RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / The Ice Storm
The Ice Storm

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Bookmark and Share

The Ice Storm (1997)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
81 %
Tomatometer

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted: 54

Fresh: 44

Rotten:10

Average Rating: 7.6/10

Consensus: Director Ang Lee revisits the ennui-laden decadence of 1970s suburban America with deft humor and gripping pathos.

Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Director Ang Lee's main concern is a subtle examination of family life that he began with THE WEDDING BANQUET and EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN. With THE ICE STORM, Lee creates a truly American period film... Director Ang Lee's main concern is a subtle examination of family life that he began with THE WEDDING BANQUET and EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN. With THE ICE STORM, Lee creates a truly American period film that is equally concerned with family relationships, set in 1970s New England. It is Thanksgiving, 1973, and the Carvers and the Hoods are two prototypical suburban families seemingly living the good life in New Canaan, Connecticut. Behind their New Age philosophies and polyester fashions, however, lies deep discontent. One husband carries on an unsatisfying affair with the other family's wife, while his teenage daughter experiments sexually with both of the neighbor's boys. When a winter storm descends upon their upper middle class neighborhood, buried resentments bubble over, leading to a tragedy neither family will ever forget. An intense, well-acted drama based on the novel by Rick Moody, THE ICE STORM is a masterly depiction of the frigid emotional life of suburbia. Great care was taken to accurately recreate the fashion, philosophy, and music of the 1970s without devolving into camp. Sigourney Weaver, Kevin Kline, and Joan Allen all excel in their roles, but it is the younger actors (Christina Ricci, Tobey Maguire, Elijah Wood, Adam Hann-Byrd) who steal the show. [More]

Starring: Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Joan Allen, Tobey Maguire

Starring: Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Joan Allen, Tobey Maguire, Christina Ricci, Henry Czerny, Courtney Peldon, Adam Hann-Byrd, David Krumholtz, Jamey Sheridan, Elijah Wood, Katie Holmes, Michael Cumpsty, Allison Janney

Director: Ang Lee

Director: Ang Lee
Screenwriter: James Schamus
Producer: James Schamus, Ted Hope, Ang Lee
Composer: Mychael Danna

[See More Credits]

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Mar 13, 2001

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for The Ice Storm

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By: Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Beautifully nuanced, passionately performed, and terrifically realized piece of work.

Full Review Source: Mr. Brown's Movies | comment Comment
02/15/09
Michael Dequina
Mr. Brown's Movies

Beautifully acted, refreshingly un-camp in its take on wide lapels and progressive rock and occasionally coolly moving. It's just that ultimately, there's less here than meets the eye.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
11/21/08
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Arguably Lee's first truly essential film.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
11/21/08
Channel 4 Film

A well-observed and deftly performed examination of upper-middle-class emotional deep freeze...

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
07/28/08
Todd McCarthy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A rich and elegant drama.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
09/24/07
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

What impressively begins as a gentle social satire gradually becomes a conventional family melodrama, one that lacks a clear moral center and in which the parents are just as confused as their children

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
10/25/06
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

A thoroughly enjoyable blend of comedy and melodrama...

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Geoff Andrew
Time Out

...a black comedy ... that ultimately acquires Hitchcockian levels of suspense.

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
06/02/06
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Ang Lee is a terrific filmmaker, but his usually upbeat directing style is stilted by the angst It's a well crafted, but, ultimately, negative-feeling movie.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
04/09/05
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

It's concerned with the differences between the culture we profess and the lifestyles we actually indulge. Even more, it's about the consequences of betrayal.

Full Review Source: Looking Closer | comment Comment
01/15/05
Jeffrey Overstreet
Looking Closer

A quarter of a century ago, Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver dealt with the same issues more successfully.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
09/28/04
Dragan Antulov
rec.arts.movies.reviews

This is a cold and calculating film that will temporarily dampen those fond memories of everything we cherish from two decades back.

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/14/03
Jeanne Aufmuth
Palo Alto Weekly

Sketched with subtlety and refined detail worthy of Ingmar Bergman.

Full Review Source: Cincinnati Enquirer | comment Comment
10/15/02
Margaret A. McGurk
Cincinnati Enquirer

Damn, is this film great!

