Jacob's Ladder (1990)

I was initially lost for words...

My feeling is very similar to that of the review below, so I'm not going to repeat what has already been said.

I watched this film after a recommendation in one of my psychology text books (in respect to Freud & Jung), during a weekend of some very profound transitions within myself, hoping to have my mind taken into another place, and give me a break from my personal thoughts. I didn't even expect myself to be able pay attention, however, this had me well and truly gripped from the get go. For a film that initially seems so abstract, I feel it is an excellent metaphorical example of many repressed, primal instincts, that we all have a little of inside, albeit to varying degrees; but that many choose to ignore.

Even when you strip away the story line itself, just go with Jacob's journey, a lot can be taken and interpreted in many different ways. I've only watched it once, but I very much look forward to seeing it again, to discover 'new' aspects, even though its not easy viewing. I think his journey can teach you a lot about life, if you allow it to. It certainly had a very deep set impact in my mind, and helped me make a lot of sense of what I was going through. Even though it has many dark aspects, this is not actually a dark film, quite the contrary, I think the balance was well maintained, and it resolves itself in the end.

The director/writer commentary made a good addition to understanding what they were trying to convey, and puts the film into more of a holistic context.

As for the Amazon reviewer, I don't understand how such a narrow minded woman came to be a film critic? Her review is nonsense, completely missing the whole point of the film. I was almost in tears through much of it...

Buy it. Watch it. Watch it again. A learn a new lesson each time. December 22, 2008

Was It A Flashback Or A Flashforward

"With fellow critics, I got involved in a conversation about the underlying reality of the film. Was it all a flashback - or a flash forward? What was real, and what was only in the hero's mind? Are even the apparently "real" sequences the product of his imagination?" Roger Ebert

My best friend urged me to view 'Jacob's Ladder' after we had discussed philosophies of life and death. I remembered reading about Jacob's Ladder from the Bible 'Jacob's vision in which he saw a stairway from earth to Heaven with angels descending and ascending.' Little did I realize that this film was the reality.

This film is not like anything I have ever seen. It is a viscerally frightening film that kept me on the edge of my seat. It opens with a scene in the Mekong Delta. Jacob Singer, as played by Tim Robbins and his squadron of soldiers are seen joking about human existence. Minutes later, all hell breaks loose, explosions, convulsions, and jerky hand-held camera movements. And, then we move to the subway where Jacob is reading Camus and frightening, exotic and dangerous events occur. Jacob works for the post office and this must be the anchor of his daily existence. Taking stock of Jacob's existence it seems. I sat right on the edge of my seat while viewing this film and feel this is an analogy for the film- right on the edge, between madness and sanity. Elizabeth Pena plays Jacob's girlfriend and is she the piece that holds sanity together? The film is really about coming to peace with one's life or death. What really happens during those last few moments of life? Once in your head, Jacob's Ladder is there for good.

Louis, Jacob's friend and doctor says it best: " Eckhart saw Hell too. He said: The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won't let go of life, your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away. But they're not punishing you, he said. They're freeing your soul. So, if you're frightened of dying and... and you're holding on, you'll see devils tearing your life away. But if you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels, freeing you from the earth."

Devils or Angels, which is it? Do we have a choice?

