Rain Man (Special Edition) (DVD)

I do remember watching Rain Man at the cinema many years ago but I never had it in my DVD collection until just recently when I spotted it on offer at play.com. The film was made in 1988 and was much acclaimed at the time, winning four Oscars including the best actor in a leading role for Dustin Hoffman, best director and best picture.

For those who do not know, Rain Man tells the story of Charlie Babbitt (played by Tom Cruise) and his ...
...own way.

Rain Man is a very thought provoking film and I think it does well to highlight the characteristics of autism. Charlie's treatment of his brother at first, impatient, irritated and trying to make him conform is a great demonstration of all the wrong ways to behave towards people with autism. It is also quite heartbreaking For Charlie as towards the end when he realises that there is only so much that he can do to forge a brotherly ... more

I do remember watching Rain Man at the cinema many years ago but I never had it in my DVD collection until just recently when I spotted it on offer at play.com. The film was made in 1988 and was much acclaimed at the time, winning four Oscars including the best actor in a leading role for Dustin Hoffman, best director and best picture.

For those who do not know, Rain Man tells the story of Charlie Babbitt (played by Tom Cruise) and his discovery of his brother Raymond (Dustin Hoffman) who he never knew existed until the death of their father. Charlie fell out with his dad many years ago but was still hoping to inherit more than three million dollars. This is until he discovers that he has only been left his father's old Buick Convertible and a few plants while the bulk of the estate has been left to an unknown beneficiary. A little detective work leads a very angry Charlie to the Walbrook Institute, where by chance he discovers his brother who has autism. Charlie virtually kidnaps Raymond in an attempt to persuade Raymond's trustee to sign over half the money. However, in taking him halfway across America, Charlie starts to bond with Raymond and starts to learn things about his brother that help him to make sense of the past.

During the course of the film, Charlie takes Raymond on the long journey to his home but he soon learns that living with someone with autism is not easy. Raymond refuses to fly on any airline that has a history of crashing and as the only airline never to have suffered one is Quantas it makes flying out of the question. Then Raymond refuses to go anywhere while it is raining which results in long hours holed up in motel rooms. However, during these times, Charlie does discover Raymond's exceptional memory and observation skills which he takes full advantage of when they travel through Las Vegas! By the time they arrive, Charlie feels that he is starting to bond with his Raymond but is it too much to hope that he will get anything back from his autistic brother?

This is an extremely moving and poignant film and definitely well worth watching. Not only is there the physical journey taken by the two brothers, but Charlie also goes on an emotional journey too. At the start of the film he is a most unlikeable character - brash, arrogant, insensitive and totally self absorbed - but through getting to know Raymond he seems to soften at the ages. He is played incredibly well by a very young Tom Cruise (with very eighties hair I might add!) and I think this was a great performance. I also liked the role played by Charlie's long suffering girlfriend, Susannah (played by Valeria Golino) who helped to demonstrate just how self- centred Charlie is at the start of the film. However, unsurprisingly, the best performance is definitely that by Dustin Hoffman and I don't find it surprising at all that he won the Oscar. Raymond is an incredibly fascinating character and I was totally convinced by Hoffman's portrayal. His lack of emotion throughout is so very well sustained and is extremely moving in its own way.

Rain Man is a very thought provoking film and I think it does well to highlight the characteristics of autism. Charlie's treatment of his brother at first, impatient, irritated and trying to make him conform is a great demonstration of all the wrong ways to behave towards people with autism. It is also quite heartbreaking For Charlie as towards the end when he realises that there is only so much that he can do to forge a brotherly relationship with Raymond.

I really enjoyed this film and it's definitely one that you are likely to want to watch more than once.

As the DVD I have is the Collector's Edition there are a number of extras that are all worth taking a look at. These include:

The journey of Rain Man featurette
The Fog: a look at the mysteries of autism
Audio commentaries by director Barry Levinson and writers Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass
Deleted scenes
Photo gallery
Original trailer

If you are into watching the extras I definitely recommend the first two featurettes.

The Special edition DVD is available on Amazon for £5.88. It has a 15 rating and a running time of 128 minutes.  

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