Product Details

• Actors: Bruce Purchase, Constantine Gregory, Ian Hogg, Gerry Sundquist, Bruce Myers
• Directors: Peter Brook
• Format: Full Screen, Original recording remastered, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Parabola Books
• VHS Release Date: January 1, 1997
• Run Time: 108 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0930407377
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #16,809 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Hit-and-Miss Approach to a Profound Subject, November 15, 2003

By	Peter Lisa (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Book-to-Film adaptations are notoriously problematic and frequently contentious. Not only is it exceedingly difficult to translate the often internal quality of a book's narrative structure using dramatic devices, but the end result-no matter how artfully done-often provokes apples-to-oranges comparisons that almost invariably favor the apples... which is to say: the books.

The difficulties are even greater when the book in question is allegorical. 'Meetings With Remarkable Men' provides a good case in point. Ostensibly the autobiography of the great spiritual teacher/rogue sage G.I. Gurdjieff (1866-1949), the book seems, on the surface, like a very colorful, picaresque travelogue. It is supposed to portray the events in Gurdjieff's search for deeper knowledge among certain esoteric spiritual schools in Central Asia.
Students of Gurdjieff and his teaching, however, tend to agree that this simple form (all of Gurdjieff's other writings tend towards mind-numbing complexity of expression) belies a profound metaphor for the search for meaning in our lives.

Now the *film* of 'Meetings With Remarkable Men' seems to take a very straight-forward, even literal-minded approach to portraying Gurdjieff's search-which basically follows his growth from a rascally and inquisitive schoolboy, to an intense young man consumed by a hunger for the knowledge of life's meaning.
I think that the above-mentioned literal-mindedness is one of two factors that cripple the film and keep it from being what it might have been.

For example, one of the episodes in the book has young Gurdjieff and a group of fellow seekers caught in a violent sandstorm in the middle of the desert. They each climb to the upper rungs of some very tall stilts, effectively rising above the sandstorm. Perhaps written as a kind of litmus test, designed to separate those who readily take whatever they read at face value from those with more independence of thought, to most readers of average perspicacity, this little episode might represent something psychologically symbolic. But one thing it's not likely to represent is a bunch of guys walking across the desert on huge stilts. And yet, when we see exactly that in the film, it tends to strain credulity even more than reading it in the book. In fact, it seems downright silly.

The other problematic factor in this film is the acting, which at times is stilted in the extreme. There seems to be a mingling of well-known, professional actors (Terrence Stamp, Athol Fugard, Warren Mitchell, Bruce Meyers), and perhaps less experienced performers. Dragan Maksimovic, in the title role, may have been an experienced performer in his native Yugoslavia, but was hampered by the fact that he knew no English until just before filming; the actor who plays Gurdjieff as a boy fares less well. Regardless of actorly competence, the delivery of dialogue is so stiff at times it's almost painful to watch. Two scenes stand out in this regard: Vitvitskaia (the director's wife, Natasha Parry), plucking at a harp next to a large spider's web, solemnly explains: 'We're studying the effect of vibrations...'; (Gurdjieff's magisterial reply is priceless: 'You're working in the dark!'); or the earlier scene following young Gurdjieff's near death experience during the firing-range stunt: Karpenko (Gerry Sundquist): 'What did you think about?'; Young Gurdjieff (Mikica Dimitrijevic): 'What is it like not to be here...?' In the book these scenes-especially the latter-are vivid and meaningful; here they feel like we're watching a grammar school play.

The film is directed by Peter Brook, who has done much more work in theater than in film. In fact, several of Brook's films-in particular 'Marat-Sade' (1967) and 'The Mahabarata' (1989)-have a deliberately "theatrical" or stagey quality, which probably befits a production that originated on the stage. This isn't to say he isn't a capable film director-his 'Lord Of The Flies' (1963) stands as one of the all-time preeminent book-to-film adaptations-but one wonders how comfortable he is with the subtleties of cinematic language. Some may argue that Brook's approach in the this film deliberately eschews conventions of cinematic polish and narrative sophistication in favor of a more rough-hewn authenticity. But this idea stems from the premise that something essential in Gurdjieff's story would necessarily be lost if the translation to film were done in the manner of, say, David Lean or Stanley Kubrick, which I don't believe to be the case: Good acting and visionary direction are not antithetical to depth.

That said, there are at least three very good reasons to see 'Meetings:' First, it is one of the very few films to portray the spiritual search vividly and honestly; despite its cinematic flaws, this alone is a remarkable achievement. Second, the film is beautifully shot in Central Asia and features many indigenous people as extras and in smaller roles. Third, and most importantly, the film closes with a rare ten minute sequence of "sacred dances"-what Gurdjieff refered to as "Movements." It's during a viewing of these movements that one feels the call of something deeper; that "something" which no doubt Gurdjieff sought and found, and which formed the subject of his books and his entire teaching effort.

The bottom line is that this film may find its most appreciative audience among those who are already familiar with Gurdjieff's life and work-and in particular, with the book on which this film is based. To a viewer who is already familiar with the book of 'Meetings...' many of the events in the film will play like a cinematic shorthand, and will thus "make sense" (e.g., young Gurdjieff grabbing the snake at his father's behest, or the 'Where is God just now?' conversation between the father and Dean Borsh). Casual viewers, on the other hand, may not know quite what to make of such scenes, which are presented without narrative context or explication.

About the video: The point may be moot, since it's the only available version, but Parabola's 'remastered' VHS is still fairly grainy and, of course, it's in full-frame.

33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Touches something very deep, June 28, 1999

By A Customer

I saw this film years ago in the theater and have bought the video just so that I could watch it again and again. I am most drawn to the remarkable music and dance sequences. As a student of music and spirituality, I can say that these are amazing art that reach beyond intellect, beyond conscious awareness, to speak to something very central. I weep every time I see it. Watch this movie with an open, listening soul.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Watch a Remarkable Movie, May 16, 2005

By	G P Padillo "paolo" (Portland, ME United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I first saw this film when pretty young - its effect was devastating. It was on a double bill with Zeffirelli's epic film about St. Francis, "Brother Son, Sister Moon." (I saw both films for a dollar!) Not knowing anything of the movie beforehand, I went for years wondering what was the name of this remarkable movie, before finally stumbling upon it at a video store whilst visiting friends in another city.

Repeated viewings show it to be, while a bit of its period, still holding up. There is such a sense of the spiritual here entirely capturing the excitement of the beginning of Gurdjieff's journey.

There is much throughout the film to give one time to pause and reflect, but then the film ends with what is now well-known as the 10 minute dance/movement sequence and Brook knew what he was doing ending the film with this. I remember my heart nearly exploding in the theatre a sense of spiritual energy and awe from others in the theatre who were reacting the same as I.

I remain a bit perplexed as to how and why this amazing, enlightening and enriching film has not yet been transferred to DVD. Hopefully, when that happens it will receive the "Criterion treatment" - with interviews and commentary by Peter Brook, a good widescreen transfer and cleaned up sound from its VHS incarnation.