Customer Reviews

The Majestic [VHS]

5 star:		(66)
4 star:		(50)
3 star:		(23)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

Jim Carrey did a wonderful job in this movie, playing Luke, an amnesiac who is not really who people think he is. Like his character in "The Truman Show", this was not a comedic role and shows his versatility as an actor. In the beginning of the movie, he is Peter, a rather sketchy Hollywood screenwriter. As Luke, he assumes an very different persona.

The slow pace and the length of this film permit full character development. Viewers really get to know the characters and to care about them and their lives. Especially wonderful in her role was Laurie Holden, an actress who was new to me but who did a magnificent job in the role of Carrey's girlfriend. Her down-to-earth performance was right on target.

The Majestic, a run-down movie theater, becomes the rallying point for the townspeople - a symbol of the re-birth of a young man who has returned from the dead and the regeneration of a town which lost over 60 young men in the war. The entire town embraces Luke and rallies behind he and his father as they attempt to resuscitate the defunct theater.

This ode to America and its freedoms came as a welcome change. It was a delightful, easy-to-watch, nostalgic movie with a feel-good message, showing patriotic, small-town values. What could be wrong with that?

We've always loved the Majestic, but it's especially poignant watching it now, as America is at war. The small town that rescues Jim Carey's character is what we all want; the sincere sharing of joys and sorrows with others that have been where we've been.

I don't know why The Majestic ended up being a relative sleeper. (For that matter, I don't know why Saving Grace, Pure Luck, and other brilliant movies with brilliant acting ended up that way, either.) Except for in the Majestic, the lead was played by a man who everyone expects to see playing someone wacky or stupid, no exceptions. It's a shame. Carey was brilliant in this thought-provoking, heart-warming film.

I LOVE this movie. Some of my friends don't and I don't have a clue why. It's a serious role for Jim Carey, something you don't often see. There are also some other faces you will recognize, like Martin Landau (Space 1999) and the town doctor (one of the Major Franks from Mash).

Jim Carey is a Hollywood Writer who is named as having possible Communist ties in the McCarthy witchhunt for communists period in our history. (If you were named as a possible Communist, you were blackballed until your name was cleared--guilty before proven innocent. By the way, you cleared yourself by being investigated and naming someone else.)

Jim gets disgusted when, after being accused, the plug on his film project is pulled and he takes off for a drive. He has an accident, loses his memory, and wakes up on the beach in a small town where he is recognized as Martin Landau's son Luke, who went off to war and has been gone for many years.

It's a great flick about a town who gave up more than it's share of young men to fight in the war and many never returned. The whole town celebrates Luke's return as he rekindles his former love relationship with his girl and fond remeberances with the town's people, in the backlight are the McCarthy trials and how they infringe on the rights of the people.

Like I said, great story line. You fall in love with the whole town as it enfolds.

The fantastic thing about this movie is that you take Jim Carrey and once he stops trying to be just funny and starts trying to act you find out that he's amazing at it. No one can deny that Jim Carrey has everything it takes to be a fantastic actor. This movie is classic, it takes place in the era of the Red Scare. Jim Carrey is a screenwriter by the name of Peter Appleton who gets blacklisted for some communist group that he attended in college to impress a girl. He goes out that evening and gets drunk and takes a drive. His car goes off a bridge and he hits his head. He wakes up on a beach the next day not remembering a thing. He is taken in to a small town and is mistaken for a WWII hero who was thought to be dead. With the FBI looking for him and the town welcoming their hero home this movie deals with a small town's healing from WWII and the many sons that they lost. It's a fantastic movie recommended for anyone, especially those that consider themselves movie buffs. This is the unknown masterpiece of Jim Carrey's collection.

This is a great movie for people who like Jim Carrey and wish he would receive more serious roles. He is a talented actor and should be recognized for something besides his ability to be crazy. It is somewhat idealistic in the way the story line is presented but what the heck, its a fantasy, wouldn't it be nice if a town could be that supportive.

I love this movie! Great watch! Jim Carrey does an amazing job as well as the other actors! This is a classic~!

This story is absolutely beautiful... no "if's", "and's", or "but's" about it! The cast was perfect and the story brought tears and laughter throughout the whole of it, truly touching my heart. Ironically enough, "It's A Wonderful Life" had a very similar reception by the people of that day. It took a good 30 years before it caught on to the masses, and all through a fluke of nature. With this movie being so similar in the Frank Capra feel and experience, I wonder if 30 years from now, this gem might have a similar windfall. Only thing I know for sure is that no movie, cast or crew deserves it more!

