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Try to sell a difficult Blu-ray title to the HTF Membership (1 Viewer)

Ronald Epstein

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Just finished watching a Blu-ray for the second time within the past
year or so. It's one of those films that has a very overpowering effect
on me with each viewing. That being said, I know it's one of those titles
that would be quite difficult to persuade others to see.

That got me thinking.....

What film evokes quite a bit of emotion for you, yet would be something
quite difficult to persuade others to watch for one reason or another?

How would you sell that film to all of us in order to persuade readers to

take a chance and watch it themselves?

It can be a new or old film. Just has to be available on Blu-ray.

Please give us the pros of that film and the cons you feel might make
it a difficult watch.

Here is an example...


melan.jpeg



The Pros: This psychological drama isn't what it starts out to be. I don't
want to ruin its true premise, however, once the underlying story gets put
into motion, it is one of the most haunting (and possibly realistic) views of
what an Apocalypse might look like.

Big Plus: Kirsten Dunst, Keifer Sutherland star, with support by John Hurt.

The Cons: The kind of film you would find in an art house. Not that it's
necessarily a con, but already you know it's off the beaten trail. It moves
painfully slow. It's a very depressing film, because it centers on a character
with depression. The first hour is very difficult to get through not knowing what
is going on -- though certain things of what's to come are "hinted" at. At exactly
the 1 hour point, the film takes a turn and moves on to the really good stuff.

If its effective, it will haunt and stay with you for a very long time.
 

Ronald Epstein

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Perhaps some are misunderstanding the "gist" of this thread.

Try to sell us something that you really enjoy but might not be someone
else's particular cup of tea for one reason or another.

I provided an example in the first post of a manner in which you can
approach this.
 

Carl Johnson

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I would highlight the strong points of the movie with catch phrases. The example that comes to mind for me is The Butler. I saw it in a theater the week it was released. I would watch it again for the first time, but wouldn't buy or pay to rent it. I probably wouldn't even watch it on Netflix.Powerful. Historic. Featuring the most accomplished cast you'll ever see. Produced by Oprah. An inspiring tale based on a true story bridging a gap between slavery to redemption. Love. War. Segregation. JFK. Obama. See the highlights.Of course you avoid any mention of the unpleasant aspects of the film. A good percentage of the population specifically waits to see movies on disc. Focus on selling it to them.
 

Dick

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MELANCHOLIA is a remarkable film that does require a fair amount of patience, which is something our film-viewing community has almost completely lost (outside of members of this forum, of course). Now, an audience needs 95% of the films it watches underscored with mickey-mouse-like music cues. It needs action sequences at least every 5-10 minutes. It had better not challenge the mind, as we hardly have one these days.

This film intrigues me, and I have watched it multiple times. It is actually one of von Trier's more accessible movies, although it is long and slow and contemplative. I say...GREAT! Keep movies like this coming, as Europe still does (although decreasingly so)! Screw the attention-deficit crowd that has to have explosions and stupid dialog and one-dimensional character and plots. There are still some of us out here who like to use our heads, who enjoy engaging in the challenges such movies provide us.

I applaud von Triers for keeping me absorbed in a very adult plot, which could been seen as a metaphor for any number of horrifying end-of-Earth scenarios. This planet (or, at least, the human race) is headed for some sort of doom, and if you consider von Trier's film to be metaphoric, he is being very gentle with us. The "end" is much more likely to be slow and horrible, as opposed to the relatively quick and painless end depicted here.

In any case, I am old enough to have a bit of an attention span, and this is a movie that well rewards it.
 

Vegas 1

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I rented the BR from Netflix when it first came out I found it to be a tough watch but after reading the posts here I may give it another go.
 

JoeDoakes

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Ronald Epstein said:
Perhaps some are misunderstanding the "gist" of this thread.

Try to sell us something that you really enjoy but might not be someone
else's particular cup of tea for one reason or another.

I provided an example in the first post of a manner in which you can
approach this.
You could always take the approach you did with Blue is the Warmest Color: http://www.hometheaterforum.com/topic/329350-if-you-consider-yourself-a-prude-dont-read-this-blu-ray-recommendation/?hl=prude
 

CraigF

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Of relatively recent stuff, I would say that Cloud Atlas could be a tough sell. I really don't know much about what critics said about it, but nobody I know saw it or seemed to want to watch the BD. I don't know why.

If you go into this movie completely "unknowing", there's no way you can "get it" in one viewing. Once you've seen the credits, then you're ready for the second viewing, and that's just to assemble the story. If you don't know some of the personal and professional history of the actors playing specific parts, you are missing a lot of humor. This is a film which is probably way too clever for its own good, it is NOT at all the same as the book, not just because of the story exactly, but because of the story of the actors in the "real" world. I guess this is what the kids call a "meta" thing.

I have never seen anything quite like this. If I have, it went over my head and I never would have watched it again, so I wouldn't really know, and I certainly wouldn't have recommended it. I'm thinking that many viewers received Cloud Atlas that way.

Another one is Mud. I happen to really like it, it is one of those stories that draws the boy in you in, and you could see yourself in the story, or wish you were in the adventure. On the outside, it's a pretty simple story, very well done. I can't interest anyone else in watching it, and I admit if I stand back from it, it doesn't seem that interesting on the surface, a hard sell.

