Pleasantville (1998)

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

Director:

Gary Ross

Writer:

Gary Ross

Stars:

Tobey Maguire, Jeff Daniels, Joan Allen

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 18 wins & 42 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
William H. Macy	...	George
Joan Allen	...	Betty
Natalie Ramsey	...	Mary Sue
Kevin Connors	...	Bud
Jeff Daniels	...	Mr. Johnson
Tobey Maguire	...	David
Heather McGill	...	Girl in School Yard
Paul Morgan Stetler	...	College Counselor
Denise Dowse	...	Health Teacher
McNally Sagal	...	Science Teacher
Jane Kaczmarek	...	David's Mom
Giuseppe Andrews	...	Howard
Reese Witherspoon	...	Jennifer
Marissa Ribisi	...	Kimmy
Jenny Lewis	...	Christin

Storyline

David Wagner is a kid whose mind is stuck in the 1950s. He's addicted to a classic 50's sitcom television show called "Pleasantville". Pleasantville is a simple place, a place where all of its citizens are swell and simple-minded folks, a place where the word "violence", and life outside of Pleasantville, is unbeknownst to its inhabitants; things are perfect down in Pleasantville. One evening, the life of David and his obnoxious sister Jennifer take a bizarre turn when an eccentric repairman hand them a supposed magical remote. After a quarrel between the siblings, they inexplicably zap themselves into the world of "Pleasantville". Now, David and Jennifer must adjust to a 50s lifestyle of repressed desires and considerably different societal values while trying to find their way home.

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Plot Keywords:

1950s | trapped in tv | censorship | symbolism | rebellion | 

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Taglines:

Pleasantville - It's Just Around the Corner

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Writer and director Gary Ross acknowledges these cinematographic homages: The scene of J.T. Walsh in front of the bowling alley scorecard recalls Patton's speech in front of the American flag in Patton (1970); The courtroom segregated into black-and-white characters downstairs and "colored" characters upstairs recalls To Kill a Mockingbird (1962);

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Goofs

When David/Bud is pulling up to his home with the firemen to put out the burning tree, he is heard yelling, "Alright, stop... stop!" At this point you can already see his face in profile and he is clearly not saying anything.

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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 Danny Thomas Show (1953)

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Soundtracks

Cachita
Written by Rafael Hernández and Bernardo Sancristóbal
Performed by Juan García Esquivel (as Esquivel) and Juan Carlos Esquivel (as Esquivel)

User Reviews

A brilliant and vastly underrated cinematic experience

PLEASANTVILLE had to be one of the biggest surprises I've ever had at the movies. This superbly mounted and completely winning fantasy starred Toby Maguire and Reese Witherspoon as a contemporary teenage brother and sister who are magically transported into a black and white television show called "Pleasantville", a show similar to "Leave it to Beaver" or "I Love Lucy", where everyone in the town knows each other, where the fire department only saves cats from trees and never put out fires and where there are no pages in the books or toilets in the bathrooms. Maguire's character is a "Pleasantville" trivia expert so he knows everyone there and everything that's going to happen but sis Witherspoon is a stranger in a strange land whose introduction of 1990's sensibilities to the citizens of this town brings about extraordinary changes. The film is beautifully made with a very smart screenplay and superb performances, the best of which is by Joan Allen, who is luminous as Betty, the mother in the sitcom who is shocked at first but learns to accept the 1990's coming to Pleasantville. Yes, it may borrow from other movies, but there is a freshness and originality to this movie that is most engaging and anytime with Don Knotts is time well spent.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 October 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pleasantville

Filming Locations:

Petaluma, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,855,063, 25 October 1998

Gross USA:

$40,584,421

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$49,805,462

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