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Quint on the final print of ONE HOUR PHOTO!
Hey folks, Harry here... A very bad man showed me an early print of ONE HOUR PHOTO - immediately upon seeing it, I realized that I must see the film on the big screen before I wrote my review. I realized I needed to see the finished film with the finished score, because the roughcut was so good, that I knew... This was only going to get better, and I didn't want to sell it short. I saw the finished print tonight and what a stunner! Romanek has arrived, and we'll track him from here on out. There's a new badass at the cinemas... his name is Mark Romanek... And Quint is going to tell you why you should pay attention...
Ahoy squirts. Quint, the crustiest of all seaman, here with my review of ONE HOUR PHOTO... again. I reviewed this flick back in the day... back before DEATH TO SMOOCHY came out (way before those creepy ads started appearing on the site, by the way), but I feel compelled to write up a little something more now that I've seen the final cut of the film on the big screen. You can read my initial review here: CLICK HERE
I don't feel any differently about my views of the film (I loved it just as much the second time), but there are a few things I think need to be said since I have now seen the final version of the film as it was meant to be seen. The cut I saw many months ago was the now infamous bootleg that has traveled far and wide online and at collectible shows across the world. I had never reviewed a bootleg before and haven't since and have no plans on doing so thanks in large part to me having seen Mark Romanek's masterful film in it's final theatrical version on the big screen tonight. My reasoning for reviewing the early cut seen on an LA friend's computer is simple... I wanted to tell the world about the movie. Plus one of the first advance screenings waiting for me when I got back to Austin from LA was DEATH TO SMOOCHY, which had another great Robin Williams performance, albeit extremely different than his subdued performance as Sy the Photo Guy in ONE HOUR PHOTO. I was so excited that the Robin Williams I loved was coming back to me. You had raunchy comedy Robin Williams in DEATH TO SMOOCHY and the masterful actor Robin Williams in ONE HOUR PHOTO... Plus at that time I still had INSOMNIA to look forward to for another potentially great William's performance. I was on a Robin Williams high and I wanted to tell the world he was back.
I'm mainly writing this re-review to urge you cinephiles out there who have already watched ONE HOUR PHOTO on your crappy, small and pixilated computer screen to see the film the way it was meant to be seen and hear the film as it was meant to be heard. The photography of the film is masterful, the color selection is shocking and effective, the final score is fucking brilliant (after the movie Harry called it the best John Carpenter score he never wrote). Even if you have the best goddamn computer system and the biggest monitor and the best computer sound system, you're missing out on a huge section of this movie. If you think you like the movie now with the temp score and the muggy picture, you're going to fall in love when you see it big.
Now I'm not here to lecture about the pros and cons of bootlegs. That's a large debate and the place for that debate isn't in this review. All I'm saying is that if you've only seen ONE HOUR PHOTO online, you're missing half the movie. The film's biggest strengths are in the atmosphere (propelled by the score and amazing production design) and in Robin Williams' delicate, honest performance. Having seen both cuts of the film, I'm telling you folks you need to see this final version on the big screen with an audience or you're cheating yourself out of the film.
I didn't think it'd be a big audience experience movie when I saw it for the first time as it's a film that relies on character and mood instead of comedy or jump scares... Boy was I wrong. The audience I saw it with tonight was following the film closely, reacting in hushed whispers that swept up and down the stadium seating theater like wind blowing through tall grass. When Williams does a creepy thing or when a key plot point is revealed, the audience would gasp and shh-bshh-shh-whis-sshhh to their neighbors, friends, family, etc. Plus hearing that simple yet amazing score by Reinhold Heil and Johnny Klimek really gets your pulse pounding.
For those that want to know the differences in the theatrical cut and the earlier cut I'll go into what I noticed while watching the theatrical version tonight. To start off, the movie now opens with Sy getting interrogated by Eriq La Salle, so you know something happens... You know Sy does something that puts him in that interrogation room and that adds to the tension of the film. Missing is the "Red Eye" speech Sy gives, which I miss because it perfectly sets up one of my favorite scenes in the film: Sy's nightmare. Thankfully, the nightmare is still there and even creepier on the big screen with Reinhold Heil and Johnny Klimek's great score driving it.
