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THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR review
Today, I was woke up by Father Geek and... well...
He wanted to go see a movie. Shocking I know...
This radically differentiates today from the other 365
days a year.... NOT.
As he brought in the film schedule, as is customary
upon waking up we tried to decide what to see. We’d
seen nearly everything of interest, and not much had
opened... Sigh... It was looking like a stay home and
watch DVDs and Video Tapes kinda day... Perhaps
throw in a script to read.
Then he said, “What about THE THIRTEENTH
FLOOR?”
DAMNIT. It was only a matter of time till he suggested
that film. I didn’t really want to go see it. The
reviews and letters I had gotten in weren’t all that
great. And I had written the film off as a poor
exercise in what MATRIX and TRON and DARK
CITY and on and on had done so well.
At best I thought it would be an ‘OK’ Star Trek
HOLODECK episode, but... Since Father Geek said
it’s name... well Hell’s Bells, why the heck not.
So we loaded into our silver surfin’ Kirby-Mobile and
trailed off for the Lincoln Theater here in Austin.
Once one of the greatest theaters in Austin. It still
has three mighty impressive screens, but the REGAL
Cinemas crew seems to treat the ol dame (is that
phrase relevant to an Eighties theater?) shabbily.
We buy our pair of tickets and pass the pile of fecal
matter in the lobby, apparently it’s supposed to be a
paper-mache Tarzan tree, but it looks closer to a
heaping mound of dung and head straight on in.
The trailers were all comedic... Very odd for what I
assumed would be a ‘straight’ sci-fi flick.
Saw the new trailer for AMERICAN PIE, which
makes use of the list of films to see after STAR
WARS this summer.. and as MR VOICE read
through them, I was curious as to why he didn’t say
out loud.... PRINCESS MONONOKE... Hmmm...
Good trailer though.
Saw the same ol trailers for BOWFINGER and
LAKE PLACID. I believe these two trailers are now
attached to 99% of all prints being exhibited
nationwide (or at least in Austin).
Then came that TERRIBLE horrendous REGAL
CINEMAS allegedly thrilling rollercoaster along a
thread of film thing. MY GOD THIS SUCKS!
Anything that makes me want to see them damn
cannibalistic GENERAL CINEMAS condoment thing
should be burned! I loathe this bit of film. In fact, it
almost keeps me away from their theaters all together.
Then the film started.
I really dug this movie. First off, don’t go in
expecting MATRIX, this isn’t even the same genre.
This is a mystery... A whodunit set within the
trappings of a science fiction story.
In fact, what it most reminded me of was a Nickel
Sci-Fi Pulp Story brought to life. Ok... Now I know a
lot of you aren’t familiar with the old pulps, but as a
kid (and still today) my father has a large collection
(in the 1000s) of old Sci-Fi pulps. They populate
barrister bookcases after bookcases in his bedroom.
And as a kid, I always got in there and snuck a few to
my room.
Thus I discovered the artistry of Virgil Finlay and the
writings of a ton of writers.... From Frederick Pohl to
Bradbury. From Burroughs to Robeson. Back in the
day when writers were paid a penny a word, and
actually prospered to a degree.
However, this isn’t a pulp story by the A-tier of
writers, instead.... it’s by one of those off-brand
Sci-Fi pulps. The ones that hired out of work mystery
writers who couldn’t get published in the mystery
pulps anymore, so they threw in a couple of science
fiction gadgets and whatchamacallsits and presto
chango they sold their story.
This is one of them. A dime store mystery spruced up
to be a nickel plated piece of sci-fi. Sci-fi mind you,
not SCIENCE FICTION. There’s a difference.
This is pulpy from the get go. They didn’t get A-list
actors, instead they go folks like Vincent D’Onofrio,
who is quickly becoming a modern day Lawerence
Tierney (back when he worked for the likes of Robert
Wise). I love D’Onofrio and in this, he’s playing a
couple of different characters, but my fave kinda
reminds me of Mike Mazursky from MURDER MY
SWEET but made up nice a spit shine as a 30’s
bartender.
The star of the film, looking a bit like Burt Lancaster
from that CRISS CROSS or BRUTE FORCE era, but
not nearly that energized, is Craig Bierko. Ya know...
scratch that Lancaster bit, he’s more like Brian
Donlevy in a mixture of his roles from IMPACT and
THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT. He’s ruggedly
handsome, a pinch or two of charisma and competent
throughout.
Armin Mueller-Stahl strikes me as an adequate take
on the old characters that Leo G Carroll used to play
back in the fifties.
