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Existenz [VHS] [1999]
 
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Existenz [VHS] [1999]

VHS ~ Jude Law
3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)

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7 new from £2.08 13 used from £0.01 1 collectible from £1.50

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

Director David Cronenberg's eXistenZ is a stew of corporate espionage, virtual reality gaming, and thriller elements, marinated in Cronenberg's favourite Crock-Pot juices of technology, physiology and sexual metaphor. Jennifer Jason Leigh is game designer Allegra Geller, responsible for the new state-of-the-art eXistenZ game system; along with PR newbie Ted Pikul (Jude Law), they take the beta version of the game for a test drive and are immersed in a dangerous alternate reality. The game isn't quite like PlayStation, though; it's a latexy pod made from the guts of mutant amphibians and plugs via an umbilical cord directly into the user's spinal column (through a BioPort). It powers up through the player's own nervous system and taps into the subconscious; with several players it networks their brains together.

Geller and Pikul's adventures in the game reality uncover more espionage and an antigaming, proreality insurrection. The game world makes it increasingly difficult to discern between reality and the game, either through the game's perspective or the human's. More accessible than Crash, eXistenZ is a complicated sci-fi opus, often confusing, and with an ending that leaves itself wide open for a sequel. Fans of Cronenberg's work will recognize his recurring themes and will eat this up. Others will find its shallow characterisations and near-incomprehensible plot twists a little tedious. --Jerry Renshaw, Amazon.com



Synopsis

A game which is downloaded into a players spine promises the experience of a lifetime. During its launch celebrations a group of fanatics bursts in. Their mission is to destroy the game at all costs....

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Customer Reviews

26 Reviews
5 star:
 (12)
4 star:
 (4)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:
 (3)
1 star:
 (5)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.6 out of 5 stars (26 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Of Mixed Reviews..., 1 Mar 2003
By N. Clay "noel_robert_clay" (england) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Existenz [DVD] [1999] (DVD)
If you haven't already seen this film, you will no doubt be confused by the mixed reviews that are featured here, ranging from five stars to one star. People often compare it to the Matrix as it deals with artificial reality and such, and thus people are disappointed by it not only because it doesn't have the same special effects, but in many ways it is simply not a superior film, though it has a more intelligent script.

People also have a problem with the ending where the film seems to fall apart and becomes very confusing. Personally I think that this confused ending compliments the film, whether it is intentional or not. There are some decent performances from the stars Jude Law and Jennifer Jason Leigh, and many small appearance from high flyers such Ian Holm and William Dafoe. This is a star-hunters dream.

I thought this was a great film that tackled the issues involved in an interesting and subtle way. The highlight for me was the scene where inside the game Ted says "We're both stumbling around together in this unformed world, whose rules and objectives are largely unknown, seemingly indecipherable or even possibly nonexistent, always on the verge of being killed by forces that we don't understand ... that sounds like a game that's not gonna be easy to market", to which Allegra responds "But it's a game everybody's already playing".

The DVD of this film contains pretty interesting commentary from director David Cronenberg and seperate commentary from director of photography Peter Suschitzy, and visual and special effects supervisor Jim Isaac. I can't say that I've listened to all three, and it is unusual to have commentary from anyone other than the director and the stars. There is also a documentary focusing on production designer Carol Spier. Why they decided to focus on these important but unrecognised members of the film crew is uncertain, but it does all make for some insight into how a film like this is made.

For this price, I would definitely recommend that you fork out for this DVD ... but only if you've already seen the film and know whether or not it suits you. You'll either love it or hate it.

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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An intelligent matrix, 20 Oct 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: Existenz [DVD] [1999] (DVD)
Of the recent crop of reality bending movies - The Matrix, The Thirteenth Floor, Dark City - Existenz is perhaps the smartest. Superficially a tale of a game designer on the run from industrial rivals in a dystopian near future, it soon takes a step beyond typical Hollywood virtual reality and begins to question what it really means to be in an undetectable simulation.

