The Machinist

Amazon.com

As a bleak and chilling mood piece, The Machinist gets under your skin and stays there. Christian Bale threw himself into the title role with such devotion that he shed an alarming 63 pounds to play Trevor Reznik (talk about "starving artist"!), a factory worker who hasn't slept in a year. He's haunted by some mysterious occurrence that turned him into a paranoid husk, sleepwalking a fine line between harsh reality and nightmare fantasy--a state of mind that leaves him looking disturbingly gaunt and skeletal in appearance. (It's no exaggeration to say that Bale resembles a Holocaust survivor from vintage Nazi-camp liberation newsreels.) In a cinematic territory far removed from his 1998 romantic comedy Next Stop Wonderland, director Brad Anderson orchestrates a grimy, nocturnal world of washed-out blues and grays, as Trevor struggles to assemble the clues of his psychological conundrum. With a friendly hooker (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and airport waitress (Aitana Sánchez-Gijón) as his only stable links to sanity, Trevor reaches critical mass and seems ready to implode just as The Machinist reveals its secrets. For those who don't mind a trip to hell with a theremin-laced soundtrack, The Machinist seems primed for long-term status as a cult thriller on the edge. --Jeff Shannon

Description

THE MACHINIST is the story of Trevor Reznik, a machinist who hasn't slept in over a year. Working in a machine shop, Trevor faces the usual occupational hazards, yet his extreme fatigue only makes them worse, causing him to accidentally cut off a co-worker's hand. What Trevor suffers from clearly isn't a typical case of insomnia…

Customer Reviews:

One man's madness and guilt........2007-09-17

The Machinist starring Christian Bale is eerie, isolating, and brilliant. Bale's performance is bone-chilling and talking about bones he lost so much weight for this role. He plays Trent Reznick, a machinist who hasn't sleeped in over a year, I won't give away what is plauging his over-due exhaustion but I can tell you this is one film that you will watch over and over again. Defintely a standout from 2003, watch for the clues so with that advice in mind, The Machinist is a film I highly recommend!

Grabs You In First Minute and Won't Let You Go!.......2007-09-16

I can only support what all other great reviews have said. Great story, great direction, great acting. This is very much in the spirit of Memento only I think the story was actually better for The Machinist. I was hooked in the first minute, no foolin'. Bale is as crazy as the person he was portraying! During the film I was just sure that they had somehow digitally altered Christian Bale's appearance to look like a starving man. He weighed only 120 lbs at one point. Then, I watched the featurette on making The Machinist and discovered, oh my God! He really did starve himself down to that weight. That's insane! Awesome performances all the way 'round. How did Bale not win awards for this performance? It was an amazing film.

Hangman's Hysteria.......2007-09-14

Usually young director Brad Anderson writes the scripts for all his films--but after reading Scott Kosar's script in 2001, he made an exception. He could see a stunning and frightening film in his mind's eye, something unique and completely off-center; perhaps too much so. They had to shop around for two years before finally finding a quadrate of producers -but they were Spanish. The solution, of course, was to shoot the film in Spain, using mostly a Spanish crew. Anderson was careful with the settings, casting, and art design, creating a world of the story to reside in "Anywhere, U.S.A."; pushing a little to resemble the seedier sides of Los Angeles -which was indeed tricky considering he filmed mostly in Barcelona.

Brad Anderson has directed 12 films since 1995, one of the most notable being NEXT STOP WONDERLAND (1998). He has taught film classes in Boston, and directed a lot of episodes for various television series. He shot THE MACHINIST (2004) from the main character's POV, and he kept teasing us with set ups, camera angles, lighting, and intentional echoes from Hitchcock and David Lynch. To deepen the comparisons, he had composer Roque Barios emulate strains of Bernard Herrmann; punctuated with electronic music that sounded like pieces of the theme from THE OUTER LIMITS.

This film has already achieved cult status. Most viewers are taken aback by the raw intensity of the action, the macabre point of view, and the deep emotions -unstable, angry, and explosive, along with the rampant paranoia. Actually Anderson does build this film to a point where we are offered complete closure for all the plot conflicts and mysteries -but even so a lot of audience members are left in a dark theater feeling still perplexed and confused. Roger Ebert wrote, "We see Trevor's world so clearly from his eyes that only gradually does it occur to us that every life is seen through a filter." I would add to that that every viewer watching every film is filtering that experience through their perceptions, experiences, random prejudices and predispositions. That is the primary thing that makes film discussion and criticism so visceral and engaging.

Christian Bale was brilliant as Trevor Reznik, reducing his beautiful body to an almost unrecognizable state, a rib-bulging cadaver, one of the walking dead, an Ausweis victim. It was fascinating to watch Bale twist and turn, bob and weave, posing for several skeletal tableaus -knowing just how to present those jutting bones for maximum effect. John Sharian played co-worker Ivan, reminiscent of Brando in APOCALYPSE NOW (1979) -a lethal smile with horsy teeth and deadly eyes; mysterious, flashy, and dangerous, but possessed with a wicked sense of humor; a twinkle in one eye and a drop of blood in the other, often hidden behind black sunglasses. Jennifer Jason-Leigh added another hooker with a heart of gold to her role charm bracelet, doing a bang up grand job as Trevor's call girl/girlfriend, Stevie. Leigh is so comfortable in the nude we forget she is acting, bringing both sensuality and matronly affection to the table. She dared to like, maybe even almost love that oddball; that starved bird with the broken wing -and dared to hope he could build a life with her beyond prostitution. During their final scene together when Trevor goes over the emotional edge -the sadness and pain turning to anger on her face was hard to forget; with marked simplicity, just Leigh living in that terrible moment with us watching.