And Gretchen Mol? Well, she’s easy on the eyes and
whiff of the stuff that makes ya st... Nevermind.
Actually, I really dug her part. She is the mysterious
dame in this film. What’s up with her? I don’t know
but I like her.
It is an outright shame that this movie is out right
now. It’ll be lost in the shuffle, named a poor man’s
MATRIX, and it is.... If you were expecting an
action-sci-fi film, but that ain’t what this movie is.
I would have enjoyed this movie solely on the basis
of the effects work that Centropolis Effects did in
realizing 1930’s Los Angeles. Man.... What a town.
Ya know... when you think of the work that we’ve
loved in ROCKETEER, CHINATOWN, LA
CONFIDENTIAL in showcasing Los Angeles of
yesteryear... well, I do believe this is the finest
rendering of it yet.
I absolutely adore the color texture of the film stock
when we are in this era, and the establishing shots of
the various locales are absolutely breathtaking. I got
the idea that they had some wonderful postcards from
30’s era LA, and them there digital artists set to work
to realize them in perfect photorealism, down to the
powder blue sky. Lovely. Their work brought me to
the edge my seat and placing my heavy jowls upon
the back of my entwined fingertips.
Whata gorgeous film. And that’s not all, I really dug
the story. I got caught up in the whole whodoneit,
and what’s a happening in this here universe.
HARRY, ALL IT IS, IS A STAR TREK
HOLODECK EPISODE.
Well, that’s arguable. I really love that old Moriarty
episode, and in this there is a lot of that, but ya know.
There’s a lot of violent cop movies where the rogue
cop is out to stop a corrupt police force or some drug
cartel, and ya know.... I don’t push them up against a
wall and say.... Ya know DIRTY HARRY did it
better. Because ya know.... FRENCH
CONNECTION is pretty good. And so is BULLITT
and ya know.... I even like BRANNAGAN. Point is,
I’ll give ya this isn’t a strikenly original film.
But I’ll be damned if it didn’t strike me as being put
together damn well, and compelled me to come out of
the theater feeling really good about the $8 bucks I
spent.
I look forward to more work from this director, I
think Josef Rusnak is a name to look out for. With
even stronger material... I’m sure we can see some
wonderful work, cause with this as his American
debut.... He’s off to a pretty damn good start.
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+ Expand All
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Ahh! I can't believe this got a good review! I knew the basic plot "twists" (they were so obious that I'm not sure you could call them that) from the first fifteen minutes. Oh yeah, and was it just me or was the main character's idea of acting just opening his eyes as wide as he could and looking like a deer frozen in the middle of the road with the headlights growing nearer? SPLAT! I wish that happend. It would have made a better movie!
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I had the exact same conclusions about this movie did that Harry had. A new type of "Noir," 30's vs. 90's L.A. . .
I was expecting it to be a flimsy flick, but it was very well crafted. I love films in this style. The art direction, cinematography, and clothing were right on target, not to mention an interesting story.
However, I saw the END OF DAYS trailer before the movie, and man, never saw such audience reaction. They were STUNNED. "What? Was that Arhhhnuld??!" They didn't know what to do. -
I hate it when they give away the major twist in the movie months before its released. Then there was this conflicting ad that made the 13th floor look like "Screamers." Whoever made these ads should be fired. Luckily, I can walk into a theater with an open and clear mind.
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I feel like I'm in an episode of the twilight zone. I would swear Roland Emerich directed The Thirteenth Floor. I was refusing to see it, because I thought he directed it! Where the hell did I get that idea from? Did he produce it or something?
Or did he pull an Alan Smithee? -
No, as Harry said, the film was directed by Josef Rusnak, another german director. Emmerich produced the film.
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It's a shame that you think the Regal Cinemas roller-coaster pre-movie promo thing sucks. I live in Nashville, and two of the best theaters here in town are Regal Cinemas, and I've just gotten used to seeing the thing before EVERY film. And I don't think it sucks, it's even kind of cool. Like letting you know that the trailers are over, and buckle your seat belt cause here comes the movie!
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I've gotta tell ya, I had no idea what to expect going into this movie, but I enjoyed it. The thing is -- you've got to be ready to THINK when you go. This isn't the type of movie that hands you the whole thing on a silver platter, it requires a lot of participation from the audience. Harry's also right about its unfortunate release time because (MINI-SPOILER HERE) not only will it inevitably be compared to The Matrix, but after seeing The Matrix, you're in a mindset that allows you to solve the Great Mystery of the film much sooner than I think the filmmaker wanted you to. Still, this is a really good movie. Go out and see it, guys.
