Memento (UK)

A very clever film which held my attention from start to finish. Get rid of all distractions before starting to watch this film especially the ones that say "who`s he?" or "why did he do that?"

A good plot is added to by a great performance , from Guy Pierce , but the strength of the film is in the way the scenes have been edited together to tell the story backwards from the end to the beginning. This allows for plot twists in almost every scene without them becoming tedious.

I haven`t accessed the hidden `beginning to end` feature on the disc (Region 2) so I can`t say if the film loses it`s attraction when viewed this way , as happens in Pulp Fiction.

This is one of the stand out films of last year with a great story being made into a great film.

Guy Pearce puts in another great performance (just as good as L.A. Confidential), with Joe Pantoliano and Carrie-Ann Moss rounding out the cast. Christopher Nolan puts together a film that messes around with narrative and time which adds to the film even more.

The extras are pretty thin on the ground, but included is a good interview with the director, the story (written by the directors brother) that the film is based on and the "hidden" feature of watching the film in chronological order. The picture is fine and the sound does it`s job for a film that is largely dialogue based.

This is a fantastic film given a mediocre treatment. Roll on the R1 Special Edition.

Ayeeeee!

Content:- A very very interesting film to watch indeed. The time scale is used in a quite unique way, such that it is absolutely fascinating to watch, but it is great anyway. Guy Pearce is fantastic, as are the rest of the small cast. The whole film moves along very nicely indeed and is just a thrill to watch, especially first time round, if you dont know what is about to happen `next`.

Video:- A typical great transfer as you would expect. Simple as that really.

Audio:- A very nice soundtrack here, which is used subtley for the most part, but kicks in a few times to give some nice surround effects. Not that exciting really, but this film doesnt really need it.

Features:- The menus on this disk are really something to watch....but they do get kinda annoying after a while! There is a reasonable-ish display of stuff here, if you can get at it through the insane menus. Could be better though.

Overall:- The price of the disk will probably be worth the film alone, so the fact that it has quite ok extras on it is cool. A very nice film indeed, and about as original as you can get these days.

Wow! I heard about this film, and was curious to see what all the fuss was about. When i watched it i was hooked, i think you will either love it or loath it, judging by most of the reviews everyone loves it. It`s such a refreshing change to the usual
action movies of late, and this certainly gets you thinking, in fact it will do your head in! As you will know by now the film is told backwards, but the way in which it is done is brilliant.
Full credit to everyone involved. The acting is very good Guy Pearce puts in yet another very good performance, and is utterly convincing as a man suffering from short term memory loss. I`m becoming a bit of a fan of Carry Anne Moss too, very convincing whatever she does, and has a great look about her. Not forgetting Joe Pantoliano who puts in his usual splendid performence. The visual is spot on no complaints at all, it has a geat realistic `feel` to it, possibly a likeness to Pulp Fiction, and also has nice black and white / colour change from time to time.
Audio is fine no problems, obviously no explosions etc. but all very crisp and sound. The extras are also good, with a tidy menu, and plenty to look into, including the `easter egg`
that everyone has mentioned. Overall this a film you have to experience, like it or not. The DVD package is very good, and does not let the film down. This is a thinker film that twists and turns and pulls your head all over the place. I guarantee
you will watch this film more than once! Brilliant stuff.

Film is a great thing. It allows storytellers to do things subtlety. "Memento" is a great example. If you watch "Memento" with no knowledge about it at all, within the first 10 minutes you'll know what's going on. Is this accomplishable in another medium- say books? Probably, but the reader who have no clue what's going on unless, the author throws subtlety out the window and tells the reader "this is going backwards".

On the surface, "Memento" seems like a standard revenge flick, but thanks to an inventive structure and ambitious themes, "Memento" turns out to be a mindbender of a film. The narrative runs simultaneously backwards and forwards while starting at the end and ending in the middle. This help "Memento" to become the sleeper hit of 2000 (so sleeper-ish the Academy chose not to "honour" it until 2002), winning numerous awards, residing in the TOP 10 of IMDB's TOP 250 and propelling director Christopher Nolan to the big leagues (he directed "Insomnia" in 2002).

Video: When I saw this at a Film Centre (no Multiplex release for this!) at the tail end of 2000, I remember thinking it was a very bland looking film, probably due to the low budget. After seeing the DVD, I'm happy to report that it was probably a degraded print and the film looks fabulous on DVD. The transfer has a very life like look to it, flesh tones are accurate and colours are bright and nicely rendered. Edge enhancements and defects are minimal. Only on close inspection did I detect jaggies and some blemishes. Image is very sharp throughout.

Director Christopher Nolan, unlike most acclaimed young directors today has a low-key style of filming. Judging from this and "Insomnia", he seems to like the hand-held documentation style, while also applying a cinematic look to the proceedings. While hardly a Fincher, Nolan can tell a riveting story with the appropriate visuals to match.

Audio: Not as good, though "Memento" is hardly a film that needs a 5.1 sonic assault. Most sounds are front stage with the rears used for ambience sounds. Dialogue is always clear.

The music is quite low key and nearly unnoticeable, but it does add impact to the more dramatic scenes. David Bowie's "Something In the Air" is played over the end credits and sounds so good and distributed so well across the soundstage, I use it as occasional demo material.

