Distinctions
Grand Prix de l'étrange,
Prix de la critique et
Prix du public
au Festival international du film fantastique d'Avoriaz 1991.
*
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More to be felt through than thought through.
Author: travisgentry from USA
13 October 2001
*
After reading several reviews on this film I thought I would add my two cents. This remains one of my favorite movies and I never hesitate to take in another viewing. A lot of people seem to be noting the loose script and story elements as the film's weaknesses, going so far as to call it messy and incoherent. The fact that even after seeing it several times there's still some mystery in it, still some ambiguity as to the possible meanings to all of the things that go on with Jacob, is what I find most appealing. It's not a film like the Sixth Sense where all of the pieces fall into place at just the right time and you know exactly where you stand.
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It's something rather that is left to the imagination of the viewer, a rare thing when audiences en mass want clear cut explanations and easy answers (hence the success of Sixth Sense, a great film in it's own right, but the complete opposite of this one).The visuals are incredible and highly influential. The techniques used in this film have since been overused and distilled throughout various horror movies and music videos, but without ever coming close to the power of the original, which presents some of the most psychologically terrifying images ever to appear on screen. I think it's hard to come to this movie for the first time today and experience it the way you could have eleven years ago, when these type of images had yet to be seen and were exposed to completely unsuspecting audiences.
*
The best way to see this movie is with absolutely no knowledge of it beforehand.The mood is perfect. The acting is great, the dialogue is outstanding. Danny Aielo explaining to Jacob about angels and demons still moves me to this date and the two simple words suddenly spoken to a disbelieving Jacob from some unseen source while in the Asylum scene still terrify like no other movie can. Also this may be the Home Alone kid's best film.(!?)
The extra scenes on the DVD range from average to terrifying, including the omitted "antidote" scene, something I'm glad I didn't see when I was younger because it might have scarred me for life :). Also there is a perplexing and scary scene omitted at the end where Jacob confronts Jezebel. There is alot of digital grain in some of the shots. I would like to see a better quality DVD put out for this one, but I'll take what I can get with the added scenes.
See this movie then see it again and then see it three years later. Don't over-analyze and worry if some of it doesn't make sense, after all it's not all supposed to.
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73 out of 92 people found the following review useful:
A visual masterpiece of horror and conspiracy.
Author: eraceheadd from USA
21 March 2000
*
This is easily one of Adrian Lyne's best films. Tim Robbins is excellent and the visual affects were just awesome. I saw this movie for the first time in the theatre and it blew me away. I've seen it many times after that, purely for the visuals that were done so well. The plot twists and turns as it spirals downward slowly revealing the truth and keeps you guessing all the way to the surprising ending. This is a dark, violent, beautiful movie that I recommend to all people who love horror, and just a smart story that will keep you in suspense until the very end.
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45 out of 47 people found the following review useful:
a creepy and unnerving psychological thriller.
Author: cygnus x-1 from roanoke, va
2 February 2000
I've always felt that this film has never gotten the credit or attention it deserves. Along with the similary underappreciated Angel Heart, this film creates a sense of dread and foreboding atmosphere that never lets up and comes close to overwhelming the viewer at times.
Tim Robbins deliver possibly one of the best performances of his career and all of the other cast is fantastic as well. The editing and especially the cinematography are top notch and contribute greatly to the overall feel of the film.i won't go into any plot details since any revelations could ruin the film for someone who hasn't seen it. but if you want to see a movie that will genuinely freak you out and have you sleeping with the lights on, you can't go wrong with this great film.rating:9
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57 out of 72 people found the following review useful:
Brilliant! On par with Kubrick!
Author: Leif Barbre Knudsen from Copenhagen, Denmark
26 July 2004
Jacob's Ladder is a masterpiece. Nothing less.It has a highly intelligent plot though not difficult or artsy and is void of cliches. It therefore confuses and aggravates many viewers and professional reviewers always wanting a standard has-it-all Hollywood outpouring.
