Rain Man (Award Series) (1988)

Have you ever had to communicate with someone on a different wavelength as you; for example because he speaks a foreign language and you don't have an interpreter, or because he is unable to communicate verbally at all, or maybe just because you keep misunderstanding each other? If so, you know what a frustrating experience it is to have virtually no control over the situation and over making sure that you're actually understood. And in precisely this situation finds himself Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise), personification of the 1980s' yuppie, a used car dealer with major money problems whose only tentative personal attachment is to his current girlfriend Susanna (Valeria Golino). Because having learned that except for a few rosebushes and a vintage 1949 Buick Roadmaster his recently-deceased father has left virtually all of his considerable fortune to his autistic brother Raymond (Dustin Hoffman) a brother he didn't even know he had Charlie decides to kidnap Raymond from the Cincinnati facility where he lives, take him to California, and demand half the inheritance in exchange for his brother's return.

Now, Charlie isn't the greatest communicator himself; at least as far as listening goes; he is used to talking people down, and if that alone doesn't do the trick, he starts to yell. This, however, just doesn't work with Raymond, who lives in a world of his own and, unable to express emotion in any other way, falls into a nervous tic when feeling threatened. So for the first time in his life Charlie has to learn to accept another human being for what he is, and work *with* his bewildering methods of communication rather than against them. And subtly, very subtly, Charlie begins to change, until at last he no longer wants to relinquish custody of Raymond even after having been offered a substantial amount of money: because now money is no longer an issue at all; now it's all about genuine love for a newly-found brother and very special person.

"Rain Man" is ostensibly told from Charlie's perspective; through his, the "normal" guy's eyes we perceive Raymond's habits, tics and strange behavioral code. And even if Charlie is easy enough to snub for his superficiality and materialism, his frustration at his inability to communicate with his brother feels genuine and is something we can empathize with(albeit perhaps inadmittedly). Tom Cruise plays Charlie with a finely-tuned mix of audacity and reluctant emotion; turning a role that seems to start out as just another Cruise cliche into a character who hesitantly comes to realize his own complexities and shortcomings and learns to appreciate sensitivity, compassion and love yet, without ever taking the role that treacherous step too far into sentimentality.

Still, important as Charlie's character is for this movie's narrative, this is from first to last Raymond's story; and by the same token Dustin Hoffman's, because the two individuals are in fact inseparable: As Hoffman once explained in an interview, he rejects the notion that acting is merely about playing a role, or that the term "my character" could ever appropriately describe his approach to a role; emphasizing that in every part he plays, he truly has to *become* the individual in question to fully be able to understand and portray him. As such, his achievement with Raymond Babbitt is breathtaking indeed; for in a role which not only imposes severe limitations on his ability to communicate traditionally but also gives him virtually no opportunity to express emotion, he conveys Raymond's frailties, unexpected strengths and, significantly, his profound humanity in a manner that lets you forget you're even looking at a piece of acting, thus accomplishing that rare feat only attained by the greatest of actors and even among Dustin Hoffman's spectacular performances, this one stands out in particular. (He did, of course, win both the Oscar and the Golden Globe for this movie; but somehow even the industry's highest awards don't begin to express the significance of his achievement.)

Raymond Babbitt's character was based on several real-life autistic persons; and at a time when little was known about the condition even in the medical community, contributed substantially to a greater understanding of those afflicted with it. Not all autistic people are so-called "savants" like Raymond, i.e. possess genial mathematic or other abilities within the shell separating them from the outside world (and conversely, not with all of them that shell is as thick as in Raymond's case; although intricate routines do tend to play a rather important role) so don't go rushing off with them to Vegas for an exercise in "counting cards," at least not before you've verified that they can memorize entire phone books (at least up to the letter "G"), count the toothpicks in a pile on the floor with one glimpse of an eye and determine the square root of a fouror five-digit number within a matter of seconds without so much as looking at an electronic calculator. Chances are you'd do them tremendous harm, not to mention make a complete fool of yourself.

Dustin Hoffman reportedly fought hard for this movie's production even after several directors (including, inter alia, Stephen Spielberg) had bowed out; and in one of those rare un-Hollywood-like moments even managed to maintain the movie's sense of authenticity up to the very end by prevailing on the writers to drop the projected ending, which would have had Raymond staying with Charlie. In addition to Hoffman's awards, "Rain Man" received the coveted Oscars for Best Movie, Best Original Screenplay and Best Director (Barry Levinson, who also played the psychiatrist called upon to evaluate whether Raymond is fit to stay with Charlie), plus a number of other American and international awards. For once, the industry collectively got it right. But even if this movie hadn't received a single award, it would still remain one of recent film history's greatest and truly unforgettable moments definitely, it would.

