Product Details

• Actors: Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Olivia Williams, Seymour Cassel, Brian Cox
• Directors: Wes Anderson
• Format: AC-3, Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC, Special Edition, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Walt Disney Video
• DVD Release Date: October 23, 2011
• Run Time: 93 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (517 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00003Q42P
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,507 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Rushmore (The Criterion Collection)" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Wes Anderson's follow-up to the quirky Bottle Rocket is a wonderfully unorthodox coming-of-age story that ranks with Harold and Maude and The Graduate in the pantheon of timeless cult classics. Jason Schwartzman (son of Talia Shire and nephew of Francis Coppola) stars as Max Fischer, a 15-year-old attending the prestigious Rushmore Academy on scholarship, where he's failing all of his classes but is the superstar of the school's extracurricular activities (head of the drama club, the beekeeper club, the fencing club...). Possessing boundless confidence and chutzpah, as well as an aura of authority he seems to have been born with, Max finds two unlikely soulmates in his permutations at Rushmore: industrial magnate and Rushmore alumnus Herman Blume (Bill Murray) and first-grade teacher Rosemary Cross (Olivia Williams). His alliance with Blume and crush on Miss Cross, however, are thrown out of kilter by his expulsion from Rushmore, and a budding romance between the two adults that threatens Max's own designs on the lovely schoolteacher.

Never stooping to sentimentality or schmaltz, Anderson and cowriter Owen Wilson have fashioned a wickedly intelligent and wildly funny tale of young adulthood that hits all the right notes in its mix of melancholy and optimism. As played by Schwartzman, Max is both immediately endearing and ferociously irritating: smarter than all the adults around him, with little sense of his shortcomings, he's an unstoppable dynamo who commands grudging respect despite his outlandish projects (including a school play about Vietnam). Murray, as the tycoon who determinedly wages war with Max for the affections of Miss Cross, is a revelation of middle-aged resignation. Disgusted with his family, his life, and himself, he's turned around by both Max's antagonism and Miss Cross's love. Williams is equally affecting as the teacher who still carries a torch for her dead husband, and the superb supporting cast also includes Seymour Cassel as Max's barber father, Brian Cox as the frustrated headmaster of Rushmore, and a hilarious Mason Gamble as Max's young charge. Put this one on your shelf of modern masterpieces. --Mark Englehart

Product Description

Wes Anderson's dazzling sophomore effort is equal parts coming-of-age story, French New Wave homage, and screwball comedy. Tenth grader Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman) is Rushmore Academy's most extracurricular student-and its least scholarly. He faces expulsion, and enters into unlikely friendships with both a lovely first-grade teacher (Olivia Williams) and a melancholy self-made millionaire (Bill Murray, in an award-winning performance). Set to a soundtrack of classic British Invasion tunes, Rushmore defies categorization even as it captures the pain and exuberance of adolescence with wit, emotional depth, and cinematic panache. Criterion is proud to present one of 1998's most acclaimed films in a Director Approved special edition.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

104 of 109 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Movie April 30, 2004

By James R. Mckinley

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

I am a little surprised that so many other people failed to see the merits of this movie. First, this was not a typical predictable Hollywood movie with a predictable ending. Second, it was not a re-hash of some old story line with the same old actors. It is a very well written comedic coming of age movie. Few movies take the time or effort to develop complex, flawed and genuine characters, but director Wes Anderson apparently understands the value of doing so. The emotionally stagnating business tycoon Herman Blume is played brilliantly by Bill Murray - the disappointment he feels with his banal life and idiotic children is wrenchingly palpable. But Rushmore Academy student and quirky prodigy Max Fischer enters Herman Blume's dull life, renewing his enthusiam. The movie is both thought provoking and hilarious. Particularly enjoyable are Max's adaptations of "Serpico" and "Platoon" for the high-school drama club. Hands down this was the best comedy produced in the 90's. With the decade that produced MTV sex and bathroom joke frat boy movies, this film offers an intelligent script, cast of characters, and an excellent soundtrack.

