Shattered Glass
by Billy Ray
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DVD details
Actor: Chloë Sevigny, Hayden Christensen, Peter Sarsgaard, Rosario Dawson, Steve ZahnDirector: Billy Ray
Brand: Lions Gate
Writer: Billy Ray
Producer: Adam Merims
Producer: Craig Baumgarten
Producer: Gaye Hirsch
Producer: Marc Butan
Producer: Michael Paseornek
Writer: Buzz Bissinger
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: Anamorphic, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 94 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-03-23
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Lions Gate Films
Product features:
- DVD Details: Actors: Hayden Christensen, Chloe Sevigny, Steve Zahn, Peter Sarsgaard, Rosario Dawson
- Directors: Billy Ray
- Format: Anamorphic, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
- Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1; Number of discs: 1; Studio: Lions Gate
- DVD Release Date: March 23, 2004; Run Time: 94 minutes
DVD Reviews of Shattered Glass
DVD Review: One of 2003's very best movies. Highly recommended
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a gem of a movie should have received more commercial acclaim than it did when, as I think that it's one of 2003's very best. Although I did not see it during its theatrical run, I am glad that listened to a friend of mine who loved the movie when he saw it at the movies. It's so good that I am going to buy it, and I am not a big DVD buyer.
Although many of you are already familiar with this hard to believe true story, as it received much press and even appeared in the television show "60 Minutes," nothing you've heard can prepare you for this movie as its strength lies in its sublime acting, and even more importantly in the way the story is framed by writer and first time director Billy Ray. It makes for a quite a suspenseful and thrilling ride.
Possible spoiler ahead: If you've never heard of Steven Glass or the events that this movie chronicles, you may want jump to the next two paragraphs as not knowing anything in advance could make your movie experience may even more pleasurable than for those who know a little about it. In a nutshell the movie tells the story of a journalist at The New Republic" magazine, who had the unique talent to come up with and chronicle colorful stories that were a shot in the arm to a traditional magazine that was a must read mainly for policy-makers (yes, even Presidents) and other politicos.
Even those of you who know that Mr. Glass will not be remembered for his reporting but for the series of events that led to his ultimate downfall, will enjoy what is in essence a universal story about ambition, power, manipulation, reinvention and that we should not always believe what hear or even see in print. This message is especially important with the advent of the internet.
For those who skipped the previous paragraphs, the water is safe now. The movie brilliantly chronicles the ups and downs of a young journalist (played by Hayden Christensen in one of the year's best and most underrated performances) of a high-brow political magazine. At the start I mention that the movie's main strength lies in the manner in which it is framed, and I won't give that away.
One interesting fact that you will find out in the director's commentary (which is an invaluable extra on this DVD) about the movie's greatest strength is that was originally not told in its eventual framework. It was a last minute decision made when the original structure failed to impress anyone, including the director himself. From seeing the movie, you'd never know that to be the case, and it's one of those inside stories that to me represent the very best of what DVD extras should be about.
If it had not been for an additional couple of days of shooting after the initial wrap, the result was still have been good, but certainly not brilliant. While the release has no deleted scenes or outtakes (which is for the best as there is usually a reason for their exclusion from a film), I was overjoyed to hear the director's commentary over the entire movie as it is a lesson in filmmaking from a guy who directing his very first movie. The commentary was so interesting that I wound up in essence seeing the whole movie twice, as I saw it and immediately jumped into the commentary and I could not stop until it ended. Thank God that the movie is very tight and lasts just over 90 minutes.
As indicated above, Hayden Christensen's performance as Stephen Glass is as good as there was during 2003 and shows that he's not a one trick pony. He should in no way be judged solely on his wooden work in the underwhelming "Star Wars" series as there must be a dumbing down bacteria in water of where George Lucas is filming this trilogy. Peter Sarsgaard who portrays Chuck Lane, Glass' editor of The New Republic, gives one of the most nuanced and brilliant performances ever captured on film. He plays a guy you want to dislike, but you just might find yourself rooting for before the movie ends. Sarsgaard would have been a major movie star in the '70s, yet I hold hope that this performance makes other directors see what a talent he is. The performances would be considered outstanding even if they were not based on real people, but downright brilliant when one considers how hard it is to walk the line between caricature and an honest portrayal of real people, especially when some of the real people in the story were actually present during the making of this film.
There is really not a single performance that is not solid and it shows what great things can happen when a writer-director gives his all and is supported not only by a great cast but a crew that makes him look so masterful. In the commentary Ray gives specific credit to several experts in their respective fields who also supported him as a first time director. Even as a seasoned movie buff, I was surprised at my lack of appreciation of the people who make good directors look even better. Whether it's lighting, framing, scouting, or casting, the commentary made me want to know much more about the role of the people who we never get the public recognition that those in the forefront do. The director's commentary (maybe out of homage to journalism) highlights the few artistic liberties that he took in making this movie, which were supported by Chuck Lane, who also comments and expands on the words of Billy Ray.
The last five minutes of the movie are worth seeing time and time again. Although this may not mean anything right know, pay close attention to the group of people that Glass is speaking to as there is more than irony in those scenes. No, there is no big shock that is revealed, but something entirely more subtle and honest to the movie's structure. This is a must-see film which easily earns 5 stars.
Description of Shattered Glass
SHATTERED GLASS - DVD MovieShattered Glass is the best film about journalism since All the President's Men. If that seems like lofty praise, consider this: In telling the true story of fallen journalist and pathological liar Stephen Glass, writer-director Billy Ray had to thoroughly and believably demonstrate how Glass--played in a pitch-perfect performance by Hayden Christensen--could single-handedly betray the trust of vigilant editors, writers, fact-checkers, and copyeditors while he falsified numerous highly praised articles as a hot, seemingly gifted reporter for The New Republic magazine in the late 1990s. Making an assured directorial debut, Ray brilliantly explores the delicate office politics that allowed for Glass's ongoing deception, which was diligently exposed by a reporter (Steve Zahn) from Forbes Online Tool, thus toppling Glass's tower of lies and setting a noble precedent for online journalism. From Glass's ingratiating psychopathology to the anguish of TNR's then-unpopular editor (Peter Sarsgaard) as he discovers the extent of Glass's wrongdoing, Shattered Glass is a riveting, perfectly cast study of ambition gone sour, countered by the nobility of respectable journalists in the wake of a worst-case scenario. --Jeff Shannon
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