Also recommended:

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew

Awakenings

Lorenzo's Oil

The Graduate (40th Anniversary Collector's Edition)

The Color of Money

This review refers to the MGM DVD edition of "Rain Man"......

"Rain Man" is one of those rare gems to come out of Hollywood, that leaves you wanting to watch it over and over again. After numerous rewrites, and several directoral changes, "Rain Man" finally fell into the very capable hands of director Barry Levinson(The Natural/Good Morning Viet Nam).Levinson brings us more than just a story of two brothers, it is a journey of love and discovery.

The Babbitt brothers Raymond and Charlie have just discovered the other exisits. Raymond(Dustin Hoffman), the older, is an autistic savant who has been living most of his adult life at "Wallbrook". A facility which although has given him great care, is all that Raymond knows of the world.Raymond lives in his own world there, and although he has amazing mathamatical skills,has little capacity for understanding the ways of the world. Charlie(Tom Cruise), on the other hand, is a sharp but intolerant businessman. He also has trouble seeing beyond his world, and uses people to his own advantages.He seems to be without a heart.

When their father died, he left almost all of his vast fortune to Raymond, and a mere token to the estranged Charlie. Charlie has always felt cheated by his father and once again he feels the sting.He decides to take matters into his own hands, and kidnaps Raymond from Wallbrook in an attempt to retrieve his share of the inheritance.

Charlie takes Raymond on a cross country journey that will tug at your heartstrings and keep you smiling every inch of the way.

Charlie must care for Ray and deal with all of his symptoms and eccentricites, as Ray is thrown into a world unknown to him.The moments of change are defining and a joy to watch as Charlie develops a heart.

Hoffman's portrayal of the autistic Raymond is moving and is done with a wonderful humor, that brings a great depth of understanding to the character.He not only won the Best Actor award from Oscar, but also recieved a Golden Globe as well. Cruise, although a big box office draw at the time, really shows that he is more than a pretty face with his superb performance as Charlie. Levinson, who brought us a ray of sunshine with this film, recieved Best director from Oscar as well as the Director's Guild.The score by Hans Zimmer as always is delicious. The film itself was also honored by Oscar as Best Picture(1988).

The DVD qualities are very good. It may be viewed in either The Theatrical widescreen version or a standard version(the choice option comes up at the start of the film). The picture is excellent, with nice colors and sharp images. The sound is in Dolby Dig 5.1 surround, which is especially nice with the terrific score and songs playing in the background. It may also be viewed in French(stereo) or Spanish(Mono). Don't look for too much in the way of extras on the DVD itself, there's just a theatrical trailer, but it does come with a very informative booklet, that talks about everything from the film to some info on exactly what "Autistic Savant Syndrome" is. For me, this film is the "special" feature by itself!

This is "definately, yeah definately"(Hoffman) a great addition to any DVD library.......Laurie

more oscar winners:

Best Picture Collection Epic Dramas (Casablanca/Gone With the Wind/Ben-Hur)

Buy Rain Man (Award Series) (1988) Now

"Rain Man" reigned in the 1988 "Best Picture" Academy Award, and deservedly so. This film is everything a "Best Picture" Oscar winner should be, in my view. It has tenderness, romance, drama, compassion, likeable characters, and a biting humor as well. It's a "road" picture, while at the same time encompassing so many other things too.

Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman give highly-memorable and powerful performances in "Rain Man". Some of the moments in the movie that I find particularly memorable (and deserving of multiple replays whenever loading this up into the DVD Player) include these ............

> The first meeting between "Charlie" and "Raymond", when Charlie finds Ray behind the wheel of his rare 1949 automobile (excellent "first meeting" of these characters).

> The "shorts on the highway" scene.

> "Qantas never crashed".

> The Blackjack scene in Vegas.

> "I like having you for my big brother".

This "SE" release of "Rain Man" includes an enhanced (anamorphic) 1.85:1 Widescreen version of the movie -and it gets an A+ on my "PQ Report Card". The digital video is beautiful throughout, with radiant colors.

