Product Details

• Actors: George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman, Amy Morton
• Directors: Jason Reitman
• Writers: Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner, Walter Kirn
• Producers: Ali Bell, Daniel Dubiecki, Helen Estabrook, Ivan Reitman
• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
• Dubbed: French, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Paramount
• DVD Release Date: March 9, 2010
• Run Time: 109 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (312 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00337KM2S
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,902 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Up in the Air" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Up in the Air transforms some painful subjects into smart, sly comedy--with just enough of the pain underneath to give it some weight. Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) spends most of his days traveling around the country and firing people; he's hired by bosses who don't have the nerve to do their layoffs themselves. His life of constant flight suits him--he wants no attachments. But two things suddenly threaten his vacuum-sealed world: his company decides to do layoffs via video conference so they don't have to pay for travel, and Bingham meets a woman named Alex (Vera Farmiga, The Departed), who seems to be the female version of him… and of course, he starts to fall in love. Writer-director Jason Reitman is building a career from funny but thoughtful movies about compromised people--a pregnant teen in Juno, a cigarette-company executive in Thank You for Smoking. George Clooney has a gift for playing smart men who aren't quite as smart as they think they are (Michael Clayton, Out of Sight). The combination is perfect: Bingham is charming and sympathetic but clearly missing something, and Up in the Air captures that absence with clarity and compassion. The outstanding supporting cast includes Anna Kendrick (Rocket Science), Jason Bateman (Arrested Development), Danny McBride (Pineapple Express), Melanie Lynskey (Away We Go), and others, each small part pitched exactly right. --Bret Fetzer

Product Description

Ryan Bingham (Academy Award® winner* George Clooney) is truly living the high life. Flying all over the world on business, he never stops moving...until he meets Alex, a fellow passenger and learns that life isn’t about the journey, but the connections we make along the way. Acclaimed by critics and audiences everywhere and included in over 200 top 10 lists, "Up in the Air is light and dark, hilarious and tragic, bouncy and brainy, romantic and real.”*- Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

89 of 103 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Hands down the best film of 2009. February 4, 2010

By G.V. VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

Hard to understand how a movie that manages to make you feel down in the dumps in many instances can have you laughing out loud the rest of the way. Perhaps because UP IN THE AIR is a movie so very full of surprises and complete knowledge of its main subject (I swear the next time I go through security in an airport I'll be looking for the oriental businessmen and avoid babies at all costs).
All throughout the movie I was expecting the obvious conclusion (the firer being fired) and was surprised to get something completely different in return, but even UP IN THE AIR's schocker scene, managed to make so much sense it's hard for me to understand how I didn't see it coming.
There's no question in my mind UP IN THE AIR will be the movie future generations will look back in trying to understand this particular era we live in. It is quiet simply a classic.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Sparkling Jewel December 24, 2010

By Edward Rasen Jr.

Format:DVD

This hybrid comedy-drama-romance is a rare treat that honestly addresses job loss, love and relationships without resorting to common cliches or contrived situations. George Clooney and co-star Vera Farmiga are reminiscent of Cary Grant and Deobrah Kerr in An Affair To Remember.

Vera Farmiga is the strong, female co-star Clooney has long needed. She is beautiful, sophisticated and restrained, similar in many aspects to Brigit Bardot and Sophia Loren. She is Ukrainian but was raised in America. However, she did not speak English as a child which probably explains her elegant restraint when speaking English. Men will truly enjoy the brief but wonderful scene of Farmiga naked in Clooney's motel room. Wow, what a hot body.

Clooney is superb as a confident, insensitive but charming employee terminator during the economic collapse of 2008. Clooney works for a corporate consulting company based in Omaha, Nebraska that performs the dirty work for spineless business owners. It is a thriving business during the 2007-2009 recession. This movie was released during late 2009.

Clooney as Ryan Bingham boasts that during the previous year he spent 322 days on the road, flying from city to city in pursuit of victims. But, one day while sitting a hotel bar, he initiates a conversation with Vera Farmiga playing Alex Goran, a fellow road-warrior and corporate shark, equally consumed by frequent flyer perks and privileges. They end up in bed but the traditional, cliche love story never evolves.

The script is superb as is Farmiga who previously appeared in The Departed by Martin Scorsese and the 2004 remake of the Manchurian Candidate. Obviously, she is not an obscure actress but this role was meant for her. She plays her character with incredible charm, grace and sexual vitality telling Clooney "Just think of me as yourself with a vagina." Although captivated by Clooney's charm and appearance, Alex always remains his alter-ego much to his dismay.

In the end, Clooney is consumed by a life free from personal responsiblity and the daily toil of earth-bound inhabitants as he pursues his goal of becoming the seventh person in the world to achieve 10-million frequent flyer miles. I don't know if American Airlines paid a fee to partially sponsor this film but it is a long-form commercial for American Airlines elite frequent flyer awards program which bestows unique privileges to a select group of travellers.

The screenplay by Sheldon Turner and director Jason Reitman was adapted from the 2001 novel by Walter Kirn. It should be studied by screenwriting students at cinema schools because it is a rare example of honestly addressing difficult issues such as job loss and life without love. And, Jason Reitman should be applauded for honestly presenting the devestating effects of economic collapse while simultaneously entertaining us. It is both rare and rewarding to see documentary film seamlessly interwoven in a fictional story. Instead of resorting to token cliches, Reitman gives us real victims expressing their rage and anguish after losing long-time jobs.

This film is a tribute to great writing, acting, directing and producing. It successfully embraces comedy and tragedy and is truly enjoyable to watch.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful look at something beyond the status quo August 19, 2010

By citygal VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

After a while, it gets pretty tiring to have nearly every Hollywood movie either overtly or subtly suggest that real happiness lies in marriage and family. I love this movie because it asks us to consider that happiness is personal, not cookie-cutter. The protagonist loves his life of traveling and the lack of ties that go along with it. Some might see this as melancholy, and at times it is portrayed that way in the movie, but overall, it's clear that what most people want is not what the protagonist wants. I love the realistic, insightful way that this different outlook on life is presented in this movie.