Wonderful and classy film, a must-see on DVD, in my book a "10".

Rating: Null/10 (26 June 2002)

First I want to comment on some of the unworthy criticism regarding the "accuracy" of this film. The writer and director state plainly that this is a semi-fictional story using the essential "architecture" of mathematician John Nash's life, namely his genius, his schizophrenia, his relationship with Alicia, and his winning the Nobel prize. It was NOT intended to be a complete biographical sketch. Plus, since much of Nash's work with the government was top-secret, all that had to be fabricated for the film. As were many of the characters, the delusions, the code-breaking simulations, the speech upon receiving the award. They sought to take a very captivation story of a genius who overcame a debilitating illness, with the help of a special companion, to survive and win a most high honor, and they have done it very well. It deserves "Best Picture" and Opie (I mean, Ron Howard) deserves "Best Director."
Second, I want to comment about the acting. Russell Crowe, as difficult as he may be at times in public, is THE consummate actor working today. Just to see what he does with this role of John Nash, to see how he captures the character, how he evolves as the film unfolds, is worth a viewing all on its own. Without getting into the politics of The Academy, nor criticizing anyone else's performance, Russell Crow deserves "Best Actor" for his role in "A Beautiful Mind." As well as he is regarded, I still think his work is under-appreciated by most. I found myself forgetting that I was seeing an actor, that's how good he is, and that seldom happens with me. All the others are good in this film, but Crowe is the sole reason for its greatness.
And third, anyone still watching movies like this at home on VHS are missing so much. This DVD, two disks actually, is one of the very best I have seen. Not only are the sound and picture just perfect, disk one allows you to play the film with either the director's or the writer's commentary. Both are among the most interesting of any commentaries, adding real value to understanding some of the finer points of the film. After I saw the whole film, I went back and re-played certain scenes with each commentary turned on, and essentially doubled my enjoyment of the whole movie.
Disk one also has some production notes and deleted scenes which are interesting. But disk two has a wealth of extras for those who like to study the whole creative process of movie-making. Included are the choice of the writer, a taped interview with John Nash where he tries to explain his prize-winning theory to Ron Howard. Scoring, special effects, etc, the whole process. I own the DVD.