NationMaster - Encyclopedia: American Beauty (1999 film)

American Beauty is a 1999 drama film that explores themes of love, freedom, self-liberation, the search for happiness, and family against the backdrop of modern American suburbia. The film was the screen debut for writer Alan Ball and director Sam Mendes and starred Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening; all four of them were nominated for Oscars. In 1999 it won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture. American Beauty movie poster. ... Sam Mendes Samuel Alexander Mendes, CBE (born August 1, 1965) is an English stage and film director born in Reading, Berkshire, England. ... Bruce Cohen is the Academy Award winning director of American Beauty. ... Dan Jinks works with Bruce Cohen in Jinks/Cohen Productions, currently based at DreamWorks. ... Alan Ball (born in Atlanta, Georgia circa 1957) is an Academy Award-winning screenwriter, director, producer and occasional actor, who is best known for writing the screenplay for the Oscar-winning film American Beauty. ... Kevin Spacey (born Kevin Spacey Fowler[1] on July 26, 1959) is an American film and stage actor, as well as London-based theatre director. ... Annette Bening Annette Bening (born May 29, 1958) is an American actress. ... Birch in Ghost World Thora Birch (born March 11, 1982) is an American actress. ... Wes Bentley, Thora Birch, and Mena Suvari in a promotional photo for American Beauty Wes Bentley (born September 4, 1978) is an American actor. ... Mena Suvari in a promo photo for Beauty Shop. ... Chris Cooper Christopher W. Cooper (born July 9, 1951) is an American film actor. ... Peter Gallagher At i Cucini Restaurant, Santa Monica. ... Allison Janney at a Red Carpet event Allison Brooks Janney, born November 19, 1960 in Dayton, Ohio, is an American actress, most famous for her portrayal of C.J. Cregg on the American television series The West Wing. ... Thomas Newman with his BMI Film Music Award Thomas Newman (born October 20, 1955) is an American film score composer and a member of a family who established a film-scoring dynasty in Hollywood. ... DreamWorks, L.L.C., doing business as DreamWorks SKG, is a Big Ten studio based in the United States which develops, produces, and distributes films, video games, and television programming. ... September 8 is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years). ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... This is a list of film-related events in 1999. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into theatre. ... Mohandas K. Gandhi - Freedom can be achieved through inner sovereignty. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Suburb. ... Alan Ball is the name of more than one prominent individual: For the former England footballer, see: Alan Ball (football player) For the screenwriter, see: Alan Ball (screenwriter) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Sam Mendes Samuel Alexander Mendes, CBE (born August 1, 1965) is an English stage and film director born in Reading, Berkshire, England. ... Kevin Spacey (born Kevin Spacey Fowler[1] on July 26, 1959) is an American film and stage actor, as well as London-based theatre director. ... Annette Bening Annette Bening (born May 29, 1958) is an American actress. ... Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ... The 72nd Academy Awards ceremony (also known as Oscars 2000) took place at Los Angeles Shrine Auditorium, and was Billy Crystals seventh time hosting the Awards. ... The Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Academy Awards, awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which are voted on by others within the industry. ...

Cast

Kevin Spacey (born Kevin Spacey Fowler[1] on July 26, 1959) is an American film and stage actor, as well as London-based theatre director. ... Annette Bening Annette Bening (born May 29, 1958) is an American actress. ... Birch in Ghost World Thora Birch (born March 11, 1982) is an American actress. ... Wes Bentley, Thora Birch, and Mena Suvari in a promotional photo for American Beauty Wes Bentley (born September 4, 1978) is an American actor. ... Mena Suvari in a promo photo for Beauty Shop. ... Chris Cooper Christopher W. Cooper (born July 9, 1951) is an American film actor. ... Peter Gallagher At i Cucini Restaurant, Santa Monica. ... Allison Janney at a Red Carpet event Allison Brooks Janney, born November 19, 1960 in Dayton, Ohio, is an American actress, most famous for her portrayal of C.J. Cregg on the American television series The West Wing. ... Scott Bakula Scott Stewart Bakula (born October 9, 1954) is an American television actor most famous for his lead role in the television series Quantum Leap. ... Sam Robards is an American actor. ...

