Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic film, terrible DVD
Review: Seeing this film in the theater, I fell in love with it before it even ended. But my anticipation of it's DVD release has been rewarded with disappointment:1. Universal's decision to bundle ten minutes of ads at the beginning, which cannot be skipped, is classless, grubbing, and unforgiveable. 2. The mastering is poor -- compression artifacts are evident in dark scenes, and the overall image feels slightly blurred. 3. The audio is poorly mastered, too, abruptly changing levels several times. Did anyone even supervise this transfer? 4. An insert of some kind would have been nice, even just a photo card. Opening the sleeve to just the disc is a mild letdown, and leaves me wondering if just my copy is like this. It's a shame a movie this moving and enjoyable was pushed through such a shoddy production process. Save your money, and let's hope another distributor gets their hands on this soon and does it right.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent and beautiful film, awful DVD
Review: Someone else wrote a similar review, so I'm just affirming here: Lost in Translation is one of the best films of this year. It's beautiful, real and emotional and the acting is fantastic.
The DVD however is junk. There's no chapter slip inside- just some advertisement for a beer company in Japan. You can't skip through the trailer after trailer at the beginning and the deleted scenes, while nice, are somewhat lacking. I expected a lot more.
DO get this movie or at least watch it. But wait for a better DVD version to come out.
Rating: 
Summary: Quite a good movie!
Review: So you read the reviews from luke warm to glowing, and back to shamefully bashing. And it is a little more then confusing. The answers are simple: Sofia Coppola has made an incredible love movie for the new millenium that doesn't pander to very contemorary cliche, involve sex (well, almost) or deal with accepted romance standards. And what she made was something more fluid and romantic then anything I've seen for years in movies. While this movie isn't a vast, complicated plot or filled with actiony sequences utilizing amazing effects, it does what any film has to in order to succeed- tell a story that can involve an audience. Kudos to all involved. It is a stunningly accurate, and obviously live, version of Tokyo. Being there twice, I can relate to the sounds, the people, the design, and anything in this great visual ode to one of the most amazing cities in the world. Having studied Japanese for the last 18 months, I can understand some of the dialogues and understand why the east and west has such a gap that could create this relationship/story. Most amazing is the small detail of the 'Dr. Who Sci Fi' hum of machinery within cooridors and buildings that masks a constant noise of choatic human activity just beyond the walls of any room. And more evidently, the story of miscommunication and alienation within a world in your face, yet emotionally beyond your reach is relayed brilliantly. This film will grow with the Japophile, and be a sweet romance to anyone unfamiliar with the idea of being segregated within a society they can't relate to. But, it will keep me thinking because of the sweet relations between the two lead characters as they find and lose the loves of their life within the confines of Tokyo.
Rating:
Summary: a beautiful and so powerful story about a deep friendship
Review: WHAT CAN ONE SAY BY THE FINAL SCENE OF THIS BEAUTIFUL FILM, EXCEPT BRAVO! BRAVO TO GREAT ACTING, DIRECTION, EDITING, AND CINEMATOGRAPHY! I REALLY COULD NOT GET OUT OF MY CHAIR AT THE END! SO REALISTIC AND SO INNOCENT AS WELL AS DEEPLY MOVING! COULD IT HAVE REALLY ENDED ANY OTHER WAY?? I DON'T THINK SO. BILL MURRAY AS BOB AND SCARLETT JOHANNSON ARE THE PERFECT PAIR TO PULL THIS OFF, UNDER THE FLAWLESS GUIDANCE OF SOFIA COPPOLA-SHE REALLY HAS COME A LONG WAY-HER DAD TAUGHT HER WELL! I LOVED THIS FILM-HAVE WATCHED IT 4 TIMES SINCE YESTERDAY-IT ONLY GETS BETTER EACH VIEWING! AND THE DVD PRINT IS PRISTINE AS IS THE GORGEOUS DTS SOUND-IT COMPLIMENTS THE SCORING BEAUTIFULLY! I AM AN ACTION BUFF BUT I CAN SAY PROUDLY THAT I LOVE THIS FILM IT MUST NOT BE MISSED BY ANYONE DEEPLY PERSONAL AND EMOTIONAL! KUDOS TO ALL INVOLVED.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Quite as Good as I Had Hoped...
