Max-von-Sydow Movie Reviews

Why someone would refer to this film as one of Ingmar Bergman's "lesser" films totally suprises me. I find it to be one of the directors most harrowing,& powerful films! "Hour of the Wolf" from the very first scene tries to set itself up as a true story. And from that very moment we are in a way left senseless,for what's real and what isn't. How can we judge? I have never seen a movie that has been able to suspend our rational senses the way this film does. There are many memorable moments in this film. I'm constantly reminded of a dream sequence which deals with Max von Sydow (Johan Borg) and a small boy by a stream. I think it's one of the most powerful scenes I've ever seen only to be rivalled by the "Russian roulette" scene in "The Deer Hunter" and the final moments in "The Exorcist". I don't want to reveal what happens in the scene, but, I was truly unable to take my eyes off the screen. I'm pretty sure my chin was on the ground as well. It's such a strong scene.
Bergman has been known by some to be very sparing with music. He likes to have the characters emotions speak to us, not have some song create the mood that the actors are unable to achieve. But, in this movie, the music really helps certain scenes, this is not to say that the acting is poor by Sydow & Ullman. It most certainly is not! The cinematography by Sven Nykvist is wonderful as well, then again, I can't think of a movie he filmmed that wasn't wonderful. "Cries and Whispers", "Shame", "Fanny & Alexander"....ect.
The ONLY bad thing I can say about this film is, it's too short! At 1 hour and 28 minutes. Liv Ullman and Sydow are supported by a wonderful cast including Erland Josephson, Gertrud Fridh and the beautiful Ingrid Thulin, a Bergman regular as well. "Hour of the Wolf" is a strong film that really could be described as a series of nightmares that showcase the acting talents in the film. And that by no means makes this a "lesser" film by Bergman. A film of deep meaning that should be enjoyed by all.

"hour of the wolf" is,...far from a 'lesser' bergman film:it is his best.

johann (max von sydow), and his wife alma (liv ulmann), retreat to an island with one another and try to live a serene, peaceful life while johann works on his art. to say the least, it doesn't exactly pan out.

slowly but surely, johann's demons pursue him and whether they actually 'exist' or not is neither here nor there as far as the message of the movie goes. the most crucial scene is when the puppet show takes place in the demons' castle, and mozart's "magic flute" is done by the birdman, papageno. the darkness and meaninglessness of the human condition is reflected in the lines of mozart's character:"eternal night, eternal night, when whilst thou flee? when will mine eye the daylight see?" while these lines are recited by the birdman after the puppet show by papageno, a slow close up is gotten on his intensely evil face, and the lines are delivered with reverence and an inflection of utter doom and hopelessness. the answer is what johann already knows all too well--never. the artist's (and, by extension, man as a whole) attempts to know reality, to understand the purpose of his life and the meaning of existence, will come to naught, and he will be particularly unfortunate since, unlike the rest of the human race, he alone realizes the shadow of ephemerality and incomprehensibility cast all over life. the beginning and the end of the movie are more or less rational, in that there is nothing left but for johann to lose his mind. johann and alma, despite their intense love for one another, are just as cut off and unknown to one another as all human beings, and her attempts to save him are futile.

this film is a masterpiece, and masterfully utilizes the surreal and the imaginative to display bergman's unpleasant truth.

A famous painter, Johan (Max von Sydow), and his wife (Liv Ullmann) arrive on a small island where Johan plans to recollect his thoughts and find himself in his painting. He suffers from insomnia and bad nerves, and his nights are spent waiting in horror for the magical hour before dawn, the hour of the wolf, when a flood of memories, anxieties, and regrets transcend thoughts and appear as demonic apparitions which threaten to consume him. Johan's wife, Alma, must help him overcome his dangerous obsessions with his ghosts before the manifestations become too real, and its too late...

The Magician and Hour of the Wolf are my two favorite Bergman movies -- the reason being the flaws of these films only make them stronger by serving the point. In the Magician its an artist's fear of having his cheap trickery exposed for what it is, and his inability to make "pure" art. The fact that Bergman had to sell the film as an "erotic comedy" with a silly subplot doesn't make the film weaker: it just reinforces it with irony.

