Memento (US)

A rare and wonderful movie. Beautifully shot, geniusly scripted and brilliantly acted, this movie is one of the best I`ve seen in some time.
The video transfer is excellent. There are no compression signs at all. The visuals are very stylish and are beautifully shot.
The DD 5.1 soundtrack is very good. The surrounds are used occasionally to emphasize several key moments (and some gun shots, as well).
The menus are beautifully animated with sound (notice that when you press the UP arrow, the choice goes DOWN, and vice versa, but that has to do a lot with the movie itself).
The extras include an interview with the director and 2 interactive galleries.
Bottom line - a magnificent movie. Highly recommended. Oscar nominations? I sure hope so.

Very good image and sound quality. Has the best telephone ringing I`ve ever heard on my Pioneer HTZ 55DV. Almost tried to pick the call. Crystal clear. But the surround could`ve been explored more, like on "Under Suspicion".
The film is new, creative. Mine is the US edition. Many look for the DVD that plays the film on chronological order. I believe it will become a lesser film with this feature. The B&W scenes are on chronological order. The color scenes, played on reverse. Both meet at the end.
There`s a reason the film was created on "reverse" - you, as the main character, has no memory about it. To play o chronological order will "take the ape off this idea".
Extras are nothing special - trailers, an interview with the Director, a tatoo gallery, the otnemem website (HOLD ON - don`t watch it before watching the film!!).
A great film, a great idea, that will keep you thinking about it and, above all, a film that you will see many times.

Right, to nick an approach Empire magazine took some months ago with their review of this film... we`ll start at the end:

10/10

We`ll add to that:

Best film of the year so far.

Ok, the details for this outpouring of madness.
A truly original take and idea on the thriller genre. The last time anything came along to match this, it was called `The Usual Suspects`. Ok, so why is this film so good? The backward and forwards narrative that is both perplexing and confusing yet also hugely entertaining, culminating in a satisfying finale that you truly didn`t see coming. Excellent acting, and a sure fire oscar contender in some way, mark my words...

Video wise. Excellent. Blacks are good, although other colours appear washed out at times. It is likely this was intentional however, so I`m not taking it away. No grain, no noise, no edge enhancement that I can see.

Audio is well used yet subtle. It doesn`t seem to explode, but when it needs to be used in certain sequences, it more than does the job.

Now, you might be wondering why I`ve put the features so low compared to others. Well, through no fault of my own, I`ve got the Canadian edition of this film. This version features no features at all really, apart from the chronological ordering of the film`s 45 chapters. And I doubt i will use this at all, as it will take much away from the film. Indeed this ordering doesn`t play the entire film in order, rather it just plays each chapter individually.

Despite the lack of features, I can`t help but recommend this film highly enough. Unlike anything you`ve seen before in terms of narrative, it takes one of the best ideas of Pulp Fiction`s Narrative and rushes madly off with it, resulting in a film that is without doubt, a masterpiece......


"Now, where was I?"

Memory. It's taken for granted, and, like anything else that's taken for granted, it's hard to realize just how important it is. What you know... who you know... who you love, fear, trust... it all depends on trusting your memories. But what if one day all of that was taken away from you?
The intriguing premise, fascinating structure, intricate plot, polished directing and cinematography, and excellent acting fit together to form an outstanding, suspenseful whole. As an independent, modestly-budgeted project, Memento goes to show that independent films, not Hollywood studios, often do the best job of creating something truly original.

Guy Pearce does a superb job as Leonard of conveying the nuances of a character who must have been very difficult to interpret. From the very first scene to the end of the film, he's both sympathetic and frightening, very human and yet strangely alien, helpless yet determined. Carrie-Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano also turn in excellent performances as people who are involved in the tangle of confusion, manipulation, and lies surrounding Leonard's quest.

Well-crafted, creative, gripping... simply put, Memento is a movie that demands multiple viewings. With Columbia Tri-Star's top-notch production of the DVD, there's no reason to wait. Go get this movie.

Memento is a great film about a man who has memory loss and must find the person who killed his wife. The movie starts off at the conclusion and moves backwards, scene by scene. Then at the end of the movie it goes back to where it started and finishes with a mind-blowing conclusion. Memento is flawless, well-acted and well-written.

Guy Pearce stars in this drama as a man named Leonard who has a short term memory loss after his wife is murdered. If he has a conversation with somebody, he will easily forget who they are 15 minutes later. So how can he ever expect to find his wife`s killer? The tattoos he gives himself all over his body may be of help. He tattoos any information he finds important to his body. He also takes pictures of people he meets along the way along with their name and what he makes of them. The person who killed his wife is named John G. He must rely on his notes, tattoos, and even instincts to find the man and kill him. As the movie changes scenes it is sometimes presented in color and other times in black and white. The black and white scenes deal with a patient Leonard once had when he was a psychologist, phone calls, and tattoos. The transitions between these scenes is excellent.

The Video for this dvd is very crisp and clear. Once again the transitions look great and the entire movie looks very sharp and clean.

Memento sounds good from the opening to the credits.

Memento contains some pretty good features. There is an IFC Interview with Christopher Nolan (writer/director) which discusses further details of Memento, along with its direction and meaning. There is a Theatrical Trailer of Memento along with a TV spot. A tattoo gallery allows you to look at some tattoos from Memento if you would like. The Director and Cast Biographies are nice and they show what movies they have directed/starred in, where they were born, and other facts you may want to know. There is also a Memento Website avaible on the dvd so you can put it into your PC to access the site. The site isn`t too bad and has even more information on Memento. Overall these features aren`t too bad and they have some nice options.

Memento is unlike any film I have ever seen. It is a film that must be seen more then once due to the way it was directed and the powerful performances by Guy Pearce and the supporting actors/actresses. Every scene that you go backwards makes you wonder how Leonard got to where he is. The whole film leaves you wondering what`s going to happen next as it makes its way to the end. Great film! Worth owning if you are a fan of intruiging dramas.