I was just looking at that.

Witch hunts are fun, but I'm too enthralled with this fantastic coverage from E!. Got. to. run.

Wait... there were 32 A's a while ago...

Hhehe... I wonder who gave it.

Arthur just saw it. Look like his grade should be around B+, considering he gave the film 3 nominations (Ledger, Williams, and score) in his updated list.

I forgot to vote?

And you still haven't voted!!!!!!!!

hm. so crash won because of you.

I voted now!

It´s not too late, is it?

I absolutely can't remember voting..

lol I think I know where the original F-votes came from now

B+


Xiayun seems to be able to guess my grades pretty much exactly, hehe.

I must admit that surprisingly (or not?) I liked this movie more than any other Ang Lee film that I have seen in my lifetime (The Ice Storm, Sense and Sensibility, Hulk, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). However, it still suffers under the very same problems as all his other movies and by now I doubt it will ever change. This is Ang Lee's style and I simply don't like it. Like his other movies, Brokeback Mountain drags a lot. I nderstand that the first hour in the film was supposed to estabilish the relationship between Ennis and Jack well, but I think it could have been done better and less boring. I think that the movie starts out really tedious and has way too many unnecessary scenes and gratuitous shots that, in my opinion, didn't add anything to the film. I would say that the movie could have easily done with 15-20 minutes less running time and would have delivered an even more powerful love story than it already was. I can now understand why the movie was not nominated for the Best Editing award, simply because the editing probably was my main gripe with the film.

On the upside, once the film really gets to the point in its second half, it works pretty well, mostly thanks to Heath Ledger. Heath Ledger owns the movie in pretty much every scene he is in. I remember he said in an interview that he played his part like a "clenched fist" and that was exactly what it looked like. His performance was raw, aggressive, yrt subtle at times. An excellent and Oscar-worthy turn that I was rooting for during the ceremony. It was actually the best male US-performance I have seen in any 2005 film and his acting alone elevated the movie to me a lot. The scenes of his breakdowns felt so real and touching and were one of the few moments in the movie when I felt emotionally connected to a character.

Michelle Williams, however, delivers an almost equally impressive turn. I can't believe she won against Rachel Weisz. That's really a shame, in my opinion. The kitchen scene between her and Heath Ledger is one of the best scenes in any 2005 film. Very emotionally powerful and well-crafted. I was not that impressed by Anne Hathaway, by far. The scene on the phone with her was pretty sublte, but other than that, she was merely decent. The disappointment to me was Jake Gyllenhaal who I like as an actor quite a bit. He was rather average here and didn't deserve the accolades he has been getting. Maybe it just was that he paled so much in comparison to Ledger, I don't know. Williams and Ledger certainly made up for that and delivered some of the best performances I have seen in a while. I think I just had more problems with Jack's not so fleshed out character. The scene with him going to Mexico to buy sex seemed rather unneeded to me (even though his speech to Ennis about that later on was rather powerful).

Technically the film was well-crafted, except for the editing (which was really bad, in my opinion). The cinematography was really good and probably the best of the films nominated (even though by far not the best f 2005 films). The score was really great and one of the very best of 2005. I was glad it won the Oscar. The tunes are memorable and really fit the story well.

Emotionally the film didn't connect with me as often as it could have, but I found several scenes pretty touching. I did not feel the chemistry between the two leads most of the times, just rarely (but that is maybe because I couldn't really relate). The scene in which Lureen reports to Ennis about Jack's death could have been done in a more emotional way, but I think Ang Lee didn't want to seem manipulative in that one. The very final scene of the movie with Ennis' "Jack, I swear..." is exceptionally well-done and the one scene that really got to me very well. That was a perfect ending, despite the movie lagging from time to time throughout.

So, I watched it last night.

I had the same problems as Lecter. Ang Lee's films always drag, even if they are technically good films (like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). The long running time didn't help either. But I'll admit, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Like I said, it's technically impressive, from performances to cinematography. No effect on an emotional level, however.

It's a risky film to make, though, so it was a solid effort. I didn't hate it. C+

Seriously, Ang Lee needs a good editor.

I think the first maybe... 45 minutes has some editing problems (docked its grade for that), but it's fine from there on out.

