Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3194 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-12-05
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 112 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Movie studios, by and large, avoid controversial subjects like race the way you might avoid a hive of angry bees. So it's remarkable that Crash even got made; that it's a rich, intelligent, and moving exploration of the interlocking lives of a dozen Los Angeles residents--black, white, latino, Asian, and Persian--is downright amazing.

A politically nervous district attorney (Brendan Fraser) and his high-strung wife (Sandra Bullock, biting into a welcome change of pace from Miss Congeniality) get car-jacked by an oddly sociological pair of young black men (Larenz Tate and Chris "Ludacris" Bridges); a rich black T.V. director (Terrence Howard) and his wife (Thandie Newton) get pulled over by a white racist cop (Matt Dillon) and his reluctant partner (Ryan Phillipe); a detective (Don Cheadle) and his Latina partner and lover (Jennifer Esposito) investigate a white cop who shot a black cop--these are only three of the interlocking stories that reach up and down class lines.

Writer/director Paul Haggis (who wrote the screenplay for Million Dollar Baby) spins every character in unpredictable directions, refusing to let anyone sink into a stereotype. The cast--ranging from the famous names above to lesser-known but just as capable actors like Michael Pena (Buffalo Soldiers) and Loretta Devine (Woman Thou Art Loosed)--meets the strong script head-on, delivering galvanizing performances in short vignettes, brief glimpses that build with gut-wrenching force. This sort of multi-character mosaic is hard to pull off; Crash rivals such classics as Nashville and Short Cuts. A knockout. --Bret Fetzer

Synopsis
A stellar cast collides haphazardly in this insightfully written roundelay of racism, rage, and redemption which takes place over the course of one day in LA and involves a circus of cops, robbers, and civilians. A detective with a heroin addict mother and criminal brother investigates the shooting of a black cop by a white one. Two hoodlums jack the car of the District Attorney and his angry, racist wife. Terrence Howard and Thandie Newton play an upper-class African American couple harassed by a racist cop. And the chaos continues, with other roles played by Tony Danza, Michael Pena, and Jennifer Esposito. A propulsive Mark Isham score keeps the disparate narrative threads electrified from the get-go; when they finally connect, the results are explosive and beautiful. Everything is tied together with tight editing and artistic shots of car headlights cutting through dense morning smog. Writer-director Paul Haggis' (writer of 'Million Dollar Baby') Los Angeles is a world of alienated people struggling to connect across vast barriers of language, class, and culture; that they manage to do so is testament to their depth as characters more than some trite message of brotherly love. There are no easy answers, but this film is tough, intelligent, and gutsy enough to find some anyway; and for that it's a winner.

Customer Reviews

"In L.A., nobody touches you."
The movie is set in Los Angeles over a two-day period and follows several unrelated characters as they come to terms with racial prejudice and crime. Some stories eventually overlap; others do not. The characters are presented honestly with all their flaws and a few redeeming qualities. The large ensemble cast is excellent; standouts are Don Cheadle as an honest police detective who has problems at home and at work, Sandra Bullock and Brendan Fraser as a wealthy couple who are carjacked, Matt Dillon as a racist cop who takes care of his ailing father, Terrence Howard as a TV director whose wife Thandie Newton is the victim of abuse, and Shaun Toub as a Persian shop who takes revenge into his own hands.

Although each scene is only a few minutes long and we quickly move to another vignette, the writing is so good that we really come to know and care about the characters. Just when I thought I knew what would happen next, I was surprised, and the whole film was riveting. The plot and dialogue are completely real; there's a constant feeling of tension and isolation, and an unusual and calming soundtrack ties everything together. I didn't expect to like this movie, but I did. It paints a grim picture of Los Angelinos, but it's so well written and the acting is so good that I found it very satisfying.

you either "GET IT" or you dont
The whole point of this film is that it examines extremes of prejudice in all their forms. If that means it delivers its message with a sledge hammer then that is what the makers intended! It is a film about choices some of which appear good and some bad, but by the end of the film you are questioning your own morality because all the people you felt sorry for you end up hating and vice versa.

It shows extremes of behaviour and bigotry that you may find distasteful but then it explores the reasons and experiences that have brought those individuals to do the things they have. As other reviewers have said it is difficult to explain without giving away specific plot lines so i agree that this is a film that you must watch and make up your own mind.

As for the reviewers who have criticised the racism and bad language HELLO! this is the real world! if you really think that there are no racists, no people with prejudices and no one who swears in the world, then you obviously dont live on this planet.

This is not a film for the faint hearted or easily offended so be warned, but if you like a challenging subject, and a film that makes you reconsider your own morals and beliefs, whilst treating you as an adult, then this film is for you. Anyone else should pull their curtains, lock their doors and crawl back under their duvet because the real world is obviously not for you.

This is the best film I have seen since hotel rwanda, so please watch this film with an open mind and draw your own conclusions, but for me it is a stunning and thought provoking piece of film making and worthy of 5 stars and a bucket load of oscars.

Disturbingly good
I watched Crash with increasingly mixed emotions, the films subject, racial predjudice, is at times uncomfortable to watch. However, as the film progressed, the characters developed, and the image you had of them turned round. Its difficult to review without giving away any of the twists, so my advice is, watch it and be prepared for a bumpy emotional rollercoaster ride.