Customer Reviews:
Compelling from start to finish.......2008-02-20
I watch a scary amount of DVDs, and most of these are sci-fi, fantasy, or paranormal fiction, so I know a terrific genre mini-series when I see one. And The Lost Room is the best I've seen for years.
Aside from a somewhat hammy pilot episode, the mini series has an exceptionally compelling narrative basis that never lets up. I wish it had been granted full series status, but we all know what TV execs are like when it comes to money vs merit, right?
I don't ever write reviews but I had to for this!.......2008-01-24
We happened to see this on Sky One and I have to say it was brilliant.
It was divided into 3 episodes and we ended up staying up to watch all 3 together and going to bed after midnight.
Captivating, intriguing and brilliantly written. An absolute must to see.
I haven't wanted to watch the next episode of a series so much as this since Lost season one.
Stephen King never looked this good.......2008-01-15
Whenever they try to make a Stephen King book into a movie it never works. If you read the book "From A Buick..." which was about a car from another world, you will love this series. Ordinary objects have extraordinary powers and together have even more. For example a bus ticket can whisk someone off to a point just outside Texas, to fall from a great height ( but not get injured..well not too much). The story has believable characters and the plot unfolds well. The plot involves a detective trying to find his daughter after she gets lost in a hotel room and from there on he gets more involved with folks that have their own interest in the room and its mystical contents.
HIGHLY recommended.
I just hope they don't spoil it by making a long series out of it and stretching the story thin like they seem to do in all other successful series
lost classic.......2007-12-07
Every now and then you stumble across something that makes you think why dont more people know about this. The Lost room is a great concept and whilst it shares a lot in common with series like Lost, at only 6 episodes long it doesnt suffer from that mid season lag that other US "concept dramas" tend to.
The premise is deceptively straight forward - a key to a hidden motel room , every day objects that have unsuala nd random powers all sort by a series of parties with conflicting interests.
The ending does leave questions unanswered so I only hope they make a second series.
An Excellent Series.......2007-11-01
An excellent mini series this gets 5 stars because it relies on clever writing and a good script, the CGI effects take a back seat and there isn't a reliance on overt violence or morals something wich American programmes usually shove down our throats. I was suprised at just how good it is, it's a cross between 'Sapphire & Steel' and 'Heroes' and much better than the latter series which has dragged on for too long.
If you like original well thought out sci-fi drama than this is for you. If I was the controller at BBC2 it would have been on that Wednesday 9.00 p.m. time slot by now.
Customer Reviews:
Lost Room.......2007-07-07
What can i say about this series exept brilliant it had me & my wife hooked. I hope theres another series
An Original Gem.......2007-05-04
If you like your TV shows to give you all the answers and explain everything in detail then this mini-series is not for you.
However if you want to see a series with a truly original and imaginative storyline then the Lost Room is a must.
Other reviewers have explained some of the storyline, but until you watch the series you cannot fully appreciate the characters and their interaction with the mysterious objects they own and hunt. I think it is great that the objects themselves are just mundane everyday things instead of some the fancy made up items you see in most fantasy and Sci-Fi shows.
A lot of questions go unanswered but this in no way detracts from how good this series is and just leaves you wanting more... much more.
Few people seem to have heard of The Lost Room, which is a real shame as it is one of the best mini-series I've seen.
A different sort of "Lost".......2007-05-01
Taking the idea of an old "Twilight Zone" episode "Little Girl Lost" one step further, "The Lost Room" is a top notch bit of entertainment with great performances.
SPOILERS AHEAD:
A cosmic event occurred in a motel room in 1961 that altered time and space forever. All the objects in the room suddenly have mysterious, weird powers attributed to them. When police officer Joe Miller(Peter Krause)accidently comes into possession of a key to room 10 where the "event" happened, he finds that the key when used can teleport him anywhere he has been before. More importantly is the place that he has to go before being teleported--a room from that motel that no longer exists. When Joe's daughter uses the key to escape from thugs intend on taking the key from Joe she disappears. Suddenly Joe is thrust into a world full of conspiracy as he discovers multiple warring groups--the Legion a group dedicated to eliminating the objects, a group that worships the objects and believes they will provide them with access to God and a wealthy man (Kevin Pollack) who wants the key and objects for his own reasons.
END OF SPOILERS:
Featuring a top notch cast including Roger Bart, Dennis Christopher, Julianna Margulies and Margaret Cho "The Lost Room" never stays past check out time. The mini-series does leave some dangling loose ends that could be followed up in a sequel or TV series but the main story is self contained with a solid resolution. Although the main question doesn't get answered (what occurred? Who caused it to occur and why?) like many magicians tricks knowing how something was done doesn't necessarily improve the trick itself and could diminish its impact.
