Crash [P&S]

Overview

Issues of race and gender cause a group of strangers in Los Angeles to physically and emotionally collide in this drama from director and screenwriter Paul Haggis. Graham (Don Cheadle) is a police detective whose brother is a street criminal, and it hurts him to know his mother cares more about his ne'er-do-well brother than him. Graham's partner is Ria (Jennifer Esposito), who is also his girlfriend, though she has begun to bristle at his emotional distance, as well as his occasional insensitivity over the fact he's African-American and she's Hispanic. Rick (Brendan Fraser) is an L.A. district attorney whose wife, Jean (Sandra Bullock), makes little secret of her fear and hatred of people unlike herself. Jean's worst imaginings about people of color are confirmed when her SUV is carjacked by two African-American men -- Anthony (Chris Bridges, aka Ludacris), who dislikes white people as much as Jean hates blacks, and Peter (Larenz Tate), who is more open minded. Cameron (Terrence Howard) is a well-to-do African-American television producer with a beautiful wife, Christine (Thandie Newton). While coming home from a party, Cameron and Christine are pulled over by Officer Ryan (Matt Dillon), who subjects them to a humiliating interrogation (and her to an inappropriate search) while his new partner, Officer Hansen (Ryan Phillippe), looks on. Daniel (Michael Pena) is a hard-working locksmith and dedicated father who discovers that his looks don't lead many of his customers to trust him. And Farhad (Shaun Toub) is a Middle Eastern shopkeeper who is so constantly threatened in the wake of the 9/11 attacks that he decided he needs a gun to defend his family. Crash was the first directorial project for award-winning television and film writer Haggis.

Product Details

Release Date:	09/06/2005
UPC:	0031398183426
Original Release:	2005
Rating:	R
Source:	LIONSGATE - 600000-AEC LGE
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Full Frame]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	2:02:00

Special Features

Closed Caption;DVD introduction by director Paul Hagis; Crash behind the scenes; Commentary with Paul Haggis, Don Cheadle and Bobby Moresco; Full screen version; 5.1 and 2.0 Dolby Digital audio; Trailers; English and Spanish subtitles

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Sandra Bullock	Jean Cabot
Don Cheadle	Det. Graham Waters
Matt Dillon	Sgt. Ryan
Jennifer Esposito	Ria
William Fichtner	Jake Flanagan
Brendan Fraser	Dist. Atty. Richard `Rick' Cabot
Terrence Howard	Cameron
Chris "Ludacris" Bridges	Anthony
Larenz Tate	Peter Waters
Ryan Phillippe	Off. Tom Hansen
Thandie Newton	Christine
Michael Peña	Daniel Ruiz
Nona Gaye	Karen
Shaun Toub	Farhad
Bahar Soomekh	Dorri
Beverly Todd	Graham's Mother
Sean Cory	Motorcycle Cop
Billy Gallo	Officer Hill
Art Chudabala	Ken Ho
James Haggis	Lara's Friend
Ken Garito	Bruce
Dato Bakhtadze	Lucien
Marina Sirtis	Shereen
Daniel Kim	Park
Paul Haggis	Actor
Karina Arroyave	Actor
Tony Danza	Actor
Loretta Devine	Actor
Keith David	Actor

Technical Credits

Paul Haggis

Bobby Moresco

Paul Haggis	Director,Screenwriter
Bobby Moresco	Screenwriter,Screenwriter
Cathy Schulman	Producer
Bob Yari	Producer
Richard Van Dyke	Sound Mixer
Marina Grasic	Executive Producer
Jan Korbelin	Executive Producer
Tom Nunan	Executive Producer
Andrew Reimer	Executive Producer
Mark R. Harris	Producer

Editorial Reviews

The Oscar-nominated screenwriter of Million Dollar Baby takes the helm of his own project in Crash, an ensemble study of race relations in Los Angeles, which uses the city's daily preponderance of motor-vehicle collisions as a central metaphor. The film recalls the work of Robert Altman (Short Cuts) and Lawrence Kasdan (Grand Canyon) in its attempt to interweave different segments of the city's socioeconomic and ethnic landscape, but uses a blunter hammer stroke to drive home its points. The film's many supporters led to surprising Oscars for best picture, screenplay and editing, as well as a 55-million-dollar box-office take. While some viewers were undoubtedly drawn to the unfiltered language and uncompromising intensity with which racism is depicted, others found that the film veers into contrived territory. As the characters are more often symbolic types than fleshed-out individuals, they butt up against each other according to what will create maximum incendiary dialogue and the potential for explosive conflict. Whether it's Dillon spewing anti-affirmative-action rage, Sandra Bullock spraying racial epithets in as many directions as a lawn sprinkler, or an Iranian business owner and a Latino locksmith using their mutual preconceived notions to block off communication, most of the scenes play out at the highest possible emotional pitch, with mixed results. While a number of scenes work well individually -- most notably Dillon's creepy frisking of Thandie Newton -- their coincidental interconnectedness undermines them enough to seem gimmicky. Even if some viewers found the material preachy, there's no denying that Crash reached a wide audience, its fans identifying a forthright frankness on race relations that they hadn't seen since Do the Right Thing.