Lost in America (The Criterion Collection) Blu-ray
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Two yuppies drop out of the rat race and take to the road in a motor-home to do all the things they dreamed about in their youth. Albert Brooks (“Broadcast News,” “Defending Your Life”) directs and stars in this smart, satirical romantic comedy. When a yuppie ad executive suddenly finds himself unemployed, he and his wife (Julie Hagerty, “Airplane!,” “A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy”) begin a comic odyssey on the open road to get away from the rat race — only to become “lost in America.” The Wall Street Journal calls this “hilarious… Brooks is one of the funniest men in America,” while the Chicago Tribune says the film contains “one priceless scene after another, all of which are wildly funny,” and the Chicago Sun-Times gives the film its highest rating — “****”. Lost in America (The Criterion Collection) Blu-ray
In this hysterical satire of Reagan-era values, written and directed by Albert Brooks, a successful Los Angeles advertising executive (Brooks) and his wife (Julie Hagerty) decide to quit their jobs, buy a Winnebago, and follow their ‘Easy Rider’ fantasies of freedom and the open road. When a stop in Las Vegas nearly derails their plans, they’re forced to come to terms with their own limitations and those of the American dream. Brooks’s barbed wit and confident direction drive ‘Lost in America’, an iconic example of his restless movies about insecure characters searching for satisfaction in the modern world that established his unique comic voice and transformed the art of observational humor. Lost in America (The Criterion Collection) Blu-ray
DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
– New 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
– New conversation with director Albert Brooks and filmmaker Robert Weide
– New interviews with actor Julie Hagerty, executive producer Herb Nanas, and comic writer and director James L. Brooks
– Trailer
– PLUS: An essay by critic Scott Tobias
Additional information
| MPAA rating : | R (Restricted) |
|---|---|
| Product Dimensions : | 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 4 ounces |
| Director : | Albert Brooks |
| Media Format : | Widescreen, Subtitled |
| Run time : | 1 hour and 31 minutes |
| Release date : | July 25, 2017 |
| Actors : | Albert Brooks, Julie Hagerty, Garry Marshall |
| Subtitles: : | English |
| Studio : | Criterion Collection |
| ASIN : | B071YCP1J9 |
| Country of Origin : | USA |
| Number of discs : | 1 |
| Best Sellers Rank: | #601 in Comedy (Movies & TV) |
| Customer Reviews: | (1,020) |
9 reviews for Lost in America (The Criterion Collection) Blu-ray
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Phil Berardelli –
Quirky comedy with a heart and a great finale!
Albert Brooks is easily the most unique contemporary auteur in American cinema comedy, and though his list of attractions is relatively short his talent should not be minimized, particularly because he also stars in each of them. Here he plays David Howard, a highly paid executive at a Los Angeles advertising agency. One day, he experiences sort of a breakdown during a meeting with his boss, because he had thought he would be promoted but instead is directed to pack quickly and move to New York City. As a result, he quits his job and, with his wife Linda (Julie Hagerty), decides to “drop out of society.” So they liquidate all of their assets and set out in a 35-foot recreational vehicle to find America. This grand plan lasts exactly one day, however, because the Howards make the terrible mistake of stopping in Las Vegas, and before it’s over Linda has altered their lives drastically, possibly subconsciously and probably forever. The rest of the story deals with their coming to terms with their sudden crisis. It includes a stay in the sleepy town of Safford, Arizona, the dispatch of a cocky young fast food manager named Skippy (Joey Coleman), a desperate race across the country, and a Big Apple finale that wins applause and cheers. It’s all very funny and all too plausible – except for the parking space (you’ll see).
