Daniel Craig in Ed Zwick's Defiance

[Gold Samurai]

The movies problems lie in Zwick mixing the harsh realities with some romanticism, such as Craig giving speeches while striding about on a white horse that seems out of place,

Not to mention the fact that you have to suspend belief Craig is Jewish when he's blonde and has blue eyes.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

My excitement for this has soured a bit after the reviews, but I still might go and see it, is it worth a watch?

 

[scifiwolf]

It is definitely worth a watch. I just caught it last night. There are plenty of better WWII Jews-in-hiding movies, but this one is not bad by any definition.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

I love WW2 movies, but i'm torn between this and Valkyrie, dont think I'll have time to see both. Big fan of both Singer and Zwick so you can imagine my dilemma.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Finally bought the DVD blind for this the other day and watched it last night. I will say straight away, it is NO WEAR NEAR as good as The Last Samurai, but it is a good, compelling movie which actually had a lot more drama than action (the trailer suggested a bit more action).

The acting overall is superb, as you would expect in a Zwick movie, but Craig, Shrieber and Bell as the 3 leads really are very good in this. The action is a bit lacking when it comes, but the drama is done very well, and seeing some of the things these Jews had to go through can be a bit unsettling and at the same time inspiring. Not sure how histporical accurate the movie is but it has quite a bit of emotion as you can imagine (though some of it does feel forced at times).

Overall not as good as Valkyrie but a good story that is well worth a watch for people like me who love WWII movies, 7.5/10.

 

[Carmine Falcone]

(....)I will say straight away, it is NO WEAR NEAR as good as The Last Samurai, (.....)
Overall not as good as Valkyrie

I think this is odd. Why can't people look at films seperately anymore?

It's always in context, always comparing with anything that might have ANY connection to it. Whether it is genre, leading actor, director, costume designer, DP, producer all the way to the ****ing caterers.

I know that, philosophically, you might argue that the world exists by context, but constantly comparing every film to another you might have seen is kinda spoiling the fun for yourself. Because usually you're comparing with a very high standard (depending on the person, I don't consider The Last Samurai a high standard for...anything).

For instance, I don't watch gangsterfilms to conclude, after the credits have rolled; ''Hmm, good. But not as good as Goodfellas.''
I also don't visit McDonald and comment on the food; "Hmm....this was quite enjoyable, but comparitively it isn't as good as the five-star Michelin restaurant I dined in last week''. For the record; I don't visit either McDonalds or five star restaurants. But you catch my drift.

I actually couldn't give two ****s about this movie, but I still am a subscriber to this thread. Lurking around here I noticed this.

Yeah. Rant over.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

I think this is odd. Why can't people look at films seperately anymore?

It's always in context, always comparing with anything that might have ANY connection to it. Whether it is genre, leading actor, director, costume designer, DP, producer all the way to the ****ing caterers.

I know that, philosophically, you might argue that the world exists by context, but constantly comparing every film to another you might have seen is kinda spoiling the fun for yourself. Because usually you're comparing with a very high standard (depending on the person, I don't consider The Last Samurai a high standard for...anything).

For instance, I don't watch gangsterfilms to conclude, after the credits have rolled; ''Hmm, good. But not as good as Goodfellas.''
I also don't visit McDonald and comment on the food; "Hmm....this was quite enjoyable, but comparitively it isn't as good as the five-star Michelin restaurant I dined in last week''. For the record; I don't visit either McDonalds or five star restaurants. But you catch my drift.

I actually couldn't give two ****s about this movie, but I still am a subscriber to this thread. Lurking around here I noticed this.

Yeah. Rant over.

Well, as a big fan LS, I was expecting around the same level of quality from this movie, yet Defiance wasnt any near as good IMO, seeing as Zwick directed both, and both were based on historical events, they were ripe for comparing IMO.


Also, did anyone find the beginning of Defiance a bit of a WTF moment? You didnt know what was going on in the first 30 mins, the parents are dead when we see them, and we dont even know Shriebers character has a wife and daughter until he gets the news they are dead.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Did anyone else who has seen this movie also think there is a better, longer cut out there of this movie? I thought the editing at times proved this, especially at the beginning were it jumps right into the parents death and then Tuvya returning with no explanation of were he has been.