Disappearing Acts

Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood Gina Prince-Bythewood

Overview

Gina Prince-Bythewood's adaptation of Terry McMillan's Disappearing Acts comes to DVD with a standard full-frame transfer. A closed-captioned English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital Surround, while a Spanish soundtrack has been recorded in Dolby Digital Stereo. English, Spanish, and French subtitles are accessible. Supplemental materials include biographies of the cast and crew, a making-of featurette, and additional material featuring cast members Wesley Snipes and Sanaa Lathan. This is a fine disc from HBO/Rysher.

Product Details

Release Date:	06/19/2001
UPC:	0026359177729
Original Release:	2000
Rating:	R
Source:	Hbo Home Video
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Full Frame]
Sound:	[stereo, Dolby Digital Surround]
Time:	1:56:00
Sales rank:	29,435

Special Features

Chapter selections; Languages; Subtitles; Featurette; Cast & crew bios; "In character" performances by Wesley Snipes and Sanaa Lathan, from the novel "Diappearing Acts"

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Wesley Snipes	Franklin Swift
Sanaa Lathan	Zora Banks
Lisa Anderson	Claudette
Regina Hall	Portia
Clark Johnson	Jimmy
John Amos	Mr. Swift
CCH Pounder	Mrs. Swift
Aunjanue Ellis	Pam
John Beasley	Mr. Banks

Technical Credits

Lisa Jones

Gina Prince-Bythewood	Director
Françoise Bonnot	Editor
Sandra Hernandez	Costumes/Costume Designer
Kalina Ivanov	Production Designer
Lisa Jones	Screenwriter
Terry McMillan	Executive Producer
Lydia Dean Pilcher	Producer
Tami Reiker	Cinematographer

Scene Index

Side #1
0. Chapters
1. Main Title [:08]
2. Introductions [2:55]
3. Getting to Know You [7:29]
4. The First Kiss [:32]
5. Musical Surprise [7:00]
6. "Nobody's Perfect!" [1:19]
7. Let the Truth be Revealed [6:57]
8. A Family Affair [5:25]
9. Deliberation [2:41]
10. Hard on Luck [3:47]
11. The "Ex" Factor [3:54]
12. Birth Day [7:14]
13. Finally a Family? [:58]
14. The End of the Line [2:57]
15. Starting Over [4:33]
16. Distance [5:10]

Menu

Side #1
   Play Movie
   Languages
   Subtitles
   Featurette
   In Character
      Frank and Zora 1
      Frank and Zora 2
      Frank and Zora 3
   Cast And Crew Bios
      Wesley Snipes
      Sanaa Lathan
      Gina Prince-Bythewood (Director)
      Terry McMillan (Novelist and Executive Producer)

Editorial Reviews

Bolstered by a knockout performance from the perennially underutilized Wesley Snipes, director Gina Prince-Bythwood's adaptation of the popular Terry McMillan novel avoids "you go, girl" clichés to fashion a richer, more serious look at modern urban romance. If anything, Disappearing Acts is a sort of anti-romantic comedy: Price-Bythwood finds a dark undercurrent of regret and desperation in the material, perfectly complemented by the pensive, cautious performances of her two leads. In what could have been another lecherous-boyfriend role, Snipes gives a riveting, sensuous, and utterly convincing turn as the brutish, non-communicative construction worker whose modest ambitions are consistently undermined by his low self-image. In the cushier role of the educated, upwardly mobile striver, Sanaa Lathan finds ways to suggest romantic emptiness and longing without implying that it's impossible for a young woman to achieve both a successful career and a satisfying love life. Even within the confines of made-for-cable cinema, Prince-Bythwood's work is loose and visually assured; she gives the script's conflicts room to breathe -- or fester, as the case may be -- and Snipes and Lahan respond, imbuing every sigh and pregnant pause with added weight and nuance.

All Movie Guide - Michael Hastings