MovieChat Forums > Brave New World (1998) Discussion > Umh, I Liked It, Anyone Else?

Umh, I Liked It, Anyone Else?

posted 18 years ago by MightyMarge
13 replies | jump to latest

I'm surprised how many people have posted to say they disliked this movie.

I actually liked it quite a bit, enough to make a DVD of it last time it aired on TV on -- LIFETIME? SCIFI?. Can't remember but it doesn't matter anymore. The point is I have it anytime I want a bit of escapism.

I read the novel ages ago and this movie inspired me to purchase another copy and re read. Sure there are many differences between the two but, in the end, I think the movie captures the essance of what the novel/writer envisioned.

Personally, I may have recast the female lead (actress Rachel Blakely, of who I am a fan, comes to mind) but other than that I feel the movie was well cast, produced and the addition of Leonard Nimoy was inspired.

Thank you.

[–] rodee83 18 years ago

I have so little to add to a respectable post it's sad. But yes, i saw it on TV 7ish years ago. Once. And i remember really enjoying the film. This was at the beginning of my fascination with Aldus Huxley but overall, the movie hit a nerve--in a good way.

I also remember the main character(is it John?) had a really cool hat i later attempted to mimic. And failed.

[–] mystrdylan 18 years ago

Just, No.

This film was terrible!

[–] mofo0063 18 years ago

i agree, it's not the differences from the book that bothered me (except for bernard being totally different... that was crucial enough to get to me), it's just the fact that the movie wasn't well made.

[–] hvatum 18 years ago

Yes, I really enjoyed it. I felt emotionally detatched from all the characters. Remember though, this is the impression one is designed to have! The occupants of the Brave New World aren't emotionally dynamic conflicted people, they're mostly indifferent flat personalities. I'm sure this movie would recieve far fewer complaints if the makers had betrayed the original source material by making the characters outspoken, dynamic and openly rebellious. For this reason making a film adaptation which honors the written BRN while being honestly entertaining is I believe nearly impossible.

If anything the reactions to this film prove exactly how effective the film was in portraying the book. The book was anything but the chronicle of social rebellion which some here seem to expect of the movie. Most simply don't find a world of flat personalities and hedonistic self-pursuit without the accompanying risk or effort very interesting, and I wholly agree with them. That's exactly the point.

If anyting I feel their portrayal of a "Soma" world bespeaks the truth of our modern AD treatments. In no way am I arguing anti-depressents don't help people, but having myself lived under the influence of a few different ADs I feel the neutrality and generally detatched way the characters in the movie approach life very familiar. Nothing is particularly stressful, nothing is especially engaing, everyting seems just fine. Granted for those who are chronically depressed the AD/Soma state of mind *as I experienced it* beats the hell out of wallowing in the pit of absolute dispair.

[–] beckeis 18 years ago

Really, if you take this movie for what it is - don't analyse it to death; get ticked off that it's not like the book (come on, is anything made for TV or the movies like the original -- REALLY?) I think you could seriously like it. It's entertainment and it DID make me think.

There were quarky things in here, Leonard Nimoy wearing a dress, how John was at first fascinated by "civilization" then came to be so disenchanted, the two leads scandilizing themselves by have sex with only each other for such a long time - etc.

I felt heartsick for John at the end of the movie, his mother dying and his grief being looked upon as ridiculous by the children and adults alike. Then there's the scathing look at how the media can truly go overboard, and John's death because of it.

Another thread on this BB asks AH to forgive those of us who liked this movie. Personally, I see AH sitting back with a box of popcorn and having fun. Enlightened, even if he hated it I think he'd say the movie still had a message.

[–] captshorts 17 years ago

I just watched it and was surprised to like it very much! Yeah, it differs from the book and like others have said it captures the essence of the book. And personally, I found the ending more interesting than in the book; how Bernard and Lenina started thinking how a Savage would think and her being pregnant and all that. But yeah, I am very happy that I watched it and will see it more than once or a few times in my lifetime.

[–] mrtew65 16 years ago

Yep, very much. I wanna see it again!

[–] zeta1983-1 16 years ago

Didn't impress me the first time I saw it years ago but I watched it again today and enjoyed it. I still prefer the more pessimistic dystopias like 1984 though.

[–] tom123b 15 years ago

"I still prefer the more pessimistic dystopias like 1984 though."

So a society where families, great literature, and any need for critical thinking all cease to exist is not a dystopia?

[–] dg135 12 years ago

"So a society where families, great literature, and any need for critical thinking all cease to exist is not a dystopia?"

Sounds like a description of life in 2012.

[–] stazza 15 years ago

I was expecting worse after all the negative reviews here [stupid internet!] and while it was not Spielberg Cinema, it was a very interesting take on BNW and I enjoyed it a lot more than expected. It hits a little to close to home... which is our reality whether we admit it or not. VERY good.

[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] kaydenpat 7 years ago

Just watched it and I loved it. I didn't read the book so perhaps that's why I found it so enjoyable. It definitely has the feel of a made-for-tv movie, but it's good nevertheless.