Draven

Just got back - easily the best movie I've seen this year. It should win Best Picture - it has all the elements: it's technically incredible, the actors are outstanding and the whole thing is riveting and compelling from beginning to end.

Dr. DVD

Caught this one yesterday with the parents. We all liked it. Very well made and Mendes continues his trend of making visually stunning movies. The story wasn't that complex, but kind of like Fury Road it was all about the journey. I hope Deakins gets his second Oscar, as he deserves it. My only real complaint is that the few name actors who appeared seemed kind of distracting with their presentation. Colin Firth wasn't that bad, but Cumberbatch definitely. I'm not spoilerizing because they're both prominent in the preview spots.

That said, here is a curious side note. I saw this at a Regal on the largest non-RPX screen they had and it was quite good. There is a more upscale theater in town that has Atmos that did NOT put this on one of their two screens with that capability. I actually made an inquiry as to why and they said they needed to keep Star Wars in by contract with Disney. Understandable. However, for some reason they decided to give their other Atmos to that new Tiffany Hadish movie and put 1917 in a regular theater. Makes no sense.

Draven

Yeah it was in a smaller theater at the Drafthouse where we saw it but Star Wars is still in the big theater. Guess it needed to stay that way for a while.

Count Dooku

There is definitely a math that some people do where they look for stars that they recognize in a movie before they will grant it their attention, basically it must not be any good if they could not get any movie stars to be in it.

candyrocket786

I need to see this 2- 3 more times, especially in IMAX.

Definitely a fantastic film. Fucking loved it.

wendersfan

We saw this yesterday. I thought it was very good, and I agree with everyone that the technical brilliance of it just blows you away. The one thing I really didn't like about it was the score, or, maybe the use of the score, which I thought was overbearing at times and really distracted me from the viewing experience.

Shannon Nutt

I thought this was a great movie. I didn't know about the "single shot" aspect going in, so I was really impressed with the opening tracking shot, then quickly figured the whole movie was going to be that way, so I probably spent TOO much time watching for when the edits came than I should have.

That said, it's really hard for me to imagine that Sam Mendes WON'T win Best Director for this, as well as another Oscar to Roger Deakins for cinematography. I think it has a pretty good shot as Best Picture as well...I mean, I really liked Scorsese's The Irishman and Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, but both those guys have made better movies. I don't think Mendes has (even with his impressive resume of films).

Given all the technical "love" being thrown 1917's way, it's a shame there hasn't been more praise for actor George McKay, who definitely got put through the ringer filming this. I mean if Leo can win an Oscar for The Revenant, doesn't George at least deserve at least an Oscar nod?

Orbi-Wan Techno

From my review page ORBI-WAN GOES TO THE MOVIES:1917 [R] - An absolute masterpiece of focused story-telling, cinematography and set design is literally jaw-dropping throughout.

Let’s cut to the chase - 1917 and Sam Mendes absolutely deserved the Golden Globes recently won for Best Picture and Best Director. The movie masterfully tells the story of two British soldiers (Dean-Charles Chapman and George MacKay) during World War I chosen for a critical mission that could save 1,600 lives. They must travel across the infamous No-Man’s land and navigate territory that could still contain lingering German troops in order to deliver orders to call of an assault that is actually leading the British into a trap.

It is a self-contained story that focuses specifically on these two soldiers, meaning that the camera never leaves them or even cuts away to other shots. You are seeing what they are seeing and you are experiencing what they are experiencing, right down to the terror, adrenaline, and urgency they feel. The story is told almost completely in real-time, with the only break in action when Schofield is knocked unconscious for several hours. It is an amazing achievement.

The cinematography is so immersive, as is the set design (literally, in a couple of scenes). I kept thinking to myself, we are following these two guys, who are on foot, in real time, not from set to set, but through an actual environment that had to have been miles long. It was stunning and mind-boggling.

“1917” is definitely the best Oscar-potential movie I have seen for this awards cycle. I am giving 1917 a full-on 5 out of 5 lightsabers, and am hoping it does well in the upcoming nominations and Oscar presentations.

