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Confidently conceived and brilliantly executed, Gattaca had a somewhat low profile release in 1997, but audiences and critics hailed the film's originality. It's since been recognized as one of the most intelligent science fiction films of the 1990s. Writer-director Andrew Niccol, the talented New Zealander who also wrote the acclaimed Jim Carrey vehicle The Truman Show, depicts a near-future society in which one's personal and professional destiny is determined by one's genes. In this society, "Valids" (genetically engineered) qualify for positions at prestigious corporations, such as Gattaca, which grooms its most qualified employees for space exploration. "In-Valids" (naturally born), such as the film's protagonist, Vincent (Ethan Hawke), are deemed genetically flawed and subsequently fated to low-level occupations in a genetically caste society. With the help of a disabled "Valid" (Jude Law), Vincent subverts his society's social and biological barriers to pursue his dream of space travel; any random mistake--and an ongoing murder investigation at Gattaca--could reveal his plot. Part thriller, part futuristic drama and cautionary tale, Gattaca establishes its social structure so convincingly that the entire scenario is chillingly believable. With Uma Thurman as the woman who loves Vincent and identifies with his struggle, Gattaca is both stylish and smart, while Jude Law's performance lends the film a note of tragic and heartfelt humanity. In addition to a superb widescreen transfer, the DVD edition of Gattaca includes several deleted scenes (and one humorous outtake), which further establish the story's social context and provide additional insight into the scientific and ethical issues explored in this extraordinary film. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (277)

Brave New World II
Gattaca pleasantly surprised me as a thoughtful and rather worrisome view of the possible future instead of the special-effects-laden sci-fi movie I was expecting.

The story takes place at a time when genetic excellence is the yardstick by which individuals are measured. The ability to preselect genes among offspring and measure one's genetic potential through simple biological tests gives rise to a new form of discrimination that bars the genetically flawed protagonist, played by Ethan Hawke, from his lifelong goal of becoming an astronaut. Undaunted, he sets out to fool a genetic screening system and gain admission to the space program where he can pursue his dream. A scandalous incident at the space center (Gattaca) casts a scrutinizing light on each of the employees and threatens to expose his deception.

The details of this movie are clever and well thought out. The film has a graceful, almost poetic quality bolstered by a lush musical score. The acting is quite good all the way around. Ethan Hawke's fine performance certainly puts him on the map if he wasn't already there. Jude Law almost steals the show with his convincing portrayal of the broken golden child made miserable by his own misfortune but who comes to share in the dream of Ethan Hawke's character as he helps him outwit the system.

Gattaca shows us that lackluster natural potential coupled with unwavering desire and ambition can ultimately reach higher than mere genetic predisposition. Well worth seeing; four-and-a-half stars.

Celebrates the strength of spirit and desire
This is truly one of the most inspiring movies I've ever seen.

It's replete with symbolism: helix shaped stair cases, red and green lights indicating valid and invalid, the heart disease of Vincent (the natural born) as opposed to the lack of heart (spirit) of Jerome (the "superior", genetically engineered human), etc. The setting also makes use of connotations associated with the past. Slick hair styles, clothing, and sterile interior furnishings have an organized, repressed feeling evoking the controlled and prejudiced 1950's. This helps enhance the mood of lifeless surrender. Even the bald head of the geneticist at the beginning of the movie was a statement against the pursuit of perfection by means of perfecting the body and brain. Wealth of living is not found in the the physical plain, but in the spirit in which each day is lived.

Add to all this wounderful cinnematography, an unforgettable musical score, and fine acting that meld together into a fluid whole, and you've got a fantastic movie that repays many viewings.

Biology Lovers Unite and watch Gattaca
If you love Biology, especially genetics and DNA, this movie is for you. Gattaca combines a love story, with high-paced action, that is sure to get your adrenaline pumping. Gattaca will at first be confusing, but it will all make sense in the end, and it will be sure to make a place on the front of your DVD/VHS shelf.

Gattaca is an unforgettable warning
The best exploration of the possibility of genetically modified people becoming a separate social and economic class leaving behind and opressing those who are not genetically modified.

My favorite film
The word "Inspiring" is grossly overused in film reviews. Gattaca is one of the very few that genuinely deserves it. In a nutshell, it's the story of a mutt (Ethan Hawke) bypassing and surpassing a world that's designed against him. This movie really affected me (another overused appraisal.)

