Pleasantville (1998)

Two 1990's teenagers find themselves in a 1950's sitcom where their influence begins to profoundly change that complacent world.

Director:

Gary Ross

Writer:

Gary Ross

Stars:

Tobey Maguire, Reese Witherspoon, Joan Allen

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 16 wins & 23 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tobey Maguire	...	David
Reese Witherspoon	...	Jennifer
William H. Macy	...	George Parker
Joan Allen	...	Betty Parker
Jeff Daniels	...	Bill Johnson
J.T. Walsh	...	Big Bob
Don Knotts	...	TV Repairman
Marley Shelton	...	Margaret Henderson
Jane Kaczmarek	...	David's Mom
Giuseppe Andrews	...	Howard
Jenny Lewis	...	Christin
Marissa Ribisi	...	Kimmy
Denise Dowse	...	Health Teacher
McNally Sagal	...	Science Teacher
Paul Morgan Stetler	...	College Counselor

Storyline

A brother and sister from the 1990s are sucked into their television set and suddenly find themselves trapped in a 1950s style television show. Here they have loving parents, old fashioned values, and an overwhelming amount of innocence and naivete. Not sure how to get home, they integrate themselves into this "backwards" society and slowly bring some color to this black and white world. But as innocence fades, the two teens begin to wonder if their 90s outlook is really to be preferred.

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Plot Keywords:

1950s | innocence | 1990s | television | color | 

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Taglines:

Nothing Is As Simple As Black And White.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some thematic elements emphasizing sexuality, and for language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 October 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Amor a colores

Filming Locations:

Pasadena, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£322,622 (UK) (12 March 1999)

Gross:

£790,203 (UK) (26 March 1999)

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Larger Than Life Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Early appearances of color: the red rose, after the encounter at Lover's Lane;

• pink bubblegum seen in the hallway at school;
• one girl's pink tongue;
• the red hearts of the cards in the bridge hand;
• the subtle green of the car in front of the diner;
• the jukebox in the diner becomes multicolored the guy in front of the jukebox combs his hair with a yellow comb Jennifer's red cherry on her shake in the diner;
• the pink cherry blossoms reflected in the side mirror of the car;
• the subtle green of the grass at Lover's Lane before it turns completely colorized.

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Goofs

The closing credits end with "Dedicated to: J.T. Walsh 1943-1997". However, J.T. Walsh died in 1998.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[David is gazing admiringly at a pretty blonde girl]
David: *Hi*
[chuckles]
David: I mean, Hi. Uh, look, you probably don't think I should be asking you this. I mean, not knowing you well and all? I mean, you know, I, I, I know you, 'cause everybody knows you. I just don't know you technically. Uh, anyhow. Uh, I don't know what you're doing this weekend, but my mom's leaving town, and she's letting me borrow the car.
[...]

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Crazy Credits

The New Line logo plays in complete silence.

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Connections

Features The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet (1952)

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Soundtracks

"Sparkle of Love"
Written by Robin Bissell
Performed by Robin Bissell (as Bissell), Bourgeois and Bruno Coon (as Coon)

User Reviews

A brilliant fairytale..

I thoroughly enjoyed "Pleasantville" from the 'Once upon a time' through the film fading to black.

The acting was top notch all around, as was the use of special effects; in very few films has colour been used so effectively that it can convey a story seemingly without help from dialogue or music.

I can see how some people would perceive it as merely another mouthpiece of liberalism, but I watched it twice, and I only noticed it attacking bigotry and censorship. What was wrong wasn't that these people were living according conservative values, but that they didn't really choose those values in the first place!

I like the fact that the film was bold, and that it made its point as directly as it contrasted the black and white with the splotches of Technicolour. While "Pleasantville" had little subtlety in its allegory, it was, like any good fairytale, beautiful in its simplicity.

Nine out of ten =)