A Beautiful Mind (DVD)

'''My Reason For Purchasing A Beautiful Mind DVD.'''
I wrote this review a year or so ago for another review site which has since closed. I thought I would upload it here as A Beautiful Mind is one of my favourite Drama films ever and I just wanted to recommend it and give some opinions on it. There is quite a few reviews already about it, but I just wanted to give my two cents worth also.

A Beautiful mind is one of my favourite ...
...Well I watched this film a few years ago at the Movie house and I enjoyed it so much, that I bought it on DVD when it first was released. I have watched it several times over the years and each time I do, I love it more and always seem to pick up on something I missed in the film the previous time I watched it. This really is an excellent film that really will keep you glued to your seat in my opinion.

Well this Movie was first released ... more

My Reason For Purchasing A Beautiful Mind DVD.
I wrote this review a year or so ago for another review site which has since closed. I thought I would upload it here as A Beautiful Mind is one of my favourite Drama films ever and I just wanted to recommend it and give some opinions on it. There is quite a few reviews already about it, but I just wanted to give my two cents worth also.

A Beautiful mind is one of my favourite Russell Crowe Movies. I actually like this better than the movie Gladiator. Well I watched this film a few years ago at the Movie house and I enjoyed it so much, that I bought it on DVD when it first was released. I have watched it several times over the years and each time I do, I love it more and always seem to pick up on something I missed in the film the previous time I watched it. This really is an excellent film that really will keep you glued to your seat in my opinion.

Well this Movie was first released on December 21, 2001. It is directed by Ron Howard and was produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard. It was written by Sylvia Nasar (The book) and Akiva Goldsman. The book is excellent by the way, but I have to say they really did a great job of packing everything into this Movie also. The Music from this film is by James Horner. The film runs for around 135 minutes. A Beautiful Mind apparently has made over $300 million worldwide, and went on to win four Academy Awards, including one for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actress. It was also nominated for four other awards, so it really was a top movie of it's day, is still quite popular and not yet dated.

The Cast :

• Russell Crowe as John Forbes Nash.
• Jennifer Connelly as Alicia Nash.
• Paul Bettany as Charles Herman.
• Ed Harris as William Parcher.
• Josh Lucas as Martin Hansen.
• Adam Goldberg as Sol.
• Anthony Rapp as Bender.
• Vivien Cardone as Marcee.
• Christopher Plummer as Dr. Rose.

The film, A Beautiful Mind is based on the touching true story, of the interesting and somewhat mysterious life of John Forbes Nash, a truly mathematical genius. John Nash won a Nobel peace prize Laureate for Economics in 1994. This film starts off with John Nash's arrival at the Princeton University in New Jersey USA. John Nash soon develops his "Original Idea" as a graduate, that will help to bring radical change to the world of mathematics. Early on in this movie, John Nash sadly begins to develop paranoid schizophrenia and has a few episodes of it at first that come and go. This film I found, really will grab your full attention right from the very beginning of it.

Well as the film unfolds and while you painstakingly watch the loss and burden that his condition schizophrenia brings on John Nash's wife and his friends around him, you will also start to feel as if you are really part of this film I feel and you certainly will be left with plenty of afterthoughts and a better understanding of how peoples minds work with schizophrenia.

The Plot Of The Movie:
The Movie begins with John Nash's (Russell Crowe) arrival at the Princeton University in America, as a new, young and very handsome graduate. He received a Carnegie Prize for mathematics and won his way into the University. He is supposed to get his own room there, but soon learns he will be sharing it with a guy named Charles (Paul Bettany) who is a literature student at the university also. It is not long before Charles becomes John Nash's best friend after he gives John some good advice about his life. Charles and John soon bump into and become good friends with a few other science and math students at Princeton, like Martin Hansen played by (Josh Lucas), Sol, played by (Adam Goldberg) and also Bender played by (Anthony Rapp) although Johns friendship with them at times feels slightly awkward. John also tells his friend Charles near the start of this film, that he is better with numbers than with people, so this gives you an idea of what his character is like.

Well John soon meets and connects with a student called Alicia (Jennifer Connelly). She is a smart girl and John really falls for her. Jennifer Connelly won best supporting actress in 2002 for her excellent performance in this film. I will not say much more, as I do not want to spoil anything, but her character is excellent and she does a wonderful job of learning to understand John and at helping him.