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Well at least you do not have yahoos putting their arms up in the air as if they are riding a real coaster.
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just testing my new password and name.
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I'll agree with the slant toward mystery before sci-fi, but since details are the meat of solving a mystery, the sci-fi was seriously crippled. We are shown that "the world within a world within a world" operates on EXACTLY the same principles as just "the world within a world," and we are told later that there are thousands of "worlds." So then... in the use of this technology, which is so high tech in the future of 2024 that everybody seems to have a fashionable headset and charger (ala "Brainstorm"), no one has ever DIED in the simulation before and had their SOUL replaced by a made-up persona? If not, how did Gretchen Mol's character KNOW this would happen? If it was me, guys, I'm not sure I'd put that thing on... even the SIMULATED people seemed wary about it. And why is everyone in the simulated worlds based on real people (who apparently act and think exactly the same?) And lastly, what does this say about our souls if we can just upload new personalities (ala "Total Recall?") Time and explaination on the details side of the murder mystery plot hurt this one for me... it'd made a better mini-series, I think. To see these details addressed correctly, watch Total Recall, Brainstorm,and The Matrix, in that order.
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Warning: Semi spoilers follow: I too found the movie to be very good. It's not THE MATRIX, but is mildly related to it. THE MATRIX is loosely based on a book called THE EDEN CYCLE by Daniel Galouye (along with another book by W. Mark Simmons called IN THE NET OF DREAMS). THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR is a direct updating of another of Daniel Galouye's books, SIMULACRON-3. It questions the reality that we know in somewhat the opposite way that DARK CITY did. Is this the "real" world, or just an illusion? Do the characters in the simulation have souls? Its a noir film of style and would fit well. in an eventual double feature with DARK CITY. Lastly, on a spearate note, it is interesting to see just how much better a filmmaker that Roland Emmerich is when he isn't teamed with Dean Devlin...
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I sometimes catch myself looking up at the moon, remembering the changes of fortune in our long voyage, thinking of the thousands of people who worked to bring the three of us home. I look up at the moon, and wonder: When will we be going back? And who will that be?
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Harry, you are dead on about the horrible Regal Cinema opening. I don't know why they think this attracts people to their overpriced snack bar - because it really serves no purpose other than to induce nausea!(I prefer my roller coaster rides to come during the main feature - not prior to it)...Even worse, however, is the Cinemark Theatres opening - with a hideously annoying theme belted out by a series of poorly animated animal characters...This is so freaking annoying It makes me want to throw my popcorn at the screen instead of buying more!...Who attends the test screenings for these things, four year olds with A-D-D? I know I'm bitching here, but when it costs $11.50 for a popcorn, candy and Coke - we at least deserve something half-way entertaining that creates an appropriate level of anticipation...Until then, I'll keep visiting the nearby 7-11 prior to the show and stuffing my coat pockets with affordable goodies!
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Didn't I see this same kind of movie on Skinemax last week with Shannon Tweed and Andrew Stevens??
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This was a dull, tired movie. Hack dialouge, delivered by sleepy-eyed actors, trudging through a cliche plot. I remember a ten minute "New Twilight Zone" episode that did it better.
"13th Floor" takes a lame concept, VR playground, and invents a murder in order for the characters to have something to do until the "high concept" is revealed. "Reality might be a big video game!" Gasp, it is almost as unsettling as "Reality might be a TV show!" from the OLD Twilight Zone.
Virtual reality is a sci-fi crutch. Like atomic power, VR is trotted out to make a movie look all futuristic and eddgy. Take out all the VR bs and "The Matrix" turns into "The Black Mask."(fine by me, I like'm both) Unfortunatly, "The 13th Floor" has nothing to offer with or without VR.
But maybe I'll go easy with the bulldozer in SimCity for awhile.
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Well Does she take it off, I wanna se this movie but may not have a chance to untilll video, If she does then Ill make time to see it Let me Know
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A) Gretchen Mol is naked under the covers, but the sudience sees nothing. Shoot. Still, she looks great in every scene she's in.
