MEMENTO, the second feature by writer-director Christopher Nolan (FOLLOWING), is an intricately constructed film noir that masterfully inverts time to comment on the foggy... more
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compelling action and virtuoso performances. Guy Pearce plays Leonard Shelby, hunting down the man who raped and murdered his wife. The problem is that "the incident" tha...
action and virtuoso performances. Guy Pearce plays Leonard Shelby, hunting down the man who raped and murdered his wife. The problem is that "the incident" that ...
Advantages: Reverse chronological storyrelling! Disadvantages: The movie's finale
...the depth of its intricacies. Memento about a man named Leonard (Guy Pearce) who is from San Francisco. Leonard is an insurance fraud investigator, suffering from anterograde amnesia. Leonard suffered from extensive head injuries after he intervened on his wife's murder. Although his memory is intact, prior to the incident, he is no longer able to make new memories and suffers short-term memory loss. To compensate for his condition he uses annotated ... ...sequence, which becomes the climax. Memento is a creative movie that does not abide by the precedents of narration. Other movies have also changed around with the time and the way in which the movie flows, movies such as Peppermint Candy and Irréversible. If Christopher Nolan had not directed this movie the reverse chronological structure of the movie could have been an utter gimmick, however Memento's unique way in which it is executed helps us ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Thought-provoking, gives you an insight into life with short-term memory loss Disadvantages: Difficult to understand what happened
...Pearce
Split Screen shooting script
Memento Mori Narrated by Jonathan Nolan
Production Stills and Sketches
Props Gallery
International Poster Art
Concept Art and Bootleg Cover Art
Journal
Tattoo Gallery
Cast and Crew Biographies
International Trailer
Website Material
Special Hidden Feature: The Beginning of the End
The best special features are Memento Mori, which is a narration of the short story on which this film was based, and the ... ...entire film, but shown in chronological order, and which was one of the main reasons why I bought this special edition version.
Conclusion:
This film is complex, dark, thought-provoking, extremely clever, edge of the seat stuff that left me with an overall feeling of Wow! I would highly recommend that you buy the 3-disc special edition of this film, because you’re sure to want to watch it again and again, both backwards and forwards! ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Thought provoking Disadvantages: Thought provoking
Wow what a good and interesting film.
Guy Pearce is Leonard who cannot retain his memories up untill the night his wife is brutally raped and murdered. He has a rare disorder in which he cannot retain new memories so using tattoos and notes, he leaves himself clues to what happened. Leonard fuelled by what happens seeks revenge leading this film into a clever whodunnit. Also starring the always brilliant Joe Pantoliano as Teddy a friend who may ... ...Leonard trusts but should he?
This film is inventive and thought provoking. I have put this as an advantage because i like this in a film, it shows it is not just your average thriller and you have to try and work some things out yourself. This fact also plays to a disadvantage if you like films that are easily played out and not confusing.
The time scale used in this film is amazing as it works backwords and there are many twists and turns on ...
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Advantages: A complex plot and in depth storyline Disadvantages: Needs to be watched more than once to be fully appreciated
This film far surpasses any of my other favorite films to be my number one favourite film! This film is one big headfunk and leaves you guessing all the way to the end. The inovative way that this film is shot is like no other, the use of naratives and black and white film top this film up with style and finesse. A good movie to me is one that has an ending I cannot guess within the first half an hour and this film definitly fitts the bill. This ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
Actor(s): Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano
Director(s): Christopher Nolan
Genre: Thriller & Mystery - Thriller
Classification: 15 years and over
Production Year: 2000
Running Time: 1 hour 49 minutes
Video Category: Feature Film
Plot: The story of Leonard whose memory was severely damaged after an attack which left his wife raped and murdered. Now he wants to know why his wife was killed and he's out for revenge. Based on a short story by Jonathan Nolan.
Release details
DVD Region: Region 2 (Europe)
Studio(s): PATHE DISTRIBUTION; 20TH CENTURY FOX HOME ENTERTAINMENT
Release date: 27/12/2004
No of Discs: 3
Catalogue No: P 9016 CDVD
Editor: Dody Dorn
Barcode: 5060002833254
Screenwriter: Christopher Nolan
Composer: David Julian
Executive Producer: Suzanne Todd, Jennifer Todd
Director of Photography: Wally Pfister, Christopher Nolan
Producer: Suzanne Todd, Jennifer Todd
Author: Jonathan Nolan
Languages
Main Language: English
Hearing Impaired Language: English
Technical information
Special Features: Original Theatrical Trailer, IFC Interview With Writer And Director Christopher Nolan, Director And Cast Biographies, Memento Mori By Jonathan Nolan, Tattoo Gallery, Shooting Script, Interactive Menus, Website Material, Special Hidden Feature The Beginning of the End
Aspect Ratio: 2.35 Wide Screen
Sound: DTS
Dubbing Sound: DTS English
DVD Description
MEMENTO, the second feature by writer-director Christopher Nolan (FOLLOWING), is an intricately constructed film noir that masterfully inverts time to comment on the foggy relationship between memory and truth. MEMENTO tells the story of Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce), a former insurance investigator who witnesses a brutal attack on his wife. Knocked unconscious, Leonard wakes up with a rare brain condition--he no longer possesses short-term memory. He can remember his name and all the details of his past, but he can no longer make new memories. Armed with a careful system of remembering details (he compulsively snaps Polaroids and scribbles notes, then tattoos the important facts directly onto his body), the distraught Leonard goes on a manhunt to avenge his wife's death. To illustrate the unique and frightening state of the protagonist's mind (he cannot remember what happened even seconds before), Nolan takes a brilliantly successful risk in telling the story backward. The film begins with Leonard killing the man he's looking for. From there MEMENTO unravels a compellingly disconcerting trail back to the start. As the layers of the story are peeled back scene by scene, Leonard's involvement with two enigmatic "friends"--who both claim to be helping him--complicates the mystery. Based on a short story by the director's brother, Jonathan Nolan, MEMENTO is an incredibly original film that is so wonderfully puzzling and eerily ambiguous that it will surely warrant repeated viewings.
Professional reviews
Review: "...MEMENTO has the uniquely disorienting quality of a puzzle....It's the rare mystery in which every moment lives....Pearce's extraordinary performance lends even the smallest events the aura of a life-or-death search..." (Entertainment Weekly, p.77, 23/03/2001)
"...Nolan has literally turned the genre inside-out and reassembled it as an intriguing jigsaw puzzle of a whodunit..." (Hollywood Reporter, p.86-94, 12/09/2000)
"...Exceptional....A haunting, nervy thriller....MEMENTO is a provocatively structured and thrillingly executed film noir..." (Los Angeles Times, p.2, 16/03/2001)
"...A stylish thriller with a touch of novelty....This mind-teasing puzzle is engrossing..." (Movieline, p.34-7, 01/03/2001)
"...Ingenious....MEMENTO is a brilliant feat of rug-pulling, sure to delight fans of movies like THE USUAL SUSPECTS and PI..." (New York Times, p.E14, 16/03/2001)
"...[A] mesmerizing mind-bender....A new classic among thrillers....This jolting jigsaw puzzle of a movie grabs you and won't let go..." (Rolling Stone, p.85-6, 15/03/2001)
"...A terrifically compelling little mystery..." (USA Today, p.3E, 16/03/2001)
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