| | | How much does life weigh?
Features: DVD, Dolby, Dolby Digital (5.1), Aspect Ratio 1.85:1, Spanish, French
The emotionally and physically charged lives of three people, a college professor (Sean Penn), an ex-con (Benicio Del Toro) and a young mother with a reckless past (Naomi Watts), collide unexpectedly in this gripping suspense thriller.Fate brought them together. Now vengeance will take them to the heights of love, the depths of revenge and the promise of redemption. Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro and Naomi Watts give the finest performances of their careers in the film that is 'tantalizingly alive!' (Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly)
"Trust me, if you have a thirst for a good, dark drama, this one is a big gulp. " D.W. Smith, Film Threat
"A stunning virtuoso performance by director, cast and crew. " Kirk Honeycutt, The Hollywood Reporter
Editor's Note
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (AMORES PERROS) directs this staggeringly intense drama concerning three families whose lives fatefully intertwine through a series of tragic events. With jumbled chronology that jumps from one shocking event to the next in an increasingly chaotic maelstrom, 21 GRAMS is relentlessly gritty in its content and its aesthetics. The title refers to the amount of weight that a human body loses at the moment of death, but the story begs the question: How much is gained? Paul (Sean Penn) has less than a month to live, stalled on the waiting list for a heart transplant, and his wife (Charlotte Gainsbourg) is determined to get pregnant with his child before it's too late. Meanwhile, Cristina (Naomi Watts) is a happy mother with a loving husband and two daughters but she loses her family in an instant to an unpredictable accident. Finally, Jack (Benicio Del Toro) is an ex-con and born-again Christian struggling to support his wife and two children while battling his own guilty conscience. When these three parties come together, explosively, they make each other behave in impulsive, violent, and destructive ways. 21 GRAMS takes viewers on a jolting journey through sickness, suffering, morality, revenge, and last but not least, the sometimes welcome peace of death.
| Features | Subtitles: English, French, Spanish | | "21 Grams: In Fragments" Featurette | | Audio: English, French Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound; English DTS 5.1 Surround | | Scene Selection | | Interactive Menus |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Universal |
| Release Date: 8/24/2004 |
| Running Time: 125 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2003 | | Catalog ID: 24166 | | UPC: 00025192416620 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English, French Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: French, Spanish | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Oscar (2004) | | | Benicio Del Toro, Nominee, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role | | | Naomi Watts, Nominee, Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role | |
BAFTA Film Award (2004) | | | Sean Penn, Nominee, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role |
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| | Professional Reviews | Variety
"...Inarritu cements his reputation as a boldly talented filmmaker with his first English-language project, 21 GRAMS..." 09/15/2003 p.21-32Entertainment Weekly
"...It's a startlingly crafted movie, with several extraordinary performances..." 11/21/2003 p.58-60 Film Comment
"...The film is full of engagingly high-strung performances..." 11/01/2003 p.74 Los Angeles Times
"...There are few movie pleasures as satisfying as an actor soaring to meet the challenge of his or her gift. It's a pleasure that's delivered threefold in 21 GRAMS..." 11/21/2003 p.C6 Rolling Stone
"...That Inarritu shapes something redemptive out of blasted lives is proof that he is a filmmaker of rare and startling grace..." 12/11/2003 p.214 Movieline's Hollywood Life
"...[A] complex, time-fractured narrative....The most shattering performance comes from Naomi Watts..." 12/01/2003 p.113 USA Today
"This is cinematic art in its highest form." 11/21/2003 p.1E Chicago Sun-Times
"[T]he film is a virtuoso accomplishment of construction and editing." 11/26/2003 p.63 Sight and Sound
"Inarritu remains primarily a poet of the visible world..." 03/01/2004 p.70-1 Total Film
"Watts and Del Toro - both Oscar-nominated for their roles - positively roar with restraint, while the lesser known Melissa Leo matches Benicio every step of the way..." 04/01/2004 p.43 James Berardinelli's ReelViews 10 of 10
Few films released in 2003 can boast having as many strengths as 21 Grams. It is, in a word,
Rolling Stone 9 of 10
... You won't see more explosive acting this year. Penn's continuing mastery of his craft amazes. De - Peter Travers
Chicago Sun-Times 8 of 10
... Yet I do not want to give the wrong impression: This is an accomplished and effective film, desp - Roger Ebert
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