300 The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

[Narshty]

Is Annie officially a troll now?

[Andre Jurieu]

Let's face it, guys - you were all apalled when the explosions and gun-shots came on in the movie. And that's why you don't like it. Because that (for you, at least) is sinonimous with selling out to the Hollywood formula.

So many emoticons to choose from...


:-s

](*,)

[Napoleon]

...selling out to the Hollywood formula.

Life Aquatic made me think of many things, but Wes selling out to Hollywood was not one of them!

I think (or rather hope) that a lot of people who were under whelmed by this at the cinema will be blown away when they watch it again in a few months time.

I put this down to my main problem with it on first viewing. That being there were too many characters introduced too quickly. It seemed as though Wes already knew these characters intimately (which of course he did, being the writer), and expected the audience to share this knowledge. Second and subsequent times around this will not be the case.

[skuhn8]

I was underwhelmed when I first saw Royal Tennenbaums...and have since watched it about every 4 months...more than any other film. It's a fav. i think Wes kind of creeps up on some of us.

[Michael]

Yea, Wes creeps up on me but in a week or two, I shake him off easily.

[oldsheperd]

I hated BottleRocket the first time I saw it. Now it's one of my favorite films.

[DrewReiber]

I put this down to my main problem with it on first viewing. That being there were too many characters introduced too quickly. It seemed as though Wes already knew these characters intimately (which of course he did, being the writer), and expected the audience to share this knowledge.

I agree with the first statement in this paragraph, but not the last. Anderson purposefully gave the audience clues and information (about such characters and past events as Ned's mother and Jacqueline) at times when you hadn't yet been told that it would important to building Zissou's story. This was made even more obvious when you think about how the critical info (like the letter content) are given to us in a sequencing, that for the purposes of exposition, is out of order.

Again, if you think about what we are entitled to in terms of Zissou's plight at the start of the film and the revelations made about his character as we shift to the second half of the movie, the first half comes with an entirely different emotional context the next time you see the film. I can't remember which crew member said it, but in one of the many interviews I read someone mentioned how much harder Anderson was making his audience work for the story. Of course, even if some of it begins to make more sense on repeat viewings, some of you may never like the film... but he's very conscious of what he's doing.

[Theodore R. Stockton]

On the relevance of two releases:
I was playing on Amazon's best sellers pages and discovered that the single disc edition of M is selling better that the single disc of Life Aquatic. Not only does this bring up why only have a $3 price difference but also why are people still buying M when there is a much better one.

[Gregory]

I think the single-disc Life Aquatic is being produced mainly to sell to stores that typically don't stock 2-disc SEs. Anywhere people have a real choice, very few people will choose the single disc version just to save a couple dollars. Once again, stores like Wal Mart mislead people that huge stores = good selection and that cheap = good value.

[Toshiro De Niro]

It's being released on May 10 but already ranks #20 in Amazon sales.
(single disc edition - #2,022)

[rlendog]

Let's face it, guys - you were all apalled when the explosions and gun-shots came on in the movie. And that's why you don't like it. Because that (for you, at least) is sinonimous with selling out to the Hollywood formula.

Actually, I was just appalled that it was so boring and silly. I have nothing against Hollywood formula when well done. Hollywood formula when done well. And silly is fine when it is also funny. And even boring can sometimes be excused when it combines with intelectual or emotional depth. But I didn't find any of that in Life Aquatic. I was actually jealous of the person next to me who was snoring through most of it. At least he got some productive sleep for his ten bucks and two hours.

[cbernard]

Why didn't you get any of that stuff?

I thought the action sequences are supposed to be like enlarged and expanded versions of Max Fischer's ambitious plays. The Life Aquatic is the most faux theatrical of Anderson's four films.

[Narshty]

Why didn't you get any of that stuff?

I thought the action sequences are supposed to be like enlarged and expanded versions of Max Fischer's ambitious plays. The Life Aquatic is the most faux theatrical of Anderson's four films.

But the whole point of Max's plays is that he was drastically overreaching his talent every time, trying to make up for bland performances and flat characterisations with elaborate sets and knowing dialogue.

Wait a minute...

[Andre Jurieu]

...trying to make up for bland performances and flat characterisations...

Wait a minute...

I think you might have to make peace with the fact that this method of delivery is completely intentional on Wes Anderson's part, and does not constitute some sort of unintended failure on his part. It's not as if he was oblivious or unaware that it doesn't resonate with every viewer. It's his own stylistic choice in terms of performance and characterization. Though many viewers might not care for it, it seems that it's Anderson's chosen method of filmmaking.