Maybe I just love this movie because I relate too much to the protaganist, Vincent. Despite everyones expectations, from my high school counseler on, and my lack of any prestigious schooling, I'll soon have my physics PhD.

This is a wonderful movie. That it didnt sweep the Oscars only validates the movies point. ... Read more

Reviews (22)

The Power of Cinematic Image
Based on the book by Vito Russo, written by Armistead Maupin, and narrated by Lily Tomlin, THE CELLULOID CLOSET uses interviews and hundreds of film clips to examine the way in which Hollywood has presented gay and lesbian characters on film from the age of silent cinema to such recent films as PHILADELPHIA and DESERT HEARTS. Throughout the documentary, the focus is on both stereotypes and the various ways that more creative directors and writers worked around the censorship of various decades to create implicitly homosexual characters, with considerable attention given to the way in which stereotypes shaped public concepts of the gay community in general.

Overtly homosexual characters were not particularly unusual in silent and pre-code Hollywood films, and CLOSET offers an interesting sampling of both swishy stereotypes and unexpectedly sophistocated characters--both of which were doomed by the Hayes Code, a series of censorship rules adopted by Hollywood in the early 1930s. The effect of the Code was to soften some of the more grotesque stereotypes--but more interesting was the impetus the Code gave to film makers to create homosexual characters and plot lines that would go over the heads of industry censors but which could still be interpreted by astute audiences, with films such as THE MALTESE FALCON, REBECCA, BEN-HUR, and REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE cases in point. Once the Code collapsed, however, Hollywood again returned to stereotypes in an effort to cash in on controversy--with the result that throughout most of the sixties and seventies homosexual characters were usually presented as unhappy, maladjusted creatures at best, suicidal and psychopatic entities at worst.

The film clips are fascinating stuff and are often highlighted by interviews of individuals who made the films: Tony Curtis re SOME LIKE IT HOT and SPARTACUS, Shirley MacLaine re THE CHILDREN'S HOUR, Stephen Boyd re BEN-HUR, Farley Granger re ROPE, and Whoopie Goldberg re THE COLOR PURPLE, to name but a few. All are interesting and intriguing, but two deserve special mention: Harvey Fierstein, who talks about the hunger he had as a youth to see accurate reflections of himself on the screen, and Susan Sarandon, who makes an eloquent statement on the power of film as "the keeper of the dreams."

Although the material will have special appeal to gays and lesbians, it should be of interest to any serious film buff with its mix of trivia and significant fact. The DVD also includes notable packages of out-takes from interviews that are often as interesting as the material that made the final cut. If the documentary has a fault, however, it is that it offers no "summing up," preferring instead to show only how far the portrayal of homosexuals has come and indicating how far it has yet to go. Recommended to any one interested in film history and interpretation.

Excellent film on so Many Different Levels
Looking at the roles given to gay and lesbian characters in American cinema over the past several decades, "The Celluloid Closet" manages to simultaneously be hilariously funny, educational, and occasionally quite thought-provoking and even tragic. We see gay and lesbian stereotypes being reinforced over and over again, scenes cut from famous films because they hinted at homosexuality, etc.

Although the initial reaction is to sort of laugh at how backwards and ludicrous the intense homophobia of Hollywood once was, there are also reactions from people growing up during those years who talk about the effect of seeing gays and lesbians in films, or the impact of NEVER seeing gays and lesbians in films. Also, as the film progresses, it helps one to see that, although things have gotten SO MUCH BETTER in many ways, they're still so far from being where they ought to be.

This is a great documentary to watch with friends who might question what the big deal is with GLBT issues... why it's even an issue at all. It really helps one to see the importance of how popular media deals with (or chooses to ignore) minority groups and the very real impact of those decisions on people belonging to that minority group. And the fact that it's so darn entertaining makes it a fun, light movie to watch - a real pleasure!

