| | | Seven Names. Seven Strangers. One Secret.
Features: Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 2.40:1, Dolby Digital (5.1), English, Spanish, Subtitled, French, Dubbed & Subtitled
Academy Award nominee Will Smith (2006, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, The Pursuit of Happyness) stars as Ben Thomas, a man at a crossroads searching for a way to redeem his heavy conscience. He discovers he has the power to change the circumstances of seven strangers who deserve a second chance. But when one of them captures his heart, he must decide if he should reveal his secret -- even if it means giving up on his plan. From the creators of The Pursuit of Happyness, Seven Pounds is an "emotionally charged, captivating mystery with a soulful, tender love story and a tearful but joyfully inspiring ending" (Movieguide).
"...unabashedly emotional and cautiously hopeful. It's the feel-good movie for these feel-bad times." Claudia Puig, USA Today
"Will Smith gives the best performance of his career in a movie that pounds on your heart." Jackie K. Cooper, JackieKCooper.com
"Will Smith could not be better in Seven Pounds, delivering a magnificent star turn in this heartfelt and harrowing drama." Jeff Craig, Sixty Second Preview
"A spiritual successor to "The Pursuit of Happyness," but darker and more oblique." Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
"A life changing motion picture you will not easily forget. Will Smith is at his best. One from the heart and good for the soul." Pete Hammond, Hollywood.com
Editor's Note
Gabriele Muccino (THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS) directs this tale of a man devastated by a tragedy in his past who is seeking redemption. To the outside world, Ben Thomas (Will Smith) is a cordial, atypically helpful agent for the Internal Revenue Service. But when he's alone, Ben is tormented by a tragic incident in his past, sinking into grief. He's even cut off communication with his beloved brother (Michael Ealy). Nevertheless, Ben is especially interested in strangers with challenging circumstances. He's taken particular interest in Emily Posa (Rosario Dawson), a lovely young woman with congenital heart disease who is being audited by the IRS. Ben finds himself falling for Emily, and has to choose the best way to follow his heart.Smith wears Ben's heart on his sleeve, the pain of his past loss and his impending future apparent in his face both when he is alone and when he begins to feel happiness--which he doesn't think he deserved--with Emily. He also nails Ben's pleasant work persona, masking his pain as he charms strangers and earns their trust. Dawson is beguiling as Emily, whose only wish is to have more time to experience life, especially once she finds love with Ben. With flashbacks mixed into the story, SEVEN POUNDS takes a circuitous route, saving some surprises for its end. Woody Harrelson appears as a blind man, and Barry Pepper plays Ben's best friend and confidante, Dan.
| Features | Audio Commentary With Director Gabriele Muccino | | Audio: English, French Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound | | Deleted Scenes | | Dubbed: French | | Featurettes: Seven Views On Seven Pounds, Creating The Perfect Ensemble, Emily's Passion - The Art Of The Printing Press, & The Box Jellyfish - World's Deadliest Co-Star | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English, French, Spanish | | This Is A Blu-Ray DVD Made For Blue-Laser Format Players Which Produce Higher Quality Picture & Sound |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Sony Pictures |
| Release Date: 3/31/2009 |
| Running Time: 123 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2008 | | Catalog ID: 24918 | | UPC: 00043396249189 | | Number of Discs: 2 |
Audio & Video
| | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Widescreen 2.40:1 |
| Cast & Crew | Woody Harrelson | | Barry Pepper | | Will Smith | | Rosario Dawson | | Phillipe Le Sourd - Director of Photography | | Will Smith - Producer | | Domenico Procacci - Executive Producer | | Todd Black - Producer | | Grant Nieporte - Screenwriter | | Jason Blumenthal - Producer | | James Lassiter - Producer | | David Crockett - Executive Producer | | Angelo Milli - Composer | | Steve Tisch - Producer | | Gabriele Muccino - Director |
| Awards |
Image Award (2009) | | | Rosario Dawson, Nominee, Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture | | | Seven Pounds, Nominee, Outstanding Motion Picture | | | Will Smith, Nominee, Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture |
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| | Professional Reviews | USA Today
"Smith gives an understated performance....Concerned with how people overcome trauma and tragedy, the film focuses on universal themes of loss, forgiveness and redemption." 12/19/2008Chicago Sun-Times
3 stars out of 5 -- "Will Smith displays a rather impressive range of emotional speeds here....It's quite a performance." 12/17/2008 Box Office
"Cementing his reputation as the only blockbuster movie star with seemingly unflappable taste in material, Will Smith re-teams with director Gabriele Muccino to once again flex his considerable dramatic muscles in the thoughtful, engaging SEVEN POUNDS." 12/17/2008 Total Film
3 stars out of 5 -- "SEVEN POUNDS opens strongly, intriguingly....SEVEN POUNDS delivers the stomach-kicking revelation it's been slowly building up to." 02/01/2009 DVD Talk 5 of 10
The tears flow like a raging river in "Seven Pounds," the latest Oscar-baiting step from Will Smith to solidify himself as an actor for all seasons. A murky stab at articulating emotional paralysis, "Pounds" plays dirty, selecting a path of confusion to unfurl its ache, resulting in a near absence of psychological or emotional connection the movie is absolutely desperate to conjure..."Seven Pounds" is many things, but the one quality that comes across as entirely unexpected is how much of a mystery the feature is. Director Gabriele Muccino (reteaming with Smith after their 2006 smash "The Pursuit of Happyness") and screenwriter Grant Nieporte are extremely protective of Ben's expedition of healing, using time changes and assorted masked qualities to make sure the audience has no idea what the character is ultimately hoping to attain. I'll give the production this, "Pounds" is not an easy film to predict, but this relentless ambiguity erodes the effectiveness of the overall experience, turning Ben's enigmatic misery into head-slapping filmgoing frustration...To best appreciate "Pounds" requires either hours of reflection after viewing or a second trip to the multiplex, and I'm not convinced the film is worth such dedication. The quandary is simple to indentify: to fully value Ben's journey requires knowledge of its conclusion, otherwise "Pounds" is a just a series of detached sentiment without a hub to study for maximum investment...It's difficult to paint an accurate portrait of "Seven Pounds" without giving too much away, but the end certainly doesn't justify the protracted means. If it wasn't for Dawson's tender performance elevating Smith's game, "Seven Pounds" would be just another useless tear-jerker, wishing to speak profoundly on the misery of human existence, but failing to encourage the audience to appreciate the experience. - Brian Orndorf
Chicago Sun-Times 8 of 10
I am fascinated by films that observe a character who is behaving precisely, with no apparent motivation. A good actor brings such a role into focus, as Will Smith does in the enigmatically titled "Seven Pounds." Who is he, what does he want, why is he behaving so oddly for an IRS agent? And why won't he kiss Rosario Dawson, when they both so obviously want that to happen?...Will Smith displays a rather impressive range of emotional speeds here. He can be a tough, merciless IRS man. He can bend the rules on some cases. He can have a candlelight dinner with a beautiful woman named Emily Posa (Rosario Dawson) and go home afterward. She can sense his deep sadness. He is angry with people sometimes, but he seems angriest of all at himself. It's quite a performance...And Dawson makes Emily not simply a woman confused, maybe offended, by his behavior, but a woman of instinctive empathy, who does an emotional dance with him, following his lead when he needs to be treated like an IRS agent or like a perfect gentleman or like a man who needs understanding even if she doesn't know what she's supposed to understand...I haven't even hinted about the hidden motives in this film. Miraculously for once, even the trailers don't give anything away. I'll tell you one thing: I may have made Ben sound like an angel, but he is very much flesh and blood, and none of his actions are supernatural. He has his reasons. The director is Gabriele Muccino, who also directed Smith in "The Pursuit of Happyness." He is effective at timing the film's revelations so that they don't come suddenly like a U-turn; they're revealed at the last necessary points in the story. Some people will find it emotionally manipulative. Some people like to be emotionally manipulated. I do, when it's done well. - Roger Ebert
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