B) I've never seen the Regal Rollercoaster (considering there are no Regal Cinemas in my general area... well, there's one, but I've been boycotting it since the frequent projector failures during Twister on opening night... but I digress), however, I may ahve found an equally if not more annoying rival. Where I live (Detroit, MI area) there is a chain of theatres called MJR Theatres.... if you're from the area, you already know what I'm talking about, but if you don't... well, the "trailer"'s got all your standard "no smoking-be quiet-visit the concession stand" stuff, except it's done in an over long (at least it seems like it), badly computer animated (yes, there is such a thing) space battle-type scene. Spaceships flying through asteroid fields of Pepsi and popcorn, blowing up "Please Pitch In" trash cans, and docking in a space station that happens to be shaped like a "No Smoking" sign. Plus a really annpying robot (think a cross between the Battle Droids in TPM and Steve Urkel) telling is that "silence is appreciated". It's annoying as all hell. Anyone else from the Detroit area seen this abomination? -
Since people are complaining about things attatched before movies, is anyone else out there sick of those THX trailers with the robot? When I go to any theater that has that the audience almost always groans when the THX logo starts to spark and you know that damn robot is coming out to fix it for the six millionth time! Or how about the cow one. Yeah, get it the THX logo moos...ha ha. I don't know, if you ask me these things have gotten far past the point of stale. Is anyone elese sick of them?
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AMC rocks... Each one I have been to always has great sound and huge screens. And they have the best Feature Presentation intro. The really cool one is the AFI 100 Years of Movies one where it shows clips of stuff like Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Rocky, Casablanca, classics, with cool music in the background... Leading up to Feature Presentation appearing on screen. Their other intro is another animated intro thing, not as cheesy as the roller coaster or other stuff mentioned here. Has a dude made of film tapping on a music chart, then he hits the thing and an energy flies up to an AMC sign... uh anyways it's got better animation then the others and is not nearly as bad as some of the other ones... 13th Floor, I really am trying to boycott this film, as I am not into supporting any Roland Emmerich work. His stuff sucks, period. And there was that thing of them (Centropolis) making light of Kubrick's death a while back.
This was one of the more mediocre reviews by Harry. It was just sort of "blah". No strong opinion either way. I know you like to show off your film knowledge Harry but you may have gone just a little bit overboard on this one. I still enjoy your writing though and it is what makes you stand out from the crappy me too movie sites out there. Keep up the good work. -
....is pretty cool. Other than that one and the original one, yeah, they all do kinda suck.
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I'm sorry but I do believe this movie sucked ass and judging from its box office total, many agree.
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Well, I haven't seen the movie yet, but I might check it out this weekend, I still have to get around to The Mummy though. Anyway, I just had to make a coment about the roller coaster. Someone made the comment that thank god the audience doesn't raise their hands as if they were on a real roller coaster. The truth? They do!!! I've seen SW three times in a Regal, and every time there is at least one group of people (usually 12-14 year olds) who raise they arms in the air, and even tilt together at the turns and duck at the totally sickening popcorn. Sadly? Yes, even I have succumbed to it once... it's pretty sad when someone dressed up as Darth Maul looks at you strangely.
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First off Cineman> Not sure if you saw 13th Floor, but how can MANY people agree that the flick "sucked ass" when almost nobody saw it? I'm thinking the 60 mil to Star Wars and 20 mil to Notting Hill pretty much tapped the movie market over the long weekend... ------ Anyhow, to everyone else, I must say that I had the same expectations as Harry. A) it's got Emmerich's name on it and B) the trailers were less than inspired. But I'll try anything sci-fi and it turns out this flick was about ten times smarter than I thought it would be - and ten times smarter than 90% of the movies out there. Now, yes, it was predictable since we've seen the plot done before a number of times (plus the trailers gave far too much away). BUT what impressed me was that the movie never EXPLAINED things to the audience, never over-explained. It had a "show don't tell" mentality as well as letting us figure things out - and letting the characters figure things out without forcing them to tell US they had figured it out. I was VERY happy that we never saw the "real" people in any way, shape, or form. It was my problem with Dark City - how much better that flick would have been if it had centered on the hero and kept the Strangers in the background. Anyhow, 13th Floor didn't insult my intelligence and it had wonderful, understated, special FX. It could have gotten bigtime and flashy, but it was more interested in setting up location and mood and used cinematagraphy tricks and the FX to deliver it. I appreciated this movie - I just wish I could have been surprised by it.
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I have to completely disagree with this statement:
A dime store mystery spruced up to be a nickel plated piece of sci-fi. Sci-fi mind you, not SCIENCE FICTION. There -
In my review of the film on IMDB, I mentioned a better film which Dennis Haysbert also happened to be in, namely Suture. Talk about holding onto reality.
This film was just a tired exercise in an overglutted market which the studio needed to unload and by the looks of its opening weekend's box office, it should be on video shelves next Tuesday. -
While 13th floor was pretty enjoyable (although I had a hard time liking it for the first 20 minutes), it takes a little too much from Dark City.. and other such storys where 'the world is just a lie pulled over your eyes".