Existenz doesn't boast stunning visuals or ground breaking effects, but its strength lies in its understated presentation: without realising it, you are gradually sucked into an increasingly disturbing metaphysical territory. Of all the abovementioned films, Existenz is the only one that actually forced me to pause for a moment in order to recollect which of the nested levels of reality the protagonists were currently experiencing, and the only one where the post-movie conversation centred more on the intricacies of the premise than the effects.

And it's always nice to see a movie that credits the audience with some intelligence. It's perhaps unfortunate that such a clever film drips with Cronenberg gore, but if you can stomach that, it is still fully deserving of its five stars.

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23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An under-rated masterpiece, 6 Dec 2001
By TJ Ramsbottom "tramsbottom2" (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Existenz [DVD] [1999] (DVD)
This is a seriously clever movie. If there was ever evidence that Hollywood is dumbing down then eXistenZ is the anti-hollywood food for the brain. Cronenberg opts for intelligent ideas and dialogue rather than full out special effects. Ted Pikul (Jude Law with an impeccible American accent) has to protect Allegra Gellar (Jennifer Jason Leigh) from supposed assassins who want to kill her for creating virtual reality games that could potentially damage people's view of reality. The question in this movie is: when does killing a person in a game become as easy in reality? What is reality?
I would describe this as a Matrix type film (it has the same themes of reality and computers controling our lives) but only in theory. Visually, eXistenZ is the furthest thing from The Matrix so don't expect big explosions and machine guns.
One qualm about the DVD: it isn't anamorphic. Thus you have to manually stretch the picture on your widescreen tv. But the sound and picture are great and the extras (especially Cronenberg's commentary) are fascinating. Definitely a movie that gets better on repeat viewings. Its such a complicated story that you can't help but miss some of it first time round.
I loved it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb Cronenberg film, and very good DVD
This review is for the Momentum/Take One DVD.

'eXistenZ' is a David Cronenberg movie from 1999 about virtual reality. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Markus Gossas

3.0 out of 5 stars Philip K. Dick world
David Cronenburg does Philip K. Dick. Philip K. Dick specialised in writing about people who were questioning the nature of reality or identity. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Simon D. Jones

5.0 out of 5 stars Hits the spot - great movie

15 minutes into this film and I was slightly doubtfull about it being much good. But as the plot unfolded I really enjoyed it. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Rob B.

5.0 out of 5 stars If you haven't seen eXistenZ don't read other reviews - just Watch it, Live it and ....
Love it or loathe it, this movie is essentially a one line gag, although it will probably take you 93 minutes to get the joke. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Keith Joseph

4.0 out of 5 stars Testimony to David Cronenberg's bizarre imagination
I realise that this isn't really the place for this, but does anyone else think that, with his bizarre imagination, David Cronenberg would have made the ideal Alien director... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Bill Peter

4.0 out of 5 stars A worrying concept
I bought this film and was a bit disappointed at first to see one of my favourite actors (Christopher Ecclestone) with a dodgy American accent. Read more
Published on 28 Mar 2007 by DangermouseZilla

1.0 out of 5 stars Tosh
I always thought of myself as an SF fan, but I hated this. The story line is quite irrelevant, it's the 'experience' that counts and the experience is childish, prentending to be... Read more
Published on 14 Jan 2007 by Philip Wagstaff

1.0 out of 5 stars Videodrome remake?
Too much Cronenberg compulsive paranoia and Freudian freakish gore to be even slighly believable. Really: what is that with the on/off nipple-flicking on the game-console and the... Read more
Published on 8 Jan 2005 by Chris Vertonghen

4.0 out of 5 stars Could have been five...
When I picked up a copy of eXistenZ i had mixed feelings before i saw it. from the mind of david cronenberg (naked lunch, videodrome) i knew it would be a little out of the... Read more
Published on 1 May 2004 by A. Irish

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and mad
Funny how a movie concerning games consoles manufactured from mutant amphibian organs can count as one of Cronenberg's more mainstream offerings, but there you go. Read more
Published on 25 Feb 2003 by Horridbloke

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