THE MACHINIST transcended genres. It transcended time and space, and even place; filmed in Andalusian limbo to thrust us into a nightmare world that bends and twists like a dragon's tail -spiked and murderous -peopled with dark characters and darker deeds, suggesting demons lurking unseen in the shadows; permeated with that deep feeling of despair, or anger toward the unknown and the unknowable. It requires multiple viewings to fully appreciate the acting, the art design, the psychology, and the writing. An audience member must be at the top of their cognitive game to successfully negotiate the twisted journey within the mind of a tortured soul.

Christian Bale = AMAZING........2007-08-31

The man is just so extremely talented, and not to mention good-looking! This movie really makes you think. EXCELLENT. Highly recommended!

A modern take on Poe's Tell-Tale Heart!.......2007-08-18

There are other movies out there that deal with trauma and its psychological components, such as Jacob's ladder, and this is a different take on a similar subject. The first scene of the movie makes no sense until the end of the movie, but everything finally does come together.

Faced with a terrible event, Trevor develops into an hallucinatory, pathetic character in trying to deal with his guilt. He starts off as a pleasant, intelligent guy, and his steady girl is also a likable, sympathetic person. But when he steps out with a waitress and her son, we begin to see that something is wrong. His weight issues, where he is 130 and losing day by day is also a flag that something has to be wrong.

He manufactures people and occurrences that at first seem real, but he finally realizes that they are anything but real.

Christian Bale gives an excellent performance in this movie and at its conclusion I found that I could feel for him in his torment. It is a difficult movie to watch at times, but one does take away from it the complexities of the human mind, and the power of the unconscious, or the soul, over the human mind. It is a modern day take on Poe's Tell-Tale Heart.

Average customer rating:

Moby Dick
Moby Dick my review
Haven't bought it yet...but was excited to see in on DVD
A classic movie - all kids should see
Moby Dick

Moby Dick
Starring: Gregory Peck , Richard Basehart , Leo Genn , James Robertson Justice , and Harry Andrews
Director: John Huston
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
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ASIN: B00005AUKA
Release Date: 2001-06-19

Amazon.com essential video

There are so many things right about this 1956 production of Moby Dick, it's a shame it is remembered for the one (debatable) thing wrong with it. As Captain Ahab, the bearded, one-legged, insanely obsessed whaler, Gregory Peck has often been called miscast. The mild, level-headed Peck had many talents, but the volcanic eruptions of Ahab seemed beyond him--even Peck himself felt he was a bad fit for the part after he finished playing it. (Pauline Kael opined that Peck looked like "a stock-company Lincoln.") Yet Peck's quiet brooding works an intriguing variation on the fiery character. John Huston, a director with a taste for location shooting, had his hands full with the difficult open-water filming in Ireland and the Canary Islands ("The catalogue of misadventures was unbelievable," he later wrote). Since Ahab is chasing the rare white whale, three false whales had to be constructed, two of which were lost at sea. For all the miscues, the film is amazingly controlled, and especially beautiful to look at: Huston and cinematographer Oswald Morris developed an unusual color process meant to suggest old whaling engravings. The director wrote the script with the science fiction writer Ray Bradbury, an inspired choice to adapt Herman Melville's epic novel. Richard Basehart plays the narrator, Ishmael, and Orson Welles provides a wonderful single-scene role as Father Mapple, declaiming the mysteries of the sailor's life in a thundering sermon. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

Moby Dick.......2007-09-13

I have read Melville's novel several times, it's a favorite of mine. I saw this film 20-30 years ago, and just received it on DVD, hoping I was wrong then: that this movie was a disaster, to the book, to movies.
I was unfortunately hoping in vain. It's the ultimate disaster. The dialogue tells the pictures, the pictures tells the dialogue, the music (horrible and horribly used) tells the dialogue and the pictures, and backwards ... it goes on and on. Unbelievable that for instance Kurosawa about the same time shot Seven Samurai.

Moby Dick my review.......2007-06-18

Moby Dick is a great book, The movie version is good. Gregory Peck may not have been right for Captain Ahab,but was good enough to show the revenge maddend whaler as the villan of the film. The cast does a good job, Ishmael and Quequeg were well played. The special effecects were good its easy topull for Moby Dick over Ahab. Moby Dick is great look at not only whaling but obsession, hate, and the grim stuggle whalers faced at sea.

Haven't bought it yet...but was excited to see in on DVD.......2007-03-22

I saw the original in the theater. I must have the DVD. It was great in the theater. When Capt is snagged in the harpoon lines on the side of the whale, the entire theater gasped. It was cinematic history!

The popcorn was better back then too.

A classic movie - all kids should see.......2007-01-09

I've read the book many times, have owned a VHS copy for years and finally decided to breakdown and but a DVD copy.
Got 2 teenage boys and managed to convince them this was worth watching. We watched it together and although compared to the production quality of today's flicks, they were glued to the plasma display.
And talked about for several days after.

Moby Dick.......2006-11-10

One of Gregory Pecks finest roles other then in To kill a Mockingbird.
He was captain Ahab. Great story line, very true to Melvilles novel.
I read Moby Dick in high school and as a college project, now I see even more clearly what melville was talking about.
"I'll get thee whale", you had better believe it!

