Lord of War - the lecture

Quickly ... watched Lord of War last night and I'm still trying to determine what I thought of it. Actually, I do know ... but I want to watch it again as my mood may have influenced my perception.

But here are a few thoughts ... the first thing that struck me was how dark the DVD is. I think they went overboard in the transfer with the contrast or whatever the tech way to describe it is called. Scenes are supposed to be dark but this seemed excessive to me. Some shots were silhouettes, but so were some shots that weren't supposed to be. At least, that's how it struck me.

I wished they had packaged the two disc set in something other than lame-ass cardboard.

The movie ... I was a bit put off because, as I've mentioned in other places, I'm not a big fan of films that use voice over narration. And this film is almost all voice over narration. So to a large degree my sense was of a story being told as opposed to being shown.

The film is very earnest about it's subject matter (the sale of guns). And while I am sympathetic to the point of view, it felt like listening to an impassioned speech. It felt like being lectured to.

As someone on another site describe it (can't remember which one), it's a bit like an extended public service announcement.

I'll give the film another chance, as I said. But I think generally I was disappointed. I believe some of the good reviews the film received were based on being told what we want to hear, rather than seeing a good story on film.

Tag: Movies, DVDs, Lord of War