In the same way, the Hour of the Wolf was clearly made by a nervous and overworked artist: at this point the critics were out for blood with Bergman, ready to declare his career over and his movies indulgent exercises in his popular image. Bergman himself was having a rough time, with a theatre and a film career exhausting him and his marriage falling to pieces. But for Hour of the Wolf, any resignation, nervousness, or indulgence merely serves to strengthen the film's message. Hour of the Wolf is a desperate film, and because of that, I think its in this film that Bergman comes closest to his own artistic vision: That place where dreams, memories, and anxieties come together and become indistinguishible (something he would have a harder time conveying in films like Face to Face).

The film is beautifully made, with Sven Nykvist collaborating as usual. Bergman and his cohort were cutting close to perfect in craft around this period. The flood of images is overwhelming. Some favorite scenes: Johan struggling with a small boy while fishing, the dinner party (the pressure!), and of course, the famous "Magic Flute" scene, with the small puppet moving almost imperceptibly as a real man. And that prevalent Bergman talking point, Mozart, and the chorus' breathless chanting: "Pamin-na still lives." (lit. "Love still lives")

An emotional and personal film, one of his best.

It is so sad that this film remains little seen and little known. Clearly, Julie Andrews gives the best performance of her career (where was the Oscar nomination she deserved?) as a world- class violionist stricken with multiple schlerosis at the height of her career in this film based on a play by Tom Kempinski. Max Von Sydow plays her psychiatrist (scenes between Sydow and Andrews are powerful) and Alan Bates plays her philandering husband. Also features early performances from Rupert Everett and Liam Neeson. A heavy film, and a shattering, dynamic, tour de force for Julie Andrews.

Julie gives the best dramatic performance of her career - she just gives it all and excels in the delivering.I went to the UK opening and I cried and I enjoyed the impact this film had on the audiences. Julie IS the best.

I frankly don't see why people have overlooked this film or given it bad critiques and reviews. I think it's magnificent. I watched it the very same day I got it, and Ms. Andrews gives a magnificent performance. I foud tears on my own face at times, while Stephanie's struggling with her life. True, I'd never heard Ms. Julie use so much profanity, but everyone does it-she's a human being too. And a very wonderful human being, might I add. I know that in preparing for this role, Ms. Andrews spent time in a hospital, observing those with multiple sclerosis, and she did a wonderufl job portraying Stephanie. Perhaps another reason why I like this movie is because one of my friend's mother has multiple sclerosis. In a way, "Duet For One" has helped me to better understand what Kathryn goes through with her mother, who is also wheelchair bound. It must be frightful for someone to see their life ending that way. Anyhoo, the movie's great, and I really recommend it. It's very drammatic, very well done, and Ms. Andrews' performance sparkles.

A great story! Kojak investigates a series of recent killings that involve Russian Jews that worked with the Germans 40 years earlier to help imprison Jews in Hitler's concentration camps. Kojak is tied closely to the case by friends that are in the middle of the case. Susan Pleshette gives a great performance as Kojak's unofficial assistant and possible love interest. Max Von Sydow is, as always, great.

Probably, my pro-Kojak sentiments coupled with this movie's courageous story line led to my exaggerating an "objective" rating for this movie. A fairer rating for this movie may be 4 stars (but there's no 4-1/2).

The action and style is classic Kojak; even "Styros" (Terry Salvalas' real life brother) acts in this movie. Salvalas and Susan Pleshet did a good job of carrying the story of a Nazi concentration camp survivor tracking down aging Nazis to execute them, taking justice into his own hands. The one glaring flaw is that Pleshet's character (an ambitious State Department attorney on her way up ... who is supposed to derail Kojak's murder investigation) is not likely to have faced a lifetime prison term by handing over to Kojak "Top Secret" files ... just to prove to Kojak that she can be trusted. But otherwise, I think the movie made its point that mass murderous Nazis were (and continue to be) protected by various branches of the United States government. So making an action-adventure "crimmie" about it took some guts and deserves some glory.