There's a new scene of Connie Nielson arguing with her husband (Michael Vartan) about him being an emotionally neglectful husband and father. I couldn't tell if the scene was a reshoot or just added back in after the first cut, but it's not a bad scene. It's not jaw-droppingly great either, but it does set up some imperfections in the core family that Sy covets so much.
I know I keep talking about it, but the number one reason for me urging a theatrical viewing of ONE HOUR PHOTO is Reinhold Heil and Johnny Klimek's score. They use a great, light orchestral underscore to back up the jarring chimes and drum beats that really take ONE HOUR PHOTO to a new level. The score acts as a magnifying glass. The script is still great without it, the performances are still amazing without it, but without that score in the movie it would seem... I don't know... duller. Less impactful. The score multiplies the impact of the great writing, the great atmosphere, the great performances from everyone involved... Makes them sharper, more intense... You know... Does was a score is supposed to do.
I think that's all I have to say. This is an incredible film that will surely reward Williams with an Oscar nod for Best Actor, Romanek with writing and/or direction and Jeff Cronenweth with cinematography. At least I would hope so. From one movie lover to another, see this film big and loud. If you only see this film on the small screen, you'll regret it. At any rate, I better be shoving off. I'll be back soon with some coolness... 'Til then, this is Quint bidding you all a fond farewell and adieu.
-Quint
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Be wierd to see him playing this type of character
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I have a busy weekend ahead of me. I've been out of town, so I have to see this, watch Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs. Film fest at my house!
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at a theater this weekend. AWESOME FILM. I suddenly respect Robin Williams again. When the credits began to role, the audience actually applauded. They applauded a screen.
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the whole point of this post and rereview is to tell me how the friggin movie sounded because your first review was off of a street corner bootleg?? Screw you Poser..
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So is the bootleg copy the same version that was shown on the screens at the sundance film festival?
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I saw this movie at sundance. I don't know how much the print has change since last Jan. But if they havn't chopped it up too much then it will rock. I have never seen a man so possesed. Robin Williams was at his very best in this film.
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That's a shame, I thought it was an interesting way of starting the movie (not to mention informative, as was the later discussion about the derivation of the word "snapshot"). Especially considering that they replaced it with a scene of Sy telling his story from the interrogation room, which is the oldest, lamest story structure in the book (not to mention it gives the ending away). The whole part with Eriq LaSalle at the end is easily the weakest part of the movie, especially Williams' final confessional speech which really was unneeded and seemingly put in there to have a good clip to show on Oscar night. I think the movie is creepier if there's no explanation given for why William's character is the way he is because hey, let's face it, some people are just messed up.
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I saw the movie. Lot's of white all over the place. Distractingly grainy. Overall, visually bland. Make THX-1138 look like Lawrence of Arabia.
That, and the story was pretty boring. Williams was good... but one performance does not a good movie make. -
What a hypocrite. You guys have been dealing with bootlegs and workprints for years.
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The final scene was vital to the story. When the detective says, "I think I understand, now," he speaks for the audience. We need to care for the main character. If we don't care about the main character, then we don't care what happens next. If we don't care, then the movie isn't doing its job. When Sy explains himself, it puts us back with him and we care for him again.
I do agree, however, that the beginning was sub-par. They could have thought of something better, I think. -
What's the deal with this movie? At the end of the film, Sy gives a speech about how the father made his kid do terrible things and took photos of it...was something really important cut from the final edit of the film? What the hell was Sy talking about? Was he talking about his own relationship with his father?
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This is dealing with the ending, so please don't read if you haven't seen the film, unless you don't care about finding out about the end. I have not seen the boot Quint talks about, but I saw the movie in the theatre last weekend. It's a great film that I cannot recommend enough. With regards to the opening/closing with Eric La Salle, I think the bookend adds another dimension to the film. The film deals with illusions, not literal illusions, but the illusions we as individuals and as a society create for those around us. By using the bookend device, the story becomes Sy's recollection or version of the incident. How much is reality and how much is Sy's illusion of the truth? How much of what is presented to us is ever the truth? The "explanation" at the end is not really an explanation. Nothing is spelled out explicitly, so again we only have Sy's version. Nothing is definative, and even photographic evidence is speculative. In other words, believe half of what you see, and none of what you hear. I can't say whether these scenes make the film better, but for me these scenes add to the complexity of the film's subtext.