Plot

The movie opens with scratchy camcorder footage of a teen girl reclining on a bed. She complains about her father, who she says is boring, socially awkward, and a general embarrassment. A young man off-camera, presumably the operator of the camcorder, asks in a somewhat offhand way, "You want me to kill him for you?" She thinks for a moment and then says with a smirk, "Yeah. Would you?" To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

The movie begins again with Lester Burnham (Spacey), a 42-year-old father and advertising executive. Lester begins a self-narration, although Lester as the audience sees him on screen is not actually talking. He says to the audience, "In less than a year, I'll be dead. Of course, I don't know that yet. And in a way I'm dead already." It soon becomes clear why: His family life is messy. His wife Carolyn (Bening) is an ambitious, pretentious realtor with little on her mind but success: "My company sells an image. It's part of my job to live that image." His 16-year-old daughter Jane (Birch), who was seen earlier in the camcorder footage at the beginning of the movie, is considering breast implants. "Janie's a pretty typical teenager," Lester says, "Angry, insecure, confused. I wish I could tell her that's all going to pass, but I don't want to lie to her." Jane and Lester haven't spoken to each other for months. Lester himself is a self-described loser: boring, faceless and easy to forget. "I have lost something. ... But you know what? It's never too late to get it back."

The daily lives of Lester, his wife, and his daughter are demonstrated by showing how each of these three characters proceeds through a typical day. Lester begins his day with masturbating in the shower; he describes this event as the best part of his day. Later Lester is shown at work, where his boss asks him to write a job description; Lester's boss is trying to identify which workers are expendable so that they can be fired in order to save money for the company. Carolyn attempts to sell a house to various couples while meeting rejection after rejection. After an unsuccessful day, Carolyn repeatedly slaps and scolds herself and then begins to cry before going home for the evening. Jane spends her days outside school with a superficial best friend, Angela Hayes (Suvari), with feelings of insecurity. At the dinner table the somber mood is apparent with the dull music chosen by Carolyn, strained communications, Jane's moodiness, Lester's failed attempts to discuss the events at his workplace, and Carolyn's dominance. // Masturbation is the manual excitation of the sexual organs, most often to the point of orgasm. ...

Lester's inspiration for transforming himself from a loser to a winner is Angela, Jane's best friend and classmate. Angela is a beautiful and confident girl who feels that "[t]here's nothing worse in life than being ordinary," and she hopes to become a model. Lester meets her when he and his wife Carolyn go to a basketball game to watch their daughter cheerlead. Lester immediately develops an obvious infatuation with Angela, and Jane feels embarrassed as a result. That night, Jane notices an unknown person who is outside her window and who is videotaping her with a camcorder, but Jane is actually flattered by this act. Later, when Jane has Angela stay for a sleepover, Lester overhears Angela say that she would "totally fuck him" if he worked out; as a result, Lester immediately rushes to his garage and begins to lift some old weights that were lying around in the garage.

The next morning we are introduced to the family that has just bought the vacant house next door to the Burnham family: Col. Frank Fitts, USMC (Cooper), his wife Barbara (Janney), and his son Ricky (Bentley). When confronted by the openly gay couple two houses over (Jim Olmeyer and Jim Berkley, Bakula and Robards respectively), Fitts shows a distinctly bigoted attitude. Barbara spends entire days silently zoned out, and Ricky is making far more money than a high-schooler should. Ricky is revealed to be the person with the camcorder, and when he gets to school he approaches Jane and Angela with almost eerie confidence. "I'm not obsessing," he says to Jane (more or less ignorning Angela), "I'm just curious." Image File history File links Download high resolution version (900x600, 74 KB)Wes Bentley, Thora Birch, and Mena Suvari in a promotional photo for American Beauty. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (900x600, 74 KB)Wes Bentley, Thora Birch, and Mena Suvari in a promotional photo for American Beauty. ... United States Marine Corps seal The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is a branch of the U.S. military, which along with the U.S. Navy, is under the United States Department of the Navy. ...

Meanwhile, at a party for realtors, Carolyn, reluctantly accompanied by Lester, finds herself being swept away by charismatic and highly successful fellow realtor Buddy Kane (Gallagher). Lester meets Ricky, whose work as a caterer is a mask for his successful career as a marijuana dealer. Lester becomes one of his clients. Species Cannabis indica Cannabis ruderalis Cannabis sativa Cannabis is a genus of flowering plant that includes one or more species. ...

