Thanks for the review in the latest Aisle Seat, Andy. I've never seen this movie, never wanted to see this movie, but I'm probably going to buy this new 2-disc edition. This kind of presentation is precisely why I love DVD! It's all about the extras, baby!
As I've said before, interesting and extensive "making-of" features can make any DVD worth the purchase, even though the movie itself may suck! And it's funny to see and hear the filmmakers trying to defend their turkey.
I know Paul W.S. Anderson has his defenders (although they sometimes seem to come across more like apologists), but I'm really getting tired of hearing him claim that the studio forced him to cut all of the good stuff. I heard this excuse with AVP, but having watched the "Director's Cut," the problems with the story still remained (although it remains watchable purely for the action and fantastic creature effects). Actually, the 2-disc AVP is another great example of a "weak movie, fun DVD."
Anyone want to comment on this movie? I'm going to pick it up anyway, but I'd still like to hear some of your opinions.
Mark
Andy's Review of EVENT HORIZON
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MikeSkerritt
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Paul MacLean
- Posts: 7116
- Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2004 10:26 pm
- Location: New York
I saw this movie with Andy during my annual pilgramage to New England. He and I were of the same opinion, Event Horizon was a prime example of "so bad its good".
What was depressing to me was that I was in England two weeks earlier, just before this film came-out, and BBC news was making a big deal about Even Horizon being British-financed, and "now we can make blockbusters and compete with Hollywood", etc. I've always been a fan of British cinema (and the extraordinarily talented technicians and crews in that country), but when I finally saw Event Horizon I was crushed that the nation that gave us Hitchcock and David Lean could have bankrolled something so surpassingly awful.
Laurence Fishburn's command chair elicited the lion's share of laughs from us, but other aspects, like Sam Neil's flashback to his wife's suicide (and the sick, gratuitous scene of her cutting her wrists in th bathtub), only became humorous with distance. In the film such scenes were revolting.
The end of that film was at once off-putting yet absurdly funny, as the corny old "It was only a dream!" ending gives way to Orbital's noisy "Funky S**t" (and the guy sitting behind us was pitching a fit over how awful the movie was). Easily one of our most memorable film-going experiences!
But it was a weekend full of "funky s**t" overall. The day I left, Andy's beach house was getting pummeled by a "nor'easter" and my spark plugs got wet going through a puddle, casusing me to stall while turning left on a four lane highway with traffic bearing down on me. Lotsa fun!
Paul
What was depressing to me was that I was in England two weeks earlier, just before this film came-out, and BBC news was making a big deal about Even Horizon being British-financed, and "now we can make blockbusters and compete with Hollywood", etc. I've always been a fan of British cinema (and the extraordinarily talented technicians and crews in that country), but when I finally saw Event Horizon I was crushed that the nation that gave us Hitchcock and David Lean could have bankrolled something so surpassingly awful.
Laurence Fishburn's command chair elicited the lion's share of laughs from us, but other aspects, like Sam Neil's flashback to his wife's suicide (and the sick, gratuitous scene of her cutting her wrists in th bathtub), only became humorous with distance. In the film such scenes were revolting.
The end of that film was at once off-putting yet absurdly funny, as the corny old "It was only a dream!" ending gives way to Orbital's noisy "Funky S**t" (and the guy sitting behind us was pitching a fit over how awful the movie was). Easily one of our most memorable film-going experiences!
But it was a weekend full of "funky s**t" overall. The day I left, Andy's beach house was getting pummeled by a "nor'easter" and my spark plugs got wet going through a puddle, casusing me to stall while turning left on a four lane highway with traffic bearing down on me. Lotsa fun!
Paul