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Memento
Columbia/Tri-Star // R // September 4, 2001
List Price: $24.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
(film review originally written June, 2001.)
If it came out in any recent year, I would think that I would easily place "Memento" in my list of favorite films for the year. In a year like this one, though, "Memento" is far and away one of the best pictures that I've seen so far. Rarely have I ever seen a film that goes over so much ground in such an original way that keeps itself so wonderfully organized and exceptionally well-constructed. The film also has one of the most shocking and stunning openings of any recent picture - a polaroid picture is being shaken dry and instead of developing, the picture is dissapearing and at the end, zips back into the camera. The picture is of a murder and, soon enough, we see all of the details of who and how. And soon enough, we see all the details of why.
Director Christopher Nolan has time moving backwards from the opening sequence on. The film revolves around Leonard Shelby (Guy Pierce) a man who sustained a blow to the head during an attack that has left him with a serious problem - he has no short term memory. Some things, such as who he is and his condition, stick. Other things, such as who he has talked to a few hours before, exit his mind quickly. So, he not only writes on polaroids, but takes notes and even further, tatoos words on his body to remind him of his quest - to avenge the murder of his wife.
He only has two main contacts - Natalie (Carrie Anne Moss of "The Matrix") and Teddy (Joe Pantoliano...also of "The Matrix"). They seem to be helping him at first, but are they really who they are? Are they really helping him, or using him? Is Leonard really who he says he is? As you can see by this paragraph, "Memento" is one of those movies where you probably will not want to drink one of the large sodas from the concession stand. Go to use the bathroom and you may miss out on valuable information. At the begining, the backwards narrative becomes slightly off-putting as you think that you know how the story ends, but as things progress, there is an impressive amount of tension trying to figure out how the movie itself began. The film actually goes both ways at once; while the main piece of the story tells short bits of the story going backwards, there are also bits of the story in-between where Shelby discusses an important part of the tale - a fellow who suffered from a similar problem named Sammy Jenkins who he ran into while being an insurance investigator.
It's not exactly easy to explain the twists of the movie and actually, it's almost better to leave them out of this review to not ruin any of the film's suprises. Again, I was impressed that Nolan was able to handle two stories that go backwards and forwards, both finally leading us to a possible conclusion, or does it really?. The movie keeps us on edge, confused and guessing what is going to happen next. It's one of the rare movies that I've seen in the past few months that had me thinking and pondering what happened for several hours after, attempting to put all of the pieces together. The performances throughout the film are excellent and a couple are certainly Oscar-worthy, most notably Pierce, who delivers a stunningly intense and engaging performance that's smartly peppered with the occasional touch of humor (the character wonders at one point if he's chasing someone or being chased). Moss and Pantoliano also lend solid support. The film also has one of the best final lines of dialogue in ages.
Overall, "Memento" is easily the best thriller since another similarly mind-bending noir picture from about 6 years ago - Bryan Singer's "The Usual Suspects".
The DVD
VIDEO: "Memento" is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen by Columbia/Tristar Home Video. A couple of weeks prior, I had the opportunity to view the film again, but it was unfortunately the pan & scanned edition of the film. Obviously, every film should be viewed in its original aspect ratio, but this was a distinct example why. Not only were Walter Pfister's fantastic widescreen images cropped, details that were important to the movie were lost in the translation. The 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen presentation on this DVD preserves the film's beautifully composed images and also, offers exceptionally strong image quality. Sharpness and detail are wonderful - the picture looks crisp, clear and well-defined, even in some of the dimly lit moments.
I found little at fault with Columbia/Tristar's presentation. Print flaws are not visible - I didn't notice any instances of marks, scratches, speckles or dirt. Pixelation was also absent and only a few tiny traces of edge enhancement were noticed. Colors throughout the film look subdued, but still appear accurate and flawless on this DVD presentation. The black and white scenes also appear bold and crisp. This is really splendid work from the studio that lives up to expectations.
