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Special Features – (tbc) Commentary Track Original Trailer Behind the Scenes Feature Alternative Opening and Ending scenes (Never seen before) Original Artwork “Pure Shores” by All Saints Music Video Cast and Crew Biographies Leonardo DiCaprio sought to distance himself from the cloying wholesomeness of his character in Titanic, and his role in The Beach is in many ways a polar opposite. As Richard, a young American seeking to “suck in the experience” of freestyle travel in Thailand, he is a chronic liar, a pot-smoking hedonist, an amoral lover and ultimately an unstable snake in a doomed Garden of Eden. This crazy descent might be expected from the filmmakers of Trainspotting, but The Beach is a movie without a rudder, venturing into fascinating territory, promising a stimulating adventure and then careening out of control. After receiving a not-so-secret map to a secluded island from a stoned-out loony (Robert Carlyle, full of dark portent and spittle), Richard sets out to find the hidden paradise with a young French couple (Virginie Ledoyen, Guillaume Canet). What they find is a tropical commune existing in delicate balance with Thai pot farmers, and before long–as always–there is trouble in paradise. There is trouble in the movie, too, as DiCaprio is reduced to histrionics when the plot turns into a muddled mix of Lord of the Flies and Apocalypse Now, with shark attacks tossed in for shallow tension. Director Danny Boyle attempts perfunctory romance and a few audacious moves (notably DiCaprio’s vision of life as a violent video game), but what’s the point? Tilda Swinton registers strongly as the commune’s charismatic leader, but her character–and the entire film–remains largely undeveloped, and pretty scenery is no guarantee of a laudable film. –Jeff Shannon From the Back Cover Leonardo DiCaprio is electrifying in this adrenaline drenched, tantalizingly seductive thriller from the director of “Trainspotting”. Richard (DiCaprio) a young American backpacker is willing to risk his life for just on thing: that mind blowing rush you can only get from braving the ultimate adventure. But on a secret, deceptively perfect beach, he’ll soon discover that, as the level of intensity rises and the stakes climb higher, desire grows strongerand danger grows deeper. Co-starring gorgeous Virginie Ledoyen, this “journey to the unexpected, full of surprises, twists and turns, love and romance, lust and desire” (Maria Sallas, GEMS) explores the hidden perils and dark places that lurk just beyond the shores of paradise