Dead Again: Plot conflicts
Joseph M Goodwin
Ok, let me know if I've got this straight. The theme of the movie is
getting revenge in another life. All along, the hypnotist has his
opportunity to kill Amanda, once he saw the picture in the paper.
Why didn't he? Then he'd be free until the next lifetime :-)
Another theme is fate, and fate brought the two main characters
(played by Brannagh and his wife) back together, but why did she have
memories that she was killed by her husband? Are we to believe that
the hypnotist could also employ mind control? Lastly, why didn't
Brannagh's character profess his innocence of the murder. He seemed
to accept that fact that he had been convicted and he was going to his death.
I jus thought of another contradiction. Amanda had memories of being stabbed by her husband before this hypnotist character entered the picture.
Confused?!
Mike Goodwin
Matt Brockman
>Well, spoilers will follow
>
>Ok, let me know if I've got this straight. The theme of the movie is
>getting revenge in another life. All along, the hypnotist has his
>opportunity to kill Amanda, once he saw the picture in the paper.
>Why didn't he? Then he'd be free until the next lifetime :-)
The hypnotist couldn't be sure it was the same Amanda until he
had her go back in here memories during a session. That's why
he showed up and gave Branagh his card. (He might have picked up
on "Die Shears", but it was printed as "Disher" and he may not have
picked up on it, or dismissed it as possible coincidence and
wanted to make sure under hypnosis.)
>Another theme is fate, and fate brought the two main characters
>(played by Brannagh and his wife) back together, but why did she have
>memories that she was killed by her husband? Are we to believe that
>the hypnotist could also employ mind control?
Grace didn't have memories of being killed. The hynotist told here
to "remove hereself from the story as if merely an observer." She
just filled in events that she as Roman must've assumed had happened
or made up (like the opening sequence where someone is stabbed in the
prison.) This may be connected to whatever trauma caused her to lose
her memory and be confused enough to find the same mansion.
>Lastly, why didn't
>Brannagh's character profess his innocence of the murder. He seemed
>to accept that fact that he had been convicted and he was going to his death.
He loved his housekeeper and son like family and was willing to
die to protect them. Besides, he was depressed and broke and may
have cinsidered suicide before his wife was killed and this was
the best way to go, since it also protected his housekeeper and son.
>I jus thought of another contradiction. Amanda had memories of being stabbed by her husband before this hypnotist character entered the picture.
The memories must have been triggered by whatever trauma caused here to
lose here memories and speech in the first place. She regressed so far back
that she ended up seeing the Strauss mansion as familiar.
We just don't know anything about what happened to her in the
first place to trigger her past memories.
Note: She was having memories/nightmares about her wife being stabbed!
Grace == Roman Strauss
Hope this helps a little....
===============================================================================
Matt Brockman mbro...@ecn.purdue.edu
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"While a llama may produce some of the world's finest of wools, prized around
the world, their breath, on the other hand, could only be prized somewhere in
the far reaches of llama hell." -Agent D. Cooper, TWIN PEAKS
===============================================================================
Misti Jordan
First of all, Mike, I think you are confused by the plot. It has been a
while since I saw the movie, so I don't remember character names, but I'll
accept your name of "Amanda" for the female lead and I'll call the other
characters Brannagh and the Hypnotist...
In a Former Life, a musician was convicted of murdering his wife. He did
not actually perform the murder, though, it was done by the child of the
housekeeper who was holding a grudge against the wife. In the later life,
Amanda was having dreams and visions of the killing. She was taken to the
hypnotist, who was trying to find out how much she knew. Everyone assumed
that she was the reincarnation of the wife, since she was having these
dreams... however, as it ended up, she was the musician reincarnated, and
Brannagh was the wife-- they reversed roles.
Amanda was having dreams not of being killed by her husband, but of watching
her wife be killed by the housekeeper's kid-- but she never actually saw
the killer. All of the dreams were as an observer (Possible forshadowing to
show that she was on observer, and not actually the murderee...) who never
actually saw the person doing the killer.
When you speak of "Brannagh's character not confessing his innocence", I
suppose you are talking about the original musician, and although I don't
know for sure, I assumed it was because he wanted to die so that he could
be with Amanda... It didn't matter if they killed him.
Just my opinions, but I thought this was an awesome movie!!!!!
Misti
Andre Kuzniarek
In article <204...@unix.cis.pitt.edu>, jmg...@unix.cis.pitt.edu (Joseph M
Goodwin) writes:
> Well, spoilers will follow
>
> Ok, let me know if I've got this straight. The theme of the movie is
> getting revenge in another life. All along, the hypnotist has his
> opportunity to kill Amanda, once he saw the picture in the paper.
> Why didn't he?
I think he was trying to get the two leads to kill each other, if he
could. At the end, he was still trying to set that up.
