| | Freedom Writers DVD (1 Customer Review)
| Category | Dramas DVDs, True Story Movies, High School Students Videos, Teachers, Students | | Starring | Patrick Dempsey, Scott Glenn, Hilary Swank, Imelda Staunton, Robert Wisdom, Hunter Parrish, Gabriel Chavarria, Jason Finn, Antonio Garcia, April L. Hernandez, Kristen Herrera, Sergio Montalvo, Vanetta Smith, Deance Wyatt | | Composer | Mark Isham | | Director | Richard LaGravenese | | Director of Photography | Jim Denault | | Producer | Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg, Stacey Sher | | Screenwriter | Richard LaGravenese | | Source Writer | Erin Gruwell |
Hilary Swank, Patrick Dempsey, and Scott Glenn star. Extras include deleted scenes, documentaries, theatrical trailer, and photo gallery. Based on actual diary accounts of several teenagers following the L.A. riots, FREEDOM WRITERS is the story of an idealistic teacher's attempts to make a difference in the lives of her at-risk students. Located in gang-ravaged Long Beach, California, Woodrow Wilson High is a hotbed of violence due to a voluntary integration program which brings Black, Latino, Asian, and White students together. Rather than having the desired effect of creating healthy diversity, this program breeds constant war between all parties involved, the result being daily gun shots, constant racial slurs, and gang violence.
Played largely by young unknowns, the freshman class in question is both naïve and wise beyond its years. While never having heard of the Holocaust, these kids are well-versed in the pain of poverty, the legal system, and death. Despite being up against unthinkable violence, devoted first-time teacher Erin Gruwell (Hillary Swank) never gives up, slowly bonding with her class of at-first unreachable pupils, breaking down their tough exteriors and getting at the real people beneath through requiring the students keep daily journals. Meanwhile, a strain is put on Erin's marriage as her student involvement gradually takes priority over her personal life. The intensity with which Erin relates to her work threatens her husband (Patrick Dempsey), who in seeing Erin's transformation, is reminded of his own stagnancy. Thanks to a catalogue of films including STAND AND DELIVER and DANGEROUS MINDS, any film about inspiring teachers risks feeling redundant and preachy. But writer/director Richard LaGravenese manages to put a fresh spin on this already familiar formula thanks to powerful performances by Hillary Swank, Imelda Staunton, and several newcomers. While slightly predictable, FREEDOM WRITERS critiques the public education system in an ultimately moving way. Theatrical Release: January 5, 2007
Freedom Writers Reviews: 3 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he device of using the kids' personal stories delivers more honest uplift than many previous efforts."-- James White, Total Film "It's a stirring real-life tale, and Hilary Swank is a suitably perky, excitable lead..."-- Anna Smith, Sight and Sound 3 stars out of 5 -- "[A]t moments both provocative and moving....This is an engrossing true-to-life drama..."-- Natalie Braine, Ultimate DVD "[S]incere, and proud of it."-- Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly "[A] film with a strong emotional tug and smartly laid foundation."-- Manohla Dargis, New York Times Freedom Writers | List Price | $14.98 (You save $4.49) | | Studio | Paramount Home Entertainment | | Orig Year | 2007 | | All Time Sales Rank | 18380  | | CD Universe Part number | 7398803 | | Catalog number | 346504 | | Discs | 1 | | Release Date | Apr 17, 2007 | | Rating | PG-13 (MPAA) | | Rating Reason | for violent content, some thematic material and language. | | Running Time | 122 Minutes | | Additional Info | Widescreen | | Movie Details | Color; Widescreen |
Freedom Writers Movie Review Freedom Writers DVD Keep Case Full Frame - 1.33 Widescreen - 1.85 Audio: (unspecified) - French Dolby Digital 2.0 - English Dolby Digital 5.1 - English Subtitles - English - Closed Captioned Additional Release Material: Featurette: "FREEDOM WRITERS Family" Documentary: "Freedom Writers: The Story Behind the Story" Behind the Scenes: "Making 'A Dream'" Alternate Scenes: Deleted Scenes Trailers: Theatrical Trailer Interactive Features: Scene Selection Text/Photo Galleries: Stills/Photos
Purchase Freedom Writers Movie To buy, Click on price to add to cart | Finding Nemo DVDs (2003) Full Frame; Widescreen; Collector's Edition; Subtitled
Freedom Writers film
$23.45 Co-helmed by WALL-E director Andrew Stanton, FINDING NEMO follows Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks), an overprotective clown fish father, as he desperately searches the farthest reaches of the sea for his missing son Nemo. Marlin's journey leads him beyond the Great Barrier Reef into deeper and darker waters, where he meets Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), a forgetful yet optimistic blue tang, and a number of not-so-friendly--and often very hungry--aquatic creatures. Meanwhile, little Nemo finds himself in a dentist's fish tank in Syndey, Australia, along with other underwater captives, including Gill (Willem Dafoe), the group's scarred Moorish idol leader. As Nemo works with his new friends on a plan to escape their tank, Marlin and Dory swim closer, but they'll need more than just fins to get into the dentist's office.