This movie is worth seeing for entertainment and for educational values.

the word 'gray' definitely comes to mind. this film has a very bleak feel to it and although appropriate for the subject matter i wasn't a huge fan.

i like bergman's later, more mature (stylistically anyway) films like wild strawberries and cries and whispers.

definitely worth seeing though.

I saw Winter Light in an "art" theater when it first played in the U.S. What I remember best about it was the absolutely stunning black-and-white cinematography! The image on the big screen was sparkling crisp and clear and the light on the snow and the rushing white water of the river almost hurt one's eyes! It was a beautiful job of film photography. I haven't seen this movie on TV or video, but I know that on a small screen this effect would be lost and only the story would be left.

And the story is a typical Bergman tale of nihilism, in this case a small village parish priest has lost most of his congregation and his own faith, and is unable to deal with his own problems, let alone those of his flock. But he still carries on, an empty shell unwilling to leave the church and face the world, or the love of the woman who cares for him. Winter Light is remarkable mostly for the outstanding filmwork by cinematographer Sven Nykvist. Still, I'd like to see it again if and when it becomes available on DVD.

Of Bergman's religious trilogy, this one stands out to me because it seems to focus on the nature of religious crisis, and not the how and why. Bergman said of the film that "The surgery had finally been completed" -- that is, the removal of God as the suspender of ethics and purpose, but not the removal of the holiness of man's cause. Taken in its most positive terms, the film is humanist and secular in its message.

The story is of a despondent small-town priest (Gunnar Bjornstrand). It opens with a gruelling church service: This is astonishing to me, because while revealing the routine monotony and empty ceremony of the service, Bergman does not lose the audiences's attention for one moment. There is something grim and beautiful in the film's opening: the telling quietness of the service, the sparse attendance, the disenguousness of the priest who has himself never reached God: every time I see this film, it never ceases to amaze me how such an inherently boring situation becomes so fascinating. It is some of the most brilliant cinematography in Bergman cinema, in my opinion; the camera hardly moves, making it natural and simplistic, but probing and intensifying. The way the camera follows every small, seemingly insignificant gesture (as the priest's moving his hands along a table's surface, for instance), are drained and exposed for all their telling beauty.

After the service, the priest tries to console a young father who is obviously contemplating suicide, ostensibly for the sole reason of Chinese nuclear power. The priest's obsessions with the man causes something of an emotional chain reaction, a mini-odyssey of a man tortured by ennui and indifference, unable to reach God, finding only instead the thematic "Spider God." Gunnar Bjornstrand gives his finest performance, the type of magic that occures so rarely (as Sjostrom in Wild Strawberries). A particular scene, when he visits the suicidal man's family, moves me to no ends: its not his emotion, but his genuine lack of emotion that is so interesting.

There is a scene, however, that I don't think particularly worked out; the letter-reading scene. I think this is the first time Bergman employed the trick (later used in films like Autumn Sonata and From the Life of the Marionettes, to better effect) of a single camera poised on an extreme close-up of the face of the author of the letter, as they read it as though they were speaking directly to the receiver. Its a somewhat extended scene in the film, and most others I've talked to find it intoxicating: I disagree. Its too long, and I think in this case it would have been better served to have showed Gunnar's reactions as he read the letter, rather than the uneventful reverse. This is a small quibble, though, and I think most would disagree with me.

This film will always occupy a special place in my heart, but it remains among the most unconventional works Bergman did, at least pre-70s. Take that for what you will, the film is inarguably a somber and sober masterpiece which still inpires me to great reflection: For the thinking person's collection.

Although it's set in the 60's, it holds up today. Think of it as a period piece and remember it was during the cold war. You have to think Michael Caine turned this down because it's so close to his spy movies. There's no thrilling chases or Bond-type tricks, just plodding pursuit of his quest. However the enemy just lets him go twice and that will spoil it for the real thinkers. Just enjoy it and try to forget George in his "Just Shoot Me" TV role.

