Crash - The Director's Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition)

The one thing this film’s detractors simply cannot abide, or forgive, is the auto wreck rescue scene with Matt Dillon and Thandie Newton. They either refuse to accept the officer’s ability to change bigoted attitudes the way he ostensibly does, or they’re too offended by what they see as the scene’s representation of black dependency on white benevolence. These are fair objections. But the refusal to question their assumption about inability to change is a prejudice all its own. Crash is a film about, more so than anything else, assumptions, and it asks everyone to question two assumptions, about anger and change, with wide-ranging implications for how people get along in the world.The common assumption about anger says that conflict among people, say racial conflict, triggers fear then anger. But here are some new premises to consider. Bear with me--there is a cinematic point here. There’s a school of thought that says “race” is a fabrication, a social construct, a piece of fiction created by the mind (to, say, rationalize subjugation). If one considers that there are virtually no biological differences among humans, that there’s only one human species, this thinking is correct. It’s also widely accepted in psychology that there is in life for most people a certain inherent anxiety, a persistent low intensity fear that compels us to look around for threats--an inheritance from thousands of years of evolution (an adaptive function), even if different people today experience that anxiety in different ways. It follows that perceived threats in the environment (say, for instance, different skin color) can easily trigger that anxiety, then the closely related emotion anger (“… anger is the subjective experience that accompanies aggressive impulses.” [Averill]), then aggression that may follow. In other words, people have a built-in anxiety that, in a sense, looks around for threats real or perceived. Racial difference turns out to be one of those threats, even if a social construct. The threat intensifies anger (in preparation for aggression). The anger produces conflict, even if the threat was a perceived one. So that racial conflict doesn’t precipitate anxiety and anger, even if it feels that way. But rather anxiety and anger predicate the construction of race and then precipitate racial conflict. It’s a massive corruption of the adaptive functions of these emotions, originally intended to keep us safe but now causing conflict. “Different” may seem to be the problem, but it’s really not. The problem isn’t on the outside, it’s on the inside--anxiety and anger. That’s the Crash. From anger that becomes crippling, the folks in this film are crashing into their own selves, and they’re forced to question their assumption about the origin of their anger … just as the film asks you to question yours. How Socratic!Crash involves racism, but it isn’t about racism. It’s about anger and change: recognizing the control anger has in our lives (like an addiction) and making a decision to change that, to give it up, to surrender it. All of the characters are dealing with an unbridled anger which they need to let go of before it destroys them. We may have to accept the inherent anxiety. But when the old way of being doesn’t work anymore, when there’s just too much pain, the anger can be changed, even if an emotional crisis is usually needed to do that. The inability for this kind of change is the second assumption the film asks you to question. And the film-makers are making their case that if we question the origin of our anger, we can let go of some of it, allowing people to change both themselves and the way they get along with others.There’s a spectacular heartbreak to the way these crises are portrayed, especially by Terrence Howard, who is unforgettable. And there’s a real artistry to this film that makes it a both exhilarating and thoughtful rendition of the transformative power of pain. Full of anguish, defiance, courage, humor, and beauty, Crash is a gorgeous, even if at times difficult, parable about change and hope. Twelve years after its release, it's clear its Best Picture Oscar was well deserved. The film may be a bit too much for some. But for others, it’s what cinema is all about! Roger Ebert wrote of this picture, “Not many films have the possibility of making their audiences better people.” But when art reaches deep into the viewer and touches both feeling and thought, that art can change people in ways that may last a lifetime. What nobler purpose is there of art. Crash is that kind of art. It acknowledges the mystery of life and, in portraying that mystery so elegantly, helps the viewer make peace with it. And wouldn’t we all eventually like to be able to say, in Pat Conroy’s beautiful words (from The Prince of Tides), “It is the mystery of life that sustains me now.”

The people who dislike this movie either ARE the people in the movie or completely miss the point of it. Outstanding cast! I bought it cold from a DVD bin at Sprawlmart before it was even nominated just for all the A-list stars.

