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American Splendor [2004]
![American Splendor [2004]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/510YNYAWYDL._SL160_.jpg)
DVD Technical Information:
RRP: £19.99
Our Price: £3.07 (subject to change)
Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
One of the most acclaimed films of 2003, American Splendor is also one of the most audaciously creative biographical movies ever made. Blending fact, fiction and personal perspective from the comic books that inspired it, this marvellous portrait of Harvey Pekar--scowling curmudgeon, brow-beaten everyman, insightful chronicler of his own life, and frustrated file clerk at a Cleveland VA hospital--is an inspired amalgam of the media (comic books, TV, and film) that lifted Pekar from obscurity to the status of a pop-cultural icon. As played by Paul Giamatti in a master-stroke of casting, we see Pekar and his understanding wife (played by Hope Davis) as underdogs in a world full of obstacles, yet also infused with subtle hope and (gasp) heartwarming perseverance. We also see the real Pekar and this multi-faceted commingling of "reel" and "real" turns American Splendor into a uniquely cinematic celebration of Pekar's life and, by extension, the tenacity of an unlikely American hero. --Jeff Shannon
Editorial
Special Features
Editorial
Synopsis
Harvey Pekar, the hilariously downtrodden Cleveland comic book artist, is the subject of AMERICAN SPLENDOR, titled after Pekar's autobiographical series. Played by actor Paul Giamatti, Pekar also appears as himself, giving the film a documentary feeling with many behind-the-scenes on-set shots. Directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini maintain this balance between the actors and the real-life characters--Pekar's wife Joyce and workmate Toby also appear on set as themselves--while crafting a funny, difficult, heartwarming tale that encapsulates Pekar's life, work, and uniquely bizarre perspectives.
Peckar is a pessimistic file clerk with no hope of ever rising above his boring job, slobbish apartment, and bad attitude. Wonderfully set in his ways, Pekar's constant self-deprication is clearly a front for his prolific interests in music and art. When his friend Robert Crumb (James Urbaniak) gets his big break as a comic book artist, Pekar decides to try his hand at the craft. Though he can't illustrate, his stories are good, and Crumb agrees to help draw the pictures. Soon several artists are illustrating Pekar's American Splendor series, and the comic book's readership grows. The film continues through the events of Pekar's life--meeting wife Joyce Brabner, appearing on David Letterman, struggling with cancer, and adopting a daughter--always showing Pekar's no-frills approach to life. A creative and punchy film, AMERICAN SPLENDOR invites viewers into the odd world of Pekar and his comic-book antihero persona.
A classic but sadly overlooked. Buy, steal or hire it.
Review date: 2008-07-27 Rating: 10 out of 10
I am a avid comics fan but have never been into the alternative underground comiz fad. I knew of Harvey Peckar and had seen his drawings but they didn't appeal. Well that was until I saw this DVD. I really wanted to see this movie at the cinema but it was never on general release and though I live near London, the only place showing I could find was Milton Keynes - well done to that cinema but too far for me. I had to wait for the DVD release!!!
The wait was well worth it. Its an biographical tale of a guy who is rather non main stream and his love for drawing and story-telling and hoi relationships with those around him. Sounds somewhat boring - but the opposite is true. Great acting, good story line and a real pleasure to watch.
This film deserved to distributed throughout the UK but like other non-main-stream genre is was ignored until a few people saw it and saw what a masterpiece is is. Buy, steal or hire it.
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Reviews
Drugs could help do you think
Review date: 2007-11-22 Rating: 8 out of 10
They pulled of an almost challenge; to make a fascinating film about a terminally boring individual. All credit to Paul Giamatti for keeping our sympathy in the character and through that interested in the film. It should have been like watching paint dry but instead it was gripping.
Excellent, quirky little drama with Paul Giamatti on top form
Review date: 2007-09-03 Rating: 8 out of 10
If there's something character actor Paul Giamatti does better than anyone, it's playing likable loser roles. I think he did that best in Alexander Payne's Sideways, but he's also very good in this one as Harvey Pekar, a grumpy little misanthrope who wrote an underground comic book (ie: no superheroes with capes and whatnot) to vent his frustrations about life. The film follows Pekar through his various ups and downs as he struggles with relationships and illness and his soul-destroying job, all the while moaning and shouting and even managing to get angry at Revenge Of The Nerds.
