Whether or not you like his work, you have to give director Ang Lee credit: he certainly has produced a diverse body of material. To me, 1997’s The Ice Storm feels like the oddest piece of this puzzle, but don’t take that as a criticism. Like most of Lee’s films, it takes place in the past, but not a distant one; Ice Storm goes to suburban America of 1973. It examines the social climate of the time, in which kids tried to grow up too quickly and adults found it hard to act in a mature responsible manner.

Most of the film concentrates on the Hood family in New Canaan, Connecticut as they “celebrate” the Thanksgiving holiday. We find father Ben (Kevin Kline). He’s a decent enough guy, really, but he seems clueless about how to relate to his kids Paul (Tobey Maguire) and Wendy (Christina Ricci), and he also doesn’t know how to get along intimately with his semi-frigid wife Elena (Joan Allen).

As such, he has an affair with married neighbor Janey Carver (Sigourney Weaver), a somewhat domineering woman whose husband Jim (Jamey Sheridan) spends a great deal of time out of town on business. Elena knows that something’s happening, but although she flirts with adulterous possibilities herself, she’s too wimpy and repressed to do anything about it.

As for the kids, they’re fairly distanced from their family. Paul goes to school in New York, so he only makes a brief return visit for the holiday. He feigns interest in his parents, but he only really connects with Wendy, as the two seem to best understand what a mess their family is. Nonetheless, he quickly hightails it back to school, mainly to go after a cute girl named Libbets (Katie Holmes) who invited him to hang out at her place.

Wendy’s the most overtly messed-up of the bunch, I suppose, though she doesn’t really show it to the outside. She spends most of her time with Janey’s son and her semi-boyfriend Mikey (Elijah Wood). The two do some mild sexual exploring, but Wendy upsets Mikey when she decides to play doctor with his younger brother Sandy (Adam Hann-Byrd). Not that anything terrible comes of this, even when Wendy’s caught with one of the boys; the parents in the film are so ineffectual that they muster little threat.

All of the action comes to a head during the titular tempest; yes, the movie’s name is allegorical, but it also describes an actual storm seen in the film. While this event takes place, all of the main adults are at a swinging soirée where Elena confronts Ben’s cheating ways indirectly. This shindig includes something called a “key party”. All of the couples involved put their car keys in a bowl, and the women draw them; the females then go home with the men whose cars they select. Although the Hoods didn’t plan to participate, Elena gets involved mainly as a “screw you” to Ben.

While this sexual nuttiness ensues, the kids are left on their own. Wendy and Sandy get to know each other better, while Mikey checks out the physical effects of the ice storm. Paul hangs out with Libbets, but not with the desired results. Before the evening ends, the families will be given serious “wake-up” call.

The Ice Storm seems fairly similar to other films of the genre, though it might be a bit more subtle. 1980’s Ordinary People and 1999’s American Beauty also examined the lack of heart found at the center of some suburban households, and both took home Best Picture Oscars. The Academy totally snubbed The Ice Storm, though a lot of critics gave it good marks. Why did People and Beauty manage to earn so many more awards than Storm? I really don’t know. Timing may have played a role, but it also may stem from the fact that Storm is a bit more elusive than the other two. Its charms are somewhat less clear, and it’s a colder, more off-putting piece.

Not that I regard that as a bad thing. No, I can’t say that I was totally enamored of The Ice Storm, but I thought it was an interesting and generally provocative piece. The film lacks the immediacy and intimacy with the subject found in most movies of this sort, an aspect that makes sense when you consider the director; Lee clearly had no experience with well-off suburban families of the early Seventies. As such, he tends to treat the material with more of an artsy flair. What he lacks in knowledge he tries to make up through style.

In that vein, Lee largely succeeds. Frankly, the setting and time period of The Ice Storm are fairly irrelevant. They examine a distance that could apply to a variety of different family situations and eras; the movie just happens to take place in early Seventies America. The swinging attitudes of the period create additional drama that might be less evident elsewhere, but they aren’t restricted to the era. As I indicated, Storm fits in well when compared to other suburban dramas.

The Ice Storm won’t be for everyone. It lacks great dramatic thrust and it proceeds at an unremarkable pace. There’s little of the quotable comedy found in American Beauty, and the characters generally provoke little sympathy or connection from the viewers. Nonetheless, I thought it was a strangely compelling piece that kept me interested. I don’t know if it makes as grand a statement as it seems to believe, but it’s a fairly engrossing and nuanced program that merits a viewing.

The Ice Storm appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The image reproduced the source photography well.

Definition seemed positive. The photography left things a little loose at times, and I noticed light edge haloes on occasion, but most of the flick seemed pretty accurate and distinctive. the movie lacked jagged edges or moiré effects, and source flaws were absent. With a nice layer of grain, I didn’t suspect any digital noise reduction.

In terms of colors, Storm went with a fairly chilly palette to match its emotional tone. This didn’t mean that the flick was totally desaturated, though, as it still boasted some pretty warm, full colors. I thought the hues were good given the design parameters.

Blacks looked deep and firm, while shadows were reasonably clear and distinctive. A few low-light shots were a bit murky, but those were in the minority and not a big concern, especially given the dim nature of so much of the film’s photography. This was a pleasing visual presentation.

