Ghost World

Ghost World
by Terry Zwigoff

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Category: DVD
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DVD details

Actor: Brad Renfro, Illeana Douglas, Scarlett Johansson, Steve Buscemi, Thora Birch
Director: Terry Zwigoff
Brand: BIRCH,THORA
Writer: Terry Zwigoff
Producer: Barbara A. Hall
Producer: Janette Day
Producer: John Malkovich
Producer: Jonathan Weisgal
Producer: Lianne Halfon
Writer: Daniel Clowes
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 111 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-02-05
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)

DVD Reviews of Ghost World

DVD Review: feast for the eyes
Summary: 4 Stars

chagelling story, dark sense of humor, next door characters and one of the greatest visual impact I've had. Np wonder why PRADA inspired one of its latest collections on the character played by Thora Birch.

DVD Review: Gen X: The Movie
Summary: 5 Stars

I loved this flick. It's "Gen X: The Movie".

"So, Todd, what are you going to be when you grow up?"

"Well, I'm majoring in Business Administration, and thinking of minoring in Communications, so ..."

"See, that's exactly the type of thing we're trying to avoid."

This nails the Gen X, Douglas Coupland, Seattle, Nirvana, early - mid '90s mood perfectly: Indecision; disdain of corporate fakeness and conformity; nagging fear that you've somehow "missed the boat" in life; awareness that America is faltering, but yet nothing bad has really happened.

Yes, Scarlett Johansson went on to be a star, but Thora Birch steals the show.

DVD Review: Meaningful and Moving observation of Alienation and Loneliness
Summary: 4 Stars

In some ways, the film "Ghost World(2001)" is brilliant. Few films have captured on such a realistic and intimate level, the plight of so many people both lost and alone. It's a portrait of modern society that really should be discussed alot more than it is.

The plot follows two High School pals(Thora Birch and Scarlet Johansson) and there travels into adult life and responsibility. The film begins very humorously with the sardonic duo's comments on the plastic people that occupy everyday society, both biting and honest. However, there maturity,and ultimately, purpose is challenged, when one of there pranks goes awry on a lonely record collector played by Steve Buscemi. After this encounter, the duo become more seperate. Johansson begins to mellow out and finds a job and responsibility, while Birch attempts to find her place in the world as everything chnages around her.

The acting in "Ghost World" is among the best presented this decade. Birch and Johansson are both excellent and it was not surprising to see them gain careers from this picture. They are both funny and exceptionally beautiful young women which sets a basis for one of the film's thesis', particularly in Birch's case. Birch is an exceptionally pretty and very well formed young woman who can't seem to find friends or a date. Men barely notice her and it's based more around her choice of clothing and intellectual side than anything. Birch's subtle signs of loneliness are very real and reflect many young people that i've known. Her seemingly sardonic asides and attitude merely masking her yearning for acceptance and love that she only encounters seldomly. The eventual relationship she has with Buscemi's character is very heartfelt and moving throughout and forms one of the anchors to the picture.

Johansson's character is representive of that character that many of us have to become in order to survive in society. While intelligent and looking down ona grea number of society, she ultimately is forced to conform to survive and her needs and interests change as a result. She becomes largely absent from the second half of the picture but her friendship with Birch is important and moving nonetheless. The subtle farewell scene they have at the conclusion is so quietly painful.

Buscemi deserved an Oscar for this, his best role. An almost clueless loner who collects records and old paraphenalia, admitting that they act as a replacement for the lack of people within his life. He is a realistic and sympathetic character and always interesting throughout. The actor has made a career out of playing eccentrics and weirdos and while some may classify his character as a "weirdo", he's really one of the most normal and human characters i've seen depicted in cinema in quite some time.

This is an exceptionally well directed film and thankfully never falls to the excessive fast-paced editing and new age nonsense that distracts from so many modern productions. It's well paced and always is the film entertaining and enthralling.
It's unfortunate that the ending is so ambiguous. While, it is understandable what the author's intentions may have been, that of having Birch either drift away from life and dissapear and/or be swallowed up in the shallow recesses of mature monotony, this does not make a fully suitable ending. After two hours with these characters, the final seven minutes of the film are somewhat dissapointing, even if they can be forgiveable.

Despite this ending though, "Ghost World" still ranks as one of the most intelligent and best acted films of this decade and is highly reccomended for fans of Dark Comedy and Existentionalist Cinema.

DVD Review: good
Summary: 4 Stars

i received my order fast and in good shape. i would do business with them again

DVD Review: Wait, this isn't another pointless teen movie!
Summary: 5 Stars

Well I had heard that this was a good movie. I saw it for 4.99 and decided to get it. During the first 10 minutes I was almost sure I wouldn't like it. It seemed like your average movie made now a days. After a while though I got drawn in to the story. It is about two girls who are best friends. It is the day of their high school graduation. They are a lot alike. They are also planning on moving into a place together. So everything is fine and good. That is until some things happen that make them realize that they are both different people. Some of the things are one of the girls can not keep a job. So she has no money to pay rent. Also, the same girl starts talking to this guy she meets. She sees him selling records and finds out he is a neat guy. Things happen with him and her while her friends has a job and looks for a place to live. There is a lot more to the movie. But I'm not one to give away the story. So, buy it. You can find it so inexpensive. I usually sell movies when I am finished watching them. This one though was so good, it has found a place in my collection.

Also, the soundtrack is really good. It has some older blues stuff. So those who pay attention to that sort of thing, or music lovers. Will enjoy it for that reason as well.

Description of Ghost World

Thora Birch (American Beauty) and Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation) "sneak into your heart and stay there" (Rolling Stone) in this "eerie, masterful movie" (Movieline) from the acclaimed director of Crumb. Co-starring Brad Renfro (Deuces Wild), Illeana Douglas (Stir of Echos) and Steve Buscemi (Fargo) in "the best role of his career" (Movieline), Ghost World is a "smartly strange comedy [that] stands out like the Taj Mahal" (Time)! While their classmates head for college, Enid (Birch) and Rebecca (Johansson) focus their energies on tormenting those around them - from a goofy convenience store clerk (Renfro) to an eccentric art teacher (Douglas). But when they zero in on an oddball loner (Buscemi) looking for Miss Right, their seemingly innocent meddling threatens to shatter one of their hearts not to mention their lifelong friendship.

If you've ever felt alienated by the world around you, Ghost World will offer laughter, tears, and reassurance that you are definitely not alone. Adapted by Daniel Clowes and Crumb director Terry Zwigoff from Clowes's acclaimed graphic novel, the movie spends summer vacation with high school graduates Enid (Thora Birch) and Rebecca (Scarlet Johansson). They inflict little tortures on the denizens of urban sprawl, wielding scathing irony as a defense against a "ghost world" full of pop-cultural lemmings and uncertain futures. But when Enid picks a 40-ish vintage-record collector (Steve Buscemi) as the target of her latest cruel prank, she finds herself unexpectedly attracted to him ("he's the opposite of everything I completely hate") and is forced to confront her own crushing loneliness. This combination of deadpan sarcasm and deeply compassionate humanity makes Ghost World a rare and delicate comedy, with an ambiguous ending that suggests tragedy or hope, depending on your own point of view. --Jeff Shannon

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