A MUST SEE
The Dvd extras alone are worth the $25.00 Made in 1995 just shortly after Tom Hanks won an Academy Award for Philadelphia (playing a gay man ). The hero of this production however is Lily Tomlin! This movie documentary was finaly made after the wirters & producers got in touch with her. Lily loved this project and got HBO to fund this movie! The basic theme in this movie is to show us how gay people have been portrade in the movies! Gay themes were Taboo! They were always taboo until the late 1960's. (However All movies were made to a strict code up to that point). So all gay themes (during the era of the Code) were between the lines! (This is the humor) After the code was lifted gays were shown mostly as the villians! ( This is the drama) This documentary was one of the best movies of that year!
Is it dated? Not by much! It has been ALMOST 10 years since this was first released! Now we now have on TV "Will and Grace" (but after 7 years and no boyfriend give me a break). The big break in Hollywood was "The Birdcage". The next year was "My Best Friends Wedding" and "In and Out". (all money makers) Earlier that year "ellen" came out on TV but her show was cancelled a year later. In 2004 "The Stepford Wives" remake hade a gay couple. Although gays are more visable now than ever in the movies most of the time they are regulated to the "best friend" for comic relief! Not much of a change! Would I like a gay movie hero? Of course! I would also like to see hollywood remake movies that had they had gay stories to begin with! "The Lost Weekend" "Gentelman's Agreement" "The Childrens Hour" all had gay themes but were rewriiten for straight story lines or toned down! Yes "Fried Green Tomatoe's" is another but there was a kiss!

After YOU VIEW "The Celluloid Closet" watch "Rebecca" "Rebel Without a Cause" and "Some Like it Hot"! You will be laughing!

A 1995 Documentary That is Still Relevant
The Celluloid Closet has been out for nine years and I have only now seen it for the first time. You would think that gay themes and the presence of gay characters would be even greater now, in 2004, than when the documentary was made in 1995, and that it would seem dated. Unfortunately, it does not seem at all dated. The idea of a gay hero is still edgy and daring, and oddly enough, television, rather than the big screen, seems to be taking the lead in featuring gay characters and themes.

The Celluloid Closet is an eye-opening look at how gays have been portrayed in American film. Film clips are interspersed with interviews and commentary by writers, producers, and actors who are gay or have played gay characters. It is interesting to see that people mocking gay men swished and minced the same way 100 years ago as they do today.

A highlight is the deleted scene from Spartacus with Laurence Olivier as a slaveholder in his bath telling his uneasy slave played by Tony Curtis that he enjoys both snails and oysters. Strangely absent in the documentary are any mention of Clifton Webb or Cary Grant.

I will be looking at old (and new) films in a different way now that I have seen The Celluloid Closet.

Excellent Documentary , but a bit too ideological
Celluloid Closet is a well-done, thought-provoking documentary detailing the history of homosexuality in movies. The author(s)
compile a fascinating list of films, many well-known and beloved, and describe how filmmakers, constrained by prevailing mores and production codes, were forced to deal with the subject creatively through innuendo and subtext. It works equally well as a history of film censorship. Only one drawback: the best documentaries are objective, letting the material tell the story, so why interview exclusively archetypal Hollywood liberal, pro-gay-rights activists? It would have been interesting, for example, to hear Charlton Heston's response to Gore Vidal's take on what "Ben Hur" is really about. Instead, we're left hanging by Vidal quoting the director: "Don't tell Chuck (Heston) what it's really about, or he'll die". (or words to that effect) ... Read more

Reviews (35)

Had An Unforgettable Summer? It Can't Compare To Cathy's!
Tennessee Williams SOUTHERN GOTH masterpiece a la dark black and white Hollywood film style with Joseph (All About Eve, Guys & Dolls) Mankiewicz at the director's helm and screenplay adapted by Gore Vidal.

Elizabeth Taylor plays beautiful and crazy Cathy and Mercedes McCambridge (the actress who provided the voice of the demon in The Exorcist) plays her protective mother. Katherine Hepburn is Auntie Venable and wants niece Cathy to have a lobotomy to help her forget what she witnessed in regards to her son and Cathy's cousin, Sebastian and his untimely & somewhat mysterious "death" involving Sebastian's sexual secrets...

This all happened in front of Cathy's young & virginal eyes, "Suddenly, Last Summer". Last summer, Cathy and Sebastian travelled to Europe on an extravagant, decadent & obviously quite hedonistic vacation. Cathy was already quite traumatized by a baby tea turtle massacre on a European beach but what happened to cousin Sebastian was something that broke her fragile mind.

Auntie Venable gets the help of Dr. Cukrowicz, played by Montgomery Clift to see if he can help poor Cathy out with a prescibed lobotomy and mainly to save the selfish & overbearing Mrs. Venable from having people know about her son's secrets that got him killed.