Milles away from JAMES BOND and other mindless spy spoof ,this entry is a delightful surprize, quite arresting from PINTER who scripted movies like ACCIDENT and THE GO-BETWEEN.Watching GEORGES SEGAL gets lost is always worth seeing(he always gets lost in most movies)Nice cameo by the late ALEC GUINNESS;we didn't have teachers as beautiful as SENTA BERGER in my time.If you must make a spy movie this the way it can be handled ,although some would prefer more action.

"The Quiller memorandum" is an unfortunately often overlooked Cold War-era spy thriller that is an excellent example of the genre. Set in a divided Berlin, it pits our hero, Quiller of MI-6 (played with world-weary, casual aplomb by the wonderful George Segal) against an evil underground cell of resurgent neo-Nazis, led by Max von Sydow. The beautiful German actress Senta Berger literally glows on the screen and features in an interesting plot twist made all the more disturbing by her on-screen job as a school teacher. The incredible Alec Guiness, in a small but critical role as Pol, epitomizes the faintly creepy, ever-inscrutable British spymaster that one never knows is friend or foe. Elegantly directed on location by Michael Anderson, it stands with "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" as one of the two best 'non-James Bondish" spy films of the late 60's. STRONGLY recommended!!

As usual, Max Von Sydow is excellent in his role of the great Nobel Laureate and Norwegian novelist, Knut Hamsun.

To be sure, I would've liked to see the director and producer delve back deeper into Hamsun's history. I think his formative years and time in America would have been more than worthwhile to chronicle. Hamsun was an incredibly lucid and accomplished author and one of the more compelling figures of the 20th Century. The totality of his life is a lesson in perserverance, rugged individualism, and originality. A more complete representation of his life is required to give viewers what they deserve.

As a fan and scholar of Hamsun, I was overjoyed when I finally managed to see this film. It does not disappoint in any way. The subject matter is, naturally, controversial but the film gracefully confronts the issue of the Hamsuns' Nazism and gives humanity to it. This is the best Von Sydow performance I have ever seen, helped by a precision piece of scripting. For those who are not familiar with Hamsun the film will not have the same power but will stand very strongly as a tragedy. The story does concern Nazism and literature, but its main focus is the estrangement and reconciliation of two powerful personalities. As a love story, it is impeccable.

Max Von Südow is a fabulous Knut Hamsun in this film about the life of the famous Norwegian writer. The charismatic Danish actress Ghita Nørby plays his manipulative wife.

Without truly knowing what he is getting into Knut Hamsun is attracted to the teachings of a certain man by the name of Adolf Hitler. Because the wife is the one truly devoted to the Fuehrer, Hamsun struggles between what she is trying to convince him is the true nature of Nazism and what he learns from other sources (not to mention from his encounter with Hitler himself, who wants Hamsun as a propaganda tool for the Nazi cause).

Obviously, the film is controversial. How much did Knut Hamsun actually know about the atrocities committed by the Nazis and how much was he lulled into it all by his wife?

The relationship between the arts and politics is made explicit and explored. How and why we chose and practise our ideologies is frightening and makes you wonder about your own convictions.

However, the film is so much more than this and is a definite must for anyone who likes to question themselves, society and the notion of history.

Ben Cross plays a wonderful and powerful part as "Solomon" which you will find it all, rebellion, corruption, courage, and faith. Like his father "King David" he got off to a good start but like his father he had a weakness for women that undid him,this in turn, led him away from "God". "Solomon's" beginning was better than his ending he had been raised to greatness, but plunged into the abyss of moral degradation and idolatry. I found that the love affair with "Qween Sheba" was not in accordance with scripture. The biblical text account of Sheba's visit was apparently a trade mission and to test Solomon's wisdom. All in all it is rich in history, drama, suffering, and death, and sets the stage for the rest of the Old Testament. It is well worth watching, I found it riviting and so sad at the same time.

Three out of these four DVDs are excellent! This is probably the nicest series of Bible stories available. The photography is beautiful, as well as the costumes, props and sets; the acting of the main characters is superb, likeable and believable; and the scripts usually stay very close to the actual Bible verses.

Genesis is the only stinker in this set. It is nothing like the other 3. The Genesis DVD has nice photography, but it does NOT act out the Bible scenes like the other three movies do! Genesis just narrates a reading of the book of Genesis, while showing contemporary desert people going about their daily lives.

