SYNOPSICS
Bottle Shock (2008) is a English,French,German movie. R. Martin Miller has directed this movie. Chris Pine,Alan Rickman,Bill Pullman,Hal B. Klein are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2008. Bottle Shock (2008) is considered one of the best Comedy,Drama movie in India and around the world.
In 1976, Steven Spurrier, a sommelier in Paris, comes to the Napa Valley to take the best he can find to Paris for a blind taste test against French wine. He meets Jim Barrett, whose Chateau Montelena is mortgaged to the hilt as Jim perfects his chardonnay. There's strain in Jim's relations with his hippie son Bo and his foreman Gustavo, a Mexican farmworker's son secretly making his own wine. Plus, there's Sam, a UC Davis graduate student and free spirit, mutually attracted to both Gustavo and Bo. As Spurrier organizes the "Judgment of Paris," Jim doesn't want to participate while Bo knows it's their only chance. Barrett's chardonnay has buttery notes and a Smithsonian finish.
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Bottle Shock (2008) Reviews
Delightful Movie Based on a True Story
In 1976, in the Napa Valley, the perfectionist vigneron Jim Barrett (Bill Pullman) is the owner of the Château Montelena that is full of debts and near bankruptcy. Jim is unsuccessfully racking his wine trying to reach perfection. He has a problematic relationship with his hippie son Bo (Chris Pine) and his Mexican foreman and connoisseur Gustavo Brambila (Freddy Rodriguez) is secretly producing wine with his father Mr. Garcia (Miguel Sandoval). Jim hires the free spirit intern Sam Fulton (Rachael Taylor) from UC Davis to help him in the production of wine. Meanwhile in Paris, the wine expert Steven Spurrier (Alan Rickman) that owns a specialized store has few clients. His friend Maurice Cantavale (Dennis Farina) advises him to promote his store and he decides to organize a blind tasting competition between the French and the American wines. He travels to Napa Valley to find the best American wines to bring to the dispute. He has a troubled meeting with Jim that refuses to participate in the competition. However Bo foresees the chance of survival of his father's business and gives two bottles to Spurrier. But soon he finds that the color of all the 500 bottles of chardonnay have turned into brown. Is Jim Barrett's business doomed? "Bottle Shock" is a delightful movie based on a true story. This little but charming movie is not available on DVD in Brazil but only on cable ("O Julgamento de Paris", meaning "The Paris Judgement"), but I bought the American DVD following the advice of a friend of mine from California. The story has a pleasant screenplay with entertaining subplots that might or might not really happen, such as the triangle of love among Sam, Gustavo and Bo, that keeps the plot never boring. The cast has good names associated to the beautiful locations that make this little movie worthwhile watching. My vote is seven. Title (Brazil): Not Available
The Hollywood Reporter loves BOTTLE SHOCK!!
Bottle Shock Bottom Line: "Rocky" for wine aficionados. By Stephen Farber Jan 29, 2008 Sundance Film Festival PARK CITY -- When a film opens with the title, "Based on a true story," one wonders if the filmmakers are trying to bolster a flimsy premise with claims of authenticity. But "Bottle Shock," which had its world premiere at Sundance, enshrines an irresistible story that happens to be (mainly) true. It takes place in 1976, the year of the American Bicentennial, and in these cynical times, it is nice to be reminded of an American victory that is actually worth celebrating. This might not have been a momentous world achievement, but it was a gratifying victory all the same. The contest takes place in the world of wine, in a time when California wines competed for the first time in a prestigious competition in France. One of the competitors was Château Montelena, a vineyard owned by Jim Barrett, who dropped out of the corporate rat race to pursue his dream of cultivating grapes. Jim is just one of the engaging characters in this tale of American hayseeds taking on French connoisseurs. Because of the wine backdrop, some will compare the film to "Sideways," but the comparisons are not really fair. This is a different kind of movie, a classic underdog tale with lots of humor and heart. With the right handling, it could be a hit on the specialty circuit. The film begins by introducing an intriguing ensemble. In the Napa Valley, Jim (Bill Pullman) is locked in constant battle with his slacker son, Bo (Chris Pine), who works for him at the vineyard. Another worker, Gustavo (Freddy Rodriguez), the son of a Mexican field hand, hopes to launch his own label. Both of the men are infatuated with Sam (Rachael Taylor), a new arrival in town. Meanwhile, in Paris, Steven Spurrier (Alan Rickman) hopes to revive his failing wine business by sponsoring a competition, and a friend encourages him to visit California to add a new gimmick to the contest. The film is very leisurely in establishing all these characters -- a