My impression of this movie was that it was a comical farce, and so the
plot problems are less significant than the fun. However, it's possible
that I was just laughing at a really awful movie (which it was, anyway),
instead of with it. By the time Derek Jacobi breaks into his stuttering
(ala his exact same performance in I Claudius) I was on the floor. Surely
the conclusion with the fat pizza buddy and the silly scissors all over
the place was not meant to be taken seriously?
In fact, I thought it would have been great if, when Brannagh's character
starts pulling scissors out of his apartment, he would like, have scissors
upon scissors upon scissors... what a great chance for a gag. Of course,
that's sort of what we got at the end.
--a...@wri.com-----------------------------------------------------------
"I'm tired of keepin' my cookies in the cookie jar."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Charles L Isbell
where all you have to do is think of the most "ironic" twist and you
know what's going to happen next. I hate predictably unpredictable
films.
--
Peace.
"I tried to get a drink in the terminal bar. The bartender
asked to see ID.... I was living a nightmare. I was
stranded in a happy paranoid land where the only people
allowed to drink are people who drive."
- Kyle Baker, _Why I Hate Saturn_
-\--/-
Don't just adopt opinions | \/ | Yes, it is I,
develop them. | /\ | The Homeboy from hell
-/--\-
Misti Jordan
I was in a hurry (As in, "I was already late for class...") and I really
didn't have time to think about what I was trying to write. I still think
this was an awesome movie, and I think this was an excellent depiction
and explanation of the storyline itself.
Misti
James Kaufman
will be released next summer, and that Bruce Beresford replaced Alan Parker
as the director. Does anyone know if there is any truth in that? Does
anyone know what the cast will be like? I heard that Michael Crawford would
play Jean Valjean, but that was a long time ago.
Thanks!
James Kaufman
jame...@aludra.usc.edu
Mike Stailey
* I heard that Les Miserables (the musical) is being filmed, and that it
* will be released next summer, and that Bruce Beresford replaced Alan Parker
* as the director. Does anyone know if there is any truth in that? Does
* anyone know what the cast will be like? I heard that Michael Crawford would
* play Jean Valjean, but that was a long time ago.
I don't know if it is being filmed right now, but Alan Parker did turn
down the job when it was offered to him.
Anybody know anything about the proposed PHANTOM film with Michael Crawford?
--
Michael
sta...@hawkeye.comm.mot.com
Ronald C. Fisher
Distribution: usa
Organization: Pacific * Bell, San Ramon, CA
Keywords:
Thanks for your explanation of the plot [ not repeated ] , but I still
don't get the opening scene in which the musician is being lead off to
die and stabs the attendant with the scissors. He was never a killer,
why did he do that ?
( this movie was pretty well hashed over when it first came out...sorry
to bring it up again...very interesting film though )
Kenneth E. Mohnkern
I just saw Dead Again over the weekend and snoozed through the first
half and chuckled through the second. It certainly wasn't Henry V. I
guess this shows what a good (or bad) script can do for (or to) you.
laurie_mann
>I just saw Dead Again over the weekend and snoozed through the first
>half and chuckled through the second. It certainly wasn't Henry V. I
>guess this shows what a good (or bad) script can do for (or to) you.
I think Dead Again is one of those "willing suspension of
disbelief" movies. With the exception of the slow-motion
"action," (invariably distracting!!) I enjoyed it almost
as much the second time around. There are dozens of lovely
details and red herrings scattered throughout the movies,
and the performances are pretty good. Yes, there are some
weird plot loops, and some poor directional choices.
But, on the whole, it's a worthwhile experience.
* NeXT: lm...@vineland.pubs.stratus.com GEnie,AOL: Laurie.Mann *
*** I guess we all have to fall apart a little, once in ***
*** a while, in order to rebuild our dreams. Tappan King ***
Chris N Bergstresser
dosen't need to happen.
Laura Hayes Burchard
>** SPOILERS follow **
> (Charles L Isbell) writes:
>> It was a somewhat ridiculous movie. It's one of those obvious films
>> where all you have to do is think of the most "ironic" twist and you
>> know what's going to happen next. I hate predictably unpredictable
>> films.
>weeks after seeing it) and raved and raved about it, and now I realize
>that I went a little overboard, but it is still, IMHO, a very entertaining
>film. In fact, now I want to go see it again, maybe tonite!
I just saw it myself, and it's enormous fun. The accent is a little
unnerving when Branagh first opens his mouth, especially if you've
seen Henry V several times in the last couple of weeks, but it quickly
becomes natural, especially since Branagh *looks* much more like an
American private eye than a medieval English king. The German accent
appeared to be vacationing in the British isles half the time, though :)
The acting was uniformly good, especially Robin Williams. Usually when
I see him, he slips into a few 'Robin Williams' shticks or expressions,
which tends to disturb my suspension of disbelief, but I didn't see a
single one here.
>And back to the original thread, I've read all of the explanations posted,
>but I still don't understand how if Grace/Emma Thompson was
>the Roman guy (German pianist composer guy) in a past life, then why
>was Grace having the nightmares of being scissored and the resulting
>paranoia and voice loss???
