Sight and Sound, 12/01/2006, p.59, "To the extent that HOLLYWOODLAND captures the last years of this showbiz dinosaur, without condescension or sentimentality, it succeeds wonderfully."
Uncut, 01/01/2007, p.141, 3 stars out of 5 -- "It's an interesting transition that's being made here, as though it's not just Reeves dying but old Hollywood itself."
Ultimate DVD, 03/01/2007, p.93, 4 stars out of 5 -- "Affleck gives a career best performance as the troubled Reeves, and all involved beautifully immerse themselves in the period."
Rolling Stone, 09/21/2006, p.97, 3 stars out of 4 -- "[A] steadily engrossing movie that sees Reeves as human and treats his life and death with intelligence and compassion."
Premiere, 09/01/2006, p.34, 3 stars out of 4 -- "Affleck is superb....Lane, as always, excels with both sexiness and scournfulness..."
Entertainment Weekly, 09/15/2006, p.51, "[N]o false refinement obscures the gusto with which the cast chomp down on their tasty roles: Brody slithering and prowling, Diane Lane willing her sensual beauty to weariness...[and] Bob Hoskins snarling and potent as her husband..." -- Grade: B+
Box Office, 10/01/2006, p.40, 3 stars out of 5 -- "HOLLYWOODLAND looks great....A cold look at the entertainment industry's obsession with youth..."
New York Times, 09/08/2006, p.E1-E16, "[The filmmakers] want to bend Mr. Reeve's biography as an actor-cum-gigolo into a tragedy, and Mr. Affleck is more than up to the task."
Total Film, 12/01/2006, 34, 3 stars out of 5 -- "It's the plot strand which features Hoskins that provides Affleck's biggest competition in the thesping stakes. It comes in the form of the fabulous Diane Lane..."
Movieline's Hollywood Life, 09/01/2006, p.101, "Affleck must intuitively understand Reeves' hunger for respect, and he is moving in the role. Bob Hoskins brings raffish charm as well as vulgarity to his portrait of MGM kingpin Eddie Mannix."
Title Note
Theatrical Release: September 8, 2006
Release Note
DVD Features:
Region 1 Snap Case Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85 Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - English, French Subtitles - English (SDH), French, Spanish - Optional Additional Release Material: Audio Commentary - Allen Coulter - Director Deleted Scenes Featurette - 1. RECREATING OLD HOLLYWOOD 2. HOLLYWOOD THEN AND NOW 3. Behind The Scenes
DVD Features:
Region 1 Snap Case Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85 Full Frame - 1.33 Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - English, French Subtitles - English (SDH), French, Spanish - Optional Additional Release Material: Deleted Scenes Audio Commentary: Allen Coulter - Director Featurette: 1. RECREATING OLD HOLLYWOOD 2. HOLLYWOOD THEN AND NOW 3. Behind The Scenes
Product Notes
Playing Superman on TV brought aspiring film actor George Reeves stardom, but it also held him back as far as more serious acting roles went. When a 45-year-old Reeves was found dead in his home in 1959, his death was ruled a suicide, and attributed to this B-level frustration. The result of a single bullet wound, Reeves's death caused controversy in and around Hollywood, where popular theories related his death to either his starlet fiancé, Leonore Lemmon (Robin Tunney), or his famously ongoing and unique relationship with Toni Mannix (a fabulous Diane Lane), the wife of mob-connected MGM head Eddie Mannix (Bob Hoskins).
HOLLYWOODLAND explores Reeves's life and tragic end from the perspective of Louis Simo (Adrien Brody), a private investigator hired by Reeves's mother shortly after his death. Cutting back and forth between scenes of Reeves's life and Simo's detective work, the film draws parallels between two men kept from appreciating the present by dreams of future grandeur. Ben Affleck returns to form as Reeves, a man whose hindering celebrity status may have reminded the actor of his own: despite breaking onto the scene with an Academy Award for writing GOOD WILL HUNTING in 1997, Affleck's career was at one point overshadowed by a romance as familiar to the public as Superman's cape. With close attention to detail, first-time director Allen Coulter creates two distinct worlds specific to their time, Simo's noir-ish and seedy L.A. forming a bleak contrast to the glamorous, formal Tinseltown Reeves so longed to be embraced by. An accomplished act for a first time director, HOLLYWOODLAND offers viewers a believable look into Hollywood's most glamorous bygone era. Strong performances and stylish filmmaking help fuel a mystery without a solution.
Editorial Reviews
TOWER.COM REVIEW
MORE ABOUT THIS TITLE
BASED ON THE TRUE STORY OF HOLLYWOOD'S
MOST NOTORIOUS UNSOLVED MYSTERY
Featuring a First-Rate Cast, including
Academy Award® winner Adrien Brody (King Kong, The Pianist),
Academy Award® nominee Diane Lane (The Perfect Storm, Unfaithful)
and Academy Award® winner Ben Affleck (Good Will Hunting, Pearl Harbor)
Based on the true story of Hollywood's most notorious unsolved mystery, Hollywoodland is a tale of glamour, scandal, and corruption in 1950's Los Angeles. When George Reeves (Ben Affleck), star of TV's Adventures of Superman, is found dead in his home, millions of fans are shocked by the circumstances of his death. The police and the studio bosses want the case closed as a suicide, but rumors linger. Louis Simo (Adrien Brody), a private investigator, picks up the trail and begins to piece together the actor's last, tension-filled days. Who pulled the trigger? Was it the seductive yet scheming fiancee, the spurned lover (Diane Lane), the enraged husband (Bob Hoskins), or was it Reeves himself?
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