Customer Reviews

Time Code

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

4 digital cameras. 4 quadrants. 4 continuous shots. All in real time. All improvised. Mike Figgis (Leaving Las Vegas) is definitely one of the most innovative directors out there. And that's what makes the film worth seeing. It wasn't as challenging as I thought it would be to follow all four quadrants at the same time. Figgis turns the volume up on the shot he wants you to pay attention to. The cast does a fine job, although I'm not exactly sure what Salma Hayak is doing in this company. Stellan Skarsgard is great as usual. Jeanne Tripplehorn is literally on screen in a continuous shot for the length of the film and she is fantastic. Look out for Holly Hunter, who has very little screen time, but who gives her character more depth than this film deserves. The reason I only gave this film 3 stars is that it didn't engage me. Watch it for its stylistic qualities and not for its story. I recommend the DVD format. After all, digital cameras deserve digital video.

True, Mike Figgis' great experiment is not an unqualified success, but it's so far from a failure that it deserves recognition. The split-screen shooting, which initially might seem a gimmick, quickly becomes a revelation. (I remember audibly gasping the first time two images combined to form one.) Few commercial directors are as actively trying to redefine and reinvent the form as Figgis. Gimmicks/innovations aside, the film is a hilarious send up of both Hollywood-style politics and Altmanesque busy narratives. The DVD version features perhaps the best use of the technology yet, allowing the viewer to see an alternate take of the entire film, and freely switch between soundtracks.

Time Code is an excellent example of what film can and should be. It's definitely an experiment that the affordability of digital video allows. Shot on a Sony digitial video camera, Mike Figgis has woven a great story. The screen is split into four separate quardants, four intertwining, and simultaneous, storylines. I defy you to follow a single set of characters. Figgis uses sound to draw you through the story, raising and lowering the levels of different quads he'd like you to be looking at. It's excellent filmmaking. It is a challenging watch, but not as hard to follow as you might think. This excellent DVD version has an entire other "version 1" of the film which even features different actors. It's great fun. Highly recommended to the Indie Film Fan. Best regards, turtlex.

Film is an art form. Sometimes. Timecode is art. Its story reminds me of an Altman movie (one of the old ones, from when he knew what he was doing), but presented in real time and split into four points of view presented simultaneously. For the first ten minutes or so, it's difficult to follow the four screens, but it's not as confusing as you might think. The stories are touching, although they could have been tightened a little bit - at times it looks like the actors are drowning in improvisation. Most of the time, however, things flow beautifully. The stories are great, just don't expect them to be all wrapped up neatly by the end of the movie. They're more like "slice of life" stories. A few people have criticized Timecode for the fact that a boom and a cameraman's hand intrude into the shot during the movie. Come on - we're talking about four cameras moving simultaneously around a bunch of improvising actors for two hours at a time! It is utterly impossible to expect a perfect shot under these circumstances. Plus these people are totally missing the point. One final note - the DVD includes an alternate take which, as I understand it, is a complete alternate version of the film. I can't wait to see this.

I had a great deal of fun with this video. I rented in on VHS, and am now buying it (DVD for the soundtrack control). I watched the film twice over, and caught so many more things the second time than the first. The first part of the viewing you spend trying to figure out how all these characters connect to each other, and then you relax into the flow of them popping in and out of various corners of the screen. Amazing timing ...just Amazing timing for one-take. Julian Sands' entire purpose in the film seems to be to distract the other actors and see if they get lost. This makes his background-character entertaining. I found myself backing the film up several times in certain places because as I was paying attension one thing, I suddenly realized the scene was slowly changing in another corner and I was like "wait a minute...what's happening over _there_..?". Over-all, the four simultanious corners of action are not that hard to follow. Mike Figgis uses sound to take you every place you need to go to figure out what is happening. I found the performances of Jeanne Tripplehorn and Saffron Burrows particulary well done. Both are on screen through most of the film and keep up character perfectly. Not a film for people who do not like to use their mind while watching. Mike Figgis does not spoon-feed his viewers (thank you). All in all very inventive and well done !

