Smoke Signals
by Chris Eyre
List Price:
Our Price: $4.46
You Save: $10.53 (70%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Adam Beach, Evan Adams, Gary Farmer, Irene Bedard, Tantoo CardinalDirector: Chris Eyre
Brand: BUENA VISTA HOME VIDEO
Producer: Chris Eyre
Producer: Brent Morris
Producer: Carl Bressler
Producer: David Skinner
Producer: Larry Estes
Producer: Randy Suhr
Writer: Sherman Alexie
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Letterboxed, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: Letterbox, 1.85:1
Running Time: 89 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1999-09-28
Studio: Miramax Films
Movie Reviews of Smoke Signals
Movie Review: A great story, and a good film . . . .
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm a bit bewildered by the few negative reviews that this movie has garnered here on Amazon. To set one reviewer's mind at ease: although I too consider myself a liberal, I would not hesitate to give any piece of art a bad review, IF it deserved it.
Since many more reviewers have stated their cases far more eloquently than I could, let me just say this: I think this is a charming, quirky, well-acted, thought-provoking movie. Its slow pace perfectly reflects the feel of life; it's not a shoot-'em-up, mind-numbing exercise in "entertainment," but a thoughtful study, a singular piece of art, a reflection of life. Perhaps, because it's texture and pacing are different, it seems quite unique and unsettling.
As Shakespeare says, acting (and by extension its venues, plays and movies) has a purpose: "to hold as 'twere the mirror up to nature: to show virtue her feature, scorn her own image, and the very age and body of the time his form and pressure." I think SMOKE SIGNALS does that quite well!
Summary of Smoke Signals
Critically acclaimed as one of the best films of the year, SMOKE SIGNALS was also a distinguished winner at the Sundance Film Festival! Though Victor and Thomas have lived their entire young lives in the same tiny town, they couldn't have less in common! But when Victor is urgently called away, it's Thomas who comes up with the money to pay for his trip. There's just one thing Victor has to do: take Thomas along for the ride! You're in for a rare and entertaining comic treat as this most unlikely pair leave home on what becomes an unexpectedly unforgettable adventure of friendship and discovery!Based on a couple of short stories (from The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven) by Sherman Alexie, Smoke Signals is a lean and assured feature that speaks well of its lengthy, rich evolution, including a development stint at Sundance. The first feature made by a Native American crew and creative team, the film concerns two young Idaho men with radically different memories of one Arnold Joseph (Gary Farmer), a former resident of the reservation who split years before and has just died in Phoenix. Arnold's strapping, popular son, Victor (Adam Beach), remembers him best as an alcoholic, occasionally abusive father who drove off one day and never came back. By contrast, Thomas Builds-the-Fire (Evan Adams), whom Arnold had saved from certain death years earlier, has chosen to exaggerate the man's life and deeds in a mythmaking fashion that drives Victor crazy. Circumstances bring the two together, however, in a bus ride to retrieve Arnold's ashes. There, in Phoenix, a confrontation with the reality of the dead man's fullest legacy has a profound effect on both characters. Alexie, who wrote the script and was personally involved in all aspects of the production, and first-time director Chris Eyre are so polished in their approach that you can barely feel the cinematic engine at work here. This is the kind of movie in which the characters seem to be driving everything forward, a captivating and pleasant experience that gets a little too tidy at the end (can we call a moratorium on scenes of human ashes lovingly disposed to the winds?), but which is undeniably moving. The cast, including Irene Bedard (the voice of and physical inspiration for Disney's Pocahontas) is outstanding. --Tom Keogh
Comedy DVD Video
DVD Video
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness & Yoga
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Movies most talked about in Movies That Make Me Proud to Be a Man
Falling DownDOUGLAS,MICHAEL; Release date: 1999-10-26; DVD
Best price: $4.50
Price in other shops:
Brokeback Mountain (Widescreen Edition)LEDGER,HEATH; Release date: 2006-04-04; DVD
Best price: $3.60
Price in other shops:
A.I. - Artificial Intelligence (Widescreen Two-Disc Special Edition)PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO; Release date: 2002-03-05; DVD
Best price: $3.75
Price in other shops:
The Last Samurai (Two-Disc Special Edition)WARNER HOME VIDEO; Release date: 2004-05-04; DVD
Best price: $4.57
Price in other shops:
Grizzly ManLIONS GATE HOME ENT.; Release date: 2005-12-26; DVD
Best price: $2.82
Price in other shops:
Into the Wild (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition)PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO; Release date: 2008-03-04; DVD
Best price: $19.99
Price in other shops:
A Cool Dry PlaceTCFHE; Release date: 2004-06-01; DVD
Best price: $4.21
Price in other shops:
Bicycle Thieves (Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2007-02-13; DVD
Best price: $23.00
Price in other shops:
Dear FrankieBUENA VISTA HOME VIDEO; Release date: 2005-07-05; DVD
Best price: $18.47
Price in other shops:
Cinderella Man (Widescreen Edition)Universal Studios; Release date: 2005-12-06; DVD
Best price: $4.99
Price in other shops:
Similar DVD Movies
Bury My Heart at Wounded KneePAQUIN,ANNA; Release date: 2007-09-11; DVD
Best price: $5.46
Price in other shops:
The Song of HiawathaRelease date: 2005-06-07; DVD
Best price: $2.92
Price in other shops:
The Last of His TribeHBO HOME VIDEO; Release date: 2004-06-01; DVD
Best price: $4.07
Price in other shops:
Sioux CityPLATINUM DISC LLC; Release date: 2005-08-30; DVD
Best price: $3.01
Price in other shops:
Incident at Oglala - The Leonard Peltier StoryLions Gate; Release date: 2004-04-20; DVD
Best price: $7.93
Price in other shops:
The Business of FancydancingGenius; Release date: 2003-07-08; DVD
Best price: $32.98
Edge of AmericaParamount; Release date: 2006-02-28; DVD
Best price: $7.25
Price in other shops:
Spirit RiderBEACH,ADAM; Release date: 2005-08-23; DVD
Best price: $3.74
Price in other shops:
DreamkeeperLions Gate; Release date: 2004-03-16; DVD
Best price: $7.88
Price in other shops:
Dance Me OutsideMUSIC VIDEO DISTRIBUTORS; Release date: 2008-07-08; DVD
Best price: $11.04
Price in other shops: