A Beautiful Mind (Blu-ray + DVD) (2001)

Russell Crowe and everyone associated with this movie got a standing ovation at the showing I attended. How refreshing it was to see a sensitive, serious drama that not only allows you to leave the theater understanding what happened, but feeling good, actually hopeful, that the hardships life deals you can be overcome with persistence, determination, and the support of family and friends.

This is the true story of John Nash, a Princeton student and brilliant mathematician who is treated for schizophrenia. Crowe is magnificent as he battles his delusions (or are they real?) and has an excellent supporting cast in Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Christopher Plummer, Adam Goldberg and all involved. Bravo to Ron Howard for bringing this most interesting story of the 1994 Nobel Prize winner to the screen.

Dysfunction was never so poignant, empathy so heartfelt as for the beleaguered Nash and his loving wife who made the difficult decision to stand by him through a monumental crisis. Viewers are with the couple every step of the way from their initial meeting and awkward courtship to their often-troubled marriage.

The movie has classic lines such as Nash telling a friend that he is well-balanced because he has a chip on both shoulders. There is much humor to balance the sadness, much hope to combat the seemingly impossible situation.

In the end, it is the theme of battling your demons and overcoming the odds to lead a fulfilling life that makes you leave the theater feeling uplifted as a result of this movie. Definitely, one not to miss.

As I usually try to do, I read the book prior to seeing the movie. The book was much clearer than the movie but I thought the movie was very well done.

The movie is about the Nobel Prize winner in economics, John Nash. It stars Jennifer Connelly and Russell Crowe, John Nash is a Princeton student when he develps Schizophrenia. The movie is very accurate in its portrayal of delusions and hallucinations, though it was sometimes confusing especially the part about whether his roommate really exists.

Both Crowe and Connelly do excellent jobs. The movie goes light on Nash's bi-sexuality, does not go into his having a deadbeat dad, and ignores his relationship with Eleanor Stier. Other than these things, it is pretty true to the book.

Nash does have a beautiful mind. Once he starts losing his mind due to the tragedy of schizophrenia, it is heartwarming to see that he maintains the respect of his Princeton colleagues and students. I applaud this movie for raising peoples' consciousness about schizophrenia.

I highly recommend this movie for anyone who enjoys drama and is interested in mental illness and resilience.

Buy A Beautiful Mind (Blu-ray + DVD) (2001) Now

Russell Crowe plays John Forbes Nash, a brilliant schizophrenic in one of this years best film's. A Beautiful Mind dive's deep within the world of Nash's brain with more twist's than a roller-coaster. After the main secret is revealed, more thing's happen that question's what even you know. It makes the audience feel the lost assuredness of whether what we know is real or fake, and that is one of its many qualities. Ron Howard has always been a stand out with his films. From Apollo 13 to Willow, Ron Howard has developed into a director at the peak of his form.

Though Nash is Socially awkward, he manages to steal the heart of a student who is to become his wife. Played by Jennifer Connelly (yeah, Labyrinth) in a fine and realistic tone, Alisha falls in love with John Nash and hold's him up through his illness.

The Math depicted in A beautiful Mind was actual math, made to resemble the deteriorating illness from its less complicated measures to its chaotic and disoriented forms. Also, the math represent's his relationship's, which was an effort some filmmaker's wouldn't have taken. Leave it to Ron Howard.

In one of the first sequences in the film, there is a 360 degree steady-cam shot of John Nash, decifering codes for the FBI. This shot was done to represent the spinning wheels of Nash's mind. It was also my favorite shot in the movie. It caused an urgency and made an exciting feeling from what could have been just an ordinary scene.

The Math wasn't the only thing created from reality. The Therapy sessions and method's were well researched for authenticity. It was reported when John Nash (now 73) and his wife saw the film with Ron Howard, John couldn't watch these scenes, and his wife had tear's streaming down her face. It was like post trauma for them, and too difficult to see again.

A Beautiful Mind is one of most rewarding movies I've seen in a long time. It is my hope that Hollywood continue's to create project's with as much substance and emotion as A Beautiful Mind. Whether it recieves an Academy Award or not, it doesn't take a society of appointed panelist's, nor a gold-sealed manilla envelope to determine my vote. This will be on my shelf of favorites as soon as it becomes available. ~SAOS~

Read Best Reviews of A Beautiful Mind (Blu-ray + DVD) (2001) Here

I didn't want to watch this movie. The trailers were boring. The write-up on the DVD package lackluster and dull. When my roommate bought a copy I did everything I could to avoid watching. And for several weeks I did just that. Then came the night that I ran out of excuses. I had nothing else to do, and no other movies that I hadn't seen, so A Beautiful Mind when into the machine. And after ten minutes I was hooked. Russell Crowe really lets his acting abilities shine in this film, and Ron Howard's direction is perfect. I sat through the entire film mesmerized, and tears came to my eyes as John Nash fought back from a schizophrenia that would have incapacitated most anyone else. What a triumph! What a hero! What a role model to anyone who feels overwhelmed by their physical or mental limitations! I walked away from the movie knowing that if John Nash could find success despite an illness of that magnitude, I could overcome anything that life throws at me. There are few movies that stay with you the rest of your life, but this is one that I know I will remember forever.

Want A Beautiful Mind (Blu-ray + DVD) (2001) Discount?

A Beautiful Mind is one of those rare movies that grace the silver screen once in a lifetime and touch our hearts and our minds in ways that other films which have attempted to replicate with similar material, have yet to achieve. For years movie goers have witnessed the world of mental illness and its horrors from an outside perspective, much like visitors to a zoo, observing life in captivity from the other side of the cage. With faithful attention to detail and a respectful compassion for a world not yet understood in its unending complexities director Ron Howard draws the audience into a world of mystery, deception and intrigue, far removing us from our comfort zones. Then, as suddenly as it all began, the rug is ripped out from under our feet, forcing us to accept the fact that a world into which we have been drawn is not always a world that others can see.

This is the basic technique of filmmaking which Ron Howard skillfully exploits throughout the film to powerfully illustrate the emotional and psychological impact of John F. Nash's schizophrenia, a mental illness that is often characterized by disturbing delusions, hallucinations and bizarre thought patterns. As one who has suffered from mental illness for nearly thirty years I personally recommend this film not merely for its intellectual and artistic delivery of the subject matter but primarily for its overall sensitivity to an issue that has remained a subject of personal controversy in many circles of conversation, even in a century revolutionized by constant scientific discoveries and the evolutionary restructuring of psychiatric treatment.

Save 25% Off