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From Amazon.co.uk
They all laughed at college nerd Mark Zuckerberg, whose idea for a social-networking site made him a billionaire. And they all laughed at the idea of a Facebook movie--except writer Aaron Sorkin and director David Fincher, merely two of the more extravagantly talented filmmakers around. Sorkin and Fincher's breathless picture, The Social Network, is a fast and witty creation myth about how Facebook grew from Zuckerberg's insecure geek-at-Harvard days into a phenomenon with 500 million users. Sorkin frames the movie around two lawsuits aimed at the lofty but brilliant Zuckerberg (deftly played by Adventureland's Jesse Eisenberg): a claim that he stole the idea from Ivy League classmates, and a suit by his original, now slighted, business partner (Andrew Garfield). The movie follows a familiar rise-and-fall pattern, with temptation in the form of a sunny California Beelzebub (an expert Justin Timberlake as former Napster founder Sean Parker) and an increasingly tangled legal mess. Emphasizing the legal morass gives Sorkin and Fincher a chance to explore how unsocial this social-networking business can be, although the irony seems a little facile. More damagingly, the film steers away from the prickly figure of Zuckerberg in the latter stages--and yet Zuckerberg presents the most intriguing personality in the movie, even if the movie takes pains to make us understand his shortcomings. Fincher's command of pacing and his eye for the clean spaces of Aughts-era America are bracing, and he can't resist the technical trickery involved in turning actor Armie Hammer into privileged Harvard twins (Hammer is letter-perfect). Even with its flaws, The Social Network is a galloping piece of entertainment, a smart ride with smart people… who sometimes do dumb things. --Robert Horton
Product Description
David Fincher's The Social Network is the stunning tale of a new breed of cultural insurgent: a punk genius who sparked a revolution and changed the face of human interaction for a generation, and perhaps forever. Shot through with emotional brutality and unexpected humour, this superbly crafted film chronicles the formation of Facebook and the battles over ownership that followed upon the website's unfathomable success.
With a complex, incisive screenplay by Aaron Sorkin and a brilliant cast including Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake, The Social Network bears witness to the birth of an idea that rewove the fabric of society even as it unravelled the friendship of its creators.
With a complex, incisive screenplay by Aaron Sorkin and a brilliant cast including Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake, The Social Network bears witness to the birth of an idea that rewove the fabric of society even as it unravelled the friendship of its creators.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Timestar
Format:DVD
Reading through some of the reviews that slate the film, I was left wondering whether people knew anything at all or read any review before writing their reviews. To me they seem to miss the point. This is not a guns and explosions thriller with CGI scenes all over it. It is actually an intelligent exploration of how someone who is highly intelligent and gifted in one sphere of life (programming), can be border line stupid in another (social skills and interacting with people). It is obvious at times that this is derived from a stage play and that some scenes are completely invented to link scenes or add what the director feels is necessary extra detail. Often they are not. To my mind the film is at its strongest when keeping the scale small and focusing on the interplay between the Zuckerberg "character" and others - which of course is what the play does. Criticisms about characters talking too quickly are again missing the point. Highly intelligent people will often seem to race ahead in their conversations, especially those who are gifted in computing and maths - as the two central players here are. They are also both young people, who again will often seem to gabble away when talking.
101 of 114 people found the following review helpful
By Sarcosuchus
Format:DVD
Like many people, I was actively resistant to the idea of watching a movie telling the story of Facebook. Smarmy frat-house brats high-fiving as they hunch around a computer screen with a few "brewskis" - becoming billionaires en route - sounded like a recipe for the most teeth-grindingly awful movie ever: Porky's for Dorks, if you will. I went reluctantly.
Thank God I did though. I should have had more faith in David Fincher - he's a smart enough film maker to realise that this movie would only ever work if it focused on the genuinely extraordinary, which in this case means the birth of a new way of interacting, and the personalities that brought it into existence. This would be more than enough material to make an interesting film, but Aaron (West Wing) Sorkin's script also brings in issues of class, the generational divide, intelligence, money and the new economy. What results is a riveting, fast-paced film about the excitement of new ideas, the intoxicating rush of the succesful dot com, and the almighty high of billions of dollars, all channelled through something which all of us are familiar with and can relate to. Nothing less, then, than that rarest of beasts, a film which successfully addresses The Times In Which We Live.
The film's (already famous) opening scene shows Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) being dumped by his girlfriend, and from this we immediately learn several key things - Zuckerberg is possessed of an unapologetic, almost Asperger's-level intelligence; and he is terrible at human interaction.... Read more ›
Thank God I did though. I should have had more faith in David Fincher - he's a smart enough film maker to realise that this movie would only ever work if it focused on the genuinely extraordinary, which in this case means the birth of a new way of interacting, and the personalities that brought it into existence. This would be more than enough material to make an interesting film, but Aaron (West Wing) Sorkin's script also brings in issues of class, the generational divide, intelligence, money and the new economy. What results is a riveting, fast-paced film about the excitement of new ideas, the intoxicating rush of the succesful dot com, and the almighty high of billions of dollars, all channelled through something which all of us are familiar with and can relate to. Nothing less, then, than that rarest of beasts, a film which successfully addresses The Times In Which We Live.
The film's (already famous) opening scene shows Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) being dumped by his girlfriend, and from this we immediately learn several key things - Zuckerberg is possessed of an unapologetic, almost Asperger's-level intelligence; and he is terrible at human interaction.... Read more ›
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By Lendrick
VINE™ VOICE
Format:DVD
I was sceptical when I saw that a film was being made of the Facebook story, but given the rave reviews I sat down to watch this with high expectations. I'm now a bit mystified by those awards, it's an OK film but no more than that.
