Existenz details
| Format: | 15 DVD |
|---|---|
| Starring: | Christopher Eccleston, Ian Holm, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Sarah Polley, Jude Law, Callum Keith Rennie, Kristopher Lemche, Don McKellar, Willem Dafoe, Don McKellar / |
| Director: | David Cronenberg |
| Genre: | Sci-Fi/Fantasy - Sci-fi - General |
| Studio: | MOMENTUM PICTURES |
| Name | Discs | |
|---|---|---|
Existenz |
15 Feature |
DVD Information
| Run time: | 1 hour 33 minutes |
|---|---|
| Rental release: | 25 Mar 2002 |
| Main languages: | English |
| Hearing impaired subtitles: | English |
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Most helpful review
Question reality
By B Cooke from London , 17 Jun 2004[Highly rated reviewer]
eXistenZ is the twisted fruit of writer/director David Cronenberg. From the opening title sequence the viewer is exposed to layered images of what looks to be organic matter; a hint of the ambiguity ahead.
The story opens on the first public test of the new game eXistenZ by globally worshipped uber-designer Allegra Geller. We're introduced to Geller and her bodyguard Ted Pykel in a strange assassination attempt which forces the two protagonists to flee into the even stranger countryside.
Nagging Pykel into playing eXistenZ with her creates level after level of false reality, echoed by the game levels. The tension escalates as romantic chemistry between them is revealed and complex double-crossing agents make appearances.
The cinematography is deliberately ambigous, again creating tension as the viewer and the characters become mired in confusion. Violence seems the only resort as their world descends into chaos. The SFX are smooth, clever and endlessly disgusting despite budget constraints.
Overall, I consider this to be a brilliantly constructed companion to The Matrix, expanding on the themes of reality versus virtuality and highlighting the ethical problems of living in such worlds.- Was this review helpful to you?
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(85)Oh Yes
By Gobstopper (2 reviews) , 03 Feb 2013Watch more than once. If you like the brain twisting and plot thickening of Naked Lunch then you will totally get what this film is trying to do. I love the direction and visual trickery going on all the way through. It can be a scary experience to just let the director mess with your head like this but its worth is.- Was this review helpful to you?
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Try explaining this to someone who hasn't seen it!
By MzBizkitz (67 reviews) , 30 Nov 2012However much I tried to dislike this film I was won over by the weirdness of it in the end. True Cronenberg style of film, if you've seen any of his other movies then you know the kind of film you're gonna get and so I thought I'd give this one a try. Odd and peculiar as it was, it's definitely one that will stick in my mind.- Was this review helpful to you?
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Just plain silly
By andysleak (4 reviews) from CAMBORNE , 26 Nov 2012What a truly dire film.
Mis-quoting from another reviewer:
'If you are like me and like to use your brain cells every now and again then you will think this is one of the worst films you have seen in a long time.'- Was this review helpful to you?
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Represents a much deeper call
By Platospupil (195 reviews) , 05 Jul 20122012 and here I am looking at this again. Released in 1999 along with the matrix, we can all agree now that the age was fixed on the idea of the cave and the sleeper. Plato never saw it as a human plot to distract us but both Matrix and Existenz presumed a malign human agency behind the dreaming.
This is not a great film but it did contribute to a great period of sci fi fantasy horror which evoked some of the most compelling meditations on human waste, human bondage and human freedom that we have seen for a while.
If you don't believe me .. well nowadays we have Transformers. See my point?- Was this review helpful to you?
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Put down your joystick
By Sideplates (72 reviews) from Dursley , 12 Feb 2012I really rather liked this film and I think it is underrated and worth a watch. It was never really given the proper exposure it should have had, mainly because it was overshadowed by The Matrix which came out around the same time. It questions the whole idea of virtual reality and reality: is this still the game or is this real life? It is quite clunky in places and I lost concentration on several occasions, but it has that wonderful Cronenberg stamp on it which sets it a part from other fantasies. Especially his obsession with organic matter colliding with technology.- Was this review helpful to you?
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