This is a good one, and it sets itself apart from your standard-issue indie drama by incorporating elements from Pekar's comics as well as asides from Pekar himself, who pops up here and there in little interview segments (sometimes accompanied by his wife and eccentric friends) to offer an additional layer of insight into his odd life. It's a post-modern kind of thing, which could have been self-conscious and irritating, but it actually works surprisingly well.
American Splendor won't be to everyone's taste, but if you're a fan of slightly quirkier fare, this one is a real gem. It's got an excellent performance from Giamatti (also, the ever-reliable Hope Davis as his unconventional love interest), has a quiet charm about it, and touches on some issues that could have been depressing had they not been handled with the subtle sense of humour that's on display throughout. This is a touching and funny little story about finding a way to live your life when you don't fit into the world, and is likably cynical and full of wry observations on life.
A quirky film with many, many rewards
Review date: 2007-05-15 Rating: 10 out of 10
This film tells the tale of Harvey Pekar, a man disgruntled with the world around him and with unique voice for storytelling, which was put to bizarre use through the chance evolution of his stories into a popular and acclaimed autobiographical comic-book. I had no previous knowledge of Pekar, but the story is told in such an endearing and heartwarming fashion by one of modern cinema's most adaptable actors, Paul Giamatti, that this doesn't matter.
The film itself is short enough to not feel procrastinated and suitably stylish to do the comic-books justice, something which must be credited to the creators Berman and Pulcini. The faithfullness doesn't stop there: the themes of the comic-books are carried on throughout the title menues, the plethora of extra features and also the title menus, and they really do engage the viewer from the moment the disc is loaded. It is an example of a production studio using every tool to hand to convey the effort put in to the project from start to finish, and something which could teach the big studios the benefits of avoiding laziness.
This is not a film that will appeal to everyone, but to those with an eye for great storytelling that can be both hilarious and tragic in equal measures, then this film is a must see. Paul Giamatti and Hope Davis are in their element throughout, and ensure this film truly is an overlooked gem.
How utterly joyful it is to be so depressed!
Review date: 2006-01-18 Rating: 10 out of 10
I loved it, showed it to my friends, who also loved it, and then read the comics, which has led me to a whole new genre of good quality writing; on both the ills and highlights of real life. It also includes a healthy dose of sarcasm and to those Brits who say that the Americans lack a sarcastic side, please watch Pekar to prove you utterly wrong.
For those who know the comics, this movie includes Harvey Pekar in the movie and he is even funnier on film than he is in comic-book form. He is ALSO played by Paul Giamatti who seems to have been honing his skills playing a depressive, which he expertly reprises in Sideways. Although I think that Giamatti is actually better in Splendor than he is in Sideways and for those of you who haven't seen him in Duets, I urge you to see it as it is his best role in any movie. If anyone deserves an Oscar, this guy does!
The film covers most of Harvey Pekar's life up until the movie and thus covers highlights of his comic's many years. I feel that it show's the man that I wished Pekar to be and by including interviews with both him and Joyce during the movie (and in the extra's) I hope it at least gave Pekar a voice. Although whether we see the real man is impossible to know as so much is always left out in a 2hr movie.
Overall, the movie made me laugh and is weird enough to be genuinely innovative, especially the comic book format that begins the film, which is so much more effective than the comic-book style used in Ang Lee's "The Hulk".
Here's hoping this movie (and Pekar's comic books) get a wide audience, because they deserve one!
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Paul Giamatti
Chris Ambrose
Hope Davis
Creators:
Paul Giamatti (Primary Contributor)
Hope Davis (Primary Contributor)
Director(s):
Recording label: Optimum Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: Optimum Home Entertainment
EAN: 5060034570974
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2004-05-24
Number of discs: 1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 97 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2003-09-12
Language: English (Original Language)