SOUND: "Memento" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. The film's design is subtle, but very effective. Outdoor scenes are presented with natural and highly detailed ambience - cars, street noises, etc come distinctly from the surrounds. David Julyan's elegant, beautiful score also is wonderfully presented, sounding rich, clear and warm. The score also gets great presence, often also coming from the surrounds. A few stray sound effects during the more intense sequences also come from the surrounds, as well. The film's sound design is perfectly appropriate for the picture - there could have been overuse of sound effects, but the filmmakers keep our interest rooted firmly in the story and use the film's sound design only to enhance what's on-screen. Audio quality was quite good, as dialogue sounded clear and natural.
MENUS:: Columbia/Tristar have constructed one of the best main menus I've seen in a while. Images from the film are presented on the held polaroid picture from the begining scene. Meanwhile, lines of dialogue from the film are presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and come from all sides, with a haunting, airy quality. Sub-menus are equally superb, also in 5.1.
EXTRAS:: Director Christopher Nolan is currently working on his follow-up to "Memento", a remake of the foreign thriller "Insomnia", so he was likely not able to particpate in providing supplemental features for this DVD. Rumors are that a special edition is currently being planned, but as of right now, the special edition is just a rumor and there have been no announcements.
IFC Focus: Christopher Nolan: This is a 23 minute interview with "Memento" director Christopher Nolan. The director's comments take us through the entire history of the story - from his brother originally discussing his ideas for the story to issues that arose during filming and screening of the film. A good chunk of the documentary also revolves around discussion of the story.
Memento: This section is sort of a maze of an animated photo gallery, with images, newspaper clippings and other elements coming one after another, all branched off from one main story.
TV/Trailer: The film's theatrical trailer and TV spot as well as a trailer for Nolan's first film, "Following".
Memento Mori: The text of the original story that director Nolan's brother wrote, which inspired the movie.
Also: Cast/crew bios & tattoo gallery.
Final Thoughts: "Memento" is easily the year's best picture so far and I have a hard time believing that anything coming out during the remainder will top it. Director Christopher Nolan's tricky, well-constructed noir thriller is one of the most highly engaging, thrilling pictures that I've seen in recent memory. Tristar's DVD also is a fine package. Although not the special edition that many had hoped for, it does provide strong audio/video quality and a decent batch of supplements. This DVD edition is still certainly a must-see.
If it came out in any recent year, I would think that I would easily place "Memento" in my list of favorite films for the year. In a year like this one, though, "Memento" is far and away one of the best pictures that I've seen so far. Rarely have I ever seen a film that goes over so much ground in such an original way that keeps itself so wonderfully organized and exceptionally well-constructed. The film also has one of the most shocking and stunning openings of any recent picture - a polaroid picture is being shaken dry and instead of developing, the picture is dissapearing and at the end, zips back into the camera. The picture is of a murder and, soon enough, we see all of the details of who and how. And soon enough, we see all the details of why.
Director Christopher Nolan has time moving backwards from the opening sequence on. The film revolves around Leonard Shelby (Guy Pierce) a man who sustained a blow to the head during an attack that has left him with a serious problem - he has no short term memory. Some things, such as who he is and his condition, stick. Other things, such as who he has talked to a few hours before, exit his mind quickly. So, he not only writes on polaroids, but takes notes and even further, tatoos words on his body to remind him of his quest - to avenge the murder of his wife.
He only has two main contacts - Natalie (Carrie Anne Moss of "The Matrix") and Teddy (Joe Pantoliano...also of "The Matrix"). They seem to be helping him at first, but are they really who they are? Are they really helping him, or using him? Is Leonard really who he says he is? As you can see by this paragraph, "Memento" is one of those movies where you probably will not want to drink one of the large sodas from the concession stand. Go to use the bathroom and you may miss out on valuable information. At the begining, the backwards narrative becomes slightly off-putting as you think that you know how the story ends, but as things progress, there is an impressive amount of tension trying to figure out how the movie itself began. The film actually goes both ways at once; while the main piece of the story tells short bits of the story going backwards, there are also bits of the story in-between where Shelby discusses an important part of the tale - a fellow who suffered from a similar problem named Sammy Jenkins who he ran into while being an insurance investigator.