I noticed how the endings were very similar.. even the camera angles looked copied. -
First of all, where else can you see a Reese's cup rocking out on a guitar?!? And how about the subtle sexual overtones of Popcorn Man blowing his top? And all of this topped off by the re-make of the classic HBO city fly-over intro? Theatre at its finest!!!!
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You have no taste man if you love AMC, that or you've never been to a real theatre. Let's look at why AMC sucks:
-Mostly small houses (but when you've got 30 screens under one roof, who gives a fuck?), plus all of AMC's new builds look the same, at least auditorium wise.
-No THX and precious little digital beyond SDDS (which they have to use because they sold their souls to Sony for access to the Japanese home market).
-This is the same company that once chopped the Midland Theatre in Kansas City into a bunch of small houses, destroying what was once one of Marcus Lowe's favorite movie palaces (he built it). Thank god the city bought it from them and restored her to her former glory.
-The raisable armrests make it easier for the teenage punk next to you to fuck his girlfriend while you try to watch the movie.
Simply, AMC builds great big theatres with absolutly no soul whatsoever. I know this is a common occurance in today's exibition business, but AMC is one of the worst offenders. Just say no to homogenous crap!
-Matt (who prefers his theatres old and as big as possible)
P.S. As a former four year theatre employee, there is one thing I do like about AMC...their concession stands are very efficiently designed. At least it makes it easy on their employees. -
I was over in LA recently for the E3 show and saw a few films while there. All this discussion about cinema chain trailers prompted me to say that while the ones you have in the States are fairly cheesy, at least they're not *boring*... Odeon cinemas in the UK used to have a not-exactly-thrilling (but quick) spot with the camera swooping around a neon-lit model cinema while some Pet Shop Boys-style music played. Now, they have this incredibly pretentious, overlong, annoying and, worst of all, *dull* trail ("52 weeks a year... 7 days a week... 24 hours a day... 60 minutes an hour... 60 seconds a minute... 24 frames a second...") that goes on and on and on with the words sparking into view as 'Metal Machine Music' (or something) grinds away on the soundtrack. Give me corny rollercoasters, dodgy CGI or even the old Pearl & Dean trail (one for ageing Brits there) any day!
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The best theater trailer I ever saw was the one attached to the beginning of movies at the Neon Movies, in downtown Dayton. It was John Waters sucking down a cigarette while telling you that "smoking is not allowed in this theater." And then he adds, "wouldn't a nice long drag be great right now?" as he french-inhales. Can you beat that?
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Princess Mononoke American release pushed back to 10/30/1999
by Disney. Please see http://nausicaa.net for more. -
i likes the movie. it made me feel better and smarter, since i figured the plot literally in 30 min. trailers were different from what some people had. it was SOUTH PARK MOVIE, AUSTIN POWERS2, AND THE SIXTH SENSE( that movie looks SO cool, i cannot wait to see it, plus it was filmed in my philadelphia)
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No I don't work for AMC. In my experience they have the best theaters as far as sound and picture quality. Maybe I need to check out more of the old theaters with more character... they are hard to find though. I was basing my AMC is the best view on the fact that they have the least crappy Feature Presentation intro things and, as for my experience, the most consistent quality presentation. I also am not a big fan of the huge megaplexes with tons of really small screens, but whenever I go to AMC I make sure to go to the larger screens. I'll concede the notion that you are a better judge of this than I, if you have worked in the industry for 4 years...
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To whomever said that the crappy movies were Roland's fault, I'd have to dispute that. If you've seen Moon 44, you'd know that Emmerich prefers a much darker brand of film than what he has been putting out. In fact, the first draft of Independence Day was, according to Dean Devlin, much darker and more violent and Dean was the one who suggested it be lightened up. In other words, Devlin seems, to me, to be the one responsible for making their films so light and cartoonish.
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This movie was so bad it made highlander 2 look good. I don't have the old pulp sci-fi background to compare this movie to as harry does in his review but if this movie is indicative of the genre then you can keep it.
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I highly doubt that now, in 2004, 5 years after this movie has come and gone and is now forgotten, anyone will read this. But I would just like to point out that Harry was wrong. The 13th Floor was not the beginning of a great career for Josef Rusnak, since in these past 5 years he has not made one goddamn movie. I used to love this film, but after the fifth or sixth time I saw it I realized how cheesy it really was. Craig Bierko can't act worth a pile of feces. The best thing about this movie is Vincent D'onofrio's line, "Dude, if you're thinking what I'm thinking you're thinking, don't even think about it!"
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