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"Remarkable" and "spellbinding" are two words often appropriately used to describe the Oscar-winning Best Picture of 1988, a profoundly moving drama leavened with occasional bits of hilarity by director Barry Levinson. After the death of his father, Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise) quickly finds himself the caregiver to his autistic older brother, Raymond (Dustin Hoffman), who has been institutionalized for most of his life. Charlie gradually warms up to the sibling he barely knows, facing innumerable challenges presented by Raymond's needs and eccentricities. The narrative tends to meander at times, and its outcome is more or less predictable, but Levinson elicits such amazing performances from his two leading men that you won't care about plot complications; your attention will be riveted on Cruise and Hoffman. Valeria Golino contributes a nice supporting turn as Charlie’s girlfriend, Susannah, who becomes disgusted with his selfishness and ultimately takes him to task for exploiting Raymond's unusual talents. But for most of the movie it's just Cruise and Hoffman on the screen, radiating energy and bouncing sharp lines off each other in dizzying succession. The Ron Bass-Barry Morrow screenplay also won an Academy Award, as did Levinson's direction. The guy who really earned his little gold statuette, though, was Hoffman, whose multilayered and perfectly consistent performance still ranks as one of the most accomplished in film history. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

Self-centered, avaricious Californian Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise) is informed that his long-estranged father has died. Expecting at least a portion of the elder Babbitt's $3 million estate, Charlie learns that all he's inherited is his dad's prize roses and a 1949 Buick Roadmaster. Discovering that the $3 million is being held in trust for an unidentified party, Charlie heads to his home town of Cincinnati to ascertain who that party is. It turns out that the beneficiary is Raymond Babbitt (Dustin Hoffman), the autistic-savant older brother that Charlie never knew he had. Able to memorize reams of trivia and add, subtract, multiply, and divide without a second's hesitation, Raymond is otherwise incapable of functioning as a normal human being. Aghast that Raymond is to receive his father's entire legacy, Charlie tries to cut a deal with Raymond's guardian. When this fails, Charlie "borrows" Raymond from the institution where he lives, hoping to use his brother as leverage to claim half the fortune. During their subsequent cross-country odyssey, Charlie is forced to accommodate Raymond's various autistic idiosyncracies, not the least of which is his insistence on adhering to a rigid daily schedule: he must, for example, watch People's Court and Jeopardy every day at the same time, no matter what. On hitting Las Vegas, Charlie hopes to harness Raymond's finely-honed mathematical skills to win big at the gaming tables; but this exploitation of his brother's affliction compels Charlie to reassess his own values, or lack thereof. A longtime pet project of star Dustin Hoffman, Rain Man was turned down by several high-profile directors before Barry Levinson took on the challenge of bringing Ronald Bass' screenplay to fruition (Levinson also appears in the film as a psychiatrist). All three men won Oscars, and the movie won Best Picture. Hal Erickson

Product Details

• UPC: 027616884169
• Source: MGM (VIDEO & DVD)
• Region Code: 1
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital, Dolby AC-3 Surround Sound
• Editions: Special Edition, Subtitled, Dubbed
• Time: 2:14:00
• Sales Rank: 2,185

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• Fargo/Rain Man
• United Artists Super Deluxe Gift Set (90 films)

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