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EducationalThe Annihilation of Fish (DVD)
New restoration! Winner of an Honorary Academy Award® for lifetime achievement, Charles Burnett remains one of our country’s most celebrated independent filmmakers. In his charming The Annihilation of Fish, Lynn Redgrave plays Poinsettia, a former housewife with an imagined lover in the form of 19th-century composer Giacomo Puccini. She moves into a Los Angeles boarding house with an energetic landlady (Margot Kidder) where she meets a Jamaican widower, Fish (James Earl Jones), who has recently been released from a mental institution despite his continued battles against unseen demons. In the face of personal challenges and differences, the couple grows together and begins to discover new things about themselves and the nuances of love and happiness.
Released in partnership with Milestone Films, restoration by UCLA Film & Television Archive and The Film Foundation with funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation.
- NEW Audio Commentary by Director Charles Burnett moderated by Film Scholar Maya Cade
- The Final Insult (1997, directed by Charles Burnett, 55 minutes)
- Q&A with Director Charles Burnett moderated by Film Scholar Racquel Gates
- Re-Release Trailer
- Charles Burnett - Director
- James Earl Jones - Actor
- Lynn Redgrave - Actor
- Margot Kidder - Actor
Reviews
“Genuine independent filmmaking, the kind that transcends formula and expectations... While love stories are often irresistible, what distinguishes this one is the tenderness of Burnett’s touch and the generosity of his worldview."
“Burnett has made a simple yet beguiling film about how two imperfect people can find a kind of perfection in each other's company — and how sometimes in life, and in the movies, good things do come to those who wait.”
“It’s also obvious this film is the essence of what makes Burnett’s hold on the American mythos peerless and exceptional. At every turn, 'The Annihilation of Fish' is wonderfully surprising.”
“A complete charmer: a masterwork of tonal control that deserves to be reckoned with as much more than an archival curiosity.”
"A gently comic, humanist tale."
“The most romantic film of the year…a tender, eccentric love story”
“An unashamedly weird film, and its weirdness is an invitation to faith.”
"Burnett creates a dreamily solid world where in Jones' heroic sweetness can flourish, and Redgrave and Kidder can disappear into their roles with a dazzling, playful intensity."
“A human and thought-provoking comedy-drama.”
For press and publicity inquiries, please email press@kinolorber.com. A selection of press materials for this title may be available for download here.
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