The Ice Storm

Detailing the emotional and sexual confusion and frustration of two upper-class Connecticut families in the winter of 1973, Ang Lee's adaptation of Rick Moody's celebrated novel benefits from a superb cast (Christina Ricci and Tobey Maguire in particular, but everyone is terrific), a beautifully ethereal score by Atom Egoyan regular Mychael Danna, and a surprisingly frank--for an American film, anyway--exploration of teenage sexuality. (Merely acknowledging that children have sexual urges is too risqué for most Americans, it seems.) The film's evocation of the Me Decade is accurate without ever becoming distracting. That it feels very much like a filmed novel is both a boon and a burden; its characters are gratifyingly complex and multifaceted, but Lee gets carried away with the visual metaphors (enough with the inserts of ice cubes, Ang!), and the final third, which takes place during the titular storm, gets bogged down in precious atmospheric foreboding. Still, it's an incisive and often affecting portrait of an era. Recommended. (M. D'Angelo)[DVD Review—Mar. 18, 2008—Criterion, 2 discs, 113 min., R, $39.95—Making its second appearance on DVD, 1997's The Ice Storm boasts a great transfer and Dolby Digital surround sound. DVD extras include audio commentary with director Ang Lee and producer-screenwriter James Schamus, a “Weathering the Storm” making-of featurette with costars Joan Allen, Kevin Kline, Tobey Maguire, Christina Ricci, Sigourney Weaver, and Elijah Wood (36 min.), “The Look of The Ice Storm” production featurettes on cinematography, production design, and costume design (36 min. total), footage from an event honoring Lee and Schamus at New York's Museum of the Moving Image (32 min.), an interview with novelist Rick Moody (21 min.), deleted scenes with optional commentary (7 min.), an essay by film critic Bill Krohn, and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a solid drama.][Blu-ray Review—July 30, 2013—Criterion, 113 min., R, $39.95—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1997's The Ice Storm features a solid transfer and a DTS-HD stereo soundtrack. Extras are carried over from the previous DVD release, including audio commentary with director Ang Lee and producer-screenwriter James Schamus, a “Weathering the Storm” making-of featurette with costars Joan Allen, Kevin Kline, Tobey Maguire, Christina Ricci, Sigourney Weaver, and Elijah Wood (36 min.), “The Look” production featurettes on cinematography, production, and costume design (36 min. total), footage from a 2007 Museum of the Moving Image event honoring Lee and Schamus (32 min.), an interview with novelist Rick Moody (21 min.), deleted scenes with optional commentary (7 min.), trailers, and a booklet featuring an essay by film critic Bill Krohn. Bottom line: Lee's drama makes a welcome high-def debut.]