Cold Mountain

[Danbry39]

Well, this film and its transfer quality is stirring up quite a debate, but I'll leave the issues of PQ to those who judge that sort of thing better.

Much of how a film fares to me is influenced by my expectations going into a viewing. For example, if I am wild with anticipation, then it's hard for a film to live up my expectations. I went into Cold Mountain with great anticipation and, the first part of the film was very disappointing. I felt the characters and plot were forced and lacking in development. I kept thinking of how great the sparks between Rhett or Scarlett were in Gone With the Wind and how unbelievable the relationship between Jude Law and Nicole Kidman seemed. Even the battle scenes seemed staged and many plot elements felt totally contrived.

Well, I had to stop watching at a point due to a dentist appointment (cracked crown).

When I got back, I put off watching the rest of the film for a while. See, my expectations were lowered by now. I put it back on and it seemed like much of the same. That is, unil Renee Zellweger entered the scene. I remember watching the review of the film on Ebert and Roeper and one of the two was very critical of Zellweger's performance. Ironically, this is where I started really enjoying the film. The film seemed more cohesive, the characters better developed, the pacing improved, and even the cinematography benefitted via some nice scenic backdrops.

So, in the end, I enjoyed the film...after a very tepid beginning. Beware though, this is really melodramatic to a great extent. My favorite scenes are ones apart from Jude and Nicole together.

[George Bellefontaine]

Well, Keith, I haven't seen the film as yet, but from what I have read about it, you are probably correct about the film's pacing. As for Zellweger, well she did win an Oscar for best supporting actress. Anyway, I was going to buy this but will now reserve that decision until after a rental.

[Danbry39]

Yes, after seeing the movie, I think she was a worthy Oscar winner. I'll probably watch the extras, or some of them, later this afternoon.

[Ovation]

Just watched this yesterday (I know, I know--a bit late to the party ). The BD looked fine, though not spectacular. Music was very good (but I like that kind of stuff). I agree with the criticisms above, for the most part, and that the movie got better when Renee Zellweger joined in.

The reason I was watching at all is because of the final assignment I gave to my US History I summer class (due tomorrow). I used to assign them all the same film but was told several years ago I can no longer have DVDs as required course material (our official supplier refuses to stock them and I'm not allowed to require material that can only be acquired somewhere else--c'est la vie). Now I give them a list of films from which to choose, one big enough that at least one of the films is available in some format or another. This semester, the theme was Civil War films. My list consisted of items on my shelf and Cold Mountain was one of them (the others were Shenandoah, Gone with the Wind, The Conspirator, Lincoln, Ride with the Devil and Glory--I spared them The Birth of a Nation as I'd rather tackle that one in class, though a shortened semester didn't leave any room for it this time around).

I'd give Cold Mountain 3.5/5 stars. Actors were good, music was very good, the setting communicated the hardships of the war on the homefront of that region quite well. However, the central love story felt wedged into the overall story and was the weakest element of the film. It didn't need to be removed but it could have been less awkwardly integrated into the whole, in my view.