Over dinner that evening Lester stands up to his wife for the first time, and begins to break her deadlock control over the house. In this scene he apathetically informs Janie of what he has done today: "Today Janie, I quit my job. Then I told my boss to go fuck himself, and blackmailed him for almost $60,000. Pass the asparagus." When Carolyn's tearful apology to Jane turns into a fight, Jane opens the curtains of her window to see Ricky in his room with his camcorder. In a moment of deliberate vulnerability, she reveals her breasts to him, but the moment is shattered when Col. Fitts smashes into Ricky's room and beats him for going into his office, thinking Ricky was looking for drug money. When Ricky says he was bringing his girlfriend in, though, Fitts relents, and the day closes with Ricky dabbing at his face in the mirror, the camcorder (hooked up directly to the widescreen television) showing a sideways room. Fast food is food prepared and served quickly at a fast-food restaurant or shop at low cost. ...

Lester continues to liberate himself from failure. He trades in his Toyota Camry for a 1970 Pontiac Firebird ("The car I've always wanted, and now I have it. I rule!"), and continues to work out and smoke marijuana. He describes his philosophy to Carolyn: "This isn't life, it's just stuff. And it's become more important to you than living. Well, honey, that's just nuts." Carolyn is having none of it. She, for her part, is visiting a firing range on a regular basis: Buddy's idea, and a truly empowering thing for Carolyn; just before coming face-to-face with the Firebird she is singing and grooving in her car, clearly happier than she's been in ages. Finally, Ricky and Jane commune in his bedroom, a confessional that leads to the video camera footage seen at the beginning of the film. Unfortunately, Ricky turns off the camera before she can remind him that she was just joking. Image File history File links A screenshot of actors Kevin Spacey and Mena Suvari in American Beauty File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links A screenshot of actors Kevin Spacey and Mena Suvari in American Beauty File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Toyota Camry is a mid-size car manufactured by Toyota in Georgetown, Kentucky, USA, as well as Australia, and Tsutsumi, Japan. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

The next scene opens with Lester's narration: "Remember those posters that said, 'Today is the first day of the rest of your life?' Well, that's true of every day except one: the day you die." Jane invites Angela over for a sleepover, but not before confronting Lester about his embarrassing behavior. Ricky rides to school with Jane and her mother, and Lester gestures, "Call me"—which Col. Fitts catches; confused, he roots through his son's possessions, but instead of finding the marijuana or the video of Jane's "confession," he finds one of Lester working out naked ("Welcome to America's Weirdest Home Videos," Ricky narrates). Buddy and Carolyn, midway through a tryst, happen to stop at a Mr. Smiley's, where Lester pre-empts the drive-through worker for a pleasant conversation with his wife; afterwards, Buddy decides that maybe they should let things cool down (though Lester seems blase about it). Carolyn has now lost everything and has a breakdown, screaming her despair as thunder crackles overhead.

Lester's out of something too: weed. He pages Ricky, who hurries over with a refill; they pause to smoke together, while Col. Fitts watches. Due to a deceptive perspective, however, it appears that Ricky is peforming fellatio on Lester, especially when they break it up in a panic when Jane and Angela arrive. Lester turns on the charm for Angela, but is confused when she backs down nervously. Ricky, returning home, finds his father waiting for him with fists and vitriol—"I will not sit back and watch my only son become a cocksucker!!"—and threatens to throw him out of the house. This is exactly what Ricky wants, and he pretends to "come out of the closet" to escape. Then he rushes back to Jane's house, and the two make plans to leave for New York City. When Angela tells Jane not to, Ricky shoots her down with the claim that she is ugly and ordinary, and that she knows it. Angela storms of the bedroom and breaks into sobs on the stairs. Midtown Manhattan, looking north from the Empire State Building, 2005 New York City (officially named the City of New York) is the most populous city in the state of New York and the entire United States. ...

Lester, working out in the garage, sees a man standing outside in the pouring rain. It's Col. Fitts, soaked and broken. Lester attempts to comfort him, but is taken totally by surprise when Fitts kisses him: "Whoa. I'm sorry. You got the wrong idea." Fitts, shamed as well as broken, wanders back out into the rain. Meanwhile, Carolyn, alone in her car in the rain, listens to a self-help tape urging her to take responsibility for her problems and their solutions. She grabs her gun from her glove department and begins repeating the words spoken on the tape, "I refuse to be a victim, I refuse to be a victim".

