scaevola
Joined Jan 2001
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Reviews18
scaevola's rating
BR1 has been my top WWII movie for 25 yrs, incl. Private Ryan. Spielberg wishes he could have created something this real, this moving. No smoke and mirrors, just the gritty reality.
The Reconstruction is a different movie. About 3 minutes of original film to 15 of new. It's so obvious, if you know the first movie, that Hollywood forced Sam FUller to trim away most of the grit and pain. BR1 is tough and real, but squeaky-50s-clean compared to the Reconstruction. All the real impact was trimmed away. That must have hurt.
There was a point, about 2 hours in, I thought, "I can't take much more of this." And it hit me that Fuller intended that. Pushed us to that limit, so we would experience a tiny bit of the exhaustion, the overload, the need to just get away from it for a while. Private Ryan never even got close. I can't think of any WWII movie that got close. And I've watched them all.
Band of Brothers is the only work I would put in the same frame as the Reconstructed BR1. If you haven't seen either, buckle up. It's going to be a bumpy night.
The Reconstruction is a different movie. About 3 minutes of original film to 15 of new. It's so obvious, if you know the first movie, that Hollywood forced Sam FUller to trim away most of the grit and pain. BR1 is tough and real, but squeaky-50s-clean compared to the Reconstruction. All the real impact was trimmed away. That must have hurt.
There was a point, about 2 hours in, I thought, "I can't take much more of this." And it hit me that Fuller intended that. Pushed us to that limit, so we would experience a tiny bit of the exhaustion, the overload, the need to just get away from it for a while. Private Ryan never even got close. I can't think of any WWII movie that got close. And I've watched them all.
Band of Brothers is the only work I would put in the same frame as the Reconstructed BR1. If you haven't seen either, buckle up. It's going to be a bumpy night.
Even if you hate voiceover (or art films) you will just keep watching this engrossing story within a story. Wasn't it Hemingway who said "Write what you know"? This film is about writing what you know, in this case the complex life of a casino and its habitues, seen from the eyes of a reluctant master croupier cum budding novelist.
The setting is fascinating. The characters are razor sharp. There is actually a PLOT, although you might not care. There is even a Parthian shot ending to make you work for it; but it's a nice touch, not the core.
The central theme is the destructive addiction of gambling and its devastating effects on personal integrity. Yet delving deep is not disturbing, primarily because of the detachment of the protagonist, even as he hits the slippery slope. We are remarkably free to be voyeurs at no risk. And it will stick with you.
This film is dense and compelling, and is yet so spare, so delicately played that its hard to believe it hit mainstream and bloomed.
Just watch it.
8 of 10.
The setting is fascinating. The characters are razor sharp. There is actually a PLOT, although you might not care. There is even a Parthian shot ending to make you work for it; but it's a nice touch, not the core.
The central theme is the destructive addiction of gambling and its devastating effects on personal integrity. Yet delving deep is not disturbing, primarily because of the detachment of the protagonist, even as he hits the slippery slope. We are remarkably free to be voyeurs at no risk. And it will stick with you.
This film is dense and compelling, and is yet so spare, so delicately played that its hard to believe it hit mainstream and bloomed.
Just watch it.
8 of 10.