One of the best sci-fi movies ever
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gavbrown01 — 15 years ago(July 11, 2010 08:11 AM)
I saw the Leonardo DiCaprio HH flix and of course everyone has some concept of him as the strange recluse who died with a lot of weird habits. Not sure I connect him to this movie, tho I see why others might see parallels.
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nephihaha — 14 years ago(August 14, 2011 02:15 PM)
Definite parallel with Howard Hughes, although it was really autobiographical Walter Tevis who wrote the novel based it on a childhood full of illness (after a move from San Francisco to Kentucky) followed by an adulthood of alcoholism.
It's not "sci-fi", it's SF! -
DukeTogo1300 — 16 years ago(August 20, 2009 07:24 PM)
It is quite possible to like both. I do, and you should too. Everyone should like the
exact
same list of movies.My favorites:
http://www.imdb.com/user/ur7568922/lists -
gavbrown01 — 15 years ago(July 11, 2010 08:06 AM)
I am bad! I posted this a year and a half ago and never came back to participate in any follow-up conversation which I obviously could have had. I'm going to spend more time on imdb following up with my posts. Thanks for the nice comments. I'll add two things to the conversation: I read Stanislaw Lem's Solaris and have seen both the Soviet-era (70s) movie version of it and the Clooney version - neither came close to the power of the book, I thought, which in my estimation was a rumination on the nature of intelligence (was the planet intelligent or some kind of natural phenomenon? or perhaps, something more deep). 2) I just posted on the discussion board for the movie Hackers, another of my favs.
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rgcustomer — 14 years ago(August 07, 2011 05:49 PM)
I also enjoyed what they did with some of the shots. For example, early on when Newton is looking out over a city, we tilt up and look at the Orion constellation, which then starts falling and transforming into fireworks. It's a beautiful picture.
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nephihaha — 14 years ago(August 14, 2011 02:12 PM)
It's about corruption Newton is more or less a fallen angel, who is destroyed by humanity, rather than a fallen angel setting out to destroy humanity, like Satan.
It's also a brutal satire on big business, and hypocrisy of capitalism.
It's not "sci-fi", it's SF! -
WarpedRecord — 14 years ago(September 03, 2011 09:41 PM)
Beautifully put, Gavbrown01! This would certainly be in my Top Five for sci-fi, and possibly even be No. 1. Honestly, I'm not even sure this is really sci-fi because it's more a meditation on loneliness. Regardless, it's beautifully filmed and skillfully acted.
Unfortunately, this film came out at the end of a era for the genre, when cerebral films like this would be replaced by space epics, and characters and story would surrender to special effects. I'm glad it's at least getting a 35-year rerelease. I'd love to see this on the big screen again. -
rolotomasi_70-398-336619 — 13 years ago(June 24, 2012 02:09 AM)
Fantastic!
The innocence, and imagination
The corruption. the sacrifice..
the new mexican backdrops
In some ways TMWFTE does share similarities with Tarkovsky's 'Solaris', but, stylistically, it is a world apart
Roeg's film seems altogether more human, more loving Nevertheless, they both share a similar theme, that is, to stir the mind and to move the soul -
ewaf58 — 12 years ago(January 26, 2014 04:55 AM)
Good review - I've put some postings on this thread trying to defend it. It almost seems like some 'critics' on here were disappointed because an alien spaceship didn't appear at the climax - rescue David - collect water and zap all the bad guys.
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WarpedRecord — 12 years ago(January 26, 2014 10:11 AM)
Thanks very much. It seems the definition of science fiction has become quite limited in the post-"Star Wars" era. This film is not easily classifiable, but I think science fiction would be an essential part of the description. Frankly, spaceships and light sabers bore me, and I love that Nicolas Roeg takes a more nuanced approach here, showing the alien that may exist in all of us.