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Freedom Writers review
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Freedom Writers DVD
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Freedom Writers movie DVD
$6.99 Based on the novel by James Ellroy, Brian De Palma's THE BLACK DAHLIA stars Josh Hartnett and Aaron Eckhart as a pair of LAPD detectives assigned to the most notorious murder in Hollywood history. De Palma takes things slow, spending a good 20 minutes establishing the relationship between Buddy Bleichert, Lee Blanchard, and their mutual love Kay (Scarlett Johanssen), before introducing the 1947 murder after which the film is named. In the haunting screen-tests left behind after her mysterious death, aspiring actress Elizabeth Short appears to want fame so badly she'll do anything to get it. Her pornographic film appearances, and a rumored affair with narcissist heiress Madeleine Linscott (Hillary Swank), provide just two clues in a sea of confusion.
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Freedom Writers video
$10.09 America's most incendiary filmmaker, Michael Moore, returned in 2007 with this health-care-industry exposé. SICKO tackles material as controversial as the topics explored in Moore's other films, yet does so in a way that places the focus on ordinary Americans affected by the nation's health-care crisis. After providing some historical background on how our nation's medical care system became so ravaged and unfair, Moore interviews a series of individuals and families who have had their lives all but destroyed by the denial of care in the service of profit. While there are two sides to the gun-control debate and even a legitimate discourse for how to best wage the war on terror, it's simply impossible to justify how a baby girl can wind up dead because her mother's health insurance wasn't accepted at a nearby hospital. Moore smartly allows this and other stories to be told with little or no interference, conjuring strong feelings of empathy, rage, and deep sadness.
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Freedom Writers film
$24.15 Prolific director Michael Winterbottom (24-HOUR PARTY PEOPLE) takes an unusual turn by helming A MIGHTY HEART--a studio picture starring none other than Angelina Jolie. Jolie stars as Mariane Pearl, the widow of WALL STREET JOURNAL reporter Daniel Pearl. Daniel was kidnapped and executed in Pakistan in 2002, and Winterbottom's film centers on the frantic activities leading up to his death. Fellow journalist Mariane revs into action as soon as the disappearance of her husband is announced, calling on the FBI and experts in terrorism to help in the desperate search. With the media circling around the story like hawks, Mariane endures a very public display of grief, and her plight is perfectly captured by the unlikely alliance of Winterbottom and Jolie. The film was shot mostly in Karachi and uses locations that Daniel was known to have visited, adding a heady dose of authenticity to the proceedings. Winterbottom uses shaky, hand-held cameras, which add to the feeling of chaos as multiple organizations descend on Pakistan in the quest to find Daniel; fortunately the director uses some much-needed on-screen captions to make sure viewers are up to speed on who everyone is. A MIGHTY HEART is tough, emotional viewing that will be challenging (yet rewarding) for many audiences, even those who are already familiar with this heartbreaking story.
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Freedom Writers review
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