Plot: What’s it about?
I wasn’t the only one who was glad when Russell Crowe didn’t win another Oscar for his performance in A Beautiful Mind. I know this. Crowe, a supremely talented and gifted actor, has also earned a reputation as someone who’s hard to deal with and based on an article I read in Entertainment Weekly…he seems like a real jerk. That aside, I will say that he did a great job in the film and had he not won a Best Actor Academy Award the year before (for Gladiator), he might have stolen it away from Denzel Washington (who won for Training Day). Much has been said about the film, which won Best Picture of the year and the content and about John Nash and his alleged homosexuality. Then again, this wasn’t a documentary, it’s a work of fiction (though it’s based on a real person). So that wasn’t much of an issue for me. Then we have Jennifer Connelly, who I always remember as the very busty girl from Career Opportunities and The Rocketeer. Connelly won an Oscar for her work here (as did Director Ron Howard), though I felt it was handed to her on a silver plate. Then again, it could just be me. Still, this is all opinion, let’s get to the facts and hear what the film is all about.
The first time we see John Nash (Russell Crowe), he is getting ready to attend Princeton on a scholarship. He meets his roommate, Charles (Paul Bettnay) who seems more intent on drinking and having a good time rather than studying. Nash is content on the feeling that he will discover a truly unique idea that will in some way, shape or form–revolutionize the world as we know it. He did. Granted he didn’t invent the cure for a disease or anything, but his theories did help shape the way things were thought of in the world of Economics. We see him as an awkward West Virginia boy who has little, if any, social skills and my instant reaction was to feel sorry for him. He eventually graduates and becomes a teacher and then meets and falls in love with his future wife (Jennifer Connelly). Had that been the story, it would have been a good movie, but rather dull and boring. We know that he eventually wins the Nobel Prize, but what happens in between is what is the most intriguing of all.
As Nash is in the prime of his career, he constantly sees three different people, yet we don’t know until later in the movie that he’s suffering from schizophrenia. His friends, Sol (Adam Goldberg) and Bender (Anthony Rapp) are from Princeton, work along side with him and understand his madness, even though he’s way beyond them when it comes to intelligence. A few fights aside, the movie tries to make a statement about the disease as opposed to tell the story of Nash’s life (perhaps it was too dull without this aspect of it, regardless of its truth). Nevertheless, Ron Howard has not only shown that he can make a critically-acclaimed hit, but he can make a commercially successful movie as well. While I don’t think the film should have won Best Picture, it was worth seeing.
Video: How does it look?
As much as I hate to give movies a “perfect” rating, I have to admit that A Beautiful Mind looked great as a DVD, a Blu-ray and now even better on 4K. As you can imagine, the sheer scenery and wealth of images in the 1.85:1 frame are a lot to take in. The colors seem very natural and the black levels seem dead on perfect. I noticed no artifacting, no compression errors and no shimmering. For as many supplements that were on the disc, and no less than two 5.1 tracks, I was expecting it to take it’s toll on the picture quality. I was wrong. The picture is amazing and I really can’t find more words to convey my message.
Audio: How does it sound?
The DTS HD Master Audio mix found on the Blu-ray (also included in this set) has been replaced (or upgraded, if you will) with a Dolby Atmos mix that brings out the best in the sound. Obviously James Horner’s score gives the movie its panache, but all the usual caveats still apply. Strong vocals, a robust surround stage create a warm, embracing ambiance and a nice, front stage rounds out the mix. There’s really no down side with this one and though it checks all the boxes, there’s a lot more to what we hear that makes this film work.
Supplements: What are the extras?
It appears as if all the supplements from the previously-releaesd Blu-ray have made the leap to this 4K version, no new supplements have been added, however.
- Audio Commentary – Ron Howard provides a nice, witty and insightful commentary track and it’s recorded just after the film’s initial release. He shares the joys of working with Crowe and the subject matter, which some considered controversial.
- Audio Commentary – The second track is with screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, who is a great writer, but I feel that he is given way too much face time on this DVD set. Still, his track concentrates more on the subject matter (naturally) and is another strong track. Listen to Howard’s if you have to choose between the two.
- Deleted Scenes – Thirty minutes of deleted scenes are also on the first disc and you can listen to them with or without commentary. They are shown in a non-anamorphic widescreen presentation and can be played all together or one at a time with an audio introduction by Howard.
- A Beautiful Partnership: Ron Howard and Brian Grazer – Frick and Frack (Howard and Grazer) discuss their working relationship, their initial interest and subsequent approach to this film and how it all came together.
- Inside A Beautiful Mind – A lot of clips from the film are shown with the obligatory “Making of…” featurette that we’ve seen countless times on other discs.
- Development the Screenplay – This is covered in his commentary track as well, but screenwriter Akiva Goldsman dishes the dirt on his approach to this screenplay.
- Meeting John Nash – Howard meets two versions of the same person. An interesting watch.
- Accepting the Nobel Prize in Economics – Some archival footage is shown with, you guessed it, John Nash accepting the Nobel Prize for Economics.
- Casting Russell Crowe & Jennifer Connelly – We see Ron Howard gush as he lauds praise on his two leads.
- The Progress of Age Progression – We get a look at some of the makeup and “effects” used to age Connelly and Crowe.
- Creating the Special Effects – Again, the title pretty much tells it all – we get a brief overview of some of the special effects used in the movie.
- Scoring the Film – Essentially that, which features Horner.
The Bottom Line
As of this writing, it’s been nearly a quarter of a century since the film took home the Oscar for Best Picture. I didn’t think it was the right choice at the time and I still firmly believe that now. It is, however, a good film with some amazing performances. For fans of the film, it’s never looked or sounded better.