The audio comes through loud and clear via the disc's bold English 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround track. Two foreign-language DD tracks are also part of this DVD -a 2.0 Surround in French, and a Spanish 2.0 Mono track.

The DVD Special Features are a wee bit on the light side for a so-called "Special Edition". Although, if you like Audio Commentaries, you've come to the right place with this "Rain Man" DVD. Three separate filmmaker Commentary Tracks are featured on this one-disc "SE", including one by Director Barry Levinson.

Other bonus material includes ..........

>> Original Featurette. -This short bonus is fairly thin on content, but does provide a few comments from stars Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise (circa 1988). Not much to sink your "Making Of" teeth into here though. The video for this featurette is Full Frame (1.33:1). Length = 6:55. .... It would have been nice to have had a feature-length "Making-Of" documentary included on this "SE" DVD. But, maybe next time.

>> One Deleted Scene. -I kind of liked this. This excised scene shows Raymond entering a convenience store, where he begins helping himself to the store's stock of food and beverages (to the dismay of the shop's proprietor). Charlie enters at the end of this short scene to "rescue" Raymond. It's a pretty good scene, but certainly not essential to the storyline; and I can see why it was cut. Especially considering the film's already-lengthy 134-minute final running time. This deleted clip lasts 2:01, and is presented in 1.33:1 Full-Frame ratio.

>> Original Theatrical Trailer. -A fun and funny trailer. Shown in 1.33:1. Run time -2:14.

>> Photo Gallery. -This Gallery (which *is* anamorphic) is broken up into five different segments.

>> Bonus DVD Trailers.

No "Chapter List" paper insert is included with this DVD. The case looks kind of bare without any insert, I must admit. But, starting in late 2003 (approx.), many studios began to go the "el-cheapo" route on us, and no longer provide physical paper enclosures inside the DVD cases anymore. Gee, you'd think a "Special Edition" release would at least warrant a slim, one-page insert. Oh, well...what are ya gonna do? No biggie really. But I'd still prefer to have an insert for all DVD releases (even if it's only an ad for other DVD products).

Even with the rather skimpy selection of supplements here, this DVD still comes highly recommended by this "Rain Man" fan. The picture and sound quality are dazzling; and the film itself is ... well ... I'm sure you know ..... Oscar worthy! Get this today!

Read Best Reviews of Rain Man (Award Series) (1988) Here

A great movie but mediocre special edition. 1 deleted scene, 3 commentaries, some photos, a 7 minute making off from 1988(mostly scenes from the movie itself) and about 20 'other great MGM titles available' trailers, dvd trailers and dvd covers and that's it basically. MGM seem more interested in self promotion on this disc (the first thing shown is a 10 second MGM promo with scenes from recent DVD releases). This is very annoying. I'd rather just get the movie and the material RELATING to the movie. If I want to know what else is coming out, I'll seek it out myself--it's not that hard. MGM seem to think we won't find out about thier movies unless they tack on this extra unnecessary stuff. This is why I don't rent movies often, being forced to sit through 10 minutes of movie previews or fast forwarding(luckily this disc does not have that but Universal is getting pretty good in that department). A Great movie with great acting but I honestly don't think this should be called a special edition because you slap on a few commentaries a quick deleted scene and an old 7 minute promowhatchamacallit. Also, there is no booklet...! MGM seems to do that a lot with their 'catalog releases'. At least it beats the previous DVD version.

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I recently watched Rain Man, for what was probably at least the tenth time as it is on television alot. It is one of the best movies of the 1980s', and it has without doubt, one of the best performances ever seen on film. Dustin Hoffman was amazing as Raymond Babbitt, an autistic man, whose younger brother, Charlie, played quite well by Tom Cruise, abducts him from the institution he is in in order to get his share of inheritance money. The character of Charlie is very selfish and greedy, but as the film goes on he changes for the better. He takes Raymond clear across the country by car because Raymond won't fly. Watching this film again made me realize that it is really one of the greatest films I've seen. It's a bittersweet story of brotherly love, dramatic at times, but has a great deal of comedy blended in. This is a film to be cherished for generations. I highly recommend Rain Man. The performances by both Dustin Hoffman, who won the Oscar for best actor(very well deserved!), and Tom Cruise are outstanding. I believe this to be one of the first films that Cruise had a real substantial character with depth to him. Watch Rain Man...you won't be disappointed.

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