DVD
Defending your life
Call Number
- DVD COMEDY (CEN)
Edition
Director-approved DVD special edition.
Languages
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing.
Performers
Albert Brooks, Meryl Streep, Rip Torn, Lee Grant, Buck Henry.
Publication Information
[Irvington, NY] : Criterion Collection, [2021]
Physical Description
1 videodisc (111 minutes) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in. + 1 folded sheet (color illustrations ; 19 cm.)
Audience
MPAA rating: PG.
Summary
"Is there love after death? Acerbic everyman Albert Brooks finds a perfect balance between satirical bite and romantic-comedy charm as the writer, director, and star of this wonderfully warm and imaginative existential fantasy. After he dies suddenly, the hapless advertising executive Daniel Miller finds himself in Judgment City, a gleaming way station where the newly deceased must prove they lived a life of sufficient courage to advance in their journey through the universe. As the self-doubting Daniel struggles to make his case, a budding relationship with the uninhibited Julia offers him a chance to finally feel alive. Buoyed by a brilliant supporting cast that includes Rip Torn, Lee Grant, and Buck Henry, Defending Your Life is a rare feat of personal, philosophical filmmaking that happens to also be divinely entertaining."--Container.
Notes
Originally released as a motion picture in 1991.
Special features: New 4K digital restoration, approved by director Albert Brooks ; new conversation between Brooks and filmmaker Robert Weide ; new interview with theologian and critic Donna Bowman about Brook's vision of the afterlife ; new program featuring exerpts from interviews conducted in 1991 with Brooks and actors Lee Grant and Rip Torn ; trailer.