Finally, Lester finds Angela playing the stereo, trying to reassemble her life. She is reassured when he tells her he doesn't think she's ordinary at all, but the seduction derails when she confesses that it's her first time. Lester can't do it. He makes her a sandwich and they bond over the kitchen counter, talking about Jane ("She thinks she's in love," Angela scoffs). She asks him how he's feeling, the "first time someone has asked [him] that in a long time," and he realizes, to his surprise, that he feels great. Angela goes to the bathroom, leaving him alone to contemplate a picture of his smiling family... Unaware of the gun poking into the shot behind him, Lester contemplates the changes he has made in his life, and reflects this only through his last words (with a smile): "Man oh man. Man oh man oh man." In Roman times, Vestal Virgins were strictly celibate or they were punished by death. ...

The movie ends with Lester's description of his life flashing before his eyes, interspersed with scenes of his family and others at the moment of the gunshot: Jane and Ricky, steeling themselves for their journey; Angela, bustling in the bathroom; Carolyn, a rain-drenched avenging angel descending on the front door. Col. Fitts, in his office, strips off his latex gloves and bloody T-shirt; behind him, one of the guns is missing from his rack. Carolyn throws her purse and its firearm into a hamper in the closet, and collapses, sobbing, into a pile of Lester's shirts. But Lester himself, looking back on these events from his vantage point as narrator, is content: The extraction of Latex from a tree; Latex is used in Rubber production Latex, as found in nature, is the milky sap of many plants that coagulates on exposure to air. ...

Reception

Critical reaction to American Beauty was overwhelmingly positive, beginning as early as three months in advance of the film's opening, when New York Times reviewer Bernard Weinraub penned an enthusiastic column about the film and described it as "the most talked about film of the moment". The column, which ran on the weekend of July 4, gave few specifics regarding the film itself, but noted that the film was generating "tremendous buzz" within Dreamworks' studio, as the details of how and when the movie would be released were being debated; it also reported that Steven Spielberg called the film one of the best he'd seen in years, and that Bening was moved to tears at an early screening of the film.^[3]

The movie premiered on September 8th, 1999 in Los Angeles California to reviews that generally reaffirmed the advance hype, uniformly praising the cast, script, and cinematography, as well as the first-time direction by Mendes. Writing for the San Francisco Chronicle, Edward Guthman called it "a dazzling tale of loneliness, desire and the hollowness of conformity". Jay Carr for the Boston Globe called the film "a millenial classic"; the New York Post called it "a flat-out masterpiece". Among the smaller number of critics who expressed negative opinions of the film were J. Hoberman of the Village Voice and Wesley Morris of the San Francisco Examiner, both of whom were critical of the film's script and direction, if not its performances.

On September 11, it was shown at the Toronto film festival, where it won the People's Choice award just days before its opening. Aided tremendously by the positive press, the film took in $861,531 on its opening weekend in the United States, despite a limited release to only 16 screens. By October, the film was released to a wider audience, and quickly surpassed the film's estimated $15,000,000 production budget. Ultimately, the film would gross $356,296,601 internationally.

Themes

American dream

American Beauty focuses on existentialist themes surrounding the disillusioned American dream by examining the materialistic nature of those who pursue that dream and the emptiness of relationships. American Beauty also examines the nature of true beauty. This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. ... Historical American flags in Washington, DC: the Betsy Ross flag hangs on both ends and the classic Old Glory is to each side of the current 50 state version. ...

When Lester says "I want a job with the least amount of responsibility", while applying for a counter job at a burger joint, he epitomizes a person who is thoroughly frustrated with being a corporate slave stuck working in a cubicle surrounded by superficial people he despises and sees the job at Mr. Smiley's as the first step to getting back to the Lester of his younger days when all he did was "party and get laid", which was coincidentally the happiest time of his life. A buffalo burger A burger or burger sandwich is a type of sandwich which consists of a hamburger bun or similar type of round bread, and a primary filling of a meat or vegetarian patty. ...

American Beauty establishes that Lester and Carolyn have worked to build a very comfortable life for themselves and for Jane. The film examines how, while Lester and Carolyn were busy building a comfortable life for themselves, they became unknowingly materialistic and overtly focused on success, illustrated in a scene where Carolyn and Lester are about to kiss and Carolyn ruins it by exclaiming “Lester, you’re going to spill beer on the couch!”. This article primarily focuses on the general concepts of matter and existence. ... Success may mean: a level of social status the opposite of failure Success, Western Australia is a suburb of Perth in Australia HMAS Success has been the name of two ships in the Royal Australian Navy This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ...

