| | | Accentuate the negative.
Features: DVD, Widescreen, Dolby Digital (5.1), Trailers, English, French, Spanish, Subtitled
They're high school graduates--and the world's got hell to pay! Hot new talents Thora Birch (American Beauty) and Scarlett Johansson (The Horse Whisperer) "sneak into your heart and stay there" (Rolling Stone) in this "uproariously funny" (Premiere) comedy from the acclaimed director of Crumb. With Brad Renfro (Deuces Wild), Illeana Douglas (Stir Of Echoes) and Steve Buscemi (Fargo) in the "best role of his career" (Movieline), this "whip-smart comedy" is "a surprise gem" (People)! While their classmates head for college, Enid (Birch) and Rebecca (Johansson) focus their energies on tormenting those around them! From a goofy convenience store clerk (Renfro) to an eccentric art teacher (Douglas), these two saboteurs wreak havoc on all who cross their paths. But when they zero in on an oddball loner (Buscemi) looking for Miss Right, their seemingly innocent meddling threatens to shatter one of their hearts...not to mention their lifelong friendship!
"A buoyant, funny, and disarmingly humane comedy of beautiful losers in revolt." Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
"As hip, funny and truthful a sleeper as has ever flown under Tinseltown's radar." Lou Lumenick, New York Post
"I wanted to hug this movie. It takes such a risky journey and never steps wrong." Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Editor's Note
Terry Zwigoff finally follows up his 1994 breakout success, CRUMB, with this infectious, insightful, and ultimately sad look at teenage angst and boredom in suburbia that recalls such films as WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE and RUSHMORE as well as MTV's excellent DARIA series. The screenplay, written by Zwigoff and Daniel Clowes, is based on Clowes's underground comic book, GHOST WORLD. Best friends Enid and Rebecca have graduated from high school, and now they need to figure out what comes next. Rebecca gets a menial job at a coffee shop and starts looking for an apartment, while Enid wallows in her miserable (Daria-like) worldview, in which all jobs are sellouts and nearly all people are creeps, geeks, and losers. But when she plays a practical joke on the biggest dud of them all, Seymour, a lonely man who lives only for his collection of classic 78s, her life gets turned upside as she finds herself needing him in ways she never thought possible. Thora Birch (Enid) and Steve Buscemi (Seymour) are nothing short of marvelous in their complex roles, and they receive ample support from Scarlet Johansson, Bob Balaban, Teri Garr, Brad Renfro, Illeana Douglas, and the great David Cross. The excellent soundtrack includes songs by Skip James, Blueshammer, the Buzzcocks, Lionel Belasco, Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks, and Mohammed Rafi, among others. Note to Buscemi fans: There's a small bit at the end of the credits, so stick around.
| Features | Deleted And Alternate Scenes | | Featurette | | Widescreen 1.85:1 (Anamorphic) | | Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: MGM |
| Release Date: 5/18/2004 |
| Running Time: 111 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2001 | | Catalog ID: 1002564 | | UPC: 00027616867650 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English | | Available Subtitles: English, French, Spanish | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Golden Globe (2002) | | | Steve Buscemi, Nominee, Best Supporting Actor | | | Thora Birch, Nominee, Best Actress--Musical/ Comedy |
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| | Professional Reviews | Variety
"...Offbeat....By sharp turns poignant, disturbing and hysterically funny..." 06/25/2001 p.22Movieline's Hollywood Life
"...[An] eerie, masterful movie....Birch is irresistibly poignant and appealing, Buscemi has the best role of his career, and he's both creepy and charming..." 08/01/2001 p.36-8 Box Office
"...The whole cast is fantastic....There isn't a false note....GHOST WORLD manages to be grim and hilarious at the same time....This film is spot-on..." -- 4 out of 5 stars 08/01/2001 p.54 New York Times
"...It's surely the best depiction of teenage eccentricity since RUSHMORE....[The cast] brings Mr. Clowe's sad world of loneliness and disaffection to vivid comic life..." 07/20/2001 p.E21 USA Today
"...Simultaneously poignant, intelligent and edgy....GHOST WORLD draws super, natural performances from Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson and indie character actor Steve Buscemi..." 07/20/2001 p.4E Entertainment Weekly
"...A buoyant, funny, and disarmingly humane comedy of beautiful losers..." 07/27/2001 p.45 Rolling Stone
"...Outrageously funny and steadily engrossing....A film like no other, an artful spellbinder that cuts deep....GHOST WORLD isn't easy to shake off..." 08/02/2001 p.70 Los Angeles Times
"...Very funny, with a satirical edge sustained by one and all..." 07/20/2001 p.2 Total Film
"...Not only does the director display compassion towards his eccentric, marginalised creations, but the leisurely visual style suggests the look of the original comic-strip..." 12/01/2001 p.89 Rolling Stone 10 of 10
Let the unsettling secrets of this outrageously funny and steadily engrossing meditation on the life of two high school misfits after graduation catch you by surprise... a film like no other, an artful spellbinder that cuts deep... Birch makes good on the promise she showed in American Beauty with a performance of riveting intensity. - Peter Travers
The New York Times 9 of 10
...surely the best depiction of teenage eccentricity since Rushmore... even as the story seems to satisfy the generic requirements of comedy...the filmmakers never cheat us with false promises of everlasting happiness, a prospect that Enid would surely find appalling even if she had any reason to believe in it. - A.O. Scott
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