Tron

Rating:
Summary: Literary Criticism of Tron
Review: Ego vs. Id
TR0N is a futuristic adventure set in a world never before seen on the motion picture screen. Steven Lisberger combined computer-generated imagery with special techniques in live-action photography that marked a milestone in optical and light effects. "Steven brought to life a world where energy lives and breathes, where laws of logic are defied, where an electronic civilization thrives." (Guygg)
Not only were the filming techniques ahead of its time but also the idea of computers and artificial intelligence was also unheard of. One aspect of movies that is frequently overlooked is the Director. Movies are more than just entertainment for viewers; they can also be forms of expression for the creators. Sometimes the author is aware of the message he is trying to get across, and sometimes he is not. It was out of Steven Lisberger's passion for video games that gave him the idea for TRON. I feel that he directed this movie with a very personal attachment. Perhaps there is a hidden message in this movie. That is why it is necessary to psychoanalyze Steven Lisbergers work of art.

Sigmund Freud is the creator of psychoanalysis. From his studies in medicine and psychology, Freud developed various techniques to uncover material that is hidden in the patient's unconscious, the source of human behavior. "For Freud, the unresolved conflicts that give rise to any neurosis are the stuff of literature. A work of literature, he believes, is the external expression of the author's unconscious mind. Accordingly, the literary work must be treated like a dream." (Bressler 153) Through his work, the author's unconscious is able to express its desires. According to Freud, the mind is made up of the id, ego, and super-ego. In literature, sometimes the characters and settings can take these parts. There is plenty of evidence supporting the idea that Lisberger's id and ego are portrayed as characters in the movie Tron.

The id is where the irrational and instinctual decisions come from. It is also contains a persons secret desires, wishes, and fears. In the movie, the id is portrayed as the Master Control Program or MCP. The id is "the bad guy" of the mind. In Tron, the MCP fits this description to an exact. The MCP's desire was power. He made it clear that he wanted power and that he wanted to know everything. The MCP was so determined that he did everything in his ability to ensure that he would achieve his goal. This is why he kept all the other programs in "slavery", why he blackmailed his maker, and why he beamed Flynn into the computer with the intentions of killing him. The MCP's main fear was being monitored. In the movie it was made clear that the MCP was very uncomfortable with this judging by its reaction to the rumors about the new monitoring program.

TRON is set in two worlds: the real world, the land of flesh and blood, where a vast computer system in a communications conglomerate is controlled by a single program; and the electronic world, whose electric-and-light beings want to overthrow the program which controls their lives. At first, reality had no way of interacting with the computer world. Only the MCP was able to be omnipresent. This was a problem for the real world because the MCP was able to superimpose its own desires onto the real world and the humans had no way to truly fight back. A good example of this was when the MCP threatened to blackmail one of the humans in the "real world" if he did not meet its demands. The two worlds began to clash even more when Kevin Flynn was brought into the computer world. The computer world was made up of games that Flynn created and he quickly demonstrated that he was superior to "programs" he was matched up against. Through out the film Flynn represented reality, even while he was trapped in the computer world. The movie is basically a power struggle between the MCP and the real world. This was a clash between Steven Lisberger's ego and id.

During the film the two worlds were portrayed by Lisberger's Ego and Id. The computer world, his id, was made up of Lisberger's fantasies. Because he was so passionate about video games, this world was made up entirely of them. The MCP was basically his id expressing his secret desires, wishes and fears. According to Freud, Lisberger's id created this character therefore; the MCP's desires and fears could very well be Lisberger's own.
The "real world" was Lisberger's Ego. This demonstrated his logical side and reality. That is why the "real world" was portrayed as being so normal in the film. According to Freud, one of the ego's main jobs is to regulate desires from the id. This is demonstrated throughout the film. The fact that Flynn was beamed into the computer world is a great example of Lisberger's ego regulating the id and making sure it didn't take over. This is why the MCP was destroyed in the end.

In conclusion, Tron was much more than a movie. It was Lisberger's ego and id engaged in a very heated battle. In the end the good guy won and the MCP was destroyed. This is a good sign. That means that Lisberger's ego prevailed and regulated the id like it should. If the movie would have ended with the MCP killing Flynn and gaining more power then Steve would have problem. This would mean that his id is starting to play more of a factor in his quotidian life.

Rating:
Summary: wicked
Review: Seriously - a movie about a dude getting sucked into a computer and fighting a big red computer thing... I'm in. When I wake up in the morning all I think about is how can I get to go inside my computer and now this sweet ass movie shows me what it would be like. Also on the DVD you get to see the crazy mofo who thought up all of this wacky nutsy stuff. He's a piece of work.

Rating:
Summary: A very silly movie
Review: I am a bit of a geek and I like geek movies. You know the ones nobody ever goes to see but get great DVD treatment?

The big problem with this movie is that it's just plain silly. When Jeff Bridges starts shouting about evidence being hidden in one of "these memories" or later when someone shouts about a "null unit" you know the people who made this movie did not know much about computers. Ironic since this is often thought to be a "computer" movie.

The idea is a good one but the movie fails in the telling. The movie is notable for the first use of what has now become the ever present CG in movies. Sure it's primitive but the effects are still quite nice to look at. They do not hold up to anything in movies today by any stretch. In fact any home video game could do the effects in this movie and the entire soundtrack with no problems.

So other than it's effects, what kind of movie do you have? Not much of one. The story is just stupid. For a Disney movie, this film will not appeal to kids. I am still after all these years trying to figure out who the audience for this film is.

I think this movie was made in desperation by Disney to cash in on the whole video game boom of the early 80's.

The one thing I do like after all these years is the sound the recognizers make. Now that is a cool sound.

The DVD is packed with a lot of extras. A lot more than I cared to watch to be honest. The commentaries are good but very technical and they can get a little dry at times.

I do wish more studios would do this with other movies. The extras are wasted on such a bad movie to be honest. This is a fans dream but I have yet to meet a Tron fan.

Rating:
Summary: This Movie is Great!
Review: Despite many of the bad opinions that some people have of this movie, Tron is a classic that is underappreciated by most people. The amount of work that went into making this movie is incredible. And as for "sarah, moviefreak"'s list placing this movie as one of the worst game-to-movie made, this movie was made before the game.

Rating:
Summary: A landmark achivement in special effects on a great DVD!
Review: In 1982, the Disney studio with Stephen Lisberger created " Tron", a marvelously produced sci-fi fantasy using computer animation, handdrawn animation and rotoscoping to create a visual masterpiece. Jeff Bridges stars as " Flynn", a video gamer who breaks into a supercomputer is then sucked into another dimension where he has to beat the game and destroy the enemy whom is controlling the cyber world.

It did flopped back in 1982 but has gained a cult following, the special effects are quite spectacular for it's day and still influences many CGI artists to this day.

The DVD is spectacular just like the movie itself, it's got tons of great extras like teasers, trailers, publicity, documentaries, storyboards, commentary and more. So if your a special effects movie lover then this movie is just for you.

Also recommended: The Matrix, The Fifth Element, Blade Runner, The Matrix Reloaded, Akira, The Matrix Revolutions, Total Recall, Lawnmower Man.

Rating:
Summary: A stunning animated/CGI movie years ahead of its time
Review: I remember watching Tron on TV during the mid 80s and while i enjoyed the movie I had virtually forgotten about it and how important a movie it really is for early CGI fans.

Tron looks simply stunning on DVD and I think of it as more a work of art than a movie. The hours of painstaking work involved in making this movie back in 1982 must have been unbelievable, but amazingly it got completed and has stood the test of time quite well. The bonus features are very well done and tell you virtually everything you will ever want to know about Tron and its creation. I also enjoyed watching the movie with the audio commentary, which I found both informative and amusing. The new
5.1 dolby soundtrack is simply stunning and has to be heard to be believed.

I was trying to think of a movie to compare Tron with, but to be honest Tron is a true original. The computer world which Flynn enters looks beautiful and was designed to resemble the line 'vector' graphics which were cutting edge videogame technology back in 1979-1982. Everything that takes place inside the computer has a neon look, backlit using blue, red, yellow, etc.

If you are a fan of videogames, computers or just 80's retro, buy this movie and take a trip into the world of Tron.

Rating:
Summary: Nice Idea, but thats it
Review: I rented this movie because from soem magazine I heard its supposed to be good.
Well its not. The Idea of the movie and games in it are pretty good but t slow and dull represented for a human beeing.

Rating:
Summary: Nice Film, Tron the Movie is Really Beautiful...............
Review: I really liked this film. It Really brought me
nice memories of the nineteen eighties, and the
video game era. I know that the soundtrack to Tron
already is available on Amazon.com, but to be honest with you, i
am just simply not impressed with it-it really is a downer. I prefer the
cut clip music pieces which are inserted in the movie
;they just make it alive with the terrific performances that the actors gave especially Jeff Bridges. Tron the movie
is recommended, but i do not recommend the soundtrack-
that is optional for one. But Tron the movie is recommended.
This is Jeff Bridges best Hollywood imaginary acting performance-as "Flynn." I do not think that a remake of tron in 2003 can occur because this is just classic, something that just cannot be duplicated or remade by the actors of today. Tron the story, and the character of Flynn [jeff bridges] are truly forever immortal.

Rating:
Summary: live inside an artificial world
Review: this movie IS post-modernism turned into an action movie. crush the master control program.

Rating:
Summary: Great DVD, but only for hardcore fans
Review: Tron was a groundbreaking, visually stunning movie when it came out, and the effects are still enjoyable (if anachronistic). However, those who aren't original fans or hardcore geeks will probably only enjoy the movie on an ironic level- the dialogue is laugably bad. As my wife said- "this movie is ripe for MST3k treatment".

But I'm a computer geek, and although the science is terrible, what I appreciate the most about Tron's story is how well it captures the essence of the "politics" of computers at the time it was written. The struggle of the users and programs against the "Master Control Program" in the movie mimics the real-life frustration many users had with centrally controlled, large UNIX and mainframe systems they had to work on in the mid-seventies, often paying for computer time by the minute. This frustration lead a small group of engineers to start building small "personal" computers as a hobby (and then as a business), finally freeing users from the tyranny of limited computer access.

The THX-certified 20th Anniversary Collector's Edition delivers a faithful rendition of the movie- lacking a high def TV, I can't comment too much on the transfer quality other than "it looked good" on my 29" tube. Sound is a different story- although dialogue levels are a bit low at times, the effects track is stupendous, with the best use of the rear channels I've heard from a movie of this vintage and lots of LFE. Your subwoofer will really enjoy this one.

The "extras" in this edition are quite excellent, giving mind-numbingly thorough coverage of the conception and development of the movie, although I was disappointed with the lack of detail in the coverage of the pure CGI sequences (like the lightcycles).

Overall, I'd definitely recommend this DVD to fans of the original movie who want to learn more about its background, but if you haven't seen it for 20 years, you may want to rent first to decide whether you really still like it.