An Amazon.ca
Best of 2005
selection.
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product Details
|
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Another quirky movie of hits and misses from Wes Anderson
May 31 2005
Format:DVD
Saying that a movie starring Bill Murray is strange hardly seems a revelation, but "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" is certainly out there in its own little universe. The obvious cinematic reference point for this 2004 film is 2001's "The Royal Tenenbaums," since Wes Anderson directed both of them, but this quirky film has a better payoff, although I would be hard pressed to argue out exactly how that is accomplished. Murray is the hook to get people to see this movie, but the rest of the fishing paraphernalia belongs to Anderson.
Steve Zissou (Murray) is either a parody of, or a homage to deep sea explorer Jacques Cousteau (it works either way but I lean towards the latter interpretation). Zissou has been making documentaries for decades, but now his star is in decline and to add insult to injury, his best friend is devoured by a "Jaguar Shark." This turns Zissou into Captain Ahab but before he can set sail on the good ship "Belafonte" (famous for his calypso singing, which, it turns out, was the name of Cousteau's own good ship), a couple of newcomers show up for the ride. Ned Plimpton (Owen Wilson), appears to be the son that Zissou never knew he had, and Jane Winslett-Richardson (Cate Blanchett) is a journalist who is doing an article on Zissou and his quest. Zissou is smitten with Jane, who takes a fancy to Ned. Meanwhile Zissou's estranged wife, Eleanor (Angelica Huston), continues to be the brains behind Team Zissou, Klaus (Willem Dafoe) remains Zissou's right-hand man, Bill (Bud Cort) is along to count the money, and even rival Alistair Hennessey (Jeff Goldblum) lends assistance, even if he does not know about it until it is too late to say "no."
Henry Selick ("The Nightmare Before Christmas") does the animation for all of the underwater sea life in glowing pastel colors, and that aspect of the film helps to clue us into the wry surrealism of its humor. The other big clue is that one of the crewmembers sings David Bowie songs in Portuguese. Oh, and then there is the fact that the there are scenes taking place on a cutaway version of the "Belafonte" that would also be a clue. The problem is that there are patches where you think we are supposed to be taking things more seriously than we are, especially when the title character emerges from his lethargy to try and do something about all the down spiraling in his life. Still, despite the steady sense of unease that afflicted me through most of the movie, I liked the ending of "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou," both in terms of the underwater climax and the on shore resolution. Just do not ask me to show my work on how I came up with the rating.
Who Doesn't Love Steve Zizu
Jan 19 2011
Format:DVD
Great flick of course and the Criterion Edition is loaded with lots of extra features that definitely make it worthwhile!
Funny
Jan 8 2009
Format:DVD
If you don't know anything about this film, please realize that you aren't going to laugh like you might have in Meet the Parents or Old School. It isn't that kind of movie. It's a lot like The Royal Tenenbaums (Widescreen) [Criterion Collection] so, if you liked that film, this one is a good fit for you. I found the story pretty creative and fun to see what came of it, but I didn't have expectations of things being realistic or easy to follow. I also think the acting in this movie is terrific.
Want to see more reviews on this item?
Most recent customer reviews
quirky shipwreck
First of all with a cast like this it proves you need a script to make a good movie. It would also help if Bill Murray had not lost his fastball years ago along with his curve,... Read more
Published on Mar 3 2009 by Brian Maitland
All wet
Jacques Cousteau-type filmmaker Steve Zissou is off to film his search for the jaguar shark that killed his partner. Read more
Published on Dec 16 2008 by Kona
Flies over your head, instead of smacking you in the face with comedy.
This is a brilliant comedy. The problem is that the comedy is subtle, or relies on you paying attention to previous seemingly mundane scenes. Read more
Published on Aug 31 2007 by Virus
Awsome super cool
This movie is fun and cool. It is also really sweet and sometimes sad. That's all you need to know.
Published on April 5 2006 by Butters
Armand Belleguerre
I've read some reviews claiming the film as boring, humourless and pointless. Hmmm...Maybe some people cannot grasp the more subtle aspects of Anderson's film, or the surrealist... Read more
Published on Jan 9 2006
Previous reviews suck
I've seen this movie a number of times now and I don't understand the previous reviews. If you know that it's about and you really pay attention, this is one of the best movies... Read more
Published on Dec 5 2005 by monkeyman
Life Aquatic more than OK
I drink more than most, and I live more than few. Or less than both, I can't remember...however, this is a fine movie. Read more
Published on Dec 5 2005 by monkeyman
3.5 Good, But Is Often Too Silly & Self-Conscious
The Life Aquatic has many flashes of brilliance, from its amazing detailed sets, its animation of sealife, to some of its witty interactions between the weird characters... Read more
Published on July 23 2005 by B. Keith
What was this about????
Great cast but terrible movie. If it was meant to be a comedy it sure was not funny in the least. If it was meant to be a drama it just plain made no sense. Read more
Published on July 10 2005 by Kilgore
Life Aquatic
I thought is was kinda goofy, but made me giggle. Bill Murray is my hero and all he has to do is stand there and I find him amusing. Read more
Published on Jun 28 2005 by Sara August
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Movies & TV > Action & Adventure > Comic Action
- Movies & TV > Animation > Feature Films
- Movies & TV > Animation > Stop-Motion & Clay Animation
- Movies & TV > Comedy > Comedy Stars > Bill Murray
- Movies & TV > Criterion Collection > Action
- Movies & TV > Criterion Collection > All
- Movies & TV > Criterion Collection > Art House & International
- Movies & TV > Criterion Collection > Comedy
- Movies & TV > Drama
- Movies & TV > En français > Comédie > Comédies dramatiques
- Movies & TV > En français > Drame
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
