While
Ron Howard’s films have always been very competently directed, I’ve found
them to be rather lacking in distinctive visual style. This opinion about
Howard’s work has been changed with the release of A BEAUTIFUL MIND
($30), a more mature and visually impressive work that rightfully earned
him an Academy Award for Best Director. In addition to being recognized
for Howard’s work, A BEAUTIFUL MIND also earned the coveted Oscar
for Best Picture, as well as one for Best Supporting Actress (Jennifer
Connelly) and one for its screenplay.
A
BEAUTIFUL MIND is based upon the life of Noble prizewinning mathematician
John Nash, although some dramatic license has been taken with to bring
his story to the screen. As the film opens in 1947, we encounter brilliant
graduate student and Carnegie Scholarship winner John Nash (Russell Crowe)
at Princeton University. Right away one becomes aware that Nash is something
of an odd bird; a social outcast who never attends classes- convinced
that his intellect is beyond anything being taught in a classroom. Instead,
Nash spends his time in pursuit of an original idea- something that will
revolutionize some aspect of mathematics. After months of drawing a complete
blank, Nash finally comes upon his original idea- one that dramatically
changes the face of economics.
With
this major achievement under his belt, Nash moves on to become a professor
at MIT, in addition to doing classified work for the government at Wheeler
Labs. Of course his professorship at MIT comes at a cost, Nash is actually
required to teach some classes and there he meets a beautiful student
named Alicia (Jennifer Connelly), who takes an aggressive interest in
the socially retarded professor. As Nash begins a romance with Alicia,
a government agent named Parcher (Ed Harris) approaches him and assigns
him the task of deciphering secret messages that are being sent to foreign
operatives in America. Eventually all of the cloak and dagger work weighs
too greatly on Nash’s mind causing a psychological break, when the audience
finally learns how much of the mathematician’s existence is fact and how
much is fantasy.
The
heart of A BEAUTIFUL MIND is in the outstanding performances, which
really draws the audience into the inner and outer worlds of John Nash.
Russell Crowe is phenomenally good portraying Nash; in fact, his performance
here greatly outshines his Oscar winning work in GLADIATOR. I’m
glad to see Jennifer Connelly finally getting the recognition she deserves;
I’ve been a fan since her earliest screen appearances. Her performance
in A BEAUTIFUL MIND perfectly complements that of Russell Crowe
and her honest portrayal of the strengths and frustrations of Alicia Nash
richly deserved the Oscar. The first rate cast of A BEAUTIFUL MIND
also includes Christopher Plummer, Paul Bettany, Adam Goldberg, Josh Lucas,
Anthony Rapp, Jason Gray-Stanford, Judd Hirsch, Austin Pendleton and Vivien
Cardone.
Universal
Studios Home Video has made A BEAUTIFUL MIND available on DVD in
a 1.85:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for 16:9 displays.
This is really a beautiful transfer, one that produces a consistently
crisp image that is rich in detail. Colors are vibrant and fully saturated,
plus the flesh tones are always appealing and quite convincing. Despite
the intensity of some of the hues, there are no signs of noise or smearing.
Blacks appear completely inky, contrast is terrifically smooth and shadow
detail is excellent. Additionally, the beautifully lit image always gives
the impression of great depth. The film element itself is virtually perfect
without flaws or truly appreciable grain. Dual layer authoring precludes
any noticeable signs of digital compression artifacts.
A
BEAUTIFUL MIND is offered with
a fine sounding Dolby Digital 5.1 channel soundtrack. Much of A BEAUTIFUL
MIND is dialogue driven, so the mix isn’t overly complex, with the
forward soundstage maintaining dominance most of the time. Active sound
effects are used judiciously, but effectively in key moments of the film.
The surround channels do see some activity for effects, but primarily
provide an ambient sense of depth and musical fill. Speaking of the music,
James Horner’s score is beautifully recorded and integrated into the mix
with good sonic clarity. Dialogue is always cleanly rendered with total
intelligibility. A French 5.1 channel soundtrack is also encoded onto
the DVD, as are English and Spanish subtitles.
Full
motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD’s interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to the standard scene selection
and set up features, as well as the supplemental materials, which are
spread across both discs of this two-disc set. Disc one includes two separate
running audio commentaries; the first features director Ron Howard, while
the second is with screenwriter Akiva Goldsmith. Both talks are interesting
and approach the film from different viewpoints; causal listeners will
get more from Howard’s comments- so this is definitely the track to start
with. Howard covers multiple aspects of the production, including working
with the actors, as well as separating fact from fiction in this screen
account of John Nash’s life. By contrast, Goldsmith’s talk emphasizes
character development and the screenplay. Also included on disc one are
eighteen deleted scenes, which offer optional director’s commentary. As
in most films, the footage was removed from A BEAUTIFUL MIND for
reasons of pacing and does not make any significant changes to the screen
story.