[cbernard]

It's not necessarily a brilliant and/or poignant (sp?) gesture of self-reflexive filmmaking, but I think one has to arrive at the idea that it *is* *very* *obviously* self-reflexive, instead of going along blindly with a knee-jerk "action scenes mean dumb Hollywood" response.

I mean, Holy Hitler Youth, Batman, watch the island rescue in LIFE AQUATIC and Max's Vietnam play side-by-side. It's not mindblowing, but it puts the action sequences in LIFE AQUATIC in perspective.

I'm not a big fan of the film, myself, but a little empathy goes a long way.

[j. alfred prufrock]

Cbernard is absolutely right. Anderson, in his fourth film, has already become self-referential, which in turn make his world even more precious. I like to think of Anderson's movies in relation to the fiction mind and landscape of other artists, like Thomas Hardy-constructing a reality all self contained and complementary.

[rlendog]

...trying to make up for bland performances and flat characterisations...

Wait a minute...

I think you might have to make peace with the fact that this method of delivery is completely intentional on Wes Anderson's part, and does not constitute some sort of unintended failure on his part.

So does that make it an intended failure on his part?

I guess some people liked this aspect of the movie, but to me, whether it was intended or not (and I assume it was intended), it helped drain all the life out of it. The fact that it was an intentional choice doesn't make it a desirable one.

[Buttery Jeb]

Just a quick shout-out to anyone in the NYC area: I saw this on the shelves at Mondo Kim's on St. Mark's Place last night. Need to see it before I pick it up, but anyone else feel free.

-BJ

[souvenir]

Just a quick shout-out to anyone in the NYC area: I saw this on the shelves at Mondo Kim's on St. Mark's Place last night. Need to see it before I pick it up, but anyone else feel free.

-BJ

They have the two-disc mispriced though, for $31.99. It's treated like it retails for $39.99.

[dvdane]

I would like to pick up on what DrewRiber said about it begin about filmmaking, and apologize that I previously said it wasn't. I simply was so focussed on the Proustian text, that I missed several layers of the film.

As I previously said, alot of the elements concerning filmmaking is to note upon character, for instance when they find the airplane ("Lets start with a reversed shot of me") or after the pirate attack ("Did you get it?"), but a significant portion is also about filmmaking itself, especially indy vs. major studios, here represented thru Hennessey.

The raising of a production sum, personal filmmaking vs. staged filmmaking, realism vs. directed realism, are some of the issues the films notes upon.

The second part of Zissous film is actually his first honest film, where he doesn't invent himself or stage events. Note the scene, where they watch clips from his former films (the artic sequence) and how he edited the rescue of the artic animal.

However what surprised me the most was its subtle homages to Godard, not only in Andersons mise-en-scene, but also by the characters themselves and the hint to "Letter to Jane".

[Nihonophile]

However what surprised me the most was its subtle homages to Godard, not only in Andersons mise-en-scene, but also by the characters themselves and the hint to "Letter to Jane".

I watched Letter to Jane after seeing Life Aquatic and I had an eery feeling that I'd seen Godard's stunt reused somewhere.

[Steven H]

...or after the pirate attack ("Did you get it?

This line also had me thinking back to the film festival at the beginning of the film where the woman walking with him after the screening says "I just don't think they got it". It's possible Anderson might have been asking "did you get it?" directly to the audience. This was the first time in the film there was real danger, raw and unstaged (relative to his previous films it's awkward as well) and a lot of the audience participation is riding along with whether or not you can believe in that scene. I wonder if there are any other instances like this in the movie.

[Gordon]

Review: http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=15570

I didn't see this film in the cinema, although I love Anderson's films and did not intend to purchase the Criterion. I was merely going to rent the region 2 disc. However, this review paints a great picture of the film and extras sound amazing. Low-price point, as well. I may just pick this up.

[lord_clyde]

On a somewhat related note, today is Wes Anderson's 36th birthday.

[tavernier]

Just waded my way through both discs....I'm no Anderson fan, and the movie leaves me absolutely bored (as do his other films), but for those of you who adore it, you'll surely enjoy the extras. Although I daresay that 40 minutes of Portuguese Bowie tunes - yes, all the songs are performed in full as a bonus - might be a little much, even for the most die-hard, "I love everything he does" Anderson fanatics.