Customer Reviews

Flight From Death - The Quest for Immortality

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Working on this film and having the good fortune to meet Greg and Patrick gave me a voice. I have read the criticisms about filming me in a mausoleum, and I would like to clear this up. I love cemeteries and I am dealing with my own mortality. I asked them to film me in a place where I loved to walk around. If you look at some of the tombstones you learn a great deal about the residents there. And I couldn't have worked with two more sensitive people than Greg and Patrick. They were concerned I was over doing it.



I would hope that the critic listened to what I had to say, because I'd like to think people will learn from my experience.

Until I saw this documentary, I never really took the time to think about death as I am only in my mid-thirties. But this documentary goes much further than that and asks why do people go to war and why do people kill others? There are discussions about why the terror attacks were made on the World Trade Center. But this analysis goes beyond all the hyped-up media you have seen to date. The film is about fear of our own mortality. During the hour you spend watching this film, your eyes are opened to your own fears. While these feelings may be obvious, the reality as it hits you is almost shocking. If you would like insight on not only yourself, but the rest of the people on the planet, regardless of race or religion, this documentary is well worth your time.

Flight from Death does not try to tackle the question of what happens after death. Instead, it poses questions that ask how dying and death affect living and life. Questions such as: Why do people try to avoid death? Why is death so feared? Why is it so difficult to even think about the inevitability of our own death, much less discuss it? What role does the fear and anxiety of death have in our subconscious? Is the fear and anxiety of death a root motivator behind everyday behaviors?

I'm not sure how much the film actually provides answers these questions, which is good. What makes this film so important is that it puts these difficult, normally avoided questions squarely on the table for discussion, letting us find our own answers.

Ever since I saw Flight from Death at a special screening two years ago in San Francisco, I've thought of it as the most important film I've ever seen. Over time, waiting for the DVD, I wondered if I'd feel the same. I do. For those of us who have spent part of life surrounded by death, this film helps to make 'impossible' conversations possible.

One last thing that I found so wonderfully refreshing is that Flight from Death doesn't treat death in a slow-moving, somber or sullen tone. Through quick editing, some fast-motion cinematography and lively, thought-provoking interviews, the film treats death as a meaningful celebration of life. As I remember Toni Riss (the breast cancer patient interviewed in the film) saying at the special SF screening in 2003, "Faced with death, living my life has never been better."

I've been waiting for this DVD to come out since I saw it first at the Silver Lake Film Festival about a year ago for which it won Best Documentary. I have not been able to get this movie out of my head - I even went out and bought the book it was based on, Denial of Death by Ernest Becker. Fascinating read, fascinating movie. If you desire to better understand yourself and your place in it, you need to watch this movie. I can't remember the last time a movie made me think this much.

Flight from death is a "must see" documentary. I saw it three times since i've received the DVD last week and each time i discover new aspects. Images are beautiful and the commentary (narrated by Gabriel Byrne) is just outstanding. Before seeing it, i was a little bit anxious to see how they can translate in a documentary the rather complex thought of Ernest Becker. As a reader of Becker's books for many years i can tell that Patrick Sean and Greg Bennick had done a fantastic job. Each important parts of Becker's understanding of the impact of death anxiety on human behavior are explored and very well explained. I understand now why this documentary won seven prizes. Please do not hesitate to buy this DVD you won't regret it!

An extrordinary film that I've watched with a number of friends.

We're all familiar with the stories of terminally ill patients who report feeling the most alive once they learned they were going to die. I find that this film can have that same sort of affect for those of us who are not terminally ill, but mortal none-the-less.

It will change your life and the way you see the world. Take 85 minutes and watch this incredible piece of work, you will thank the filmmaker.

This documental is one of the best i have seen, it really makes you think about the way human beings behave and how the awareness of death changes our behavior, GREAT DOCUMENTAL, DEFENETLY A MUST SEE FOR ANYONE WHO THINKS SOMETIMES ABOUT DEATH.

I was lucky to see this movie in LA, and thought it was very interesting. It's topic involves everybody. I can recomend this movie to the world.

`Flight From Death - The Quest for Immortality' (`03) is a thought provoking journey into the most basic of all mans' fears, the fear of impending death. Using Ernst Becker's classic work `The Denial of Death' as a springboard, this documentary explores the ongoing research by a group of cultural anthropologist and their formulation of what they call, "Terror Management Theory."

Overall I found this documentary to be intelligent, informative and at times emotional. Its one weakness in my estimation is its brief meandering into international politics and its convert sermonizing on the evil within. I sincerely doubt that our reaction to the events of 9/11 were based on our quest for immortality. Otherwise a worthwhile watch about a subject that we all must one day come to grips with.