Moving
on to disc two, we find the bulk of the supplemental features, which include
eleven featurettes and other materials. A Beautiful Partnership:
Ron Howard & Brian Grazer runs slightly over five minutes
and looks at the team that comprise Imagine Entertainment. Clocking in
at over eight minutes is Development Of The Screenplay,
which features screenwriter Akiva Goldsmith who discusses the process
involved in bringing the story to the screen. Meeting John Nash
is eight minutes in length and offers an informal meeting between Nash
and director Ron Howard. Accepting The Nobel Prize In Economics
is an under two minute clip showing Nash accepting his prize at the official
ceremony.
In
the five-minute featurette Casting Russell Crowe & Jennifer
Connelly, director Ron Howard discusses how he came to select
the two actors for their roles. At seven minutes, The Process of
Age Progression looks at the makeup and techniques employed to
bring the characters from youth to old age. Creation of the Special Effects
runs over ten minutes and looks at the seamless digital imagery employed
throughout the course of the film. At almost six minutes in length, composer
James Horner discusses Scoring the Film. Running over twenty-two
minutes is Inside A Beautiful Mind, which a more generalized
PR type featurette that covers various aspects of the production. Other
disc two supplements include storyboard comparisons for five scenes, clips
from the Academy Awards, a soundtrack promo, a theatrical trailer and
bonus trailers for other Universal titles. A BEAUTIFUL MIND is
also DVD-ROM enabled, with the disc offering access to various on-line
content.
I
really don’t have to say that A BEAUTIFUL MIND is a great movie-
the four Oscars speak volumes about this film. As for the DVD, Universal
has produced a first rate disc that offers a great looking transfer and
solid soundtrack, in addition to some excellent supplemental materials.
If you’ve seen A BEAUTIFUL MIND, you will want the DVD, if you
haven’t seen the film, then the DVD is the best way to get acquainted
with it outside of a theater.
While
Ron Howard’s films have always been very competently directed, I’ve found
them to be rather lacking in distinctive visual style. This opinion about
Howard’s work has been changed with the release of A BEAUTIFUL MIND
($30), a more mature and visually impressive work that rightfully earned
him an Academy Award for Best Director. In addition to being recognized
for Howard’s work, A BEAUTIFUL MIND also earned the coveted Oscar
for Best Picture, as well as one for Best Supporting Actress (Jennifer
Connelly) and one for its screenplay.
A
BEAUTIFUL MIND is based upon the life of Noble prizewinning mathematician
John Nash, although some dramatic license has been taken with to bring
his story to the screen. As the film opens in 1947, we encounter brilliant
graduate student and Carnegie Scholarship winner John Nash (Russell Crowe)
at Princeton University. Right away one becomes aware that Nash is something
of an odd bird; a social outcast who never attends classes- convinced
that his intellect is beyond anything being taught in a classroom. Instead,
Nash spends his time in pursuit of an original idea- something that will
revolutionize some aspect of mathematics. After months of drawing a complete
blank, Nash finally comes upon his original idea- one that dramatically
changes the face of economics.
With
this major achievement under his belt, Nash moves on to become a professor
at MIT, in addition to doing classified work for the government at Wheeler
Labs. Of course his professorship at MIT comes at a cost, Nash is actually
required to teach some classes and there he meets a beautiful student
named Alicia (Jennifer Connelly), who takes an aggressive interest in
the socially retarded professor. As Nash begins a romance with Alicia,
a government agent named Parcher (Ed Harris) approaches him and assigns
him the task of deciphering secret messages that are being sent to foreign
operatives in America. Eventually all of the cloak and dagger work weighs
too greatly on Nash’s mind causing a psychological break, when the audience
finally learns how much of the mathematician’s existence is fact and how
much is fantasy.
The
heart of A BEAUTIFUL MIND is in the outstanding performances, which
really draws the audience into the inner and outer worlds of John Nash.
