Max-von-Sydow Movie Reviews

This is a film about the bombing of Hiroshima as seen by American, German and Japanese eyes. It is a single film with several stories. One story is of an American aircrew shot down and interned in Hiroshima and how they were influenced by the dropping of the bomb. Another is of a German catholic priest and how the exploxion has changed him. Then there are several Japanese views; one a school boy who is trying to carry out his classmates final request, a Japanese physician dealing with the medical aftermath of the explosion such as radiation poisoning a malady only then seen one in a while from overexposure to x-rays, and the trials of an expatriate Japanese-AMerican woman who is living with her in-laws and expecting a child. One bit of irony; the Japanese-American woman is played by Tamlyn Tomita who has also played a Japanese-American woman in American during World War II. She has played a Japanese-American on both sides of the pacific during the same period and she must think it ironic that both of the charecters meet hostility and suspicion because of being Japanese-American, either in Japan or America. This is a story of the aftermath and the effect it had on people of that moment. It is a movie that should be seen to gain a better understanding of what took place that day and how, over 55 years later, the world is still trying to cope with what happened there.

The real star of Snow Falling on Cedars is director Scott Hicks. Working from David Guterson's beautiful novel, and with the help of the legendary cinematographer Robert Richardson he is able to create sequences of film of such intense beauty that you almost forgive the fact that film doesn't quite come togather as a whole.

The story revolves around the death of a Caucasian fisherman in a Pacific North Western town a few years after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. An American born man of Japanese descent stands accused of his murder. Meanwhile a local newspaper man Ishmael Chambers (Ethan Hawke) watches from the sidelines, he has a vested interest because the man who is accused is married to his childhood sweetheart, his only true love Hatsue Miyamoto (Youki Kudoh). But the synopsis doesn't indicate how complex the story is, it is told with flashbacks, and flashbacks within flasbacks, making a mess of the film, but a beautiful and poetic mess.

The performance were unfairly criticised by the critics, specifically Ethan Hawke's. His Ishmael is a bitter, heartbroken and wounded war veteran, and Hawke's understated performance expresses that perfectly. A man who lives in his father's shadow, never quite living up to the Chambers name. He has lost an arm in the war, and his bitterness towards Hatsue effects his reporting of the case. Now cynical and jaded he says "Facts you can cling to, emotions just fly away".

The best performance in the film is Max Von Sydow's. He plays Nel Gud Mundson who is the accused's attorney. Saddened by the community's deep prejudice, now old and crusty he trembles with anger when he addresses the jury. Von Sydow should have been a shoe in for the supporting actor Oscar, but alas he was ignored.

This film is also more observant when dealing with rascism. You see movies like THE HURRICANE idiotically simplify a system of thought that runs through out a society into a character of a bad cop. Snow Falling on Cedars is wiser, exposing the prejudice to be a deeply held belief among all citizens of a commuinity. A prejudice that is dormant in times of piece but all too apparent in time of war.

I really wanted to love this film, something about beautiful imagery playing under a powerful musical score gets to me. Although I give the film 3 stars, I'm reccomending because it is both frustrating and inspiring. A film that demands repeated veiwings, but doesn't make that task easy. If you can appreciate dense poetic films like THE THIN RED LINE or THE ENGLISH PATIENT, you'll appreciate this one even if its not in the same league as those two masterpieces. I suspect Snow Falling on Cedars is a great film, but its structure makes that greatness hard to get to. It is a difficult film, but worth the plunge.

This is a magnificent adaptation of David Guterson's acclaimed book. Director Scott Hicks took on a gargantuan task in attempting to make the book into a film, not only because it was so powerful and well received, but because it was so lengthy and daedal. The result, however, was one of the best films I have seen in quite some time.

There were really three stories intricately interwoven into one. The main story was the trial of a Japanese American for the murder of a fisherman who owned the land wrongfully taken from the accused's father. The other two stories provide insight into critical events affecting the trial. The first involves the childhood love affair of local newspaperman Ishmael (Ethan Hawke) and Hatsue (Youki Kudoh), who is now the wife of the accused. He has uncovered information that can aid the defense, but his resentment for having been jilted by Hatsue stands in the way of his bringing it forth.

The second ancillary story is the persecution of Japanese Americans and Japanese immigrants during World War II. We see depictions of hatred and bigotry, as law abiding Japanese citizens are shamelessly herded into internment camps. This seething animus serves as the psychological backdrop for the trial, which occurs in the early 1950's when the memories of the war and lost loved ones is still fresh.