From the opening scene, the viewer is riveted to the screen and left wondering... wondering... WHAT really happened so suddenly, last summer? The film builds and builds into the last 20 minutes of this film where Taylor gives a tremendous soliliquy and overview of just what DID happen to poor Sebastian. The split-screen effect that is used in this ending scene is fabulous. You never see Sebastian so what you are conjuring up in your mind is MUCH MORE horrific than they could have filmed back then. Wonderful cast with excellent performances from all but Clift who was quite medicated during the grueling shoot due to an accident before filming. If you are a Tennessee Williams, Elizabeth Taylor or Katharine Hepburn fan this is a MUST SEE!

Happy Watching!

Disturbingly Seductive
This 1959 film adaptation of the Tennessee William's play was intelligently scripted by the playwright and Gore Vidal. Set in the 1930's south, effectively shot in black and white, and skillfully directed by Joseph L. Mankiewitz. The film has a slow and sometimes tedious pace but still spins a web that ultimately draws you in like a good mystery. For the most part the cast is well chosen. Katherine Hepburn gives a delicate unraveling performance as the shrewd, manipulative and tragically obsessive mother of the never seen central character Sebastian. Mercedes McCambridge is superb as the weak and greedy mother of the film's heroine Catherine. Elizabeth Taylor shines as the emotionally traumatized heroine Catherine and gives one of her most overlooked and underrated performances, culminating in a superbly acted tour de force monologue that reveals the truth surrounding Sebastian's death. Ironically it is Montgomery Clift who is the weakest link in this ensemble and seems miscast in the role of the Doctor who must decide Catherine's fate. On another note, in the scene where Catherine has been transferred to a new hospital, and allowed for the first time in a great while to wear her own clothes and have her hair done, we are joltingly reminded of how absolutely breathtakingly beautiful Miss Taylor was.

An Underrated Classic
What more could a movie buff ask for? Elizabeth Taylor, Katharine Hepburn and Montgomery Clift; 3 great actors of film in ONE movie! I am a 20 year old college student and let me tell you that there is just something about this movie that captures me. I LIKE this film very much. This movie is complex, yet understated but if anything is to entice you to buy this movie, it should be the performaces. Both Hepburn and Taylor were nominated for Oscars for thier roles here and it is easy to see why; their performances are brilliant and mesmerizing. Clift is also good here too, but the film truly belongs to the two female stars. If this film was good enough to capture a 20 year olds attention, then that should be proof as to just how good the movie and the performances in it are! The DVD also features stills from the movie, is available in both widescreen and full screen and also features bios on all the stars!

LOBOTOMIZE YOUR DAUGHTER - MAKES THE PROBLEM GO AWAY!
"Suddenly Last Summer" is a Southern gothic tale about a gaddabout dame (Elizabeth Taylor) who saw something so frightening while on a vacation in Greece that it made her go nuts. How do you solve a problem like Elizabeth? Well that's easy - you cut half her brain out. At least that's what Katharine Hepburn would like to do. Montgomery Clift, as the sympathetic doctor, has other ideas however. This is high camp and low melodrama but strangely enough it works - and brilliantly so.

TRANSFER: Columbia gives us an average transfer. The grayscale is a bit off with too low a contrast level that registers most scenes in tonal gray instead of true black and white. Age related artifacts are everywhere. Ditto for a hint of compression related digital artifacts and some minor edge enhancement. The audio is MONO but nicely balanced.
EXTRAS: NONE! If you've purchased more than two Columbia Classics you should be used to this skimy treatment by now!
BOTTOM LINE: This is compelling cinema on the verge of a crying gag. It plays like Shakespeare mixed with Barnum and Bailey at I highly recommend it for this reason alone!

