Jacob's Ladder
|
List Price: Our Price: $5.09 You Save: $4.89 (49%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $1.00 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of Jacob's Ladder
Movie Review: This IS stylish, BRAINY, phycological HORROR!
Summary: 5 Stars
In response to the review below which says this movie is not a real horror movie, I say - balderdash.
This movie is a shinning jewel amongst the brain-dead horror movies of the 90s like scream 1,2,3, Lambs, last summer 1&2, se7en, ect..
This is horror with a BRAIN, hello?
Its terrifying and scary like a bad acid trip! An amazing and original visual directorial style of Adrian Lynn elevates this movie from mere entertainment to high-art! Its funny how NOW people like that guy (who seems to think he is an expert on horror cinema)says its overrated since it WAS at first criminally UNderrated and still is IMO.
If people think this movie is not horror in the traditional sense, there are scenes in this movie of deformed bloody demons, contortions, convulsions, nightmarish hallucinations, impalement, dismemberment, bondage, torture -- a needle being blunged into a conscious guy's forehead, dismembered body parts lying around drenched in blood...
For a brainy physiological thriller it sure has a lot of what most would traditionally identify as horror. This is not a courtroom drama disguised as horror like "exorcism of Emily rose" that sucked as a horror movie. This movie is horror all the way.
Movie Review: Intense, but thought provoking...
Summary: 5 Stars
I remember watching this movie when it came out in 1990, and being very confused. I only watched the movie, instead of viewing the details and listening to the dialogue. It took a couple of viewings, and television interview with the Director, for me to finally "get it".
The basic plot is about a Vietnam veteran who is experiencing various visions of demons and other strange phenomena. Are the visions reality, or did the US government experiment on some of our US soldiers fighting in Vietnam? Hmm, would our government do that in the movies? The movie start off in Vietnam, then fast forwards to the present, and then flashes back to Vietnam at times throughout the movie.
I really enjoyed the acting of Elizabeth Pena and Danny Aiello. I really like Danny, and wish there were more scenes of him in the movie. Ving Rhames is also in the movie, as one of Tim Robbins Vietnam buddies.
I would recommend a couple of viewings, as you will miss things the first time. All in all, I really enjoyed the movie, and learned to appreciate the ending. I know some people do not like it, but I liked the "choice" that Jacob Singer makes on where he ultimately goes!
Movie Review: a brilliant Buddhist film...
Summary: 5 Stars
...the main point of it being, clinging to life and resisting death (life and death ultimately being two sides of the same coin) only multiplies and intensifies human suffering. Beyond all simplistic dualisms of "good vs. evil" or "heaven vs. hell," learning how to let go is the only salvation.
"Hell," which is what we see the Tim Robbins character experience during most of the movie, is essentially of our own making, born of our own instinctual ignorance. "Heaven," which he only finds at the end of the movie, is a metaphor for what remains when one lets go of that ignorance and ceases all that tragically useless resistance.
This film does require a couple of viewings and some effort in order to put together all the pieces. Most viewers can expect to be bewildered the first time around, especially if they have never been exposed to Eastern philosophy before. There is a lot of horror and brutality in this film, but also a lot of striking beauty and lightness---just like in life. This is not a movie for children (the small or the oversized variety), nor the faint of heart.
Movie Review: A difficult but brilliant and worthwhile exploration
Summary: 5 Stars
Jacob's Ladder has always been one of my favourite films. It tests the viewer, over and over, as he tries to make sense of it. We know there is sense here, but once we grab hold of it, it flits away. None of the professional reviewers that I read understood the film, though they did appreciate it on the whole, as a work of art. Tim Robbins performance as Jacob is outstanding, and he lends a bit of humor and innocence to the role, without which the film would be too painful to bear. The DVD has interviews with the writer and the director, who do explain the film for the benefit of those who cannot comprehend it. Once you see the commentaries, you will want to watch the film again, and understand it better. There are also several cut scenes with and without commentaries by the director, which are well worth seeing and only cut due to time. This is a very powerful film, bordering on the surreal in many ways. It is one of those few movies that stays with the viewer long after he has seen it, both because of many strong images, and because of the enigmatic sense that lies just below the surface.Movie Review: the devils are really angels
Summary: 5 Stars
Just an incredible movie and as another reviewer said, one of the most underrated movies of our time. I first saw this movie during its theatrical release and walked out of the theater utterly speechless. I've watched it several times since then and am equally amazed at its depth and insight.
My favorite quote from this movie comes from the spiritually sensitive chiropractor (played perfectly by Danny Aiello), who strives to adjust Jacob's paradigm more than his spine. He quotes German mystic Meister Eckhart and tells Jacob: "If you're frightened of dying and you're holding on, you'll see demons tearing your life away. If you've made your peace, then the demons are really angels, freeing you from the earth."
And even the title of the movie has an interesting history. Jacob was the character in the Bible (Genesis 25 and on) who struggled mightily with an angel through an entire night and eventually saw a ladder spanning heaven and earth, with angels ascending and descending.
When you watch the movie, you'll understand the full import of this biblical reference.