In the last line of this film, you will hear a Black woman say, “Don’t talk to me unless you speak American.” What?This film accurately depicts the randomness and chaos in life, along with fate and racism, maybe even destiny… as we make our feeble attempts to control it all. You decide. However, the film fails to address the root cause of racism, especially how racism is learned, many times inculcated since birth by many parents with little to no skills thereby perpetuating further hate and violence on this planet, along with all of its associated sadness and heartbreak. With scenes of love and transformation, it keeps the viewer wanting more. Now this…Almost 4-decades ago, I met a man, randomly… so I thought. He taught me how to fly using his personal 1943, Beechcraft Staggerwing D-17s (a large, red biplane) and a Luscombe 8c, along with a couple of other aircraft. He was a retired American Airlines captain and his name was Jess E. Shryack (Godspeed, Captain Shryack).I went on to become a professional pilot (among many other professions), which a kid from my background and economic status could never have dreamed possible. I recently attributed the encounter with Captain Jess “Cappy” Shryack to fate, not randomness… maybe even destiny? In fact, although not featured in this film, Captain Shryack also taught John Travolta to fly the Boeing-707… and Jess never even told me. I only discovered that fact after Cappy’s death in 2008.Here’s the mind-blowing part of it all - At least it was for me. As I viewed the credits at the end of this film, I realized just how much fate, randomness, chaos, destiny, violence, love, true friends and good parenting were a significant determining factor in my life. How?It turns out that the Boom Operator for this film (see Crew Credits at the end) is the youngest son of Captain Jess Shyrack (Joel Shryack)… the son of that random man that taught me to fly so many decades ago. This “randomness” has been verified and documented – I had forgotten the single time I so briefly met Joel almost 34 years ago in Justin, Texas at the Flying “S” Farm where I initially learned to fly airplanes.There are no such things as coincidences. Know that! Pay attention to the random events, chaos and all the rest. It might just change your destiny, or fate, too. Stay close to God! – James M. Paton, Waco, Texas – a retired, albeit broken, professional pilot, etc… and like in the film… with a loser for a “brother."

Good price and speedy delivery.

Es una buena pelicula, no viene en español latino, pero viene con subtitulos.

Flawless performances from an understated cast, yet the vignettes offer barely a few minutes screen time apiece and most have probably enjoyed several weeks build-up in fur lined trailers "in-character" before playing to the lens.Best performance? Take your pick, I won't be arguing, but for me Matt Dillon deserves the nod if only for the demonstrating just how far he has travelled since 90210 and THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT...The film is far from perfect, and not the accurate portrayal it was held to be. The issues are as raw as you'll find them, but the characters remain superficial throughout. We get to know OF them without getting to KNOW them. I'll suggest Haggis took an enormous risk - and won - hanging his hat on story in favour of depth. None become worthy people. All are deeply flawed and possibly only one deserves redemption by the time the titles roll.The film uses a well tried if complicated formula. Take a multiple of disparate characters and observe as they proceed in parallel toward the concluding common plot point where unrelated lives finally knit together. Use Pulp Fiction as your template, but there the similarity ends. This movie is best enjoyed completely unspoiled, so for synopsis you'll have to look elsewhere. Taking a break midway doesn't mean confusion, but missing even a single minute risks denting your appreciation of the complete work.The direction is fluid and cohesive, though there is visibly still too much gloss for this set of LA tales. Haggis styles-it-out like Michael Mann...when he feels up to it.Heat [DVD] [1995]While replete with epithets and stereotypes intended to flesh out the race based social commentary, I recommend Spike Lees "Joints" for cinematic accuracy on the American (because it is unique) race issue. Lee tells it like it is because he really was "there". Bold enough to tell white folks the truth. Honest enough to tell black folks the TRUTH. Highly controversial, often offensive, leaving no-one unscathed. Jungle Fever [DVD]CRASH is class conscious, at times aloof and intellectual where it ought to be gritty ghetto. A "black" film for republicans? Unkind but valid. Haggis chooses race to steer the story carefully to his conclusion that our failure to understand each other is neither black nor white but human. We are equally capable of being exploited and of exploiting others. It's just a question applying sufficient motivation.CRASH saves its gilt-edged moment to the three-quarter mark, whereupon we are treated to a "SIXTH SENSE" revelation so solid that Haggis could have followed with dancing girls wearing Hitler fatigues and still not lost the Oscar. Speaking of which, it is obvious why folk regard the Academy Award as a steal. Brokeback Mountain [DVD] [2005]was the one THEY just couldn't vote for. Though I am yet to see Gylenhaal & Ledger, CRASH has too many vulnerabilities to have been assured victory in a straight punch-up. Ultimately the piece is bereft of character development, although due correction would turn this into the prelude to the long running franchise needed to fatten so many characters before your cinema ticket had run out.It remains simply brilliant story telling with no wasted footage. If you had read it, if someone recounted the way we did when video still meant Betamax, or you watched it unfolding scene by scene, it delivers its taller tale with clarity and with very few plot holes. It is exceptional entertainment that lands only metres short of art. Watch it for the first time and you'll be talking about it for days. Re-run the disc and it decends to a good night in, so much hinges on the plot revelations that you'll need to leave a lot of time before watching again to get the same buzz.Judged purely by what it is rather than what it tries to be, it remains my favourite of 2005 - no question.