From a directorial and cinematography perspective, this film was nothing short of a masterpiece. It is a cinematic work of art. Between Hicks' brilliant camera perspectives and Robert Richardson's beautiful lighting and earth tone coloring, the film was resplendent in powerful and stirring images. Many were so artistically done that if made into snapshots they could easily hang in any art gallery. Each shot was meticulously thought out. Many involved complex shots through windows, silhouette backlighting, elaborate blocking, and scenes where actors, props and camera were all moving in different directions to create fabulously fluid perspective shots that slowly unfolded to revealed the scene's full content.

The editing was also fantastic. I have seen comparison's between this editing and 'The Limey'. While there is some similarity in technique, this was far more elegant and flowing, whereas "The Limey" was jumpy and disconnected. This style of editing was absolutely necessary to adhere to the book's non linear format. Hicks needed to insert scenes that explained the feelings and motivations of the characters, and the only way to do this was with flashbacks and jump cuts. Despite the fact that such editing is disconcerting to a large majority of viewers, it was an artistic decision that was exactly right for the story, and seamlessly done. The same is true of the audio overlays with monologues of characters superimposed on one another, giving great power and emphasis to certain of the characters' lines.

The story itself, with all of its components, was engaging and well crafted. Unfortunately, there was not enough time to develop more of the characters. The scenes depicting the herding of the Japanese out of their homes for relocation were chilling. The courtroom scenes were realistic, not forsaking court procedure for dramatic effect, as is so common nowadays. The love scenes were sensitive, romantic and passionate without the need for sexual explicitness.

From an acting perspective, this was more of an ensemble production. All the actors gave wonderful performances, especially Youki Kudoh, who was torn between her love for Ishmael and her loyalty to her family and traditions. Kudoh was so emotionally involved with the part that she actually began crying during the featurette when recalling one of the scenes. Screen legend Max von Sydow was also fantastic as the aging defense attorney fighting and pleading for justice amidst the racial hatred.

This is a beautifully crafted film with a compelling story. It is a filmmaking 10/10. It has unfortunately not found a wide audience since its strongest elements are not areas of mass appeal. For the refined viewer who can appreciate filmmaking as an art, and enjoy an intriguing but deliberate story with exquisitely woven subtleties, this film is a delight. For those who prefer Hollywood's movie success formula of fast paced linear stories with lots of violence, profanity, clever one liners and raunchy sex, this film will bore them to death.

'Snow Falling on cedars' -adapted from David Guterson's novel- is about a murder trial, about racism and about a love that couldn't last.

I like the story as it is being told by director Scott Hicks. He seems to work like a musician, as a composer with a magic hand for telling a multilayered story in a perfect pace, just like the way themes develop and grow in good symphonic classical music. Scott Hicks also seems to have the hand and eyes of a painter and the imagination of a poet. Proof of this is the overwhelmingly beautiful photography of the film and the way the imagery blends perfectly with the beautiful music of James Newton Howard.

'Snow falling on cedars' is set on an American island in the straits north of Puget Sound, in Washington, with a large Japanese-American community. Everyone on this island is either a fisherman or a berry farmer.

At the core of 'Snow falling on cedars' lies a dramatic love story. It focuses on the most painful loss for a human soul to endure. Imagine yourself living in a small community where you are confronted every day with someone who once dearly loved you, but, due to extreme circumstances -in this case World War II- had to leave you and eventually married someone else... and you've never stopped loving that person. Whereas a deceased beloved person becomes a closed book, containing memories of the past, a living beloved one you see every day, but you can't reach anymore, causes probably a deeper trauma of loss. A trauma that can rip a man's heart and soul apart. We see this happen in 'Snow falling on cedars'.

The story gives us a deep and subtle look into the human heart of main character Ishmael Chambers (played very well by Ethan Hawke), a journalist who has never overcome a passionate love relationship in his teenage years with the Japanese girl Hatsue Imada (played very well by Youki Kudoh), who -according to her tradition- has married a Japanese guy. Hatsue's husband, fisherman Kazuo Miyamoto, stands on trial for the murder of fisherman Carl Heine. Kazuo's case looks bad and it's 1951, six years after the end of World War II, and nine years after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbour. Japanese-Americans were moved to internment camps during the war. In 1951 many Americans still frown upon their Japanese 'fellow americans' as a not trustworthy 'former enemy'. So ethnicity and racial convictions -although not outspoken- could play a role in the verdict of the jury.

Ishmael unravels the case and his findings will be crucial for the fate of Kazuo Miyamoto. While the trial is going on, we learn at the same time in many flashbacks about Ishmael's past love affair with Hatsue.