I think 20 minutes of the first half of this movie could have been cut and the film would have still worked as well.

Exactly my thinking to both posts above.

The first 40-50 minutes lagged (basically all the time until they separate). From then on, it gets better.

The editing was Hulk's problem as well as CTHD's problem.

This was a touching, emotional and beautiful film. Wonderfuly written, directed and performed. Heath Ledger is obviously superior than the rest of the cast members but the others were pretty solid too, especially Michelle Williams. I absolutely loved the score by Gustavo. It was perfect for the film. I thought the final 30 minutes were fantastic and heartbreaking, the scene at Jack's parents house was amazing. Truly the best movie of 2005 and a billion times better than the pathetic, manipulative and mediocre CRASH.

Grade: A+

Yeah, the last 30-40 minutes of the film has some of the most exquisite filmmakings and most memorable scenes that I've seen. Ang's attention to details was just impeccable, such as how Ernis switched his shirt to be outside of Jack's jacket when hanging them up in his closet. Very symbolic.

It really is a poetic movie. This could have gone the rout of overwrought romances like The Notebook and Moulin Rouge!, but Ang Lee kept his vision in check. The more I think about it, the more I'm happy that he won Best Director. I think I would have been more disapointed if he had lost Best Director and the film won Best Picture than the other way around.

I am so glad i was on a break from here when this movie really hit bigtime or I would have been forced to hate it.

Because from what Ive seen the Brokeback Mountain supporters on this site have made it really, really hard for anyone else to like this movie. The pigheaded insult of homophobia being thrown at people who didn't like the film really fucks me off.

Anyway, I did review it on I love lamp as the first article I believe. And I stand by my thoughts.

One of the best movies in recent years and the best of last year, just edging out Crash for me.
I didn't think it was slow at first at all.

Very well made movie with some great performances and a beautiful cinematography. The editing was just awful!, i didnt espect that from a Oscar movie. It was very slow but not boring at all, the story was really interesting

Nothing really that impressive, just another good movie to me

B

Well, I have to say that I am somewhat disappointed and unimpressed. I wasn't really moved by the film at all. I just found it to be melodramatic like other dramas I haven't liked in the past. The film is well acted, it's beautifully shot, but the story is hollow, at least for me. I might watch it again sometime soon to give it another try since it's so highly praised (Although I have done that before with Chicago, and I still hated it all the same), but for now I will give it a.........

C

Throughout the film, I felt that there was something which was keeping it from being a masterpiece. It's certainly not the look or direction of the film, which are great. The film is one of the most gorgeous-looking I have ever seen; the beauty of the Teutons in Wyoming really comes through. I think the problem is that the film, although it seems sparse, tries to do too much by covering twenty years in the lives of the two men in a chronological fashion.

I think the film would have been better if it had either concentrated on the Brokeback Mountain episodes, cutting the rest, or, and I think this would be better, if they started with the end and had the beginning of the film as a kind of flashback, a device which has been successfully done before.

By expanding the story, we become acquainted with characters whose relationships are at least as interesting, and often more interesting, than the central one. For example, I would love to have seen more of Ennis' daughter, who is given just enough time to inform us that she has her own thoughts and feelings. Similarly, Alma is such a powerful presence that her relationship with Ennis completely trumps that of Ennis' with Jack's. What does it feel like for a girl? We get a sense of it, but it's sadly just a sidestory.

The worst consequence of this expansion, however, is that it takes away so much sympathy from the two characters and allocates it to the women. I didn't really feel anything but pity for the two men; I felt pity and compassion for the women. When Anna Faris' character is introduced, it's like a cup of water during a long draught. Then, we are instantly shown her husband soliciting Jack. So this sprightly, lively character is being betrayed for...what? I'm absolutely not convinced that the trade-off is a good one at all.

Of course, I understand that it's about the two men being placed in an impossible position, etc. What I'm saying is that this film does not do as good a job at getting that across as it could have. It's the best one yet, because it's more or less the only one yet. It's thus more difficult to say how it will fare in comparison with future releases as opposed to a 'straight romance', but it's possible, in the name of universal love, to compare it with other films about lovers placed in difficult positions. There, the most effective films are the ones which are firmly fixated on the central love affair, because it's absolutely necessary to make sure that the audience feels for them more than it does for those around them. That is necessitated by the fact, often enough, that the relationship is one which society frowns upon. The films are thus going up against incredible social pressures. In this case, I think that is extremely true. And yet, in this very film, we have too many relationships compromising the central one.

