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 enlarge | Director: Paul Haggis
Actors: Don Cheadle, Sandra Bullock, Thandie Newton, Karina Arroyave, Dato Bakhtadze
Studio: Lions Gate Films
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.98
Buy Used: $1.80
You Save: $13.18 (88%)
New (71) Used (110) Collectible (2) from $1.80
Rating:  994 reviews
Sales Rank: 4168
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), Korean (Original Language), Persian (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: Unrated
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 122 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: LGED17938D
UPC: 031398179382
EAN: 0031398179382
ASIN: B000A3XY5A
Theatrical Release Date: May 6, 2005
Release Date: September 6, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Ugh September 10, 2008
Cosmoetica (New York, USA)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Just when I think that the Right Wing mullahs that run this nation could not possibly be smarter than any other sort of human beings, I am proved wrong. The Los Angeles Guilty White Liberal has got to be the dumbest form of humanity going, even moreso than the inbred hillbilly. You know who I mean: the latte sipping crowd that brought you such critically lauded trash as The Hours, which plumbed every arts cliché imaginable; Monster, which revealed Feminazism's worst side (i.e.- murdering men is ok if the murderer disingenuously claims all men are bad rapists); or Million Dollar Baby, which proved that white trash are probably the only social group still open for out and out mockery. That last piece of tripe, incidentally, was penned by Paul Haggis, the man who wrote and directed this past year's Academy Award winning film of the year, Crash.... Perhaps the most ridiculous, and humorous, moment comes in a cameo where television actor Tony Danza plays a tv star who wants his black costars to sound more `black', so tells the black tv director to reshoot a scene. No one, in this day and age, is so clueless as to risk a lawsuit by speaking that way in public, yet the trio of fawning Left Wing dimwits comment on Danza's `subtle villainy', as if needing to display not a one of them has a clue as to the word's actual definition. Yet, cluelessly written scenes like that abound, and the fact that everyone associated with this film is clueless of them is telegraphed in the film's very first scene, where Cheadle ludicrously intones that people `crash into each other' just to feel something. Wow! Great concept for a title. Here's a better one: The Idiots Guide To Racism. Oh, wait, trademark infringement.
The fact is, although most human beings are idiots, in relation to their emotions, their idiocy is born of complexity, which only makes real world idiocy as racism so vexing and puzzling. But, instead of focusing on the vexing motives of people's bigotry, Haggis shows the shallowness of his understanding of bigotry, not the shallowness of bigotry itself, as well as his utter lack of ambiguity and realism in portraying his characters, their actions, and motivations. This film was two hours of pure movie hell, and one of the worst films ever made; and not in that schlocky Robot Monster nor Plan 9 From Outer Space way that can endear as years pass. It's especially so, considering that a bumper sticker would have sufficed to convey its trite message. I could literally go on for several more pages, detailing every ridiculous and phony thing in this film, and still not fully convey how truly atrocious watching this film was. It should be reviled as being every bit as bigoted and truly `full of hatred' for humanity, as anything Rush Limbaugh, or his ilk, ever uttered. That no one in Hollywood recognized this real `truth' unfortunately explains why this country is where it is right now, and why racism is not the problem, merely a symptom of the real ill.
 The Most Thought-Provoking Movie August 13, 2008
Tina Horton (Rancho Cucamonga, CA)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I would rank this movie as one of the very best that I've seen in years. How many movies present BOTH sides of a story in such a manner that it makes you wonder about your own perceptions? It seems to me that people who scored the movie very low are either extremely stubborn and don't want to "walk a mile in some else's shoes", just don't like to think while watching a movie, or living in a fantasy world where there are no problems. The whole point of the movie is that we stereotype cultures other than our own...so, of course, the characterizations are stereotypical!
 Anti-racism resource July 30, 2008
M. Randall Melton (Gonzales, Texas)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a terrific movie that addresses the issue of racism in our country. It has a good cast, including Sandra Bullock and Don Cheadle, two of my favorites. It's not what I'd call a blockbuster oscar-quality flick, but it's a socially relevant movie in ways that those kind of movies often aren't.
