The Bottom Line
Bernardo Bertolucci, the director of such critically acclaimed films as "The Last Tango in Paris" and "The Last Emperor," brings to the screen a stunning, sexy, and unforgettable story of three passionate young adults who form an unconventional threesome.
Pros
- Startling, Amazing, and Totally Provocative
- Three Bright Young Talents Directed by a Master Filmmaker
Cons
- Unfortunately, the NC-17 Rating Scares People Away
Description
- Feature commentary by Bernardo Bertolucci, writer Gilbert Adair and producer Jeremy Thomas.
- "Bertolucci Makes 'The Dreamers'" Featurette
- "Outside the Window" Featurette
- "Hey Joe" Music Video - Performed by Michael Pitt and directed by Bertolucci
- DVD Release Date: July 13, 2004
Guide Review - "The Dreamers" DVD Review
When the MPAA labeled "The Dreamers" an NC-17 film, it marked the first time in six years that a MPAA signatory studio had earned such a rating. Thought to pretty much be the kiss of death, an NC-17 rating is guaranteed to generate controversy and to turn off a segment of the audience who might otherwise have been interested in the film. It's still bizarre to me that movies can show people getting chopped to bits, blown up and otherwise mutilated, and only earn an R rating, while scenes that are sexual in nature lend themselves more readily to an NC-17 label. There's something very inequitable about the system as a whole.
Now movie fans will be given the choice of watching director Bernardo Bertolucci's original vision (which earned the NC-17 rating) or the slightly tamer R rated version. Either way, the story follows Matthew (Michael Pitt), an American student who's on his own in Paris. Matthew is a film fanatic, an earnest, intelligent and gentle soul who loves the cinema. Brother and sister movie buffs Isabelle (Eva Green) and Theo (Louis Garrel) meet up with Matthew as they are protesting the closing of their favorite movie house and take the innocent foreigner under their wings and on a tumultuous sensual journey where dreams and desires are only a wish away.