Having said that, there is too much that is done well in this film for it to be ranked below the A-level. In addition to the direction and superb cinematography, the acting is fantastic. The editing is a bit irritating, and the pacing is off in some parts (which is necessary in order to evoke the idea of boredom and mundanity), but when the film gets it right, it's dead on. The ending is very well-crafted, and the last two sequences are masterpieces in their own right. The scene with Ennis and Jack's parents is utterly devastating. The mother's eye do more to make this film tragic than any other thing in this film. What a story they tell! What pain they give an expression to! In contrast, the scene with Ennis and his daughter is bittersweet. Sweet, because there are two successful love relationships we witness (between the daughter and her soon-to-be husband, and between Ennis and his daughter). And it's bitter, because a third love relationship, between Ennis and Jack, was one which never could have brought either of the lovers the kind of happiness that the daughter excudes when she gives us that wonderful smile that acknowledges her happiness. The shirt and the picture tell us that once, it did bring them happiness. And Ennis' pain tells us that it was emphemeral. The last shot with the window tells us something else: Ennis is inside looking out. Ennis has always been inside looking out. Jack was on the threshold, desiring to get out. That difference in perspective is the central difference between the two men, and one of the main reasons behind the tragedy in the film.


A-

Nice review.

I'd originally wanted to see this movie in the cinema however all my friends refused to go to it after deeming the subject matter to be to much for there Catholic palettes. I was pretty annoyed by this but still suffered a bit from the Papal lash as I didn't really fancy the idea of going by myself. Well now that I've finally seen it due to its release on DVD on can pretty much say I was an idiot not to have caught this in cinema's as this is a top notch movie.

All the press about how this was a love story of sorts really doesn't do it proper justice for me. This is a story of wasted lifes, and overall shittiness. Seriously in emotional terms this movie is a real downer. Thats not to say there are parts that give off a feeling of blissful happiness like when Jack and Ennis meet for the first time in 4 years and immediately start off where they finished but this is crushed seconds later when Ennis's wife unawares to the necking twosomes catches them at it. I wanted to bang my head off the table when that happened its a serious no no no moment of which there are a number in the movie, I guess the manufactured movie whore in me wishes for total uncomplicated happy time.

I've been sounding a bit negative so far which won't do so time for less jarring points. The contrasts between Jacks and Ennis and the way they handle the situation is one of the best parts of this movie. Wisely the story is told largely through the eyes of Ennis and so we get to see his complete inability to deal with his emotions leaving us with a tortured soul that caves inwards as the film progresses leaving him in the end as a mumbling shadow of the man he once was. Jack by contest seems to have fully embraced his feelings (as fully as society then would tolerate without snapping) and at times is like a horny puppy (crude analogy I know) I is attempts to get Ennis to deal fully with the situation. It sould be said that in any other movie the various other parthers Jack takes due to Ennis's intractable position would make him a bit unpopular with the viewer but in this movie his actions were ones you could do nothing but forgive.

The two main females in the Movie Michelle Williams and Anna Hathaway have to make do with largely background roles as is understandable considering what the movie is trying to achieve. There symbols almost of the life society expected the two men to lead even though both women the Working class Williams and More flashy Hathaway come from different ends of the societal ladder. I should note even though it's rather petty that Hathaways 70s blond hairdo was one of the nastiest things i've seen on screen since the xenomorphs from Aliens. Every time it appeared I wanted to gouge my eyes out. Surely the 70s wheren't that bad.

The movie ends on a note of emptyness. Jack is gone and Ennis is left with nothing but a hollowed soul and a lifetime of regreat with only the closing decision to be at his daughters wedding suggesting a future of any pleasent note.

This is a very powerful movie with a very powerful message and well worth your attention.

A for me

I've had some long draughts back in the day, but never one so long, I had to stop for a cup of water before finishing the rest of the beer...