2 people found this helpful
prisrob –
You Don’t Know What You’ve Got Til It’s Gone
This is an Albert Brooks film made in 1985, but much of what is said in the film could take place today. Albert is an up and coming, mobile advertiser with a large firm. He is counting his money and making plans,expecting a big promotion. Except what he is offered is a lateral move to New YorkCity. He is highly offended and acts out, losing his job. He talks his wife, Julie Hagearty into quitting her job, and like the ‘Easy Rider’,they hit the road looking for adventure. Adventure they find, but not what they expected.After losing their money they end up in Arizona. Albert works a crossing guard for $5.50’an hour, and his wife is an Assistant Manager in a frankfurter fast food. Her boss is half her age. Neither is satisfied and after a short discussion, they jettison their plans for a new direction.This is a funny film, lots of laughs, but then lots of emotion. Working your way up the corporate ladder, wanting more things and more money. Is it enough? Is this what life is all about, living in a Winnebaggo,traveling the highways?Albert Brooks has long been a comedian I admire. He is full of irony and terrific stories. He really can’t be beat.Highly Recommended. prisrob. 12-06-12
Defending Your Life
Mother
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3 people found this helpful
JB McPartland –
All Time Classic Comedy About Yuppie Life
Albert Brooks came of age in this 1985 comedy about a Advertising Executive and Human Resource wife who decide that corporate america is not the place for them and by liqidating all their assests, can start a “nest egg” and just live off the land. Fun begins with Albert not getting the promotion he thinks he deserves and talks his wife (played by Airplane’s Julie Haggerty) into not moving into a new house- rather, buy a Winebago and “touch Indians” for the rest of their lives. A stop in Las Vegas to renew wedding vows turns the dream life into a disatster, as Haggerty blows there savings at the roulette table (“22”) What follows is how they come to terms with this event and how they try to piece their life together in a trailor park in the Southwest- the only place they have enough money to buy gas to get to. A scene when Brooks confronts Haggerty on “breaking the nest egg” is certainly one of the funniest exchanges in movie history. Brooks is blessed with a keen perceptual sense and his “high brow” humor is not to be missed. His ties to producer Janes Brooks (co-creator of “The Simpsons” and cameo role in Brooks’ “Modern Romance”) reflect that. This is a must for any video library. I also recommend the current feature “Office Space” for anyone who likes to have to “think” before laughing.
17 people found this helpful
KG –
An intelligent, very funny, and rueful look at middle class dreams of ‘freedom’, the American dream and marriage.
If this film had a final 15 minutes that matched up to what came before, it could have been one of the great American comedies of all time. But as it is, even with an ending that doesn’t really go anywhere, this is a wonderful, funny satire about what we think we want vs. what we really need.Two yuppies in their 30s quit their jobs and sell everything to live a life of adventure in a mobile home, living off their nest egg. And everything goes wrong. That’s about it for story. This isn’t a movie about plot, it’s about great comic set pieces, whether it’s the scene where Brooks quits his high paying advertising job over a small perceived slight that he escalates into an injustice of cosmic proportions, or his classic scene with fellow director Garry Marshall playing a casino owner as Brooks tries to convince him that giving back the money they lost would be a great advertising strategy.And throughout, there are terrific scenes between Brooks and Julie Hagerty trying to deal with each other as they get in way over their heads. These scenes are often very funny, but there’s also a sense of truth, of the sadness of realizing you can’t simply live your dreams. Your dreams seem so easy and carefree precisely because they ARE dreams. These scenes always have laughs, but often the kind that hurt a little too.An intelligent, very funny, and rueful look at middle class ‘freedom’, the American dream and marriage.