NOTES TO PARENTS (MILD SPOILERS) - 1917 is rated R for unflinching war-time violence, scenes of large-scale death and destruction, and language. The F-bomb is heard throughout the entire film. As Blake and Schofield walk on foot through battle-scarred territory, we see what they see - fresh and rotting bodies of both humans and animals killed during battle. Schofield is briefly buried alive when an explosive causes an underground collapse, but Blake rescues him. A heartbreaking tragedy occurs halfway through the film. In one very unsettling scene, Schofield must crawl across several bloated bodies floating against a log-jam in order to escape a river. The scene of Schofield sprinting the last 300 yards in the middle of a full-on battle is extremely intense.

MID- AND AFTER-CREDIT SCENES - A brief postscript before the credits roll tell us this story is based on stories that Sam Mendes’ grandfather, Alfred H. Mendes, a former British soldier, would tell him as a child. There are nothing else once the credits start rolling.

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Draven

Agreed. McKay deserves an Oscar

dex14

Yea... I made an audible noise of disgust at that.

lwhy?

I caught a matinee today. I was going to watch Little Women, but I decided to watch 1917 since it started earlier. The camera work is the best that I have every seen. The camera operators and grips deserve Academy Awards too. I thought the character development was a little bit hollow. I found it similar to Dunkirk in that way. George MacKay was very good and he should have gotten an Academy Award nomination. Just being able to act and not flub your lines or performance for that long of takes is an incredible feat. I don't know if it's my favorite movie of 2019, but it's in my top 5. I really liked Uncut Gems and Once Upon A Time in Hollywood too. I would give it a 4.5/5.

IDrinkMolson

Saw it Tuesday, it was fantastic.

I think my favorite achieving moment was


I did find myself gazing at the scenery. There were a lot of really wide shots that showed a lot of background.
You could just tell by the trailer and making of BTS that this was going to be something to behold.

I didn't really notice the score that much. I heard a lot of the background noise. Gunfire, explosions, and fires burning way off in the distance.

I really hope this makes it to a large screen format. I have a local chain with a Grand Theater with Dolby Atmos or a much further ride to an IMAX.

Brack

Saw this Wednesday night, and it was an amazing, immersive experience. You felt like you are living the movie with the camera perspective. I was completely blown away. I loved the score, Thomas Newman is relentless with this one. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. I haven’t seen enough of last years films yet (playing catch-up) but if this wins Best Picture I’d be fine with that. The Dolby Atmos Mix is superb.

mphtrilogy

Saw this last night, best movie of the year for me too, incredibly filmed, gripping throughout.... will definitely own this one... this was a classic movie in every sense. Can't wait to see it again in a few months when it gets released

Acting was terrific, directing was amazing, set pieces were on point and the action scenes were off the charts...

DJariya

Saw this again for a late matinee yesterday, I wanted to see it on a Dolby screen, but it looks like the Dolby screens are now occupied by Bad Boys.

Anyways, still just as engaging as the 1st time I saw it a few weeks ago. Definitely in my top 10 of 2019. I'd like to see this take Best Picture over Joker.

RichC2

Best Pic is looking like a toss up between 1917 and Parasite with a possible OUaTiH victory. Thankfully it's also doing very well financially so far.

Draven

I just watched Parasite the other night and enjoyed it thoroughly but this blows it away.

Troy Stiffler

Joker for BP? Gtfo. Pshh.

OldBoy

yeah, Joker only winning Best Actor. they say this has the edge now. and war movies are very popular with voters (which i hate to say matters)...

devilshalo

But you had to have seen that one coming... even though, the theater had a pretty loud audible gasp when it happened.

dex14

Well yea, it was a huge fuckin hole!

IDrinkMolson

I just realized a few days ago the one guy played Tommen in Game of Thrones (I see now it was mentioned in here a couple of times, guess I skimmed over it).

Anyway, planning on seeing this again on Wed. The local theater now has it on their GTX/Dolby Atmos screen. It's sharing screen times with Bad Boys, but glad it's on the big screen now. Not even going on discount Tuesday, going to pay top dollar to see it. (it's because the wife has plans on Wed... )

Trevor

Wow. Marvelous film. Anything I’d want to add has already been stated. Hope it wins a few, and looking forward to seeing this again, maybe even in the theater again. I’ve only seen three of the nominees, but this is my favorite so far.

Decker

How on earth does this digital release come with zero extra features?

EddieMoney

My copy in iTunes has plenty of extras. Which service are you using?