MovieChat Forums > The Brave (1997) Discussion > Why wasn't it released in the US?

Why wasn't it released in the US?


I read somewhere on this board that Johnny Depp couldn't get a US distributor. Then my friend tells me she read something in a magazine that some celebrities actual attempt to ban their movie in the US if it first appeared somewhere else and audiences didnt' take to it, or if they realized the film was terrible. Johnny Depp was listed as one celebrity who did that for a film he directed which would be this one.

I just want to know, what is the real reason for the film not being released in the US?

Sorry if this has been discussed before.

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i would think that Johnny found a Non-USA distributor because americans dont see how brilliantly good movie it was, americans can only appreciate the Usual Hollywood mainstream crap, but when they see some brilliant, a different , really effectiv, ascendant and telling phycological rollercoaster they dont understand it.

i like it a lot.that and Arizona Dream are two my top favourite movies!



-"I can't see *beep* i have no eyes!"-Sands

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[deleted]

So Oxathres, you know all about American taste? According to you not one person in a country of 300 million is interested in non-Hollywood productions?

You, sir, are a *beep* moron.

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Its true we Americans onlyt appreciate spoon-fed, prepackaged hollywood crap like, say, queer eye for the straight guy. I can't think of anything more pathetic than starting a post for queer eye. How about you oxathres? Wouldn't it be pathetic if somebody actually created a queer eye post?

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Uh... because it su uh uh cked?

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The Brave was a great movie. Granted, it was dark but if you go to any poor community, Indian reservation, or homeless shelter, you will see the same conditions. Depp only filmed what he knows is happening in this world. Granted, this was a little over the top with the sacrifice of life for money but given the same situation could anyone say they would do any differently for their family? This world is made up of some pretty sick twists. It is not much of a stretch to see something like this happening. - rare but not out of the field of reasoning. Stranger things happen every day. Depp just put it on the screen.

There is much to learn from this film if Americans will let go of their idea of every film having to have glitz in order to be worth watching. I do not mean any ill will here. I am an American, born and raised in the US. My Native American ancestry makes me more sensitive to films that feature the lives of Indians. I believe this is what pulls Johnny Depp to these types of films as well. Just like Jews relating to the plight of Nazi Germany Jews, we as Native Americans are pulled into the plight of those like us - Native Americans.

If anyone read this book, can you tell me if it said what happened to Rita and the kids after his death? Was his sacrifice worth the effort? Did they get to move away and live a normal life? Just curious.

Americans need to wake up. There are some wonderful movies out there that are coming from the Cannes/Independents. The latest ones I have seen worth mentioning are: Code 46, Walk on Water, and Dear Frankie. They are not your average run-of-the-mill Hollywood movies but they are great to watch with underlying messages strong and potent.

Paisley

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[deleted]

Well us poor dumb aericans is too deeeyamned ign'arent to knows us some good cinema when we sees it!

DAAA HYUCK!

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i like johnny depp's work, but i think sometimes he has some issues that he needs to work out, and instead of doing so, he talks trash about america. i've never seen the movie, but i'm sure it would have gotten a decent reaction from americans. and what the hell is wrong with these people who think only americans don't like to watch intellectual movies. im sure that many europeans are just as arrogant as americans.

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no . . . im pretty sure they are right and i Love "Mr and Mrs Smith" and "Bad Boys II" OOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHH and "STFU EUROPE" yea . . . stfu europe

apocalypse now is god

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I havent seen this movie but i will be looking out for it in my local blockbuster.

I get the impression that this movie is not meant for the masses so its rather tacky to assume that american audiences won't go and see it or that the average american movie goer will ONLY watch drivel like Mr & Mrs Smith, that is simply not true. Its rather small minded to judge american movie goers by the crap hollywood churns out or allows to be mass distributed. The problem is with hollywood, THEY are not big promoters of indie type/true life movies, unless its going to make them millions at the box office. The hard fact of the matter is that if you were to go down to your local movie theatre, you will find that there is a limited choice of movie to watch and its guaranteed all to be hollywood blockbuster types.

