Monster`s Ball (US)
A lifetime of change can happen in a single moment
Certificate: R
Running Time: 112 mins
Retail Price: $24.99
Release Date:
Content Type: Movie
Synopsis:
A hard-hitting Southern drama tempered by a story of powerful, life-changing love. Hank (Academy Award® Winner - Billy Bob Thornton) is an embittered prison guard working on Death Row who begins an unlikely, but emotionally charged affair with Leticia (Academy Award® Winner Halle Berry), the wife of a man under his watch on The Row.
Special Features:
Over One Hour of Behind-The-Scenes Footage
Audio Commentary by Director Marc Forster and Director of Photography Roberto Schaefer
Audio Commentary by Marc Forster, Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thornton
Never-Before-Seen Deleted Scenes and Outtakes
IFC`s Anatomy Of A Scene
Video Tracks:
Widescreen Anamorphic 2.35:1
Audio Tracks:
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Subtitle Tracks:
CC: English
Directed By:
Marc Forster
Written By:
Milo Addica
Will Rokos
Starring:
Halle Berry
Amber Rules
Gabrielle Witcher
Billy Bob Thornton
Peter Boyle
Heath Ledger
Taylor Simpson
Casting By:
Suzanne Smith
Mark Bennett
Billy Hopkins
Kerry Barden
Soundtrack By:
Richard Werbowenko
Chris Beaty
Thad Spencer
Director of Photography:
Roberto Schaefer
Editor:
Matt Chesse
Costume Designer:
Frank I. Fleming
Production Designer:
Monroe Kelly
Producer:
Will Rokos
Eric Kopeloff
Lee Daniels
Milo Addica
Executive Producer:
Michael Burns
Mark Urman
Michael Paseornek
Distributor:
Studio Home Entertainment
Your Opinions and Comments
The movie itself is rather dull and moves too slowly.
Berry is nowhere to be seen during the first 45 minutes, but later shows up to give the performance that got her the Oscar. Did she deserve it? Quite simply, no. While Barry`s performance is not a bad one, this is not Oscar material. Her role wasn`t demanding and her lines were pretty much ordinary. Simply put - she wasn`t oozing her characters, and Oscar winners should (and usually do).
The video transfer is good. There are no compression signs and the colors are a little bit desaturated, which adds to the movie`s grayish atmosphere.
The DD 5.1 soundtrack is flat. There`s no usage of the surrounds, but that`s acceptable for this kind of a drama. The dialog is always clear.
The musical score (the piano piece in particular) is nice and slow, again, fitting the movie`s atmosphere.
The menus are animated with sound.
The extras include 2 commentaries, a behind the scenes look (including a featurette about the musical score) and 4 deleted scenes (which don`t add anything important).
Bottom line - Berry (aka "I love showing my boobs whenever I can") won the Oscar for her role only because the Academy decided to be politically correct and honor Sidney Poitier by giving the best actor and actress awards to black actors. The movie itself is not very impressive and will probably be forgotten soon.