If you are undecided about buying the whole set, then I would suggest buying at least one of these separately. "Jeremiah" is my favorite, and it really captures the attitude of a humble prophet being persecuted by the wayward Israelites. "Esther" is probably the most accurately told of these three good movies. It is a pretty clear storytelling, where the other movies sometimes change the order of events (but still portray the overall message accurately). "Solomon" covers the biggest chunk of Scripture, retelling many scenes of the life of Solomon and what Solomon wrote in the Bible.

I would rate the Genesis movie with 1 star, for being so misleading as to its content. But the other 3 films, Esther, Solomon, and Jeremiah are all 5 star movies! Even with the useless Genesis, the price of this DVD set is still a bit cheaper to buy the three good movies here, at one price, than to buy them one at a time.

Overall these are very accurate. I would like to point out, that many biblical scholars believe that Solomon did in fact marry the queen of Sheba. This is based on the history of the nation of Sheba (aka Ethiopia) and although the Bible dosen't explicitly say that they were married, there is nothing in Scripture that would contradict it. In fact the people of the Ethiopian nation were followers of the Jewish faith, that is why the Ethiopian enuch in Acts is reading from the Old Testament. According to the history of that country Solomon and the queen had a son and he sent priests and Levites to train him in the faith. This isn't somthing that the films makers made up.

Esther and Jeremiah are also very accurate, but I thought that Genesis was a little slow. It is mainly narative. After the story of the Creation it could have been acted out.

If I could give 0 star to this film, I would. I absolutely adore Robin Williams, but this film was sheer torture to sit through. The plot is convoluted and the characters unlikeable, or at best, incomprehensible. Annabella Sciorra's character becomes so inexplicably depressed that you're left at a loss as to why Robin Williams' character would even stand by her. The visual effects are stunning, but just can't make up for the miserable plot. The best thing about the film, seriously, is the title, which was what made me want to watch it in the first place and left me wondering halfway, when is this going to end???

This is without a doubt one of the most visually stunning films that I have ever experienced. It is magnificent, but without being overwhelming. Yet, I think that I would like it even if the camera work and effects were not so beautifully done. This is because I also find it the most thoughtful and mature film on the topic of the afterlife to ever come out of Hollywood.

The concept that we have to gradually overcome our preconceptions after death has the ring of truth to it. The metaphor of the art-loving Chris Nielsen seeing the afterlife as a great expressionistic canvas- until his guide rips through it to show him the next level is quite well done. This seeing beyond appearances and preconceptions to recognise our fellow beings as they really are is also quite profound. Personally, I enjoyed the fact that the deceased family dog seemed to be the only one that had no trouble adapting to his new surroundings.

Yet, this isn't a piece of new-age mind candy. Nielsen's wife's decent into despair after his death, followed by his epic quest into the depths of "hell" to rescue her, is positively mythological. I especially enjoyed Max Von Sydow as the the psychopomp guide (looking exactly like Carl Jung.)

The acting in this film is wonderful. The story line was heart felt and thought provoking. Robin Williams is at his best. I have shared this movie with many of my friends. It brings about questions of faith but most of all it gives us hope about our live here on earth and after. No matter what your religion or whether you have a religion at all, it provides dreams.

Oh great, the world of crime is solved by 3 naked chicks laying in jello and Tom is their keeper. It's in the future so we haven't yet gotten a "system" that could work with 3 jello babies. I really wanted to like it but this movie blows.

