Search - Pollock [Special Edition] on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Not For Children, Profanity, Substance Abuse, Sexual Situations Movie Release: 2000 DVD Release: 07/24/2001 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Edition: Special Collection Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 2 hrs 2 mins Studio: Columbia TriStar Members Wishing: 0 Genres: Drama, Marriage Drama, Biopic [feature]

Artist Jackson Pollock revolutionized American painting in the 1940's with his exciting abstract canvases that used dripped and splattered paint in a manner at once excitingly physical and structurally intelligent. While Pollock became a heroic figure in the art world, his private life was nothing to envy, and this biography looks at both his professional triumphs and personal tragedies. In 1941, Pollock (Ed Harris) was a bitter and struggling painter when he met Lee Krasner (Marcia Gay Harden), a fellow artist with whom he was appearing in a joint gallery show. Krasner was intrigued by Pollock, and immediately sensed the importance of his work; they quickly became lovers, and as Krasner realized his superior talent, she began devoting herself to promoting Pollock's work. When Peggy Guggenheim (Amy Madigan) agreed to present a show of Pollock's paintings at her Art of This Century gallery, his name was made, and a profile in Life magazine solidified his reputation as one of the art world's most important figures. But success did not bring Pollock peace of mind; while he long had a taste for alcohol, his new fame sent his drinking out of control, and his infidelity with numerous women (including Guggenheim) eventually destroyed his relationship with Krasner. Pollock was the first feature directed by actor Ed Harris, who also plays the title role; the cast also includes Val Kilmer as artist Willem de Kooning and Jennifer Connelly as Ruth Kligman, one of Pollock's lovers. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Ed Harris - Jackson Pollock
Marcia Gay Harden - Lee Krasner
Amy Madigan - Peggy Guggenheim
Jennifer Connelly - Ruth Kligman
Jeffrey Tambor - Clement Greenberg

Pollock, the portrait of the troubled and self-destructive artist Jackson Pollock, makes its way to DVD and Columbia/TriStar should be commended for the fine disc they've produced. The image, which uses an anamorphic transfer framed at 1.85:1, is outstanding, with only a small number of distracting elements. Colors are bright and well saturated, but the most effective part of the transfer might just be the flesh tones, which are near perfectly reproduced. The 5.0 English track is certainly adequate for a film like this, though there is no use of the surrounds and only a limited amount of sound from the front left and right speakers. As for extra material, this disc has a good selection of rather impressive features. First up is a commentary track from the very soft-spoken director/actor Ed Harris. Though at times he mumbles and is difficult to understand, his love for art and filmmaking is evident. Equally important, though relatively short, is an excellent 20-minute featurette covering many aspects of the production. Also included is the Charlie Rose interview with Harris where he goes into even more detail about his passion for the artist and the desire to get this project made. Four deleted scenes, along with two trailers and some filmographies, round out this nice special edition. ~ Trent Fordham, All Movie Guide