66 of 68 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars WHIMSICAL COMING-OF-AGE ROMANTIC CAPER September 7, 2004

By Shashank Tripathi VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

What surprises me about Wes Andersen is that he is so in command of his silver screen he defies just about every convention of film making and still manages to come up with a riveting diversion of a movie. You know, that rare brand that makes you laugh but you're not exactly sure what you are laughing about. A movie with the mordant tone of Donnie Darko or The Royal Tennenbaums.

And Rushmore I'd contend is the most extraordinary feather in his illustrious cap to date. It is difficult to classify. Romance features as a pervasive undercurrent, full of mercurial dialogue and quirky moments, but it's not merely a romantic-comedy. It's not even your average angst-filled coming-of-age story. It's an oddity with a flowy screenplay that begs to be discovered individually, for oneself.

The acting all round is top notch. Schwatzman, our young protagonist, is very intriguing in his potrayal of an academically challenged overachiever. Murray delivers a rock solid sad-sack performance as usual, his long face speaking volumes.

The brand of subtle humour may not spring out to everyone but is hilarious when pondered over. For instance,

"Are you a neurosurgeon?"

"No, I'm a barber. But many people make that mistake."

It's anything but an ordinary movie, it does not follow the typical mindset of opening-body-conclusion and its funky vibe may not appeal to everyone. But if you have an appetite for the unusual, it's a very, very beautiful caper and all its weirdness makes perfect sense within its context.

Can't recommend it highly enough for the discerning eye.

51 of 53 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "Rushmore" will restore your faith in movies June 5, 1999

By A Customer

Format:VHS Tape

That's a bold statement, but it's true. I could complain about how Bill Murray and everyone involved was robbed by not receiving any Oscar nominations, but with a film like this, it doesn't matter. In a year with two Elizabethan dramas and two World War II pictures nomated for Best Picture, Rushmore stood out as a true original. I read glowing reviews for the movie when it played for one week in LA and missed it, but caught it the second time it came out. I was eager going into see it, having loved Wes Anderson's first movie "Bottle Rocket" (also, Owen Wilson co-wrote both scripts with Anderson). I was amazed at what I saw. This is definetly one of the funniest American movies in a long time, and Max Fischer is one of the great characters of all time. Wes Anderson has a sensibility in his films of dry humor paired with true emotions and feelings. The characters in "Bottle Rocket" and Max Fischer share naive dreams that are impossible, but they're so damn likable you're heartbroken when they come up short. For weeks, I couldn't stop talking or thinking about this movie. So many scenes still are fresh in my mind, like the introduction of Max in all of his clubs, and Bill Murray doing the cannonball into his backyard pool. The cinematography and editing are great, and the soundtrack rocks. In just two movies Anderson has set himself apart from the Tarantinos of the indie film world and has proved himself to be one of the best writers and directors working today.

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A breath of fresh air May 4, 2000

By Kieran Hurley

Format:VHS Tape

I began watching this movie after a few months of trawling my way through the endless chasm of "teen" movies. This included such films as the rather dull Cruel Intentions and the frankly dire American Pie. I admit I am usually hard to please, so at the end of my tether this would need to be superb to return my faith in the Amercian movie industry.

I was not disappointed. This was an absolute gem of a movie - perfect in execution, consistently witty, often moving, and always thoroughly enjoyable. I rarely watch a film again immediately after finishing it. This film, I watched three times over the two days I rented it.

The acting was spot on. The love-struck,geeky, selfish - yet strangley likeable hero, Max, was played to perfection by Schwartzman, and Bill Murray gave a wonderfully underplayed performance as the lonely, sullen, somewhat lost businessman who befreinds Max. Williams turns in a great performance as the love-interest, and though still a slightly stereotyped Englishwoman, in Rushmore Williams makes it somehow more charming than annoying. The soundtrack is also perfectly matched to the movie. I always believe a good soundtrack adds depth to a movie - hightens your emotions, and Lennon, Stevens and co. do just that.

When this film finished you knew it was a classic. From start to finish it is perfectly executed, avoiding cheesy moments, and constantly enthralling. Perhaps most strangely, it is not necessarily a new plot idea, its just been done here so well, that it deserves a place among the finest movies of the last few years. Classic.