American Beauty: The Awards Edition

First time director Sam Mendes' boldly satirical peek underneath the marital sheets of ordinary couple Lester (Oscar winner Kevin Spacey) and Carolyn Burnham's (Annette Bening) life in the 'burbs nabbed five Oscars earlier this year and is finally making its DVD debut. Extras include commentaries from the director and writer Alan Ball, a fairly standard "making of" promo, a not-at-all-standard extraordinarily detailed storyboard presentation, and a DVD-ROM version of the screenplay. Highly recommended. (R. Pitman)[Blu-ray Review—Sept. 28, 2010—Paramount, 122 min., R, Blu-ray: $29.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1999's American Beauty sports a great transfer with a DTS-HD soundtrack. Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Sam Mendes and screenwriter Alan Ball, a storyboard presentation with Mendes and cinematographer Conrad L. Hall (60 min.), a “Look Closer…” “making-of” featurette (18 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: an Oscar winner makes a fine debut on Blu-ray.]