Existenz [IMPORT]

Rating:
Summary: A good introduction to Cronenberg's world
Review: Fantastic DVD here, and at a great price. You can also find an even more budget-conscious version, but there will be fewer extras.

Opinions on this film vary. Die-hard Cronenberg fans sometimes find eXistenZ to be a little lightweight. Especially when compared to more provocative films like Crash or depressing films like Spider or Dead Ringers.

On the other end of the spectrum, those unfamiliar with Cronenberg's work may find this movie to be too bizarre!

I won't talk too much about the plot, as other reviewers are better at it than I am, but I'll say that it's kind of a game within a game within a game (within a game?). Like a few other films of the day it explores the nature of reality (The Matrix of course is most popular).

eXistenZ was actually Cronenberg's biggest budget at 25 million (not including his current project A History of Violence). The special effects are fantastic, and there are some good moments of gore. A couple people get shot in and around the face. Yes, this is a return to his past in many ways, though again, in a slightly more playful manner.

There's plenty of extras on the DVD, most notably three separate commentaries and a long (almost an hour, I think) feature about production designer Carol Spier which mostly focuses on eXistenZ but also touches on some of her earlier work with Cronenberg.

Definitely worth getting, and an especially good introduction to Cronenberg's work (before moving on to more disturbing pictures like Videodrome and The Brood, and more slow, paced pictures such as Spider and Crash).

Rating:
Summary: Just Dumb
Review: I saw half of this movie before we decided to burn it. I can't speak for the whole thing, but the half I saw deffinately ranks as the lowest, dumbest, worst film I've ever come across. The acting, props, dialogue, and drama are horrible. I love sci fi, fantasy and think this is an absolute disgrace to my favorite genres. I would have given this negative stars if it were possible.

Rating:
Summary: Reality, Reality...whos' got the True Reality?
Review: I saw thirty minutes of this movie and at the end of this movie the two main characters kill the creators. I found this movie a great film that shows how violence in video games may influenced people to use violence in real life.

Rating:
Summary: Warning may give way ending and misunderstanging for 1stares
Review: I saw thirty minutes of this movie and at the end of this movie the two main characters kill the creators. I found this movie a great film that shows how violence in video games may influenced people to use violence in real life.

Rating:
Summary: Reality, Reality...whos' got the True Reality?
Review: If you thought "Dark City", "The Matrix", "The Thirteenth Floor", and "The Game" were the ultimate Gnostic examinations of what True Reality is and which life...or lives...or reincarnation...or half remembered-half forgotten former life you might be accessing again...then move over... "ExistenZ" is the FAR OUT experience of a lifetime... actually of several lifetimes...or of two different lifetimes...at the same time. These films all "appear" to be science-fantasy or suspense...but don't let that fool you... actually Gnosticism attempts to do that very thing...fool you...but for you own good...so you will see the Truth, but not KNOW it immediately for what it actually is...for in the phoney world that most people call "real," appearances themselves are deceiving! Who is the "enemy" of life and the world? Is it "corporate" buyers and sellers -- or is it the demonic nature of the whole "world system" of matter and materialism itself that is ultimately seeking to do us in? Do you have free will -- or are you a manipulated puppet and slave? And WHO is manipulating you ...and giving the orders? All of these questions pop up and down and up again...rearranged in multiple guises and different lives; and different identities are switched at the drop of a consciousness in this fantastic film! Nothing is always what it seems...and he who is friend one moment, may very well turn out to be he who is enemy is just a split second of soul/mind switching. There aren't many films like this one (even though "Dark City" is still the most poetic and allegorically/symbolically stylish)! Buy this...experience this...scratch you head over it for an eternity...or maybe two...or three. It's worth every penny!