Average customer rating:

Very Funnnnny. Good Family Movie
Hilarious!
Gone Fishin is simply Hilarious
Laugh every second
Nonstop Laughter! One Amusing Disaster after Another!

Gone Fishin'
Starring: Joe Pesci , Danny Glover , Rosanna Arquette , Lynn Whitfield , and Willie Nelson
Director: Christopher Cain
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00008977G
Release Date: 2003-03-04

Amazon.com

Gone Fishin' has been called "the Ishtar of the '90s," but that's giving it too much credit. Danny Glover and Joe Pesci (who could have used their Lethal Weapon series buddy Mel Gibson in here) star as slow-witted friends who take their dream fishing vacation in the Florida Everglades and end up having a series of disasters. Trouble is, director Christopher Cain can't get a handle on any of the comedy essentials for a project such as this. The result is a badly timed, badly toned, unfunny movie wasting a lot of great talent across the board. --Tom Keogh

Description

This hilarious hit stars Danny Glover (LETHAL WEAPON series) and Joe Pesci (MY COUSIN VINNY, LETHAL WEAPON II & III) as the funniest fishermen ever to throw out a line! Best buddies Gus (Glover) and Joe (Pesci) eagerly anticipate another quiet, relaxing fishing trip. Only things don't go quite as they planned! Instead, they innocently create an unstoppable series of outrageous mishaps, destroying everything in their wake! Catch all the crowd-pleasing fun and nonstop laughs as these pals land in one comic disaster after another and deliver one of the wildest comedy adventures in years!

Customer Reviews:

Very Funnnnny. Good Family Movie.......2007-08-30

I like comedy. A lot. This movie is a classic dumb, funny, gag comedy. I read some reviews about this movie and frankly don't understand how some people think. Get a life! Laugh a little. I guess some people think Joe Pesci has to inject four letter words into every sentence to be funny. This movie proves he doesn't. Great movie. Grab the kids. Family time. More movies should be clean and funny like this. Two thumbs and hands and arms up!!!
Phil

Hilarious!.......2007-02-27

This is hands down the funniest movie I've ever seen. Good clean, wholesome fun for everyone. Anyone that doesn't think this movie is hilarious must not have a sense of humor at all!

Gone Fishin is simply Hilarious.......2006-06-26

I recently bought this ol' fav from back in the day on DVD. I actually remember my brother and I were the only ones in the theatre when I first saw it. I hadn't seen this in years and meh it was great. Though some parts are a tad bit over done or one might say corny, overall, this is a very funny movie. Danny Glover and Joe Pechshi do a great job. I love buddy movies. Their on-camera chemistry is awesome as my friend and I found out watching it and laughing uncontrollably almost. The scene where he is about to whack the guy who stole his car in the bathroom stall with a crow bar (which we played over and over again :-P) was hilarious. You just really have to watch this movie and give it a chance and I'm sure you'll love it. Nice movie for everyone which is the way movies should be but lets not get into that...

Anyway, great buy and you won't be dissapointed.

Laugh every second.......2006-03-14

Good for all ages 8 to 80. Everyone will laugh throughout entire movie.

Nonstop Laughter! One Amusing Disaster after Another!.......2005-10-18

The film starts out in New Jersey when Joe and Gus are around ages 10 - 12 years fishing on the shore. They are talking about life, their plans for the future. Joe is smoking a cigar. Gus warns him it is not healthy. Joe flicks the cigar back, it lands in a long pipe, which starts a fire that leads to some factory. In the background, the lights of a nearby city go out one after the other. In the next scene, Joe's photo makes front page news, he is credited with having caused a "blackout" in at least 1/3 of the city.

Next scene, Joe and Gus are adults, still best friends ... they live next door to each other, in almost identical houses. They have a family and are planning a "fishing trip of a lifetime" in the Florida Everglades. They drive down to Florida with their fishing boat behind them. They make a stop at a Florida cracker style restaurant and discuss their plans. A sophisticated British man, who it turns out is a con artist, overhears them. He plays them for suckers, while asking questions about fishing lures and flatters them for their knowledge and skills. After saying good-bye, he lifts the keys to their car and drives off. Joe and Gus look out the window and comment ... about someone having the same kind of car and fishing boat ... when it dawns on them what happened.

The hilarity continues ... somehow they manage to save their fishing boat and rationalize they are lucky, things could always be worse, at least they have their boat. The guys meet a wealthy fisherman who mentions a yacht club in Florida where he plans to go fishing, he invites them to visit. They are picked up by two young women, whom they believe are impressed with their looks and male attributes ... but who quiz them about the con artist. The conman had duped the mother of one young lady, married her and took off with her savings - they are out for revenge. Joe and Gus manage to make it to a run-down fishing camp, which had been damaged by one of the hurricanes. They show the manager a "discount" coupon, which entitles them to live in a trailer. While watching "America's Most Wanted" they discover that the con artist, is notoriously famous, and there is a huge reward out for his capture ... their goal is to catch him. The guys manage to lose their boat ... they meet up with a yacht and boating salesman who talks them into a trial run on a sophisticated yacht - for easy monthly payments that will last ... nearly a lifetime. The guys go out in the water and ruin a yacht race and run the yacht literally into the ground. They drop off the keys to the salesman declining to buy it.