Frau und Mann streiten sich. Wir wissen nicht, wo wir sind, wir wissen nicht, wer die beiden sind. Die Frau steigt aus dem Auto, der Mann folgt, die Kamera geht zurück und wir stecken mitten in den Nachwehen eines Unfalls. Kein größeres Vorspiel ist nötig. Willkommen in Los Angeles.Der zweite Kinofilm von Paul Haggis, dem Drehbuchautor von Million Dollar Baby, entstand 2003 und sah das Licht der Kinowelt erst in diesem Jahr. L. A. Crash ist einer von den Filmen, die dem Zuschauer das Gefühl geben, eine lange Durststrecke hinter sich gebracht zu haben. Endlich wieder ein Film, der von der ersten Minute packt und nicht mehr losläßt. Endlich.Es sind einfache Geschichten, die hier erzählt werden. Jeder Schritt ist nachvollziehbar. Um so härter ist es, sich diesen Geschichten zu stellen. Ausreden gelten nicht. Wir sehen alles und haben die Chance den Blick abzuwenden, dennoch sehen wir hin. Wir wollen das Spiel von Gut und Böse verstehen. Aber wie versteht man jemanden, dem das Wasser bis zum Hals steht und der auf Zehenspitzen balanciert und nach Luft zu schnappt? Nicht, daß wir uns falsch verstehen. Dies hier ist kein depressiver Film. Hier geht es um Hoffnung.L. A. Crash findet an einem Tag statt. Er erzählt Geschichten, die ineinander greifen wie Zahnräder. Auch wenn am Anfang die Stränge scheinbar unzusammenhängend wirken, werden sie elegant verbunden und zu einem großen Ganzen. Dabei ist nichts an der Idee berauschend neu. Wir kennen Magnolia und Go. Wir haben Short Cuts gesehen, uns überrascht nichts mehr. Und dann kommt ein Kanadier daher und erzählt uns von Menschlichkeit, von der Härte unserer Zeit und von der Angst, die sich wie ein Virus in unserer Gesellschaft ausgebreitet hat. Wir leben in Furcht, weil die Furcht in uns lebt. Dabei ist es egal, ob wir in Amerika, Patagonien oder hier bei uns zu Hause sitzen. Die Zeiten haben uns ängstlich gemacht.Das Casting hat große Namen, von denen keiner eine Hauptrolle spielt. Hauptrollen haben in diesem Film so viel verloren wie Kitsch oder Pathos. Jeder Charakter scheint sein eigener persönlicher Unfall zu sein, den das Leben zurückgelassen hat, als es mit 300 km/h in das neue Jahrtausend raste. Und weil es keine Hauptrolle gibt, dreht sich die Geschichte um jeden einzelnen von ihnen. Den Schauspielern scheint dabei die Seele seines Charakters ins Gesicht geritzt zu sein - Matt Dillon ist bitter, Don Cheadle hungrig nach der Gerechtigkeit und Sandra Bullock einfach nur verloren.L. A. Crash wirkt ausbalanciert und bei einer guten Balance sind große Effekte überflüssig. Und wenn sich zum Schluß hin ein Vorhang aus Schnee über Los Angeles legt, werden wir mit einer außergewöhnlichen Zufriedenheit zurückgelassen. Rob Grant hat geschrieben, Schnee wäre das Tippex der Natur. Besser hätte er es nicht treffen können. Der Schnee bedeckt die Fehler und die Häßlichkeit dieser Stadt. Er bringt sie zum Schweigen, und das Schweigen schlägt Wellen und die Stille geht auf uns über.

A film about racism, prejudice and the common negative assumptions we all make every day.Crash is a film about people, rich, poor, good, bad, black, white and every other shade of human being that inhabits Los Angeles. This racially and economically diverse group of people pursue lives that collide with one another in unexpected ways. They say that anyone on earth can be connected to any other person on the planet through a chain of acquaintances that has no more than five intermediaries and crash shows just how simple that can be.Primarily Crash is a film about racism, prejudice and the common negative assumptions we all make every day. Each of the main characters is faced with an event that will change their perception not only of their own lives but also the assumptions they make about the people who share the city of angels.There's a police detective whose mother can't quite kick her drug habit and whose brother already has three strikes and a warrant out for his arrest. Two car thieves who are constantly theorizing on society and race, a district attorney and his irritated and pampered wife. He doesn't want it made public that they've been car jacked by a black person because it might lose him the black vote. Then there's a racist veteran cop powerless to help his sick father, a successful Hollywood director and his wife who come to realise that success doesn't bring immunity from racism, a disillusioned father who buys a gun to protect his shop and a locksmith and his young daughter who is afraid of bullets until he gives her his special protective cloak.Although the blatant racism and bigotry may make us feel uncomfortable it is nonetheless a very realistic portrait and though few of us admit it we have all at some time or another made the same assumptions, if only in the company of those we feel comfortable with.Crash has a message for everyone, if you get it, you're sure to be a better person.