Pleasantville

Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Tobey Maguire Director: Gary Ross Original UK Premiere: 1999 Dvd Release: 11th October, 1999 Number Of Discs: 1 Format: PAL, Widescreen, Region 2 Encoding Subtitled In: English

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Pleasantville is a film first released in Canada on September 17, 1998 starring Tobey Maguire, Reese Witherspoon, William H Macy, Joan Allen & Jeff Daniels. Don Knotts & J,T. Walsh are also featured. The film was written, produced & directed by Gary Ross, who also performed those duties for the more recent film Seabiscuit, which also starred Maguire & Macy. The film received Oscar nominations for its music, costume design & set decoration. The story is about David Wagner & his sister Jennifer Wagner, a brother & sister who are magically transported into the world of a black-and-white television program, also titled Pleasantville, where it is the year 1958. Pleasantville is much like the Springfield of Father Knows Best or the Mayfield of Leave It to Beaver. Maguire & Witherspoon play 1990s teenagers thrust into this world involuntarily. the literally monochrome world of Pleasantville blossoms, in steps small & large, into a rainbow of colors from the palettes of Titian, Monet, Gauguin, Renoir & van Gogh.

Fantastical writer Gary Ross makes an auspicious directorial debut with this inspired & oddly touching comedy about two 90s kids thrust into the black-and-white TV world of Pleasantville, a Leave It to Beaver-style sitcom complete with picket fences, corner malt shop & warm chocolate chip cookies. When a somewhat unusual remote control transports them from the jaded real world to G-rated TV land, Maguire & Witherspoon are forced to play along as Bud & Mary Sue, the obedient children of George & Betty Parker . 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 football stud Skip up to Lovers Lane for some modern-day fun & games. Soon enough, Pleasantvilles teens are discovering sex along with, gasp!, rock & roll, free thinking & soul-changing Technicolour. Filled with delightful & shrewd details about sitcom life , Pleasantville is a joy to watch, not only for its comedy but for the groundbreaking visual effects & astonishing production design as the town gradually transforms from crisp black & white to glorious colour. Ross does tip his hand a bit about halfway through the film, obscuring the movies basic message of the unpredictability of life with overloaded & obvious symbolism, as the black-and-white denizens of the town gang up on the coloureds & impose rules of conduct to keep their strait-laced town laced up. Still, the characterizations from the phenomenal cast, especially repressed housewife Allen & soda-shop owner Jeff Daniels, doing some of their best work ever, will keep you emotionally invested in the films outcome & waiting to see Pleasantville in all its final Technicolor glory.

Reese Witherspoon is an American actress perhaps most familiar as Elle Woods in the film Legally Blonde & its sequel Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde. Witherspoon was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She attended Stanford University but dropped out before completing her degree requirements. Witherspoon is a direct descendant of John Witherspoon, signer of the United States Declaration of Independence & founder of Princeton University. Her father is a surgeon & her mother is a nurse & college professor. She has a younger brother named John, who works as a real estate broker. Witherspoon married actor Ryan Phillippe on June 5, 1999. They have two children together, Ava Elizabeth Phillippe, born September 9, 1999 & Deacon Phillippe, born October 23, 2003. She is known for her versatility as an actress, playing both comedic & dramatic roles & has won Best Actress awards from the National Society of Film Critics & the Online Film Critics Society. Witherspoon was the voice behind the character of Greta Wolfecastle in an episode of The Simpsons. Posters Of Reese Witherspoon

Editors Choice: Legally Blonde 2, Legally Blonde, Just Like Heaven, Vanity Fair, Sweet Home Alabama, Best Laid Plans, Election, Pleasantville, View DVDology

Tobias Vincent Maguire is an American film actor. Working as a child actor since his early teens, he appeared in a variety of commercials & TV & movie roles. He auditioned for a part in the series Parenthood, where he met best friend actor Leonardo DiCaprio. Maguire gained significant attention for with his role in the film The Ice Storm, directed by Ang Lee. This soon was parlayed in a variety of lead roles where he played a thoughtful boy coming of age in a variety of films such as Pleasantville, The Cider House Rules & Wonder Boys. In 2002, he shot to stardom in the title role in Spider-Man, where he was praised for his performance of the troubled superhero. He further solidified his stardom in 2003 with a leading role as the jockey, Jonathan Red Pollard, in an acclaimed film about the famous American racehorse, Seabiscuit. Spider-Man 2, the sequel to the original blockbuster, was released in 2004. In 2004 Maguire also took up tournament poker. He has finished in the money in several events & has been tutored by poker pro Daniel Negreanu. Posters Of Tobey Maguire

Editors Choice: Seabiscuit, Spider Man, Spider Man 2, The Cider House Rules, Wonder Boys, Pleasantville, The Ultimate Villain Showdown, Ride With The Devil, View DVDology

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