Customer Reviews

Twilight - Bis(s) zum Morgengrauen [DVD]

5 star:		(394)
4 star:		(126)
3 star:		(57)
2 star:		(46)
1 star:		(63)

 

 

Yes, of course if you've read the books you should definitely go see the movie. And yes, you will probably enjoy it. BUT, that said, as a book-to-movie adaptation, of course it could also be better.

Personally, I always wonder where they find the screenwriters who're crazy enough to take on a job like this. No matter what you do, no matter how faithful you are to the book, or conversely how much you change it, very, very rarely is a film version ever better than the novel that stemmed it. Twilight is no exception.

Certainly, it has it's good points. The casting, for one, I think is exceptional: while I had some qualms before I saw it, I loved all the actors, and wouldn't change a single one. They have their moments, of course, but for a young cast they're really rather impressive, particularly Robert Pattinson: I'm disappointed Catherine Hardwicke wouldn't let him play the part as 'dark' as he wanted to.

And that, I think, is where most of the problems with this film lie: with Hardwicke, its director, and Melisssa Rosenberg, it's screenwriter. For starters, I can't help but question Rosenberg's credentials. She's written a lot for TV, but only one other screenplay to date (that being 'Step Up', of all things) and sure, everyone's got to start somewhere... but with one of the biggest films of the year? Maybe not.

I can't fathom many of the changes Rosenberg made. Adding in scenes like the extra scenes with the 'bad' vampires, thus shifting the films emphasis from the 'love story' to the 'action' or 'horror' factor, or like the entirely pointless Biology trip (the conversation that took place there could easily have happened in its original setting), and shifting the order of scenes... the entire Port Angeles scene was thrown out of sync by the fact that Bella did not find out Edward was a vampire until after. And then when she planned to confront him, she went off into the forest with him, not knowing he was 'vegetarian'! In the book, I never thought of Bella as crazy... in the film, I can't help but question it. I simply do not understand the need to change things like that, which would have been so much better if left as they originally were.

Then there's the fact that both Rosenberg and Hardwicke seem greatly preoccupied with showing of the 'scenery' of the the American Northwest. Great, so there are lots of trees. We don't need to see Bella and Edward running off into the woods and climbing trees (besides the point that Edward would never let Bella do that anyway because he'd be too scared of Bella falling out of one), because its supposed to be from Bella's perspective... and Bella doesn't like the great out doors and Forks, in her opinion is far too 'green'. So, skip the theatrics, and give us the love story.

But, err... what love story? If you have not read the books, you could call Bella and Edward's romance entire non-sensical. They've barely talked to each other, and suddenly they're saying 'I'm only afraid of losing you' or 'you're my life now'. Although, never once do they say 'I love you'. And isn't that what it's really supposed to be about? The ultimate love story. Sadly, it's not.

But,all that said, i will see the film again, and I will be buying it on DVD because the essence of Stephenie Meyers work is still there. The plot is still good, the characters still similiar (though Bella is more annoying), and Kristen Stewart and Rob Pattinson do have good chemistry, they're just not given enough chance to prove it.

I really hope they do better with examining the love story in 'New Moon'... but seeing as there's less of it, I really doubt it.

I had never read the Twilight books when I went to see the movie. I vaguely remember the hype of Breaking Dawn's release, but it didn't mean anything to me. I saw the queues for the opening of the film and it meant nothing to me, apart from about 3000 people in Dublin being stupid enough to queue for hours in the rain to see a film.

I love vampires and werewolves though, so, at a loose end one weekend, I convinced my boyfriend that it wasnt a horror, and there was nothing else to do. we laughed for about the first hour. it was very funny. But by the middle of the tree top scene I was hooked. we both were.

I rushed home and ordered all four books that night. I read the series straight through twice, and dragged my mom to see the film with me. (I'm in my mid 20's, she's considerably older....)I sat, completely unmoving the whole way through the move. it was like I was greeting old friends. once I knew the story, all of the humour went out of the film, and it became totally engrossing. my mom thought so too.

lots of little things were changed, obviously. the book is better. obviously. I didnt like Stewert (?) as Bella. she played her as too self assured, too graceful. it wasnt Bella for me. But Pattinson brought Edward to life in a way that was so different. I actually liked him more after seeing the film that in the books.

