Le revenant

Finally saw this movie (yes 4 years late) and I understand why Leonardo won the Oscar, along with the many academy awards the movie and director won. It is a cinematic masterpiece. The cinematography is amazing, the whole cast (Tom Hardy is great here) is great. The costumes and weapons used (early 1800s) look so damn good. The story is very simple and not complicated. It is about revenge and surviving in the cold and icy wilderness of 1823. The action scenes are brutal and gritty, like they should be for that time period. Officially in my top 10 movies of all time. If you've never seen this film, do yourself a favor and rent it or buy it. It definitely deserves to be in your collection. Some people might not like all the spiritual stuff or reading subtitles (lots of Native American language here) but it is needed since there a lot of interaction with Native American tribes here. FINAL REVIEW 10/10

The Revenant (2015), Alejandro G. Iñárritu's sixth film, is one of the most visually stunning statements ever put to film in cinema history.

With a simple plot of chaos ensuing, and a father's quest for revenge, there is not much to the story, albeit I thought it had some emotionally engaging moments. Rather, it is The Revenant's technical merits that makes it truly unique.

Naturally, DiCaprio's performance is in a class of its own, and what the entire crew endured is impressive, shooting the film only in natural lighting and thus extending production considerably. Rather, it is Iñárritu's expert vision for cinematography and ability to translate this vision to his director of photography which is the driving force in making The Revenant a special piece of cinema. The way in which Iñárritu takes the viewer on an intricate journey through America's nature is breathtakingly beautiful and brutal - this is truly a place a survival, chaos and solitude. The film's depiction of this is not for the faint-hearted with its gruesome violence.

Highly recommended for its cinematic value.

A favorite era of mine for film stories has always been the mountain man era in the American west. No white people in great numbers, just single shot weapons, they were the ones outnumbered so survival against the Indians was far more an even struggle than in the post Civil War west. The Revenant by dint of its many nominations has laid claim to being the greatest film about that era ever made. It goes up against such items as Across The Wide Missouri, The Big Sky, and Mountain Men, Jeremiah Johnson all pretty good films.

It would have been hard to deny Leonardo DiCaprio a Best Actor Oscar this time around. He's on screen for most of the time and with minimal dialog DiCaprio has to use facial expressions and body language to convey his emotions. He does it well and should share his Oscar with the cameraman who did all those closeups of him.

The plot is best compared to another mountain man picture A Man Called Horse that starred Richard Harris. DiCaprio who was guide to the expedition of fur trappers is badly mauled by a grizzly bear and is after being toted for quite a distance is abandoned by Tom Hardy who claims he died. DiCaprio just wants to settle the score. Unlike Richard Harris he does not find a friendly tribe of Indians to take him in. His survival is his personal story.

The Revenant also won the Cinematography Oscar for the shooting of the rugged winter country these men are in. It's so good the landscape, cold and forbidding, becomes almost a character in the film.

Like The Old Man And The Sea was for Spencer Tracy The Revenant is a personal film for Leonardo DiCaprio. Unlike Tracy who had that magnificent speaking voice for the narration, no narration here. Just anguished expressions convey what DiCaprio is feeling.

Leo got his Oscar and it was a deserved one for The Revenant. It's a great film, but very brutal at times.

Minimal Speaking. Visuals tell the story. Hardy is just as good as DiCaprio in this.

In a cold and bitter land the pelts are gathered, in these times and in this place it's quite a hazard, as the indigenous attack, many find arrows front and back, as they seek to find a daughter who's been taken. An escape leads to a boat and then a hike, where Hugh Glass becomes the victim of a strike, from a rather angry bear, who pokes, prods, rips, shears and tears, leaves him motionless and looking quite deathlike.

And so begins a tale of revenge and retribution, of persecution and those with an incredible constitution, in conditions as bleak as any opposing restitution. Great performances all round, especially the two adversaries, from a great director who can spin a yarn, through cinematography that really captures your imagination, and leaves you grateful for the home comforts you have today.