Product Description

When a lawyer's (Kevin Kline) car breaks down in a dangerous Los Angeles neighborhood, a tow-truck driver (Danny Glover) arrives just in time to save his life. The two men begin a deep friendship that sets off a chain of unsettling and surprising events involving their families and friends for years to come. Lawrence Kasdan's powerful, uplifting film about the harsh realities of contemporary urban life co-stars Steve Martin, Mary McDonnell, Mary-Louise Parker and Alfre Woodard.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #31004 in DVD
• Brand: TCFHE
• Released on: 2001-03-13
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 134 minutes

Amazon.com
This murky rumination on keeping faith in our troubled times was an early sign that writer-director Lawrence Kasdan (Silverado) was losing his once-powerful grasp on the art of storytelling. Set in modern Los Angeles--with all its random violence, venality, ubiquitous police presence, earthquakes, and dreams--the film concerns an unusual intersection of lives and chance occurrences that alter everyone's perspective on destiny. Kasdan, very understandably, is attempting to create an experience for viewers as intuitive as the undefined forces propelling his characters. But from the outside looking in, there isn't enough internal logic in the story to help us connect the dots. Steve Martin has an interesting part as a garish film producer who undergoes a change in priorities after being assaulted on the street. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

Coming to the edge 10 years later
Ten years ago when GRAND CANYON was released many people snickered at a movie so overblown with making the world (read Los Angeles) seem so seemingly cruel and unjust. Some of us found the movie poignant and apocalyptic, but I think the press barred the public from taking the movie seriously. Well, here we are ten years laater watching this well crafted movie, surrounded by even more cosmic madness than ever before. A lot of contemporary prophecy films such as this need to be more widely viewed if we as a culture, as a world, are to survive. Living in this tenuous time where most fingers are on triggers, whether they be personal guns or national weapons, private or public disasters, or just on the thin strings that contain sanity - now more than ever we can benefit from films such as this. Caring, finding solace in acts of kindness shared at times of direst need, and yes, even putting it all in perspective by returning to the natural positive phenomena such as the Grand Canyon seems like our only reliable way of making it. This Kasdan film has more fine performances (Kevin Klein, Mary McDonnell, Alfre Woodward, Danny Golover, Jeremy Sisto, etc etc etc) and drives relentlessly to a final ending of such beauty that even ten years later we can only say "Thank you " to Kasdan and crew.

An Insightful Commentary on Life from Lawrence Kasdan
Early in this film one of the characters makes the observation that half of the people in the city of Los Angeles (in which the story is set) live every day on the verge of hysteria. It is further noted that the other half ARE hysterical, and the predominant aspect of their lives is attempting to control their constant fear; fear generated entirely by the very nature of their environment, and just the way things "are." It's a thought provoking concept of life in the `90s and beyond, and of a world in which babies are abandoned, people live in boxes on the street and the guy with the gun is in charge. And as another character so succinctly points out, "This isn't the way the world is supposed to work--" All of which and more is considered by director Lawrence Kasdan in his evocative drama "Grand Canyon," starring Danny Glover, Kevin Kline and Mary McDonnell. It's a contemplation of the kind of world in which we are forced to live, the huge gaps and voids it creates in our lives, and the decisions and choices we make in an effort to fill the crevasses it all forms in our souls. This is more than just a film, it's a statement; a reflection upon what it takes for millions of people from all walks of life to get out of bed every morning and face the day. And for those who care enough and are bold enough to look deeply into Kasdan's eyes, there's a message to be found here, and a powerful one it is.

In the song "Johnny 99," Bruce Springsteen sings about a part of town where "When you hit a red light you don't stop," and when Mack (Kline) leaves a Laker's game at the Forum and decides to try a short cut to avoid traffic, it is precisely in "that" part of town that his car gives up the ghost. His cell phone is dead, but he manages to find a phone booth and call for road service. But just as he gets back to his car, he becomes the target of a gang of armed young hoodlums out for an easy score or possibly more. And when things are looking about as bad as they can for Mack, the tow truck arrives, and out steps a man named Simon (Glover), who thankfully knows a thing or two about negotiating with gang members; after all, this is his turf-- where he lives and makes his living. Simon takes Mack out of harms way, and it is at that auspicious moment that a convergence of two heretofore divergent worlds occurs.

Mack is an immigration lawyer who lives and works within the environs of the Miracle Mile; Simon is a part of the town in Springsteen's song. Two individuals from different worlds whom fate brings together for a split second; and It's a moment that is destined to change both their lives forever, and like ripples issuing from a stone dropped into a pond, it is soon going to touch and make a difference in many other lives, as well. Mack and Simon are about to learn a few things from one another, the most important of which may be found in Simon's perspective of the human race, and the significance of "people" when compared to one of Eternity's masterworks, the Grand Canyon.

Lawrence Kasdan and Meg Kasdan wrote the screenplay for this film, from which Mr. Kasdan proceeds to deliver one of his finest cinematic offerings. As previously stated, this is more than a film; it's a contemplation of who we are and what we have become as a species during our time upon this planet, and where it's all taken us. And under Kasdan's steady guidance and insightful gaze, it is truly riveting drama that works especially well because there is something in it to which everyone will be able to identify or relate. Certainly it will strike a deeper chord with those who live or have spent time in a large metropolitan area; the situations in this film will resonate much more for someone who has lived in L.A., as opposed to those born and raised in Independence, Oregon, for example. But all will find a connection with the human issues Kasdan so incisively examines, because they are universal in nature. Quite simply, Kasdan hits a perfect pitch here. This is emotionally involving drama from beginning to end, aided in no small part by the mesmerizing score by Bill Conti and James Newton Howard that serves as a veritable pulse for the entire film.

The outstanding ensemble cast matches Kasdan's excellence with a number of unforgettable performances, beginning with Kline and Glover. Kline gives the kind of performance we've come to expect from him, which is to say convincing, believable and entirely credible. He explores all of the nooks and crannies of his character and concisely expresses all that he finds there. Glover, too, hits his stride perfectly, making Simon genuine and real by finding his character's center and effectively maintaining his focus on it.

It is Mary McDonnell, however, who nearly steals the show with her portrayal of Claire, Mack's wife. This is an extremely complex character, and McDonnell manages to thoroughly examine all of her myriad emotional levels and express them convincingly. This is a woman at a most fragile time of her life, with the concerns of being a loving, devoted wife in conflict with her more maternal nature; coping with the sense of loss associated with the fact that her only child, Roberto (Jeremy Sisto) is fifteen and growing up too fast, and seeking to satisfy her need to nurture. In Claire, McDonnell creates a woman with an absolute aura of beauty about her; it's a brilliant performance that is the very heart of the film.

And finally, Steve Martin (Davis), Mary-Louise Parker (Dee) and Alfre Woodard (Jane) take "Grand Canyon" to the zenith of cinematic accomplishment.

Review of Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon had all the elements of an excellent thought-provoking movie. It made you think about life, relationships, and one's own view of the world around them. It also had a great deal of symbolism which had spiritual and metaphysical undertones, which made the film very much philosophical in nature. All of the cast did an excellent job and I consider the movie a classic, which can be viewed many times over.