DVD Review HTF REVIEW: "The Dancer Upstairs" (with screenshots) (1 Viewer)

[Ricardo C]

Again, speaking from my own experience, better transfers do look better on the PC, so yes, this one isn't the best transfer around. But I bet that if you look at it on an HDTV, or even a regular direct-view set, it won't look as bad. I don't really know how to describe it, but when I watch a DVD on my PC, I see so much dither and extra video noise that it's like I'm watching a 256-color image. I have seen DVD rips with better color reproduction and less noise than some DVDs.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

As has been stated, the primary purpose for DVD reviews at HTF is to explicate picture/sound quality and the value of extras to readers of the forum. However, this doesn't mean that reviewers shouldn't post their own personal opinions about the film if they feel inclined to do so.

It's no secret that most of us (review team) wouldn't consider ourselves film-experts and we all have genres that we prefer and/or generally disdain (though no film's impression is predetermined--we've all had experiences where a film surprised us given its genre or style). The HTF membership understands the amatuer nature of our review staff and weighs our "film critic" content accordingly. Besides...*no* review, even one delivered by the most elite of professional reviewers, should be regarded as scripture. As long as folks reading our reviews put our opinions of the films we're reviewing in the proper context, then there isn't a problem. As with any film, there will be people who like it and people who don't. Adam's impressions are perfectly valid and I'm happy to hear them.

The great thing about reviews at HTF is that they are the root of a feedback-thread. This is a marvelous opportunity, because rather than silently disagreeing with a reviewer's opinion of a film and worrying that others may not get to read a different point of view...a HTF member can post his/her *own* opinion of the film.

This can be done in a respectful manner that doesn't deride the reviewer or implicate his/her level of cultural sophistication -- a matter, I should add, which no one is qualified to judge, and a topic that should not be open to conjecture or debate in discussion on HTF (unlike the quality of the film which is an entirely germane topic for discussion).

Michael has demonstrated the perfect example of an alternate opinion shared in an appropriate manner:

I tend to agree with Adam that the ostensible plot (the hunt for a terrorist leader) gets fairly scant attention -- it's almost background. I think that's because the real plot is the drama inside Rejas as he tries, against all odds, to carve out a small area of decency and integrity in which he and his family can live. Will Rejas solve his country's problems by catching a terrorist? No, but the search gives his life meaning, order and a purpose. He pays a price for it too (to say more would be a spoiler). With an actor of lesser caliber than Bardem, I don't think the story would have worked. He's the center of the film and IMO the number one reason to see it.

There's no question that this film requires an effort to watch. But I do think it repays the effort. Just keep your eyes on Bardem.

One further note: When I saw the film, it struck me that it would probably suffer in the home environment. It was shot for theaters -- not in the sense of a being a widescreen epic, but in its demand that the audience detach themselves from their daily activities, sit down in a theater, and surrender to the filmmakers' vision for a few hours. That's harder for anyone to do at home; I know it is for me -- which is why I still go to the theater as often as possible.

I've had HTF members disagree with my assesment of a film or my comments in a review. In cases where folks have emailed me privately, politely, and respectfully (however strongly they disagreed), I've often modified my review in accordance with their suggestions.

In the case of Adam's review, I personally see nothing problematic. He didn't like the film and he described his reaction in a manner that's dramatic and entertaining to read...one of the reasons *why* I enjoy reading reviews of films...be they positive or negative. I'm also glad to find others who feel differently about the quality of the film and have shared their impressions to provide an alternate point of view. Having not seen the film itself, this is a demonstration of how the conversational process at HTF can help me to become informed.

 

[Adam_Reiter]

Thank you David.

This is the last time I don't put 100% effort into a review. I was sort of trying to be funny about a movie that I didn't like very much. Obviously people took exception to that, and I agree to a point. I just didn't want to sit through the movie again, just to thoroughly explain what it was about. I also didn't want to copy parts of anyone else's review from another website, so I took the easier road this time.

 

[Jeff Savage]

Adam -

I think your conclusion does a great job of summing up your review. Basically you said "Hey not my favorite flick but if it is yours rent before you buy".

Perfectly fine for me and you did great job detailing the technical aspects of the DVD.

Jeff

 

[MikeZ]

I liked the movie. Then again, I've read the book, am familiar with the background (the capture of Abimael Guzman, in general the tactics of the Shining Path), and have visited the area (Peru) several times.

Except for the love story, most of the story is true and most of the characters (including the ballerina) are very closely based on their real counterparts. The kidnapping and murder of the Univeristy students? The various assasinations & acts of terror? Guzman's skin condition that needed special medicine, which helped them find where he was? Guzman being kept alive and kept in a cage (to show him as an animal)? Ballerina living in the house he lived in? The higher ups trying to derail the investigation so they could capture (and kill) Guzman? All are real (the University was "La Cantuta", though I am not sure if the play from the movie happened), and Guzman is still in prison at a naval base. And the real life terror events were much bigger, something like 20,000 or 30,000 Peruvians died in the various fights against the Shining Path and the smaller group, Tupac Amaru (for which an American, Lori Berensen, is accused of helping and is serving a 20 year sentence in Peru).

I will say that while I was watching the movie I kept thinking "this is good, but will confuse anybody who doesn't know the background". Kind of the movie "The Russia House", nice movie, but I had also read the book just before I saw it thus knew many of the finer details.

I recommend the movie for a rental, but not as a blind buy.

 

[Yumbo]

Russia House comparison is good, but I liked this movie regardless.

I finally got to finish it! Why - because it's always out as a popular rental!

The picture looks quite fine to me, a bit dark where it's supposed to be, but with slight EE in maybe 2 scenes max.

The sound was acceptable and quite finely rendered, music, surrounds (ambient), and I only had to turn it up slightly, unlike many other commercial movie DVDs nowadays.

Maybe review equipment needs calibration possibly?

Viewed using an RP-82 with 50" plasma.

those Spanish actresses just get more appealing by the movie! must travel...

 

[Denton]

I really liked Malkovich's "The Dancer Upstairs". I found the story compelling and the cinematography perfect for the material. "Dancer" is dominated by Javier Bardem as Rejas, a cerebral policeman searching for the leader of a terrorist group in a country in "Latin America". Bardem is brilliant in the role. Rejas learns much about corruption, justice, life and terror as he slowly zeroes in on his nemesis, a man who is a bit like his own image in a funhouse mirror: he recognizes that they share some characteristics but are otherwise very different. Recommended for viewers less concerned about technology than characters and plot.