Everywhere they go - whatever they touch - ends up literally smoking and burning. Things get very testy after they discover a map of where the con man left his stash. He knows they have the map and is hunting them. They do not realize the booty is guarded by Mad Maggie. This film is a hoot and worth watching if you love crazy antics. It is the unpredicatability of the twists in the plot which captivate the viewer. There is a song about fishing in the Everglades by Willie Nelson played as background music which adds extra spice to the wild and funny episodes. The ending is surprisingly good when Willie Nelson rescues the guys. In the final scene after catching the con artist, Joe and Gus are inteviewed on TV. They are heros and collect the reward money. Initially, the film seems absurd but once the viewer gets into the spirit of it, it is quite funny and truly worth viewing.
Erika Borsos (erikab93)

Average customer rating:

THE PARANOIDS ARE OUT TO GET ME
"James Bond gets old"
A little gem of a film
Effective combination of psycological drama & spy thriller.
Safe House --- surprisingly entertaining

Safe House
Starring: Patrick Stewart , Kimberly Williams , Hector Elizondo , Joy Kilpatrick , and Craig Shoemaker
Director: Eric Steven Stahl
Manufacturer: Showtime Ent.
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ASIN: B00004TJJS
Release Date: 2000-07-18

Amazon.com

This unusual film begins deceptively, seeming to be yet another high-tech spy flick laden with futuristic weaponry, computers running top-secret software (with the requisite flashy graphics), and the talented actor Patrick Stewart slumming at the center of a nonsensical mishmash. Stewart's presence itself is something of a tip-off, but when his character is soon glimpsed hanging upside down from an exercise device, watching a wall of security cam monitors while quoting H.L. Mencken, it's apparent that this isn't just another action film with an outsized firearms budget. In fact, nothing much seems to be what it appears. Mace Sowell, Stewart's character, claims to be a retired intelligence agent, but his daughter, who doesn't believe a word of it, trots him around to a succession of skeptical shrinks. And while his daughter interviews potential caretakers for her apparently deranged father, Sowell is viewed through the patio doors of his lavish house taking rather acrobatic target practice in the back yard. There is the plot of a thriller in all of this, but make no mistake about it, the most entertaining aspect of this quirky film is watching Stewart have a wonderful time playing an endearing curmudgeon who might be the craziest man alive, or perhaps a totally rational man who really does know some secrets that put himself and others in danger. --Robert J. McNamara

Customer Reviews:

THE PARANOIDS ARE OUT TO GET ME.......2007-01-22

DELUSIONAL PARANOIC DRIVES EVERYBODY ELSE NUTTY.

This clerk retired from the CIA and lost his mind.
OR
This spy retired from the CIA and has rich and powerful enemies.

Either way, this guy didn't retire early enuff.
Desperate daughter needs a valium.

This ain't a comedy, but it'll do 'til one comes along.

DRAMA,ACTION,INTRIGUE,THRILLER,POLITICS,
CLASS 4 ENVIRO-HAZARD SUIT.

Patrick Stewart at his best. (NO DOUBLE-ENTENDRE INTENDED).

If you like this movie try
The Temp
12 Monkeys (Special Edition)

"James Bond gets old".......2007-01-15

That's the premise of this little made-for-cable gem, according to the writer / director, and it's a pretty cool exploration of the idea. Patrick Stewart is never less than convincing, either as a retired military intelligence legend obsessed with his own security, or as an old man whose mind is failing long before his body.

Suppose Sean Connery's Bond had aged gracefully, settled down somewhere and tried to live a normal life. Would he still be spending his evenings with lovely ladies and vodka martinis? Or would he be a prisoner of his own past, constantly fearful that all his old enemies would come back to haunt him? And what if his friends and family didn't really believe he'd ever had those grand old adventures?

The beauty of 'Safe House' is that there's no evidence to support the lead character's paranoid claims of government conspiracy, and it's entirely possible that he's imagining the whole thing. Yet the film keeps flirting with the possibility that his fears are real, teasing us with suggestions of menace that never entirely come to fruition. Is there a true danger, or is it all in his mind?

Watching 'Safe House', we don't find out...until the very last scene. I wouldn't dream of letting you know which it is in this review.

A little gem of a film.......2006-05-07

I enjoyed seeing Patrick Stewart portray a wide gamut of human eperience and emotion, embedded in a gripping story with a sharp twist at the end. He demonstrates the terror and grief that can be brought only by the knowledge that one is slowly but surely losing one's mind and one's self, while at the same time fighting to do the right thing with the secret information he holds in fear of his life.

This DVD is a must have for every Stewart fan.

Effective combination of psycological drama & spy thriller........2006-03-13

Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard from Star Trek) plays a retired security agent who's developing Alzheimer's disease. He plays wargames & simulations to keep his mind sharp, and believes he's the victim of a conspiracy. His well-intentioned daughter hires a new housekeeper to watch after him, and after a rough start, they seem to make friends. But it's increasingly less clear whether all of his suspicions are unfounded, and gradually becomes more intriguing, both a psychological drama and suspense thriller.

Safe House --- surprisingly entertaining.......2004-01-25

I must admit I thought this movie was going to be hokey when I purchased it. I purchased it strictly for Patrick Stewart since I've been a fan of his for years. Surprisingly, the movie is great and of course Stewart is great in it. I highly recommend the film to those who are also Stewart fans and to those who enjoy a film that is a little off beat and not too predictable. It is comical, suspenseful, and touching all at the same time.