Kellan Lutz is missing the dimples and curls but hes still the same adorable, deep as a puddle Emmet we all love.

the film is more of a companion to the book, it makes the scenery solid. I thought that was actually a plus of the movie, I knew what the characters looked like, I was a little fuzzy on what their neighbourhood was like. the film filled that in. when midnight Sun is published the three will stand together to give a 360 view of Bella and the Cullens world.

WIll I buy the DVD? yes. WIll I watch it a million times, of course. but I'll read the books one million and one ;)

My name is Simon, and I have a penis. Already you can see the problem with me reviewing this film. Nonetheless, I sat myself down to watch the movie anyway. I wouldn't be doing it completely sober though. For this experiment to work, I would need a few cans of Fosters to support me. Perhaps I was mad to embark on this reckless venture. Nonetheless, sane or not, the fact remains that I watched Twilight, and can now tell you what I saw. Misery loves company and all that.

So, here's roughly what happens: a beautiful teenage girl named Bella Swann (yes, Bella Swann; subtle, right?) moves to a new town with her father to start a new life. She's a little socially awkward, but quickly befriends a group of amiable, though somewhat geeky, kids. Don't think that this is where the plot is though - these characters pretty much exist just to make Bella look good in comparison. No, the narrative only starts properly when Bella meets Edward, who shares a biology class with her. Edward is a vampire. They fall in love. Edward introduces Bella to all of his glamorous vampire pals and family. All goes well. Bella also meets another mysterious hunk, and there may be the beginnings of some chemistry there, but that's for the sequels. This movie is all about the romance with Edward, who spends most of the time being brooding, mysterious, and incredibly creepy, but in that sexy way that teenage girls apparently like. He creeps into Bella's room in the middle of the night to watch her sleep; he confesses that he's strongly compelled to kill her and drink her blood... sexy stuff.

So that's most of the film right there - Bella and Edward lying in the grass together and mumbling about how much they totally love one another and stuff. Then suddenly some bad guys pop up in the last 15 or so minutes of the film and decide that they will stop at nothing to kill Bella, who they've only just met. The evilest vampire makes it known to Bella that he has kidnapped her mother and that unless she comes alone to confront him, the hostage will die. Bella bravely complies with this demand, and sets off to die in her mother's place. This unexpected twist of the narrative provides an excuse for Bella to play the role of the lone martyr. You see, for the majority of the film everybody else has been caught in the irresistible gravitational pull of this damsel in distress. People instantly fall in love with her, and will fight and die for her without a moment's thought. Bella, Bella, Bella. This didn't make for much of an interesting character though; what the author/director wanted was a cipher onto whom the audience could project not only their fantasies, but also their narcissism and sense of entitlement. ("I feel for you Bella! Nobody appreciates my feelings or sacrifices either!") And so it was that the powers that be concocted this last section of the story as a pretext for Bella to finally establish herself as the REAL heroine of the franchise. We even get a sad little moment in which Bella's in a car and drives by her friends, who are going about their normal no-vampires-included lives. You can tell that Bella is thinking to herself "my life can never be like that again - I alone must shoulder the burden of romance and hunky superhuman boyfriends. Woe is me." Not a dry eye in the house.

So that, in brief, is Twilight. It's not very good.

I could go into further details, regarding both the good and the bad things in this film: for the good, I might point to the cinematography, and for the bad I could site the terrible dialogue and moronic plotting. However, the truth be told, I'd be lying if I said that these things especially affected me. In fact, the goofiness might well have saved this film for me, were it not for one key over-riding aspect of the film. It's a factor which permeates everything which the viewer sees and hears, and which made it difficult for me to enjoy Twilight as an overblown b-movie. The problematic ingredient that I'm referring to is cynicism. It's impossible to look at this film without also seeing through it. It's shamelessly manipulative, pretentious, and a tiny bit sinister to boot.