Consider other Williams' offerings first
This film is a solid Tennessee Williams/Joseph Mankieowitz
collaboration. It will appeal most to those who enjoy films from the heyday of the dialogue-laden melodramas (late 50's-early 60's). Having said that, this film is ultimately inferior to pictures like Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Streetcar.., the Long Hot Summer, and Who's Afraid of V. W. The dialogue is not nearly as crisp in this film, although it does have a fairly engaging plot. We are exposed to different perspectives on the truth, as well as controversial themes (for the time) such as homosexuality and female sexuality. Other pluses include innovative camera angles throughout, and the split-screen perspective of the final scene, in which we never see Sebastian's face.
One thing that hurt this film was Montgomery Clift's disturbingly shaky performance (both figuratively and literally). He was unable to hold his own in any of his scenes with Liz Taylor or Katherine Hepburn, and seemed both distracted and physically weak. Perhaps he already was, even in 1960. It was also impossible to believe that anyone in their right mind could deem Liz Taylor was an incorrigeable case; obviously, the audience needed to be drawn to her and the plot needed drama, but both should have been possible without loss of plausibility. (I don't attribute this to Taylor's acting by the way; her performance here was stronger than Hepburn's). The film also treats the symptoms of, and recovery from, psychological trauma in a grossly oversimplified way. The same though could be said of Spellbound, The Manchurian Candidate, and just about any other 'mental illness film' from the era.
Vertigo alone is perhaps above the fray in that regard, as it is in so many other respects. ... Read more

Description

Tim Robbins stars as BOB ROBERTS, a radical folksinger turned senatorial candidate, in this satirical comedy that blends his campaign trail with singing, music videos and scandal.BOB ROBERTS is a hilarious film that will change the way you look at American politics! ... Read more

Reviews (41)

Tim Robbins, Prophet.
When I first saw Tim Robbins' political satire, "Bob Roberts," I had an extremely negative reaction because of what I perceived as the film's smug humorlessness and lack of correspondence to anything resembling political reality. I still think the film isn't as funny as it should be, and is too self-congratulatory by half. But perhaps Mr. Robbins deserves to indulge in a little self-congratulation, for his political prescience is now obvious: George W. Bush IS Bob Roberts. Bush may not sing or play the guitar, but man, he sure plays to the camera--whether landing in a fighter jet on an aircraft carrier or serving fake turkey to the troops in Iraq--while dancing on our basic freedoms and international prestige with football cleats. Similarly, the sinister political adviser played by Alan Rickman now seems a perfect amalgam of Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Donald Rumsfeld, John Ashcroft and others in the Rogues' Gallery of the Bush Administration. And though I found the zombie-like devotion of the followers of the cold, unappealing Roberts hard to believe, it's no less believable than the fealty that millions of voters swear to Bush. Robbins' spring 2003 speech before the National Press Club--which he made in the wake of being disinvited to the 15th-anniversary celebration of "Bull Durham" because of his stand against the Iraq war--is a brilliant political document, and one that underlines the culmination of many of the dangers Robbins warned against in "Bob Roberts." So while I still don't think this is a particularly good movie from the standpoint of entertainment, its obvious political astuteness mandates my upgrading it from one star to three.

The Best Film Ever Made About Politics and Power in America
How do you give a film more than five stars? For "Bob Roberts" is the best, bar none, film about politics andpower in the United States. It is entertaining; it is enlightening; it is an amusing, satirical romp that time has not rendered out-of-date. Indeed, ten years after its release, it is more timely than ever.

This is due in part to Tim Robbins' deft talent for poking all sorts of holes in the balloons of the sanctimonious prigs who comprise the right wing of the nation's political spectrum. But, above all, it is due to the presence in the film of our greatest living writer and man of letters, Gore Vidal.

Vidal's portrayal of incumbant senator Brickley Paste (D-PA), under siege from a folk-singing "rebel" Neanderthal (of course, Bob Roberts), is pointed, ironic and above all else educational. For in his regretably short time on the screen, Vidal lays open for us his view of recent American history, all in that tired but wise man of the world way he has of stating truths that no one else (save people like Noam Chomsky and Christopher Hitchens) has the guts to say.

"Bob Roberts" is ultimately a film that brings us beneath the surface of American politics; and for this reason I suspect that it will never become as popular as other great political films, such as "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" and "The Last Hurrah." For these are the films that depict politics as we would like it to be ("Mr. Smith") or at least as we can tolerate it to be (" The Last Hurrah"). They do not however depict politics as it has become. In this respect, "Bob Roberts" is the perfect sequel to "The Last Hurrah;" but the substance of its message is so painful that only the most ardently committed to civil liberties and a republican (small "r")form of government can bear
it.

ultimate election night party DVD
This is a great DVD to watch with friends during an election year. We had a group of 15 people howling with laughter. You have to love a politician who closes a letter to a 7-year-old Vermont girl with the admonition "Don't do crack; it's a ghetto drug."

