Reviews

This film has a a notable cast. My guess is the pandemic had a role in the casting or timing of the distribution. I only watched the last hour of this with commercial interruptions fortunately. Unfortunately I watched it until the ending. WTF? Is what went through my mind as the absolutely weirdest music played during the closing sequence in the candlelight of a church. I'm befuddled with the revelations in this script, and I am astonished that this cast couldn't find something better to do with their time. The look and feel of the film and characters is a gritty cliche with an edgy feel, but the end is just to weird for me. Two stars may be more accurate but in all fairness I missed the beginning of the film.

This torturous millennial discombobulated pandemic hack just pisses me off. I'll just leave it at that instead of torturing you with the irrelevant details. Clearly they could not save it in the editing room or without a real script. There is absolutely no reason why the exposition in this story relates to the present, past or present moments. The time and place seem not to matter and seem to be derived from Ketamine abuse or other mystery psychedelic experience without gaining insight. The real mystery here is how an audience is supposed to relate to the protagonist's cell phone and computer screen while incoherently jumping through the past recollections of a character alone in her thoughts. The idiocy of the girl staring at a blinking lights, while walking a bike in the darkness of night on railroad tracks (sometime in the past) when she was older looking, and mumbling to herself "Happy Birthday...you're a genius Bill" is clearly NOT Morse code we're looking at, and if it were, 8 blinks ain't a message. This is stupid on so many levels, no wonder there needed to be a writer's strike, because this ain't writing or producing worthy of 9 hours of anyone's time. INCOHERENCE is not interesting. Its just a K-hole.

I was so confused. I was in a green dungeon for a very long time. Everything was incoherent, implausible, or contrived. I really don't understand why this film happened to me.

I knew Ken Burns was good, and I love music but Country Music did not particularly entice my interest. Sure, I was a Deadhead, I certainly enjoyed a range of country and folk, but somehow an 8 part series just was not a priority given the alternatives, at the time. Somehow I found myself in Will the Circle Be Unbroken? (1968 - 1972), maybe a half an hour into the episode. Peter Coyote, more than any other voice of intellectual authority grabs my attention. Its a Ken Burns hallmark to work with the best in his collaborative documentary genius, and Coyote is a deeply moving soul, who in somewhat understated and mild mannered form, conjures deeply moving sentiment true to even the most passionate connoisseurs of the topic that he narrates. So, even though I never really thought I cared about Country Music I am reminded that I do.

Dayton Duncan's writing, with Ken Burn's skill of finding candor from artists in succinctly concise, and emotionally on key fashion works so well with the musical retrospective of all that country music you forgot you loved. This film brought back happy memories of the past where these songs inhabit the tapestry of those days. Nearly forgotten, I now fondly recollected songs that had once filled the air never even thinking that was Country Music.

There are occasionally exceptional moments in my film experience, and here that really stands out in my mind; in ways I am hardly able to articulate - but I'll try.

The passage elucidated Kris Kristofferson's lyrical prowess by his Nashville contemporaries Larry Gatlin and Charlie Pride. Their infectious enthusiasm as devoted fans of his poetic verse . Fellow country music artists with musical experience, vocabulary and expertise. Their genuine astonishment with Kristofferson's passion and song was an epiphany. A moment of sublime film making, albeit a documentary. I now understand how music and poetry subtly intertwine - gracefully and elusively - music worthy serious attention. I wish I could learn to appreciate Shakespeare or other literature as much. as Larry Gatlin's and Charlie Pride's inspiring interpretations of Kristofferson music and verse, in this documentary Burns!

We know it's not real but its good enough for a roller coaster ride! The film stands up to time and thrills 20 years later - even over the air with commercial breaks, . With this all star cast and Tony Scott its prime time amusement for all who love the genre more than factual accuracy. Its close enough to enjoy a little fun at the cinematic amusement park. When you'd prefer not to be bored by realism or documentary, this is just the ticket.

I'll keep it short: this film is worth even less of your time than required to read this sentence. Its like they just gave up on a script, but started shooting anyway. It's amazing how much money can be spent on a film without a script. They should just call it WTF?

Perhaps its just me, but I think this film is underrated. 3 Days of the Condor is one of my all time favorite suspense thrillers and is both intellectually and vicariously plausible - from the first frame to the last. The action immediate and visceral, the characters subtle and direct, are succinctly performed and clearly understood. The dialog and exposition serve fascinating food for thought while the suspense unfolds revelations as the story thrusts deeper towards danger. A masterful Pollack/Redford conspiratorial thriller that is as smart as it is believable. Its as real as a narrative fiction can feel, in my personal film experience.

I like this film the more I see it. Like Dickens, its a classic in its own rite. Interestingly, once you grow accustom to this thoughtful, sensitive, interpretation, its characters profoundly relate a living human experience. It doesn't matter what extraordinary events fill these mundane lives, the story is more an expression of who these people are in their deepest feelings. The poignant and stylish directing and acting whisper passionate undercurrents that propel such mythic idealism into Love's enduring nature. Authentic relationships and sincere characterizations define the meaning of life's events, and the influence of our fundamental desires.

In the Director's IMDb Biography someone writes:

"...he didn't want to direct it but the studio insisted a lot, and in the end he accepted it. The experience was very painful and difficult for him mainly because there was never a definitive screenplay."

Perhaps this is why film finds a way to connect to the story so meaningfully. Its not about the screenplay or literary adaptation, its the moral essence characters find in life's relationships and environment. The events and dialog are not static and are driven by a sincere emotional forum.

I just like the simplicity of the way it feels, like a familiar old friend with lots of fond memories to share. Perhaps I'll promote it to an 8, exceeding my lowered expectations and to rise to the occasion.