Product Description

Gene Hackman is Royal Tenenbaum, a once-prominent New York lawyer who fakes a terminal illness in order to reunite with estranged wife Anjelica Huston, about to remarry tax lawyer Danny Glover, and kids Ben Stiller, Gwyneth Paltrow and Luke Wilson, former child prodigies who have grown into neurotic adults...thanks in no small part to Hackman's antics. Off-kilter dark comedy from Wes Anderson also stars Bill Murray and Owen Wilson. 109 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS, Dolby Surround; Subtitles: English; audio commentary by Anderson, others; "making of" featurette; deleted scenes; more.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1621 in DVD
• Brand: The Criterion Collection
• Model: 157
• Released on: 2002-07-09
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DTS Surround Sound, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: .54 pounds
• Running time: 110 minutes

Amazon.com
In a fitting follow-up to Rushmore, writer-director Wes Anderson and cowriter-actor Owen Wilson have crafted another comedic masterwork that ripples with inventive, richly emotional substance. Because of the all-star cast, hilarious dialogue, and oddball characters existing in their own, wholly original universe, it's easy to miss the depth and complexity of Anderson's brand of comedy. Here, it revolves around Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman), the errant patriarch of a dysfunctional family of geniuses, including precocious playwright Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow), boyish financier and grieving widower Chas (Ben Stiller), and has-been tennis pro Richie (Luke Wilson). All were raised with supportive detachment by mother Etheline (Anjelica Huston), and all ache profoundly for a togetherness they never really had. The Tenenbaums reconcile somehow, but only after Anderson and Wilson (who costars as a loopy literary celebrity) put them through a compassionate series of quirky confrontations and rekindled affections. Not for every taste, but this is brilliant work from any perspective. --Jeff Shannon

From The New Yorker
After the brilliance of "Rushmore," his levelheaded look at the gifts of a misfit, where could Wes Anderson go next? In the event, he has broadened his scope to take in an entire family of misfits: the Tenenbaums, residing in their colorful town house like kooky modern leftovers from the age of Edith Wharton-an age of innocence indeed, despite the ill will that gusts around. The parents (Gene Hackman and Anjelica Huston) raised three overachieving children (Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson, and Gwyneth Paltrow) and then separated. We are here for the aftermath: the daughter's fading marriage to a bearded melancholic (Bill Murray), and other sunderings and patchings-up. The movie is packed tight with strong, if baffled, feelings, and yet we could be watching it through glass; Anderson specializes in the cool, astringent gaze, and for anyone sick of Hollywood heart-melters, this could be the antidote. With Owen Wilson, who co-wrote the film, and a meticulous Danny Glover. -Anthony Lane
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker