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Simply put, this is an instant classic. There has been many movies made about war, and this film now ranks among the greatest. And it is certainly a movie that anyone who has thought about the fact that some of the world's great countries participated in some of the worse atrocities. How are we to feel about those nations who destroyed so much, including those genocidal actions that continue to this day? This movie is one answer. And it is a journey that those who surrender to it, will never forget. If the movies are a collaborative art, then this is one of the greatest examples of it. And if truth and beauty matter to you, and if you can stand to watch scenes of horror and despair, you may experience which has to be a film of the deepest spiritual transformation and growth. I will never forget this, and I hope everyone who sees it can be transformed and healed.

I am on the road but outraged at the negativity toward a brilliant film. Not only does this movie nail the 70's in so many ways, but mirrors current events (New Jersey) in such perfect concordance, that it seems completely predictive of a thousand news stories circling the planet. How current does a movie have to be when it looks deep in the heart of darkness in American politics and then it all plays out right in front of us? As someone who lived in the middle of this kind of political world, I could not stop laughing at the perfect characterizations by a director who has assembled the best cast since Altman. Christian Bale and Amy Adams create a pair of con people that forever change the way you look the whole world of corruption. This is a classic work. And as I left the sold out theater, the audience seemed as astounded as they should have been. As far as the negative views on this site, you missed a film I will never forget.

Hate to be the one sour note, and it is great that so many people can enjoy this movie. But from a musical and musicians point of view, it is hopelessly out of tune. And it is the biggest miss for music fans since Scorcese completely ruined a very good idea of filming a story about the swing era, New York, New York. The problem with both films, is that the directors exhibited a tin ear to what was really behind an entire genre of music, and failed to capture almost all of the joy, sweat and tears that goes into musical creativity. If the Coen's wanted to capture the tragedy of musical losers, then they have not even done that. Because the whole reason music becomes an obsession in the first place is because there is so much that is positive about even very small roles in the musical universe. And what the Coen's really miss is the small fact that the folk era was not just the petty lives of secondary artists, but an entire country, even an entire world, singing there heart out about the liberation that was sweeping human consciousness. And there was one other small fact; folk musicians were known for more that silly tantrums and little minds. Many of them, to this day, were satisfied to be historians, mythologists, and keepers of the flame from many cultures and traditions. The shocking glory of Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, Dylan in that style and so many others was pure magic. All of a sudden there was music of such simplicity and beauty, that the world was stunned. If the Coen's had any inkling of this in the making of this movie, I missed it.