Don't miss this great movie and watch how main character Ismael Chambers finds the strength to show how gentle and generous the heart of a man can be. For all those with a sensitive mind and heart 'Snow falling on cedars' will be a feast for the senses, and of course nothing less can be expected from a true masterpiece.

The real star of Snow Falling on Cedars is director Scott Hicks. Working from David Guterson's beautiful novel, and with the help of the legendary cinematographer Robert Richardson he is able to create sequences of film of such intense beauty that you almost forgive the fact that film doesn't quite come togather as a whole.

The story revolves around the death of a Caucasian fisherman in a Pacific North Western town a few years after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. An American born man of Japanese descent stands accused of his murder. Meanwhile a local newspaper man Ishmael Chambers (Ethan Hawke) watches from the sidelines, he has a vested interest because the man who is accused is married to his childhood sweetheart, his only true love Hatsue Miyamoto (Youki Kudoh). But the synopsis doesn't indicate how complex the story is, it is told with flashbacks, and flashbacks within flasbacks, making a mess of the film, but a beautiful and poetic mess.

The performance were unfairly criticised by the critics, specifically Ethan Hawke's. His Ishmael is a bitter, heartbroken and wounded war veteran, and Hawke's understated performance expresses that perfectly. A man who lives in his father's shadow, never quite living up to the Chambers name. He has lost an arm in the war, and his bitterness towards Hatsue effects his reporting of the case. Now cynical and jaded he says "Facts you can cling to, emotions just fly away".

The best performance in the film is Max Von Sydow's. He plays Nel Gud Mundson who is the accused's attorney. Saddened by the community's deep prejudice, now old and crusty he trembles with anger when he addresses the jury. Von Sydow should have been a shoe in for the supporting actor Oscar, but alas he was ignored.

This film is also more observant when dealing with rascism. You see movies like THE HURRICANE idiotically simplify a system of thought that runs through out a society into a character of a bad cop. Snow Falling on Cedars is wiser, exposing the prejudice to be a deeply held belief among all citizens of a commuinity. A prejudice that is dormant in times of piece but all too apparent in time of war.

I really wanted to love this film, something about beautiful imagery playing under a powerful musical score gets to me. Although I give the film 3 stars, I'm reccomending because it is both frustrating and inspiring. A film that demands repeated veiwings, but doesn't make that task easy. If you can appreciate dense poetic films like THE THIN RED LINE or THE ENGLISH PATIENT, you'll appreciate this one even if its not in the same league as those two masterpieces. I suspect Snow Falling on Cedars is a great film, but its structure makes that greatness hard to get to. It is a difficult film, but worth the plunge.

This is a magnificent adaptation of David Guterson's acclaimed book. Director Scott Hicks took on a gargantuan task in attempting to make the book into a film, not only because it was so powerful and well received, but because it was so lengthy and daedal. The result, however, was one of the best films I have seen in quite some time.

There were really three stories intricately interwoven into one. The main story was the trial of a Japanese American for the murder of a fisherman who owned the land wrongfully taken from the accused's father. The other two stories provide insight into critical events affecting the trial. The first involves the childhood love affair of local newspaperman Ishmael (Ethan Hawke) and Hatsue (Youki Kudoh), who is now the wife of the accused. He has uncovered information that can aid the defense, but his resentment for having been jilted by Hatsue stands in the way of his bringing it forth.

The second ancillary story is the persecution of Japanese Americans and Japanese immigrants during World War II. We see depictions of hatred and bigotry, as law abiding Japanese citizens are shamelessly herded into internment camps. This seething animus serves as the psychological backdrop for the trial, which occurs in the early 1950's when the memories of the war and lost loved ones is still fresh.

From a directorial and cinematography perspective, this film was nothing short of a masterpiece. It is a cinematic work of art. Between Hicks' brilliant camera perspectives and Robert Richardson's beautiful lighting and earth tone coloring, the film was resplendent in powerful and stirring images. Many were so artistically done that if made into snapshots they could easily hang in any art gallery. Each shot was meticulously thought out. Many involved complex shots through windows, silhouette backlighting, elaborate blocking, and scenes where actors, props and camera were all moving in different directions to create fabulously fluid perspective shots that slowly unfolded to revealed the scene's full content.

The editing was also fantastic. I have seen comparison's between this editing and 'The Limey'. While there is some similarity in technique, this was far more elegant and flowing, whereas "The Limey" was jumpy and disconnected. This style of editing was absolutely necessary to adhere to the book's non linear format. Hicks needed to insert scenes that explained the feelings and motivations of the characters, and the only way to do this was with flashbacks and jump cuts. Despite the fact that such editing is disconcerting to a large majority of viewers, it was an artistic decision that was exactly right for the story, and seamlessly done. The same is true of the audio overlays with monologues of characters superimposed on one another, giving great power and emphasis to certain of the characters' lines.