Perhaps some lovers of bad movies will be able to convert that negative into a positive, arguing that these are ideal ingredients for an enjoyably bad movie. After all, the more a film builds itself up, the further it has to fall, and the more a movie pontificates, the more examples of hypocrisy and foolishness we have to laugh at. This would be a valid position to take, and I have no problem with any "tongue-in-cheek" fans of the film who take this position. I, for one, couldn't quite stomach all the manipulative B S though. At least, not with a smile.

I love the Twilight films, and watched the first two installments even before reading the books, which is unusual for me.
Having different directors for each of the films can sometimes work, especially if you don't particularly like one directors work, but I have to say that everything came together well for the first film, and wished the director was used again for the subsequent films.
The first film is my favourite by far, and when my DVD copy started to play up after many viewings, I immediately ordered another copy as this is one film that doesn't sit on the shelf gathering dust.

Dont get me wrong, I enjoyed watching this film being a fan of the books, but the film just doesnt deliver the way the book does. It misses things out and adds things in. Obviously this does happen during turning a book into a major movie. The soundtrack is very fitting and there are some cracking songs in there as well as some bluesy ballads that accompany the action in the film perfectly. Twilight is a must see for those who have read the books, and Robert Pattinson just makes it that little bit better.

I must say I used to be completely addicted to Twilight, only recently deciding that there was better vampyre books out there. So when I went to see Twilight the movie, I was a little disappointed. It was a good film, but not as close to the book as I would have liked. My friends, one of whom was just a big fan as I was, all loved it. So maybe it is just my picky nature, but I really think it could have been better. Edward's car was not flashy enough, and it was supposed to be the least flashy, which doesn't say much for the others. Kristen Stewart was, to put it bluntly, terrible. She was boring, and nothing like the Bella I had in my head. She was far too obvious in her constant looks at Edward, and looked constantly nervous. Robert Pattinson was OK, but he was too pretty-boy-trying-to-be-bad-boy for him to really be bad boy enough for me. The rest of the cast was fine, but I didn't like that they removed Lauren. She was a fairly large character that wasn't vampyre or werewolf. Rosalie was too pouty, and not pretty enough. Alice was perfect, very bouncy and happy-go-lucky. Emmett wasn't big enough, but that is fine. Jasper was just plain weird. What was with his whole wide eyed scared bunny look? Carlisle was good, just perfect enough. Esme was perfect too, the exact mother figure.

Like I said, maybe it is just my picky nature, but I didn't like it enough. It kinda put me off the books a little. It was a good film, with enough special features, the actors did act well, the script was really good, and it did make sense. But I think with different actors, it could have been better. Just small things that I didn't like. I think you would enjoy it more if you hadn't read the books.

Love, love, love the book. Had heard the film is rubbish so watched this with low expectations but an open mind and was still disappointed. What made the book such a magical read does not translate well to the screen. Frankly I was bored. The film does not capture the twilight love story in a way that appealed to me.

When I saw this movie I didn't know anything. I hadn't read the books. I didn't know what the whole Twilight-thing was all about. And I didn't know who Robert Pattinson was. This was March 2010 and before you ask, yes, I had just crawled from under a stone. I didn't have any expectations and I was just looking for some entertainment when I picked up this DVD (a Christmas present) from my shelf. During the film, I raised my eyebrows more than once. I snorted at some of the lines. After the closing credits I was still oblivious. What was so special about Twilight? And what was all the fuss over Pattinson about? It was a nice enough film but still. I congratulated myself for not falling for this merchandise and then I went and started my computer and searched for every piece of information I could about the Twilight Saga. And Robert Pattinson. Damn. Be careful, it really is most addictive.

Twilight is a well written story but developes at a very slow pace and so does not become gripping until the last quarter of the book. It was obviously written to appeal to teenage girls and has therefore been very successful but I found it a bit dull.

I had already seen the Twilight film but just had to have my own copy. I intend to get the series as they come out. Just awaiting New Moon now! What can I say? Edward on the screen is enough to make it good! I love this film and would watch it over and over. I recommend reading the books too. I've heard New Moon is even better so I can't wait to get my copy. Buy it buy it buy it!! Every girl needs an Edward and every boy should have a Bella.