| | | Harold Crick Thought His Life Had No Point. That's About to Change.
Features: Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 1.85:1, Dolby Digital (5.1), English, Spanish
In Columbia Pictures' and Mandate Pictures' Stranger Than Fiction, Will Ferrell plays Harold Crick, an IRS Agent whose world is turned upside-down when he begins to hear his life being chronicled by a narrator only he can hear. The Narrator, Kay Eiffel (Emma Thompson), a nearly forgotten author of tragic novels, is struggling to complete her latest and best book, unaware that her protagonist is alive and uncontrollably guided by her words. Fiction and reality collide when the bewildered and hilariously resistant Harold hears the Narrator say that events have been set in motion that will lead to his imminent death.Desperate to escape his fate, Harold seeks help from eccentric English professor Dr. Jules Hilbert (Dustin Hoffman) and finds unexpected comfort in a burgeoning romance with a defiant audit subject, Ana Pascal (Maggie Gyllenhaal). Unluckily for Harold, Kay's impatient publishers have unleashed a stern assistant named Penny Escher (Queen Latifah) to help the author finish her book and finish off Harold Crick. Stranger Than Fiction was directed by Marc Forster and written by Zach Helm.
"Intricately plotted without being contrived and exhilarating in its eccentricity." Claudia Puig, USA Today
"...smart, ingenious and heartwarming." Ian Freer, Empire
"...a clever idea, and you feel a little smarter watching the thing unfurl." Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
Editor's Note
IN THEATERS NOVEMBER 10, 2006 This thoughtful comedy from director Marc Forster (MONSTER'S BALL) stars Will Ferrell as an IRS auditor who hears mysterious voices that begin to dictate the pattern of his life.
| Features | Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, PCM 5.1 Stereo | | Audio: French Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound | | Dubbed: French | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Thai | | This Is A Blu-Ray DVD Made For Blue-Laser Format Players Which Produce Higher Quality Picture And Sound |
| Entertainment Reviews
 | Stranger Than Fiction (2006) - DVD By: Chris Cabin - filmcritic.com DVD Reviews Published on: 2/15/2007 9:15 PM | |
For all the talk of Stranger Than Fiction's clever Kaufmanisms, the most honest and sincere part of the film is about as clever as fireworks on the 4th of July. Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) sits at a small table in a local bakery and is coaxed into eating a freshly baked cookie with a glass of milk for dipping. There's a simplicity to the scene that speaks directly to the emotional core of the film, and speaks even more of Ferrell's talents as an actor....read the full review |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Sony Pictures |
| Release Date: 2/27/2007 |
| Running Time: 113 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2006 | | Catalog ID: 18477 | | UPC: 00043396184770 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English, French Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: English, French, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai, Mandarin | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Widescreen 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Nominee (2007) | | | Golden Globe, Will Ferrell, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy |
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| | Professional Reviews | Rolling Stone
"You need to see how Ferrell switches gears to give a performance of nuanced wit and surprising gravity." 09/07/2006 p.124Box Office
"Ferrell is strikingly funny railing at the omnipresent voice rattling his life." 11/01/2006 100 Rolling Stone
3 stars out of 4 -- "This is a Ferrell you've never seen before, nailing a role that calls for breakneck humor in the final race against the clock and touching gravity in the love scenes with Gyllenhaal." 11/20/2006 p.136 New York Times
"It is to Mr. Ferrell's credit, and the movie's, that he manages to be interesting without mugging or riffing, but rather by playing a highly controlled man in an impressively controlled manner." 11/10/2006 p.E10 Entertainment Weekly
"[A]n eminently easy-to-watch piece....[The director] gets infectious performances out of Maggie Gyllenhaal...Dustin Hoffman...and Thompson..." -- Grade: B- 11/17/2006 p.99 Total Film
4 stars out of 5 -- "[Ferrell] makes us genuinely root for his bemused hero...It's not often laughs come with so much thought attached..." 01/01/2007 p.32 Uncut
4 stars out of 5 -- "The script is brilliant....Thought-provoking..." 01/01/2007 p.142 Sight and Sound
"STRANGER THAN FICTION is particularly impressive in its use of stunning Chicago architecture and excellent production design....The performances are also uniformly excellent." 01/01/2007 p.80 Ultimate DVD
4 stars out of 5 -- "A delightfully surreal and utterly engaging post-modern film that deftly explores what it means to exist." 05/01/2007 p.97 ReelViews 9 of 10
Stranger than Fiction does a lot of things exceedingly well and almost none poorly. It takes a great premise and runs with it, neither wasting opportunities nor going off on tangents. It features strong work from both the main and supporting actors, and manages seamlessly to incorporate both humor and poignancy. I was expecting Stranger than Fiction to be funny; I had not anticipated it to be as touching as it is. Director Marc Forster and screenwriter Zach Helm reveal great affection for their characters, and this is apparent in every frame of the finished picture...Nothing in Stranger than Fiction is cookie-cutter or formula driven...The visuals are playful (Ferrell's numbers obsessions are colorfully illustrated on the screen with a series of overlays) but the emotional impact is not. Stranger than Fiction is a wonderful cinematic experience - a welcome way to spend a chilly autumn evening. - James Berardinelli
Chicago Sun-Times 9 of 10
What a thoughtful film this is, and how thought-stirring. Marc Forster's "Stranger Than Fiction" comes advertised as a romance, a comedy, a fantasy, and it is a little of all three, but it's really a fable, a "moral tale" like Eric Rohmer tells...Will Ferrell stars, in another role showing that like Steve Martin and Robin Williams he has dramatic gifts to equal his comedic talent..."Stranger Than Fiction" is a meditation on life, art and romance, and on the kinds of responsibility we have. Such an uncommonly intelligent film does not often get made. It could have pumped up its emotion to blockbuster level, but that would be false to the premise, which requires us to enter the lives of these specific quiet, sweet, worthy people. The ending is a compromise -- but it isn't the movie's compromise, it belongs entirely to the characters and is their decision. And that made me smile. - Roger Ebert
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