Product Details

• Actors: Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen, Sandra Oh, Marylouise Burke
• Directors: Alexander Payne
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
• Dubbed: English, French, Spanish
• 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: 20th Century Fox
• DVD Release Date: April 5, 2005
• Run Time: 126 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (636 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0007TKOAA
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,699 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Sideways (Widescreen Edition)" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

With Sideways, Paul Giamatti (American Splendor, Storytelling) has become an unlikely but engaging romantic lead. Struggling novelist and wine connoisseur Miles (Giamatti) takes his best friend Jack (Thomas Haden Church, Wings) on a wine-tasting tour of California vineyards for a kind of extended bachelor party. Almost immediately, Jack's insatiable need to sow some wild oats before his marriage leads them in into double-dates with a rambunctious wine pourer (Sandra Oh, Under the Tuscan Sun) and a recently divorce waitress (Virginia Madsen, The Hot Spot)--and Miles discovers a little hope that he hasn't let himself feel in a long time. Sideways is a modest but finely tuned film; with gentle compassion, it explores the failures, struggles, and lowered expectations of mid-life. Giamatti makes regret and self-loathing sympathetic, almost sweet. From the director of Election and About Schmidt. --Bret Fetzer

On the DVD
Stars Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church have an absolute blast on their commentary track, gleefully ripping themselves, fawning over "La Madsen," and recalling "that bad fake wine we had to drink a lot of." Director Alexander Payne dismisses the seven deleted scenes (about 17 minutes total) as "meager offerings," and it's true that there are no gems. But even better than the scenes themselves might be Payne's text introductions, which offer insight into his editing process. Each scene is surrounded by brief bits from the finished film to provide context, which should be done more often. The 6-minute making-of featurette is better than most because it spends less time on self-promotion and plot summary. --David Horiuchi

Stills from Sideways (Click for larger image)

Product Description

ACADEMY AWARD WINNER BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY WINNER OF 2 GOLDEN GLOBES, INCLUDING BEST PICTURE (COMEDY / MUSICAL)

In this intoxicating, intelligent comedy, director Alexander Payne (Election, About Schmidt) serves up "one of the best movies of the year" (Entertainment Weekly) about the ups, downs and sideways journeys of life. A wine-tasting road trip through California's famed Central Coast takes an unexpected detour as Miles (Paul Giamatti) and Jack (Thomas Haden Church) hit the gas en route to their mid-life crisis. The comically mismatched pair soon find themselves drowning in wine, women... and laughter!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 54 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A "Little Film" Makes the Big Time August 1, 2005

By Scott Schiefelbein VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

It's always dangerous when you are late in coming to a small movie that has unexpectedly hit the big time -- your viewing enjoyment may be hampered by the crushing weight of expectations. It's wonderful when you can be among the first to see small-budget classics like Stanely Tucci's "Big Night," but I didn't get to see "Sideways" until after the Oscar nominations, the critics' Top 10 lists, and so on. How could "Sideways" possibly live up to these awesome credentials?

Well, "Sideways" does live up to its billing, and it does so through one simple virtue -- truth. "Sideways" is an extremely funny and insightful examination of two men struggling with their mediocrity -- one who is all too aware of his shortcomings, and another who uses a pathetic Peter Pan syndrome to keep at bay the harsh glare of reality.

The self-aware guy is Miles (the lovable schlub Paul Giamatti), a recently divorced middle school English teacher who's having a difficult time getting his novel published . . . or even explained. Miles is awash in bitterness, but he knows deep down that he's a sweet guy once you get past the sour layers (of which there are many). The ignorant guy is Jack (Thomas Hayden Church), Miles' freshman roommate from San Diego State and a mildly successful actor. Jack is one of those guys who should be thankful for the successes he has, but is incapable of doing so because by accepting a given success, he is placing a ceiling on his dreams.

The "plot" of "Sideways" revolves around Jack's impending marriage. Engaged to a rich beauty and walking down the aisle on Saturday, Jack gets escorted by Miles for a week of freedom in the California central coast wine country. While wine, for Jack, is a means for getting drunk, it is a religion for Miles.... Of course, it's obvious to anyone who spends five minutes with Miles that he uses his mastery of wine as a defense mechanism ("I appreciate great wine, so I must be worth something") - thanks to the witty script, "there's just like the faintest soupçon of like, uh, asparagus," has entered our lexicon of pretentious criticism. Miles can use his focus on wine to avoid meeting people who could possibly reject him.

That's difficult on this trip, because Miles has met his soulmate, Maya (Virginia Madsen), who is a waitress at a wine country restaurant. Miles and Maya share a devotion to wine, and Miles is continuously surprised at the depth and character of this woman. The question of whether Miles can break out of his various layers of emotional armor to forge a connection with this delightful woman dominates the movie.

