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The Pursuit of Happyness (Widescreen Edition)
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Additional DVD options | Edition | Discs | Price | New from | Used from |
DVD
March 20, 2007 "Please retry" | — | 1 |
—
| $2.87 | $1.56 |
Watch Instantly with | Rent | Buy |
Purchase options and add-ons
Genre | Drama |
Format | AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Widescreen, NTSC, Dubbed, Subtitled, Multiple Formats, Dolby |
Contributor | Kurt Fuller, Thandie Newton, Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Dan Castellaneta, James Lassiter, Steve Tisch, Will Smith, Brian Howe, James Karen, Jaden Smith, Gabriele Muccino, Columbia Pictures; Nord-Ouest Productions See more |
Language | English |
Runtime | 1 hour and 57 minutes |
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Product Description
Product Description
Will Smith stars in this moving tale inspired by the true story of Chris Gardner, a San Francisco salesman struggling to build a future for himself and his 5-year-old son Christopher (Jaden Smith). When his girlfriend Linda (Thandie Newton) walks out, Chris is left to raise Christopher (Jaden Smith) on his own. Chris' determination finally pays off when he lands an unpaid internship in a brutally competitive stockbroker-training program, where only one in twenty interns will make the cut. But without a salary, Chris and his son are evicted from their apartment and are forced to sleep on the streets, in homeless shelters and even behind the locked doors of a metro station bathroom. With self-confidence and the love and trust of his son, Chris Gardner rises above his obstacles to become a Wall Street legend.
Amazon.com
A heartwarming film that demonstrates how good, hard-working people can become homeless almost overnight, Pursuit of Happyness is a tour-de-force showcase for Will Smith, who convincingly portrays a down-and-out dad trying to better his family's life. Smith, who usually is cast in effortlessly boyish roles (Men in Black, Independence Day), is wonderful in the film--even in the scenes that shamelessly tug at viewers' heartstrings. Based on the true-life story of Chris Gardner, a San Francisco salesman forced at times to shelter his young son (played by Smith's adorable look-alike offspring Jaden Smith) in a men's room, there is little suspense to the film in terms of Chris' outcome. (His story and eventual success a successful and wealthy Chicago businessman was well-publicized on the newsmagazine show 20/20.) And let's face it, Hollywood's not too keen on making feel-good movies with unhappy endings. The beauty (and suspense, to a certain extent) of this film is in the way the story is told. Though he is constantly rushing around to get to appointments and pick up his child, things do not happen quickly for Chris. When he accepts an internship with a prestigious stock brokerage firm, there's a catch: The position is unpaid, suitable more for trust-fund children than single parents with no other source of income. In many scenes, the viewer panics along with Chris, wondering how he's going to feed his child. While Smith and his son, Jaden, share many tender moments together, Thandie Newton has the thankless role of playing Chris' shrill wife, who deserts her family early in the film. It's not a particularly challenging part for the talented actress, and her departure doesn't impact the storyline much at all. As for the movie's misspelled title, it's inspired from a scene in the film. (Seeing a mural drawn by the children at a daycare center, Chris points out to the proprietor that "happiness" is spelled incorrectly. She notes that it doesn't matter how the word is written--just that the kids have it.) With Pursuit of Happyness, Smith has come out of his safety zone and, in turn, ends up playing his most heroic role to date. --Jae-Ha Kim
Extras from The Pursuit of Happyness
Behind the scenes footage of
The Pursuit of Happyness
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Chris Gardner:
"On Being Studied By Will Smith"
high bandwidth
Will Smith And Jaden Smith:
"On Will Always Being In Character"
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Beyond The Pursuit of Happyness on Amazon.com
More Films Starring Will Smith
More Films About Fathers & Sons
Stills from The Pursuit of Happyness (click for larger image)
Product details
- Aspect Ratio : 2.40:1
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- MPAA rating : PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned)
- Product Dimensions : 7.75 x 5.75 x 0.5 inches; 3.2 ounces
- Item model number : 15085
- Director : Gabriele Muccino
- Media Format : AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Widescreen, NTSC, Dubbed, Subtitled, Multiple Formats, Dolby
- Run time : 1 hour and 57 minutes
- Release date : March 27, 2007
- Actors : Will Smith, Thandie Newton, Brian Howe, James Karen, Dan Castellaneta
- Dubbed: : French
- Subtitles: : English, Spanish, French
- Producers : Jason Blumenthal, Will Smith, Steve Tisch, Todd Black, James Lassiter
- Language : English (Dolby Digital 5.1), Unqualified, French (Dolby Digital 5.1)
- Studio : Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
- ASIN : B000N6U0E2
- Number of discs : 1
- Best Sellers Rank: #27,541 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #4,583 in Drama DVDs
- Customer Reviews:
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The result is Will's best performance in any film yet. Will himself (in the "Making Persuit" fetaurette on this DVD) proclaims this film as his greatest achievement to date.