The story itself, with all of its components, was engaging and well crafted. Unfortunately, there was not enough time to develop more of the characters. The scenes depicting the herding of the Japanese out of their homes for relocation were chilling. The courtroom scenes were realistic, not forsaking court procedure for dramatic effect, as is so common nowadays. The love scenes were sensitive, romantic and passionate without the need for sexual explicitness.

From an acting perspective, this was more of an ensemble production. All the actors gave wonderful performances, especially Youki Kudoh, who was torn between her love for Ishmael and her loyalty to her family and traditions. Kudoh was so emotionally involved with the part that she actually began crying during the featurette when recalling one of the scenes. Screen legend Max von Sydow was also fantastic as the aging defense attorney fighting and pleading for justice amidst the racial hatred.

This is a beautifully crafted film with a compelling story. It is a filmmaking 10/10. It has unfortunately not found a wide audience since its strongest elements are not areas of mass appeal. For the refined viewer who can appreciate filmmaking as an art, and enjoy an intriguing but deliberate story with exquisitely woven subtleties, this film is a delight. For those who prefer Hollywood's movie success formula of fast paced linear stories with lots of violence, profanity, clever one liners and raunchy sex, this film will bore them to death.

'Snow Falling on cedars' -adapted from David Guterson's novel- is about a murder trial, about racism and about a love that couldn't last.

I like the story as it is being told by director Scott Hicks. He seems to work like a musician, as a composer with a magic hand for telling a multilayered story in a perfect pace, just like the way themes develop and grow in good symphonic classical music. Scott Hicks also seems to have the hand and eyes of a painter and the imagination of a poet. Proof of this is the overwhelmingly beautiful photography of the film and the way the imagery blends perfectly with the beautiful music of James Newton Howard.

'Snow falling on cedars' is set on an American island in the straits north of Puget Sound, in Washington, with a large Japanese-American community. Everyone on this island is either a fisherman or a berry farmer.

At the core of 'Snow falling on cedars' lies a dramatic love story. It focuses on the most painful loss for a human soul to endure. Imagine yourself living in a small community where you are confronted every day with someone who once dearly loved you, but, due to extreme circumstances -in this case World War II- had to leave you and eventually married someone else... and you've never stopped loving that person. Whereas a deceased beloved person becomes a closed book, containing memories of the past, a living beloved one you see every day, but you can't reach anymore, causes probably a deeper trauma of loss. A trauma that can rip a man's heart and soul apart. We see this happen in 'Snow falling on cedars'.

The story gives us a deep and subtle look into the human heart of main character Ishmael Chambers (played very well by Ethan Hawke), a journalist who has never overcome a passionate love relationship in his teenage years with the Japanese girl Hatsue Imada (played very well by Youki Kudoh), who -according to her tradition- has married a Japanese guy. Hatsue's husband, fisherman Kazuo Miyamoto, stands on trial for the murder of fisherman Carl Heine. Kazuo's case looks bad and it's 1951, six years after the end of World War II, and nine years after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbour. Japanese-Americans were moved to internment camps during the war. In 1951 many Americans still frown upon their Japanese 'fellow americans' as a not trustworthy 'former enemy'. So ethnicity and racial convictions -although not outspoken- could play a role in the verdict of the jury.

Ishmael unravels the case and his findings will be crucial for the fate of Kazuo Miyamoto. While the trial is going on, we learn at the same time in many flashbacks about Ishmael's past love affair with Hatsue.

Don't miss this great movie and watch how main character Ismael Chambers finds the strength to show how gentle and generous the heart of a man can be. For all those with a sensitive mind and heart 'Snow falling on cedars' will be a feast for the senses, and of course nothing less can be expected from a true masterpiece.

Where do I start? Horrible script, bad casting, bad make up, bad acting, dumb looking natives (looks like Gilligan's Island), as boring as possible. Don't be fooled by the big name stars-this is a born-loser. I give it one star for the location filing.

...The only complaint I have of the movie is that the sound editor needs to be shot, because in many places where the actors are speaking quietly (and even above-whispering voices), you can just barely hear them! At times like that, I'm glad to have closed captioning capabilities on my TV. But other than that, a wonderful movie. One of the few movies over 3 hours long I will sit and watch from beginning to end.

I saw this when it was on TV. I would buy it if it's on DVD.

