Product Details

• Actors: Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Valeria Golino, Gerald R. Molen, Jack Murdock
• Directors: Barry Levinson
• Writers: Barry Morrow, Ronald Bass
• Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), Spanish (Dolby Digital 1.0)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• DVD Release Date: January 1, 2000
• Run Time: 133 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (163 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0792833260
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,561 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Rain Man" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Rain Man is the kind of touching drama that Oscars are made for--and, sure enough, the film took Academy honors for best picture, director, screenplay, and actor (Dustin Hoffman) in 1988. Hoffman plays Raymond, an autistic savant whose late father has left him $3 million in a trust. This gets the attention of his materialistic younger brother, a hot-shot LA car dealer named Charlie (Tom Cruise) who wasn't even aware of Raymond's existence until he read his estranged father's will. Charlie picks up Raymond and takes him on a cross-country journey that becomes a voyage of discovery for Charlie, and, perhaps, for Raymond, too. Rain Man will either captivate you or irritate you (Raymond's sputtering of repetitious phrases is enough to drive anyone crazy), but it is obviously a labor of love for those involved. Hoffman had been attached to the film for many years, as various directors and writers came and went, but his persistence eventually paid off--kind of like Raymond in Las Vegas. Look for director Barry Levinson in a cameo as a psychiatrist near the end of the film. --Jim Emerson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 246 toothpicks, "counting cards" and lessons in love., March 15, 2004

By 

Themis-Athena (from somewhere between California and Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rain Man (Special Edition) (DVD)

Have you ever had to communicate with someone on a different wavelength as you; for example because he speaks a foreign language and you don't have an interpreter, or because he is unable to communicate verbally at all, or maybe just because you keep misunderstanding each other? If so, you know what a frustrating experience it is to have virtually no control over the situation and over making sure that you're actually understood. And in precisely this situation finds himself Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise), personification of the 1980s' yuppie, a used car dealer with major money problems whose only - tentative - personal attachment is to his current girlfriend Susanna (Valeria Golino). Because having learned that except for a few rosebushes and a vintage 1949 Buick Roadmaster his recently-deceased father has left virtually all of his considerable fortune to his autistic brother Raymond (Dustin Hoffman) - a brother he didn't even know he had - Charlie decides to kidnap Raymond from the Cincinnati facility where he lives, take him to California, and demand half the inheritance in exchange for his brother's return.

Now, Charlie isn't the greatest communicator himself; at least as far as listening goes; he is used to talking people down, and if that alone doesn't do the trick, he starts to yell. This, however, just doesn't work with Raymond, who lives in a world of his own and, unable to express emotion in any other way, falls into a nervous tic when feeling threatened. So for the first time in his life Charlie has to learn to accept another human being for what he is, and work *with* his bewildering methods of communication rather than against them. And subtly, very subtly, Charlie begins to change, until at last he no longer wants to relinquish custody of Raymond even after having been offered a substantial amount of money: because now money is no longer an issue at all; now it's all about genuine love for a newly-found brother and very special person.

"Rain Man" is ostensibly told from Charlie's perspective; through his, the "normal" guy's eyes we perceive Raymond's habits, tics and strange behavioral code. And even if Charlie is easy enough to snub for his superficiality and materialism, his frustration at his inability to communicate with his brother feels genuine and is something we can empathize with(albeit perhaps inadmittedly). Tom Cruise plays Charlie with a finely-tuned mix of audacity and reluctant emotion; turning a role that seems to start out as just another Cruise cliche into a character who hesitantly comes to realize his own complexities and shortcomings and learns to appreciate sensitivity, compassion and love - yet, without ever taking the role that treacherous step too far into sentimentality.