When you combine the talents of superstar Tom Cruise ("Vanilla Sky", "Top Gun") and director Steven Spielberg ("A.I.", "Jurassic Park"), there's nothing that can stop them from bringing a great film to the big screen, and "Minority Report" is no exception whatsoever! I have seen this film twice at the theater and I can't get enough of it! We have seen Spielberg give us some extraordinary classics, such as "Jaws", "E.T.", the "Indiana Jones" films, and "Jurassic Park", and a questionable film such as "A.I. Artificial Intelligence". But now, Spielberg has certainly outdone himself with "Minority Report", a film loaded with action and thrills galore, powerful drama, and cutting edge special effects that only Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) can provide us with! And as far as the performance from Tom Cruise goes, it was a performance that couldn't be better! Possibly the best Cruise performance since the "Mission: Impossible" films! "Minority Report" takes place in Washington, DC in the year 2054. There is a new brand of law enforcement called the Department of Precrime. Precrime uses psychics called "Pre-Cogs" to help the officers see the perpetrator committing his/her crime and to stop them before it is actually committed. As for Precrime chief John Anderton (Cruise), he is among those that believes in this system being perfect and that it is never wrong...until now! Shockingly, as it turns out, Anderton is being set up for a murder that he didn't even commit! And so begins an action-packed journey as Anderton races against time to clear his name, reclaim his life, and to find out who framed him and why. In closing, "Minority Report" not only has an outstanding performance from Tom Cruise, but an impressive supporting cast including Max Von Sydow ("Judge Dredd"), Colin Farrell ("Hart's War", "American Outlaws"), Samantha Morton ("Sweet and Lowdown"), Kathryn Morris ("The Contender"), Neal McDonough ("Star Trek: First Contact"), Tim Blake Nelson ("O Brother, Where Art Thou"), Jessica Capshaw ("Valentine"), Patrick Kilpatrick ("Free Willy 3"), and Peter Stormare ("Armageddon"). "Minority Report" is, without a doubt, one of the absolute best sci-fi action thrillers ever made since "Blade Runner". This is an absolute DVD must-own to any Steven Spielberg or Tom Cruise collection!

The film opens 52 years from now in Washington, D.C. The world is much like it is today, with more people and more technological ways to solve crimes and more technological ways to commit crimes and to evade detection.

The future follows the future trend where the liberties our founding fathers fought for are tossed out the window for the ultimate "ends justify the means" way of catching crime... using pre-cogs, three unfortunate souls who happen to have an uncanny knack for seeing a murder before it occurs. By tapping into the pre-cogs' brainwaves, detectives and future crime cops can locate the place a murder will occur and stop it before it happens.

Even without the sci-fi elements, the classics from good movies are evident... love, loss, betrayal, loyalty, duty, angst and a pinch of humor. There's a touch of everything - drug use, violence, macabre, who-dunnits, etc.

The sci-fi elements are subtle in many ways... eye candy (if you've seen this, pardon the pun) is not just thrown at the viewer to dull the senses or to distract the viewer from the true quality of the film. The world of the near future is much like it is today, just a bit more gadgetry and a little less freedom.

Iris-scanners are EVERYWHERE, calling people by name in shopping malls, enticing them to buy, buy, buy. With the obvious advances in medical technology, there are still those who are mentally ill, still those who kidnap and molest children, still those who deal and do drugs, still those who are willing to murder, even though they know they will probably get caught. In a world where guns have been banished, people are still murdered by ye-olde methods... drowning, stabbing, strangulation, etc.

The Metropolis-like scenes with modern cars that can quickly travel in any direction, even on a 90 degree highway, are a definite tribute to the classic films that Spielberg holds dear.

Some scenes are predictable, some are not. Sometimes just when you think you know what is going to happen, it's something else entirely. After seeing the film, you can't help but run dozens of "what if" questions through your mind. The film is an experience - you feel it, and you sympathize with the characters and you even care what happens to them after the film is over. This may be Tom Cruise's finest performance and the entire cast deserves a standing ovation. Like a good book, the characters stay in your head and you tend to recount different experiences and relate to characters in a way that is all too rare in the majority of movies that get cranked out of Hollywood each year. Of the films I've seen this year, this is the only one in my Oscar pile this year. I'm already anticipating the port to DVD and behind the scenes footage, etc.

Oh great, the world of crime is solved by 3 naked chicks laying in jello and Tom is their keeper. It's in the future so we haven't yet gotten a "system" that could work with 3 jello babies. I really wanted to like it but this movie blows.

