Customer Reviews

Before Sunrise (Widescreen/Full Screen)

5 star:		(112)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I remember when this movie came out a few years ago that I thought the concept of the movie - two strangers meet on a train, and get to know each other -- but both must leave never to see each other again -- sounded intriguing. I was right.
I rented this movie and thought the movie was charming, funny, poigniant, and very realistic.

Ethan Hawke ( a very underrated actor - please make more movies!!!) and Julie Delpy (where has she gone?) meet on a train going to Vienna. On a whim, both decide to spend the day and night together.

This is not an action movie! There is dialogue - people talk and you get to know them as they get to know each other. Both actors do an excellent job of acting. The nervousness, the anticipation - it is all there. The audience ( and the charecters) know what is going to happen - but the fun is the conversations these people have in getting there. Meaningless, stupid, funny, interesting; the converstations are interesting because both people know they likely won't see each other again - so they can confide in each other.

The scenery is great. Having been to Vienna, the sights are wonderful. I even went to many of the same places as the charecters. The fountain they sit at is above the Vienna State Opera House. At the end of the movie, you will see a line of people - those people are waiting for standing-room only tickets for the opera!! It made me remember my time in Vienna. I waited in that line to see the opera.

I must confess I met a girl on a train as well in Europe - and this movie brought the same memories of that time. The movie is romantic, and cool because the guy lives out a fantasy thing for traveling in Europe. Oo la lah. (I didn't get so lucky! : ()

This is a charming movie, and well worth seeing. It is so sad at the end ( I won't ruin the resolution), but the writer/director R. Linklater handles the ending with such beauty and subtle touch that it makes the movie even more 'true.'

This is truly bravura filmmaking. No, it isn't "Lawrence of Arabia," but in my opinion, it is similarly quality filmmaking. This movie is like "My Dinner with Andre." There is simply something about it that makes your heart sing. Yeah, just from two people being together. No sex, no drugs, no rock and roll, just simply human communication. Simply exquisite. See it. (And it isnt a chick movie!!)

UPDATE FOR ALL YOU "BEFORE SUNRISE" FANS - THERE IS A SEQUEL COMING - EXPECTED IN 2004!!!!

I was one of the few who actually watched this movie when it was in the theatres in 1995. 9 years later and I still think its one of the best romances I have ever seen. For me, the dialogue was very real. They used the same venacular and posed the type of philosophical questions that my friends at the time often brought up in our discussions. Of course it is still a drama and connecting with a stranger in Vienna is something that has never happened to me, but the idealism and the romantic spirit of the film epitomizes the 20 something college student I was in 1995.

I loved this movie or all the reasons stated by the other reviewers but beware those who buy this DVD-unbelievably the ONLY extra is the trailer. If you can tape it off a TV showing you won't be losing anything.

This is a great movie to watch on a first date.

It will get you to some intense concepts and situations for you and the other person -- and might get things in gear.

If you are trying to set up a situation to try the "New Sex Now" dvd techniques
this should do it for you.

Choose your intended "target" wisely, as this is poweful amunition.

(...)P>I caught this film on video in 1996, the year after it premiered in the theaters and it's been a favorite ever since, one of those rare movies I never forget. I just saw the sequel (no spoilers, don't worry!) and it is just as sublime as the 1995 film. I hope Linklater continues to cast these two wonderful actors, Delpy and Hawke, every ten years and catch up with Celine and Jesse - characters and actors aging in real time.

Before Sunrise has a simple but brilliant (they often go together I find) premise: have two people meet on a train and drop them off in Vienna where they will just a day to spend together, talking, talking, talking. And see where that takes them. It wouldn't have worked had it not been for Delpy and Hawke - their performances are flawless. The dialogue seems like they're making it up on the spot and Linklater lets them do their thing. Vienna is a beautiful city and the perfect backdrop for a romantic movie such as this one. I believe Linklater's paternal grandparents were Austrian, so no wonder he picked Vienna.

A must see!!!

And when you've seen it, run out and see the sublime sequel that came out this month, Before Sunset!!!

If you want action and don't care for talking films, this isn't for you. If on the other hand you are the type of person who enjoys conversation and getting together with others to talk a sort of stream of conscious about things that are important to you, then this is a terrific and sweet film. I saw it at the movie theater when it was released. I went alone and saw it alone, I was the only person in the theater. When it was finished I could say nothing but wished I had someone to share that feeling with. The guy waiting to 'clean' the theater (I didn't even have popcorn or anything to drink) remarked, "It's a pretty bad movie isn't it?" figuring I'd agree with him. It felt like he punched me or something, his remark almost physically hurt and I found I couldn't respond to him. I think it's a great movie and should be seen by many. My sister on the other hand refers to it as every straight man's wet dream. Different strokes for different folks.

It's a shame that so few people saw this movie in the theater. It is smartly scripted, well acted, beautifully filmed, and, quite simply, one of the two or three best movies to come out of the 1990s. Fortunately, people have discovered it gradually, in the years since it came out, and it has worked its magic on them.

I came across this movie accidentally while switching through the channels on my cable service. And I love it!!!

This is a charming and romantic movie that surprisingly not many people know about (after asking around). I would love to buy this DVD and now that there's a sequel "Before Sunset" coming out soon, how could I miss that! Watch it and you could imagine yourself in the movie and pay attention during your next trip.

"Before Sunrise" is a realistic dialogue of two college aged young adults that meet by "chance" on a train in Austria/Germany/Hungary. Ms. Delpy is the one of the romantic leads, paired with American actor Ethan Hawke. Her role as the emotionally mature and aware young woman on holiday, finishing a visit with her grandmother, is not only refreshing, but should send EVERY young man's heart aflutter. Ethan Hawke is the young man, that has just finished a disasterous meeting and break-up with his American girlfriend in Europe, and aimlessly "bumps" into Ms. Delpy's character on the train. After an initial meeting, that realisically portrays the most charismatic scences of love at first meeting, the couple spend the next 90 minutes developing not only their characters, but the most sincere
portrayals of feelings ever seen on film. A real sleeper. Though eight years old as a movie, this movie's emotions, intensity, and realism shall never age. Definitely buy or rent this movie. E-mail me and tell me what you think.

I first saw it in a hotel back 4-5 years ago (also in my journey), so felt for them. Since then, have been trying track down if its DVD has been out, not till 2002 when I spotted them in Tower. Such a simple plot, but make you heart so tender. Such a disappointment that these two talents haven't been making a lot of movies since. By the way, can anyone tell me what's the song (& who sings it) that they listended in the brooth?