mite too leisurely. The first half would benefit from tighter editing. Another problem is that the characters -- the tyrannical father and the rebellious son, the snooty European wine connoisseur -- are a bit stock, and the personal stories are not as well developed as they might be. But the film keeps building in intensity, and the payoff sizzles. As he showed in "Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School," director Randall Miller has real affection for actors, and he brings out the best in performers who haven't always had an opportunity to shine. (Miller wrote and produced both films with his wife, Jody Savin.) Pullman has his best role in years, and he captures the fury as well as the passion of a man in thrall to a dream on the verge of collapse. Pine has enormous charm, and Rodriguez confirms the promise he showed on HBO's "Six Feet Under." Rickman also has one of his juiciest roles in recent years, and he's able to satirize British haughtiness without falling into caricature. Watch his reactions as he samples California cuisine -- first a vat of Kentucky Fried Chicken and then a glob of guacamole -- and you'll savor the mastery of a truly subtle actor. Two beautiful young actresses -- Taylor and Eliza Dushku as a ballsy bartender -- give equally winning performances. Once the film gets past the exposition, it brings off a number of delectable scenes. A high point comes when Rickman and Pine inveigle a bunch of airline passengers to transport California wine in their carry-on bags. And the climactic competition, where the scrappy American interloper has to stand up against generations of French tradition, is as rousing as any finale you'll see this year. Cinematographer Michael J. Ozier magnificently captures the Napa countryside. This intelligent, affectionate, beautifully acted movie gives crowd-pleasers a good name.
I loved it.
I have to disagree with the negative comments. Of the six or so films I saw, this one was the best. First off, it was beautifully shot. The scenery that was captured is going to get people to visit Napa on it's own. Alan Rickman was as great as always, and Freddy Rodriguez was amazing. Bill Pullman's character, as the owner of the winery, had a terrific arc. I understand that elements of the story were fictionalized, but I come to expect that with most "based on a true story" films. There were some great, touching scenes between the father (Pullman) and son (Chris Pine) and with Rodriguez as almost a "son he never had" type of character. Oh, and Dennis Farina nearly steals the scenes with Rickman he's so funny - I have to say nearly, because I love Rickman. In all it was thoroughly enjoyable, and I talked it up with several other movie goers on the tram ride afterward, and EVERYONE I spoke to loved it.
Wonderful Film . . .
While some people might immediately try to compare this film to Sideways, that would be a big mistake. Both films might share wine as their subject matter but diverge dramatically from there. Bottle Shock tells an unknown story of Californian wine beating French wine in a surprise blind taste test (no one was more surprised than the French). Having the US as the Underdog, seeing the passion of the wine makers and seeing the French being served makes this an absolutely wonderful 2 hours. Bill Pullman was superb, Alan Rickman portrayed the quintessential snobbish Britt, Rachael Taylor was stunning and Dennis Farina was "Bacon Fat with a hint of Ripe Mellon!"
An Inspiring, Delicious, Heart Warming Movie of Wine and Dreams
In 1976 the world of wine had mainly just one country on the map: France. Quietly Californians had been making pretty good wine that no one, especially the French noticed. Until a British gentleman and oenophile, Steven Spurrier (Alan Rickman) made a competition that changed the world of wine forever. Entertaining, inspiring, shot on location in the Napa Valley and France, this is a delightful movie, with solid acting, beautiful cinematography and all around sparkling goodness. Although the script has one flaw, it is for the most part very solid and the acting and directing are top notch. Bill Pullman (wine maker), Alan Rickman, and Dennis Farina (delightful American in Paris) deliver solid performances. Relatively new actors Chris Pine (son of wine maker), Rachael Taylor (love interest) and especially Freddy Rodriguez (Mexican wine maker) round up this outstanding cast. Randall Miller, the director. has to be commended not only for creating an endearing and lovingly original movie, but doing so in a small budget, and even more taking his creation himself to several cities, after no distributor stepped out, even though the movie had rave reviews in Sundance 2008. The movie has opened in several theaters in North America, Toronto has been fortunate enough to get it, and I hope a major studio changes it's mind and takes this one world wide, but not to worry the director is finding eager movie theaters anyway. Enjoyable from beginning to end, a true story that deserved a movie, got one! Go watch it. Joseph Hurtado from Toronto