I have to agree that choosing a European director was a very wise choice. It gives the film a realism and a point of view that would have been hard to find in a Hollywood director. Muccino's saw this as an "American dream" come true story, and how a father-son relationship should be.
The final scene, showing Gardner's final interview with the Big Bosses including his reaction once he gets outside the building, was possibly the most touching moment I have ever seen in a movie. His expression and reaction was so real, so emotional I couldn't help but cry with him for joy and for his pain through the journey. The perfect choice to end the film.
Extras:
# Father and Son: Onscreen and Off
This is a great introduction to Will's son, Jaden. It shows that the filmmakers were reluctant to consider him at first. It was only after testing thousand of boys in three weeks (and not being happy with any of them) that director Gabriele Muccino asked the other producers if they thought it would be ok to audition Will's son. Jaden blew the other kids out of the water in the tests and the chemistry between him and Will made their relationship on film all the more real.
# The Man Behind the Movie: A Conversation with Chris Gardner
This is a short featurette (8-9 minutes) with clips from an interview with the real Chris Gardner. It was interesting to learn that the real Reverend who ran the outreach center where Chris and his son stayed a few nights, Rev. Cecil Williams, played himself in the film. Chris Gardner insisted on it! The location was also the real place. Chris said that without Cecil Williams, thousands of San Fransisco's homeless (including Gardner) would be in desperate trouble or even dead. We also learn that the subway-bathroom where Chris and son spend a night was an exact replica of the real one. We learn that the director insisted they use real homeless people as extras to play many of the homeless! And many other interesting facts.
# Making Pursuit: An Italian Take on the American Dream
This is where we learn the most about the choice of Gabriele Muccino as director. A fantastic featurette documenting the making of the film, specifically experienced from a first-time English-speaking-movie director. Imagine directing actors and a crew in your second or third language and not being able to express your thoughts or ideas very well because you don't know the words! Fascinating how he pulled it off!
# Inside the Rubik's Cube
A short featurette (under 6-7 mins) about the rubics cube. It was invented by a Hungarian. In the 80's 1 out of 4 households had one. The HUGE success helped bring Hungary out of communism. And more history. Also a bit about "cubing" today.
# "I Can" Song (audio only)
A song written for the film, but not used in the theatrical release. Nice, but hard to *only* listen to a song (without seeing video attached) since this is a dvd.
# Audio commentary with director Gabriele Muccino
Commentaries are some of my favorite features on DVD's. But they are either hit or miss. This one was very good! Muccino starts off explaining how he got involved with the film (hand-picked by Will Smith) and his initial meetings with Will where they discussed their visions for the story. He described some of the challenges directing such a HUGE production, including the insane amount of extras in some scenes (he says American extras are the most professional he has ever encountered), to the period cars (some scenes had well over 100 cars from the period (early '80s), to how he selected and then directed some of the actors. He expresses his deep admiration and respect for Will Smith as an actor and how well Smith took critique and direction.
An EXCELLENT film with some great extras. I highly recommend this to anybody who loves their family and wants to pursue a dream! :)
The Pursuit of Happyness is not what I expected it to be. Every time I thought I knew where the film was going I was surprised. There was no politics or racial overtones to the film, again not what I expected. The everyday struggle of a man and his young family who are just trying to keep a roof over their heads and food in their bellies is very gritty and realistic.
But the biggest surprise for me was in Will Smiths acting. I never thought of him as a great actor. Good yes, great no. When I watch a Will Smith film I can never fully get into his characters because I never forget that I'm watching Will Smith. I have the same issue with Tom Cruise and even with Denzel Washington and Brad Pitt lately. I immediately forgot that I was watching Will Smith while watching this film, the desperateness in Chris Gardner's situation was present from the opening minutes.
The story never gives way to the stereotypical rags to riches tale. The movie is inspirational not because the guy is going through all of these hard times, but because we see he is trying his best and most of the time his best is not good enough. It echoes Ira Glass and his infamous skill speech. He was already doing his best and not succeeding, only a chance encounter that Mr. Gardner acted upon changed his reality. The film is definitely inspiring for several reasons but that's just the proverbial tip of the iceberg.
I'm sure this film has played in several sociology classes since 2006. The film breaks the mold in several subtle ways. Mr. Gardner is turned away from the women's shelter of which there are numerous in San Francisco to the only shelter where men are allowed. This is an underlying problem in the United States where homeless men are not treated the same as a homeless women. The other issue that was fresh to this film was that Mr. Gardner was a single father, not because his wife died as would be expected but because the child's mother essentially gave up on the family. He was a single African American father at that, this goes against so many stereotypes in American culture regarding the absent fathers in the African American community.
There is so much to learn from a film like this. Never give up on a dream. Don't be lazy even when you are dead tired and have legitimate excuses to be. This was best seen in the scene with Mr. Gardner studying at night by the window. Don't judge a book by its cover. This was best seen in the interview scene when Mr. Gardner is covered in paint, and again when they are invited to the 49er's game.
