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Movies / On DVD / The Ice Storm
The Ice Storm

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The Ice Storm (1997)

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Reviews Counted:8

Fresh:7

Rotten:1

Average Rating:7.6/10

Consensus: Director Ang Lee revisits the ennui-laden decadence of 1970s suburban America with deft humor and gripping pathos.

Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Director Ang Lee's main concern is a subtle examination of family life that he began with THE WEDDING BANQUET and EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN. With THE ICE STORM, Lee creates a truly American period film... Director Ang Lee's main concern is a subtle examination of family life that he began with THE WEDDING BANQUET and EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN. With THE ICE STORM, Lee creates a truly American period film that is equally concerned with family relationships, set in 1970s New England. It is Thanksgiving, 1973, and the Carvers and the Hoods are two prototypical suburban families seemingly living the good life in New Canaan, Connecticut. Behind their New Age philosophies and polyester fashions, however, lies deep discontent. One husband carries on an unsatisfying affair with the other family's wife, while his teenage daughter experiments sexually with both of the neighbor's boys. When a winter storm descends upon their upper middle class neighborhood, buried resentments bubble over, leading to a tragedy neither family will ever forget. An intense, well-acted drama based on the novel by Rick Moody, THE ICE STORM is a masterly depiction of the frigid emotional life of suburbia. Great care was taken to accurately recreate the fashion, philosophy, and music of the 1970s without devolving into camp. Sigourney Weaver, Kevin Kline, and Joan Allen all excel in their roles, but it is the younger actors (Christina Ricci, Tobey Maguire, Elijah Wood, Adam Hann-Byrd) who steal the show. [More]

Starring: Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Joan Allen, Tobey Maguire

Starring: Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Joan Allen, Tobey Maguire, Christina Ricci, Henry Czerny, Courtney Peldon, Adam Hann-Byrd, David Krumholtz, Jamey Sheridan, Elijah Wood, Katie Holmes, Michael Cumpsty, Allison Janney

Director: Ang Lee

Director: Ang Lee
Screenwriter: James Schamus
Producer: James Schamus, Ted Hope, Ang Lee
Composer: Mychael Danna

[See More Credits]

Reviews for The Ice Storm

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1 - 8 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Arguably Lee's first truly essential film.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
11/21/08
Channel 4 Film
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A thoroughly enjoyable blend of comedy and melodrama...

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
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Spot-on performances, some icicles that are pure visual poetry, and enough symbolism to fuel a thesis, make The Ice Storm anything but a gloomy ride.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Andrew Collins
Andrew Collins
Empire Magazine
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The dazzling ensemble perfectly captures every nuance in one of the finest acting showcases you could hope for.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Angie Errigo
Angie Errigo
Empire Magazine
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A well-observed and deftly performed examination of upper-middle-class emotional deep freeze...

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
07/28/08
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
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It's unfortunate that as capable a team as director Lee and screenwriter-producer Schamus should have become fascinated with such unpromising material.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
02/14/01
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
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Lee daringly chooses to keep his story's motivational mysteries unexplained, leaving this richly observed film open to the viewer's assessments. Yet the sense of imbalance is ever-present and strong.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
New York Times
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Despite its mordant undertones, the film is often satirical and frequently very funny, and quietly observant in its performances.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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1 - 8 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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