The Forgetting - A Portrait of Alzheimer's

Average customer rating:

A must see.
This one you won't forget.The amazing advances in understanding Alzheimer's.This PBS special brings hope and understanding!
Powerful, memorable and honest

The Forgetting - A Portrait of Alzheimer's
Starring: David Hyde Pierce
Director: Elizabeth Arledge
Manufacturer: Pbs Paramount
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ASIN: B000AOEN0E
Release Date: 2005-11-01

Customer Reviews:

A must see........2007-08-27

As an elder law attorney who deals with dementia and Alzheimer's on a daily basis I strongly recommend this dvd. It is a sobering and realistic insight into what is coming next in your journey as a caretaker. It is so valuable in fact, that I have several copies that I keep to loan out to clients. If you are dealing with the issue of Alzheimer's disease, you must see this dvd.

This one you won't forget.The amazing advances in understanding Alzheimer's.This PBS special brings hope and understanding!.......2007-04-27

Alzheimer's Disease is rapidly growing into the the #1 epidemic in the world.As we live longer the chances for many people to develop this disease is increasing.Director Elizabeth Arledge has created a dramatic and very precise documentary based from David Shenk's book of the same title.She has skillfully intertwined together the all-too-engulfing world of those with the disease and those that are the caretakers.Arledge uses great sensitivity and compassion in telling these heartwrenching stories of minds erasing and the people that painfully and helplessly watch a loved one simply fade away,then disappear altogether.This dvd,though,is not without much hope.The biological understanding of Alzheimer's and it's ongoing quest for drug cure is presented very simply and specifically so that those that are involved in some way with the ravages of Alzheimer's can gain medical understanding of the degenerative process,but still be warmed and encouraged due to the informative presentation of the tremendous medical advances in understanding the disease.The panel discussion hosted by David Hyde Pearce is extremely instructive and informative.As down of a subject that Alzheimer's can potentially be,anyone will ultimately be lifted and emboldened by watching this marvelous PBS special.There is hope and this dvd will bring just that.
Companion films would be A SONG FOR MARTIN (Sweden) and IRIS (BBC)as well as the audio casette series WHERE'S MY SHOES? and the book LEARNING TO SPEAK ALZHEIMER'S.

Powerful, memorable and honest.......2006-01-15

October 2005, I spent several days at the bedside of my beloved Auntie, waiting for her to pass on. It was the end of a very long road for us. Those last few days, sitting at her bedside in a St. Louis nursing home, I prayed for her, held her hand, stroked her face and arms and even crawled up in her bed so that I could hold her in my arms and tell her how much I loved her.

On a sunny, brisk Tuesday morning, I was holding her hand when she took her last breath and left for heaven.

When she passed on, I stood there and wept. For the next hour, all I could think was, "Thank God, it's over. Thank God, it's over. Thank God, she's free."

Auntie had Alzheimer's for many, many years. I'd been her caretaker and advocate and power-of-attorney for the last five years.

All in all, it was light duty, as she was in a nursing home. I was the one who mended her clothes, kept her wheelchair tires pumped up, had conniption fits when she wasn't properly cared for (and scared the nursing staff into caring for her more properly!), sang her songs, gave her hugs, clipped her toenails, reviewed her medical chart once a month, talked to the doctors and nurses and inspected her body once a month for bruises and sores and anything else.

In 2002, when a friend came to town for a visit, I urged him to "come visit Auntie" and he obliged. After 60 seconds with her, he turned and ran back outside saying only, "I can't deal with this. I love her too much to see this."

That's when I learned more about what love really looks like. As St. Augustine said, "What does love look like? It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. It has the eyes to see misery and want. That is what love looks like."

And that's what this movie really brought out. True love - real love - is taking care of someone when they sink into the abyss of Alzheimer's. It's having the moral courage to hold someone's hand and stay with them, mentally, physically and emotionally, even when all that you know of them seems to have disappeared.

That said, it was almost impossible for me to watch this powerful documentary. Too close. Too painful. Too honest. But it was also a relief and a comfort. To know that my most secret prayers and thoughts and hopes (that caused me pain and guilt and regret), were the same prayers and thoughts and hopes that others experienced when dealing with this diseaase.

For instance, during the last week of Auntie's life, I caught myself praying *intensely* that she would pass soon. When the full force of that prayer hit me - the realization that I was praying *for* someone's death - I jumped up and ran outside and sat by the duckpond in front of the nursing home. Tears rolled down my face as I stared aimlessly at the small pond in front of me.

What was I doing? Praying for my beloved auntie to die? What kind of person am I to ask for such a thing? I'd been entrusted with her care and here I was asking God to end her life??

And in this documentary "The Forgetting" I saw that other family members went through this same torment: Wanting their loved one at peace but hating themselves for praying for someone's demise.

That's one example of about 25. There are a lot of secret thoughts one harbors when dealing with a loved one who has Alzheimer's. And I'm talking about the person who *really deals* with the loved one. The person who is DOWN IN THE TRENCHES doing the fighting, doing the praying, and DOING THE WORK.

"The Forgetting" did a beautiful and honest job of capturing those thoughts and feelings and emotions that the loved ones face through the long, slow course of this disease.

Speaking as someone who just emerged from those trenches, I highly recommend this documentary. This morning, several hours after watching the video (last night), I feel more peace about Auntie's passing than ever before. I feel as though someone took my hand and said, "it's okay. You did all the right things."

Buy it, rent it, watch it, but be prepared to shed a few tears.