"Time Code" was directed by Mike Figgis, best known for "Leaving Las Vegas." I'm not a fan of his work, but was intrigued by the concept of this movie - it was filmed in one 90-minute take and is told via four cameras shown in different quadrants of the screen. The movie was filmed 15 different times over a period of a few weeks, with the 15th take being the theatrical release. The story (such as it is) concerns 20+ people in Los Angeles who are connected in one way or another to a small indie film studio. The soundtrack is emphasized in certain quadrants at any given time to show you where to direct your attention. I was concerned that the movie would be difficult to follow, especially on a TV, but it was actually fairly easy to watch it and understand what was transpiring.

The technique is innovative and daring, and one cannot help but admire its audacity. It was also interesting seeing how the different stories overlapped. However, there are simply too many weak points for the movie to ultimately succeed. First, the acting and script was largely improvised, and it shows. Selma Hayek has one of the largest roles, and she is simply not up to the challenge. Holly Hunter also comes off poorly with her tentative stuttering character. Second, the plot (which was loosely structured by Figgis) is not very interesting. If this same script was shot in a conventional manner, it would not be worth the price of admission. Third, the concept of the four quadrants is interesting, but most of the time little is happening in any given quadrant. For example, the upper left quadrant, features mostly Jeanne Tripplehorn and she spends a huge portion of the movie sitting in the backseat of a limo or pacing the sidewalk in front of the studio. It just isn't very entertaining.

The DVD includes several interesting features. For example, the full first take of the movie is included. Also, you can remix the soundtrack to hear what is going on in the other quadrants. Overall, I have mixed feelings about "Timecode." I'm glad I saw it and hope that other directors will be inspired by its unusual and daring techniques. However, it was ultimately boring and pretentious.

Whatever. I mean, I appreciate the experimental nature of the film -- the screen split into four separate-but-interlocking screens, each shot in a continuously-running tracking shot, filmed on digital video. The "action" shifts from scene to improvised scene, and gradually we figure out how each of the characters know each other. Still... did the story really have to be set in (yawn) Hollywood? Can't modern filmmakers think of something else to make movies about? Couldn't the actors improv their way through somebody else's life, for once? Regardless, this is one of the better uses of DVD technology I've seen -- they kept the audio tracks intact on each camera's footage, so after you soak up the edited version of the film, you can go back and see (hear, actually...) what they had to work with... Rarely do we get such a clear-cut chance to get into the headspace of the director and editor, so that at least was kind of cool.

Although the concept behind Timecode is highly unusual and creative, the technique of showing four different scenes at one time by dividing the screen into four windows is distracting. Three windows will continue their action silently while the viewer is privy to the soundtrack to one of the four windows. And the soundtrack changes to different windows throughout the film, so you are never quite sure what is happening and where. Eventually you piece together the whole story and easily see the interconnectedness of the four screens, but it is, like I said, a distracting technique. However, I applaud whatever person attempted this concept because it is groundbreaking and different and strives to be something more than what we are used to. Interestingly, you would think that the character development would suffer immensely from this kind of format, but oddly, you can tell a lot about each of the characters by their actions with and without the soundtracks.

Definitely not a thriller. But if you're a fan of watching the subtleties of actors getting into a role, you will probably enjoy this film.

This a real flick for movie lovers, and since most people are what I would think can be described as the lowest common denominator (after all, this movie did come out in DVD and people are still willing to experiment with movies they have little clue about) - it's no wonder it got low ratings. SO here is the warning - if you want simple straight-forward entertainment - don't get this DVD. It is meant for those willing to put up with 93 minutes of constant deciphering, and then can still take the extra 7 versions of the same thing. Note that the DVD has version 15 (the released version), then the version with the director's commentary, then version 1 and version 1 with the director's commentary and then you can view version 15 with the audio separated to each frame, basically allowing you to view at that point each frame by itself. That last feature seems to work very oddly on my DVD and after a lot of hacking I was able to view only 3 of the 4 frames (couldn't get the lower right one to play by itself). This experiment teaches you as a viewer a lot about the meaning of a frame, of improvisation, of locales and positioning of cameras, the importance of continuity, and so on. Take it and get yourself a free evening with this gem. I personally suggest smoking something before it, because then the 5.1 audio is simply divine.