Review: I have been wanting to see this movie for months now, but it left the local theater before I got a chance to see it. So, I was happy to see it at the video store and decided to rent it before I bought it. I'm glad I only rented it. Not that "Lost in Translation" is a bad movie, but it is one I won't want to see again for quite some time. It is very slow moving and requires a lot of patience when watching, which I don't mind as long as the characters are interesting, and the two leads are. Bill Murray is very good in the lead role and deserves his nomination, but the Oscar should and will most likely go to Sean Penn for his incredible work in "Mystic River." Scarlett Johansson, who was only 18 years old when this film was made, will become an even greater actress over time with maturity. You can just tell she has potential to be with the elite in the near future. The thing I enjoyed most about this film is the realism in the acting and the dialogue. It feels more "real" than "hollywood" which is hard to come by these days. For instance, when S.J's character asks Bill Murray's about whether marriage gets any easier over time. He simply and quickly responds NO, instead of lecturing about how the good always outweighs the bad in any relationship, which most films love to throw in. The whispered ending was excellent, and I'm glad Sophie Coppola's script didn't let us hear what he said to her. Now, after all these positives you are probably asking why I gave it only 3 stars. Well to be honest, it wasn't quite what I expected and I thought the hour and a half run time could even have been trimmed down quite a bit more. It just reminded me of the feeling I got after watching "The English Patient". All the critics adored it and then I saw it and wondered what the big deal was. I that case I hated "The English Patient", but "Lost in Translation" certainly isn't bad at all and deserves a rental.
Rating:
Summary: snore
Review: if you like movies that go absolutely nowhere and have zero character development and have scenes that always seem to go on about 5 minutes too long then you'll love this one! the humor always seemed to play out like an inside joke that i just wasn't in on...it's just not a funny film, it tries very hard to be one, but it isn't...and it's a shame b/c bill murray and scarlett johannson are terrific actors and they are wasted on a pointless and tired script....i really have no idea why critics and people alike are just raving about this one, i walked out of the theatre about 3/4 through the film, one of the best decisions i've ever made...
Rating:
Summary: Burnt out But still looking... a great film
Review: Bill Murray plays a burnt out man. Someone who has tons of apathy and absolutely little soul left.. but somehow, he finds his keel of being in this movie. A lot has been said about BM acting in this, but the directing by Sofia Coppola is brilliant, and I think she has a very good future. The lenses used and the position of the camera really make for the emotion of the actors to come through. The blurry backgrounds, neon lights... all good stuff for a movie that needs to have elements to prop up a totally emotional film. All in all, if you are expecting a howl of laughter from Bill Murray, you won't get one here.. you will giggle from time to time because of BM's affable character that he brings to life in every scene that he is in (especially the commericial out takes) but you will find an actor that is really fun to watch and enjoy in this movie. Have fun.
Rating: 
Summary: I did feel Lost
Review: You think these two people in the movie would fall in love or something but they don't and the film is practically nothing. This film for a few months now has just been getting rave reviews one after another. Guess what this film is one of those slow goodies that the critics enjoy but the average american public doesn't always fully agree. Alot of movies today have complex plots but this movie has some moments but basically it needs to step on the gas alot. The back of the box SHOULD say "If you drink alot of caffeine or are a very hyper person who loves get to the point action don't watch this film." I think Bill Murray and the young woman who acted in the movie were right for the part but I have to laugh this is such a far cry for Murray than CaddyShack. There is nothing wrong with the movie it is well written the acting is a little so-so and I can see why it has gotten numerous nominations but I was bored and not really impressed and trying to understand what the heck these critics are talking about. Maybe this film is for the Interlectual only.
Rating:
Summary: The movie is fabulous. This DVD sucks.
Review: This is probably the most annoying DVD ever. Don't get me wrong, I love the movie, but the DVD begins with about 10 minutes of previews which you cannot skip!! You can't access the DVD menu. You can't skip to the next chapter. You can only fast forward to get to the DVD menu and watch the feature. If you want to own Lost in Translation on DVD, you should wait for Criterion or somebody else to release it. Surely somebody responsible will release a quality version that will be worth the money. Don't waste your money on this DVD.
Rating: 
Summary: Atmospherically perfect
Review: For any westerner who's ever spend an extended period of time in Tokyo, LiT perfectly recreates that feeling of "apartness" and disconnection from the local culture. It's not a diss on Tokyo or the Japanese, but just a cultural distance that's difficult to bridge, which Coppola recognizes and accurately captures - amazingly! This is a subtle, refined film with a thin story -- more of a poem - or haiku, maybe? :-) -- than a conventional plot-driven tale.
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