Still, important as Charlie's character is for this movie's narrative, this is from first to last Raymond's story; and by the same token Dustin Hoffman's, because the two individuals are in fact inseparable: As Hoffman once explained in an interview, he rejects the notion that acting is merely about playing a role, or that the term "my character" could ever appropriately describe his approach to a role; emphasizing that in every part he plays, he truly has to *become* the individual in question to fully be able to understand and portray him. As such, his achievement with Raymond Babbitt is breathtaking indeed; for in a role which not only imposes severe limitations on his ability to communicate traditionally but also gives him virtually no opportunity to express emotion, he conveys Raymond's frailties, unexpected strengths and, significantly, his profound humanity in a manner that lets you forget you're even looking at a piece of acting, thus accomplishing that rare feat only attained by the greatest of actors - and even among Dustin Hoffman's spectacular performances, this one stands out in particular. (He did, of course, win both the Oscar and the Golden Globe for this movie; but somehow even the industry's highest awards don't begin to express the significance of his achievement.)

Raymond Babbitt's character was based on several real-life autistic persons; and at a time when little was known about the condition even in the medical community, contributed substantially to a greater understanding of those afflicted with it. Not all autistic people are so-called "savants" like Raymond, i.e. possess genial mathematic or other abilities within the shell separating them from the outside world (and conversely, not with all of them that shell is as thick as in Raymond's case; although intricate routines do tend to play a rather important role) - so don't go rushing off with them to Vegas for an exercise in "counting cards," at least not before you've verified that they can memorize entire phone books (at least up to the letter "G"), count the toothpicks in a pile on the floor with one glimpse of an eye and determine the square root of a four- or five-digit number within a matter of seconds without so much as looking at an electronic calculator. Chances are you'd do them tremendous harm, not to mention make a complete fool of yourself.

Dustin Hoffman reportedly fought hard for this movie's production even after several directors (including, inter alia, Stephen Spielberg) had bowed out; and in one of those rare un-Hollywood-like moments even managed to maintain the movie's sense of authenticity up to the very end by prevailing on the writers to drop the projected ending, which would have had Raymond staying with Charlie. - In addition to Hoffman's awards, "Rain Man" received the coveted Oscars for Best Movie, Best Original Screenplay and Best Director (Barry Levinson, who also played the psychiatrist called upon to evaluate whether Raymond is fit to stay with Charlie), plus a number of other American and international awards. For once, the industry collectively got it right. But even if this movie hadn't received a single award, it would still remain one of recent film history's greatest and truly unforgettable moments - definitely, it would.

Also recommended:
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew
Awakenings
Lorenzo's Oil
The Graduate (40th Anniversary Collector's Edition)
The Color of Money

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Levinson's RAY of Sunshine...., January 30, 2003

By 

L. Shirley "Laurie's Boomer Views" (Huntington Beach,CA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Rain Man (DVD)

This review refers to the MGM DVD edition of "Rain Man"......

"Rain Man" is one of those rare gems to come out of Hollywood, that leaves you wanting to watch it over and over again. After numerous rewrites, and several directoral changes, "Rain Man" finally fell into the very capable hands of director Barry Levinson(The Natural/Good Morning Viet Nam).Levinson brings us more than just a story of two brothers, it is a journey of love and discovery.

The Babbitt brothers Raymond and Charlie have just discovered the other exisits. Raymond(Dustin Hoffman), the older, is an autistic savant who has been living most of his adult life at "Wallbrook". A facility which although has given him great care, is all that Raymond knows of the world.Raymond lives in his own world there, and although he has amazing mathamatical skills,has little capacity for understanding the ways of the world. Charlie(Tom Cruise), on the other hand, is a sharp but intolerant businessman. He also has trouble seeing beyond his world, and uses people to his own advantages.He seems to be without a heart.

When their father died, he left almost all of his vast fortune to Raymond, and a mere token to the estranged Charlie. Charlie has always felt cheated by his father and once again he feels the sting.He decides to take matters into his own hands, and kidnaps Raymond from Wallbrook in an attempt to retrieve his share of the inheritance.

Charlie takes Raymond on a cross country journey that will tug at your heartstrings and keep you smiling every inch of the way.
Charlie must care for Ray and deal with all of his symptoms and eccentricites, as Ray is thrown into a world unknown to him.The moments of change are defining and a joy to watch as Charlie develops a heart.