Rose Thornton
gentlebeam@hotmail.com

Average customer rating:

Another must-have from Ishirô Honda
Hallucinatory & unsettling
excellent classic horror
Well, I agree with everyone in part, but......
More Than A Cult Classic: Childhood Memories!

Matango: Attack of the Mushroom People
Starring: Akira Kubo , Kumi Mizuno , Hiroshi Koizumi , Yoshio Tsuchiya , and Kenji Sahara
Director: Ishirô Honda
Manufacturer: Tokyo Shock
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ASIN: B00076ON28
Release Date: 2005-03-15

Description

Directed by Ishiro Honda (The Godzilla Series!) After a yacht is damaged in a storm and it's boarders stranded on a deserted island the passengers; a psychologist and his girlfriend, a wealthy businessman, a famous singer, a writer, a sailor and his skipper take refuge in a mysterious fungus-covered boat. While using the MUSHROOMS for sustenance they find in the ships journal that the mushrooms re poisonous, however some members of the shipwrecked party continue to ingest the mysterious fungi transforming them into hideous ungal monsters. One of the strangest and most horrific TOHO productions to date.

Customer Reviews:

Another must-have from Ishirô Honda.......2007-08-23

This is a very mature Japanese monster movie, not at all like the classic and often amusing Saturday afternoon fare of my childhood. With a haunting storyline and images of human nature at it's worst- this is like Gilligan's Island.....on mushrooms.

This version is clean and offers both the dubbed and orig version. A must-have for fans of the genre and one of my personal favorites of all time.

Hallucinatory & unsettling.......2007-06-02

While most Japanese monster movies from the 1960s are loads of fun, this one is in a creepy class by itself. The horror isn't in the obvious mushroom monsters, but in the peeling back of civilization as the shipwrecked characters encounter the real monsters -- their own dark selves, stripped down to the primal core. The allegory is never overbearing, but the cast is clearly a microcosm of then-contemporary Japan, and by extension the modern, post-nuclear world. Beneath the glossy, fast-paced surface of the technological cityscape, irrational forces still fester, ravenous & unrelenting.

The film itself looks terrific, drenched in rich color & mood. Rather than rely on gore & easy shocks, it builds atmosphere & dread as the casual veneer of each character begins to disintegrate. And exactly what are those mushroom people, anyway? Symbols of those who have abandoned reason & responsibility in favor of self-absorbed hedonism? The true face of the alienated public, which is concealed beneath flash & pop culture? The desire to hide from & deny the looming terrors of the world? Perhaps all that & more.

As usual, Media Blasters has done a superb job of restoration & providing all the extras you could want. The commentary by lead actor Akira Kubo is informative & charming, and the additional special features are a treat. In its own way, as profound & challenging as the original "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," this is not to be missed -- most highly recommended!

excellent classic horror.......2007-04-23

I remember this movie from watching Creature Double Feature movies on my local tv station. I had a video copy and the dvd is much better.
This movie is an excellent choice for sci-fi classic horror fans. Its best qualities are: atmospheric creepiness, editing that supports tension and creepiness, and visually arresting color schema that focuses on neutral colors offset by primary colors. I also enjoyed the fashion. The imagery is haunting and creepy. If you like such imagery as passengers shipwrecked on a deserted island, rotting boat sails, and misty fog curling over questionable sea and landscape I recommend this film for you. There are also psychological connections to nuclear radiation, escapism and drug culture, and man's inhumanity to man and city life.
This movie may seem slow to viewers not accustomed to or attracted to the acting and story pacing of older monster films. The creepiness and tension build at a slow pace and viewers familar with the instant gratification, fast pacing, and more realistic acting of modern horror films may be disappointed by the film.
My memory of this movie from childhood is that it was black and white and I am wondering if the one I saw from childhood was a different version? I am into some of the arty aspects of filmaking and I was entranced by the editing and imagery of this film. I really enjoyed it!

Well, I agree with everyone in part, but.............2007-02-22

I, too, bought this movie because of the traumatic impression the original made on me as a kid. Actually, I thought this movie was the original, It is not and I was quick to update the Amazon listing with "2005", however, I see the listing owner changed it back to "1963".

I expected with modern film-making and many more talented actors/actresses it would be better a better movie than the 1963 original.
What a disappointment!! Are the reviewers on Amazon just actually trying really hard to sell their copies?! (In fact, the first reviewer wrote on 3/10/2005, before the moview was even released... probably the Amazon distributor!!)

Where are the capture scenes where the monsters pick nasty s****t off their faces and then try to make their prisoners eat it? The old movie, as I remember it, was not only terrifying but made you ill thinking about it. I saw it once 35 years ago and never forgot it!

The original production was the perfect 'B' movie that deserved better.

This version is not, I'm sorry. Actually, it tries to be a love story, an 'eat mushrooms and get high' presentation, and reminds me of 'Survivor' island instead of everyone actually trying to help each other. The acting just sucks, and no monster stuff until the last 30 minutes. The monsters don't 'attack' as such, the actor just happens upon them and screams (in cameo) a lot.

(Sigh) Somebody who likes Japanese 'B' movies may feel otherwise.

In the meantime, I'll look for the Avon Fantasy book on Amazon from which it was based on.... "The Voice in the Night" by William Hope Hodgson, taken from his book, "Men of Deep Waters".

