Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2639 in DVD
• Released on: 2000-10-09
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English, German
• Subtitled in: English, German, Hindi, Turkish, Danish, Icelandic, Bulgarian, Swedish, Hungarian, Polish, Arabic, Dutch, Finnish, Czech, Greek
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 126 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
A lone woman, armed only with indomitable sass and her native wit, goes up against the corporate big boys and beats the bejesus out of them. As a story line it's hardly new, but Steven Soderbergh's film keeps it exhilaratingly fresh and lively--thanks not least to his lead actress. Seizing the role of the smart, mouthy, aggressively working-class Erin Brockovich with both hands, Julia Roberts gives it everything she's got and then some. She's well matched by Albert Finney as her grouchy but good-hearted boss and Aaron Eckhart as a sympathetic biker. The story's based--by all accounts fairly closely--on actual events, when the real Erin (who appears briefly in the film as a kindly waitress) brought a massive lawsuit against utilities giant Pacific Gas and Electric for spreading toxic pollution. Rather than confine the action to courtroom shenanigans, Soderbergh takes us out under Southern California's pitiless skies and along the dirt-poor roads where most of PG&E's blue-collar victims live, letting us feel the ground-down exhaustion of their lives. But though it's rooted in reality, the film's anything but solemn. The script's sharp and funny, full of unexpected twists; and Roberts, flaunting herself outrageously in an eye-popping array of push-up bras and micro-miniskirts, has never been better. --Philip Kemp

Video Description
DVD Special features

Two Featurettes
Deleted Scenes
Trailer and Filmographies
Isolated Score
Animated Menus

Synopsis
Julia Roberts reaffirms her superstar status with ERIN BROCKOVICH, an inspirational drama that is based on a true story. Roberts plays Erin Brockovich, a twice-divorced mother of three who is struggling to remain afloat. After she is involved in a car accident, she loses what should have been a lucrative settlement. Jobless and pressured, Erin convinces the attorney from her case, Ed Masry (Albert Finney), to hire her as a lawyer's assistant. She also befriends her neighbour George (Aaron Eckhart), a sexy biker whose dedication to her children appears too good to be true. As Erin settles into her job, she convinces Ed to let her pursue a case that involves the residents of a local community. Apparently, several of the townspeople have become sick with cancer and other diseases. The more that Erin investigates, the more sure she becomes of the guilt of Pacific Gas And Electric Company, an incredibly powerful corporation. Steven Soderbergh shoots BROCKOVICH with a flashy realism that allows Roberts to shine every second she appears onscreen.

Customer Reviews

ERIN BROCKOVICH IS SASSY AND BRASSY...
This is a very entertaining, well directed movie with an excellent performance by Albert Finney and a notable one by Julia Roberts, who plays the title role of Erin Brockovich. The rest of the cast, likewise, give excellent performances.

The story is a compelling one. A down and out single mother of three young children, Erin Brockovich, gets into an auto accident. Her personal injury suit goes down the tubes, when she alienates the jury with her checkered past and salty language. Angry and desperate, she bullies her lawyer, Ed Masry, disarmingly played by Albert Finney, into hiring her, after he loses her personal injury case. He does so, to the consternation of his other employees. You see, Erin marches to the beat of a different drummer. She dresses like a tramp and talks like a longshoreman.

Which only goes to show you that one should never judge a book by its cover. Beneath the vulgar exterior, lies a steel trap mind, which Erin put to good use when she goes through a pro bono real estate case, only to discover that there is more to the real estate transaction than meets the eye, a whole lot more. Intrigued by the fact that extensive medical records are included in the real estate transaction paperwork and wondering why that should be, Erin lets her natural curiosity and interest in people prevail. She goes about and investigates the matter.

What she ultimately discovers is that toxic waste is very clearly affecting the quality of life of the inhabitants of the town of Hinckley, California. It appears that the utilities giant Pacific Gas and Electric has been letting highly toxic chromium seep into the ground, affecting the water which the inhabitants of the town use. The utilities giant has compounded the problem by telling the townspeople that they should not worry about a little chromium, despite the high incidence of cancer and other illnesses that abound in Hinckley.

Erin, outraged on behalf of the townspeople, discovers through her research and investigation that Pacific Gas and Electric knew about the toxicity of chromium, but continued with business as usual and set about deceiving the unsuspecting townspeople to their ultimate detriment. Eager to right a serious wrong, Erin persuades her employer, small time lawyer Ed Masry, to take on this big time case. This ultimately leads to one of the largest monetary class action settlements in history.

This is a true life David and Goliath story. Julia Roberts gives a sassy and brassy performance. Albert Finney does his part justice, as the beleagured small practitioner who decides to do the right thing, even though it could end to his financial detriment. His low key performance is a perfect foil to that of Julia Roberts'. It makes for a film well worth watching.

A satisfying film
Erin Brockovich is a tale of a woman struggling with circumstances difficult enough to make the viewer wonder how she might get out of them, and it is good to see how she manages (with the help of othet people) to deal with the obstacles and enable truth and justice to prevail as well. The fact that this is a true story about a real human, not a saint, makes it all the more satisfying. The DVD contains an interesting short featurette with the real Erin Brockovich and the lawyer she worked with.
Highly recommended.

Julia shines as Erin
This is an amazing story about an amazing woman.

Julia Roberts really proves she's one of the best actresses around in this film, displaying real, pure talent - Albert Finney also puts in a memorable performance and together they totally bust PG&E!

To be honest, i wouldn't usually pick this kind of a film ... true stories tend to be over the top and sentimental ... but Erin Brockovich is gritty, realistic drama. In short, it's fantastic!