| | | |Inspired by a True Story.
Features: DVD, Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 2.40:1, Dolby Digital (5.1), English, Spanish, Subtitled, French, Dubbed & Subtitled
In Columbia Pictures' The Pursuit of Happyness, Chris Gardner, (Will Smith) is a bright and talented, but marginally employed, salesman. Struggling to make ends meet, Gardner finds himself and his five-year-old son evicted from their San Francisco apartment with nowhere to go. When Gardner lands an internship at a prestigious stock brokerage firm, he and his son endure many hardships, including living in shelters, in pursuit of his dream of a better life for the two of them.
"...a genuinely transporting inspirational movie..." Michael Sragow, Baltimore Sun
"...[Smith gives] a beautiful and understated performance..." Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
"I don't think I've seen a mainstream movie get fatherhood so right since "Kramer vs . Kramer"..." Ty Burr, Boston Globe
Editor's Note
IN THEATERS DECEMBER 15, 2006Will Smith takes a rare straight role in this affecting movie about a man who struggles to keep himself and his son above the poverty line.
| Features | Audio: English, French Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound | | Dubbed: French | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English, French, Spanish |
| Entertainment Reviews
 | The Pursuit of Happyness - DVD By: Anne Gilbert - filmcritic.com DVD Reviews Published on: 3/16/2007 8:05 PM | |
There is a part of The Pursuit of Happyness -- most of the last third, honestly -- that is just plain too bleak. It's taking an eternally optimistic guy just trying to scrape by and doing more than making things rough for him; it's kicking him in the crotch and spitting on him, and maybe humiliating him a little bit. It's some really holiday good cheer. Chris Gardner (Will Smith) is one of those downtrodden guys for whom better times are always just around the next corner. He's a salesman, hawking some over-priced and under-used equipment to hospitals around San Francisco....read the full review |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Sony Pictures |
| Release Date: 2/3/2009 |
| Running Time: 117 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2006 | | Catalog ID: 15085 | | UPC: 00043396150850 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English, French Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: English, French, Spanish | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Widescreen 2.40:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Nominee (2007) | | | Golden Globe, Will Smith, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama | | | Golden Globe, Seal, Christopher Bruce, Best Original Song - Motion Picture | | | Image Award, Will Smith, Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture | | | Image Award, The Pursuit of Happyness, Outstanding Motion Picture | | | Image Award, Jaden Smith, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture | | | Image Award, Thandie Newton, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture | | | Oscar, Will Smith, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role | | | Screen Actors Guild, Will Smith, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role |
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| | Professional Reviews | Entertainment Weekly
"[Smith gives] a beautiful and understated performance, one that hums with a richer, quieter music than Smith has mustered before....[A] shrewdly touching movie..." -- Grade: B 12/15/2006 p.65New York Times
"Both performances are certainly likable in the extreme..." 12/15/2006 p.E32 Rolling Stone
3 stars out of 4 -- "The role needs gravity, smarts, charm, humor and a soul that's not synthetic. Smith brings it.He's the real deal." 12/28/2006 p.120 Box Office
"Will Smith is an extremely charming performer....Smith is terrific as usual..." 02/01/2007 p.74 Sight and Sound
"[T]he film is a fully fledged message movie....Not since KRAMER VS. KRAMER has single fatherhood been so lovingly portrayed." 03/01/2007 p.72 Total Film
3 stars out of 5 -- "[The character's] true-life story -- enduring homelessness with hi young son while striving to become a stockbroker -- is genuinely heartening." 07/01/2007 p.126 Variety 7 of 10
The fact-inspired drama "The Pursuit of Happyness" is more inspirational than creatively inspired -- imbued with the kind of uplifting, afterschool-special qualities that can trigger a major toothache. Clearly savoring the chance to work alongside his moppet son, Will Smith is in serious mode as Chris Gardner, whose story is one of perseverance overcoming tremendous hardship. Smith's heartfelt performance is easy to admire...The younger Smith is allowed to deliver a natural, childlike performance, though occasionally Gabriele Muccino, the Italian helmer of "The Last Kiss" making his English-language debut, and writer Steven Conrad unhelpfully saddle the tot with big, chewy mouthfuls of dialogue. - Brian Lowry
DVD Talk 8 of 10
Stories of triumph over adversity are the foundation on which cinema was built. These are tales flush with uplift, sure to radiate an aura of good feelings to blanket the audience. "Pursuit of Happyness" (based on a true story) is not one to rock the boat in terms of mass entertainment expectations, but it isn't quite the sunny hand-holding experience it could've been either..."Pursuit of Happyness" is Will Smith's triumph, and it's worth a look alone to see this tiresome actor in a role that requires a rare amount of patience from him. The film has some difficulty satisfying other dramatic requirements, but Smith is the star here for a reason, and he alone maintains the picture's faith. - Brian Orndorf
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