Hoffman's portrayal of the autistic Raymond is moving and is done with a wonderful humor, that brings a great depth of understanding to the character.He not only won the Best Actor award from Oscar, but also recieved a Golden Globe as well. Cruise, although a big box office draw at the time, really shows that he is more than a pretty face with his superb performance as Charlie. Levinson, who brought us a ray of sunshine with this film, recieved Best director from Oscar as well as the Director's Guild.The score by Hans Zimmer as always is delicious. The film itself was also honored by Oscar as Best Picture(1988).

The DVD qualities are very good. It may be viewed in either The Theatrical widescreen version or a standard version(the choice option comes up at the start of the film). The picture is excellent, with nice colors and sharp images. The sound is in Dolby Dig 5.1 surround, which is especially nice with the terrific score and songs playing in the background. It may also be viewed in French(stereo) or Spanish(Mono). Don't look for too much in the way of extras on the DVD itself, there's just a theatrical trailer, but it does come with a very informative booklet, that talks about everything from the film to some info on exactly what "Autistic Savant Syndrome" is. For me, this film is the "special" feature by itself!

This is "definately, yeah definately"(Hoffman) a great addition to any DVD library.......Laurie

more oscar winners:
Best Picture Collection - Epic Dramas (Casablanca/Gone With the Wind/Ben-Hur)

27 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rain Man Review, December 17, 1999

By 

Gill (Montreal) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rain Man [VHS] (VHS Tape)

In response to the movie "Rain Man", I felt that the role played by Dustin Hoffman (Raymond Babbitt) was unbelievable. Dustin Hoffman is a great actor as the Rain Man, and demonstrates incredibly well how an autistic person reacts towards certain things as well as changes in his routine life. He captures autism in such a way that you could actually believe in his performance. I was amazed at the way he was able to pull off this role.

Tom Cruise's role (Charlie Babbitt) was equally as brilliant, who is the villain of the story who undergoes such a sharp change that it's almost not visible until nearly the end. Charlie is shown to be a selfish and greedy jerk at the beginning of the film, but as mentioned before, his gradual understanding of his brother's disability, and extra abilities, are what eventually leads to the grasping of a strong relationship with his brother. Tom Cruise, in my opinion, was perfectly suited for the flashy, egotistical character of Charlie, and I think he did a great job.

Furthermore, the directing of the film was beautiful, for the most part just letting the action unfold, which is exactly the way it should have been done. I also believe that "Rain Man" portrays many aspects of autism quite well. The movie is an introduction to autism for most people who see it for the first time. In summary, Charlie Babbitt, played by Tom Cruise, is a self-centered car dealer, and leaves on vacation with his girlfriend Susanna, played by Valeria Golino. However, on route with his girlfriend, he unfortunately learns that his father who threw him out as a teenager has passed away, and decides to show up at his funeral for only one reason, to get the money his father left behind. Upon arriving for the funeral, Charlie learns that his father left him a now antique convertible, which he originally loved and wanted in his teen years, but which his father never let him drive. Unfortunately for Charlie, he can't get the money which he truly desired, since he discovers that it has been given to a mental institution Charlie is unaware of. Charlie therefore decides to take matters in his own hands and goes to the institution to find out what their connection with his father was. It is only then that he learns that he has a big brother by the name of Raymond, played by Dustin Hoffman, who is autistic and lives in this institution. Charlie tries to convince the manager of the institution to let him have the money, since his brother can't do nothing with it because he doesn't even understand the concept of money. The manager of the institution refuses to give him the money, because he promised Charlie's father that he'd make sure to leave it to Raymond no matter what happened. Charlie is enraged by what has happened and by his father keeping Raymond's existence from him his entire life. As a result, Charlie takes Raymond out of the institution without the permission of the manager, and this is how Charlie gets to know his big brother Raymond. The two begin a long road trip that will lead them to an understanding of each other, and I believe that this trip across the country was the start in the relationship between the two brothers.

This movie was very emotional at some times, and had it's funny moments as well. I believe that "Rain Man" is truly a work of art, and a film that everyone can watch, understand, and enjoy.