Unfortunately for Miles, Jack is as shallow as Miles is deep. In a classic self-destructive move, Jack gets involved with Stepanie (Sandra Oh), a vibrant single mother and good friend of Maya's. A pell-mell romance ensues, with the ever-so-slight complication that Jack hasn't told Stephanie about his impending marriage. Watching Jack skirt emotional ruin while selfishly justifying his caddish behavior is a gruesome delight.

Through it all, the script for "Sideways" puts believable, memorable lines into the mouths of these talented actors. Long narratives about wine reveal surprising details of the speakers, and each character receives a separate, distinct voice (this isn't a Quentin Tarantino movie where all the actors sound like Saint Quentin, or a George Lucas movie where all the actors sound like idiots). A "talky" movie, "Sideways" never runs out of steam.

There is plenty of humor in "Sideways," but most of it is reserved - you will chuckle more often than laugh outright - but there are a few gut-busting moments, as well.

"Sideways" is an attractive movie, but it is shot with a realistic eye -- the California wine country looks great, but this is not an "eye candy" movie like "Under the Tuscan Sun," which looked sumptuous but had little else to offer. "Sideways" gets the balance of visuals and substance just right - one can easily imagine Miles liking his own movie, and that is high praise. Read more ›

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great movie -- for the right audience January 12, 2008

By A. Wait

Format:Amazon Instant Video

I really enjoyed this movie. It's funny, awkward, and touching. It's got a *great* ending. But certainly it's not for everyone--this is a character-driven film--that is, the plot is about changes taking place within the characters' emotions, relationships, and understandings of themselves. If you're looking for high drama, big action, stunning cinematography--look elsewhere. But if you're interested in a small-ish film about real-ish people, real-ish situations--and genuine humor, give sideways a try.

30 of 36 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars What's wrong with me then for liking this? January 11, 2008

By David A. Linneweh

Format:DVD

I realize this movie has come and gone but over the last year I've really grown to love it and after reading some of the reviews that this movie was so poor I felt compelled to give my opinion.

First, what's with the "boring" film thing, if you want exciting I don't know, rent something that's supposed to be exciting with explosions and Bruce Willis. Or if you find it morally ambiguous, consider what movies the director traditionally makes, Election, About Schmidt, these are somewhat dark, slow, depressing movies, rent something with Larry The Cable Guy if that's your thing; point is a little research prevents bad movie choices.

At 28 what I like about this movie is that it recognizes that life is messy and complicated. Considering my limited life experience I recognize that getting older doesn't automatically make someone perfect, responsible, and ethical. Cheating on spouses is not for me, but I've known couples (one of which many would describe as a good couple) who've cheated on each other. I'm not saying this is right but the point is I think people should be able to see some aspects of this story that are similar to their lives. Have you ever had a hard time getting over someone, or has one of your friends??? Ever know anyone who's unable to admit about a problem or won't admit they are in a rut?? I think lots of people feel like this, including myself; the point is there are those moments that give you hope. I'm speaking specifically about Miles in this movie, at one point in time he was much better, (though weak, he did cheat on his wife) Jack describes an entirely cheerier person.... Miles reluctantly goes on this trip and is almost literally forced to recognize Mia as prospective relationship; this is ultimately positive, a reminder that opportunities for happiness are all around us if we choose to acknowledge that we are unhappy, in ruts, and are brave enough to follow them out. I know Miles does some despicable things, but somewhere he knows there is a person he wishes he could be, someone who does not just settle down, have a family, and eventually be married 50 years to their fat friend who they argue with constantly and live in there own worlds of denial. I feel I have hope for people in general; I look at the characters in the movie and think they want to be happy and hopefully they deal with the problems in their life. Read more ›

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "I think it was Bukowski..." October 23, 2010

By Adron Gardner

Format:Blu-ray

The Film

What a great film. Sideways is one of the few movies based on a book that improves a good deal over its source material. And it is absolutely hilarious. The reason I like Sideways, for better or for worse, is I know both Jack and Miles too well. At one time or another, I've walked in both of their shoes. Alexander Payne reaches a zenith of sorts with his quiet eccentric style. The film blends friendship, the road trip and a party flick. The wine provides an interesting tenor to boot. Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church are completely irreplaceable in their respective roles. They're sort of cosmopolitan R2D2 and C3P0 roadies.

The Blu-Ray

There's been a lot of complaints over perceived Blu-Ray quality over the standard DVD. I can tell you, the Blu-Ray is better. On a large 1080p screen, there is a noticeable difference. Cinematographer Phedon Papamichael created a unique look for the visuals to give the film a signature feel. All those smudgy light plumes, and glowing highlights come from diffusion and slight overexposure folks, maybe even a shot of digital grading to punch the highlights. None of those things lend themselves to the sharpest end products - the end product is a vintage style soft image. The Blu-Ray IS indeed better. There is no way i would choose the DVD over this. If you don't have a big enough 1080p screen for it to matter, however, the DVD will probably suffice. But come on, at $10 for the BD, why choose the DVD?