Where do I start? Horrible script, bad casting, bad make up, bad acting, dumb looking natives (looks like Gilligan's Island), as boring as possible. Don't be fooled by the big name stars-this is a born-loser. I give it one star for the location filing.

...The only complaint I have of the movie is that the sound editor needs to be shot, because in many places where the actors are speaking quietly (and even above-whispering voices), you can just barely hear them! At times like that, I'm glad to have closed captioning capabilities on my TV. But other than that, a wonderful movie. One of the few movies over 3 hours long I will sit and watch from beginning to end.

I saw this when it was on TV. I would buy it if it's on DVD.

I have always known that Slyvester Stallone had limitations as an actor, but I have to admit I was rather surprised that he could not play Arnold Schwarzenegger. Listen to the dialogue when the title character in "Judge Dredd" shows up on the scene and I think it is pretty clear that lines like "I am the law" were written for Ah-nold to growl rather than Sly. I have no evidence to support such a conclusion, like we do for the part of the Wizard in 'The Wizard of Oz' being written for W.C. Fields, but I remain convinced that Schwarzenegger would have been better suited to carrying off the opening scene.

'Judge Dredd' is based on a British comic book of a dystopian future where police officers have become 'judges' who are judge, jury and executioner rolled into one. As such it was part of the British disposition towards predicting a fascist future found in works from George Orwell's classic novel '1984' to Alan Moore and David Lloyd comic book mini-series 'V for Vendetta.' For the most part the 'Judge Dredd' comics were highlighted by the distinctive artwork of Brian Bolland more than anything else.

The film presents a future that is so violent, with Megacities engaged in constant battles called Block Wars, that even the Judges, with their authority and power to summarily execute criminals, are considered to be unable to handling the problem. Judge Griffin (Jürgen Prochnow) wants to expand the authority of the Judges so that they can execute more criminals for lesser crimes and in a film like this you know such goals are not idle ideological discourse. There is a conspiracy at work and suddenly Dredd (Stalone) is arrested and convicted for a crime that he did not commit. The deed was perpetrated by Rico (Armand Assante), a former Judge who was sent to prison by Dredd. But, as with all such movie conspiracies, there is much more to the plot than Dredd knows, involving even his father figure, Chief Justice Fargo (Max won Sydow).

Judge Dredd has two decidedly different sidekicks in this film, Judge Hershey (Diane Lane), who tries to defend him in court, and career petty criminal Herman Ferguson (Rob Schneider), who ends up with him on the street trying to stay alive and figure out the conspiracy. They have relatively little to do in the film besides spout dialogue intended to provide exposition, comic relief, and chip away at Dredd's gruff exterior to eventually find a spark of humanity. It is a sad film that wastes the talents of both Diane Lane and Rob Schneider. 'Judge Dredd' works best during its action sequences, when the title character is too busy to speak, because sooner or later he utters the film's wretched punch line, 'I knew you'd say that,' and you have to roll your eyes and wait for the next action sequence to distract you.

In its defense, it should be pointed out that there is a lot of action in the film, which never lets up long enough for you to make the conscious effort to stop watching. The conspiracy is predictable enough that when characters sketch out the details in-between Dredd's rampages it is enough to connect the dots. Just do not try and figure out the film's ideological position on law and order issues in the real world.

Forget what people have said about this film!It isn't a Star wars/Bladerunner clone (no pun intended).This is a good movie in it's own right!True,it isn't 100% faithful to the comic,but how many comics do you know that can be translated unto screen with no changes?If you want proof of this watch the shadow,or even the dire tank girl!The plot could have been better,i would have liked to have seen Judge Death or more of the angel family!Thankfully the storyline is saved by excellent action sequences,the lawmaster chase is a must see!
Stallone shines as Dredd,even though hard core dredd fans hate him for taking off his helmet!Come on,did you expect Stallone to go through an entire film with his helmet on?Seriously?
The score by Alan Silvestri is simply excellent!A must hear!
If you're a hard core dredd fan,don't watch this!If you're a dredd fan,or simply someone wanting to watch a good action movie with loads of explosions and judging,this is the one for you!My only complaint about this film is that it is too short!90 minutes for a dredd film?give me a break!But then,they are 90 action packed minutes!

Who couldn't like this slick, sleek, happily depraved and utterly self-contented violent romp in the near future? It's got Sly Stallone in a fine, full-bodied role as the fascistic Judge Dredd---and hey, He's the Law! You got a problem with that? You got objections, Perp? He KNEW you'd say that! (sound of Perp being knocked unceremoniously in the head by Judge Dredd's side-arm).

