Big Fish Movie Review 2003

Burton's latest is right up his alley, as it's about a great storyteller prone to out-sized flights of fancy. Ed Bloom (Finney) is a man on his deathbed hoping to reconcile with the son (Crudup) he's alienated with the yarns he's spun about his life. When Will, who's become a journalist as a form of rebellion, returns and asks one last time for the truth, Ed again begins the familiar tall tale. This is where we learn of Ed's version of his courtship of wife Sandra, his battle with a huge catfish, his adventures with a giant in the circus, the Korean War, and an idyllic town where the residents seem content to walk around barefoot and happy. Burton is in his element with the flashback/yarn portion, but handles the delicate drama of the father-son scenes with aplomb as well. Cast is uniformly excellent, with Finney making the most of a largely sedentary role.

Distribution

Sony Pictures Home Video, Sony Pictures Plz., 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232, Phone: (310)244-7306, Fax: (310)280-2485, URL: http://www.spe.sony.com, Remarks: Formerly Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment

Available on DVD
Running time 125 minutes.
Originally from United States.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Flashback, Dads, American South, Carnivals & Circuses, Marriage, Out of Order, Road Trip, Go Fish, Werewolves, Korean War, Terminal Illness, Salespeople, Giants, Storytelling

Screenplay

John August

Cast

Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Alison Lohman, Helena Bonham Carter, Robert Guillaume, Steve Buscemi, Danny DeVito, Marion Cotillard, David Denman, Missi Pyle, Matthew McGrory, Loudon Wainwright

Cinematography

Philippe Rousselot

Director

Tim Burton

Music

Danny Elfman

Other

Petur Hliddal, Chris Lebenzon, Richard Johnson, Colleen Atwood, Dennis Gassner

Producer

Richard D. Zanuck, Bruce Cohen, Dan Jinks, Columbia Pictures