There are few moments in which Carolyn breaks down such as one where she closes the doors and drapes of a house she was unable to sell, despite the best of her efforts and "motivation" from tapes and books, and breaks into a convulsive fit of sobbing. Then she immediately "corrects" her behavior, by reprimanding and slapping herself and then walks away with false confidence. Another similar scene involving Carolyn occurs at the near end of the movie, when she opens the closet containing her dead husband's clothes, grabs at them and falls past them amidst intense crying.

Aesthetics

American Beauty explores the nature of true beauty and ugliness, simultaneously teaching both the characters and the audience that beauty can be discovered in every aspect of life. Two major themes promote this end: Ricky's comments during his videotaping, and the symbolism of the rose. Throughout the movie, Ricky claims that things that revolve around death or suffering are beautiful, such as a homeless person freezing to death on the street, a dead bird, and a funeral procession. According to Ricky, the most beautiful thing he ever taped was a plastic bag floating by itself in the wind; beauty doesn't have to be orchestrated and complex — it can be simple; while, on the other hand, he regards people such as Angela as ugly, fake, and ordinary people. A nymph with morning glory flowers by Lefebvre. ... Ugly is the opposite of Beauty Category: ... Underwater funeral in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea A funeral is a ceremony marking a persons death. ...

The rose symbolism is also very important. It begins with the name of the film, which is actually a reference to a certain type of Hybrid Perpetual red rose, similar to the Ulrich Brunner fils. Throughout the movie, roses represent the beauty of love, in all its different forms, from dead, forgotten love to illicit passion. In biology, hybrid has three meanings. ...

Adultery

Carolyn begins an affair with the local real-estate giant Buddy Kane, which begins as envy arising out of frustration at not being able to compete with him, then transforms to admiration and finally into submission to his might. Carolyn's character stands as a textbook example for a person who confuses happiness with success. In fact, she is so misguided that she listens to the prattle of Buddy regarding success, with utmost engrossment almost as if she were in a state of trance. They believe that one can never overdo regarding one's "drive to success." Real estate, or immovable property, is a legal term (in some jurisdictions) that encompasses land along with anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings. ...

Passive aggression

The movie is pattered with interesting dialogues, especially those involving Lester. For example, when the real-estate giant fails to recognize him at a party, but puts up a face as if he does, Lester quips "Oh, don't worry, I wouldn't remember me either". Likewise, when his wife asks him sarcastically if he should have consulted her before trading in his car for a sportscar, Lester replies "Okay, let me see," and then after a pause, adds "No, you never drove it." One can't help but be sorry, while at the same time laugh at Lester's antics.

Homosexuality

The behavior of Colonel Fitts traces that of a latent closeted, self-loathing gay man, who is frightened that someone might think he's gay and exhibits reaction formation in an extra effort to distance himself from gay people, displays overt hostility to homosexuals, projecting the image of a homophobic person. His behavior also integrates his military career as in his quest for keeping complete discipline in his family; he eventually neglects any sense of emotion and closeness with the people around him. His constant preaching about "structure and discipline" has eroded any sense of compassion a family has. An example is when he takes his son's urine sample; he seems ready to say something, then stops short and leaves. What could have been a heart-to-heart moment is diminished by his rigorous sense of structure. The expression being in the closet has been used to describe keeping secret ones sexual behavior or orientation, most commonly homosexuality or bisexuality, but also including transgender and transsexual people, paedophiles, and pederasts. ... In modern society, gay is a word which can be used as either a noun or adjective. ... In Freuds psychoanalytic theory, reaction formation is a defense mechanism in which anxiety-producing or unacceptable emotions are replaced by their direct opposites. ... Homophobia is a term used to describe: A culturally determined phobia manifesting as fear, revulsion, or contempt for homosexuality. ...

The movie also projects a mixed image regarding the acceptance and prevalence of gay people in the American society with the murderous closeted Colonel Fitts and the ubiquitous, beamish and friendly gay couple Jim & Jim.

Influences

In Vladimir Nabokov's novel Lolita, a man by the name of Humbert lusts after a younger girl; the same plot features in American Beauty. The novel has been adapted for the silver screen twice; once by Stanley Kubrick and once by Adrian Lyne. Lester Burnham is an anagram of "Humbert learns", a reference that may be deliberate. Furthermore, the family name of Nabokov's Lolita, Haze, is homophonous with Angela's last name, Hayes. Image File history File links Circle-question. ... Vladimir Nabokov This page is about the novelist. ... Lolita For other uses, see Lolita (disambiguation). ... Stanley Kubrick (July 26, 1928 â€“ March 7, 1999) was an American film director and producer. ... Adrian Lyne (Born: March 4, 1941 in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England) is an English filmmaker and producer. ... Homonyms (in Greek homoios = identical and onoma = name) are words which have the same form (orthographic/phonetic) but unrelated meaning. ...

Another literary work with thematic similarities to the film is the play Death of a Salesman, which deals with themes of alienation and the American Dream. Early in the movie, Carolyn mentions that "the Lomans" (the name of the central family in "Death of a Salesman") have recently moved from the house next door. Members of the crew described the film as "a modern-day ‘Death of a Salesman’." Cover to the Penguin Group edition. ...

The writer of the movie, Alan Ball, is openly gay and frequently uses gay themes in his works. He is also the creator of the critically acclaimed and highly popular HBO show Six Feet Under. Alan Ball (born in Atlanta, Georgia circa 1957) is an Academy Award-winning screenwriter, director, producer and occasional actor, who is best known for writing the screenplay for the Oscar-winning film American Beauty. ... In modern society, gay is a word which can be used as either a noun or adjective. ... HBO (Home Box Office) is a premium cable television network with headquarters in New York City. ... Six Feet Under was a popular and critically acclaimed American television drama produced by HBO. It first aired on June 3, 2001 and concluded its fifth and final season on August 21, 2005. ...

Similarities can also be drawn between the character of Martha in the play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (written by another openly gay writer Edward Albee) and Carolyn Burnham (though it is rumored that Ball based Carolyn's character on that of Cybill Shepherd, the main character in one of Ball's television shows, Cybill). Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a play by Edward Albee that opened on Broadway at the Billy Rose Theater on October 13, 1962. ... Edward Albee, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1961 Edward Franklin Albee III (born March 12, 1928) is an American playwright known for works including Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Zoo Story, and The Sandbox. ... Cybill Lynne Shepherd Cybill Lynne Shepherd (born February 18, 1950 in Memphis, Tennessee) is an American actress and singer, best known as the character Maddie Hayes on the groundbreaking ABC show Moonlighting. // Early success Named after her Grandfather Cy and Father Bill, at age sixteen Cybill Shepherd won the 1966... Cybill was a sitcom that ran on CBS from 1995 to 1998 with Cybill Shepherd in the lead role. ...

"The Country Husband", a short story by John Cheever could also be directly related to American Beauty through a comparison of Lester Burnham with Francis Weed. Much like Lester, Francis Weed is sick of the suburban nightmare and his superficial wife Julia who is, like Carolyn, obsessed with image and success. Francis develops a crush on Ann Murchison, his children's babysitter and daydreams of stealing her away to Paris to live happily ever after. Although Francis is never shot by his closeted gay neighbor, he seeks psychiatric help and is sentenced to carpentry in his basement to escape the rest of his life. John Cheever (May 27, 1912â€“June 18, 1982) was an American novelist and short story writer, sometimes called the Chekhov of the suburbs. ...

Awards

The movie dominated the 1999 Oscars, with a total of eight nominations. It also had another 82 wins and 63 nominations at numerous other award ceremonies. The 72nd Academy Awards ceremony (also known as Oscars 2000) took place at Los Angeles Shrine Auditorium, and was Billy Crystals seventh time hosting the Awards. ...

