Russell Crowe, Renée Zellweger and Paul Giamatti star in "Cinderella Man," an entertaining biopic about boxing great James J. Braddock. Crowe plays Braddock, Zellweger portrays his wife and Giamatti plays his manager.
The movie reunites Crowe with key members of the "A Beautiful Mind" team, notably director Ron Howard, screenwriter Akiva Goldsman and producer Brian Grazer.
"Cinderella Man" is set during the Great Depression, and it's the story of how the down-on-his-luck Braddock managed to fight his way to a heavyweight title bout, becoming a symbol of hope for working-class folks. But above all, the film is a feel-good tale of the triumph against long odds of an American family man.
Three DVD editions of "Cinderella Man" were released on December 6, 2005. Two of these are single-disc editions, which differ only in that on one of them the feature film is in widescreen, while on the other it is in full-screen. Both single-disc editions are two-sided with Side A containing the feature film plus three audio commentary tracks and Side B providing bonus materials with a total run time of approximately 1 hour 26 minutes.
In addition to the two single-disc editions, there is a two-disc Collector's Edition where Disc One is identical to the single-disc widescreen edition. Disc Two contains additional bonus materials with run time totaling about 1 hour 49 minutes.
Each of these DVD editions provides three separate audio commentary tracks: one by director Ron Howard, a second by screenwriter Akiva Goldsman and a third by screenwriter Cliff Hollingsworth.
On the flip side of the disc containing the feature film, all three DVD editions supply half a dozen bonus features. These include: (1) 21 minutes of deleted scenes with optional director commentary; (2) 23 minutes of interviews about the movie's casting; (3) a 14-minute making-of feature; (4) six-and-a-half minutes focusing on legendary boxing trainer Angelo Dundee; (5) nine minutes where Norman Mailer shares his insights with Ron Howard, Brian Grazer and Akiva Goldsman as the four of them watch the 1935 fight between Braddock and Max Baer; and (6) 11 minutes focusing on members of Braddock's family.
If you're really into "Cinderella Man" or you're buying it on DVD as a gift, you'll probably want to get the two-disc Collector's Edition. Disc One is identical to the single-disc widescreen edition, but there's also a second disc, which contains additional bonus materials. Among these are: (1) an additional 15 minutes of deleted scenes with optional director commentary; (2) a half-hour feature on Russell Crowe training at his Australia home to portray Braddock; (3) four segments totaling 25 minutes on pre-production, including development of the screenplay and production design; (4) a 21-minute feature on creating and shooting the boxing sequences; (5) half an hour of footage of the real-life 1935 Braddock-Baer championship fight; (6) a six-minute featurette on the movie's musical score; and (7) the filmmakers talking for six minutes about how they sought to put a human face on the Great Depression.
In addition to the two DVD discs, the Collector's Edition includes a 38-page commemorative booklet and four cards, each containing a high-quality 4" x 6" photo.
Below I've listed the details for both the single-disc editions of "Cinderella Man," as well as for the two-disc Collector's Edition DVD set.
DVD Details:
Release Date: December 6, 2005
Single-Disc Editions:
Side A:
Feature Film Run Time: 2 Hours 25 Minutes
Anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1) or Full-Screen (1.33:1)
Color
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for Intense Boxing Violence and Some Language
English 5.1 Dolby Digital
French 5.1 Dolby Digital
English Captions for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Spanish Subtitles
French Subtitles
Descriptive Video Service
Audio Commentary by Director Ron Howard
Audio Commentary by Screenwriter Akiva Goldsman
Audio Commentary by Screenwriter Cliff Hollingsworth
Side B:
Deleted Scenes With Optional Director Commentary (21 min.)
The Fight Card: Casting "Cinderella Man" (23 min.)
The Man, the Movie, the Legend: A Filmmaking Journey (14 min.)
For the Record: A History in Boxing [Angelo Dundee] (7 min.)
Ringside Seats [With Norman Mailer] (9 min.)
Jim Braddock: The Friends & Family Behind the Legend (11 min.)
Kodak Promotional Advertisement (2 min.)
DVD-ROM
Collector's Edition Two-Disc Set:
Disc One Same as Widescreen Single-Disc Edition Described Above
Disc Two:
Additional Deleted Scenes With Director Commentary (15 min.)
Russell Crowe's Personal Journey: Becoming Braddock (28 min.)
Pre-Fight Preparations (4 segments on pre-production totaling 25 min.)
Lights, Camera, Action: The Fight From Every Angle (21 min.)
Braddock vs. Baer Fight Footage (32 min.)
Photo Montage (3 min.)
The Sound of the Bell [Musical Score] (6 min.)
Music Featurette (2 min.)
Human Face of the Depression (6 min.)
Photo Cards (4)
38-Page Commemorative Booklet