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SPOLIERS
i see this movie at my cheap job 24/7 and the ending is pretty simple in it's explanation. Sy was molested as a child, on film. trailing off on that speech he uses the terminoligy in third person but in fact he's talking about himself. he saw how perfect the other family was, and when the father cheated on his wife he saw as how the husband simply threw everything away. everything he wanted in his own life which was marred by his tragic childhood.
- 81666 -
this movie was pretty bad. a rather cold film that reeked of what would come out of a 4th year film student (only problem is, romanek isnt a film student anymore, isnt he almost 40?). the guy has visual flair and knows how to set a tone, but he has no idea how to write a great story. salon's review is pretty dead on, check that out if you want a real review of this shit (no offense quint, i'm just dumbfounded you liked this)
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But not THAT good. Williams nailed it, but the movie as a whole seems to lack something. Can't put my finger on it though. I'd give it a B.
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As soon as the guy from E.R. comes on screen as the detective, the movie goes sooo steeply downhill, abandoning the main character for a pseudo-detective drama that just sucks, then Williams is reduced to an empty psycho character. I love the scene where he's explaining why he did all of this (it's so simplistic) and the guy just says: "I think I understand now." It's a very distant, stupid view of an outsider/psycho, but the beginning was great, I hated how they fell back on sex to evolve the story, like American Beauty, American Pie, etc. etc. Using NIN's 'LA MER' and a bit from REQUIEM FOR A DREAM was too obvious to me and put me out of the film for awhile. I haven't seen a good film with such a bad second half ever before. I enjoyed the part where the mother and son were wishing him pleasant thoughts, that was sweet. The actors cast playing the kids' parents are unrealistically young and beautiful, it makes the film nearly impossible to take seriously or believe it takes place anywhere but Hollywood, that bothered me the entire way through the movie.
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Sep 04, 2002 4:22:36 PM CDT
Now I'm not here to lecture about the pros and cons of bootl
by ludwig curious
That's right, Quint. That kind of thing is for Talkbacks. ;-)
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I saw this movie at the Lupo Fright Fest in London about two weeks ago. It is a FANTASTIC movie I loved it, having seen Insomnia today I can say I prefere Williams in One Hour.. as there's more to his character. However in responce to some people's comments I thought that the last scene where Sy confesses the reasons for his psychotic tendancies was completely unncessary. I didn't want a long winded explanation. I had made up my own mind. It reminded me of the awful scene in Psycho where they go about explaining why Bates is how he is. The shot of Bates and the voices in his head was enough. I just think that One Hour would have benefitted from a much more subtle scene at the end to leave the audience with something to ponder. However all critisms aside- FAB movie!! Go and see it!! - Jules
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I can't believe how condescending and elitest and snobby some of you are. "It's like a fourth year film student project" or whatever you said... My God that's copmletely idiotic! I'm not going to say 'Why don't you do better?' because you can't (without money that is) but honestly... In many ways this was a very accomplished film. I did not enjoy the second half as much, but I wouldn't say that that KILLED the movie. And to the poster that said that this movie made THX look like Laurence of Arabia? Whaaaat??? I thought the cinematography was beautiful BECAUSE of its blandess! And it used the contrast of the bland store with (SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER)-->the photos on his wall or the blood coming from his eyes What do you MEAN? I looked up 'contrived' in the dictionary... I don't see how you could apply it as a negative adjective in regards to filmmaking... unless you're saying that he puts thought into every shot and does it very deliberately (which he does)... I would say the same goes for Romanek (whatever his name was), whose framing and camera motion resembled Fincher's from The Game quite a lot.
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Why are some of you complaining about the fact that he's being a HYPOCRITE by seeing bootlegs and then telling us not to? Well everyone, it's called EXPERIENCE. I'm sure you wouldn't call your best friend a hypocrite for telling you not to drive fast because he got into an accident for driving too fast. "Well, YOU did it, and you're telling ME not to? Blasphemy!" I suppose you're all just trying to justify your 60 gig hard drive filled with shitty VCD's. If you were a true movie lover, you would want to see a great movie in the theater anyway. ... Right?
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SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER DON'T READ...
