American Beauty 1999 Overview

Follow @Movie_Vault

Suggestions

Requiem for a Dream (2000)

Rating:

8.41/10

Director:

Darren Aronofsky

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

From the director of [Pi]

trailer

view page

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

Rating:

8.69/10

Director:

Milos Forman

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

If he's crazy, what does that make you?

trailer

view page

Citizen Kane (1941)

Rating:

8.43/10

Director:

Orson Welles

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

365 days in the making - and every minute of it a...

trailer

view page

Lead Actors

Kevin Spacey

as Lester Burnham

Annette Bening

as Carolyn Burnham

Thora Birch

as Jane Burnham

Wes Bentley

as Ricky Fitts

Mena Suvari

as Angela Hayes

(Producer)

(Producer)

(Producer)

Studios

DreamWorks SKG

Featured on

Top 25 Drama Movies

View all Images (4) »

American Beauty (1999)

Rating:

7.93

/ 10

MV Ratings:

#125 Top Movies of All Time

Director:

Sam Mendes

Writer:

Alan Ball

Release Date:

8 September 1999 (United States) more

Language:

English

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

... look closer

View Trailer

Storyline

Lester and Carolyn Burnham are on the outside, a perfect husband and wife, in a perfect house, in a perfect neighborhood. But inside, Lester is slipping deeper and deeper into a hopeless depression. He finally snaps when he becomes infatuated with one of his daughters friends. Meanwhile, his daughter Jane is developing a happy friendship with a shy boy-next-door named Ricky who lives with a homophobic father.

Backdrops

The Director

Sam Mendes

Samuel Alexander "Sam" Mendes, CBE (born 1 August 1965) is an English stage and film director. He has won two Laurence Olivier Awards for his London stage productions The Glass Menagerie and Company in 1996, and Twelfth Night and Uncle Vanya in 2003. He also received a Tony Award nomination for Best Direction of a Musical for the Broadway revival of Cabaret in 1998. His debut film American Beauty (1999) earned him an Academy Award for Best Director.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Sam Mendes, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

News Stories

Top Ten Movie Love Interests - Pepper Potts, Rhett Butler, Holly Gennaro - Two to Kiss!

Top Ten Movie Love Interests! It takes two to kiss! Beyond The Trailer host Grace Randolph gives you her Top Ten list of movie love interests to mark the debut of her comic book Supurbia for Boom Studios! Find out where Pepper Potts from Iron Man, Adrian from Rocky, Dorothy...

User Reviews

The History of the OSCARS - Best Picture Winners part IV

1990 – Dances With Wolves (*****)
Rich in detail, emotion and respect. Costner has such a strong handle on the mood and pace of the film, it’s hard not to get taken away in the majestic sweep.

What should have won?
Goodfellas – Despite Dances With Wolves’ excellence, Scorsese’s gangster film is a masterclass in film form and a visceral delight.

1991 – The Silence of the Lambs (*****)
A remarkable adaptation; form, excitement, performance and technicals all come together perfectly to create an unforgettable film that will stay with the viewer forever.

What should have won?
The Silence of the Lambs – As much as I’d have loved Beauty and the Beast to have won, I cannot look past or find fault in Silence.

1992 - Unforgiven (*****)
Clint Eastwood’s film could have been subtitled, ‘The Death of the Western’. Using his own persona and changes in censorship and audience involvement Eastwood creates a work of adult brilliance.

What should have won?
Unforgiven – To deconstruct a genre while showing it so much respect is an impressive feat and one that Eastwood achieves perfectly.

1993 – Schindler’s List (*****)
It’s hard to describe the affect that this film has on a viewer, with no tr...

View full review

reviewed by

cherryflavourpez

(Filmaster.com) on the 7th of March 2011

See All Reviews

User Comments

You must Log in or Register to post comments.

digitalscribe

Some of the supporting actors let us down at times, but Kevin Spacey is sublime. One of his best roles.

onil_pereyra

Fantastic Film.

better than i thought it would be

bartsmart

Kevin Spacey in his best form. Interesting story.

Udi

It's a classic. Kevin Spacey is great as usual, he's so good the movie feels boring when he's not on screen. The idea with the windows, the camera and the TV screen is really creative, I wish it would have been emphasized a little more.

Older Comments