Crash (2004)

Los Angeles citizens with vastly separate lives collide in interweaving stories of race, loss and redemption.

Director:

Paul Haggis

Writers:

Paul Haggis (story), Paul Haggis (screenplay)

Stars:

Don Cheadle, Sandra Bullock, Thandie Newton

Won 3 Oscars. Another 64 wins & 111 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Karina Arroyave	...	Elizabeth
Dato Bakhtadze	...	Lucien
Sandra Bullock	...	Jean
Don Cheadle	...	Graham
Art Chudabala	...	Ken Ho
Sean Cory	...	Motorcycle Cop
Tony Danza	...	Fred
Keith David	...	Lt. Dixon
Loretta Devine	...	Shaniqua
Matt Dillon	...	Officer Ryan
Jennifer Esposito	...	Ria
Ime Etuk	...	Georgie (as Ime N. Etuk)
Eddie J. Fernandez	...	Officer Gomez (as Eddie Fernandez)
William Fichtner	...	Flanagan
Howard Fong	...	Store Owner

Storyline

Over a thirty-six hour period in Los Angeles, a handful of disparate people's lives intertwine as they deal with the tense race relations that belie life in the city. Among the players are: the Caucasian district attorney, who uses race as a political card; his Caucasian wife, who, having recently been carjacked by two black men, believes that her stereotypical views of non-whites is justified and cannot be considered racism; the two black carjackers who use their race both to their advantage and as an excuse; partnered Caucasian police constables, one who is a racist and uses his authority to harass non-whites, and the other who hates his partner because of those racist views, but who may have the same underlying values in his subconscious; a black film director and his black wife, who believes her husband doesn't support their black background enough, especially in light of an incident with the racist white cop; partnered police detectives and sometimes lovers, one Hispanic female ...

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Plot Keywords:

racist | racism | race relations | stereotype | social problem | 

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Taglines:

You think you know who you are. You have no idea.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, sexual content and some violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English Persian Spanish Mandarin Korean

Release Date:

6 May 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Crash

Filming Locations:

3500 S. Gaffey Street, San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$6,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$9,107,071, 8 May 2005, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$54,580,300, 6 April 2006

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$98,410,061, 12 July 2006

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bob Yari Productions, DEJ Productions, Blackfriars Bridge Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min 115 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Is one of only two movies (the other being The Sting (1973)) to have won the Academy Award for Best Picture without having been nominated for any of the three Golden Globe Awards for Best Motion Picture (Best Drama, Best Comedy/Musical and Best Foreign Film).

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Goofs

When the gun store clerk is listing the "types" of bullets that will work in the gun, he says ".45 long Colt". This is a caliber not a type and too large a caliber to fit this revolver. A later closeup of the box of ammunition confirms the gun is a 38 special.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Graham: It's the sense of touch. In any real city, you walk, you know? You brush past people, people bump into you. In L.A., nobody touches you. We're always behind this metal and glass. I think we miss that touch so much, that we crash into each other, just so we can feel something.

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Crazy Credits

The film's title isn't shown until all of the opening credits are completed.

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Alternate Versions

The two-disc director's cut DVD features an additional two minutes of dialogue and footage

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Connections

Referenced in 'Crash' Featurette (2005)

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Soundtracks

Whiskey Town
Written and Performed by Moot Davis
Published by Highway Kind Music (ASCAP)
Courtesy of Little Dog Records

User Reviews

Clashing Crash In Devil's City

Lives, ordinary lives, vital part of a city where, I'm sure, the devil has him home. Contradictory, awful, enlightened, confused. There are so many good moments in "Crash" that I felt the need to see it again less than 24 hours later. Matt Dillon lead us through his own contradiction with the humanity of someone who knows he carries something rotten inside. The explosive dissatisfaction that permeates Sandra Bullock's life is ferociously real and the frustration of Thandie Newton's character is a first on the screen. We've never seen it quite like that and her performance will stay with me. Larenz Tate personifies both sides of the equation, the one who understands but goes against his instincts, and still there are chilling flashes of innocence in his eyes -- his performance reminded me of the wonderful "Seeds Of Tragedy" were his innocence was intact. The problem with "Crash" and it is problem is that remains a rather shallow affair. Cleverly put together but epidermic at best.