Reviews

So how inaccurate and meaningless are the Academy Awards?

The Shawshank Redemption - ZERO awards. Dr. Strangelove... - ZERO awards. Citizen Kane - 1 award (screenplay). Shichinin no samurai - ZERO awards. Rear Window - ZERO awards. Vertigo - ZERO awards

And yet a movie like Titanic can garner 11. I can think of 10 movies that might be deserving of such a number of Oscars since Ben Hur (righty) won that many. Titanic ain't one of them. In fact (at the time of this writing) Titanic is rated 6.9 - a number that, I would guess, may not put Titanic in the top 1000 movies.

Oh, I forgot... IMDb voters are likely not as "knowledgable" as the elite cattle who vote for Oscars.

Ridiculous.

I must confess to a lingering fascination of the condition of Germany, and the German peoples, immediately following WWII. The country, of course, was broken - destroyed - in ruins. More importantly, so were the people. The real life stories I have read speak to so many aspects of their condition: shame, starvation, disbelief, shock of the revelations of the evil of their own doing, and despair. Always despair. They are stories of how the human spirit can overcome the most horrific nightmares and conditions.

This movie drills to the heart of many of those issues, sometimes subtly, sometimes brazenly. Rossellini was never better.

I consider this movie to be a must view on two levels: First, it is quite frankly one of the best moves ever made. Easy words to throw around, and said too often about too many films. Those words apply here. Second, it is a must view for the understanding it can provide of what the world - particularly Germany and Europe - were like after WWII. It belongs to a small suite of movies (such as Schindler's List) that show real insight, a true view into the world during this bleak time in history.

I have always considered this one of my favorite "rainy Saturday

afternoon" movies. The scenery is wonderful, Redford does one of his

best performances, the characters are colorful, and it is a wonderful

story of the pioneer spirit. Then, a few years ago, a good friend told me he had the book about the

real "Liver Eatin' Johnson", about whom this movie was made. He lent

me the book to read - and I highly recommend it for anyone interested

in a first- and second-hand story of the old west. The real story of Johnson is greatly removed from the movie, though

there are many parts in common as well. Most notably absent is the

fact that Johnson would remove and partially eat the liver (raw) of the

Crow braves he would kill. This was done by Johnson to scare the Crow,

who believed their soul would wander the earth forever if the body was

not buried intact. Johnson was also known to have eaten meat from the

leg of a Blackfoot indian, whose tribe had captured him to sell to the

Crow. This incident, however, appears to have been more for survival,

as Johnson had to travel for several days through snow on foot after

escaping the Blackfoot. Johnson was a well traveled man, friend to more than the movie

suggests, and finally died of old age in Los Angeles in 1899. His

actual age is subject to dispute, but he was at least 75 yeard old.

During his long life, he met up with many recognizable characters from

the old west. I leave the names for you to discover in your reading -

it is well worth the time!

This is an exceptional film. Christopher Nolan has created an atmospheric film in much the manner of David Lynch, using images, lighting and color to shift the perception of the viewer. He also uses another Lynch tool - time shifting - though to a much greater degree. The initial viewing of this film might be difficult or even uncomfortable for many. It takes viewing a few sequences to get the gist of the overlapping, regressive flashbacks used to piece the story together. Be prepared to watch this movie very intently. Get your popcorn and pop ready before the movie starts. And plan on a second viewing!

I grow tired of the petty reviews by those who constantly compare the book to the movie. For anyone who has read Lord of the Rings, no movie(s) could ever possibly do them justice. Let's set that aside for a moment...

Imagine, if you can (and this is difficult for those who HAVE read the books), that you had NOT read the books. How, then, does the movie stand on its own? Does the story make sense? Does it follow? Is there flow? Does it maintain my interest? Do the characters have depth? Is the cinematography good? Costumes? etc.......

For the first installment, I find the answer to all of the above, YES! This is a truly great movie - on its own - and deserving of a spot in the top five movies ever.

Now... I have read the books - several times. I am willing to both forgive some inaccuracies for the sake of expediency, and understand the "literary license" taken for the sake of a shortened story. When you consider that an alternative would be a series of three 14 hour movies, these are minor items.

I am eternally grateful for the care and loving that went into this movie. I commend Peter Jackson for his fine work and for staying "very close" to the original story.

I first saw Carnival of Souls in the late 1960s on Chiller Theater, Channel 11 Pittsburgh. If you are not familiar with Chiller Theater, it was one of the horror/sci-fi movie shows of the era, and one of the best. In fact, if you are a fan of the genre, you might remember host Bill Cardille ("Chilly Billy") in a bit part in Night of the Living Dead (the reporter near the end of the movie).

I was about 8 or 9 when I saw this movie first. To say it had a lasting impressions would be a gross understatement. I still consider it one of, if not THE scariest movie ever made. Why? Because it plays with the mind. The images Herk Harvey (director) captures are unforgetable, surreal, and lasting. The old lakeside carnival, combined with excellent use of black and white celluloid, create a unique and haunting phantasm for the mind.

Don't believe me? Watch it alone in a dark room some evening... if you dare!

No more analysis need be done on this movie. My wife and I firmly believe this should be required viewing in schools. As much as there is literary license taken within the movie, it yet illustrates, more than any other movie in memory (with, perhaps, the exception of The Sorrow and the Pity) the inhumanity and reality of life (and death) in Europe during WWII. This is a lesson that needs to be well understood and never forgotten.