song (nominated) Hannia Robledo: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Art Direction (nominated) John Jackson: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Makeup (winner) Julie Taymor: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Song (nominated) Rodrigo Prieto: American Society of Cinematographers, Best Cinematography (nominated) Salma Hayek: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Actress (nominated) Salma Hayek: Broadcast Film Critics Association, Best Actress (nominated) Salma Hayek: Golden Globe, Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama (nominated) Salma Hayek: Screen Actors Guild, Best Actress (nominated)

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Art Direction (nominated) Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Costume Design (nominated) Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Makeup (winner) Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Score (winner) American Film Institute, Top Ten Movie of the Year (winner) National Board of Review, Best Picture (nominated) Telluride Film Festival, Film Presented (nominated)

General Specifications: Language Options: English, French Subtitle Options: Spanish Sound Processing: DD5.1: Dolby Digital w/ sub-woofer channel Additional Features: cc Salma Hayek conversation Julie Taymor feature commentary Elliot Goldenthal selected-scenes commentary AFI Julie Taymor Q & A Bill Moyers' Julie Taymor interview Chavela Vargas interview The vision, design, and music of Frida Salma Hayek's recording sessions Real locations of Frida Kahlo's life & art Portrait of an artist 2 visual effects pieces: "Amoeba Proteus" and "The Brothers Quay" Frida Kahlo facts The voice of Lila Downs French language track Spanish subtitles Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound Widescreen version enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1: Theatre Wide-Screen MPAA Rating: R DVD Discs Included: 2 DVD Sides: 2 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 123 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- Feature 1. Memories 2. "I Always Wanted a Son" 3. The Accident 4. Plans for Recovery 5. Diego's Compliments 6. Another Pretty Girl 7. "Comrades, Colleagues and Friends" 8. Diego and Frida 9. Diego's Ways 10. More Affection in a Handshake 11. The Invasion of Gringo-landia 12. Miracles and Tragedy 13. The Price of Integrity 14. Portrait With Cropped Hair 15. Offering Asylum 16. Alone in Pain 17. Without Loyalty 18. From France 19. Imprisoned 20. Broken Column 21. To Frida! 22. Burn it Blue