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Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Binding: VHS Tape EAN: 9786303238777 Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC ISBN: 6303238777 Label: Live / Artisan Manufacturer: Live / Artisan Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: Live / Artisan Release Date: December 14, 1993 Running Time: 115 minutes Sales Rank: 12379 Studio: Live / Artisan Theatrical Release Date: November 02, 1990
Amazon.com: Vietnam veteran Jacob Singer (Tim Robbins) thinks he is going insane. Or worse. When his nightmares begin spilling into his waking hours, Jacob believes he is experiencing the aftereffects of a powerful drug tested on him during Vietnam. Or perhaps his posttraumatic stress disorder is worse than most. Whatever is happening to him, it is not good. Director Adrian Lyne sparks our interest and maintains high production values, but this confusing film chokes on its "surprise" ending. It owes much to Ambrose Bierce's haunting and more straightforward story, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek." Written by Bruce Joel Rubin, who also explored the "other side" in Ghost and My Life, it ultimately feels like an exercise in self-indulgence. A spirited performance by Elizabeth Peña outshines Robbins, who is surprisingly lethargic. --Rochelle O'Gorman
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Was It A Flashback Or A Flashforward
"With fellow critics, I got involved in a conversation about the underlying reality of the film. Was it all a flashback - or a flash forward? What was real, and what was only in the hero's mind? Are even the apparently "real" sequences the product of his imagination?" Roger Ebert
My best friend urged me to view 'Jacob's Ladder' after we had discussed philosophies of life and death. I remembered reading about Jacob's Ladder from the Bible 'Jacob's vision in which he saw a stairway from earth to Heaven with angels descending and ascending.' Little did I realize that this film was the ... Read More
Rating: - Angels and Demons
Very impressive movie by Adrian Lyne, who apparently was involved on a very personal level, as unfortunately his other work isn't exactly world shattering, but this one makes up for it all. Although it wasn't exactly a maverick move in 1990 to make a Vietnam film, this is certainly one of the most interesting ones on the subject. This is maybe a bold statement in view of the company this movie is in concerning this subject matter, but I do think it not to be an exaggeration.
What makes this movie so special? It sheds light on America's involvement in the war from an angle that is not often ... Read More
Rating: - First Rate Thriller
From start to finish, JACOB'S LADDER is a brilliant thriller. I love movies with reference to the Vietnam War. This one has it. When the movie starts, you're just certain the movie is going one way and ends up going another. This is one of first movies in the tradition of SIXTH SENSE or WHAT LIES BENEATH. Although quite different movies, still psychological thrillers nonetheless. Great flick especially for the price. Very much deservant of a multi-disc special edition maybe when it hits the big 2-0. One thing I noticed was how OLIVER STONISH it was. I kept thinking it was Stone, but it 's ... Read More
Rating: - ...did anyone else notice the missing scenes?!?
This is without a doubt one of my favorite movies of all time. I hadn't seen it in YEARS so I was really excited to watch it last weekend. It was great, of course, but it seemed a little different to me. I couldn't put my finger on it because I hadn't seen it in so long. I always remembered the ending being so powerful, and it felt a little weak to me. After it was finished I watched the documentary on the special features menu about the making of Jacob's Ladder. It was awesome. The director and writer were discussing the movie, scene by scene and it was very insightful. But then....they started ... Read More
Rating: - No Spoiler Here
Oddly enough, what I want to say is that "Jacob's Ladder" is one of the only movies about Viet Nam that I can watch. I was in high school during the Viet Nam war, and had my share of friends and friends' parents go there and die, or come back changed. However, there is so much more to "Jacob's Ladder" than Viet Nam. It is an intense psychological drama, a descent into madness, a realization of truth, and an ascent into clarity. I am not going to write a SPOILER - you can read dozens of reviews on this database that will spoil it for you. What I do not understand are the comments that it is confusing. I do ... Read More
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