More Than A Cult Classic: Childhood Memories!.......2007-01-16

This film gets five stars from me because of the memories this film has for me. Moreover, I believe it is a masterpiece of 1960s Japanese Horror. Long before I began viewing great Japanese films; by such greats as Akira Kurosawa; Yasujiro Ozu; Hiroshi Teshigara; Masaki Kobayashi or Kenji Mizoguchi; to name just a few great Japanese directors, this film "Mantango: Attack of the Mushroom People," by director Ishiro Honda, was my introduction to Japanese cinema. I remember every time the film was shown on the late night weekend program known as "Creature Features," that I sat riveted to the TV and curled up to see this creepy film. This film may not appeal to many people, but for me, I really like it due to the many memories this film has left me with.

And from the many good reviews on amazon, I can see that I am not alone. The film for me has a very intelligent screenplay and creepy atmosphere. For those who have seen this film: Have you noticed the similarities between this film and "Gilligans Island?" You have a Skipper, a Professor, a rich millionaire, a girl next door character and a first mate. The film starts off with a group of people on a boat, which is caught in a storm. As they drift through the heavy fog they find themselves on a deserted Island, where everything is fungus ridden. In order to survive, they must scavage the place for food. Here they find that the Island was visited once before, when they come across a freighter ship that held a large number of people, who have since wasted away.

It's not long before these survivors must eat the fungus on the Island in order to survive. And what happens to them afterwards is the creepy and eerie part of the film. Yet, the entire film is just so atmospheric and creepy that I have always liked it. I guess something from my childhood has made this creepy film part of my consciousness. On this Island of constant rain one can feel the dread. And even after the survivors begin to eat the fungus and change, you feel yourself pulled into this world of eerie and strange surroundings. I have the widescreen and very good Japanese subtitled film from 'Video Daikajitu,' which is of excellent quality. Make sure you get this version. It is far superior to all other verisons that I have seen in the past. I personally have three different versions, including one in Japanese with no subtitles that a freind sent me from Japan. However, get a copy of this great film if you can. I was very happy when I first purchased this film years ago, it brought back so many memories. [Stars: 5+] For all the memories!

Average customer rating:

Melville Light
English teacher gives this DVD a "C"
IT'S A BIG PEG LEG TO FILL!
Great for High School English Students
Reviewer: Big Zach! NOT A KIDS REVIEW! although a kid!

Moby Dick
Starring: Henry Thomas , Bruce Spence , Hugh Keays-Byrne , Robin Cuming , and Shane Feeney-Connor
Director: Franc Roddam
Manufacturer: Hallmark
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 1574925784
Release Date: 1998-08-18

Amazon.com

Patrick Stewart makes his entrance late into this telefilm, stringy hair hanging from under his three-cornered hat, his peg leg tapping out his arrival on deck. This Captain Ahab is a hard, driven man--you can see it in his burning eyes--and there's no question he has the resolve and the mad devotion to complete his quest at all costs: kill the white whale that took his leg. Franc Roddam's mini-series adaptation of Herman Melville's classic novel (filmed previously by John Huston in 1956) manages its budget wisely: a judicious use of digital effects creates a terrifying vision of the great white whale, and Roddam's eye captures a near-epic quality. Henry Thomas's earnest performance as the young seaman Ishmael can't compete with Stewart's intensity, and Gregory Peck's cameo as Father Mapple is a hollow echo of his passionate Ahab from Huston's masterpiece. But the rest of the cast excels, and Roddam's haunting imagery and horrific climax make this a compelling dramatic adventure. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

Melville Light .......2007-01-29

This version certainly does not compare to the other version of Moby Dick, the 1956 version with Gregory Peck starring as the captain bent on revenge. Problems amount with this updated version mainly because it seems to be an attempt at dumbing down or stripping the story to make it more accessible to a wider audience. In making this happen, the producers seemingly beat us over the head with Ishmael's simplicity, Ahab's madness, Starbuck's reluctance and nonconformity, and Queequeg's cartoonishness. The ultimate result is a version which constructs the story accurately, but in a bare-bones way; we are left without much of the depth that Melville's novel depicts.

Still, with my reservations ( mainly because I do teach English literature), this is a version that does have some entertainment value and certainly gives some accurate information to both the characters and the story. There are some enlightening and funny scenes, such as the first meeting between Ishmael and Queequeg in the sleeping quarters and the scene with Queequeg answering for Ishmael as they board the Pequod. Starbuck's character is successfully depicted as a man who reluctantly goes with the mission of hunting the white whale despite his longing to return safe and sound home. As others have noted, Patrick Stewart illustrates Captain Ahab a little over-the-top in terms of his mental balance, but he does have a certain feel to the Ahab we encounter in the novel: he is quick to judge, narrow-minded, revengeful, and unrelenting, and Stewart embodies all of these characteristics in his portrayal.

Understandably, a two-hour movie cannot illustrate the depth at which the actual book works. We don't really get the chance to scrutinize the magnitude of Ahab's vengeance, his opposition to the laws of nature, and the essence of this futile voyage of revenge. Still, for what its worth, this film does have some credibility and merit, and certainly can be used as a tool for both Melville and the novel itself. And, if those aren't your cup of tea, it still has entertainment and moments that make it worthy of viewing. This is Moby Dick and Melville, but stripped a bit down.

3 1/2 stars

English teacher gives this DVD a "C".......2006-05-05

My American Lit class had reached Civil War era literature toward the end of the semester. While I wanted to give them a taste of Melville's classic novel, there was no way they would be able to read a 600 page book in time for the final; so I decided to show the DVD instead. I originally wanted to show the Gregory Peck version, but our school's Media Center only had Patrick Stewart version. I had asked a fellow colleague about showing this DVD, and she said she had a positive experience with it when she showed it to her students the previous year.