It is so few films that leaves room for independent thoughts. Jacob's Ladder tumbles your mind the same way a dream of your own does. I have never felt this effect in a film so strong before. The images comes pouring in and your brain tries to make sense of it. Whenever you think you have a grasp it slides away again.The brilliance of the progression of the story, twists and turns, and the final explanation, so obvious but elusive as real dreams are, makes it on par with the best of Kubrick.
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50 out of 61 people found the following review useful:
I enjoyed it much more after a second viewing
Author: Idocamstuf from Greenville, NY
15 January 2003
I remember viewing this movie a couple years back and I did not get a lot out of it, I thought it was just too weird. In fact, I even wrote a review of the film on here. I'm glad I gave it another try because I really got a lot more out of it after the second viewing. Maybe it was because my expectations of the film were lower or I have matured in past few years.
Anyway, this is a highly fascinating and entertaining thriller about a Vietnam veteran who always feels like there is somebody or something "out to get him". He feels this way because he keeps seeing strange images and many people in which he comes in contact with appear to have horns growing out of their heads and whatnot. Him and his war buddies believe that these strange occurrences are the result of something that happened during the war. The best element of this film is its atmosphere and paranormal feel which will really give you the creeps as well as have you guessing what the cause of the strange occurrences that are affecting Jacob really are. Well worth viewing, and if it doesn't grab you on the first viewing, don't hesitate to try it again, you may enjoy it more. 8/10.
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51 out of 64 people found the following review useful:
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38 out of 53 people found the following review useful:
Anguishing, Intriguing, Original, Unique
Author: Claudio Carvalho from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
7 October 2006
*
On 06 Oct 1971, in Mekong Delta, Vietnam, the American soldier Jacob Singer (Tim Robbins) is wounded by a bayonet during an attack to his platoon. He wakes up in New York subway while going home late night after working overtime in the post office. He is divorced from Sarah (Patricia Kalember), lives with his colleague and lover Jezebel (Elizabeth Peña) is a small apartment in Brooklyn and misses his young son Gabe (Macaulay Culkin), who died in an accident where Jacob feels responsible for. Along the next days, Jacob is chased by demons and finds conspiracy in the army, while having different visions of different moments of his life.
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Yesterday I saw "The Jacket" and I decide to see once more "Jacob's Ladder", maybe for the fifth time. This anguishing and intriguing story is one of the most original and unique I have ever seen, and has been plagiarized many times mainly in the foregoing mentioned "The Jacket"(oui je suis bien d'accord!). Tim Robbins gives another top-notch performance in the role of a troubled man resolving his life, due to the feeling of guilty for the loss of his younger son.
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Bruce Joel Rubin, who also wrote and produced "Ghost", "Jacob's Ladder" and "My Life", shows that is very connected with spiritual issues, approaching this theme in his films. The Brazilian title of this movie, "Alucinações do Passado" ("Hallucinations From the Past"), wrongly induces the viewer and destroys the dubious sense of the original title: Jacob is the lead character, "Ladder" is the name of the experiment his platoon and him had been submitted in Vietnam; but the interpretation of "Jacob's Ladder" in the Bible is that this is the only means to reach the total ecstasy, the plenitude, however, we need first supersede the obstacles that we find in our ascension.
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Further, "Jacob experienced a vision in which he saw a ladder reaching into heaven with angels going up and down it, a vision that is commonly referred to as Jacob's Ladder" (from "Wikipedia"). Another interesting aspect is that all the characters have biblical names. For example, Jezebel is considered the most wicked woman in the entire Bible (the character of Elizabeth Peña was responsible for the separation of Jacob and Sarah and maybe he was blaming her for keeping him far from his family); and Gabriel is the angel that explained signs from God and announced the conception, birth, and mission of Jesus to Mary. My vote is nine.
Note: On 19 May 2009, I saw this movie again, now on DVD.
