Synopsis

Teenager David and his rebellious sister Jennifer are mysteriously transported into Pleasantville, a seemingly perfect 1950s television world. As their modern attitudes challenge the town's rigid routines, the residents begin discovering emotions, desires, creativity, and independence. The once monochrome community gradually fills with color, provoking fear and resistance from those determined to preserve its artificial perfection.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film marked Gary Ross' feature directing debut. He also wrote the screenplay and co-produced the movie.

• Pleasantville was released by New Line Cinema on October 23, 1998. It opened at number one but ultimately earned about $49.8 million against a reported $60 million budget.

• The film received three Academy Award nominations: Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, and Best Original Dramatic Score.

• The selective color effect was created through extensive digital postproduction. Pleasantville was reported to have more digital effects shots than any earlier film, until Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace surpassed it in 1999.

• Some scenes used green makeup as a technical mask. The green tones could be digitally removed or desaturated to create the transition between monochrome and color.

• A scene in which a bathroom has no toilet refers to 1950s television standards that prohibited showing toilets or depicting their use.

• Visual references include echoes of classic films such as Patton and To Kill a Mockingbird, particularly in the bowling-alley and courtroom imagery.

• The film was one of J. T. Walsh's final screen performances and was dedicated to his memory.

• Pleasantville was the final on-screen film appearance of Don Knotts. Because he was unavailable for later looping, another performer imitated his voice for the narration.

• Randy Newman's score earned an Academy Award nomination, while Fiona Apple's recording of "Across the Universe" won the Online Film & Television Association award for Best Adapted Song.