When you combine the talents of superstar Tom Cruise ("Vanilla Sky", "Top Gun") and director Steven Spielberg ("A.I.", "Jurassic Park"), there's nothing that can stop them from bringing a great film to the big screen, and "Minority Report" is no exception whatsoever! I have seen this film twice at the theater and I can't get enough of it! We have seen Spielberg give us some extraordinary classics, such as "Jaws", "E.T.", the "Indiana Jones" films, and "Jurassic Park", and a questionable film such as "A.I. Artificial Intelligence". But now, Spielberg has certainly outdone himself with "Minority Report", a film loaded with action and thrills galore, powerful drama, and cutting edge special effects that only Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) can provide us with! And as far as the performance from Tom Cruise goes, it was a performance that couldn't be better! Possibly the best Cruise performance since the "Mission: Impossible" films! "Minority Report" takes place in Washington, DC in the year 2054. There is a new brand of law enforcement called the Department of Precrime. Precrime uses psychics called "Pre-Cogs" to help the officers see the perpetrator committing his/her crime and to stop them before it is actually committed. As for Precrime chief John Anderton (Cruise), he is among those that believes in this system being perfect and that it is never wrong...until now! Shockingly, as it turns out, Anderton is being set up for a murder that he didn't even commit! And so begins an action-packed journey as Anderton races against time to clear his name, reclaim his life, and to find out who framed him and why. In closing, "Minority Report" not only has an outstanding performance from Tom Cruise, but an impressive supporting cast including Max Von Sydow ("Judge Dredd"), Colin Farrell ("Hart's War", "American Outlaws"), Samantha Morton ("Sweet and Lowdown"), Kathryn Morris ("The Contender"), Neal McDonough ("Star Trek: First Contact"), Tim Blake Nelson ("O Brother, Where Art Thou"), Jessica Capshaw ("Valentine"), Patrick Kilpatrick ("Free Willy 3"), and Peter Stormare ("Armageddon"). "Minority Report" is, without a doubt, one of the absolute best sci-fi action thrillers ever made since "Blade Runner". This is an absolute DVD must-own to any Steven Spielberg or Tom Cruise collection!

The film opens 52 years from now in Washington, D.C. The world is much like it is today, with more people and more technological ways to solve crimes and more technological ways to commit crimes and to evade detection.

The future follows the future trend where the liberties our founding fathers fought for are tossed out the window for the ultimate "ends justify the means" way of catching crime... using pre-cogs, three unfortunate souls who happen to have an uncanny knack for seeing a murder before it occurs. By tapping into the pre-cogs' brainwaves, detectives and future crime cops can locate the place a murder will occur and stop it before it happens.

Even without the sci-fi elements, the classics from good movies are evident... love, loss, betrayal, loyalty, duty, angst and a pinch of humor. There's a touch of everything - drug use, violence, macabre, who-dunnits, etc.

The sci-fi elements are subtle in many ways... eye candy (if you've seen this, pardon the pun) is not just thrown at the viewer to dull the senses or to distract the viewer from the true quality of the film. The world of the near future is much like it is today, just a bit more gadgetry and a little less freedom.

Iris-scanners are EVERYWHERE, calling people by name in shopping malls, enticing them to buy, buy, buy. With the obvious advances in medical technology, there are still those who are mentally ill, still those who kidnap and molest children, still those who deal and do drugs, still those who are willing to murder, even though they know they will probably get caught. In a world where guns have been banished, people are still murdered by ye-olde methods... drowning, stabbing, strangulation, etc.

The Metropolis-like scenes with modern cars that can quickly travel in any direction, even on a 90 degree highway, are a definite tribute to the classic films that Spielberg holds dear.

Some scenes are predictable, some are not. Sometimes just when you think you know what is going to happen, it's something else entirely. After seeing the film, you can't help but run dozens of "what if" questions through your mind. The film is an experience - you feel it, and you sympathize with the characters and you even care what happens to them after the film is over. This may be Tom Cruise's finest performance and the entire cast deserves a standing ovation. Like a good book, the characters stay in your head and you tend to recount different experiences and relate to characters in a way that is all too rare in the majority of movies that get cranked out of Hollywood each year. Of the films I've seen this year, this is the only one in my Oscar pile this year. I'm already anticipating the port to DVD and behind the scenes footage, etc.