Stars: Robert Downey Jr, Jared Leto, Ben Stiller, Stacy Edwards, Joe Pantoliano, Brooke Shields, Elijah Wood, Claudia Schiffer, Scott Caan, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Joe Pantoliano, Bijou Phillips, Method Man, Elijah Wood, William Lee Scott, Sticky Fingaz, Gaby Hoffman, Allan Houston, Kidada Jones, Marla Maples, Kim Matulova, Garry Pastore, Power, Raekwon, James Toback, Mike Tyson

Director: James Toback

Summary: Follows the experiences of Rich Bower who turns from a life of crime to the world of hip-hop. Along the way he meets some strange people.

With BLACK AND WHITE, writer-director James Toback (FINGERS, TWO GIRLS AND A GUY) confronts the topic of race head on--most specifically, the influence of black urban hip-hop culture on white America. Set in New York City as the 1990s wind to a close, the film is told in a broad, episodic fashion, interweaving several different story lines in order to address a multitude of ideas. In the most comedic, a white documentarian (Brooke Shields) and her gay husband (Robert Downey Jr.) follow a group of affluent white teenagers (led by Bijou Phillips) around the city as they unabashedly pursue a Staten Island hip-hop crew. As the leader of the crew, Rich Bower (the Wu-Tang Clan's Power) struggles to leave his criminal past behind and become a legitimate musician. In the most dramatic subplot, an undercover police detective (Ben Stiller) frames a talented college basketball player (Allan Houston) in order to exact an ambiguous revenge. Toback blends improvisation with tightly scripted scenes, and the result is a loose, broad essay on the state of racism at the turn of the millennium. BLACK AND WHITE features impressive performances by the all-star cast, but it is Mike Tyson who steals the film with his unforgettable cameo.

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Turbo-charged comic Jack Black shakes School of Rockto its foundations, wailing with born-again metalhead passion as Dewey Finn, a guitarist who gets kicked out of a band because he grandstands too much--or, to put it another way, enjoys himself. Through an intercepted phone call, Finn gets a job as a substitute teacher for a fifth grade class at a private grade school. Neither students nor teacher quite know what to do with each other until Finn discovers that some of his young charges can play instruments; at once he starts turning them into a blistering rock &roll troupe that can crush his former band at an upcoming competition. School of Rock is silly and formulaic, but director Richard Linklater (Dazed and Confused), writer Mike White (The Good Girl), and especially Black and co-star Joan Cusack invest the formulas with such glee that the movie is irresistibly fun. --Bret Fetzer

On the DVD:Like the movie, the DVD extras are smarter and a lot more entertaining than your average flick. The making-of feature ("Lessons Learned") has the usual behind-the-scenes banter but Jack Black is in fine form--that is, something special--interviewing as much as being interviewed about the making of the film. His unique pitch to Led Zeppelin to use their song is alone worth the price of the DVD. Black is more his maniacal self and a bit more grating in MTV's Diary segment, but his commentary track with director Richard Linklater is as insightful as it is funny. Ok, it's a lot more funny, but entertaining throughout. The commentary track featuring just the kid actors is less so, but any preteen would love listening to it. To top it off, the DVD-ROM has Dewey Finn's instantly famous blackboard history of rock. You can drill down to the bands mentioned and get a brief history of each. --Doug Thomas

Aspect Ratio:	2.35 Wide Screen, 16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Keeping It Reel Video Diary Shot, Deleted Scene, Alternate Take, 2 Music Videos, Feature Length Commentary By Director, Trailer, Filmographies, Isolated Score, Menus With Score
Subtitles:	Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Polish, Swedish, Turkish
Year:	1999
Release Date:	March 26, 2001
Runtime:	95 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	C D R 30796
Keywords:	Black, White, Comedy, General, Wide, Screen, Drama
Genre:	Drama