That's not to say the film is perfect by any means, some of the subplots take up way too much screen time and the film could have shaved at least five to ten minutes off of the run time. This is one of those films that came at the right time and place in my life for me to truly respect what was accomplished in regards to the true story and the film itself. Check it out and leave your expectations at the door.
Top reviews from other countries
Chris Gardner ( Will Smith ), papa d'un petit garçon de 5 ans, a du mal à joindre les deux bouts. Tout bascule le jour ou sa femme le quitte, le laissant seul avec son fils dans la précarité. Encouragé par l'affection et la confiance de son fils, Chris se démène pour trouver la force de surmonter les obstacles…
Une relation père & fils bouleversante, renforcée par l'éclatante complicité entre Will Smith et son fils.
Une véritable leçon de vie, de courage et d'abnégation.
La risposta ce la danno Will Smith e Jaden Smith, padre e figlio nella realtà così come nella finzione della celluloide, che nel 2006 ci hanno regalato questa perla da collezione sotto la regia del celeberrimo Gabriele Muccino.
Al centro della narrazione fluttua la Dichiarazione d'indipendenza americana, che dà anche il titolo al film: "Noi riteniamo che [...] tutti gli uomini sono stati creati uguali, che essi sono dotati dal loro Creatore di alcuni Diritti inalienabili, che fra questi sono la Vita, la Libertà e la ricerca delle Felicità."
Tratto fedelmente da una storia vera, "La ricerca della felicità" racconta la vita di Chris Gardner, uomo dei primi anni '80 che tenta di realizzare il cosiddetto sogno americano acquistando come libero professionista centinaia di macchinari rivoluzionari in ambito medico.
Purtroppo, presto Chris deve confrontarsi con una realtà crudele: il macchinario è davvero rivoluzionario, ma anche tremendamente costoso e sono ben pochi gli studi medici e gli ospedali disposti ad acquistarlo.
Avendo speso tutti i risparmi di una vita per gli apparecchi, lui e la moglie si ritrovano a dover fare i doppi turni, cercando disperatamente di guadagnare il necessario per mandare a scuola il figlioletto di cinque anni (in un asilo abusivo cinese) e tirare avanti fra litigi sempre più frustranti.
Il rapporto fra i genitori arriva a un punto critico quando Linda decide di andarsene e urla a Chris che lei non è più felice. A nulla serve rivelarle che Chris ha appena consegnato il proprio curriculum alla Dean Witter, un'imponente azienda di consulenza finanziaria, in quanto come stagista non guadagnerebbe nulla fino all'assunzione. Che è difficilissima da ottenere: solo venti candidati vengono scelti per il colloquio, e di questi soltanto uno, dopo aver sostenuto non solo i mesi da stagista (con l'obiettivo di vendere quante più azioni possibile) ma anche un durissimo esame scritto, viene selezionato per l'assunzione.
Contro ogni pronostico, grazie a un incredibile colpo di fortuna che gli permette di sfoggiare la sua intelligenza nella risoluzione del Cubo di Rubik, il gioco-tormentone dell'anno, Chris riesce a passare la prima scrematura e viene chiamato per il colloquio alla Dean Witter.
Nel frattempo i debiti si accumulano (non avendo pagato le tasse per troppo tempo, lo Stato gli preleva la somma direttamente dal conto, lasciandolo con poco più di venti dollari; il padrone di casa lo sfratta; a stento riesce a comprare qualcosa da mangiare), fino a quando, in un climax commovente di disgrazie, lui e il piccolo Christopher si ritrovano a vagare per le strade della città, alla disperata ricerca di un giaciglio, di cibo, di soldi.
A Chris resta ancora un solo macchinario da vendere, ma quando si ritrova a proporlo a un dottore interessato all'acquisto si rende conto che è guasto. L'unica speranza per Chris è riuscire ad aggiustarlo, ma non può acquistare gli strumenti per farlo. Nel frattempo lavora fino allo stremo come stagista, per poi correre ogni sera dall'altra parte della città per mettersi in coda davanti a un ricovero per mendicanti con il suo bambino.
"Non può piovere per sempre" diceva il Corvo, ma i mesi passano e sembra che per Chris le nubi non si debbano mai aprire. E' qui che scopriamo a cosa può arrivare un uomo disperato ma con una dignità aurea, cosa si può arrivare a vendere pur di dare da mangiare al proprio bambino.
Poi, un giorno...
Beh, vi ho detto fin troppo.
In realtà non pensavo che avrei scritto tanto, ma questa è una di quelle storie impossibili da dimenticare, corredate da una colonna sonora che è essa stessa una fiaba.
Una chicca: due anni dopo, Muccino e Smith lavorano nuovamente insieme sul set di "Sette anime", una delle storie più drammatiche e tragiche che siano mai state portate sul grande schermo. Parla di...
No, non mi fregate. Non vi dirò di cosa parla "Sette anime", non in questo post.
"Questa è un'altra storia" direbbe Michael Ende... e così vi dico io.