6 people found this helpful
Marcus White –
A dated comedy, had some good scenes, but disappointing ending
I saw the movie “The Muse” and liked it. It was cheesy but had heart. I became interested in Albert Brooks movies after that and saw this. At first I tried to find it on Netflix, Hulu or YouTube and could not. So I bought it. I did not realize how early it was made from the cover. It is from 1985 so an 80’s movie. So the story is that a couple who are unhappy in their lives are moving houses. The husband is hoping for a promotion and the wife tells a coworker that she was in the new house and does not think moving will help them to become happy. The husband does not get the promotion and is so resentful that he gets fired. He convinces his wife to quit her job and they will go off in an RV to Las Vegas, get remarried and then drive to Connecticut to buy a house or something. In Las Vegas, the wife gets in over her head losing their “nest egg” playing Roulette. The husband is pissed and treats his wife like crap. She hitchhikes and he goes after her in the RV. The guy that picked her up is a escaped prisoner with a possible murder warrant so he splits. They make up and drive to the next town where they both get jobs, the wife as an assistant manager at a hot dog joint and him as a crossing guard. While giving someone in the Mercedes he dreamed of owning directions, he realizes that he doesn’t want to be “free” on the open road (like in Easy Rider). They both decide to drive to New York where he would beg for his job back. She also finds a job and they are happy. I like the part where he is pissed she lost the money, but the road trip was his idea in the first place. I think this was an honest reaction but shows that they are both responsible for the events. I would have liked it better if they could have not lost the money but realized that working in jobs they aren’t happy in is not how to live life. They could have actually discovered themselves and learned to be happy and eventually settle down somewhere. There are scenes meant to be funny that I just did not find funny at all. These include the scene where he is bribing the hotel clerk for a honeymoon suite, the scene where the bell boy shows them the room and where he is talking to the hotel manager. I think they should have skipped Las Vegas all together. This movie had potential to be really interesting and I guess they did realize they were happy with each other after losing everything and even though they went back to the same type of jobs they had before, they did learn that earning more money would not make them happy. It did not really point that out and it was really up to interpretation on how to feel about the story. If this were a book or memoir, I think I would have liked it better as it would reveal how they were thinking in different scenes more. This was a good movie, but it’s not great and the whole Las Vegas part was not funny to me. In fact, I hesitate to call this a comedy. It’s more of something to think about what you would do if you went on a road trip with your spouse and you or they lost your life savings. I think the situation was interesting, but the cheap jokes it tried to get took away from it.
2 people found this helpful
Reviewer –
A Classic From the Master
Without question, Albert Brooks is the absolute master of subtle humor. In “Lost In America,” the writer-director-star weaves an hilarious tapestry that is no less than a paean to an entire generation of Yuppies. When David Howard (Brooks), the creative director for one of the largest advertising agencies in the world, fails to get the promotion he’s “waited his whole life for,” he quits his job (“Well, I got fired, but it’s the same thing-“), then convinces his wife, Linda (Julie Hagerty), to do the same. They then proceed to sell their house, liquidate all their assets (“We got a ride on the inflation train you would not believe,”), buy a thirty-foot motor home and drop out of society in order to “find” themselves. Patterning himself after the guys in “Easy Rider,” David’s plan is for them to set off across America, to “Touch Indians, see the mountains and the prairies and all the rest of that song,” and they leave Los Angeles with a new motor home, a substantial nest egg and an anxious sense of adventure. It all soon goes awry, of course, and what follows are some of the funniest scenes you’ll ever see in an intelligent comedy. Among the most memorable are the ones with Michael Greene (As David’s boss), when he informs David that instead of a promotion he’s being transferred to New York to work on their latest acquisition, Ford (“We got trucks, too.”); one with Garry Marshall (As a casino manager in Las Vegas); and finally, the scene in which David explains the concept of the “nest egg” to Linda, which has to be, historically, one of the classic comedy scenes of all time. The solid supporting cast includes Tom Tarpey (Brad Tooey, the “bald-headed man from New York”), Ernie Brown, Art Frankel, Charles Boswell and Joey Coleman. Written by Brooks and Monica Johnson, “Lost In America” is a timeless comedy classic that can be enjoyed over and over again.
31 people found this helpful
lori davis –
Fun cute movie
Just a little overlooked movie. It felt like time travel watching the early 80’s lifestyle. They ended up in Safford Arizona at one point. It was great seeing a small town I once lived in pop up in a movie.
Frank R. Schoonover –
One Of The Best Movies That The ’80’s Had To Offer!
