This movie is so good that I've placed it in my top ten movies of all time. It's the best movie I've seen in the past 20 years. I don't ordinarily like westerns, but Brad Pitt, star and co-producer, has brought to the screen with director Andrew Dominick a brilliant movie masterpiece, not just a western, but a motion picture that captures the richness of grand storyteller like it has rarely been done before. The rough language of men, the choatic, almost accidental shooting of people, the prolonged silences of thousands of sensory messages, together with the ambient sounds of the west, the spartan decor of the homes, the richness of the details of another time and place are truly capture on film for the audience to immerse themselves into. It is a richness and authenticity that has been rarely transferred to film. An amazing piece of work.

quote:

Originally posted by tabuno:
This movie is so good that I've placed it in my top ten movies of all time. It's the best movie I've seen in the past 20 years.

quote:

Originally posted by tabuno:
ATONEMENT is one of the best movies to come out in a decade.

So, you're saying that the two best films in twenty years are Atonement and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford?

I liked both of those films but it's absolutely ludicrous to declare them the best of the past two decades.

That would mean both Atonement and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford are better than:

Goodfellas, Unforgiven, Schindler's List, Pulp Fiction, The Shawshank Redemption, Se7en, Braveheart, The Usual Suspects, Fargo, American Beauty, Fight Club, Memento, The Royal Tenenbaums, etc...

If you're going to make bold statements you should stick to saying five years instead of twenty.

tabuno is out there!! laying his balls on the line...go tabuno!!

quote:

acorvey
Participant
Posted 23 January 2008 11:06 PM Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by tabuno:
This movie is so good that I've placed it in my top ten movies of all time. It's the best movie I've seen in the past 20 years.



quote:
Originally posted by tabuno:
ATONEMENT is one of the best movies to come out in a decade.


So, you're saying that the two best films in twenty years are Atonement and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford?

I liked both of those films but it's absolutely ludicrous to declare them the best of the past two decades.

That would mean both Atonement and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford are better than:

Goodfellas, Unforgiven, Schindler's List, Pulp Fiction, The Shawshank Redemption, Se7en, Braveheart, The Usual Suspects, Fargo, American Beauty, Fight Club, Memento, The Royal Tenenbaums, etc...

If you're going to make bold statements you should stick to saying five years instead of twenty.

Yep, I'm willing to state that ATONEMENT and THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD have had a greater impact on me than any of the movies stated above which by my definition mean that they are the best movies in the past twenty years that I've seen. When I reflect back on both movies, they had the ability to transport me, immerse me viscerally into another world. ATONEMENT excelled at using sound and perceptual tranposition along with a suspension of belief to create a fascinating twilight world that blurred reality and make-believe into a semi-tragic, redemptive storyline. The movie made effective use of the unique powers of the medium of film. ATONEMENT operated on the most basic levels of reality, manipulated reality and almost overwhelming the viewer with an experience beyond the ordinary. JESSE JAMES on the other hand transported me into a raw and gritty world of authentic Western cowboy culture - the dialogue seeming to burst off from the pages of reality and the depth of character relations, the numerous development and evolution of personality and the eventual betrayal and realization of past deeds was of epic proportions that went beyond the ordinary two hour plot poiints encompassing an entire lifetime and demise. Even this year's THERE WILL BE BLOOD didn't have the same cathartic ending and instead cut away into implied non-resolution.

While I do agree that both films are among the ten best of the year, I don't think they belong with the other (arguably) classic films I mentioned earlier.

Atonement does demonstrate a mastery of cinematic form in its use of cinematography, score, editing and (as you previously mentioned) sound design, and for these technical achievements alone it deserves to be admired. But I don't believe the film is as important as, say, Goodfellas or Fight Club (which also demonstrate a dizzying proficiency with cinema language) simply because the screenplay is lacking.

Now, that's not to say the screenplay for Atonement is bad, or even mediocre -- it wasn't -- it was a brilliant adaptation that will undoubtedly be used in screenwriting classes as an example of how an adaptation should be handled. That's not the problem... the problem lies in the source material, particularly the breaking point in the third act where the audience is introduced to the elderly Briony.