Frank Darabont has created a wonderful and nostalgic film with echos of Frank Capra everywhere. The lush cinematography, with its colorful hues, help create and enhance a very special movie that will leave you wondering why films like this don't get made anymore.

Jim Carrey completely loses himself in a quiet and underplayed role which could easily have garnered him an Oscar if anyone had been watching. This is an old-style film and Carrey gives an old-style performance as Peter Appleton. After an horrific car accident, he loses his memory and is mistaken and embraced by an entire town as Luke. Luke is a long missing and beloved son of both his father and the town.

Martin Landau gives a wonderful performance as always. The same can be said of Adele Stanton, as the pretty Laurie Holden, Luke's girlfriend and touchstone for all that really matters in life. James Whitmore and David Ogden Stiers are just two of the many faces you will recognize in this lovely portrait of a small town in 1950's America. An entire community comes together to help restore its once great movie theatre, "The Majestic," where magic filled the screens every weekend.

Like any Capra film, Darabont's movie takes its time to unfold. The basic story is surrounded by small insights into ourselves and how we live. Does what people expect of us make us better? If we become better than who we were, where do we belong then? Peter will have to answer these questions when he remembers who he is. He has come to love Laurie and his 'father' Landau, and may no longer be Peter; at least not the old Peter.

The town who feels betrayed by their favorite son is not the only problem Peter/Luke must deal with. The communist witch hunts of the fifties are in full force and he must go back and face the committee. But who he is now may change how he answers the questions. Once he figures out where he belongs, he must find out if he can live the life he chooses.

This long and beautiful film is truly special. The last ten minutes of this old-style masterpiece reminds us of all that is good about the movies. If you are lucky enough to be seeing this for the first time, I envy you. If you didn't give this film a chance the first time around, give it another try.

"The Magic is Right Here, The Trick is to See It"--Martin Landau

I don't know why there are so many negative or mixed reviews about this movie. I can only assume that fans of Jim Carrey expected him to be over the top (like he was in the Mask and Ace Venture), and those that didn't like those movies (this is the category that I fall into), assumed that he would be over the top so they dismissed this movie sight unseen. Jim Carrey fans STAY AWAY as you will probubly be disappointed in this movie. Non-Jim Carrey fans "Please, Please, Please" go see this movie, you will not be disappointed. Forget Jim Carrey, think of a young Tom Hanks, or dare I suggest a young Jimmy Stewart. If you do not know anything about this movie think "It's a Wonderful Life" or any other Frank Capra film. This is an excellent gem of a movie that was (and I fear will continue to be) missed by so many, simply because people hear the name "Jim Carrey" and make of their mind (good or bad) without even seeing the movie. This movie was great, by far the best picture I saw in 2001. Jim Carrey as a serious actor was excellent (who knew), Martin Landau..excellent...and the girl who played the love interest (sorry I forgot her name) was outstanding. This is a movie expierence that you can share with your wife, your girlfriend, your Mom and Dad, your favorite Aunt and Uncle, and never be embarrassed by anything of the screen (now how many Jim Carrey movies can you say that about). Go now, Buy, Rent, Borrow, set your DVR, but get a copy of this movie and set aside an evening for a movie pleasure that you have not had in an extremely long time. I cannot reccommend it enough (I would give it 10 stars if I could, and believe me I am very criticle of movies in general).

I was afraid at times that "The Majectic" would get bogged down by it's good intentions. The film tackles alot of heavy themes(Post-war trauma, McCarthyism, etc.) that it seemed like it was straight-jacketed by it's lofty goals. It would also help if director Frank Darabont would learn how to tighten up his stories. This film and "The Green Mile" are good films but they're not "War and Peace". Just as I was about to write this film off as a noble failure it rebounds with a strong last third. The ending is Capra-esque but, hey, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. The film contains many nice moments but it's the little touches that resonated with me; the pictures of the town's young men lost in the great war, the unveiling of the statue commemorating the war casualties. Jim Carrey, in an understated performance, hit's all the right notes as Peter Appleton, disgraced screenwriter mistaken for someone else. Martin Landau was exceptional as Harry, the grieving father who want's to believe that Carrey is his son returning from war. I particularly liked Gerry Black as Emmit, a black man nursing wounds from his own experience in World War I. Lest I forget, Bruce Campbell,"King of the B's", has a bit in the film's "Sand Pirates of the Sahara" sequence. Not a great picture, but one well worth checking out.