The movie then really begins and really does have many twists and turns that are quite unexpected at times. As each scene unfolds you really will wonder what is real and what is not. It really is an excellent film with a very touching and fascinating story indeed.

There is plenty of other unusual characters introduced also throughout this film and nearly all of them are very likable and very interesting indeed. They are all played by the excellent star studded cast that this film has.

You really do need to watch every single second of this movie. It is not hard to follow really, but you do meet a lot of interesting characters and you do not want to miss anything about them at all.

Russell Crowe certainly plays the character John Nash brilliantly. Of course he already has shown us in other films just how well he can act and is certainly up there with the top stars of today. He really becomes the character John Nash, right down to his strange and nervous ways, to his cute little ticks and hand motions. Everything about John Nash really comes through in Russell Crowe. We meet a character we learn to love, fear and learn to understand through his beautiful and very unusual mind.

My Thoughts:
This really is one mans true battle with schizophrenia made so carefully into a film, that it really gives you a real life like feeling of what it is to live with the illness for yourself. It really is very well-done and so well written. The story is quite sad in parts and has you really feeling sorry for John Nash and for Alicia his wife. Russell Crowe plays the part of John Nash and being a schizophrenic exceptionally well. His acting is excellent along with many of the other stars in this movie.

The Movie is mostly set in John Nash's early years at University and the scenes and costumes from the 1950s are all really good, of that time period and it even shows you a type of remote control of that era, which I found interesting. The aging effect of make-up is a little overdone at times, but it does not take anything away from this film. Well the makers of this film displayed everything so realistically and accurately right down to the actual illness schizophrenia. There is not a lot of special effects or anything in this film, just a good film set from the 1950's really, but the ones there are, are done very well, adds a nice little touch, but it's not meant to be realistic really.

This film really did surprise me when I first ever watched it. I was not sure if I was going to like it because of it's storyline, but boy was I wrong. It really had me smiling afterwards and thinking more about this illness and how ones mind works. I thoroughly enjoyed every second of this film and you know what. I still do when I watch it. It really had a great storyline indeed and it makes it more appealing, I personally think, knowing that it was based on a true story of one mans battle with this illness and trying to overcome and beat it with so much determination.

Overall Opinion.
This really is a great film that I highly recommend for everyone to watch if they have not yet done so. It makes a great couple of hours entertainment and leaves you understanding this terrible illness a lot better than before. It really would be a great film for anyone to watch who is working with mental illness, studying it, or has a family member with this illness also. For me it was a great eye opener to this illness.

This Movie truly is one of the best true drama stories I have ever seen. It is for over thirteen's I believe, which is probably about right in my opinion, as it would be a little complicated for younger children. It really is a must have DVD to add to your collection, as watching it time again, always seems to bring up something you have missed about the story. It really is very jam packed, but is not a drawn out film by any means, as every second of it is very entertaining and you certainly will not want to miss a bit, as it really is so interesting and very carefully and cleverly acted out.

Overall an excellent film and storyline with superb acting from everyone involved. Russell Crowe is certainly the star of this film. It also has a great ending to this film with many little twists along the way and right up to the very end. A great, yet somewhat provoking film, that is a little deep really, but certainly is very highly recommended by me. Seriously if you have not seen this film before, please do add it to your list. You will not be disappointed at all. This Movie will be a Classic one day in my opinion.

Extras:
This DVD comes with two discs. The first disc is the movie itself and it also contains 'by the way' easy listening and appropriate classical music the whole way through this film, that is very touching and meaningful to each scene of the story also. I believe a separate soundtrack to this film is also available.

The second disc is deleted scenes with optional commentary from the director and production notes. It also features documentaries from the making of the Movie itself and is a great added disc to watch in my opinion, with some useful information on it.

Well I most certainly have to give the Film A Beautiful Mind 5/5 for a superb storyline, excellent acting, the careful portrayal of schizophrenia, the many interesting characters that pop up throughout it and just for being one of the best films I have had pleasure watching.

A Beautiful Mind is available to buy online at Amazon for just under £7.00 at the moment. I know I paid a lot more for it a few years ago and I am sure it could be picked up a lot cheaper also. It certainly is every penny well spent for this excellent film in my opinion and I am pleased to have it in my collection of DVDs.

©hildas/hillhead

Summary: Award winning Drama, for over 13yrs, that will certainly grab your full attention.
 

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