I have tons of films that nobody wants to watch. Really, I could easily mention anything that has subs or is B&W and it would be seriously unlikely I'd have company watching it. :) But I stuck to some fairly recent stuff that some here have probably seen.
 

Martino

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Sort of fitting this category - is the 1990 film Brain Dead....(title has been used more than once...)

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/brain_dead/

Trailer:


The Cons: This is a low budget film - so the special effects aren't all that special, and end up taking away from what is going on. The marketing for this film is way off, taking an obscure 1 second image from the film and promoting it as some kind of horror film. It is rather lowly rated on Rotten Tomatoes (as you can see from the link above)

Don't think this title was ever released on blu ray - and the DVD quality is poor, but is also available at Netflix...so doesn't fit with the premise:

"It can be a new or old film. Just has to be available on Blu-ray."



The Pros: Based on a script by Charles Beaumont, leading some obtuse fans to hail the "return" of that frequent Twilight Zone contributor. Much like a longer episode of the classic Twilight Zone

You can never really figure out what is actually happening in this movie. There are several dreams within dreams, reality changes from section to section of the film.

I have seen it several times, and have had many discussions about it, and it is one of these movies that can have several different actual outcomes.

For me, this makes it fun to watch and discuss with others, but I have had several viewings with people who came back with "what the heck was that crap" responses...

Also had a few "so this is what happened" and when you bring up a "it could have been this" to get the discussion going, they cannot see any other possibility - so that sort of kills the discussion.
 

Mark Booth

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My all-time favorite movie is 'The Majestic'. I've seen it at least 3 dozen times in the last 13 years. Yet, it received poor critical reviews (41% at Rotten Tomatoes right now) and mediocre audience reviews (61% at RT). It baffles me how anyone could dislike this movie!

It has romance, drama, comedy and heaps of nostalgia. Plus, it's about making movies and owning/operating a movie theater. Not to mention a terrific father/son relationship, a good guy vs. bad guys, and has a dose of flag-waving patriotism thrown in!

I guess some critics felt it was too manipulative. Not for me. In my opinion it's the best role of Jim Carrey's career.

I'm sure a lot of you have seen 'The Majestic' but I bet more of you haven't. And that's too bad.

Mark
 

Dick

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CraigF said:
If you go into this movie completely "unknowing", there's no way you can "get it" in one viewing.
Are you talking now about CLOUD ATLAS or MELANCHOLIA? I do not believe I had any problem "getting" MELANCHOLIA on the first viewing. CLOUD ATLAS is certainly less linear and more complex, and it does open itself up more for infinite personal interpretation.
 

CraigF

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^ I was referring to Cloud Atlas from the beginning and all the way until I got to Mud. :)

Besides the subtitled and B&W stuff that's generally hard to sell to friends, I could have easily picked some geek-fest or horrorshow or sexually bizarre thing and that would be a hard sell, but I kept to more pretty inoffensive stuff that is a mysterious (to me) hard-sell.
 

Mark Booth

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I just realized I'm trying to "sell" 'The Majestic' to the membership and 'The Majestic' isn't even available on Blu-ray! :)

I love the movie so much I purchased a digital copy in HD from iTunes. Plus I have the DVD, of course.

Sorry about that!

Mark
 

Bobofbone

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"The Man From Earth" . I really enjoyed this movie. It has nothing in the way of special effects. It has only 4 scenes, and the entire movie is centered on an interesting premise that develops as the movie progresses.

Why it is a tough sell-it sort of becomes that way after some people see it. It has a rather different perspective of the origins of some peoples belief sets, and raises some interesting questions. Saying more would be a spoiler.

I don't think it was made with a big budget. It's available on blu ray, but I found it easier to follow the dialog with a good sound system.
 

Bobofbone

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Man From Earth Pro's- I enjoy a movie that relies on the talents of the characters, and an interesting, good story line.

Cons-the sound could have been better. I may have this impression because the first time I saw it was in Netflix. The acoustics that my wife agreed to in our great room are nowhere near as good as what I put in my theater. And, the movie doesn't have subtitles.

I've had people tell me they really liked or really disliked it after seeing it.
 

AshJW

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Låt den rätte komma in (Let The Right One In)

3213_large.jpg


The Pros: What seems to be a vampire story, which is cool, turns out
to be a coming-of-age story of a boy, which is beautiful.
Although it's a story of/with kids, it's also a bit bloody (still a vampire movie)

Big Plus: For me as a mid-fourty it is a wonderful reference to my own childhood in the 70's (minus the vampire ;) )

The Cons: Well, it's a swedish film, so you have to go through with subtitles.
But it's worth it. (There's also an english dub, but it's not the same as the original - never is)
Although it's a story of/with kids, it's also a bit bloody (still a vampire movie)


If its effective, it will haunt and stay with you for a very long time. (-> I took the liberty of copy/paste it from Ron ;))
 

Keith Cobby

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A film that has had an effect on me, perhaps because I have a young son, is The Road. This is an extraordinarily bleak but rewarding film about a father's love for his son in a very frightening world.

The cons are I suppose that it is rather unusual in that it is really a film in one act. Usually there is a beginning, middle, and end to a film but in this case there isn't a beginning or an end (without giving any spoilers).
 

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