IGN.com|AskMen.com|Rotten Tomatoes|GameSpy|FilePlanet|TeamXbox|CheatsCodesGuides|GameStats|Direct2Drive
RottenTomatoes.com
Register | Log In | What is RT?
Home Movies DVD Celebrities News Critics Trailers & Pictures The Vine Forums
Box Office | Best Of | Certified Fresh
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches by subscribing to our Google Subscribed Links profile.
 
Movies / On DVD / House of Sand and Fog
House of Sand and Fog

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Email to a Friend
  • Add to List
  • Bookmark and Share
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon

House of Sand and Fog (2003)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
76 %
Tomatometer

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted: 164

Fresh: 125

Rotten:39

Average Rating: 7.1/10

Consensus: Powerful and thought provoking film.

Runtime: 2 hrs 6 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release: Dec 19, 2003 Limited

Box Office: $12,924,917

Synopsis: Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly star in the powerful drama HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG as two people fighting over the same house. Connelly is Kathy, a troubled young woman struggling with addiction and her husband's departure. Lost in her... Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly star in the powerful drama HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG as two people fighting over the same house. Connelly is Kathy, a troubled young woman struggling with addiction and her husband's departure. Lost in her funk, she fails to check her mail, which includes letters threatening to evict her. After she is thrown out of the house she grew up in--wrongly, it turns out, so she seeks legal representation--Massoud Amir Behrani (Kingsley) buys the property at auction with the goal of selling it at a huge profit so his family can live a better life. Behrani, a former colonel in the Iranian army, is determined to make his family's move to the United States a successful one--nothing matters more to him than his wife and son's well-being. But when he sees Kathy sleeping in a car outside his fence, he knows he is in for a fight. Based on the book by Andre Dubus III, Vadim Perelman's directorial debut is a fascinating study of family in the United States. Kathy has no one to turn to--her father is dead, her husband has abandoned her, and she's too frightened to seek help from her mother or brother. She falls for Lester (Ron Eldard), a deputy sheriff who claims to no longer love his wife. And Behrani is so dedicated to his wife (Shohreh Aghidashloo in a riveting performance) and son (Jonahtan Ahdout) that he blinds himself to Kathy's dire situation. HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG is a relentless, thought-provoking work that will linger with audiences long after the film ends. [More]

Starring: Ben Kingsley, Jennifer Connelly, Ron Eldard, Jonathan Ahdout

Starring: Ben Kingsley, Jennifer Connelly, Ron Eldard, Jonathan Ahdout, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Frances Fisher, Kim Dickens, Navi Rawat

Director: Vadim Perelman

Director: Vadim Perelman
Screenwriter: Vadim Perelman, Shawn Otto
Producer: Michael London, Vadim Perelman
Composer: James Horner
Studio: DreamWorks Distribution LLC

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
  • House of Sand and Fog Trailer
    >
1 of 1

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

DVD Info

 
 
 
 
Release:

Mar 30, 2004

[DVD Details]
 
 

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Keep Case
  • Anamorphic Letterboxed Widescreen - 1.85
  • Dual Layer/Single Side

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound - English
  • Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound - French

Additional Release Material:

  • Commentary - 1. Vadim Perelman - Director, Andre Dubus, III - Source Writer, and Ben Kingsley - Star
  • 2. Deleted Scenes and Commentary - Vadim Perelman - Director
  • Featurette - 1. Behind-the-Scenes
  • 2. Audition Tape - Shohreh Aghdashloo (Naderah Behrani)

Text/Photo Galleries:

  • Cast and Crew
  • Photo Gallery

Reviews for House of Sand and Fog

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
Arrange By: Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
Ratings Image

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | comment Comment
04/02/05
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: In Film Australia | comment Comment
03/16/04
Luke Buckmaster
In Film Australia
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Newsweek | comment Comment
11/01/07
David Ansen
Newsweek
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Derek Adams
Time Out
Ratings Image

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
04/01/06
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Vadim Perelman's "House of Sand and Fog" is one of the low points of the current movie season. But then it's meant to be.

Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | comment Comment
11/18/05
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
09/26/05
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

The dramatic scheme is to show how two people ... intersect "tragically," but what we see is a group of characters who act as wrongheadedly and intransigently as imaginable.

Full Review Source: Blogcritics.org | comment Comment
07/19/05
Alan Dale
Blogcritics.org
Ratings Image

An intense drama with a brilliant performance by Ben Kingsley.

Full Review Source: FromTheBalcony | comment Comment
06/20/05
Bill Clark
FromTheBalcony
Ratings Image

Partially successful.

Full Review Source: Lessons of Darkness | comment Comment
05/04/05
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness
Ratings Image

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: NYC Film Critic | comment Comment
03/05/05
Ethan Alter
NYC Film Critic
Ratings Image

House of Sand and Fog is an intense, thought- provoking movie experience

Full Review Source: Draxblog Movie Reviews | comment Comment
02/16/05
Dragan Antulov
Draxblog Movie Reviews
Ratings Image

... a movie about the perils of real estate speculation.

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
01/27/05
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Ratings Image

Perelman ... has a distinct and shadowy style that gives each scene an edge of menace, but he does not exploit style or draw attention to it.

