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Features: DVD, Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 1.85:1, Dolby Digital (5.1), Dolby Surround Sound, French, Dubbed & Subtitled, Spanish, Subtitled
Director Jill Sprecher's critically-acclaimed film assembles an all-star, ensemble cast in a fresh and whimsical look at the invisible, everyday and destiny-shaping miracles that we've come to call "fate." In five distinct New York tales, the lives of seemingly disparate characters--a public defender (Matthew McConaughey, Reign of Fire) whose life suddenly mirrors that of the criminals he prosecutes; a college professor (John Turturro, Mr. Deeds, Barton ) facing a poignant crossroads: an envious businessman (Alan Arkin, America's Sweethearts) seeking revenge on a compulsively cheerful co-worker; an optimistic cleaning woman (Clea, Girl, Interrupted) searching for miracles in the aftermath of a tragic accident and lastly, a woman (Amy Irving, Traffic) forced to face her husband's infidelity due to an untimely return of a lost wallet--are interwoven to create a touching tapestry that's warmed the hearts of moviegoers and critics across the globe. Playful and poignant, 13 Conversations About One Thing is "luminous and strangely beautiful" (Emma Forrest, Vanity Fair).
"The movie is brilliant..." Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
"...has you thinking about the characters as if they were real people." Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
"It takes a while for this oddball film...to take hold, but when it does, it grabs you hard." Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
"...thrillingly smart..." A.O. Scott, The New York Times
"Smart and alert...a small gem." Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee
Editor's Note
THIRTEEN CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ONE THING tells the interconnected stories of several New Yorkers who are searching for meaning in their lives. Troy (Matthew McConaughy), a promising attorney, puts his seemingly bright future at risk when he drives away from an accident. He injures Beatrice (Clea DuVall), a young cleaning woman, and her recovery from the accident severely tests her natural optimism and affects her friend Dorrie (Tia Texada). Tiring of the predictable routine of his life, university teacher Walter (John Turturro) buys Troy's car and starts a relationship with another teacher, Helen (Barbara Sukowa). Walter's wife, Patricia (Amy Irving), is left to deal with his infidelity, but she finds a rare moment of solace on the subway when a stranger waves at her. The stranger, Gene (Alan Arkin), a claims adjuster weighed down by his responsibilities, resents the incurable optimism of his coworker Wade (William Wise).The connections between these people are sometimes small and trivial, and other times momentous. But they are woven together with great skill by the film's scriptwriters, sisters Jill and Karen Sprecher. Jill Sprecher also directed the large cast, amongst whom the standouts are Amy Irving and Alan Arkin. Arkin in particular, with his beautifully modulated performance, essentially provides the spine of the movie.
| Features | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English, Spanish, French | | Filmmakers' Commentary | | Theatrical Trailers | | Widescreen Version | | Digitally Mastered Audio & Anamorphic Video | | Audio: English, French 5.1 Dolby Digital |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Columbia Tri-Star |
| Release Date: 1/22/2008 |
| Running Time: 94 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2002 | | Catalog ID: 08700 | | UPC: 00043396087002 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English, French Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: French, Spanish | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew | Matthew McConaughey | | Alan Arkin | | Amy Irving | | Clea Duvall | | Frankie Faison | | John Turturro | | Jill Sprecher - Director | | Dick Pope - Director of Photography | | Stephen Mirrione - Editor | | Doug Mankoff - Executive Producer | | Andy Spaulding - Executive Producer | | Heidi Crane - Executive Producer | | James C.E. Burke - Executive Producer | | Michael Stipe - Executive Producer | | Sandy Stern - Executive Producer | | Alex Wurman - Musical Score | | Beni Tadd Atoori - Producer | | Gina Resnick - Producer | | Mark Ricker - Production Designer | | Jill Spreicher - Screenplay | | Karen Spreicher - Screenplay |
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| | Professional Reviews | Hollywood Reporter
"...Sprecher is largely successful with the shifting time sequences, aided by editor Stephen Mirrione, and the movie's muted, subdued production design by Mark Ricker is attractive..." 04/24/2002 p.12-19New York Times
"...Both straightforward and enigmatic: four fables of modern urban dissatisfaction woven into a fabric whose pattern is enchantingly elusive....THIRTEEN CONVERSATIONS is thrillingly smart..." 05/24/2002 p.E18 Los Angeles Times
"...Tautly written, resolutely low-key, intricately constructed and very serious about the risky business of being alive....It has an overwhelming sense of reality atypical of the American cinema..." 05/24/2002 p.C2 Rolling Stone
"...Arkin is flat-out perfection....Sprecher reaches deep into the minds and hearts of her characters in a haunting and hypnotic film..." 06/20/2002 p.89-90 Chicago Sun-Times
"...A brilliant film..." 07/28/2002 p.5 Entertainment Weekly
"...These CONVERSATIONS are the ultradeep kind..." 11/22/2002 p.60 USA Today
"...The actors make you care..." 11/22/2002 p.7E Sight and Sound
"[With] an intricate narrative structure which traces four interconnected, interpenetrating storylines with an ingenious time-scheme that loops neatly back on itself..." 06/01/2005 p.77-78 Uncut
"Each of these strands has its grace notes..." 07/01/2005 p.131 Los Angeles Times 10 of 10
...Tautly written, resolutely low-key, intricately constructed and very serious about the risky business of being alive, 13 Conversations demands the utmost concentration, for to look away from the screen for even a brief moment is to risk losing a plot line or a crucial bit of information, but its cumulative, transporting impact makes it worth the effort. Above all, it has an overwhelming sense of reality atypical of the American cinema. - Kevin Thomas
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