Although some of the characters could have been fleshed out a bit more and we had a number of lingering mysteries, the show still managed to be engaging, intelligent and fun to watch. The show isn't overwhelmed by CGI effects which gives the focus over to the drama where it belongs.
The show looks great in its DVD transfer with some minor edge enhancement issues. The only extra we get is a 18 minute featurette but its pretty comprehensive; we hear about the inspiration for the mini-series through to the casting process and production. While I would have liked some commentary tracks, this two disc set won't disappoint those who saw the show during its original run on Sci-Fi Channel and newbies.
One of the best sci-fi/fantasy shows of the year, "The Lost Room" has some dazzling performances, well written scripts and sharp direction that make checking out of this motel difficult at the very end.
Lose yourself in The Lost Room.......2007-04-26
I approached this obscure mini-series with no prior knowledge of its existence. Barely even a whisper of it having been broadcast. So I took a chance on it and came up trumps. The Lost Room is an enthralling three-part sci-fi fantasy that managed to make the mundane seem amazing, and the normal seem incredible. This is a show that requires the suspension of disbelief in every sense, and reaps rewards for those who do so.
Joe Miller is a Detective who begins investigating a very strange double homicide, eventually tracking down a potential witness who hands him a mysterious Key. To what and for what purpose is not entirely clear at first. And to say anymore would be to give away the plot of what amounts to some of the most original television I have seen since the first dozen episodes of Lost Season One. You could put the lack of TV exposure for this little gem down to poor marketing by the Sci-Fi Channel execs in suits. But the loss of those who haven't yet seen this show, is the gain of whoever does decide to purchase this mini-series on DVD.
The opening is, admittedly, slightly cheesy in its construction, but somehow pulls you in to its mysterious playground of magic tricks and paranoia. Some may label the show as X-Files-lite, or Twilight Zone-esque, but that only serves to further the injustice over such an unexpected treat. The concept is so involved and inventive that the characters and plot strands developed over the three-parts are enough to fill up a dozen other TV shows. The wide scope of the drama plays out across a variety of landscapes and locations, only heightening the ingenious nature of the writing. A deck of cards, a nail clipper, a clock, a jacket, a coin, a glass eye, a bus ticket, to name a few, all act with their own form of magical power that gives free reign to the creative juices of the writers and producers to form a very special and mystical place, much like the Motel Room Joe Miller is sucked into. The originality on display is simply delicious, full with imagination and wit, that never lets up. Not for a second.
The performances range from the passably average (certain supporting players) and the simply fantastic, namely Peter Krausse as our protagonist Joe Miller, while familiar character actors like Kevin Pollack serve to enrich the script, investing it with the conviction it so truly deserves. Mini-series very rarely interest me. I usually think, why not just make a movie or even a TV movie? But this is one time when I find that three episodes just is not enough to suffice. There are so many directions that this idea-filled concept can be taken down. It could survive a 22-24 episode season, at least the one. Other, lesser shows run for much longer, and have much littler to offer than the wide-eyed wonder of imagination inherent within The Lost Room.
You could fault this for occasional mis-steps in direction, or lapses in pacing, but as a television mini-series goes, this is one of the best I have ever seen, and I will definitely be returning to it very soon. I just hope they decide to do a full season, or at least follow it up with another three-part series to continue the exploits of Joe Miller and its unique world of bizare, obsessed and endearing characters.
At once mysterious and intriguing, exciting, magical and relentlessy original. Take a chance and get lost in The Lost Room.
Amazon.co.uk Review
The Son's Room, which picked up the 2001 Palme d'Or at Cannes, marks a departure for writer-director Nanni Moretti. The films that made his name outside Italy, Dear Diary and Aprile, were both highly personal and politicised semi-documentaries, and a strong political sense underlies the half-dozen or so features he made before them. By contrast, The Son's Room is a subtle, intense study of a family cracking apart under the impact of grief, with no overt political element. For all that, it's the most moving film that Moretti's yet made. "It captured me" he says "more than any other [story] I'd worked on previously. It's a film in which the director shares his emotions with the audience, without imposing his own feelings."
As usual, the director plays his own lead character. Here he's Giovanni, a successful psychiatrist in a provincial Italian city (Ancona on the Adriatic coast). He has a beautiful wife, happy in her own career, and two bright, good-looking teenage children, a son and a daughter. Then, out of nowhere, tragedy strikes and in its aftermath, the fissures begin to show in the idyllic façade. Giovanni in particular reveals the insecurities and neuroses lurking behind his tolerant, easy-going demeanour. Moretti homes in on his characters with clear-eyed compassion, never milking the tragedy for facile sentiment but sparing us nothing of the gut-wrenching grief they feel. Nor does he succumb to the temptation of a feel-good happy ending: we are left with a hint of hope for the future, but no more. This is intelligent, mature filmmaking that respects its audience.
