Cold Mountain DVD: Review By justincase

Inman(Law) -- a wounded confederate soldier in the Civil War -- has decided he is fed up with the senseless killing and has deserted the fighting to make his way back to his home in Cold Mountain. He undertakes this treacherous journey to return to his beloved Ada (Kidman). While Inman has been away at war and as he journeys hundreds of miles on foot, dodging the "Home Guard" (local Civil War soldiers arresting and shooting deserters), Ada must search deep within herself to find courage and strength to survive the loss of her father and the decay of her farm. Helping the beautiful, albeit not very practical, Ada is Ruby (Zellweger), a tough-as-nails country girl with the will and the skills to do quite well on her own ... despite harboring a both a smoldering hatred and deep longing for her drunk and abusive father.

Cold Mountain is an epic tale of love, war, loss, survival and life. This deeply metaphorical picture explores the change required for survival in extraordinary circ*mstances. We see this change in the diverse canvas of complex, but well-developed characters throughout the story.

War tears families apart. War parts hearts with the brutal certainty of the worst. Any woman who has watched her man board that train, boat or plane to head off to war has lost a huge part of herself in that departure. I recently watched as my younger sister said goodbye to her husband (of less than 1 year) as he heads off for final training before a nearly 2-year deployment to Iraq. It was very painful. This is a scene that men and women across our country have lived with, despite the fact that the mortality rates of the U.S. soldier in battle today are a fraction of what they were 50 years ago -- let alone in the Civil War. With modern wars fought on foreign soil, though, most have never had to deal with the brutality at home experienced by women during the Civil War as the "home guard" devolved into cruelty and almost fuedal control over local towns. Amidst this emotion, conflict, bloodshed, hardship and brutality -- Anthony Minghella (director) has crafted a compelling and emotional tale.

Based on the book by Charles Frazier, this film converts to screen seamlessley -- if maybe just a bit too long-winded. Minghella seems to take great pride and joy in creating the perfect scene and letting his audience linger there. This picture is no exception. Perhaps, however, the pace could have clicked along at a slightly faster pace. While not a tear-jerker, this film will stir your emotions (unless, of course, you're a brainless simp just hoping for Bruckheimer/Bay-esque action and explosions...). Take your time with this and let your inner-intellectual sip at it like a fine wine. If you dont' walk away from this revisiting your high-school history lessons on the Civil War, I'll be surprised. It seems amazing to me that so many young men who lived in the same country could have ever been so gung-ho to kill eachother.

Minghella managed to assemble an astonishing cast for this work. Not only did he attract Law and Kidman who both gave great performances, but he wrung an amazing performance from Rene Zellweger who deserved every ounce of that little gold statue she won for this role. Beyond the main cast, though, we have an exceptional ensemble of supporting players including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jack White, Natalie Portman, Ethan Suplee, Brendan Gleeson, Kathy Baker, Giovani Ribisi, Cillian Murphy, Jena Malone and a host of others. These relatively small roles (in running-time) add heavily to Inman's metaphorical journey and to Ada's metamorphosis -- weaving a mosaic of personalities, motives, meanings, contributions and contradictions.

This film also exhibits the 'state of the art' in production design. I'm not talking about special effects or "wow-factor". I'm talking about honest-to-god, the-way-it-was authentic set design, costumes, environment, lighting. The elements of this film put you in that era. They put you on the battlefield. They actually constructed the entire town of Cold Mountain on location...interior and exterior. BRAVO!

Finally, the sound. Sting and Allison Krause aside (we all recognize that work as a masterpiece), the entire soundtrack and score to this film are amazing. They tie together the action on screen and the emotions in your heart with the intellectual and historical perspectives. We are put in the time -- in the mood and feel the haunting chills of the battlefield as well as the longing and heartache that drives the journey.

This movie should have racked up some "technical" Oscars for elements beyond the acting and direction. Alas -- there was apparently more magic in the land of the hobbits than amidst the landscape of Cold Mountain... at least for the members of The Academy.

The special features on this disc are fairly standard -- given the entire 2nd disc devoted to the material.

Commentary with Anthony Minghella - Writer/Director, Walter Murch - Editor

Deleted Scenes

"Words & Music of COLD MOUNTAIN - Royce Hall Special"

"Climbing COLD MOUNTAIN" - Doc*mentary

"A Journey to COLD MOUNTAIN" - Making Of

Sacred Harp History

Storyboard Comparisons

I did check out Climbing Cold Mountain and A Journey to Cold Mountain. Both were reasonably informative and enjoyable (for instance, I had no idea the film was shot in Romania). I could have been much more impressed by a historical perspective on the civil war, a 1-hour doc*mentary or History Channel special.

I'm pretty disappointed that we don't have this stuff on here. Someone needs to spend more time thinking about what viewers will want to dig through after they watch the film. The answer is... It's not found here.

Cold Mountain is a powerful, moving, complex and enjoyable love story set amidst the backdrop of an intensely violent landscape. It is a journey, both actual and spiritual. It is a film not everyone will love but most will enjoy. I quite liked it.