The Unbearable Lightness Of Being: Special Edition

Let others in 1968 Prague fret over liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Prague surgeon and avowed womanizer Tomas is focused on the happiness of pursuit. He's determined to live with a lightness of being unfettered by things like commitment and Communism. A young doctor's quest for sex and his stumbling into love are part of the rich storyline of this lyrical film from the landmark Milan Kundera novel, produced by Saul Zaentz (The English Patient, Amadeus) and directed by Philip Kaufman (The Right Stuff, Henry and June). Daniel Day-Lewis, Juliette Binoche, and Lena Olin indelibly form the romantic triangle at the center of Tomas's world. It's a shifting world of hope spoiled and renewed, of lives blighted by oppression and reinvigorated by deep, maturing love.

"[S]ome of the most poignant, almost sad, sex scenes I have ever seen — sensuous, yes, but bittersweet....What is remarkable...is not the sexual content itself, but the way Kaufman has been able to use it as an avenue for a complex story, one of nostalgia, loss, idealism and romance." Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

"One of the most successful examples of a film that caught its source book's unfilmable feel....[T]he realization of the author's cafe romanticism...makes the Soviet crackdown, when it comes, an emotional as well as a physical blow. (Grade: A)" Entertainment Weekly

"The Unbearable Lightness of Being leaves an afterimage as insistent as a flashbulb's ghost. It is a haunting, glowing thing that won't let go." The Washington Post

DVD Features:

• Available Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
• Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
• Commentary by director-screenwriter Philip Kaufman, screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere, editor Walter Murch, and costar Lena Olin
• "Emotional History: The Making of The Unbearable Lightness of Being"
• Theatrical trailer