Let me count the ways I love Judge Dredd:

1)It's all Action, all the time---and it Looks so Good! And best of all, it's action done by a competent, experienced crew: Adrian Biddle ("Aliens", "1492", "Thelma & Louise") for cinematography, and set design by Peter Young, who did the look for "Batman" and "Sleepy Hollow".

2)It's got Armand Assante and Jurgen Prochnow as crazed, Machiavellian evil villains (Assante crazed, Prochnow Machiavellian)!

3) It's got veteran uber-actor Max von Sydow as Chief Justice Fargo, and boy the guy looks hip and happening in a trenchcoat with a big super-duper hand cannon!

4) It's got a violent Mega-City where the angry inhabitants don't have backyard barbecues, they have block wars!

5) It's got an angry War Robot designed to control crowds---with extreme prejudice! Oh, it likes to pull peoples' heads off, too.

6) It's got angry unfinished Clones, all of whom are imperfect copies of Assante!

7) Aspen, Colorado is a penal colony! What a great world!

8) It's got starlet action! A villainous Joan Chen in tight leather hotpants! It's got the genetically perfect Diane Lane as the unfortunately named Judge Hershey (I don't know. Don't ask.)!

9) It's got a periodically amusing Rob Schneider and gratuitous Balthazar Getty! It's got a family of inbred religious cannibals who make the family in "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" look like pikers---and the razor-toothed Number 1 Son has what appears to be a minute-timer embedded in his skull!

10) Finally, it's just all around fun: the chase on Lawmasters through the neon heights and aeries of Mega City One has to be seen to be believed, and it is far more enjoyable than anything in the Star Wars prequels. And in addition, it's a pretty fine adaptation of the Judge Dredd graphic novel series.

So get past your need to see 'serious' cinema, sit back, and pop "Judge Dredd" on the hopper. Besides, He's the Law----and failure to appreciate the subtle glories of this film is a Violation, Citizen---Punishment? You don't want to know.

Oh wow.....to be honest, I disregarded the other reviews here because I wanted to see this movie again so badly. So, I convinced myself that it couldn't make THAT much difference dubbed instead of subtitles. Boy, was I wrong! It makes a very, very big difference in the authenticity of such wonderful movies.
Being of Swedish extraction from both my parents, I love to hear the beautiful lilt of the Swedish language in movies reproducing the lives of my ancestors. Though I cannot enjoy this version as I could a subtitled one, I will watch it until I can find the subtitled version for myself.

"The New Land"..... the same review applies....except that many years ago I bought the subtitled version for my father.....and I will borrow his rather than watch it dubbed!

Two beautiful movies; and they lose so much with English instead of Swedish words. As another reviewer said, it is just not believable to have a character speak fluent English through out a movie yet not be understood by other English speaking people!

This movie was great. I would recommend it to anyone interested in American or Swedish history!

Sweden is seen as the very model of a welfare state: modern, progressive, prosperous, manufacturer of sturdy and safe cars, inventor of the three-point seatbelt (with great public spirit and foresight ... not patented!), major exporter of advanced weapons systems, very attractive blondes, and a keen line in flat-packed home-assembly furniture. But Sweden was not always like that. The welfare state did not begin to develop into what it is today until the early 1930s, when the world-wide Depression following the Wall Street Crash of 1929 made its mark. Before then Sweden was primarily a pastoral country, slow to industrialize (even though the copper mines of Dalarna were then among the most valuable in the world), and as much the victim of famine and intolerance as anywhere else in Europe during the 19th Century.

Adapted from Vilhelm Moberg's novels, Utvandrarna is the story of Karl-Oskar Nilsson (Max von Sydow) and his family who, with others disillusioned with their infertile plot of land or seeking to escape religious intolerance and persecution, "emigrated to North America from the Swedish province of Småland in 1844. At that time the parish of Ljuder had 1,925 inhabitants. There were 254 farmers who owned their land, 92 tenant farmers, and 11 tenement soldiers. 39 persons were artisans. There were also 274 servants, 127 paupers, 60 cripples, 5 halfwits, 3 idiots, 3 whores, and 2 thieves. Four men governed the parish by virtue of their spiritual and temporal offices - the deacon of the church, the sheriff, the biggest landowner, and the churchwarden. It was the same in all the other parishes."

