[Chad_]

I'll weigh in with my 2 cents on this movie (and my experience in viewing it...... which mirrors what others have said here)

First - I was told it was GREAT by my sister and her husband, and hence bought it during a Boxing Day sale - on impulse.

Second - I finally got around to watching it... and was immediately put into shock by it's over-the-top style. I stopped the movie about 15-20 minutes in and COMPLETELY AND TOTALLY HATED IT! I took about 30 minutes just recovering from the assault on my senses and wondering how people could think it was such a great movie...

Third - I decided to give it another chance. The second time through the first 15-20 minutes was still rough... but once it got to the 'Your Song' moment, I was hooked enough to keep going.

Finally - By the end of the movie, I LOVED IT!!! It is an INCREDIBLE piece of art - but TOTALLY different than anything 'Hollywood' would crank out. You just have to adjust to the over-the-top style to appreciate it - not an easy task....

ADVICE - Watch the movie once... be sure to get through the opening 30 minutes without giving up on it. THEN!!! After you give yourself time to absorb it a bit (and recover from the sensory assault), RE-WATCH IT!!! Once you know where the movie is going and the characters and plot-lines, etc... you can actually follow the first 30 minutes and it 'makes sense'. It just bombarbs you with so much that the first time around your senses can't piece it together - because most of us are conditioned to having plotlines spoon-fed to us in a nice neat, easy to absorb package by formulaic Hollywood movies.

Just my 2 cents... it's a top 10 movie of all time on my list once I let myself appreciate what it had to offer! ... but I almost gave up on it within the first 30 minutes and would have hated it bitterly.

[george kaplan]

For the record - I hate this film, but I watched the whole thing. Mine is certainly a fully informed hatred.