It's not exactly easy to explain the twists of the movie and actually, it's almost better to leave them out of this review to not ruin any of the film's suprises. Again, I was impressed that Nolan was able to handle two stories that go backwards and forwards, both finally leading us to a possible conclusion, or does it really?. The movie keeps us on edge, confused and guessing what is going to happen next. It's one of the rare movies that I've seen in the past few months that had me thinking and pondering what happened for several hours after, attempting to put all of the pieces together. The performances throughout the film are excellent and a couple are certainly Oscar-worthy, most notably Pierce, who delivers a stunningly intense and engaging performance that's smartly peppered with the occasional touch of humor (the character wonders at one point if he's chasing someone or being chased). Moss and Pantoliano also lend solid support. The film also has one of the best final lines of dialogue in ages.
Overall, "Memento" is easily the best thriller since another similarly mind-bending noir picture from about 6 years ago - Bryan Singer's "The Usual Suspects".
The DVD
VIDEO: "Memento" is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen by Columbia/Tristar Home Video. A couple of weeks prior, I had the opportunity to view the film again, but it was unfortunately the pan & scanned edition of the film. Obviously, every film should be viewed in its original aspect ratio, but this was a distinct example why. Not only were Walter Pfister's fantastic widescreen images cropped, details that were important to the movie were lost in the translation. The 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen presentation on this DVD preserves the film's beautifully composed images and also, offers exceptionally strong image quality. Sharpness and detail are wonderful - the picture looks crisp, clear and well-defined, even in some of the dimly lit moments.
I found little at fault with Columbia/Tristar's presentation. Print flaws are not visible - I didn't notice any instances of marks, scratches, speckles or dirt. Pixelation was also absent and only a few tiny traces of edge enhancement were noticed. Colors throughout the film look subdued, but still appear accurate and flawless on this DVD presentation. The black and white scenes also appear bold and crisp. This is really splendid work from the studio that lives up to expectations.
SOUND: "Memento" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. The film's design is subtle, but very effective. Outdoor scenes are presented with natural and highly detailed ambience - cars, street noises, etc come distinctly from the surrounds. David Julyan's elegant, beautiful score also is wonderfully presented, sounding rich, clear and warm. The score also gets great presence, often also coming from the surrounds. A few stray sound effects during the more intense sequences also come from the surrounds, as well. The film's sound design is perfectly appropriate for the picture - there could have been overuse of sound effects, but the filmmakers keep our interest rooted firmly in the story and use the film's sound design only to enhance what's on-screen. Audio quality was quite good, as dialogue sounded clear and natural.
MENUS:: Columbia/Tristar have constructed one of the best main menus I've seen in a while. Images from the film are presented on the held polaroid picture from the begining scene. Meanwhile, lines of dialogue from the film are presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and come from all sides, with a haunting, airy quality. Sub-menus are equally superb, also in 5.1.
EXTRAS:: Director Christopher Nolan is currently working on his follow-up to "Memento", a remake of the foreign thriller "Insomnia", so he was likely not able to particpate in providing supplemental features for this DVD. Rumors are that a special edition is currently being planned, but as of right now, the special edition is just a rumor and there have been no announcements.
IFC Focus: Christopher Nolan: This is a 23 minute interview with "Memento" director Christopher Nolan. The director's comments take us through the entire history of the story - from his brother originally discussing his ideas for the story to issues that arose during filming and screening of the film. A good chunk of the documentary also revolves around discussion of the story.
Memento: This section is sort of a maze of an animated photo gallery, with images, newspaper clippings and other elements coming one after another, all branched off from one main story.
TV/Trailer: The film's theatrical trailer and TV spot as well as a trailer for Nolan's first film, "Following".
Memento Mori: The text of the original story that director Nolan's brother wrote, which inspired the movie.
Also: Cast/crew bios & tattoo gallery.
Final Thoughts: "Memento" is easily the year's best picture so far and I have a hard time believing that anything coming out during the remainder will top it. Director Christopher Nolan's tricky, well-constructed noir thriller is one of the most highly engaging, thrilling pictures that I've seen in recent memory. Tristar's DVD also is a fine package. Although not the special edition that many had hoped for, it does provide strong audio/video quality and a decent batch of supplements. This DVD edition is still certainly a must-see.
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