Letterboxd — Your life in film

While a pretty by the numbers biopic as far as plot is concerned, the immense scale and utter gusto in which it's crafted gives this such distinct identity that puts it well above many other films in this genre.

An intricately crafted and artistically daring work of cinema and one of the most remarkable achievements of the silent era.

While no less generic than the original film, this has beats it out mainly due to how much more invigorating I found the action sequences, and honestly, that's all I really need out of a movie like this.

The performances are pretty good and soundtrack slaps, but those are just about the only things it has going for.

Cronenberg at his most grotesque and simultaneously beautiful. Even more striking than the films incredible makeup and special effects is the sheer humanity given to its characters, which only makes it all the more tragic with the way the events play out.

There's no love like brotherly love.

This might actually be my favorite Cronenberg film. On top of the grisly body horror we've come to expect from Cronenberg and Jeremy Iron's tremendous performance(s), the film is both psychologically fascinating and to my surprise, quite emotional, especially its closing moments.

Criterion Challenge 2022

I've seen a lot of comparisons between this and early John Waters, but I feel like he would've done a lot more interesting stuff with this material. Outside of some nice cinematography and some decent performances from the two leads, I didn't get a lot out of this.

Bizarrely structured, with the first half rolling by with almost no direction, and the second half feeling like a different movie entirely. However, it is in this second half, when it becomes a gripping noir that verges on the psychological, that the film really hits its stride. I makes me wonder why the entire film wasn't comprised of this.

I went in expecting a standard lighthearted romance film, and for the most part that is what I got, but even then, the film does take an interesting turn its latter portions and even develops underlying sense of melancholy that I found quite moving.

Nicely paced, consistently suspenseful and featuring some truly unsettling body horror. The big reveal near the end is especially shocking.

A ravishing and whimsical rendering of the city of Berlin, inhabited by a slew of fun and memorable characters who drink their way into various hijinks. Probably one of the best examples of a "no plot, just vibes" movie I've seen.

Very enjoyable, if a bit not overlong, and I appreciate the boldness and willingness to forgo conventions, making for a truly unique work of cinema.