Product Description

Throughout his life Edward Bloom (Ewan McGregor) has always been a man of big appetites enormous passions and tall tales. In his later years portrayed by five-time Best Actor Oscar® nominee Albert Finney (Best Actor in a Supporting Role Erin Brockovich 2000) he remains a huge mystery to his son William (Billy Crudup). Now to get to know the real man Will begins piecing together a true picture of his father from flashbacks of his amazing adventures in this marvel of a movie.System Requirements:Running Time: 125 Min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: PG-13 UPC: 043396008373 Manufacturer No: 00837

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1136 in DVD
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 2004-04-27
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English, French
• Dubbed in: French
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 125 minutes

Amazon.com
After a string of mediocre movies, director Tim Burton regains his footing as he shifts from macabre fairy tales to Southern tall tales. Big Fish twines in and out of the oversized stories of Edward Bloom, played as a young man by Ewan McGregor (Moulin Rouge, Down with Love) and as a dying father by Albert Finney (Tom Jones). Edward's son Will (Billy Crudup, Almost Famous) sits by his father's bedside but has little patience with the old man's fables, because he feels these stories have kept him from knowing who his father really is. Burton dives into Bloom's imagination with zest, sending the determined young man into haunted woods, an idealized Southern town, a traveling circus, and much more. The result is sweet but--thanks to the director's dark and clever sensibility--never saccharine. Also featuring Jessica Lange, Alison Lohman, Helena Bonham Carter, Danny DeVito, and Steve Buscemi. --Bret Fetzer

DVD features
Somebody smart produced the director's commentary track for Big Fish; they brought in an interviewer to keep Tim Burton on track, thus avoiding those moments when a director gapes silently at his movie, grasping for some fresh thought. This sense of control, however, fosters a somewhat corporate atmosphere, which also infests the typically fatuous featurettes about "The Character's Journey" and "The Filmmakers' Path." Which is not to say they're a waste: Ewan McGregor is simply the most charming man in the world; the various beasties in the movie are technically interesting; and there's an interesting bit about the author of the book and the screenwriter, usually two of the most ignored figures in cinema. There's also a mildly diverting trivia quiz about Tim Burton's earlier movies. --Bret Fetzer

From The New Yorker
The title is apt enough; this movie is long, wet, and wriggling, and, after a while, you may want to hold your nose. It tells the story of Edward Bloom, played in his youth by Ewan McGregor and in the final act of his life by Albert Finney. That life is a picaresque, crammed with exaggeration and casual magic-a witch with a glass eye that shows forthcoming deaths, say, or a pair of spangled night-club singers who are also Siamese twins. This is easy stuff for somebody of Tim Burton's gifts, and you seldom feel that the new picture tests him or turns him on in the way that "Beetlejuice" or "Edward Scissorhands" did. The result is his most emotionally reactionary work to date. With Billy Crudup as Bloom's poor stooge of a son, Danny DeVito as a circus ringmaster, Matthew McGrory as a moping giant, and Jessica Lange and Alison Lohman, both badly underused, as the older and younger versions of the hero's only love. -Anthony Lane
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Big Fish is a "move-me" not just a "movie"!!
Big Fish is the best movie I have ever seen and I have sent many, many people to see it and none have been disappointed. The easiest way to describe the movie would be "Terms of Endearment" for Sons and Fathers. The son knows that his father is dying, but is unable to let go without at least trying to distinguish between his Father's "Fish" stories and his father's real life. The viewer never knows until the very end of the movie where the truth lies in this senerio. I assume many viewers will find themselves in this "non-chick" flick and so you may need some tissue, I did. Also this is a Tim Burton masterpiece in production, visual effects, plot, music, and character interplay.
The sexiest scene I have ever viewed in a film takes place in Big Fish and yet there is no nudity in the scene. Jessica Lang provides the viewer with her usual superb performance and the young version of her character looks so much like her the viewer forgets they are two different actors and both their performances are outstanding. McGregor, although has lots of scenes in the movie, plays his part of the confused and somewhat angry son flawlessly. The father and his younger version keep the viewer so entertained that you never want this film to end. I would recommend this film to everyone over the age of 12. It is not a good choice for real young children because Tim Burton has done such an outstanding job of producing this film and most of the scenes are bigger than life and would easily scare younger audiances, although this is not a scary movie. It is brilliant and I do not understand why Hollywood has not given this picture more oscar attention and it is rare that I ever want to view a film more than once I intend to buy this DVD and watch it 100 more times.

Only thing new is the book.
One of Tim Burton's absolute best. To answer the previous question, it's the same DVD as the initial release. It comes in big box (that's the cover shown) and this one includes the 24 page hardcover book "Fairy Tale for a Grown Up."

Brilliantly told story.
I went into Big Fish with high hopes. I love Tim Burton movies. He has an amazing imagination, which is lacking in many directors today. Directors like Roland Emmerich, Renny Harlin, and of course the big one, Michael Bay. These directors only use special effects and big explosions, while the story gets lost. Meanwhile Burton's genius is that his beautiful visuals compliment his stories. So as the curtains rose, and the theater went dark I was overcome by a childish glee. Then to my disdain, the lights came back on, then went on, and off about 15 more times before the movie finally started. But what a movie it ended up being.

Big Fish tells the story of a young man trying to sort out the facts and lies that his father has been telling him for his whole life. As the story opens Will Bloom (Crudup) hasn't spoken to his father in almost three years. He got tired of listening to his tall tales, but when he gets a call from his mother (Lange) telling him that his father doesn't have much time he rushes down as a latch ditch effort to learn the facts about his father. Albert Finney plays Edward Bloom, a man nearly confined to his bed, trying to get his son to accept who he is. The majority of the film is told through flashbacks, showing the amazing life that young Edward Bloom (Mcgregor) has lived. From giants to circus, from war to salesman, the film gives you the glimpse of a life as Bloom sees it. Is it true? Is he lying? Or is he embellishing the facts? Who knows and who cares.

The actors in this movie shine. Ewan McGregor and Albert Finney are absolutely charming in this movie. You want to believe his stories, and you can see why others do. The convincing shed their accents and pick up a southern accent without you really noticing. Other notable performances include Jessica Lange and Helena Bohnam Carter. But another surprise would have had to be Lohman. This was the first movie I had seen her in, and I was amazed. She is extremely talented and even with the limited screen time she was given manage to catch my attention.

Now on to the inevitable visuals. Everyone knows of Tim Burtons visuals. Heck he has made it a trade mark., now known as Burtonism. This movie surprised me in the aspect that although very visual, it was the least of all his movies. What stood out to me? Well the town of Spectre along with the path to get there. It was a beautiful town, which represented Heaven on earth. Another notable section was the circus, where time froze while Ed Bloom saw the women of his life. The screenplay by John August captures the beauty of Daniel Wallace's book while expanding on it. The screenplay looked tailor made to be directed by Tim Burton. Which brings us to the score which was beautifully written by Danny Elfman. I have gotten so used to his dark and moody scores that I forgot how brilliant and light some of his scores can be. This is one of the best, compliments the movie perfectly.

So when the lights came back on after the movie was over I was smiling. My imagination was just blown away again by Tim Burton. I was talking about the movie with a few friends after we got out of the theater and they noticed the same reaction from the audience as with me. I remembered being afraid when I sat down originally because it was the late showing and the audience consisted of teens. I was expecting a lot of dumb comments but they were as blown away as I was. Even now a few months later as I watch it on dvd I still can't stop smiling at how much I like this movie. This is a movie for everyone.