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Movies / On DVD / Big Fish
Big Fish

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Big Fish (2003)

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Reviews Counted:39

Fresh:25

Rotten:14

Average Rating:6.5/10

Consensus: A charming father-and-son tale filled with typical Tim Burton flourishes.

Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for a fight scene, some images of nudity and a suggestive reference

Runtime: 2 hrs 5 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Dec 10, 2003 Limited

Box Office: $66,257,002

Synopsis: In Tim Burton's family film BIG FISH, a gifted storyteller named Edward Bloom (Albert Finney), who lives in a small town in Alabama, recounts tall tales of his wild worldly adventures. These are... In Tim Burton's family film BIG FISH, a gifted storyteller named Edward Bloom (Albert Finney), who lives in a small town in Alabama, recounts tall tales of his wild worldly adventures. These are shown in flashback with Ewan McGregor playing the young Bloom. Wonderful special effects and vibrant colors that pop off the screen make this Burton film a much sunnier experience than his macabre gems EDWARD SCISSORHANDS and BEETLEJUICE. Yet his signature quirky artistry is unmistakable, and the movie benefits from crisp production values and a loveable, bizarre cast of characters. Told through a series of vignettes, Bloom's stories involve a witch, a giant, a haunted forest, and yes, a big fish. A self-described small-town hero, Bloom explains how he left home at 18 determined to experience anything and everything life could dish out. He worked for the circus, took on daring assignments as a WWII soldier, and rambled across the country as a zany traveling salesman. Utterly unbelievable yet magical and delightful, Bloom's stories just don't translate to his son Will (Billy Crudup) who wants to know his dad's "true" life story. But little by little--through increasingly outlandish tales at which Will cannot resist smirking--the two begin to understand each other, and Bloom weaves his stories into their genealogical fabric. [More]

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Alison Lohman, Helena Bonham-Carter, Robert Guillaume, Steve Buscemi, Danny DeVito, Marion Cotillard, Matthew McGrory, Loudon Wainwright

Director: Tim Burton

Director: Tim Burton
Screenwriter: John August
Producer: Richard D. Zanuck, Bruce Cohen, Dan Jinks
Composer: Danny Elfman
Studio: Columbia Pictures

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Release:

Apr 27, 2004

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Reviews for Big Fish

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Full Review Source: New York Magazine | comment Comment
08/07/04
Peter Rainer
Peter Rainer
New York Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Burton shows the rivalry between father and son but not the rancor, which seems to fit with the film's calm lyricism. But the father-son conflict is meant as the dramatic crux, and a forceful actor would have given it some much-needed bite.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
03/16/04
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
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A compelling look at the relationships between fathers and sons, and the child coming to terms with the parent's mortality.

Full Review Source: CNN.com | comment Comment
01/08/04
Paul Clinton (CNN.com)
Paul Clinton (CNN.com)
CNN.com
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A long-winded indulgence in tear-and-a-smile whimsy.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
12/26/03
Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle
San Francisco Chronicle
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A disappointingly dull thud of a fantasy.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
12/26/03
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
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Somewhat like Forrest Gump on a high colonic.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
12/26/03
Stephen Hunter
Stephen Hunter
Washington Post
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Clocking in at two hours, it runs way too long for a flight of fancy, packs a couple of false endings, and, a first for Burton, feels flat and familiar, like recycled Ray Bradbury.

Full Review Source: San Jose Mercury News | comment Comment
12/25/03
Glenn Lovell
Glenn Lovell
San Jose Mercury News
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For me, a Will who wishes she were an Edward, the movie inspired by the Daniel Wallace novel is a minor classic.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
12/25/03
Carrie Rickey
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer
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Burton, who has clung to the trappings of precocious genius well into his 40s, demonstrates a new emotional maturity.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
12/25/03
Colin Covert
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune
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An enchanting tale from Tim Burton that weaves together reality and myth so touchingly it hardly matters which is which.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
12/25/03
Eric Harrison
Eric Harrison
Houston Chronicle
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Funny, touching, smart, whimsical, dazzling and, at times, downright magical.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
12/25/03
Tom Long
Tom Long
Detroit News
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It's gentle and pleasing and I appreciated the mixture of oddness, whimsy and emotion that informs Burton's search for the place where truth and fiction meet.

Full Review Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News | comment Comment
12/25/03
Robert Denerstein
Robert Denerstein
Denver Rocky Mountain News
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A bountiful pleasure.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
12/25/03
Lisa Kennedy
Lisa Kennedy
Denver Post
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Offers its audience a long and winding road, with refreshing pauses. And it proves that mega-budgets have not spoiled Tim Burton's vision.

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
12/25/03
Philip Wuntch
Philip Wuntch
Dallas Morning News
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There is no denying that Will has a point: The old man is a blowhard. There is a point at which his stories stop working as entertainment and segue into sadism.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
12/25/03
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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The picture's images linger.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
12/25/03
Wesley Morris
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe
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Mostly confined to bed throughout the film, Finney pulls us to him with a flawless combination of theatrical skill and movie-star radiance.

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
12/25/03
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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A whopper of a movie, told by the master of the modern-day fairy tale, Tim Burton.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
12/25/03
Bill Muller
Bill Muller
Arizona Republic
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Burton has not given his imagination such free rein since Edward Scissorhands, and this stands with that and the equally generous Ed Wood as one of his best movies.

Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | comment Comment
12/25/03
Terry Lawson
Terry Lawson
Detroit Free Press
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The imaginatively illustrated but precariously precious film offers up a string of minor pleasures but never becomes more than moderately amusing or involving.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
12/23/03
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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