Beautifully filmed like a Timoteï shampoo advert (much like Bo Widerberg & Jörgen Persson's 1967 Elvira Madigan which entranced the eyes and ears), at times the film is both strangely hypnotic and a tedious grind. But Life was like that back then - no radio, television, Monopoly or Playstations, just too many mouths to feed (one of their children starves), bible-thumping pastors, dour expressions, bad soil, bad food, and morale-sapping, back-breaking labour for little or no gain. The enormity of the challenge awaiting Karl-Oskar Nilsson and his family on the plains of Minnesota becomes slowly apparent during the seemingly endless 10 weeks of the Atlantic crossing on an over-crowded sailing ship where seasickness, lice and melancholy took a further toll on those brave souls. After New York there were several more days of train travel, followed by more days on a river-steamer - along with more death. Until Karl-Oskar finds his 'promised land' ... and marks the tree to stake his claim.

Nybyggarna: "But that was just the beginning. The pursuit of the dream had led them to the strange yet fertile and abundant land. It remained for them to try to tame it, to learn to live in it, and - hopefully - to prosper with it. The story of those years, those years that were to change them from hopeful wanderers to dedicated settlers determined to play a vital rôle in the growth of a nation, is a story that describes America itself."

Although life is better in Minnesota than it ever was in Sweden, it is still not without searing heartache and agonizing sacrifice. Through trial (extreme summers and winters, the Santee Sioux defending their homeland against the encroaching white man during the Civil War, and ever-present melancholia) and tribulation (Karl-Oskar loses another infant child, his younger brother Robert to gold fever and disease, and his desperately homesick wife Kristina [Liv Ullmann] to one pregnancy too many), the tedious grind finally sees Karl-Oskar's surviving children reach adulthood, take over the finally-prosperous farmstead, but an aged Karl-Oskar himself alone, lonely, melancholic and thinking of the ole country he left behind 20 years earlier ...

If one can put aside the often too noticable dubbing, perhaps you, too, can feel this as solemn, forceful, nation-building ... and moving.

I still can't believe they edited this DVD. I remember this movie well - I saw it 5 times in the theater. It is a good oldfashioned B movie. Decent plot you can follow with poor special effects trying to be 'top notch'. I was suprised at the quality of the acting at the time, and not shocked when I saw Quaid break through soon after.

The plot is basic horror stuff. A man (Van Sydow at his 'nerdy proffesor' best) studys dreams, to determine if one person can actually enter another's dream. Then comes in the Government agent (Christopher Plummer at his most evil) representing the true source of the study's funding. They want to use this information to attempt to determine if they kill someone in their sleep will the person die. If so the plan is to use this information to assassinate those not 'helpful' to America. Dennis Quaid plays the young college dropout who is recruited for the study, and Kate Capshaw his love interest. The battles are fought in dreams.

If you've never seen it in theaters, rent this one tonight.

I saw the film now for the first time and were very surprised with the argument. A lot of parts are very similar to the "Elm Street" movies, which began one year later, even the knife-fingernails of the murderer, but especially that all victims were killed in their dreams.
I agree with the other reviews, the film has great performanes.
On the other hand there're a lot of mistakes and contradictions in the argument. For example, the last victim (the bad guy from the government) is killed although the protagonist is far away and can't influence his dream. But all in all I think you'll not loose your time seeing this movie, especially if you're a great science fiction/horror fan.

"Dreamscape" is one of those often overlooked cinematic gems, on the vanguard of the mid-80's resourgence of lower budget SF which included "Real Genius" and "Wierd Science", among others.

Here we have Dennis Quaid exercising every charsima cell possible as a washed-up psychic, who is enlisted by former mentor Max Von Sydow into a top secret program to enter and control people's dreams. Overseeing the project is shady government spook Christopher Plummer, with plans of permanently correcting US President Eddie Albert's apocolyptic nightmares. Of course, some of the more fantastical SFX that seemed cool in theatres in 1984 show their matte lines now on video, but the movie does harbour some truly impressive tricks and unsettling dream sequences. The story itself is compelling, and the fine cast helps matters along by selling it brilliantly, and it is a complete treat to see old scenery chewers Von Sydow and Plummer acting against each other. Another fine performance comes from perennial 80's sleazebag David Patrick Kelly as Plummer's dream assassin, but a weak link is Kate Capshaw's typically wooden performance as Von Sydow's assistant.

For some reason, I had a hard time hunting down this film, eventually settling for a well-worn rental at the local Mom & Pop videostore. But this entertaining SF yarn is well worth the search, if you can find it possible to see through the shamelessly obvious Raiders rip-off box cover design. Interestingly, Capshaw herself would end up appearing in the second Raiders of the Lost Ark movie, and eventually become Mrs. Steven Spielberg. Good thing too, because she really wouldn't have lasted long as an actress with her painfully stilted acting presence. But don't lose any sleep over that, "Dreamscape" has enough charm, momentum and surprise to overcome even the worst acting nightmare.

