A Beautiful Mind - The Two Disc Awards Edition

Directed by: Ron Howard

Director Ron Howard delivers one of his finest efforts with his extraordinary film, 'A Beautiful Mind'. Based loosely on Sylvia Nasar's acclaimed biography of mathematician John Forbes Nash, the film is a compelling look at one man's genius, his debilitating mental illness, and the fine line between the two.

'A Beautiful Mind' begins with Nash (Russell Crowe) at Princeton, where he struggles to think of an original idea, and the stroke of genius that will make him matter. Nash is eccentric, socially awkward, and extremely competitive. Eventually, he finds the inspiration for his innovative and influential work on game theory. He's chosen for a post at MIT, which includes crucial code-breaking work for the US government. There, he meets a beautiful and brilliant student, Alicia (Jennifer Connelly). They marry but their happiness is threatened, as Nash, belatedly diagnosed as schizophrenic, descends into madness.

Screenwriter Akiva Goldsman cannily condenses Nash's story, and the film manages to dramatize both Nash's mathematical brilliance and his schizophrenia in a compellingly visual manner. The film received a total of 8 Academy Award nominations and is a winner for Best Film and Best Director (Ron Howard).