Product Details

• Actors: Stellan Skarsgård, Golden Brooks, Saffron Burrows, Viveka Davis, Richard Edson
• Directors: Xander Berkeley, Mike Figgis
• Format: Color, Dolby, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• VHS Release Date: March 27, 2001
• Run Time: 97 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00000F3XU
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #318 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Timecode divides the screen into four parts and follows, in four uninterrupted shots, a series of overlapping stories. There's the wife (Saffron Burrows) of a movie producer (Stellan Skarskård) who's considering leaving him; the producer is having an affair with an aspiring actress (Salma Hayek); and the actress is the lover of a wealthy woman (Jeanne Tripplehorn), who jealously plants a bug in the actress's purse when the actress pretends to go to an audition. Meanwhile, the producer's partners and employees (Holly Hunter, Xander Berkeley, Steven Weber, and others) are trying to cope with the producer's increasing instability. There's a drug-dealing security guard; a dim massage therapist; a temperamental director who can't find the right actress; and assorted other Hollywood types who float in and out of the action. Earthquakes and aftershocks shake things up, a lot of cocaine is snorted, and there's some sex and some violence, all improvised by the actors around a story set up by the director, Mike Figgis (Leaving Las Vegas).

The emotional effect of any story is muted by the constant distraction of trying to take in four screens at once, though at times the stories resonate off each other nicely. It's an interesting experiment, made possible by the portability and longer takes of digital cameras; anyone interested in how digital technology has affected filmmaking will want to see this novel film. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Innovative., October 12, 2000

By	Kerr (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Time Code (DVD)

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A grand cinematic experiment in a time of me-too productions, September 5, 2001

By	Jeremy Heilman (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Time Code (DVD)

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Indie Film - Loved It., March 14, 2001

By	turtlex "turtlex" (PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Time Code (DVD)

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.