This should be a must see for any type of anti-racist training. Although some may say that this movie is too stereotypical, its realism will strike home and give us more than a little food for thought that may actually convict us, if we're lucky.
Hated it July 27, 2008
C. Courtney (Texas)
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
I am sorry but I am not into racism. I could not believe that Sandra Bullock even played in it. This movie was so stupid it is unreal. A cop trying to rape a woman in front of her husband, and then he had to tell her the next day or two when she was in a wreck that she needs to trust him. Ryan thinking a black boy was trying to kill him, shot the boy who was trying to show him something that they both have. He was a cop in the show and what he should have done was tell the boy he was a cop when he picked the boy up hitching a ride. Brandon was just to high class for my taste. He needs to stick w/ comedies. That is his strong suit. There is quite a few other big names but the bottom line rent it first before you buy it. I really wish I would had done that. I don't think it was worth my money.
What We Perceive June 25, 2008
S. Schell (Mason, OH United States)
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
It's a real case of beginner's luck for first-time director Paul Haggis. Having already scored an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay (Million Dollar Baby), Haggis takes the director's chair for this project and scores a big hit, one which won him Best Picture of 2005. With an all-star cast, a haunting score by Mark Isham and a thought-provoking screenplay, "Crash" is a bold tapestry of humankind at their best and worst and the circumstances that eventually connect them all are a wonder to behold.
All events within the film take place in a mere 24 hours (what a difference a day makes, eh?) with five different stories set in the melting pot of melting pots: Los Angeles, CA. The film opens and ends with a fender bender (hence the title) and the delicate issue of bigotry is dealt with a mighty blow here, a series of life-altering events affecting and eventually connecting all of the following people:
1) a black detective (Cheadle) and his Latino partner (Esposito)
2) two young black felons (Ludacris, Tate)
3) a white district attorney (Fraser) and his wife (Bullock)
4) a Persian shop owner (Toub) and his family
5) a Latino locksmith (Pena)
6) two white LA police officers (Dillon, Philippe)
7) an affluent black television producer (Howard) and his wife (Newton)
How are all these people connected, you ask? Well, if you've ever seen "Traffic", you'll get an idea of how each character manages to intersect the other in an odd "six degrees of separation". There are four different stories happening all at once that will culminate at the end. This is one of the many intriguing ways in which Haggis ties everything together into a coarse and pragmatic patchwork of life in these biased United States.
Crash's biggest accomplishment comes from the manner in which it realigns its characters' perceptions by imposing life-altering situations upon them, incidents which change them for either the better or the worse. While watching the characters' reactions to their environment, the audience is often forced to examine some of their own perceptions and "Crash" reveals time and again the bitter truth behind the majority of America's skewed philosophy.
Don Cheadle is excellent as Graham, a man who struggles constantly with the meager symmetry of justice. Matt Dillon is intriguing as Officer Ryan, a cop whose motives can be hard to determine but whom experience has given an inarguable wisdom. Bullock manages to play a character that's easy to hate, a pampered suburban wife who doesn't realize who her true friends are until she's literally crying out for help, one whom she least expects. Terrence Howard is remarkable as a television producer whose educated wife (Newton) harangues him about life's everyday prejudices after they are pulled over in a routine traffic stop in a wealthy neighborhood by two white cops. He is frustrated and angry with her but when he begins to see the fine lines of racism suddenly and heavily bleed into his life, he at first denies it, then proceeds into self-loathing and hatred. He eventually forgives his wife and comes to terms with various other people for their misgivings. Ryan Philippe impresses as the morally compromised Officer Hanson - there is a shocking moment in which he is truly tested on his obligations as an officer of the law and in that moment becomes the most hypocritical character of, despite having made perfectly clear his moral dilemma in the beginning. Most everyone else walks on and walks off but there isn't a bad performance to be had here (not even from hip-hop star Ludacris) and this ensemble cast makes the most of everything they've got.
Bottom line: There should be no argument as to what film has made the most impact in 2005 - one viewing of "Crash" will have you voting in its favor, hands down.
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