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it wont be in your local blockbuster. i had to look everywhere to find it and it finally turned up in a library near my college.

i agree with you about american audiences... i think the majority of people want the hollywood stuff, just like in any country. but i think there are people who would go and see films that are more indie and less mainstream, but the american cinemas and critics wont hype them up as much so people get less chance.

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American audiences are made to watch mostly bad Hollywood movies because they have little choice. Not that good movies are not released, but because they are not promoted. THerefore the audiences gained this "movie is only for fun" attitude. If they could see more things, they could be more open minded, because they certanly are capable to do it. They are not the only ones. Also in Europe, people tend to prefere Hollywood kitch. But I guess, the problem is not that big.

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I can't find this movie anywhere. Its the only Johnny Depp movie I haven't seen.
*cries*
I actually managed to find a VHS of Arizona Dream at a local library... was that one not released in the US also?


¿Donde esta pot?
Johnny Depp is my hero.

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It seems pretty petulant for Deep to have prevented the film's release in the U.S. because it got some bad reviews from American critics at Cannes. It certainly wouldn't have been a mainstream commercial success, but with his name it definitely could have had a successful limited release here if he'd allowed it and promoted it.

I don't much like the movie (or the novel it's based on) but as a first directorial effort it was promising, so it's too bad if he couldn't lick his wounds and try directing again. If he's angry about American critics and audiences not being refined enough to appreciate "The Brave," then why spend so much time exacerbating that situation by making brain-deadening Pirates of the Caribbean sequels?

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Actually Depp was going to re-edit the film for the US, but he got tied up doing Pirates (the first one) and then his mainstream career took off and he never got back around to it.

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Hi
This is a movie to make you think about your own future..it's available at Amazon.com on DVD for about $25US.

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I think he was just insecure.

www.GirlsTalkinSmack.com

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I also like Depp as an actor, but he is one of those uneducated over the top (dare I say) ultra-liberals who have some idealogical axe to grind. All of this probably stems from his less talked about drug convictions he got here. Thats why he lives in France for the most part. As far as this movie, I don't agree that this kind of stuff happens "all the time". That is utterly ridiculous to say, it was an over-the-top movie and it wasn't that bad, but if you ask a lot of people, I am sure the over-whelming response would be that they would rather have their father around than to know he was murdered on his own will for cash. That is why we have welfare.

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All I want to say is that I don't know what's worse; the shallow, meaningless crap that America pumps out every week, or the fact that most of America seems to be content with the shallow, meaningless crap that it pumps out every week.

The direction Hollywood is headed in makes me want to cry.

Allow me to be frank. You will not like me.

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OMG!!! okey, let me just say, that I am from Europe (Slovenia) and am (as others) a big fan of Johnny Depp. So I was just surfing on the net and found this article about his movie. I`ve already seen a lot of movies in my life, but I haven`t seen this one. Now, that`s a really sad thing, because you can`t even get it anywhere, so I have no idea if it`s good or bad. All I know is that our country was getting opinions about different movies from the US, so we heard only your critics for a long time. Then we had a TV show about this subject, and people were talking about the fact, that american critics should not be listened to, because it just so happens, that films which were not excepted in america were highly recognised here. That is why we have our own critics now, which we can trust because they have the same opinions in movies like most slovenian and have respect in them. But I`m not saying, that ALL americans don`t respect movies, its just that you don`t give opportunities to different types of them. Although i have some penpals from america, who have great taste in movies .... so I am in no postition to blame anybody. This is just my thought on the subject, and I think its a real shame this movie wasn`t published :( I`m sure, I wouldn`t be the only one who would like to see it :/

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[deleted]

I repeat:

"The direction Hollywood is headed in makes me want to cry."

And this is coming from someone who is from this country. The movies that are made nowadays make Americans to look like shallow, dirt-eating idiots, as that seems to be the target audience. While although I had no problem with Titanic (not the best movie I've ever seen, but I'm a sucker for a great romantic movies), movies that are made to be "an every-person movie" bore me to tears.

Give me contoversy an day!

Allow me to be frank. You will not like me.