Seeing Sy being interogated in the police station in the beginning sets up in our assuming minds that something horrible - likely murder - will/had happen. Yes, the explanation at the end is needed to illustrate to the audience that Sy isn't a murdering psycho but a mentally ill person in need of help. When he snapped the pictures he repeatedly said "this is only make believe," which, obviously, was what his old man said to him when he molested him. -
My thoughts-- I agree with BEARison Ford: Salon nails this film to the wall. It's arthouse horror, smugly trying to score points against the same people it targets as its audience... MINOR SPOILERS*** The voiceovers by Williams are simply terrible-- poorly written and stiffly performed, like he's reading them from a script... The music is so poorly applied in the first half I thought I was watching a Spike Lee film. Why not just flash titles saying, "Sy is a villain"? Isn't the whole point of the movie that horror can arise from the most mundane and everyday sources? Isn't it far creepier (not to mention smarter) to underplay this story rather than mickey mouse it score-wise? Give us a little credit for "getting it," for chrissake... Which leads me to Williams-- I'm sure the makers of the film were overjoyed when he said yes to the script, but given the character wouldn't it be far more effective to cast an unknown, or at the very least a lesser name? After all, Sy is supposed to be one of those anonymous people who you never notice, one of the great faceless American workforce who waits on you then disappears immediately from your consciousness. Instead we get "ROBIN WILLIAMS SUPERSTAR" as "The Invisible Little Guy." His star power cancels out his (admittedly earnest) performance... The hurry-up, last-minute, Psycho-like "explain everything" ending is so weak I thought at first it must be a joke. Unfortunately it's not. Nor is it a brilliant trick by the director to have it both ways. It's just a lame attempt to tie up loose ends... Speaking of lame, how bout the kid all weepy in bed feeling sorry for "Sy the Photo Guy," causing Mommy and the kid to "send him good thoughts"? Phony, phony, phony. Just forced sentiment where none is needed and where reality would much better suit the proceedings. The truth is NOBODY NOTICES THESE PEOPLE--EVEN KIDS. Sorry but it's true. Trying to make me believe a little kid's going to shed tears over a department store guy who seems lonely is Writer Bullshit, ie. People Don't Act That Way in Real Life, even sensitive little kids whose Mommy and Daddy aren't getting along... And what effect does Sy substituting the "Daddy Cheating" pictures for her kid's pictures have on the family? On her relationship with her husband? Apparently none. None that the director/writer ever shows us anyway. Aren't we right to expect an explanation even for her non-action as a result of seeing the damning photos? Mommy doesn't even bother to confront Sy to find out exactly what the fuck those photos were doing in her kid's photo package in the first place. Isn't that what a normal person would do? All we get is her (non-)reaction to the crisis at the end.
Lastly, enough with the over-hype of these mediocre films. As others have said, you cry "Masterpiece" too often and nobody believes you when a true classic comes along. -
I don't know where some of you talk about, but ni my opinion it's the best movie I've ever seen. To make an interesting movie about these "little things" is just amazing to me!
Someone said (quote): "Trying to make me believe a little kid's going to shed tears over a department store guy who seems lonely is Writer Bullshit,"
My reaction to this is simply: you have no idea what you're talking about! Go see this movie 1 or 2 more times and try to understand it! Some of the scenes in the movie aren't true, it's Sys imagination! [spoiler] When Jake is telling his mom that he feels bad for someone, it didn't really happen, it was Sys imagination.
Also, when Sy goes into that house...yes, he really DID go inside, only the scene where he was watching football didn't really happen. Proof, he wears different cloths in that scene and Sy must've imagined it on his way back to his car. [end spoiler]
So for those of you who only saw the movie once and didn't understand everything or think the movie sucks, see it again and you'll find out this movie is kinda complex and very very good!
Once again, best movie I've ever seen and I've never seen a better acting performance than Robin showed us here! Absolutely amazing, outstanding and double Oscar-worthy! -
Sep 05, 2002 4:34:40 PM CDT
ONE HOUR PHOTO IS THE BEST GODDAMNED MOVIE OF THE YEAR SO FAR.
by inkymae
absolutely fucking amazing how good this movie is. and for those detractors that say "it copped out in the end" you are wrong. the film chose subtlety instead of standard hollywood bullshit explication. go see this movie. It is great great great filmmakig.
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It would have made the nightmare sequence much more relevant.
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I really disliked this movie.
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