Product Details

• Actors: Henry Czerny, Sheryl Lee, Jon Favreau, Geoffrey Rivas, Charlie Stratton
• Directors: Gary Walkow
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Letterboxed, NTSC, Digital Sound
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Olive Films
• DVD Release Date: October 5, 2004
• Run Time: 88 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0002PUDO6
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #172,960 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Notes From Underground" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Studio: Olive Films Release Date: 05/11/2010 Run time: 88 minutes Rating: Nr

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant film-making and a masterful adaptation, July 25, 2004

By 

Elizabeth N. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Notes From Underground (DVD)

I am so pleased this film is being released on DVD. I believe it is truly one of a kind, but it has unfortunately been ignored for the past several years, being very difficult to find. Gary Walkow has brilliantly adapted Dostoevsky's novel, remaining faithful to the author's original vision for his characters, but placing them in a contemporary setting which, we find, is not-so-very different from the society in which the original work was written.

The Underground Man (played masterfully by Henry Czerny) is one who has been effectively paralyzed by his own awareness and self-consciousness; human relations, for him, are painful acts of domination and submission in which love and compassion are unfamiliar, uncomfortable emotions. His life is entirely structured around the mechanisms that allow him to defend his ego from the barrage of attacks he sees others imposing upon him in his "underground" world. His shame in his miserable condition compels him to look for relief in a videotaped "confession"; he reveals the acts of which he is most ashamed and for which he feels the most haunting guilt to an invisible "audience". But still, he is aware of the potential inauthenticity of such a confession, as he cannot accept the notion that he must look to others for a compassionate response. Walkow and Czerny make a stunning team; in their version of Dostoevsky's Underground Man, we see a reflection of the alienating, paralyzing effects of a society structured on conformity and maintenance of obedience through fear and self-consciousness.

I have also found the website where you can read more about the film and the DVD, which is to be released on September 21. (Look for it here: www.notesfromundergroundmovie.com) The DVD looks like it is going to contain an audio-commentary by Joseph Frank, one of the foremost Dostoevsky scholars alive. Also, the website contains part of an excellent essay on Dostoevsky's novel and the film adaptation by Deborah Martinsen, professor of Slavic literature at Columbia. This site is really worth a look.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An updated version of Dostoyevsky's classic Novella., December 23, 2000

By 

Damon Navas-Howard (Santa Rosa, CA USA) - See all my reviews

I was very surprised to see this in my video store. After I saw it, I was more surprised that it never reached theaters (at least not here) and never got any press. "Notes From Underground" remains faithful to the original text which is hard considering the first half of the novella is just one man's rants on paper.

"Notes From Underground" for those who don't know it is the story of "A sick man, a spiteful man" who spends his better days in solitude and reflects with bitter sarcasm and confrontal truth the past events in his life. From dinner with old school friends who hate him to his love-hate relationship with a prostitute. Many of the scenes as they were when I read the original book are hard to watch because of it's emotional honesty.

This film version takes the novella to today's world. Instead of writing down his notes, the main character tells his confessions to a camera. The set up reminds me of Beckett's Krapp's Last Tape. The film does a good job at being creataive but good and faithful to the text.

I would recommend reading Dostoyevsky's book first then see this movie because there are certain in the novella that cannot be done on the screen. Still I enjoyed this film and thought it well worth your time. Good job Gary Walkow.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping, November 28, 2000

By A Customer

When I first heard of an adaptation of Dostoyevsky's Notes From Underground (Zapiski iz Pod Polya) to modern day US, I thought no way! But you have to see this. The true feel of Russian literature captured by amazing acting and a gripping adaptation. Strongly recommended if you like literature, film or thinking!