After viewing this video I was very disappointed. The story was very slow in developing and never really did capture my interests. I was hoping this film would focus more on the story of the Overcomers and the dictatorial rule of Mrs. Spafford, instead it was a love story. It was much like Titantic in that the love story was in foreground and the ship was in the background. Jerusalem was much the same, with a love story in the foreground and the Overcomers and Mother Spafford in the background. If you liked Titantic dont watch this film, Jerusalem pales in comparison. I felt the acting was poor, the script was dull, and overall I could not recommend this film. The biggest warning I want to give is that this film is not a good telling of the story of the Overcomers like I had hoped it would be.

I really enjoyed watching this particular film because it deals with intense religious conflicts challenging a small, rural Christian community. The director successfully captures the serene landscape including, forests, rivers, and the fields of rural Sweden as well as the crowded, ancient splendor of Jerusalem. It's definately a long, complex plot worth watching for those who enjoy thinking when watching a film!

It's a complex saga. I keep trying to describe this movie to people. And the plot has so many differnent elements to it, that it takes almost as long for me to describe the film as it takes to see it. It's a must see that was horribly overlooked when it came out in limited release in my town.

Sean Connery still has its charm, but he seems more like the aging high school football hero who has to live in the memory of his past glory. This film is a remake of the 1965 Bond film Thunderball. The original movie was much better in every way. The music in this film is very poor, the acting is mediocre and quite honestly the movie is way too long and dull. The changes made in the script don't help it, but rather hurt it. It is worth a passing glance if only to make you appreciate his other Bond films.

NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN was Sean Connery's return as Bond for one final shot as one of screens most famous heros. The movie is a little overboard on fun and silliness and is a very similar story to Seans most famous Bond movie THUNDERBALL. James Bond (Connery-still good) is somewhat retired and not as fit as he once was as the movie opens and is told to get in shape at a health spa if he is to continue his duties as a government agent. Meanwhile the fiendish criminal group S.P.E.C.T.R.E. has got plans to steal nuclear weapons from a NATO bomber and have their agent Largo hold the world ransom with the bombs. Bond must track down Largo and the bombs before it is too late and millions are killed. Connery is trying to fit in what was at the time the Moore era of Bond movies and while Connery still is a great James Bond despite his age, the Moore films were much more different then the older Connery capers. Moores' movies went for fun and stunts Connery's were serious and had more down and dirty spy action. The silliness abounds on many levels such as when S.P.E.C.T.R.E. sends a destructive oaf to kill Bond at the health club and ends up wrecking just about everything but Bond. Or the fact that Largo is nowhere NEARLY as menacing or mean as the Largo in THUNDERBALL. One true highlight of the film is the villiness Fatima Blush who is an outragously wild hit woman who wants to make sure that she gets Bond. I will give Fatima 1 star and the rest of the movie 2. This movie is fun and only fun nothing more. But if you want to see Connery's last shot as Bond in a film, this is it.

....when THUNDERBALL was such a classic? Plus it's overlong and we had already seen action aplenty before in all other Bond films. Even worse is the music score, and the climax is recycled into a more boring script lacking originality or great gadgets. What I also can't figure it is why does Connery look so much better in this film at 53 then he did in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER at 41? He's thin, quick, agile, and still quick with the quips. When Barbara Carrera's Fatima Blush waterskis up to him in Nassau she apologizes with "I've made you all wet!", Bond replies, "Yes, but my martini is still dry." Who but Connery could get away with a line like that?

Good supporting cast includes Klaus Maria Brandauer as a young blonde haired Largo lacking the eye-patch. Still where's Adolfo Celi when we need him? Kim Basinger and Barbara Carrera may not have been the best Bond gals, but are they as always sexy. The best sequences in the film come from an opening war-game teaser, the battle with Lippe at Shrublands, and a great motorcycle chase. At least with Connery in the role the film has some class to it, helped with Kim Basinger and Valerie Leon in the cast. Aside from Connery the best performance comes from Barbara Carrera as the assassin Fatima Blush. She's clever, wicked, and has a love for deadly snakes. What's also missing is the ticking clock element of THUNDERBALL creating the worldwide panic. Thus there is no sense of urgency for Bond to save the world from the A-bomb.

So where does the film stand out? Irvin Kershner hot off the success of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK brings some class to it with Carrera's Fatima Blush, the Domination video game, Basinger's dancing, the Health Club sequence, and the tango. The real let down is Edward Fox's terrible performance as M and a lousy music score.