PULLEASE
"Bob Roberts" was Tim Robbins first foray into political filmmaking. He draws on his family experience as traveling folk singers and fashions a story of a conservative, religious political candidate who sings family songs on the campaign trail. The film itself is good stuff, well acted and produced, but the message is clear: White conservative Christians are just frauds and cannot be trusted. One watches it and wonders what a truthful depiction of Jesse Jackson would look like. Or an inside look at Joseph P. Kennedy pulling the strings in Jack's Congressional and Senate campaigns? Or the inside deals that kept Teddy Kennedy in office after Mary Jo Kopechne was killed? How about Al Sharpton and the Tawana Brawley incident? "Bob Roberts" is one of those movies that you just watch and shake your head.

References to other documentaries
To better appreciate this movie, it's good to know that it makes references (many, in fact) to the 1966 Bob Dylan documentary "Don't Look Back." If you haven't seen this earlier movie, naturally you won't pick up on these references (which are funny). What's interesting, though, is that at about the same time "Bob Roberts" was being made, the director of "Don't Look Back" was making a documentary (or perhaps had made ...), similar in nature to his earlier film, about Bill Clinton's campaign for the presidency called "The War Room." Cinema verite, no doubt. ... Read more

Description

Armed with a copy of a harvard student's thesis, a homeless man makes the desperate student an offer: in exchange for food and a place to stay during the harsh winter, he will return the thesis one page at a time. ... Read more

Reviews (61)

With Honors - English Review
I know I was supposed to write a summary but that's boring so I'll tell you what I got out of it! Lately I have been told a quote that I thought had no use for my life. It was "don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out alive". After watching this movie in English, I see where that is true. I might not have gotten the whole message out of this movie, or even what I was supposed to see, but I saw that quote. Monty (a Harvard student) was comsumed with writing his thesis and once he lost it he thought his life was over. After spending time with Simon (a homeless man) in order to get his thesis back, he saw that there was more to life than a thesis. Monty learned not to take life too seriously and enjoy what was around him that he didn't see in the past. Another thing I learned was that in life you have to roll with the punches. Monty had his whole life figured out but as soon as his computer crashed (something as simple as that) his whole plan for his life was out the window. I guess what I can take from this movie (which I thought was really great even though it was kinda old) enjoy the people around you and life, and make the most of life, even in bad times.

With Honors
When this movie first started, I was a little skeptical. But "With Honors" turned out to be a touching movie about a young college student who learns a great deal about life. The college student Monty (played by Brendan Fraiser) meets a homeless man Simon (played by Joe Pesci), and although they don't exactly hit it off at first, they eventually gain respect for one another as people and become great friends. Simon ends up teaching Monty a lot about life, most importantly that you should enjoy life while you have the chance. Although a predictable movie, it certainly touched my heart, and pointed out the more important things in life.

Tries WAY to Hard.
Joe Pesci's character in this movie tries WAY too hard. He is wise and all-knowing while the rest are narrow-minded and shallow.

Food for the soul...
The human spirit is such a vast yet complex thing that help us understand BReath taking films such as this one! Films like "with honors" come a dime a dozen. Films that show the reality of everyday life and the humanity and everlasting love of a friendship... old or new! It makes you weep of sadness and cry happy tears. Cause we've all experience it. We've all had or known a father who left his son/daughter and we've always hated that figure. Yet we've never known it from their perspective which can be very harsh... This film is eye opening and witty! The plot is ingenius yet heartwarming. With a great cast and great production this film shows the ways of the spirit in many ways. It truly deserves 5 stars. Buy it feed your soul

"prince of pop"