On the DVD: The Son's Room comes to disc with just the trailer--and the flabby US trailer at that. A commentary from Moretti would have been more than welcome. Still, the transfer, in the original 1.66:1 ratio, is impeccable, with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound to match. --Philip Kemp
Customer Reviews:
Modest.......2008-02-05
This is more of a character study than a plot driven story, and the organic pace may frustrate those who are not used to European films. However if you're down with the idea of nothing actually happening and have a taste for the gentler side of European cinema, then this offering will not disappoint.
The Son's Room is an interesting family drama with a light touch and a wonderfully transparent delivery. The characters are presented honestly, without emotional steerage, and are loveable from the outset. It is a rare treat to see great natural acting presented in such a modest and uncomplicated way.
It's worth mentioning that despite having grief as the central theme, this is actually a feelgood movie. There seem to be a few heavy life-changing emotional rollercoaster type reviews on here that perhaps misrepresent the tone of it. I'd say most folk will be left with a gentle smile and a satisfied sigh.
the room inside.......2004-08-17
There two moments when cinema can be sublime: when it show us life as it could be and is not, and when it show us life as it rigorously is. La Stanza del Figlio is one of those moments, when we see up there on the big screen life such as it truelly is, as our life is, as we people are. That transcendent and fragile breath that gives humanity to the clay that we come from.
Ok, I'm I partial: I adore italian cinema, I adore the films by Moretti. I've seen most of his movies (well, all of them since Palombella Rossa) and is notable to watch as Moretti made the transition from politics to intimacy, all the way filming it. And thanks to that personal journey, this film has some kind of tranquility, of rare wisdom: that no matter how much we lived, what we've seen and experienced, there's always some sort of perplexity when life twists us to an almost unbearable point.
There's a remarkable sequence when Moretti displays all the dangers that threatens each family member, one after the other, and then, through the use of the ellipse, in a rather subtle and sensitive narrative, let us know who was the victim of fate's whim. And how drama unfolds in a familiar and unstopable way. And that our wounded animal eyes are sometimes our only way to let the world know of that fire that burns us from the inside.
A beautifully morbid film.......2004-01-08
I was taken a back the first time I saw this film, I did not know that so much emotion could be put into 95 minutes of film. The content of The Son's Room is brutal yet beautiful, it shows the true emotion that goes along with the loss of a loved one, rather then a rose tinted hollywood perception. This film is stunning, emotive and truly one of a kind, a masterpiece by a wonderful writer and director. It is a film that will keep you gripped, it will make you smile, and more importantly it will make you cry on several occassions, surely this shows the genius of the film if it can bring so many emotions to the surface.
VERY STRONG.......2003-07-26
This was one of the best movies I've seen lately but it is still just a typical Italian film. Italians still know how to get your attention and hold it for the length of the film. How to review it? It is not easy. Life of a middle class Italian family is interrupted by the death of a son. How does it affect all of them? They are all angry and feel somewhat responsible for that but they have to deal with the situation and help each other. The rest of it you have to see for yourself. There are some interesting twists and turns there. All I can tell you that a combination of a very good acting, perfect cinematografy, music, scenes, the story, and etc. made it a very strong, memorable and powerful film. I loved it and I am certain you would as well.
Truly Touching.......2003-07-03
The most important thing about The Son’s Room is its emotional truth. By avoiding sentimentality Nannie Moretti has crafted an honest film about a family’s grief which completely deserved to win the Palmes Dor at the Cannes Film Festival.
Although fiction, the film begins very much in the same vein as his autobiographical films Dear Diary and Aprile; the humour is gentle and true to life, which makes the accidental death of the family’s son even more devastating.
The scenes of grief are never overplayed, obvious or manipulative and what strikes you the most is how the internalised feelings of the characters are counterpointed with how they try to carry on their everyday lives.
Moretti shows great flair as a director, drawing natural performance from his cast and has a tight and unfussy style which complements the actors and delicately emphasises the changing moods throughout the story.
One of the real coups of the film is the visualisation of the father’s thoughts of how the accident could have been avoided, a series of “what if..” fantasies which I cannot recall ever having seen done in a film before.
There a couple of moments of obvious metaphor – for example when Moretti’s character raves on about how everything in their house is chipped or broken – but they are few and far between. However, the majority of the film sustains a delicate study of the subject that puts overhyped & cliched rubbish like In the Bedroom to shame.
The ending is wonderfully subtle in reaching the only form of resolution there can be.
A truly touching film.
UK DVD:
- Them [2006]
- The Nightmare On Elm Street (Seven Disc Collector's Edition)
- The Reaping [2007]
- The Shining [1980]
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre [2003]
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - Original Uncut Edition [1974]
- The Thing [1982]
- The Ultimate Hammer Collection (21 Disc Box Set)
- The Wicker Man (2 DVD + CD Collector's Edition) [1973]
- The Wicker Man (2 DVD + CD Collector's Edition) [1973]
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