While this narrative device works beautifully in novel form, it falters when making the transition to screenplay. In the film, the sudden jump forward in time (the "twist," as someone called it) significantly affects the narrative, serving only to shift the balance of the film and in the process undercutting all the drama the filmmakers generated during the first two-thirds.

Some audience members may argue that this is the point, and surely it was the primary aim of the novel... but that doesn't mean it succeeds after making the transition to the screen. Even the best adaptation could not prevent this sudden jump from irrevocably hurting the narrative.

Ultimately, the fault arises from the incongruity of novel to film. This inherent difference often prevents a successful literary work from being equally successful when adapted to film. And that's why Atonement ends up being a good, but not great, film (at least when compared to some of the films I mentioned earlier).

Obviously, this is just my opinion and I could be (and often have been) wrong.

Oh, and in an attempt to curtail an already overlong response I'll save my full thoughts on The Assassination of Jesse James until later (not that anyone wants to hear them). In short, I think the film is more deserving of comparisons to the films I mentioned earlier... I just think it needs to be time-tested before it's heralded as the best film in twenty years. You know, just so it doesn't sound like hyperbole.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: acorvey,

acorvey commentary - WOW!

That's why I had that odd feeling about the transition. However it was only a faint bump for me and didn't diminish the final punchline that really made the movie for me. Coincidentally, I haven't seen either GOODFELLAS or FIGHTCLUB thus I'm at a disadvantage here in having any of your exemplar examples to compare to.

Just saw "The Assassination of Jesse James". I was thoroughly impressed. Definitely top 10 for me. A unique script and storyline. Great acting, especially Casey Affleck. Highly recommended.

As far as the comments about "Atonement", this might very well be the most overrated movie of 2007. Kiera's overly dramatic performance and the futile attempts by the director and producers to turn this picture into an epic made the movie nothing more than average if not contrived.

I ended up caring little for the characters and was never caught up in the story. Everything was just too glossed over for my taste. The book, however, was wonderful.

I just saw this...hmmm, definitely a good film. But I wasn't as impressed as many seem to be. Casey Affleck was really excellent; Brad Pitt was about as good as he ever is. I do tend to think his performances are made up slightly more of movie star charisma and magnetism (which is important) than raw acting talent. He was good, though.

The cinematography was great, mostly. Sometimes it was a bit much, tried too hard--like the recurring shots that were out of focus with warped perspective on the sides, but normal in the middle. Those seemed to be there for just the sake of being arty and contemplative.

I enjoyed it, but not as much as several other movies from 2007...it might edge its way into my top 10.

This is an interesting film because so many seem to really love it. It's still soaking in for me but I don't love it. My mom, however, who is not a serious movie watcher by any means, really liked the film. She said that it reminded her of stories that her grandma and grandpa would share with her when she was little of Jesse James. She especially liked the song Nick Cave sings in the movie because it is exactly what they would tell her and that many people were genuinely sad to hear James was killed.

I just thought I'd share that.

quote:

FragileKidA "Forum Moderator"
Super Bad-Ass Jedi
Posted 17 February 2008 11:49 AM

This is an interesting film because so many seem to really love it. It's still soaking in for me but I don't love it. My mom, however, who is not a serious movie watcher by any means, really liked the film. She said that it reminded her of stories that her grandma and grandpa would share with her when she was little of Jesse James. She especially liked the song Nick Cave sings in the movie because it is exactly what they would tell her and that many people were genuinely sad to hear James was killed.

I just thought I'd share that.

Your mom has tapped into what I feel is the incredible essence of this movie - cinematic storytelling. THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES captures on film, adapted to the cinema the rich tradition of storytelling before there was film and radio. This film is one of the most amazing pieces of movie-making, being able to capture the essence of storytelling and transform it into the visual as well as auditory experience - it makes a major progressive step in movie-making history.

Certainly in my top 3 for the year with There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men. Add in 3:10 To Yuma and it's been a hell of a year for the western/western influenced film. Casey knocked it out of the park and Brad Pitt nailed every scene. I would describe the feeling I had leaving the theater as having just been gut-punched and left with nothing but a subtle yet terrible sadness.