Russell Crowe is phenomenally good portraying Nash; in fact, his performance
here greatly outshines his Oscar winning work in GLADIATOR. I’m
glad to see Jennifer Connelly finally getting the recognition she deserves;
I’ve been a fan since her earliest screen appearances. Her performance
in A BEAUTIFUL MIND perfectly complements that of Russell Crowe
and her honest portrayal of the strengths and frustrations of Alicia Nash
richly deserved the Oscar. The first rate cast of A BEAUTIFUL MIND
also includes Christopher Plummer, Paul Bettany, Adam Goldberg, Josh Lucas,
Anthony Rapp, Jason Gray-Stanford, Judd Hirsch, Austin Pendleton and Vivien
Cardone.
Universal
Studios Home Video has made A BEAUTIFUL MIND available on DVD in
a 1.85:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for 16:9 displays.
This is really a beautiful transfer, one that produces a consistently
crisp image that is rich in detail. Colors are vibrant and fully saturated,
plus the flesh tones are always appealing and quite convincing. Despite
the intensity of some of the hues, there are no signs of noise or smearing.
Blacks appear completely inky, contrast is terrifically smooth and shadow
detail is excellent. Additionally, the beautifully lit image always gives
the impression of great depth. The film element itself is virtually perfect
without flaws or truly appreciable grain. Dual layer authoring precludes
any noticeable signs of digital compression artifacts.
BEAUTIFUL MIND is offered with
a fine sounding Dolby Digital 5.1 channel soundtrack. Much of A BEAUTIFUL
MIND is dialogue driven, so the mix isn’t overly complex, with the
forward soundstage maintaining dominance most of the time. Active sound
effects are used judiciously, but effectively in key moments of the film.
The surround channels do see some activity for effects, but primarily
provide an ambient sense of depth and musical fill. Speaking of the music,
James Horner’s score is beautifully recorded and integrated into the mix
with good sonic clarity. Dialogue is always cleanly rendered with total
intelligibility. A French 5.1 channel soundtrack is also encoded onto
the DVD, as are English and Spanish subtitles.
Full
motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD’s interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to the standard scene selection
and set up features, as well as the supplemental materials, which are
spread across both discs of this two-disc set. Disc one includes two separate
running audio commentaries; the first features director Ron Howard, while
the second is with screenwriter Akiva Goldsmith. Both talks are interesting
and approach the film from different viewpoints; causal listeners will
get more from Howard’s comments- so this is definitely the track to start
with. Howard covers multiple aspects of the production, including working
with the actors, as well as separating fact from fiction in this screen
account of John Nash’s life. By contrast, Goldsmith’s talk emphasizes
character development and the screenplay. Also included on disc one are
eighteen deleted scenes, which offer optional director’s commentary. As
in most films, the footage was removed from A BEAUTIFUL MIND for
reasons of pacing and does not make any significant changes to the screen
story.
Moving
on to disc two, we find the bulk of the supplemental features, which include
eleven featurettes and other materials. A Beautiful Partnership:
Ron Howard & Brian Grazer runs slightly over five minutes
and looks at the team that comprise Imagine Entertainment. Clocking in
at over eight minutes is Development Of The Screenplay,
which features screenwriter Akiva Goldsmith who discusses the process
involved in bringing the story to the screen. Meeting John Nash
is eight minutes in length and offers an informal meeting between Nash
and director Ron Howard. Accepting The Nobel Prize In Economics
is an under two minute clip showing Nash accepting his prize at the official
ceremony.
In
the five-minute featurette Casting Russell Crowe & Jennifer
Connelly, director Ron Howard discusses how he came to select
the two actors for their roles. At seven minutes, The Process of
Age Progression looks at the makeup and techniques employed to
bring the characters from youth to old age. Creation of the Special Effects
runs over ten minutes and looks at the seamless digital imagery employed
throughout the course of the film. At almost six minutes in length, composer
James Horner discusses Scoring the Film. Running over twenty-two
minutes is Inside A Beautiful Mind, which a more generalized
PR type featurette that covers various aspects of the production. Other
disc two supplements include storyboard comparisons for five scenes, clips
from the Academy Awards, a soundtrack promo, a theatrical trailer and
bonus trailers for other Universal titles. A BEAUTIFUL MIND is
also DVD-ROM enabled, with the disc offering access to various on-line
content.
I
really don’t have to say that A BEAUTIFUL MIND is a great movie-
the four Oscars speak volumes about this film. As for the DVD, Universal
has produced a first rate disc that offers a great looking transfer and
solid soundtrack, in addition to some excellent supplemental materials.
If you’ve seen A BEAUTIFUL MIND, you will want the DVD, if you
haven’t seen the film, then the DVD is the best way to get acquainted
with it outside of a theater.