Lost In America, a 1985 movie directed by Albert Brooks, is a very good American movie and one of the best films that the 1980’s had to offer. The film was co-written by Brooks with Monica Johnson and stars Brooks alongside his then girlfriend Julie Hagerty as his wife Linda and has a special appearance by Garry Marshall as the CEO of the casino in Las Vegas, which became their first stop.It all starts with David and Linda Howard making plans preceding a hoped for promotion at the advertising agency that David works for. But after insulting his boss, when he doesn’t get the promotion but a transfer to New York City instead, David is fired from his job and convinces his wife to quit her job at a woman’s clothing store and they sell everything, buy a Winnebago and decide to hit the road to discover America and what America is really all about. They have a giant nest egg of $144,000 tucked away nicely and in easy reach in the motor home.Things go awry after their stop in Vegas to renew their wedding vows. Linda gambles almost all of their money away(a reversal of fortune here. Usually it’s the husband who gambles the money away in these situations, not the wife. The wife is usually the smarter one of the two)and after a pretty amusing scene where the husband fails to talk the CEO of the casino,(cameo by Garry Marshall), into refunding all of their money that was lost in the casino, which is when the comedy really begins and is one of the films funniest moments, they take off and seperate after a real wing dinger at the Hoover Dam, which is another one of the films funniest moments, and than get back together and wind up in Arizona where they both get jobs. Linda at a fast food restaurant and David as a crossing guard, where he is taunted by kids left and right, which is another of the films funniest moments, and gives David a sheer lesson in anger management. Another funny moment was when the motorcycle cop pulls David and Linda over for doing over 80 miles in a 55 Mile Per Hour Zone where Linda talks the motorcycle cop out of giving them a speeding ticket by saying that her husband has based his whole life on the movie Easy Rider and David telling him that he looks like The Terminator. For those of you who haven’t seen this very good comedy drama film as of yet, I won’t spoil it for any of you. I will say that this movie has more references to the cult classic Easy Rider than any other movie in memory.Lost In America is for those who have always wondered what it would be really like to drop out of society and see how those on the outside of society live. It is also for those who ever thought that they had good luck that actually turned out all bad in the end and even when you feel that you lost everything, you never really do if you have love right in front of you and that love is better than nothing and more valuable than all the money in the world.Brooks really works wonders both behind and in front of the camera. He and Hagerty make a great team as the husband and wife who yearn for freedom and later finding out that true love and intimacy, with that special person in your life, is better than anything else the world has to offer. The chemistry between Brooks and Hagerty is really overwhelming and is the main highlight of the film and it does indeed work out great. Albert Brooks really is a very talented film maker, actor and a very talented comedian. Lost In America proves this in more ways than one.Not only that, this film was a commercial success, though it wasn’t a blockbuster. The film was also well received by critics.I first saw this movie back in 1986 on HBO when I was 16. I watched this movie at my sister’s house and, though I was 16 years old at the time, I thought that it was a wonderful movie and I really enjoyed it. After buying the DVD in 2008 from Amazon, I watched it again and I still enjoyed the film as much as I did when I first saw it. Lost In America is a very good American film and it is not only one of the best films of the 1980’s, it also shows that there are still film makers in the United States of America that still know how to make a very good film. Albert Brooks may never take on the world by storm, but I will take Albert Brooks over Woody Allen anyday. Yes I would.The digitally mastered DVD has the movie looking beautiful with all the colors blending in very well. With the exception of the theatrical trailer and talent bios, there really isn’t much in the special features department.I highly recommend Lost In America to everyone looking for not only a very good American comedy drama, but a very good American movie. This is a must see for everyone. It is a very good and entertaining movie. It might even make you want to give Albert Brooks’ other movies a try after seeing this one.
4 people found this helpful
Dominick Vola –
Great Comedy From the 80’s.
Albert Brooks not only Writes and Directs this classic, also delivers a great performance along with actress Julie Hagerty. With 2 great performances, you will not be disappointed if you like a good comedy classic.