Extras: Not at a lot, especially compared to the 2-Disc R1 Limited Edition. The main supplement is a 25-minute interview with Christopher Nolan. It seems to have been filmed at a film school. It is quite informative and Nolan talks quite intellectually about his directorial decisions. I have two faults with it though, 1) It's poorly edited and seems to be truncated. Couldn't we have gotten the full interview? (Perhaps not, distributors have to pay for an extra that runs over 25 minutes. They couldn't spring the cash of this. Cheap bastards). And secondly the interviewer, not only does he not seem to know what he or indeed the film is on about, he has the most distracting and screen-filling hair I've seen since OJ Simpson's flashback in "Naked Gun 33 1/3".

The rest of the extras are a trailer, a tattoo gallery, the script (complete with notes from Nolan), the short story "Memento Mori" on which it is based and the official website.

A hidden extra gives you the ability to watch the film in chronological order. It's rather pointless and badly edited though.

Overall: "Memento" is an outstanding film anchored by a fabulous script, full of ideas, themes and wit. Guy Pearce gives an incredible central performance as a man capable of a new persona every 5 minutes or so. The structure is used inventively and is used to full advantaged by twisting and turning the plot and characters. Nolan has used it quite simply (basically every scene is a about the origin an important event in the seen previous to it), so it is relatively easy to get into the swing of things. The opening scene itself is one of the best ever. "Memento" quickly became one of my favourite films and is already a huge cult hit. The DVD has fine presentation but the extras are disappointing. I want that 2-Disc on Region 2 now!!!

MOVIE
I`ve only seen this film a couple of times, so I still haven`t figured everything out yet, but it is a good captivating movie. To be honest, the way the fim has been edited in the backwards mode is looked upon by many as a gimmick. To some extent this is very true, the movie wouldn`t be anywhere near as good if it hadn`t been played this way, but the way Nolan has presented the film lifts it far and above the usual revenge thriller. All the performances in the film are incredibly powerful, Guy Pearce is amazing in it, amazing he came from Neighbours! Joe Pantaliano is also very good in the filmas Teddy, who plays the is he isn`t up to something part very well. The movie has some funny moments to, and it does stand up very well to repeat views, as it takes about three to get what happens, and then many more to spot every detail.

VIDEO
Nice picture for a low budget film. It`s nice and clear, with very little grain and dirt, and although not of reference, it does the job absolutely fine, showing up Nolans wonderful visual style.

AUDIO
Not totally effects driven, but most of the dialogue is nice and clear, and the surounds are used in the moments that are necessary.

EXTRAS
Now surpassed by the better and rather confusing R1 MEMENTO-Ultra Limited Edition, this is still a good showing. No commentary, which would have been nice, but there is a good interview with the quietly spoken and very English Nolan. No deleted scenes either, but there are a good few more, including the trailer, a few galleries, the script, and the short story written by the directors brother. Also there is a look at the brilliant website, as well as the hidden extra-the story shown chronologically. As I said, the film is really just a little bit above the average revenge thriller when shown in time order, and as this hasn`t really been properly edited back together, this is worthwhile watching once, but no more really. One more point, notice how the menu titles move about all the time, or do you remember?

Intro- Well, what can I say about this film? Memento is an amazing thriller and one of the most original films ever made. Leonard Shelby, a insurance investigator, whose memory was severely damaged after an attack by 2 thieves who raped and murdered his wife. Since then, he suffers from a medical condition named Anterograde amnesia, to put it simple word: Leonard can`t form new memories but remembers the point where his wife is raped and murdered. He wants to why his wife is murdered. The only way to remember vital clues is having to tattoo his body and taking pictures to remember specific persons.

Menento is based on a based on a short story, made by the director`s(Chris Nolan) brother, Jonathan Nolan. The entire plot is told backwards from end to start, which is unusual for story telling yet the entire film leaves you gob smacked(it happened to me). In between, the film are b/w segments explaining about a guy named Sammy Jankis, whos memory is even shorter than Leonard`s. This movie is not for the average Joe since the films requires brains. If you find the first 10 minutes of Memento fustrating, then do yourself a favour by not watching it at all.

Video- In 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, the picture quality is good enough for me. Blues are blue and blacks are black. There are some flecks of dirt from time to time but that won`t detract by the slightest.

Audio- Present in DD 5.1. David Julyan`s score sets the mood of Memento and dialogue is clear. Not a SFX driven film, BTW.

Extras- Not a lot since I wanted the same extras from the R1 LE version. There`s a poorly edited interview with the Director(this is not very good). Nolan states the Memento IS shown in linear order but in reverse order.

Galleries from the websites and Leonard`s tattoos are in the DVD. "Memento Mori" a short story by Jonathan Nolan(brother of Chris) which the film is based on. The shooting script and an extra feature finishes the package.

Overall- Original. Need to say more. Memento should be watched by all Hollywood execs and drastically rethink how they should make their movies but this ain`t going to happen. It`s a pity it failed to recieve recognition in the Academy Awards. It lost original screenplay to Gosford Park, a movie which has been forgetten very quickly. This by contrast, it`s images failed to faded away(pun intended) from my head.

If you like to movies that requires brains then this is it. Memento is destined to be in the top 20 best movies.

A few question to consider after watching the film(there are more but here are 2):

Did Leonard find the killer?
Is Leonard being manipulated by everyone including Teddy and Natalie?

A truly wonderful movie, with a great concept, fine acting and a very unique feel to it.
The video transfer is very good. There aren`t any compression signs and the picture is beautifully saturated.
The DD 5.1 soundtrack is very good. The surrounds are used occasionally and provide a nice sound envelope.
The menus are animated with sound
The extras include an interview with the director, an interactive picture gallery, an interactive script, a separate story and a feature that enables to watch the movie in reverse order.
Bottom line - a great movie and a very good disc to match. Own it.