Other Titles • The Hours (2002) • The Hours - Von Ewigkeit zu Ewigkeit (2003)
Synopses for The Hours (2002)
1.
Special Collector's Edition, Academy Award Winner.
The captivating story of three women from different eras whose lives are transformed by the timeless power of a masterful novel.
"Seductive and brilliant! A hard-won celebration of life as it is meant to be live. It may be set in 1923 or 1951 or 2001, but is is always vividly, urgently, NOW." -- David Ansen , NEWSWEEK.
(51 votes)
2.
Delicate and hypnotic, The Hours interweaves three stories with remarkable skill: in the 1920s Virginia Woolf (Nicole Kidman) grapples with her inner demons and slowly works on her novel Mrs. Dalloway; in 1949 housewife Laura Brown (Julianne Moore) feels her own destructive impulses; and in 1999 book editor Clarissa Vaughn (Meryl Streep)--much like the title character of Woolf's novel--prepares to throw a party, in honor of her dearest friend, a seriously ill poet (Ed Harris). Small details reverberate from story to story as a powerhouse cast (including Allison Janney, Toni Collette, Claire Danes, Jeff Daniels, John C. Reilly, Stephen Dillane, and Miranda Richardson) gives subtle and beautifully modulated performances. In the hands of director Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot), The Hours is almost more a piece of music than a story, and like music, it may move you in unexpected ways. --Bret Fetzer
DVD features It's hard to imagine anyone wanting more than what's on this lovely, single disc. There are four newly produced segments: a talk with composer Philip Glass, a featurette on the three main actresses, a must-see 10-minute feature on the writer of the novel (Michael Cunningham) and the screenplay (David Hare), and a crisp half-hour history of Virginia Wolfe with many anecdotes from various scholars. There are two commentaries. Highly recommended is Cunningham with director Stephen Daldry as they go through the movie with a good sense of appreciation for each person's craft. Cunningham is quite charming in revealing the story's origins while Daldry makes even the smallest task of filmmaking interesting. Daldry's so detailed he apologizes for such seemingly trivial bits as filming the opening sequence at a different time of year than it actually happened. The main three actresses speak separately on the other commentary track, and even though fans will enjoy their insights, the energy is very low; perhaps they should have recorded the track together. Streep's deep laughs at her little jokes are very smile-inducing. --Doug Thomas
(51 votes)
3.
Based on the Pulitzer-prize winning novel by Michael Cunningham, THE HOURS employs Virginia Woolf's classic novel and central character, MRS. DALLOWAY, as its foundation and inspiration. Spanning three different eras, during one day, the film focuses on the parallel lives of three women joined in their depression, alienation, and search for love. Nicole Kidman, wearing a prosthetic nose, is virtually unrecognizable as the tortured writer Virginia Woolf whose ongoing battle with mental illness eventually led to her tragic suicide in 1941. The film begins with the moment of her suicide and flashes back on her life and work as she crafted her most memorable character, Clarissa Dalloway, in 1923. In 1950's California suburbia another woman, Laura Brown (Julianne Moore), struggles with alienation and depression. Trapped by her clinging young son and an adoring husband whom she does not love, the desperate woman tries to prepare for her husband's birthday but cannot stop reading MRS. DALLOWAY. Finally, in modern day Manhattan, Clarissa Vaughn (Meryl Streep), a lesbian who lives with her lover (Allison Janney) and her daughter (Claire Danes), struggles to prepare a party for her ex-husband (Ed Harris) who is dying of AIDS. Director Stephen Daltry uses beautiful overlapping editing to sew the women's interwoven stories seamlessly together. At the core of this profoundly moving film is the trio of award-winning actresses who grace the screen with their bold and awe-inspiring performances.
(54 votes)
4.
The captivating story of three women from different eras whose lives are transformed by the timeless power of a masterful novel.
(46 votes)
5.
Special Collector's Edition
"Seductive and brilliant! A hard-won celebration of life as it is meant to be lived. It may be set in 1923 or 1951 or 2001, but it is always vividly, urgently, NOW." -David Ansen, Newsweek
"The Hours' uses all the resources of cinema-masterful writing, superb acting, and directorial intelligence-to make a film whose cumulative power takes viewers by surprise." -Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
Academy Award winner for Best Actress of the Year: Nicole Kidman.
Golden Globe Award winner for Best Picture.
(48 votes)
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