what, no baseball bat?
Although I believe that a Joe Pesci movie in which he does not viciously beat someone is bordering sacrelige, WITH HONORS was somewhat commendable. This movie follows a Harvard student (Brenden Fraser) as he loses his thesis and must obey the bidding of a remarkably cultured bum (Joe Pesci) to get it back. Anyone could predict the outcome; the two fall for each other (in a dissapointingly heterosexual way) and-believe it or not-Joe Pesci is revealed to have a critical illness just as the two become close. Though it was a hackneyed plot, this movie delivered a few laughs and also includes a glimpse of Fraser's hot young buns. I would reccomend this movie to anyone who has two hours to spare, and quite frankly, nothing better to do. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Confidently conceived and brilliantly executed, Gattaca had a somewhat low profile release in 1997, but audiences and critics hailed the film's originality. It's since been recognized as one of the most intelligent science fiction films of the 1990s. Writer-director Andrew Niccol, the talented New Zealander who also wrote the acclaimed Jim Carrey vehicle The Truman Show, depicts a near-future society in which one's personal and professional destiny is determined by one's genes. In this society, "Valids" (genetically engineered) qualify for positions at prestigious corporations, such as Gattaca, which grooms its most qualified employees for space exploration. "In-Valids" (naturally born), such as the film's protagonist, Vincent (Ethan Hawke), are deemed genetically flawed and subsequently fated to low-level occupations in a genetically caste society. With the help of a disabled "Valid" (Jude Law), Vincent subverts his society's social and biological barriers to pursue his dream of space travel; any random mistake--and an ongoing murder investigation at Gattaca--could reveal his plot. Part thriller, part futuristic drama and cautionary tale, Gattaca establishes its social structure so convincingly that the entire scenario is chillingly believable. With Uma Thurman as the woman who loves Vincent and identifies with his struggle, Gattaca is both stylish and smart, while Jude Law's performance lends the film a note of tragic and heartfelt humanity. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (277)

Brave New World II
Gattaca pleasantly surprised me as a thoughtful and rather worrisome view of the possible future instead of the special-effects-laden sci-fi movie I was expecting.

The story takes place at a time when genetic excellence is the yardstick by which individuals are measured. The ability to preselect genes among offspring and measure one's genetic potential through simple biological tests gives rise to a new form of discrimination that bars the genetically flawed protagonist, played by Ethan Hawke, from his lifelong goal of becoming an astronaut. Undaunted, he sets out to fool a genetic screening system and gain admission to the space program where he can pursue his dream. A scandalous incident at the space center (Gattaca) casts a scrutinizing light on each of the employees and threatens to expose his deception.

The details of this movie are clever and well thought out. The film has a graceful, almost poetic quality bolstered by a lush musical score. The acting is quite good all the way around. Ethan Hawke's fine performance certainly puts him on the map if he wasn't already there. Jude Law almost steals the show with his convincing portrayal of the broken golden child made miserable by his own misfortune but who comes to share in the dream of Ethan Hawke's character as he helps him outwit the system.

Gattaca shows us that lackluster natural potential coupled with unwavering desire and ambition can ultimately reach higher than mere genetic predisposition. Well worth seeing; four-and-a-half stars.

Celebrates the strength of spirit and desire
This is truly one of the most inspiring movies I've ever seen.

It's replete with symbolism: helix shaped stair cases, red and green lights indicating valid and invalid, the heart disease of Vincent (the natural born) as opposed to the lack of heart (spirit) of Jerome (the "superior", genetically engineered human), etc. The setting also makes use of connotations associated with the past. Slick hair styles, clothing, and sterile interior furnishings have an organized, repressed feeling evoking the controlled and prejudiced 1950's. This helps enhance the mood of lifeless surrender. Even the bald head of the geneticist at the beginning of the movie was a statement against the pursuit of perfection by means of perfecting the body and brain. Wealth of living is not found in the the physical plain, but in the spirit in which each day is lived.

Add to all this wounderful cinnematography, an unforgettable musical score, and fine acting that meld together into a fluid whole, and you've got a fantastic movie that repays many viewings.

Biology Lovers Unite and watch Gattaca
If you love Biology, especially genetics and DNA, this movie is for you. Gattaca combines a love story, with high-paced action, that is sure to get your adrenaline pumping. Gattaca will at first be confusing, but it will all make sense in the end, and it will be sure to make a place on the front of your DVD/VHS shelf.

Gattaca is an unforgettable warning
The best exploration of the possibility of genetically modified people becoming a separate social and economic class leaving behind and opressing those who are not genetically modified.

My favorite film
The word "Inspiring" is grossly overused in film reviews. Gattaca is one of the very few that genuinely deserves it. In a nutshell, it's the story of a mutt (Ethan Hawke) bypassing and surpassing a world that's designed against him. This movie really affected me (another overused appraisal.)

Maybe I just love this movie because I relate too much to the protaganist, Vincent. Despite everyones expectations, from my high school counseler on, and my lack of any prestigious schooling, I'll soon have my physics PhD.