Well, while I can't say it was a horrible experience (Students were, by and large, attentive to the movie), it wasn't particularly well done. The acting was uneven: Queequeg and Father Mapple (played by Peck in a cameo role) were very good, but the other characters weren't overly convincing. The most surprising part of the DVD, however, was how poor the special effects were. Given today's technology, I had expected more than a fake-looking tail and the same rubber hump coming out of the water over and over again. Even the kids found these "effects" laughable.

The opening scenes of the DVD were actually quite good. The kids found it humorous when Ishmael suddenly finds out that he is to share his room (and his bed) with the menacing looking Queequeg. This part of the DVD compares favorably with the Peck version, but it's all downhill from there.

The bulk of the blame rests on Patrick Stewart's portrayal of Ahab. Other reviewers have lambasted his performance, and while I can't say it was terrible, he doesn't have the charismatic malevolence to pull it off. The Audience wonders how someone so unconvincing can suck the Pequod's crew down into his own madness; therefore, the acting becomes artificial and the Audience, rather than imagining being part of the story, remains a distant observer. Starbuck, too, seemed more confrontational than I remember when I read "Moby Dick" in college. Secondary characters (Flask, Tashtengo, Dagoo) were almost non-existant; by that, I mean if you hadn't read the book, you wouldn't know who they were in the DVD. There were also certain scenes I didn't care too much for (Trapped in the Artic ice; Storm with St. Elmo's fire), but overall, a decent movie.

Definitely, a VERY difficult book to adapt. Director did keep as much action as possible, so my students weren't bored with the movie, but if I had to do it all over again, I much prefer the Gregory Peck version (which I recently viewed). Your money is better served buying THAT version rather than this one.

IT'S A BIG PEG LEG TO FILL!.......2006-01-21

It's always interesting to watch actors in their attempts to overcome the stigma of being typecast. I suppose it is a serious problem. After all, apocryphal accounts abound about actors who, having played a too memorable part in a movie, such as the woman who played the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard of Oz, end up unemployed because no one can see them as anything else.

Enter Patrick Stewart. Of late he has thrown himself at such improbable and botched roles as Henry II in a remake of THE LION IN WINTER and Ebenezer Scrooge in A CHRISTMAS CAROL. As bad as these two mistakes were, neither comes remotely close to his misguided decision to assume the role of Ahab in the new MOBY DICK. What emerges is failure before the opening credits have even run their course. I've said it before; you just cannot remake or replace perfection. Gregory Peck's masterful portrayal of Ahab in the 1956 production of MOBY DICK set a standard that has become a generic when discussing or considering the character of Ahab. Period! As good an actor as Stewart can be, as evidenced by his character-defining work in STAR TREK and his portrayal of a Western King Lear in KING OF TEXAS, he just doesn't even come close to pulling it off here. Instead his performance is totally laughable if not consummately pathetic!

I hope that this is the last attempt to supplant the original. Mr. Stewart needs to take a deep breath and accept that he just isn't fit to remake every classic role under the sun. And when it comes to this story, and there's certainly no shame in admitting it, it's a big peg leg to fill!

THE HORSEMAN

Great for High School English Students.......2005-11-29

Note: This review is by a high school English Teacher.

When the time came for my students to see a film version of "Moby Dick," I bought both the 1950's film and this one on DVD. After watching both of them carefully, I decided that this newer offering would have much more appeal to my students than the older film.

I seem to have been right, and I think it is safe to say that the 1950's film can now be retired, except for film buffs and the curious.

I especially liked the fact that the American Indian and South Sea Island characters in this film were actually played by people who appear to be part of those societies. In the 1950's film, they are played by what looks to be white factory workers from upstate New York wearing lots of makeup. This would have been very annoying and distracting to my diverse group of students.

As for other reviewers' comments about Patrick Stewart's performance, my feeling is that he nailed it. As Starbuck says, "to seek revenge against a dumb brute that only bit thee out of blindest instinct is blasphemy..." Ahab is someone who sees the idea of resigning oneself to a negative twist of fate as repellant. He is someone who would rather burn to a crisp than ask a higher power for rain. The thing that drives him isn't just obsession; it is rebellion against the infinite.

In psychological terms, Ahab gave all of his power to the whale, and enslaved his life and destiny to it when it was not rationally necessary for him to do so. He is like a small child who has had his lollipop taken away, and who has thrown himself on the floor, absolutely determined to be inconsolable by anything or anyone. Stewart captures that aspect of Ahab perfectly, and it led to some very constructive paper writing and classroom discussion.

I only withhold the fifth star because I wish this film was a longer "Director's Cut" version, covering more of the book than it currently does.

Reviewer: Big Zach! NOT A KIDS REVIEW! although a kid!.......2005-08-25

Dont bother with this crap! It is one of the worst if not the worst! Movies that I have ever seen! It has bad acting,story and it is so so boring! I dont understand the point of this movie! TERRIBLE! DONT BOTHER!

Average customer rating:

A Depiction of Perfection !!!
Beautifully done movie of a fatal disease
Incredible love story, realistic
Powerful, sad, and compelling
Powerful, sad, and compelling

A Song for Martin
Starring: Sven Wollter , Viveka Seldahl , Reine Brynolfsson , Linda Källgren , and Lisa Werlinder
Director: Bille August
Manufacturer: First Look Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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