roofusdc
Joined May 2005
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Reviews19
roofusdc's rating
Ugh. Ouch. Craptastic.
This is such a bad film it boggles the mind. I feel guilty that the postage for my netflix mailing was spent on this horrific piece of garbage. Stereotypical vapid garbage that is criminal in the way it took precious funding away from other potential film projects. Some of the actors are nice to look at but most of the time you wish there was a MUTE button on it.
I have to say one of the irritating things throughout the film was its inability to have good sound direction. I kept hearing the hum of outside traffic and the outside scenes were even worse. The friends/coworkers in the restaurant were such awful irritating characters that I wouldn't spend a few minutes with than a movie-length.
This is such a bad film it boggles the mind. I feel guilty that the postage for my netflix mailing was spent on this horrific piece of garbage. Stereotypical vapid garbage that is criminal in the way it took precious funding away from other potential film projects. Some of the actors are nice to look at but most of the time you wish there was a MUTE button on it.
I have to say one of the irritating things throughout the film was its inability to have good sound direction. I kept hearing the hum of outside traffic and the outside scenes were even worse. The friends/coworkers in the restaurant were such awful irritating characters that I wouldn't spend a few minutes with than a movie-length.
I've caught this movie a number of times over the years. Usually on TV when its been on.
Ned Beatty I should say a few things first. I've always considered Ned Beatty a very odd actor. I don't get exactly how he had a career beyond the last 1960s biker-hippy movies he was in (although he is fantastic as the old kook -- a role he was born to play -- on HBO's "Big Love"). ANYWAY...so I wouldn't normally be attracted to a movie with him in the lead role. And certainly not in a movie where he plays the sole role for most of the film (a'la Tom Hanks in Castaway). I DON'T KNOW WHY BUT I ALWAYS FIND MYSELF DRAWN TO THIS FILM!!! I sort of sit there and watch it all the way through.
The Message As a few others have commented the ecological message can be a little heavy handed at times, but I still find the film strangely compelling. I don't consider it a Sci-Fi film. The effects aren't that great (even for its time) and the robotics are laughable. But it still has a haunting quality to it. It's a dystopic view of a possible future when humanity flushes its natural resources down the tubes. One man makes a radical choice to save the last forests. It's crazy at times, yes. But still its a character study.
The Music/Baez As for people who hate the film, I think this film would've been improved A THOUSAND FOLD if they released it with a new soundtrack. The Joan Baez soundtrack of AWFUL! Treacly message heavy crap. Seriously, this film could use a redub. I'm not sure what would soundtrack would be better but Baez's songs make this little more than a "Billy Jack" movie with a better known warbling folk songstress. I think if you subtracted the Baez songs all the people who hated this film would find it a hell of a lot more palatable.
I have to agree with commentators who've mentioned the charming way that the three robots "emote" (there's no better word for it) so well. They really are expressive even though they're such simple objects. You find yourself sympathizing with them in a strange way. Part of this is Beatty's relating to them. Sort of hysterically silly at times but still effective in taking them as real characters.
The ending is odd and perhaps implausible but this movie still holds up for the questions it brings up for the viewer. We are still dealing with many of these concepts so the film is visionary and ahead of its time in many ways. Its look at a heavily corporatized future (which is really there for people who notice it and not an explicit statement) it pretty visionary too. We're living in that reality.
Watch it. You'll enjoy it.
Ned Beatty I should say a few things first. I've always considered Ned Beatty a very odd actor. I don't get exactly how he had a career beyond the last 1960s biker-hippy movies he was in (although he is fantastic as the old kook -- a role he was born to play -- on HBO's "Big Love"). ANYWAY...so I wouldn't normally be attracted to a movie with him in the lead role. And certainly not in a movie where he plays the sole role for most of the film (a'la Tom Hanks in Castaway). I DON'T KNOW WHY BUT I ALWAYS FIND MYSELF DRAWN TO THIS FILM!!! I sort of sit there and watch it all the way through.
The Message As a few others have commented the ecological message can be a little heavy handed at times, but I still find the film strangely compelling. I don't consider it a Sci-Fi film. The effects aren't that great (even for its time) and the robotics are laughable. But it still has a haunting quality to it. It's a dystopic view of a possible future when humanity flushes its natural resources down the tubes. One man makes a radical choice to save the last forests. It's crazy at times, yes. But still its a character study.
The Music/Baez As for people who hate the film, I think this film would've been improved A THOUSAND FOLD if they released it with a new soundtrack. The Joan Baez soundtrack of AWFUL! Treacly message heavy crap. Seriously, this film could use a redub. I'm not sure what would soundtrack would be better but Baez's songs make this little more than a "Billy Jack" movie with a better known warbling folk songstress. I think if you subtracted the Baez songs all the people who hated this film would find it a hell of a lot more palatable.
I have to agree with commentators who've mentioned the charming way that the three robots "emote" (there's no better word for it) so well. They really are expressive even though they're such simple objects. You find yourself sympathizing with them in a strange way. Part of this is Beatty's relating to them. Sort of hysterically silly at times but still effective in taking them as real characters.
The ending is odd and perhaps implausible but this movie still holds up for the questions it brings up for the viewer. We are still dealing with many of these concepts so the film is visionary and ahead of its time in many ways. Its look at a heavily corporatized future (which is really there for people who notice it and not an explicit statement) it pretty visionary too. We're living in that reality.
Watch it. You'll enjoy it.
This really plays much like a filming of a play. The direction is almost minimal. That's probably for the good given that what remains is a great bit of showmanship.
Alan Bates is stunningly good as the lead Butley. He's a brilliant professor and writer at the end of his career. There is some amazing scheming between his character and younger more promising acolytes that he is jealous of.
The only reason to watch this is for the dialogue which is sharp and literate -- one wonders what became of this. The version I saw was a film version of the play. Not much of production value but the playwright's craft is still preserved. Even mentioning all of this, it's amazing how well this holds up almost 40 years later. That's probably due to Bates' bravura performance.
Alan Bates is stunningly good as the lead Butley. He's a brilliant professor and writer at the end of his career. There is some amazing scheming between his character and younger more promising acolytes that he is jealous of.
The only reason to watch this is for the dialogue which is sharp and literate -- one wonders what became of this. The version I saw was a film version of the play. Not much of production value but the playwright's craft is still preserved. Even mentioning all of this, it's amazing how well this holds up almost 40 years later. That's probably due to Bates' bravura performance.