Ah, except that the first nightmare was *not* of being stabbed, but was
set on death row. That was one of the more clever things; I felt quite
silly; of *course* they had to have been switched, why would *Margret* be
dreaming about death row? She wouldn't even know about it, she was dead
long before.
>And I just couldn't take the leap of faith at the end of the film,
>when after having been shot a number of times, Mike/Kenneth Branaugh
>starts moving furniture and sculptures around (to kill Freddy w/ the
>scissor statue thing)! Puhlease...so i do hope/assume that it was
>*supposed* to be funny and twisted.
He was only shot once, I think, but he was rather lively for someone who
just got shot with a fairly high caliber bullet. I was having too much
fun to care, though!
Laura
--
Address alias changed -- good addresses are now lh...@virginia.edu and
lh...@faraday.clas.virginia.edu
Vanessa Bickle
much money in the US and all of the other countries it is playing in right
now. Ticket sales are still quite high in all locations, so the movie is
being held off for awhile.
Vanessa Bickle
bic...@mitchell.hac.com
Joan Shields
You mean DEAD AGAIN wasn't HENRY V ? Are you sure? Are you absolutely
certain - cause it sure looked like the same movie to me.
Joan
:) - for the politically corrected humored impaired (or just slightly
sloshed)
Rodrick Su
In article <1992Apr21.0...@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU> lh...@faraday.clas.Virginia.EDU (Laura Hayes Burchard) writes:
>In article <1992Apr17.2...@awdprime.austin.ibm.com> lk...@elman.austin.ibm.com (Lisa Koh) writes:
>>** SPOILERS follow **
>
>>when after having been shot a number of times, Mike/Kenneth Branaugh
>>starts moving furniture and sculptures around (to kill Freddy w/ the
>>scissor statue thing)!
>
>just got shot with a fairly high caliber bullet. I was having too much
>fun to care, though!
>
>Laura
Mike was shot once with a .22 pistol. It is actually quite small
as far as bullet are concern. But, since I never have been shot
with it, I would not have know. Also note that the only other gun
shown in the movie are the two LAPD revolver in the county mental
hospital and Mike's 38. All three guns are considerably larger in
calber than Frankie's .22.
--
[ Rodrick Su ]<----------------------------------------------------]
[--------------------->[ `Belief is a concept that Ring does not believe in.']
[ r...@cats.ucsc.edu ]----------------------->[ ``Emerald Eyes'' ]
[ r...@ucscb.ucsc.edu ]----------------------->[ Danield Keys Moran ]
a...@fico.uucp
>Thanks for your explanation of the plot [ not repeated ] , but I still
>don't get the opening scene in which the musician is being lead off to
>die and stabs the attendant with the scissors. He was never a killer,
>why did he do that ?
>
>( this movie was pretty well hashed over when it first came out...sorry
> to bring it up again...very interesting film though )
My interpretation of that scene is that Roman is stabbing Margaret with a
pair of scissors (Margaret is the attendant at the end of the hallway in
the jail). Since we know that Roman wasn't the one to actually do this,
we can chalk it up to the same reason Amanda dreams these things. Roman
never knew who killed his wife, so he could only picture what he was said
to have done.
Just my two cents worth.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A A apple!fico!ala | A mind once stretched by a new idea never
D S uunet!jandel!fico!ala | regains its original dimension.
R H | -Oliver Wendell Holmes
Y L Fair, Isaac Companies +---------------------------------------------
E E 120 N. Redwood Blvd | My opinions are my own (including the
N Y San Rafael, CA 94903 | typos), and do not reflect those of FICO.
N |
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Laura Hayes Burchard
> Mike was shot once with a .22 pistol. It is actually quite small
> as far as bullet are concern. But, since I never have been shot
> with it, I would not have know. Also note that the only other gun
> shown in the movie are the two LAPD revolver in the county mental
> hospital and Mike's 38. All three guns are considerably larger in
> calber than Frankie's .22.
Are you sure that was a .22? I'm terrible at gauging caliber from sight, but
it definitely looked larger than my .22. Usually when you look at a .22,
you notice how small the opening is.
Laura Hayes Burchard
While we are on the subject of Dead Again, I have a couple of questions
about the cast. Who is Campbell Scott, and why should I know him? The
review described his appearance as a cameo, which usually only refers to
famous types, but the name doesn't ring a bell in the slightest, though
he does look vaguely familiar. And who played the lady being hypnotized
when Mike and Grace first come to the antique shop? There's nothing
listed in the credits, which made me think that either she was an actor
elsewhere in the movie doubling, or someone who so disliked her (or his :))
performance that she had her name taken off the credits.
82245-anglum
>
> While we are on the subject of Dead Again, I have a couple of questions
> about the cast. Who is Campbell Scott, and why should I know him? The
>
in the movie Dying Young with Julia Roberts.