This is a wonderful movie. That it didnt sweep the Oscars only validates the movies point. ... Read more

Reviews (41)

Tim Robbins, Prophet.
When I first saw Tim Robbins' political satire, "Bob Roberts," I had an extremely negative reaction because of what I perceived as the film's smug humorlessness and lack of correspondence to anything resembling political reality. I still think the film isn't as funny as it should be, and is too self-congratulatory by half. But perhaps Mr. Robbins deserves to indulge in a little self-congratulation, for his political prescience is now obvious: George W. Bush IS Bob Roberts. Bush may not sing or play the guitar, but man, he sure plays to the camera--whether landing in a fighter jet on an aircraft carrier or serving fake turkey to the troops in Iraq--while dancing on our basic freedoms and international prestige with football cleats. Similarly, the sinister political adviser played by Alan Rickman now seems a perfect amalgam of Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Donald Rumsfeld, John Ashcroft and others in the Rogues' Gallery of the Bush Administration. And though I found the zombie-like devotion of the followers of the cold, unappealing Roberts hard to believe, it's no less believable than the fealty that millions of voters swear to Bush. Robbins' spring 2003 speech before the National Press Club--which he made in the wake of being disinvited to the 15th-anniversary celebration of "Bull Durham" because of his stand against the Iraq war--is a brilliant political document, and one that underlines the culmination of many of the dangers Robbins warned against in "Bob Roberts." So while I still don't think this is a particularly good movie from the standpoint of entertainment, its obvious political astuteness mandates my upgrading it from one star to three.

The Best Film Ever Made About Politics and Power in America
How do you give a film more than five stars? For "Bob Roberts" is the best, bar none, film about politics andpower in the United States. It is entertaining; it is enlightening; it is an amusing, satirical romp that time has not rendered out-of-date. Indeed, ten years after its release, it is more timely than ever.

This is due in part to Tim Robbins' deft talent for poking all sorts of holes in the balloons of the sanctimonious prigs who comprise the right wing of the nation's political spectrum. But, above all, it is due to the presence in the film of our greatest living writer and man of letters, Gore Vidal.

Vidal's portrayal of incumbant senator Brickley Paste (D-PA), under siege from a folk-singing "rebel" Neanderthal (of course, Bob Roberts), is pointed, ironic and above all else educational. For in his regretably short time on the screen, Vidal lays open for us his view of recent American history, all in that tired but wise man of the world way he has of stating truths that no one else (save people like Noam Chomsky and Christopher Hitchens) has the guts to say.

"Bob Roberts" is ultimately a film that brings us beneath the surface of American politics; and for this reason I suspect that it will never become as popular as other great political films, such as "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" and "The Last Hurrah." For these are the films that depict politics as we would like it to be ("Mr. Smith") or at least as we can tolerate it to be (" The Last Hurrah"). They do not however depict politics as it has become. In this respect, "Bob Roberts" is the perfect sequel to "The Last Hurrah;" but the substance of its message is so painful that only the most ardently committed to civil liberties and a republican (small "r")form of government can bear
it.

ultimate election night party DVD
This is a great DVD to watch with friends during an election year. We had a group of 15 people howling with laughter. You have to love a politician who closes a letter to a 7-year-old Vermont girl with the admonition "Don't do crack; it's a ghetto drug."

PULLEASE
"Bob Roberts" was Tim Robbins first foray into political filmmaking. He draws on his family experience as traveling folk singers and fashions a story of a conservative, religious political candidate who sings family songs on the campaign trail. The film itself is good stuff, well acted and produced, but the message is clear: White conservative Christians are just frauds and cannot be trusted. One watches it and wonders what a truthful depiction of Jesse Jackson would look like. Or an inside look at Joseph P. Kennedy pulling the strings in Jack's Congressional and Senate campaigns? Or the inside deals that kept Teddy Kennedy in office after Mary Jo Kopechne was killed? How about Al Sharpton and the Tawana Brawley incident? "Bob Roberts" is one of those movies that you just watch and shake your head.

References to other documentaries
To better appreciate this movie, it's good to know that it makes references (many, in fact) to the 1966 Bob Dylan documentary "Don't Look Back." If you haven't seen this earlier movie, naturally you won't pick up on these references (which are funny). What's interesting, though, is that at about the same time "Bob Roberts" was being made, the director of "Don't Look Back" was making a documentary (or perhaps had made ...), similar in nature to his earlier film, about Bill Clinton's campaign for the presidency called "The War Room." Cinema verite, no doubt. ... Read more