DVD Pick: "Millions
About.com Rating
"The French have said au revoir to the franc. The Germans have said auf Wiedersehen to the deutsche mark. And the Portuguese have said ? whatever to their thing. Now it's our turn to say good-bye to sterling." So says the young boy who narrates the charming British film Millions (2004).
When I watched this movie on DVD, I smiled a lot and laughed out loud several times. But the film also brought me close to tears.
I rate it as one of the best Christmas movies ever made and consider it a worthy competitor to It's a Wonderful Life.
The central character in Millions is Damian Cunningham, played by eight-year-old Alexander Etel in one of the best performances by a child actor I've seen. Damian lives in a brand new tract of detached single-family houses in suburban Manchester, where the lifestyle is quite similar to that of American suburbia. Damian's mother has recently died, and I would say the movie is about his coming to terms with her death. But the filmmakers found a way of turning this into a movie brimming over with joy.
Damian tells the film's story, which I would describe as a moralistic fable. It's an imaginative tale in which he is near the railroad track one day when a bag containing 229,520 pounds sterling suddenly bounds across the ground, coming to rest where he is playing. But the found money will become worthless in only a few days' time when the United Kingdom changes its currency to the euro at Christmas.
The narrative consists of the sequence of events flowing from the unexpected appearance of a large sum of money, but as Damian says, "In the end, it turns out it wasn't about the money after all." I believe what gives the story resonance is that a young boy learns important things about life. In the final analysis, the money is a confusion factor. As a wise character in the film puts it, "The money makes it harder to see what's what."
Let me emphasize that Millions is a lively and entertaining movie. Director Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later) used plenty of color, appealing sets and locations, computer-generated effects, and snappy editing to make his film visually delightful. Also, the screenplay by Frank Cottrell Boyce (Hilary and Jackie, The Claim) is very clever.
The DVD provides feature-length audio commentary by Boyle and Boyce, and I found that to be quite enjoyable. They're jolly types, who jocularly claim that any British film must mention cups of tea, have a scene in a toilet, and have trains. Boyle says that Millions got a 12A certificate in the U.K. (children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult) because kids are shown playing near train tracks.
The DVD also contains 10 deleted scenes that have a total running time of about 31 minutes. Most of these scenes are good, and I assume the reason for cutting them was to keep the movie short. The scene titled "Raw Attic" was particularly interesting to me because they have left on it the sound of Danny Boyle's voice giving direction.
Also on the DVD are four behind-the-scenes featurettes that have a total running time of a little over 13 minutes. This gives the opportunity of seeing what Boyle looks like and hearing the principal actors talk a little out of character.
Below I've listed all the details for the widescreen version of the Millions DVD. There's also a full-screen DVD version that is identical except for the aspect ratio of the feature film.
DVD Details:
Release Date: November 1, 2005
Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1), Color
Feature Film Run Time: 1 Hour 38 Minutes
MPAA Rating: PG for Thematic Elements, Language, Some Peril and Mild Sensuality
English 5.1 Dolby Surround
Spanish Dolby Surround
English Subtitles
French Subtitles
Spanish Subtitles
Commentary by Director and Screenwriter
Deleted Scenes (10, totaling 31 min.)
Behind the Scenes: Million Pounds (2 min. 25 sec.)
Behind the Scenes: Saints (3 min. 30 sec.)
Behind the Scenes: Spirit of the Film (3 min. 25 sec.)
Behind the Scenes: Robbery (4 min. 5 sec.)
DVD Cutdown (3 min. 50 sec.)
Millions Soundtrack Spot
Theatrical Trailer
"The French have said au revoir to the franc. The Germans have said auf Wiedersehen to the deutsche mark. And the Portuguese have said ? whatever to their thing. Now it's our turn to say good-bye to sterling." So says the young boy who narrates the charming British film Millions (2004).
When I watched this movie on DVD, I smiled a lot and laughed out loud several times. But the film also brought me close to tears.
I rate it as one of the best Christmas movies ever made and consider it a worthy competitor to It's a Wonderful Life.
The central character in Millions is Damian Cunningham, played by eight-year-old Alexander Etel in one of the best performances by a child actor I've seen. Damian lives in a brand new tract of detached single-family houses in suburban Manchester, where the lifestyle is quite similar to that of American suburbia. Damian's mother has recently died, and I would say the movie is about his coming to terms with her death. But the filmmakers found a way of turning this into a movie brimming over with joy.
Damian tells the film's story, which I would describe as a moralistic fable. It's an imaginative tale in which he is near the railroad track one day when a bag containing 229,520 pounds sterling suddenly bounds across the ground, coming to rest where he is playing. But the found money will become worthless in only a few days' time when the United Kingdom changes its currency to the euro at Christmas.
The narrative consists of the sequence of events flowing from the unexpected appearance of a large sum of money, but as Damian says, "In the end, it turns out it wasn't about the money after all." I believe what gives the story resonance is that a young boy learns important things about life. In the final analysis, the money is a confusion factor. As a wise character in the film puts it, "The money makes it harder to see what's what."
Let me emphasize that Millions is a lively and entertaining movie. Director Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later) used plenty of color, appealing sets and locations, computer-generated effects, and snappy editing to make his film visually delightful. Also, the screenplay by Frank Cottrell Boyce (Hilary and Jackie, The Claim) is very clever.
The DVD provides feature-length audio commentary by Boyle and Boyce, and I found that to be quite enjoyable. They're jolly types, who jocularly claim that any British film must mention cups of tea, have a scene in a toilet, and have trains. Boyle says that Millions got a 12A certificate in the U.K. (children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult) because kids are shown playing near train tracks.
The DVD also contains 10 deleted scenes that have a total running time of about 31 minutes. Most of these scenes are good, and I assume the reason for cutting them was to keep the movie short. The scene titled "Raw Attic" was particularly interesting to me because they have left on it the sound of Danny Boyle's voice giving direction.
Also on the DVD are four behind-the-scenes featurettes that have a total running time of a little over 13 minutes. This gives the opportunity of seeing what Boyle looks like and hearing the principal actors talk a little out of character.
Below I've listed all the details for the widescreen version of the Millions DVD. There's also a full-screen DVD version that is identical except for the aspect ratio of the feature film.
DVD Details:
Release Date: November 1, 2005
Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1), Color
Feature Film Run Time: 1 Hour 38 Minutes
MPAA Rating: PG for Thematic Elements, Language, Some Peril and Mild Sensuality
English 5.1 Dolby Surround
Spanish Dolby Surround
English Subtitles
French Subtitles
Spanish Subtitles
Commentary by Director and Screenwriter
Deleted Scenes (10, totaling 31 min.)
Behind the Scenes: Million Pounds (2 min. 25 sec.)
Behind the Scenes: Saints (3 min. 30 sec.)
Behind the Scenes: Spirit of the Film (3 min. 25 sec.)
Behind the Scenes: Robbery (4 min. 5 sec.)
DVD Cutdown (3 min. 50 sec.)
Millions Soundtrack Spot
Theatrical Trailer
Source...