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I wondered what happened to "Dear Frankie" I was watching for it and it never appeared in theaters or in the rental stores. I will check the library maybe it will be there. I have only seen clips of "The Brave" but it looks wonderful. I am sure Johnny had good reasons for not having it released in the US. There are lots of things about Hollywood that I find distrubing and the Oscars is one. It seems to be more about glamour, who wore what and who is out doing who than about art or acting. I am very disappointed in this.

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[deleted]

I agree :/ I`ve always loved watching the Oscars because it represented a certain award for all the hard work people in the movie business have done. But as I watched it recent years, it really showed an incredible amount of glamour and gossip which hasn`t been seen in the past. It looks like it isn`t enough to work so hard and really make an effort, but you have to look good, have a good reputation or even better, a bad one ... The worst part is, that some really great actors don`t get awarded or even in the list of candidates, and they usually hand the award to people who deserved it from a film made years ago and not this one - I don`t understand, that an actor or a director or anyone for that matter, who made a great award winning movie, doesn`t get the award, which was expected by the public, but is handed to someone that is a better actor in other movies and not precicely this one that is nominated. I don`t see the point of the award for life work either. They don`t see the point of giving it to a person, who is still working, but is really stupid to give it to a person who already died (which is really often).
Well, I guess the main thing I`m trying to say is, that the Oscars aren`t what they used to be :/ and i do find myself enjoying the MTVmovies awards more, because the viewers decide who gets the award, and you know it`s right that way, and they don`t have to look marvelous for that ocassion, they just have to be there so we can see them - and that`s the main point ;)

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[deleted]

americans need to wake up? excuse me, the movie was made by americans, ABOUT americans, must be doin somethin right

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um but not for americans?

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[deleted]

Arizona Dream was pretty terrible, all in all. The only thing that doesn't disappoint there is the soundtrack.

- It is the exception that confirms the rule -

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There,thats the reason why it was released overseas and not in US.

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It says on the main page:

Trivia: Johnny Depp was deeply upset at the negative reviews received from the American critics attending an otherwise successful screening at the Cannes Film Festival. As a result he has refused to show the film in the United States.

That's why it wasn't released...that's gay. i hate american movie critics you can pretty much take whatever they say, and reverse it, and usually that's about accurate.

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Im not from the USA, but I'm not arrogant and stupid enough to claim that it is Americans who just watch crap. I mean come on people all over the world watch the *beep* that comes out of Hollywood, thats why its popular people. And a huge percentage of people who work in the business in Hollywood aren't even American, they move there because that's where the work is at. Yes lots of crap comes out of Hollywood, it doesn't mean that they are stupid, you could call themj clever thats how they make lots of cash. More people enjoy films we might call crap cz they arent as into films as we are and just want to watch something easy and enjoyable. They just dont come on sites like this.

Also Depp is entitled to his political beliefs so you believe what you want n let him do the same.

And also i thought Penn deserved the Oscar for Mystic River, there are very few actors who could churn out he emotional performace he gave, especially at the part where he is grappling with the police. And no he wast a supporting actor, he was on the screen plenty of the time. Look at Anthony Hopkins who got Best Actor for Silence of the Lambs - screen time around 15 minutes in total? But meh my opinion

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Trivia says that Johnny was disappointed with the reaction of American critics at Cannes, and so didn't strike a deal to release it there.

This disappoints me, if true. I'm a huge fan of his, but I would've thought he had a thicker skin than that. It seems kind of petty, and somewhat out of character for him.

Nevertheless, he did a great job on the film, and as its director he can do what he likes, I guess...






Born when she kissed me, died when she left me, lived whilst she loved me

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Johnny said this on the Larry King interview Sunday night after Larry ask him about releasing this film...maybe there is hope.


DEPP: "Yes. Maybe. I tell you why. For one reason only. It's certainly not a perfect film. What I will say about that film and what I will say about Marlon in particular, it's one of the best performances he's given since "Last Tango." It's one of the performances where he dug down deep and gave of himself so monumentally."


It is not so much the destination as the journey!!!






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Interesting! Thanks.






Born when she kissed me, died when she left me, lived whilst she loved me

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He also mentioned the part about the American critics within that interview. The public often enjoys movies some of the critics don't enjoy.

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I think truthfully the answer is a little of both what you state. The truth lies somewhere in the middle, or however that saying goes.

My son is also named Bort

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