Rating:
Summary: Reality, Reality...whos' got the True Reality?
Review: If you thought "Dark City", "The Matrix", "The Thirteenth Floor", and "The Game" were the ultimate Gnostic examinations of what True Reality is and which life...or lives...or reincarnation...or half remembered-half forgotten former life you might be accessing again...then move over... "ExistenZ" is the FAR OUT experience of a lifetime... actually of several lifetimes...or of two different lifetimes...at the same time. These films all "appear" to be science-fantasy or suspense...but don't let that fool you... actually Gnosticism attempts to do that very thing...fool you...but for you own good...so you will see the Truth, but not KNOW it immediately for what it actually is...for in the phoney world that most people call "real," appearances themselves are deceiving! Who is the "enemy" of life and the world? Is it "corporate" buyers and sellers -- or is it the demonic nature of the whole "world system" of matter and materialism itself that is ultimately seeking to do us in? Do you have free will -- or are you a manipulated puppet and slave? And WHO is manipulating you ...and giving the orders? All of these questions pop up and down and up again...rearranged in multiple guises and different lives; and different identities are switched at the drop of a consciousness in this fantastic film! Nothing is always what it seems...and he who is friend one moment, may very well turn out to be he who is enemy is just a split second of soul/mind switching. There aren't many films like this one (even though "Dark City" is still the most poetic and allegorically/symbolically stylish)! Buy this...experience this...scratch you head over it for an eternity...or maybe two...or three. It's worth every penny!

Rating:
Summary: it's like... clapping... fireword... elves...
Review: sci-fi is a good vehicle to make a movie about something most people 'haven't' experienced. in the context of a simple story that has nothing to do with the reader, an author can hide a lot of clues, words and metaphors that trick the user into remembering something he forgot when he was born. everything, EVERYTHING, about eXistenZ, from the way the actors talk to the lines to the fleshy living portals to the fast cuts, it's all reminder text. if you can trace back half of it, you remember more than i do. this movie is destined to go WAY over most people's radar, like naked lunch, because they've never played with anyone in this life and they don't know how to trace back a metaphor until it becomes relevant. this movie is a serious trip for serious explorers, it has a lot of -info- packed into it, it's medicinal. do you know what i mean? this reality is only a practice round! love each other and shine your eyes!

here's a riddle: what lasts for 'twenty minutes' and causes you to completely leave this body?

Rating:
Summary: it's like... clapping... fireword... elves...
Review: sci-fi is a good vehicle to make a movie about something most people 'haven't' experienced. in the context of a simple story that has nothing to do with the reader, an author can hide a lot of clues, words and metaphors that trick the user into remembering something he forgot when he was born. everything, EVERYTHING, about eXistenZ, from the way the actors talk to the lines to the fleshy living portals to the fast cuts, it's all reminder text. if you can trace back half of it, you remember more than i do. this movie is destined to go WAY over most people's radar, like naked lunch, because they've never played with anyone in this life and they don't know how to trace back a metaphor until it becomes relevant. this movie is a serious trip for serious explorers, it has a lot of -info- packed into it, it's medicinal. do you know what i mean? this reality is only a practice round! love each other and shine your eyes!

here's a riddle: what lasts for 'twenty minutes' and causes you to completely leave this body?

Rating:
Summary: Mindblowing futuristic movie and great quality
Review: This is one of those DVD's every mind taking away lover should have. First of all the movie itself was really great, it took me from the reality in a way no movie ever did. When it was finished I was dazzled and had to come back to reality. About the dvd, the picture quality was good: sharp and no noticeble artifacts. About the sound, sometimes a bit too sharp, but good placed and it sounded well. So if you love this kind of movies, GO ON AND BUY IT

Rating:
Summary: Mindblowing futuristic movie and great quality
Review: This is one of those DVD's every mind taking away lover should have. First of all the movie itself was really great, it took me from the reality in a way no movie ever did. When it was finished I was dazzled and had to come back to reality. About the dvd, the picture quality was good: sharp and no noticeble artifacts. About the sound, sometimes a bit too sharp, but good placed and it sounded well. So if you love this kind of movies, GO ON AND BUY IT