After creating the visually impressive film THE CELL in 2000, director Tarsem Singh dropped his last name to become simply Tarsem. His follow up, THE FALL, is just as beautiful as his previous work and features a stamp of approval from David Fincher and Spike Jonze. Like those celebrated directors, Tarsem got his start in the highly visual medium of music videos, and THE FALL is appropriately one of the most striking films to hit the screen in recent memory. Set in Los Angeles in 1915, the story revolves around a five-year-old girl (Catinca Untaru) named Alexandria, who wanders around a hospital after breaking her arm. There she meets bedridden Roy (Lee Pace of PUSHING DAISIES), a Hollywood stuntman who is paralyzed after an ill-fated attempt to impress a woman. Roy beguiles Alexandria with a tale that mirrors his own failed romance but his imagination takes it to new levels. People in the hospital appear in the story à la THE WIZARD OF OZ, but it's a surreal, fantastic epic that enchants Alexandria and convinces her to bring morphine pills to Roy so he can commit suicide.

Based on the Bulgarian film YO HO HO, THE FALL is an excellent example of a triumph of style over substance. The plot is interesting and the acting is solid--particularly the work from first-time Romanian actress Untaru--but it's hard to pay attention to any of that when Colin Watkinson's cinematography and Ged Clarke's production design are so stunning. Though Tarsem is working in a vein similar to Guillermo del Toro and Terry Gilliam, THE FALL is a uniquely gorgeous work that will impress anyone who values beauty in film.

DVD Features:

Keep Case
Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
Subtitles - English, French - Optional

Distributor Notes: From the director of The Cell comes a visually stunning epic fantasy about a bedridden man who entertains a curious little girl by telling her a fantastical story of exotic heroes and far off places which reflects his state of mind. The central story takes place in a remote 1920's hospital where a small girl named Alexandria (Catinca Untaru) is recovering from a severe looking shoulder injury incurred in a fall while trying to pick oranges. One day she happens to meet Roy (Lee Pace) - a stunt or "gag" man for the "flickers" or moving pictures- who seems to have injured himself out of a future in a particularly reckless stunt, even for those times. He is a clearly unhappy man who- through his own carelessness- unwittingly leads Alexandria to believe that he intends to entertain her with a lavish, epic story of exotic heroes and far off places. As the stuntman's health reaches to the point of peril - so does the story he is telling her...with potentially fatal consequences.

Source: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Lee Pace: Star, SOLDIER'S GIRL
Catinca Untaru: Actress
Justine Waddell: South African Actress
Emil Hostina: Actor
Robin Smith: South African Actor
Julian Bleach: Actor, THE BROTHERS GRIMM (2005)
Daniel Caltagirone: Actor-Legionnaire
Marcus Wesley: Actor
Leo Bill: Actor, TWO MEN WENT TO WAR (2003)
Sean Gilder: 
Jeetu Verma: Actor

 Tarsem: Indian director, THE CELL

 Tarsem: Indian director, THE CELL

Dan Gilroy: Screenwriter/"Freejack"
Nico Soultanakis: Screenwriter
 Tarsem: Indian director, THE CELL

Krishna Levy: 

Robert Duffy: Editor

3 stars out of 4 -- "The surrealistic visuals in this ambitious film are unlike anything you're likely to see or have seen....It's the masterful cinematography and otherworldly locations that leave a lasting impression..."
"[F]ull of visual bedazzlement and wonder....A multi-leveled, smart, jaw-droppingly beautiful, big-hearted piece of entertainment..."
3 stars out of 5 -- "Music video director Tarsem has built on a talent for knock-out fantasy visuals last showcased in 2000's THE CELL. THE FALL looks like nothing on Earth..."