Wins

The Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Academy Awards, awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which are voted on by others within the industry. ... Bruce Cohen is the Academy Award winning director of American Beauty. ... Dan Jinks works with Bruce Cohen in Jinks/Cohen Productions, currently based at DreamWorks. ... The Academy Award for Best Actor is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are actors and actresses. ... Kevin Spacey (born Kevin Spacey Fowler[1] on July 26, 1959) is an American film and stage actor, as well as London-based theatre director. ... The Academy Award for Directing is an accolade given to the person that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences feels was best director of the past year. ... Sam Mendes Samuel Alexander Mendes, CBE (born August 1, 1965) is an English stage and film director born in Reading, Berkshire, England. ... The Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best script not based upon previously published material. ... Alan Ball (born in Atlanta, Georgia circa 1957) is an Academy Award-winning screenwriter, director, producer and occasional actor, who is best known for writing the screenplay for the Oscar-winning film American Beauty. ... The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is awarded each year to a cinematographer for his work in one particular motion picture. ... Conrad L. Hall (June 21, 1926 - January 4, 2003) was a top-billed Hollywood cinematographer. ... The American Comedy Awards were a group of awards presented annually since 1987 to honor performances and performers in the field of comedy. ... The American Society of Cinematographers is not a labor union or guild, but is an educational, cultural and professional organization. ... The Australian Film Institute (AFI), established in 1958, is an organisation that promotes Australian film and television through the annual AFI Awards, a membership program and AFI film events throughout the year. ... British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award for Best Picture winners: Categories: | ... Bruce Cohen is the Academy Award winning director of American Beauty. ... Dan Jinks works with Bruce Cohen in Jinks/Cohen Productions, currently based at DreamWorks. ... The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role has been presented to its winners since 1952 and actors of all nationalities are eligible to receive the award. ... Kevin Spacey (born Kevin Spacey Fowler[1] on July 26, 1959) is an American film and stage actor, as well as London-based theatre director. ... The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role has been presented to its winners since 1952 and actreses of all nationalities are eligible to receive the award. ... Annette Bening Annette Bening (born May 29, 1958) is an American actress. ... Conrad L. Hall (June 21, 1926 - January 4, 2003) was a top-billed Hollywood cinematographer. ... Thomas Newman with his BMI Film Music Award Thomas Newman (born October 20, 1955) is an American film score composer and a member of a family who established a film-scoring dynasty in Hollywood. ...

Nominations

The Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are actors and actresses. ... Annette Bening Annette Bening (born May 29, 1958) is an American actress. ... From Rule Sixteen of the Special Rules for The Music Awards Original Score: An original score is a substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer. ... Thomas Newman with his BMI Film Music Award Thomas Newman (born October 20, 1955) is an American film score composer and a member of a family who established a film-scoring dynasty in Hollywood. ... The Academy Award for Film Editing was first given for films issued in 1934. ... Tariq Anwar (born January 16, 1951 is the general secretary of the Nationalist Congress Party of India. ... Founded in 1950, American Cinema Editors (ACE) is an honorary society of film editors that are voted in based on the qualities of professional achievements, their education of others, and their dedication to editing itself. ... The American Comedy Awards were a group of awards presented annually since 1987 to honor performances and performers in the field of comedy. ... Sam Mendes Samuel Alexander Mendes, CBE (born August 1, 1965) is an English stage and film director born in Reading, Berkshire, England. ... Alan Ball (born in Atlanta, Georgia circa 1957) is an Academy Award-winning screenwriter, director, producer and occasional actor, who is best known for writing the screenplay for the Oscar-winning film American Beauty. ... Wes Bentley, Thora Birch, and Mena Suvari in a promotional photo for American Beauty Wes Bentley (born September 4, 1978) is an American actor. ... Birch in Ghost World Thora Birch (born March 11, 1982) is an American actress. ... Mena Suvari in a promo photo for Beauty Shop. ... Kaiser Chiefs collecting one of their three Brit Awards, 2006 with Vic Reeves. ...

