Jacob's Ladder
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Movie Reviews of Jacob's Ladder
Movie Review: Was It A Flashback Or A Flashforward
Summary: 5 Stars
"With fellow critics, I got involved in a conversation about the underlying reality of the film. Was it all a flashback - or a flash forward? What was real, and what was only in the hero's mind? Are even the apparently "real" sequences the product of his imagination?" Roger Ebert
My best friend urged me to view 'Jacob's Ladder' after we had discussed philosophies of life and death. I remembered reading about Jacob's Ladder from the Bible 'Jacob's vision in which he saw a stairway from earth to Heaven with angels descending and ascending.' Little did I realize that this film was the reality.
This film is not like anything I have ever seen. It is a viscerally frightening film that kept me on the edge of my seat. It opens with a scene in the Mekong Delta. Jacob Singer, as played by Tim Robbins and his squadron of soldiers are seen joking about human existence. Minutes later, all hell breaks loose, explosions, convulsions, and jerky hand-held camera movements. And, then we move to the subway where Jacob is reading Camus and frightening, exotic and dangerous events occur. Jacob works for the post office and this must be the anchor of his daily existence. Taking stock of Jacob's existence it seems. I sat right on the edge of my seat while viewing this film and feel this is an analogy for the film- right on the edge, between madness and sanity. Elizabeth Pena plays Jacob's girlfriend and is she the piece that holds sanity together? The film is really about coming to peace with one's life or death. What really happens during those last few moments of life? Once in your head, Jacob's Ladder is there for good.
Louis, Jacob's friend and doctor says it best: " Eckhart saw Hell too. He said: The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won't let go of life, your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away. But they're not punishing you, he said. They're freeing your soul. So, if you're frightened of dying and... and you're holding on, you'll see devils tearing your life away. But if you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels, freeing you from the earth."
Devils or Angels, which is it? Do we have a choice?
Highly Recommended. prisrob 11-16-08
The Secret Life of Words
Fatal Attraction (Paramount Directors Series)
Movie Review: Probably the best psy. horror/ thriller I've ever seen
Summary: 5 Stars
Ok, I read awhile ago that this film was the inspiration for the Silent Hill game. Since I loved that game, I just had to get this film. While my Jacob's Ladder isn't the Region 1 Special Edition with the deleted scenes included, it still contains the original theatrical trailer of nearly 2 minutes, with flashes of the deleted scenes. Better than nothing, right? :-)
To put it simply, this film is unique because it's not simply a horror. It's a romance, drama, thriller, horror, all rolled into one film. It's also a damning critique of the Vietnam War and the psychological consequences faced by veterans years after their ordeals. The music and the atmosphere are also perfect. For example, when Singer (Robbins) is on a gurney and being wheeled through the hospital aka "Hell", the music is so morbid that it makes the hairs on your neck stand up. Not to mention the eerie hospital patients, disfigured creatures and limbs and blood on the floor.
The acting is first rate, no doubt about it, especially from Robbins, in my opinion. For a film that is 15 years old, the special effects are absolutely breathtaking! Even horror films of today don't have the kind of effect that this film had on me. It was well ahead of it's time and can easily compete with today's so-called "horror" films. A couple of scenes really made me jump and my heart beat really fast. Hardly ever can I say that about a horror film.
However, even when the scenes were not so much scary as they were disturbing and grotesque, your heart still starts to race and there is a huge feeling of anxiety and anticipation. I'm so glad that I've added this film to my collection and I'm astonished that it's such an underrated film.
I can understand why some scenes were deleted and why certain types of audiences complained that the film was too dark and macabre. Make no mistake: it's a film which is not for the faint-hearted and even if you have a pretty strong stomach (like me), you'll be very surprised at the effect it has on you.
The only criticism? Well, I would have liked it if it were a little longer, maybe 150 mins instead of 110 mins because you just don't want it to end once you start watching it. Highly recommended.
Movie Review: More Than A Supernatural Thriller
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of my favorite movies, but after watching it many
times, I'm still having trouble describing this complex
supernatural thriller.
Jacob Singer is a man leading a tripple life-- perhaps more.
When we first see him he's in Vietnam and in bad shape; then
we see him living in New York with his girlfriend Jezzie; but
after a horrific and feverous night, we see him living with his
wife and kids. Which is his real life? That we are never quite
sure of as he moves from one life to another. Nor are we
completely sure about the people in Jake's lives as some
of them seem to be demons, out to destroy him.
He sees them on the subway car, he sees one in the VA's office,
and he sees them as they try to run over him with a car, and
eventually Jake is so confused he doubts the existence of his
girl Jezzie. He gets even more confused when he and his ex-
Army buddies try to hire a lawyer to find out what has been
going on with the death of one of his friends, only for the
lawyer to reject him on the grounds that SInger was never in
the Army.