Full Review Source: Looking Closer | comment Comment
01/15/05
Jeffrey Overstreet
Looking Closer
Ratings Image

Who would think a fight over real estate would be so fascinating, so gut wrenching to watch?

Full Review Source: Kansas City Kansan | comment Comment
10/30/04
Steve Crum
Kansas City Kansan
Ratings Image

A pesar de los excesos del libreto, la película atrapa gracias a la notable dirección de Perelman, apoyada sobre todo en la impecable fotografía de Roger Deakins (...)

Full Review Source: Uruguay Total | comment Comment
10/20/04
Enrique Buchichio
Uruguay Total
Ratings Image

Devastatingly dark and painfully honest, it paints a different side of the immigrant experience while showcasing two phenomenal performances.

Full Review Source: Oregon Herald | comment Comment
08/13/04
Mark Sells
Oregon Herald
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
all

Latest News for House of Sand and Fog

September 05, 2007: Atlas Shrugged Gets a New Director
It's been twiddling its thumbs in development limbo for nearly five years, but according to Variety, the film adaptation of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged is on again. More...

July 08, 2005: Trailer Bulletin: The Exorcism of Emily Rose
Head on over to the film's official site for your first look at the trailer to "The Exorcism of Emily Rose." The supernatural horror flick is directed by Scott... More...

May 06, 2005: Connelly and P.S. Hoffman to Do a New "Macbeth"
Director Todd Louiso ("Love Liza") has been trying to get his "Macbeth" adaptation off the ground for a while, and it looks like things are finally moving... More...

March 17, 2003: Click Here for Preview. Opens in new window
More...

See More Topics...

Related Forums for House of Sand and Fog

Close to the Worst movie I've seen
by: Dirkmonger 7/9


Poorly-plotted and imPlausible PLOT
by: Dreamchild 5/3


Intelligent and dramatic
by: elmyrdehory 11/16/04


Carpo
Spellbinding!
by: Carpo 9/5/04


REEL_REVIEWER
HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG - Moral of this story: open your damn mail, lady?
by: REEL_REVIEWER 7/5/04
See All

More DVDs

Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
FRESH: 1 93% Iron Man
FRESH: 2 85% Forgetting Sarah Marshall
ROTTEN: 3 50% Sex and the City - The…
ROTTEN: 4 52% Leatherheads
ROTTEN: 5 12% Made of Honor

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
ROTTEN: 35 35% You Don't Mess with the Zohan
ROTTEN: 18 18% The Happening
FRESH: 75 75% Paranoid Park
FRESH: 93 93% The Visitor
FRESH: 71 71% Stuck

More New Releases…

What’s Hot On RT

Brad Pitt, Florist?

Brad Pitt, Florist?

De Niro, Tucci in What Just Happened

Trick or Treat

Trick or Treat

Plan your costume with our Halloween Guide!

That's Hot

That's Hot

Paris Hilton picks her favorite films.

Toon vs. Toon

Toon vs. Toon

We rank the best animated films of all time!

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Weekly Ketchup: Steve Carell to Get Smart again.
60
  • Goyer Debunks Every Single TDK Sequel Rumor Source: MTV
42
  • Weekly Ketchup: Branagh directs Thor, Seagal vs. aliens?
90
  • The Net Reacts to 25 Minutes of Watchmen Footage
50
  • Brett Ratner Is Your God of War Source: UGO
24
  • Kenneth Branagh Directing Thor? Source: Variety
36
  • First Shots of Mia Wasikowska as Burton's Alice Surface Source: Slashfilm
2
  • Bill Murray Talks Ghostbusters 3 Source: Ain't It Cool News
19
  • Weekly Ketchup: Johnny Depp to play Tonto in The Lone Ranger
47
  • Exclusive: David Carradine Cameo in Crank 2 says Statham
2
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Total Recall: Bill Murray's Best Movies
46
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Chihuahua is Top Dog
42
  • Critics Consensus: Express Scores, Body of Lies Falls Flat
34
  • RT on DVD: The Future of Watchmen, Plus Sleeping Beauty, Touch of Evil Remastered
30
  • Weekly Ketchup: Steve Carell to Get Smart again.
30
  • Box Office Guru Preview: Audiences Surrounded by Lies
9
  • Exclusive: Alexandre Aja talks Mirrors and Piranha 3D
7
  • Exclusive: The Fall - Tarsem's Visual Companion - Part 2
3
  • Win a Body of Lies poster signed by Ridley Scott, Leo and Russ!
0
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Exclusive: Alexandre Aja talks Mirrors and Piranha 3D
7
  • RT Interview: Jason Statham Chats Death Race, Crank 2 and The Sweeney
9
  • RT AU Interview: Andrew Stanton and Ben Burtt talk WALL-E
6
  • Video Exclusive: Gerard Butler talks RocknRolla and 300 sequel with RT
13
  • Video Exclusive: Maria Bello, Brendan Fraser and the Mummy 3 Cast Talk to RT
14
  • RT goes behind the scenes on Stargate: Continuum
4
  • Starship Troopers' Casper Van Dien Shares His Five Favorite Films
48
  • RT Interview: Philippe Petit on Crossing the Twin Towers on a Wire
2
  • RT Interview: David Duch