Product Details

• Actors: Zach Braff, Elijah Wood, Amber Tamblyn, Joaquin Phoenix, Ryan Gosling
• Directors: Lauren Lazin
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Sisu Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: April 15, 2008
• Run Time: 48 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0015XM2ZM
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #79,363 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Here, There, And Everywhere--The Ultimate Act Of Filmmaking Self-Indulgence, October 7, 2010

By 

K. Harris "Film aficionado" (Albuquerque, NM) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: I'm Still Here (Amazon Instant Video)

Note: Amazon has merged the product pages together for two seperate items--the Holocaust documentary and the Joaquin Phoenix faux documentary of the same title. Many people have contacted them (including myself) about this discrepancy starting in October of 2010 and yet here we still are. No one submitting reviews for either film is "wrong" or "mistaken." It is a technical error that has NOTHING whatsoever to do with individual reviewers despite the apparent response of casting negative votes back and forth which serves neither film.

Madness or high-concept performance art? "I'm Still Here," the faux documentary about actor Joaquin Phoenix, is likely to baffle and divide its audience. When Phoenix decided to quit acting, and seemingly hygiene, to pursue his passion of becoming a rap star--his friend and brother-in-law Casey Affleck was there to follow and film the inevitable fall from grace. There was rampant speculation from the get-go about the legitimacy of the endeavor (especially as it was all being filmed), but the longer the debacle played out--the less it seemed to matter. Fake or real, the damage was being done. Now, almost two years later, to have the entire experience and film declared a ruse seems the ultimate act of futility. Who, exactly, is the joke on? And to what purpose?

"I'm Still Here" covers all the trappings of a celebrity life in descent. Drug use, prostitutes, public intoxication, brawling and a "star" desperate to be taken seriously despite his best efforts to act a fool--we've seen the act before in countless narrative films and fictionalized biographies. We get a repeat of the infamous Letterman interview, the concert performance that became a YouTube sensation, and the incident where Phoenix attacked a concert goer. We also get to see moments of celebrity intervention--Edward James Olmos tries the spiritual approach while Ben Stiller tries to get Phoenix back to work. Much of the film is about a scramble to get into the music industry. Phoenix aggressively pursues P. Diddy, the film's most inspired performance, who is mainly just concerned about getting paid. Now that's real! And it all concludes on a rather ridiculous "arty" note which has got to be satirical.

Affleck has maintained that this is his brother-in-law's best performance. The problem is--I don't know if I believe him, I don't know that I care, and I don't know if it matters? At some point, you have to ask yourself "what's the point?" As near as I can figure, the only analysis has "I'm Still Here" as a discussion on the nature of reality and/or the nature of celebrity. On either account, is it relevant and necessary? When it was declared "I'm Still Here" was a hoax, that really doesn't change much of the on-screen content. Phoenix deconstructed his life on camera and those bad acts were put in the film. Even if some of the private incidents were staged (who knows? who cares?), the public behavior earned Phoenix notoriety as a drug addled buffoon. So whether he was living the life depicted or "acting" like he was living the life depicted, there isn't much real difference. What's that say about reality? Not so sure. And with celebrity meltdowns almost a monthly occurrence, does a "fake" one merit much interest? Not so sure.

The alternate option, and the one I tend to gravitate towards, is that it's all really quite meaningless in the long run. I think Affleck's "truthful" revelation while the film was in limited release was meant to fuel interest and debate. Duh? Fine, then, let's set a different set of standards. As a fictional experiment, I still think the film and its topic play out too often in real life to be particularly revelatory here. In terms of entertainment, I'd make the same argument. At best, I'd say that "I'm Still Here" is a fascinating excursion in self-indulgence both by Phoenix and Affleck. Whether that's enough will depend on your interest in the pair. I was mildly interested when all is said and done. KGHarris, 10/10.

5 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Most of the reviews are for the WRONG ITEM!!!, April 30, 2011

By 

Grown-up HP reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: I'm Still Here: Real Diaries of Young People Who Lived During the Holocaust (DVD)

Please be aware that this item is about young people during the Holocaust. Ten of the 12 reviews to date are about another DVD by the same title. Amazon, please fix this!!

5 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Haunting Testament to Courage, August 1, 2009

By 

Merlin 7 (Salem, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I'm Still Here: Real Diaries of Young People Who Lived During the Holocaust (DVD)

Watching this chain of tragic stories, I felt a profound sense of soul-tugging sadness, the kind where it rains in your heart . . .Yet the experience is simultaneously uplifting because we feel their strength despite their pain, sadness and gnawing hunger, and we want to fight against the horrors of the contemporary world. Viewing this film is a truly enobling experience.