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intereact!Director: Tim Burton
Actors: Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, and Helena Bonham Carter
Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Retail Price (not our price): $14.94
Release Date: 2004-04-27
Theatrical Release Date: 2004-01-09
Studio: Sony Pictures
Run Time: 125 minutes
Format: Array
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Discs: 1
Editorial Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
1) 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
Customer Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5
1) This movie stinks [Rating: 1 out of 5]
I like Burton's stop animation work, creative. This story is just a lot of rambling non-sense that's disjointed and boring. Oh yeh, the stories might be true in the end? Revelationary. Nothing interesting happens in this story, and the yarns aren't touching or comical. It's all a silly dance that doesn't work on any level. I'm sorry, but don't waste your time!2) Imaginative Burton Tale [Rating: 4 out of 5]
Based on a book by author Daniel Wallace, Tim Burton's Big Fish embodies many components of a typical Burton film--fantasy, odd characters, imagery, mystical settings--yet, in this instance, it does it with a Southern flavor. The film's main crux is a father-son struggle, and we see them struggle between what is a tall tale and what is truth, what is fact and what is fiction, and what is reality and what is exaggerated. The son, Will (Billy Crudup), has had to listen to his father's tall tales for years, and he believes that this has created a rift between he and his father for years, and that he doesn't know who his "real" father is behind all these fantastical tales. Edward Bloom, who reminisces into the past with tall tales, has many imaginative adventures, including a walk through supposedly haunted woods, an encounter with a witch and a giant man, joining a traveling circus, and trying to get the girl of his dreams. Tim Burton's capacity to create symbolism, eccentric characters, colorful scenery and depth in this story help to make it an exceptional film. One of the more telling points of the film is when Bloom, as a youngster, goes through a dark path to find the town of Spector, a sort of Utopia, where everyone stays because they never want to leave. Bloom decides that it isn't right for him to be there, and, while leaving, he promises a young girl that he will come back to the town sometime in the future when he's "meant to" come back. While here, he also meets a struggling poet (Steve Buschemi), who he later winds up helping rob a bank. Later in the story, he realizes why he must come back to this town. What I also enjoyed about this film is that there wasn't just an emphasis on plot and imagery; there is also some depth. Some life lessons that the son must learn are to appreciate those close to you and to have faith in something that seems far-fetched or implausible. When learning of his father's decline in health, the son attempts to tie those bonds that have kept them at a distance. He learns that truth and fantasy are closer than he thinks. This is a unique film, with some beautiful scenery, exceptional casting, and interesting storytelling.3) Beautiful story. [Rating: 5 out of 5]
This is a really wonderful story about a larger than life man, and his son's struggles to know who his father really is.I really recomend this film - It has great acting, beautiful costumes and is such a fantastical inspring story.4) I'll rank this as one of my all time favorites [Rating: 5 out of 5]
Maybe I like the movie because I come from a family that values telling a good story. Sometimes the fun is seeing how far you can go with it before the listener catches on. And yes, I've heard some stories about family members that I'm not sure are true or not. But enough about me. I really enjoyed the movie. I don't have complaints about any of it, and at the end I cried sentimental tears for a lot longer than I can remember about any other movie I've seen. I especially like how at the end the son came up with a good story to tell his Dad.5) Alright, at times [Rating: 2 out of 5]
I am a big Tim Burton fan, but couldn't really get into this movie. It had spectacular imagery and the acting was wonderful, but story-wise, it didn't really grab my attention and turned out to be dissapointing. Some of the characters were interesting, some annoying and pointless. I definitely liked the 'stories' parts of the film more enjoyable than the present times scenes. I think those dragged the film down. Its sort of a depressing movie when you think about it. I guess you could categorize this as a fantastical drama. At least that is the closest thing that I could think of.