Highly Recommended. prisrob 11-16-08

The Secret Life of Words

Fatal Attraction (Paramount Directors Series) November 16, 2008

Angels and Demons

Very impressive movie by Adrian Lyne, who apparently was involved on a very personal level, as unfortunately his other work isn't exactly world shattering, but this one makes up for it all. Although it wasn't exactly a maverick move in 1990 to make a Vietnam film, this is certainly one of the most interesting ones on the subject. This is maybe a bold statement in view of the company this movie is in concerning this subject matter, but I do think it not to be an exaggeration.
What makes this movie so special? It sheds light on America's involvement in the war from an angle that is not often seen: the use of its own soldiers for experiments in chemical warfare on the one hand (macro story) and the thoughts, feelings, memories, dreams of the future of a veteran (micro story) on the other hand, which is a dramatically very effective combination, that really pulls the viewer in, especially if the main protagonist is performed so magnificently as is being done here by a very young Tim Robbins.
What makes the movie even more special is the structure, that gives shape to the story, causing the viewer in, what we would now call "Donnie Darko", fashion to be hurled through space, time and seemingly parallel realities, dipped in a horror genre type nightmarish atmosphere, which is pretty disturbing. As in Donnie Darko the viewer is repeatedly misdirected and so I've seen on many occasions that various viewers were equally moved as well as confused while looking at the credits rolling by, all the while enjoying the beautiful soundtrack which the movie can boast as well.
One can think of at least three different interpretations concerning the title of the movie, the first one being an obvious reference to the main protagonist's name Jacob Singer, the other two requiring some bible knowledge and patience until watching a major plot change halfway through the movie, that I can't expand upon without giving away crucial plot points. But anyway, who is this mister Singer, apart from the fact that he in view of what I stated earlier obviously is in Vietnam? In the opening scene we see him deployed there with his comrades in arms, having a, what seems to be a relaxed, break before what Sarah Palin would call a "surge". a kind of chilling on the battlefield I suppose. Suddenly explosions all around and the sound of helicopter flyby's, either panicking the soldiers or making them sick and throw up. Jacob runs but soon is on the receiving end of a bayonet. End of movie ... nah, next thing we see him wake up in a subway car, ah, so it was all a dream of that period and the war turns out to have ended a number of years ago. After his return from Vietnam Jacob gave up on college as, so he explains, "... didn't want to think anymore after the war", and drives a mail van. Still a bit in a daze over his dream he looks around in the car and notices his fellow passengers, a homeless person sleeping it off and a woman who keeps staring at him with a penetrating look who he asks whether "Bergen Street" stop has come and gone or not. The woman just looks at him strangely and no answer is forthcoming. As luck would have it the next stop turns out to be just the one he needed. As he's getting out and passes the homeless person, in a flash Singer sees a kind of wormlike creature quickly pulling back inside the man's coat. Quite disturbed by this he gets off the subway.
Next unpleasant surprise is the fact that the exit of the station is locked off and he will have to cross the track to try and get out on the other side. As he's walking across a new train is approaching but as it is unclear which track it's going to switch to, Singer is in a tough spot. At the last possible instant he leaps and the subway car passes him at a hair's breadth. As the train flashes by, in the cars we see a radiant white light and vague human shapes standing at the windows all looking out with at its end an unrecognizable figure which stares at Singer as the train disappears into the dark.
The atmosphere in this very strong opening is typical for the rest of the movie and we see how Jacob's life spirals down in an increasingly threatening and frightening way, with intermediate flashbacks to Vietnam as we see what happened to Jacob after the bayonet encounter. He loses his grip on reality more and more and has increasing difficulty in separating the real from imagination, past and present. A phone call from fellow veteran friend who desperately wants to see him and in the subsequent meeting turns out to suffer from the same type of experiences Singer is having. This starts off a series of discoveries into a dark affair, connected to their time in Vietnam.
There's a number of fascinating characters in this movie, first and foremost Jacob's chiropractor Louis, magnificently performed by Danny Aiello.
Naturally there's a whole lot more to this movie but that I wish for the viewer to discover. I've seen this movie many times with different people and each time it strikes me how much it moves them without fail. October 3, 2008

First Rate Thriller

From start to finish, JACOB'S LADDER is a brilliant thriller. I love movies with reference to the Vietnam War. This one has it. When the movie starts, you're just certain the movie is going one way and ends up going another. This is one of first movies in the tradition of SIXTH SENSE or WHAT LIES BENEATH. Although quite different movies, still psychological thrillers nonetheless. Great flick especially for the price. Very much deservant of a multi-disc special edition maybe when it hits the big 2-0. One thing I noticed was how OLIVER STONISH it was. I kept thinking it was Stone, but it 's not. Regardless, it's directed perfectly and by the end of it you are like, oh, that explains that. (or something to that degree)

Please see this underrated film. I'm so angry I had not seen it until now.

September 5, 2008

...did anyone else notice the missing scenes?!?

This is without a doubt one of my favorite movies of all time. I hadn't seen it in YEARS so I was really excited to watch it last weekend. It was great, of course, but it seemed a little different to me. I couldn't put my finger on it because I hadn't seen it in so long. I always remembered the ending being so powerful, and it felt a little weak to me. After it was finished I watched the documentary on the special features menu about the making of Jacob's Ladder. It was awesome. The director and writer were discussing the movie, scene by scene and it was very insightful. But then....they started to discuss a scene and showed a clip, and this clip was really grainy, like a VHS would be. And this scene was NOT in the version I just watched. I was a little confused but kept watching. Then, it happened again. They discussed a scene, showed the clip, the clip was grainy and also was not in the version of the movie that I just watched. At this point, I'm pissed. These aren't just 2 pointless scenes either, because both the director and writer said they were 2 of the most important scenes in the movie, if not THE most important. So I go back to the special features menu and click on Additional Scenes. Lo and behold, these 2 MAJOR scenes in this movie have been deleted from the actual film and stuck in additional scenes. And they are still grainy, like they were never transferred over to dvd quality. WHAT IS GOING ON!?!?! This isn't the first time I have encountered this with dvds. How can a movie studio, or whoever is in charge for transferring movies over to dvd, all of the sudden dictate how a movie is now seen???? On the main menu there isn't an option to choose between 2 versions of the film either. It would have been one thing had we been allowed to choose between the original movie, and this new movie with deleted scenes. But there is no option, there is just one version of this movie on the dvd and it's NOT the correct version. September 2, 2008

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