Badmovies.org Forum

I saw a lot of the old posts on this, and got the fact that a lot of folk here didn't care for it --
My wife & I just saw it for the first time here at home on DVD.
Yes, I get and understand the "Beyond the Rim" criticisms re. The Twilight Zone.
Yes, I get the whole business about not liking the formal language, etc.
But, Gawd in Hebbin, Peoples, dis thang be Great!
My wife & I got off on a huuuggee discussion re. the meaning of Cults/Religions/Communes etc. prompted by this film.
Certainly, the whole thing had an allegorical feel to it that invoked Campbell & The Torah.  The guard outside the gate was not, in essence, a "real" person either, but a player in a Myth, much like the blind woman he found.
Short versoin:  We just loved it.  Sorry.  
Really don't get the Samhalyan slayers here -- this thing rocked on many different levels.  
peter crane/denny johnson

Whoa! Did you just recently change your name or have I not been paying attention Mr. Crane? (Not that it would be a first for me: not paying attention)

A friend of mine highly reccomended it, but I am yet to see it, although I will soon.

He burnt me a copy of the soundtrack and I love it, the violins are particularly good.  So based on the soundtrack I am quite happy with it, so I'll have to see it soon.

Glad to see someone who doesn't hate Shymalan.  I am a big fan of Signs and Unbreakable, not because of the large holes at time in the story, but I really like the way he makes his films, from the music to the general style.  Sure the end of Signs was kinda stupid if looked at properly, but I loved the tension leading up to it, especially the first sightings of the aliens and when they invaded [the running around the house etc]

I may very well have to rent the Village quite soon.

I just didn't care for the film.  I rented it the day it came out on DVD and I was completely underwhelmed.

One can figure out the ending well before it comes.  Which makes much of the rest of the film pointless.  I was also disappointed at the marketing the film recieved, which made it look like a thriller when in fact it was a plodding and flawed drama.




~Ahoy!  Spoilers Ahead!~

The film IMO was more of a political satire than anything.  It was playing on our current fear of everything due to being told that there are threats all around us.  That is definently the case here.  The creatures were fake, and everyone who didn't know the truth was just being controlled by the fear of the creatures.  I.E.- News media + government controlling our lives by use of lies/fear.

I just didn't buy the film.  It just didn't do it for me, eventhough I agree with what the director was trying to say.  But, I'm glad that someone did enjoy it.

~End Spoilers!~

I haven't seen the movie... and I'm still debating if I should or not. The only Shyamalan movie I've ever enjoyed was "Broken."

I knew full well in advance what the twist at the end of The Village was because I had read the spoilers online...I just couldn't help myself.

I found that knowing the secret in advance made for a very different viewing experience that was much better overall.
You can watch the film from the village elders' point of view.

I personally found it an excellent film!



Post Edited (01-30-05 11:34)

Sorry... I wrote my previous post much too early in the morning. :)

I doubt I need to correct this, but I meant to say:

I haven't seen the movie... and I'm still debating if I should or not. The only Shyamalan movie I've ever enjoyed was "UNBREAKABLE."

I'm standing firm...I hated SIGNS so much that I vowed never to pay for another one of his films.  I might catch it on cable but probably not--way too many people whose opinions I normally respect seemed to not like this film, enough for me to think that it's likely a waste of time for me to see it.

Oh, I was screwing with my name as a joke/comment on the reversals in the film itself -- flip-flops, etc.
I had read before I saw the picture that it was supposed to be an allegory on the whole 9/11 experience, so I was looking for things that supported that.  What I found instead was that it was a film making a much broader commentary on what Chomsky & others have termed "consensus reality", not that I'm a particular fan of Chomsky.
I found it significant that the Elders were willing to let people die to perpetuate their vision of the Utopian Society, just as so many others have througout history.  Even the Elders that colluded in the initial lie had made the Leap of Faith to believe in their own self-created lies.  
You could find elements of Robert Owen, Hitler, Lenin, David Koresh, and Heaven's Gate (The cult, not the film) in there.  William Hurt had positioned the guard stations in such a way that the Hero's Journey could be taken & the lie still preserved.
peter johnson/denny crane

My problem with Shyamalan is that he can make a downright excellent, creepy movie - and then toss in the one element that could possibly bring it all crashing down. He did it at the end of Signs. He did it about two thirds of the way through The Village. Every time I watch one of his films, I want to give him an Oscar, then punch him in the head.

Yeah Unbreakable is much better than The Village. The only part about the Village I Iiked is the message about how fear can be used to control people. That definately applies to the times right now with bush in office.

Otherwise it was a ripoff of this book i had to read for school in like 5th grade.

http://www.allreaders.com/Topics/info_4976.asp?BSID=11378846