Was Jake in the Army? Was he and his friends part of secret
experiment conducted by the Army? Which life is real-- the one
with Jezzie or the one with his ex-wife Sarah? Jake's struggle
to determine what's real and what's not leads him to a startling
and unexpected conclusion that I won't spoil for folks who
haven't seen this intriguing film.
Usually we get alternate endings on DVD's like this, but in this
case we get only a few cut scenes along with the director's
commentary that really doesn't explain much if anything at all,
except for one scene that suggests Jake's problems with the
demons were chemically induced, but in the end, that doesn't
really matter a whole lot. Although, if Adrian Lyne had kept
those scenes the movie would have gone in a different direction,
and a less powerful one as well. For fans of the supernatural or
fans of Tim Robbins, this is a really great movie that you just
have to see!
Movie Review: Madness, Hell, & Death
Summary: 5 Stars
Viet Nam vet Jacob Singer's life has turned into a nightmare from which he cannot seem to wake. At any time, his mundane life may be fractured by bizarre, frightening apparitions that are becoming increasingly menacing. All of the people who are important to him - his lover, his ex-wife, his kids, his V.A. psychiatrist, his old army pals, seem to be shifting and transforming, becoming part of the nightmare and leaving him with no secure port in the tortured storm that his life has become. As he seeks to avoid madness, he searches for answers in his past, trying to unravel the truth behind a mysterious and terrible event that happened to him and his unit in Viet Nam.
`Jacob's Ladder' is a deeply disturbing and thought provoking film that effectively pulls the audience into the terror that Singer is experiencing. By shredding linear plot, it leaves the audience as confused and unmoored as the protagonist is, allowing them to fully empathize with his plight. Its demonic apparitions are truly chilling, like something that may have come from the depths of your own nightmares. A scene where Singer is transported on a gurney into the bowls of an increasingly bizarre and hellish hospital ranks as one of the most frightening in all of cinematic history. It is adult, psychological horror at its best.
Tim Robbins gives an effective performance as the protagonist. His Jacob Singer is an ordinary every man, who is slowly slipping into utter confusion and fear of madness and death. Elizabeth Pena is outstanding as his lover, in a role by turns playful and menacing, but always incredibly sexy. Danny Aiello gives the best performances of his career as Singer's chiropractor/mentor/confidant - the only person in his crumbling life who offers him hope of salvation from the hell he is descending into.
`Jacob's Ladder' is the only film that has ever truly frightened me as an adult. In addition to being terrifying, it is intelligent and thought provoking. I first saw this film when it was in the theaters fifteen years ago, and have watched it many times since, and it has never lost its edge for me. I count it among my top ten all time favorite films, and I enthusiastically recommend it.
Theo Logos
Movie Review: Profoundly moving journey to enlightenment
Summary: 5 Stars
I wonder if this movie could be made today - after all, it doesn't have any computer-generated special effects, it demands the viewer's complete attention, and really needs to be seen more than once to appreciate fully the meaning of all of the scenes. Incredible too is that the writer (Bruce Joel Rubin) was working on the filming of this and his more popular movie "Ghost" at the same time. Director Adrian Lynne wisely avoided some of the more sacharrine touches that Rubin had in the original script (such as the view of "Heaven") and added many subtle disturbing elements of his own. The final result is a film that you will think about long after you see it, a man's journey through the bardo state to his final enlightenment. In a way, this is the cinematic equivalent of a Pettersson symphony - an emotional catharsis after the long, dark night of the soul. I'm not ashamed to say that I cry like a baby every time I watch it.Comparisons with Bierce's "Occurrance at Owl Creek Bridge" and "Carnival of Souls" are inevitable and not out of place, but "Jacob's Ladder" has more layers than either of those and ambitiously takes on the psychological layers of one man's life, the tension between the comforts of home, wife and family and the unfufilled desires he harbors.
There are some violent scenes and very disturbing imagery throughout the movie; after all, it *is* about war, fear, and death. However, none of it is gratuitous, and the use of strobe lighting, quick cuts, and odd camera angles keep the viewer from being able to see anything definite. But don't say you weren't warned....
The DVD's documentary and deleted scenes, along with the director's commentary, will enable the first-time viewer to get a more complete idea of what is happening. I've watched this film at least a dozen times, and never fail to see something new in it each time. Sound and image quality are excellent.
This one isn't for casual viewing; it is *certainly* not a Saturday-night time killer, nor is it a "horror" movie in the standard sense of the term. Still, absolutley my highest recommendation.