New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

The Majestic

post #1 of 15
2/21/09 at 12:15pm
Thread Starter 
Checked to see if their were any threads on this. But, came up with nothing. I was watching it again last night. And I remember how much I enjoyed it. Some very good performances.
Reply
post #2 of 15
2/21/09 at 1:18pm

Re: The Majestic

It's a good film. It got pretty mixed reviews from critics and viewers alike, and box office wise it got trounced by LOTR. Carrey and Landau are quite good in it, and Darabont handles the material well, if a bit too heavy-handed in the Capra style.

In any case, it's a film that I've always enjoyed.
Reply
post #3 of 15
2/21/09 at 2:51pm

Re: The Majestic

This film still is underrated, especially compared to The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. Darabont has great affection for the 50's, and it shows throughout the film. Also, very much like Capra (Darabont admires him as well) but more an homage than a direct copy.
Reply
post #4 of 15
2/21/09 at 5:48pm
Thread Starter 

Re: The Majestic

I think what makes it worse for Peter when he realizes who he really is. Is that Luke was so different from him. He didn't shrug off duty, was brave and a great athlete. But, you could see Peter gain courage from Luke.
Reply
post #5 of 15
2/21/09 at 7:47pm

Re: The Majestic

Dissenting opinion here: I thought The Majestic was a disappointing dud. I thought it lacked heart or spirit and was just a pale rehash of Capra:

The Majestic (2001)
Reply
post #6 of 15
2/22/09 at 7:27am
Thread Starter 

Re: The Majestic

Quote:
Originally Posted by Colin Jacobson
Dissenting opinion here: I thought The Majestic was a disappointing dud. I thought it lacked heart or spirit and was just a pale rehash of Capra:

The Majestic (2001)

Fair enough. But, remember. Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life" was a considered a flop when it came out.
Reply
post #7 of 15
2/22/09 at 7:33am

Re: The Majestic

Quote:
Originally Posted by todd s
Fair enough. But, remember. Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life" was a considered a flop when it came out.

Sure, but it DID get nominated for Best Picture and four other Oscars, so it's not like it was a total dud. Majestic bombed at the box office and got little critical love.

Will Majestic someday be a beloved classic? Could be - doubt it. Just because IAWL achieved that status doesn't mean Majestic will...
Reply
post #8 of 15
2/22/09 at 7:51am

Re: The Majestic

I think It's A Wonderful Life can be more easily compared to The Shawshank Redemption. It was also a box-office failure, and was nominated for Academy Awards (9 times), while it didn't win any.
Reply
post #9 of 15
2/22/09 at 5:46pm

Re: The Majestic

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian Borst
I think It's A Wonderful Life can be more easily compared to The Shawshank Redemption. It was also a box-office failure, and was nominated for Academy Awards (9 times), while it didn't win any.

And I would agree - that comparison makes a lot more sense than one with Majestic. Maybe 50 years from now, people will regard Majestic as a classic - or maybe they'll have forgotten it completely. I'm betting on the latter!
Reply
post #10 of 15
2/23/09 at 12:01pm

Re: The Majestic

Granted I haven't seen this since it's theatrical release, but I remember enjoying the film and Carrey's performance. I was always surprised that this didn't do better at the box office since both Carrey and Darabont were still considered at the top of their games at the time.
Reply
post #11 of 15
2/23/09 at 1:32pm

Re: The Majestic

Quote:
Originally Posted by chemist
Granted I haven't seen this since it's theatrical release, but I remember enjoying the film and Carrey's performance. I was always surprised that this didn't do better at the box office since both Carrey and Darabont were still considered at the top of their games at the time.

I don't think Darabont ever really became a "name" director. Shawshank became a "hit" well after its theatrical release, so Green Mile was his only box office success - and expect Tom Hanks' presence greatly helped there. Dunno how much the "from the director of The Green Mile and Shawshank" bits I assume appeared on the poster for Majestic might've helped.

As for Carrey, people don't care about him in non-comedies. Of that group, only The Truman Show did reasonably well, and I think even IT was regarded as a box office disappointment; $125m for a Carrey flick in 1998 wasn't too hot. I'm more surprised when a Carrey non-comedy does well than when one flops...
Reply
post #12 of 15
2/24/09 at 2:52pm

Re: The Majestic

It does my heart good to see this thread, like you guys I love this film and IMO most people just didn't understand what Darabont was trying to do with it.

He channeled his inner-Capra and pulled it off, there's always been a sort of magic that comes off the screen during his films and this one is no exception.
Reply
post #13 of 15
2/24/09 at 5:07pm
Thread Starter 

Re: The Majestic

I like how everyone had a feeling he wasn't Luke. But, didn't say anything because they so wanted it to be true. This is especially true of "his" father. Plus, you can't go wrong looking at Laurie Holden for 2 hrs.
Reply
post #14 of 15
2/25/09 at 10:00am

Re: The Majestic

Quote:
Originally Posted by Colin Jacobson
I don't think Darabont ever really became a "name" director. Shawshank became a "hit" well after its theatrical release, so Green Mile was his only box office success - and expect Tom Hanks' presence greatly helped there. Dunno how much the "from the director of The Green Mile and Shawshank" bits I assume appeared on the poster for Majestic might've helped.

It's definitely true that Darabont never was a "name" director. Most people wouldn't recognize the name then or now. But by 2001 Shawshank had found it's home video audience so I would think that a "from the director of..." from two recently popular movies would have helped more than it did. Heck, I would have been interested in a "from one of the better writers of Young Indiana Jones" marketing tag but that's just me!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Colin Jacobson
As for Carrey, people don't care about him in non-comedies. Of that group, only The Truman Show did reasonably well, and I think even IT was regarded as a box office disappointment; $125m for a Carrey flick in 1998 wasn't too hot. I'm more surprised when a Carrey non-comedy does well than when one flops...

Again, very true that Carrey non-comedies struggle when compared to his comedies, but he did just win back to back Golden Globes in '98 and '99. That coupled with both his star power at the time and a connection with Shawshank and Green Mile I'm sure lead the studio to (rightfully) expect better box office than $28M.
Reply
post #15 of 15
2/25/09 at 10:13am

Re: The Majestic

My favorite part of this movie was the "film-within-film" featuring Bruce Campbell and Cliff Curtis swordfighting over the Hovito idol from Raiders of the Lost Ark
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Movies (Theatrical)