The DTS-HD MA 2.0 soundtrack of The Ice Storm offered a decent but unspectacular experience, though its shortcomings were more expected. I didn’t think the film would be a multi-channel extravaganza, and I was correct. The mix stayed strongly oriented toward the forward spectrum, where it provided a pretty positive atmosphere.

Effects were placed accurately across the front speakers, and they blended together well. Music showed strong stereo separation and appeared well-defined. The surrounds contributed acceptable reinforcement of the forward mix, and they came to life fairly nicely during a few louder segments, such as when trains roared past.

Audio quality appeared positive. Speech sounded distinct and natural, and I discerned no problems related to intelligibility or edginess. Effects were clean and realistic and they displayed no signs of distortion. The music appeared warm and bright, and the track offered reasonable low-end when appropriate. Ultimately, The Ice Storm provided a good but unexceptional soundtrack that worked well for the film.

How did the Blu-ray compare to the 2008 Criterion DVD? Audio was a little fuller and more dynamic, while the visuals seemed more concise and clearer. This wasn’t a radical upgrade but it showed definite improvements over the DVD.

The Blu-ray replicates the DVD’s extras. We find the movie’s trailer as well as an audio commentary with director Ang Lee and writer/producer James Schamus. They discuss the source novel and its adaptation, cast and performances, sets, locations and period authenticity, the challenges involved when a Chinese director takes on such an American story, music, editing and deleted scenes, and a mix of production issues.

During its early moments, the track drags a little. However, it picks up pretty quickly and becomes quite engaging. We get a good impression for a mix of subjects, and both men seem pretty frank about the good and the bad aspects of the experience. Throw in a number of fun anecdotes and this becomes a winning commentary.

Next we go to a documentary called Weathering the Storm. In this 36-minute, nine-second show, we get movie clips, archival materials and new interviews with actors Kevin Kline, Joan Allen, Tobey Maguire, Christina Ricci, Elijah Wood and Sigourney Weaver. They chat about themes, characters and performances, story elements, how they came onto the film, working with Lee, reflections on the era in which the flick takes place, and a few other thoughts about the shoot.

I’m happy Criterion was able to round up so many of the movie’s main actors here, and they provide nice insights. The performers cover a good range of subjects connected to their experiences in this informative and enjoyable program.

Next comes a Rick Moody Interview. During the 21-minute, 22-second piece, we hear from the source novel’s author as he discusses his work, its adaptation for the screen, and his reactions to the cinematic result. Moody takes a rather elliptical way around these subjects, but he comes across as up-front with his opinions and lets us know what he does and doesn’t like about the movie. I admit I’d prefer something more straightforward, but Moody presents enough interesting remarks to make the featurette worthwhile.

We get more from the commentary participants in a piece called Ang Lee and James Schamus at the Museum of the Moving Image. It runs 32 minutes, eight seconds as they go over Lee’s acting background and his early career, the partnership between Lee and Schamus, aspects of Lee’s flicks, and general elements of his work. “Image” doesn’t tell us a ton about Ice Storm, but it doesn’t purport to do so. Instead, it offers a nice overview of Lee’s career. We get a mix of interesting thoughts about his movies and some fun anecdotes in this entertaining show.

Three featurettes appear under The Look of The Ice Storm. This collection includes “Cinematography by Frederick Elmes” (13:36), “Production Designs by Mark Friedberg” (14:00) and “Costume Designs by Carol Oditz” (8:24). As you can tell from the titles, these cover cinematography, production design and costumes with comments from Elmes, Friedberg and Oditz. They also chat about working with Lee and a few other aspects of the Ice Storm experience. Their notes give us good information about the various topics.

We also get four Deleted Scenes. Taken together, they last a total of six minutes, 50 seconds. We find “Ben Hood at the Office” (2:07), “Elena and Rev. Edwards” (2:16), “Elena’s Offer” (1:14) and “Paul’s Moral Dilemma” (1:14). I like “Office”, as it provides some laughs and also better sets up the rivalry between Ben and co-worker George.

“Elena” is less interesting, mainly because it telegraphs the Seventies sleaze vibe given off by Edwards. “Offer” does little more than reiterate the well-established distance between Ben and Elena, while “Dilemma” shows Paul’s temptation to take advantage of an intoxicated Libbets. Frankly, we already get that sense from the shot in the final flick, so this sequence would be redundant.

We can watch these scenes with or without commentary from Schamus. He provides some basics about the shots and tells us why they got the boot. Schamus throws in a few decent thoughts but not as much meat as I’d like.

Finally, the package features a 20-page booklet. It includes some photos along with an essay by film critic Bill Krohn. This isn’t one of Criterion’s best booklets but it’s still pretty good.

The Ice Storm is a chilly but involving affair that provided a deft and compelling examination of suburban America. The film neither condemns nor endorses its characters, which was a refreshing change from most works of this ilk. The Blu-ray delivers very good picture and audio along with a useful selection of supplements. Criterion brings us a fine release for a winning film.

To rate this film visit the original Criterion Collection review of THE ICE STORM