Full Review Source: Montreal Film Journal | comment Comment
09/10/02
Kevin N. Laforest
Montreal Film Journal

No review available.

comment Comment
07/26/02
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com

Rather than being moved or transfixed, you feel frozen and impartial, almost as disengaged as the characters themselves.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
06/05/02
Lael Loewenstein
Boxoffice Magazine

A remarkable film that takes us straight into John Updike territory, duplicating on screen exactly what the writer achieves on the page.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
04/12/02
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The best film about family so far this year. Just don't think Disney.

Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
05/11/01
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Lee infuses the film with just enough humor to keep it from becoming unremittingly bleak, but the overall impact is harsh and caustic.

Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | comment Comment
02/27/01
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk

It's unfortunate that as capable a team as director Lee and screenwriter-producer Schamus should have become fascinated with such unpromising material.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
02/14/01
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
all

Latest News for The Ice Storm

July 29, 2005: SNL's Seth Meyers Finds the "Key" to Feature-Length Laffer
Saturday Night Live joker Seth Meyers has sold a comedy pitch entitled "Key Party" to Paramount, which Lorne Michaels will (of course) produce.The story deals with... More...

See More Topics...

Related Forums for The Ice Storm

Click here to be the first to post a message on this forum.

See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
79%
79%
Gran Torino
30%
30%
12 Rounds
23%
23%
Confessions of a Shopa…
—
The Code
39%
39%
Inkheart

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
22%
22%
Push
12%
12%
The Unborn

More New Releases…

RT On Current TV

What’s Hot On RT

Deconstructing Harry

Deconstructing Harry

Pt. 3: Cuaron's darker Prisoner of Azkaban

Best Mockumentaries

Best Mockumentaries

From Borat to Spinal Tap, this one goes to 11

Humpday Clip

Humpday Clip

An exclusive peek at the indie comedy!

Half-Blood Prince

Half-Blood Prince

How good is the 6th Harry Potter?

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Weekly Ketchup: T.J. Hooker Film in Development
36
  • Warners Shortens Green Lantern Wishlist Source: Hollywood Reporter
112
  • Harold Ramis Talks Ghostbusters 3 Source: MakingOf.com
38
  • Spider-Man 4 Gets Its Third Writer Source: Latino Review
60
  • Warners Wins Favorable Ruling in Superman Case Source: Variety
20
  • Remo Williams Rides Again Source: Risky Biz
10
  • Mortal Kombat 3 Filming in September? Source: Slashfilm
82
  • MacGruber Gets a Director Source: Variety
39
  • PG-13 Turns 25 Source: VideoETA
8
  • Weekly Ketchup: Universal Takes on Asteroids
92
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Deconstructing Harry, Day 1: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
67
  • Deconstructing Harry, Day 3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
62
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Transformers and Ice Age Tie for Top Spot
59
  • Deconstructing Harry, Day 2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
53
  • Total Recall: Mock Docs That Rock
44
  • Critics Consensus: Bruno is Certified Fresh
43
  • Five Favorite Films with Kathryn Bigelow
39
  • Tomatometer Watch: How Good is Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince?
27
  • RT on DVD: Knowing, Push, The Unborn Unleashed
26
  • Five Favourite Films with Jaime Winstone
19
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • RT Interview: Director Carlos Cuaron on Rudo and Cursi
0
  • RT Interview: Tony Scott on The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
10
  • Cannes 2009: RT Interview - Sally Hawkins on We Want Sex
2
  • RT Interview: Tilda Swinton on Julia
5
  • Hollywood Legend Debbie Reynolds Reflects On her Life in Showbiz
10
  • Exclusive: McG Talks Terminator Salvation
24
  • Georgia Groome - Fresh Talent on RT
5
  • RT Interview: Reading The Reader with Stephen Daldry
11
  • RT Interview: Oscar Nominee Melissa Leo
7
  • Carey Mulligan - Fresh Talent on RT
7
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • The Ice Storm at Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh Links

Featured
Point-Counterpoint: Bruno
Point-Counterpoint: Bruno External Link

MSN's David Fear and Frank Paiva go head to head discussing the pros and cons of Bruno star Sacha Baron Cohen.

The New Cult Canon
The New Cult Canon External Link

The AV Club's Scott Tobias takes a second look at David Lynch's cult classic, Lost Highway.

Tom Cruise's 10 Best Roles
Tom Cruise's 10 Best Roles External Link

TIME takes us on a 25-year long journey into the superstar's career, giving us a look at his 10 best roles.

A Baywatch Comedy?
A Baywatch Comedy? External Link

BuzzSugar reports on Paramount's plans to rebirth the iconic TV show as a comedy film.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.