SuperHeroBooks - No Such Thing
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List Price: $14.98
Our Price: $2.98
Your Save: $ 12.00 ( 80% )
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Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
Starring: Sarah Polley, Robert John Burke, Margrét Ákadóttir, Julie Anderson, Anna Kristín Arngrímsdóttir
Directed By: Hal Hartley
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Average Customer Rating:   
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Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 9780792852858
Format: Closed-captioned
ISBN: 0792852850
Label: MGM (Video & DVD)
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: MGM (Video & DVD)
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2002-07-09
Running Time: 102
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Theatrical Release Date: 2001
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: SLOW
Comment: Slow delivery!Came from Canada over 10 days,and they did not respond to emails almost canceled
Customer Rating:
Summary: Well acted, wished for a more upbeat ending
Comment: Well acted, well crafted story abbout the way situations changed characte's life. I was hoping for a mor uplifting ending but I ma not sure it could have ended any other way.
Customer Rating:
Summary: "I'm Not The Monster I Used To Be" ~ The Dissolution Of The Sacred
Comment: According to Plutarch (CE 45-125) the great Goat-God "Pan is Dead," dying just as the Christian faith was taking hold in the Mediterranean world, a classic case of out with the old and in with the new. However what if Plutarch was wrong, what if Pan hadn't died but lived on through the centuries. What if this primal, rural deity remained in the shadows of history quietly observing the advancement of mankind through the ages. What would he think of seeing his beloved wilderness landscape slowly devoured and replaced by large, congested urban centers. Would he be forced into a nomadic existence forever looking for a place of solitude away from the ever curious world of men. If he was seen on occasion would he be revered as in old as a God, or despised and perceived as a monster? What if Pan really did exist?
Interesting premise don't you think? Well this is the situation and just some of the questions dealt with in Hal Hartley's amazing dark comedy `No Such Thing' (`01). OK, I admit the film doesn't actually refer to this horned and hairy monster as the legendary Pan but the resemblance is strong and there are definitely subtle implications in the script supporting this view. Anyway, a satyr-like creature is discovered alive and hiding out in a remote region of Iceland. He is isolated, depressed, alcoholic and suicidal. The monster laments, "I see extinction in everything around me." He's convinced that only dying can solve his problem. But he can't, he's immortal. This disenfranchised pagan deity now spends his time drinking and terrorizing a nearby village whenever his anger at mankind becomes too much to bear. All seems hopeless until Beatrice a young American journalist convinces him to accompany her back to the U.S.A., giving her the story of the century and providing him with his one and only chance for extinction.
`No Such Thing' is one of the most original, off-beat and quirky films you'll ever come across. Hartley's dialogue ranges from inventive to absurd, but always meaningful and layered. Robert John Burke is brilliant as the potty-mouthed Satyr and Sarah Polley is a perfect choice for the clueless Beatrice. If you're looking for something totally different from the everyday here it is!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Not my favorite Hartley, but still worth seeing
Comment: I would rate this in the mid- to low-range of Hartley films - but I still recommend it because even a sub-par HH is miles above most other directors' best efforts. It's one of those things where I see what he's trying to do (modern-day fairy tale, satirical allegory etc.) and in theory it should work, except it falls flat in the end because the plot ends up being somewhat forced and unoriginal.
However! Robert John Burke as the monster is hysterical and totally worth the price of admission (as it were). I love the whole concept of an angry, drunken, chain-smoking monster cursing up a storm and wishing he could commit suicide. Burke's performance is spot-on and not the slightest bit hokey, as the character so easily could have been in the hands of a lesser actor. And Polley, while I like her in general (she was great in Go), is sort of flat and wishy-washy throughout much of the film, except in those first scenes when she meets the monster. He injects some much-needed life into her line readings.
For HH fans, it's definitely worth it for Burke alone. For those new to Hartley, it's not the best introduction - for that, try Henry Fool instead.
Customer Rating:
Summary: best character I have seen...in a long...long...time!
Comment: You know, the new Star Wars movies did not have a character that could hold my interest, but the monster in this movie does. Mr. Burke, had to wear skin to play this part, but he played it with more than the skin, with his eyes, expressions, his voice. I have not seen a more unique character than this one. My favorite character in books is from 'Le Miserables', and from movies, this monster. Watch it you'll be surprised.
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Editorial Reviews:
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Good and evil, love and hate collide in this captivating adventure from award-winning director Hal Hartley. Starring Sarah Polley (The Claim), Robert John Burke (Robocop 3), Academy Award® nominee* Helen Mirren (Gosford Park) and Academy Award® winner** Julie Christie (Dr. Zhivago), No Such Thing is a provocative and deeply moving film thatwill change the way you look at the world. New York journalist Beatrice (Polley) travels to Iceland to find a monster (Burke) believed to have killed her fiancé. Once she meets the beast, he opens her eyes to the horror of his existencehe has witnessed history from the dawn of time. Moved to help him, Beatrice takes the monster to New York. But when a media firestorm erupts, Beatrice realizesher monster is more than he appears to be and the world may not be ready for the truth. *Supporting Actress, Gosford Park (2001); Supporting Actress, The Madness of King George (1994). **Actress, Darling (1965).
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