Reviews of Beyond the Black Rainbow 2011
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I totally get the hate for this film, but fuck you and you're wrong.
BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW is like nothing I have seen before. It wears its influences on its sleeve but instead of just being a winking a homage or mishmash of prior sci-fi, Panos Cosmatos takes these influences and creates something new and completely original. The use of color in this film is simply criminal. It is just too fucking good. No film should be this visually…
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Nothing compares.
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"No matter where you go - There you are." B. Banzai
Beyond the Black Rainbow starts out with 1 9 8 3, the year of my birth, my first breath. We then read the words: "A state of mind, a way of being, A practical application of an abstract ideal, Born of a dream to create a reality, A different way to think, A new wave to live, A perfect way to believe."
The film starts out with heavy use…
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An amazing retro 80s horror/sci fi hybrid. Like a two hour music video for the love child of John Capenter and Tron....in a good way
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Incredible trippy homage to "New Wave" sci-fi films of the 1970s and early 1980s. Slow, spacey, and atmospheric, Beyond the Black Rainbow revels in cinematic precedents set by such films as The Man Who Fell to Earth, THX-1138, and Altered States. It may or may not make any sense, but it's beautifully-shot, engaging, creepy as hell, and features one of the best retro analog-synth soundtracks I've ever heard. I cannot recommend this film enough for fans of '70s avant-garde sci-fi…
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I have no idea what the fuck this was about; but it was cool as hell.
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Visually bizarre and hypnotic, Beyond the Black Rainbow is less a film and more a journey through a sedated, neon wonderland ruled by its own form of sci-fi logic.
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I loved every second of Beyond the Black Rainbow. Delightfully dark, bizarre, creepy and esoteric.
Michael Rogers is great as the twisted, weirdo scientist. I can't imagine anyone else in the role.
As a sensory experience alone this film deserves five stars. The cinematography and soundtrack are genius.
This film isn't for everyone (maybe isn't even for most people), but I can't wait to see it again.
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Just as I expected, watching this a second time yielded an even more satisfying experience. This time I was struck by the movie's potent anti-nostalgia, taking many of the hallmarks of 80s fetishization (outdated technology, weird hair, mismatched process shots, synths, synths, synths), and mutating them into something dark, moody, suspenseful, and eventually outright horrific.
I was reluctant to put it in the same class as 2001 or Blade Runner on first viewing, but I'm now willing to say this is one of the great scifi mindbenders. And on a budget, too.
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Rarely does a film come along that will really blow me away.
I don't necessarily always watch films to just experience a good story unfold. Hell, sometimes I don't even care if it has a beginning or an ending that makes sense. So long as it satisfies what I really love about movies. And that's the mood and atmosphere, a fitting soundtrack, the visuals and cinematography, cool filters and editing, strange and interesting characters, and the kind of dialogue that…