Search - Waking the Dead [Widescreen] on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Brief Nudity, Adult Language, Sexual Situations Movie Release: 2000 DVD Release: 09/26/2000 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV - Closed Captioned Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 46 mins Studio: Polygram USA Video Members Wishing: 3 Genres: Drama, Romance, Romantic Drama, Period Film, Political Drama See Also: Waking the Dead

A man finds his melancholy turning to madness in this thriller. Young lawyer Fielding Pierce (Billy Crudup) has just thrown his hat in the ring for an upcoming congressional election. He has also been haunted by the memory of his girlfriend Sarah (Jennifer Connelly), who recently died in a car bombing -- and haunted not just figuratively but literally: he's seeing apparitions of Sarah everywhere, and he's starting to wonder if she's really there or if he's going mad. Waking the Dead is based on a novel by Scott Spencer, who also wrote Endless Love, and directed by actor-turned-filmmaker Keith Gordon. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Billy Crudup - Fielding Pierce
Jennifer Connelly - Sarah Williams
Molly Parker - Juliet Beck
Janet McTeer - Caroline Pierce
Paul Hipp - Danny Pierce

Another dark, atmospheric offering from director Keith Gordon, Waking the Dead has thankfully found the audience it deserved in the theater on cable and the home entertainment market. This excellent, budget-priced DVD not only showcases the moody romantic drama perfectly, but the disc's extras actually enhance the movie itself. Longtime Gordon collaborator Tom Richmond's evocative and chilling camera work is expertly transferred to the small screen in the anamorphic widescreen process, and the Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track is crystal clear and well-balanced. Besides these technical coups, what makes the disc better than average is director Gordon's audio commentary and a batch of deleted scenes. Gordon's entertaining and illuminating audio commentary will be of interest to the movie's fans, but will be of real value to students and budding filmmakers -- it's like taking a seminar with the director himself. Gordon walks you through the making of Waking the Dead, but even more importantly, he explains his decision-making process every step of the way. Gordon's commentary is also available for the 12 deleted scenes that are featured on the DVD. While the finished theatrical film focuses more on the bleak romance between stars Billy Crudup and Jennifer Connelly, the deleted scenes take you deeper into the internal struggle that is enveloping Crudup's congressional candidate, his feelings that he may be selling out his ideals for success and his nuanced relationship with his loving working-class family. One deleted scene with Ed Harris (who's glimpsed only briefly in the finished film) is especially powerful, while other, more humorous scenes, makes it plain that Crudup's character helps his troubled brother at a key juncture (when, in the finished film, it seems as if he refuses to aid him). These deleted scenes enrich the movie deeply and yet they detract from the central love story. While it was understandable why so many rich scenes were excised from the film, Waking the Dead is actually one of the few movies out there that merits a restored director's cut. The disc also features a very short promotional featurette on the movie and the theatrical trailer. ~ Nick Dedina, All Movie Guide