Trivia

June 17, 2005 cover of Entertainment Weekly, featuring actor Tom Cruise Entertainment Weekly is a magazine published by Time Warner in the United States which is dedicated to the world of celebrity and popular culture. ... The Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are actors and actresses. ... Being Julia is a 2004 film directed by IstvÃ¡n SzabÃ³. // Cast Annette Bening â€“ Julia Lambert Shaun Evans â€“ Tom Fennel Jeremy Irons â€“ Michael Gosselyn Lucy Punch â€“ Avice Crichton Plot Spoiler warning: Set in the world of the London stage in the late 1930s, reigning diva Julia Lamberts success and... Hilary Swank on the cover of Hilary magazine Hilary Ann Swank (born July 30, 1974 in Lincoln, Nebraska and raised in Bellingham, Washington) is a two-time Oscar-winning United States actor. ... Sam Mendes Samuel Alexander Mendes, CBE (born August 1, 1965) is an English stage and film director born in Reading, Berkshire, England. ... Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg, KBE (born December 18, 1946) is an American film director. ... Chevy Chase Chevy Chase (born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, writer and television and film actor. ... Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is a two-time Academy Award-winning American actor who starred in family-friendly and screwball comedies before achieving notable success as a dramatic actor. ... Road to Perdition is a graphic novel by Max Allan Collins that was made into a motion picture of the same name in 2002. ... Bruce Cohen is the Academy Award winning director of American Beauty. ... The World Trade Center has been featured in numerous films, as well as made appearances in many television shows, cartoons, comic books, and computer/video games. ... Rise Against is a punk/hardcore band from Chicago, Illinois, USA. Formed in 1999, and originally performing under the name Transistor Revolt, they released a self-produced demo entitled Transistor Revolt in 2000, a year before signing with Fat Wreck Chords to release their first two albums, The Unraveling, and...

References

The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) [1] is an online database of information about actors, movies, television shows, television stars and video games. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... July 5 is the 186th day of the year (187th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 179 days remaining. ... June 17, 2005 cover of Entertainment Weekly, featuring actor Tom Cruise Entertainment Weekly is a magazine published by Time Warner in the United States which is dedicated to the world of celebrity and popular culture. ...

External links

Image File history File links Wikiquote-logo-en. ... Wikiquote logo Wikiquote is a sister project of Wikipedia, using the same MediaWiki software. ... Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of movies and video games. ...

Academy Award for Best Picture: Winners (1981-2000)

1981: Chariots of Fire | 1982: Gandhi | 1983: Terms of Endearment | 1984: Amadeus | 1985: Out of Africa | 1986: Platoon | 1987: The Last Emperor | 1988: Rain Man | 1989: Driving Miss Daisy | 1990: Dances with Wolves | 1991: The Silence of the Lambs | 1992: Unforgiven | 1993: Schindler's List | 1994: Forrest Gump | 1995: Braveheart | 1996: The English Patient | 1997: Titanic | 1998: Shakespeare in Love | 1999: American Beauty | 2000: Gladiator The Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Academy Awards, awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which are voted on by others within the industry. ... The Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Academy Awards, awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which are voted on by others within the industry. ... Chariots of Fire is a British film released in 1981. ... Gandhi (1982) is an Anglo-Indian film, directed by Richard Attenborough, about the life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (also known as Mahatma Gandhi, Great Soul), leader of the nonviolent resistance movement against British colonial rule in India during the first half of the 20th century. ... Terms of Endearment is a 1983 American drama film and romantic comedy. ... A play and film written in 1979 by Peter Shaffer, Amadeus is loosely based on the life of composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. ... For the African-origin theory of human evolution sometimes referred to as the Out of Africa theory, see single-origin hypothesis. ... Platoon is a 1986 Vietnam war film, written and directed by Oliver Stone and starring Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Charlie Sheen and Forest Whitaker. ... The Last Emperor is a 1987 biographical film which tells the life story of Aisin-Gioro Puyi, the last Emperor of China. ... Rain Man is a 1988 film which tells the story of a selfish yuppie who discovers that his father has left all of his estate to the autistic brother he never knew he had. ... Driving Miss Daisy is a 1987 play by Alfred Uhry adapted into a 1989 Warner Bros. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Silence of the Lambs is a 1991 film directed by Jonathan Demme and starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins. ... Unforgiven is a 1992 revisionist Western film which tells the story of a retired gunslinger who takes on one more job for the money. ... Schindlers List is an Academy Award-winning 1993 movie based on the book Schindlers Ark by Thomas Keneally, published in the United States as Schindlers List and subsequently re-issued in Commonwealth countries under that name as well. ... Forrest Gump is a 1985 novel by Winston Groom, a 1994 film adaptation, and the name of the titular character of both. ... Braveheart is an epic American motion picture released in 1995 based on the life of William Wallace, a national hero in Scotland. ... The English Patient is a 1996 film adaptation of the novel by Michael Ondaatje. ... For other uses, see Titanic (disambiguation). ... Shakespeare in Love is a 1998 motion picture. ... Gladiator is a 2000 movie directed by Ridley Scott, and starring Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix. ...

Complete List | Winners (1927-1940) | Winners (1941-1960) | Winners (1961-1980) | Winners (2001- )