Basic problem is there isn't much of a story to tell, and we mostly know how it ends up. Creating a social networking site isn't exactly abolishing slavery, so it is hard to get too excited by Zukerbergs project.
Nearest we get to dramatic tension is his falling out with co-founder Eduardo Saverin but that's never fully played out, or adequately resolved, perhaps due to the non-discloure agreements in place. The other main theme is the dispute with the Winklevoss twins, but they are portrayed unsympathetically. Consequently much of the film is a bunch of well to do kids sitting round tables with lawyers, arguing about whoes idea facebook was, not really riveting watching.
To try and liven things up we get frequent doses of loud music, sex & drugs, with a rather unpleasant sexism running through much of it. While the loud music makes some of the dialogue difficult to follow.
The central performances are good though, so overall it is quite watch-able, if insubstantial.
Basic problem is there isn't much of a story to tell, and we mostly know how it ends up. Creating a social networking site isn't exactly abolishing slavery, so it is hard to get too excited by Zukerbergs project.
Nearest we get to dramatic tension is his falling out with co-founder Eduardo Saverin but that's never fully played out, or adequately resolved, perhaps due to the non-discloure agreements in place. The other main theme is the dispute with the Winklevoss twins, but they are portrayed unsympathetically. Consequently much of the film is a bunch of well to do kids sitting round tables with lawyers, arguing about whoes idea facebook was, not really riveting watching.
To try and liven things up we get frequent doses of loud music, sex & drugs, with a rather unpleasant sexism running through much of it. While the loud music makes some of the dialogue difficult to follow.
The central performances are good though, so overall it is quite watch-able, if insubstantial.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By laserman
Format:DVD
The Social Network slickly captures the complex, frenzied hyperactivity of 21st Century media mania and the sad pyrrhic triumphs of the web, this film exaggerates and misleads the audiences about key facts surrounding Facebook. Many poignant details turn out to be fictional, eg the opening rejection by the girlfriend; the characters are over caricatured, and the dialogue over glamorized with witty, gunfire repartee that simply doesn't occur in the focused backrooms of web development. This is a great made-for-TV movie and as time will tell, but for heavy PR, it was really never worthy of it's Oscars.
22 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray
The concept didn't sound that appealing if truth be told. A bunch of anally obsessed aspring Harvard final club boys in a completely male-centric environment playing around with HTML, computer code and all sorts of internet website mysterie. All of which then degenerates in a maelstrom of bitter litigation and lawsuits despite the fact that none cared about money and intellectual property? Furthermore it points to yet another example that the internet has the ability to spread ideas to a frenzied peak like no other invention in history giving massive exposure to those guys who were once the great underachievers in the American university system previously obsessed with jocks, sport and wealth. The film the "Social Network" is nevertheless a complete triumph and the pairing of director David Fincher (Fight Club) and the West Wing's wonderful screenwriter Aaron Sorkin takes this drama out of the dorm and on to the big screen with an assuredness that makes easily it one of 2010's best films.
The plot revolves around Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) and the other Harvard University students who were the brainchild's of "The Facebook" the social networking website now claiming nearly half a billion members. Zuckerberg narcissistic portrayal by Eisenberg is superb and has the word Oscar stamped all over it. He captures all the arrogance, autism, ambition and alienation which led this genius programmer to start by crashing Harvard's entire IT system to eventually constructing the ubiquitous Facebook created according to the film as an angry response to being dumped by a girl.... Read more ›
The plot revolves around Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) and the other Harvard University students who were the brainchild's of "The Facebook" the social networking website now claiming nearly half a billion members. Zuckerberg narcissistic portrayal by Eisenberg is superb and has the word Oscar stamped all over it. He captures all the arrogance, autism, ambition and alienation which led this genius programmer to start by crashing Harvard's entire IT system to eventually constructing the ubiquitous Facebook created according to the film as an angry response to being dumped by a girl.... Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Very Disappointed
When I received the DVD which was very quick service.
But when I opened the package the dvd's were both out of the holders. Read more
But when I opened the package the dvd's were both out of the holders. Read more
Published 21 days ago by Mr. Aw Chapman
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Well Executed Film
Watched this film on TV, and after watching it for the first time, realised I had to get a copy, it was so well put together and engaging to watch. Definitely a movie classic. Read more
Published 22 days ago by J. Perry
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great film, well-priced and arrived on time.
The title pretty much sums it up. As with many 'sold and dispatched by Amazon' purchases that I have made the product arrived a day before it was estimated. Read more
Published 25 days ago by jhwalker
1.0 out of 5 stars
Very disappointing
Has anyone got past the first 20 minutes of this film? I was so looking forward to watching this film but this Director missed an opportunity to make a record of an interesting... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Berwyn G Williams
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant
Stunning just couldn't switch off and have had to have it ripped out of my hands such was the compulsion to watch it.
Published 1 month ago by Monsieur Grimmer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Want this to be the true version !
This film is great... everyone in it plays a great part... I so want it to be how it really happened. Its a very compelling story nonetheless... really worth seeing
Published 2 months ago by Katie
4.0 out of 5 stars
THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Very well made movie. Adapted from the Ben Mezrich book "The Accidental Billionaires".
It's put me off Facebook for life.
It's put me off Facebook for life.
Published 2 months ago by John Griffin
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superior!
s i m p l y d o e s n ' t g e t a n y b e t t e r !
Published 4 months ago by Christian Edlmayer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic film - believe the hype
I bought this because, like The Departed, it's one of those films I just want to watch again and again, and I still derive the same amount of enjoyment from it each time. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Ezra
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Entertaining Movie
Wasn't too sure if I would like this when my wife said she wanted to watch it but I was pleasantly surprised.
Well worth the watch to see the birth of Facebook.
Well worth the watch to see the birth of Facebook.
Published 5 months ago by funkyfearny
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