12 Years A A Slave

[MarcATL]

It's gotten critical acclaim.

And I understand, for good reasons, based on the performances and the truth in story-telling.

I'm about to spend the rest of the afternoon watching it.

Have you seen it?

How was it?

 

[Sherry]

For me, the most jolting part of the movie was the beginning...to see how a man could be living a "normal" life, and then circumstances would so easily allow for that life to be stripped away was heartbreaking. I thought the rest of the movie provided a realistic, and often brutal, portrayal of plantation life...I appreciated that they didn't present the characters or scenery as something out of Gone with the Wind. Throughout the entire movie, even during the ending, it was always in the back of my mind how one decision can change the course of your life.

 

[initforme]

Great movie. Worth the watch. Shows how brutal plantation life was for a slave and the concept of having others do all the work while the owner makes every cent of their labor. The more I read about slave owners the more I get the impression about them that I won't share here.

 

[blastoff]

If Alcoholics Anonymous isn't working after 12 years I'd look elsewhere for your cure.

 

[MarcATL]

After seeing the movie now, finally, I understand now why Lupito Noyong'o got the Oscar. Although she wasn't that much in the movie, her scene was so riveting and arresting, you just couldn't help but be drawn in. That whipping scene is what did it. It was akin to "Passion of Christ" the way it was done, except she was completely naked, which made it even more raw.

Some key lines and scenes that stood out to me were...

Something to eat, and some rest, and your children will soon be forgotten.

Are you an engineer or a ******?

Sell her. Sell the negress!

The scene where Northup was about to get hanged on the spot for defending himself against Tidbeat and the other oversear stopped the hanging, but left him partially hanging, so he had to tip-toe to stay alive in the mud and mush, all the while straining his neck and leg mucles, which could have given away at any given time. Meanwhile, everyone on the plantation is carrying on about their daily tasks, including kids playing in the background totally ignoring it. He spent the entire day there until his master returned at night to cut him loose.

The final scene when he returns home to see his now grown daughter, married, with child, and he weeps, apologizing to his wife for what happened. As if he was at fault. Suggesting that he felt guilt for initially going with the men who sold him to slavery for making more money for the family.

And who could forget THIS the "Run ****** run" scene...



WoW!! What a movie. The cast was stellar. I'll watch it again. Not sure if it's out on DVD as yet, but I'll have to own this movie.

 

[MarcATL]

Great movie. Worth the watch. Shows how brutal plantation life was for a slave and the concept of having others do all the work while the owner makes every cent of their labor. The more I read about slave owners the more I get the impression about them that I won't share here.

Let me encourage you to share.

It's safe here.

 

[sameech]

After seeing the movie now, finally, I understand now why Lupito Noyong'o got the Oscar. Although she wasn't that much in the movie, her scene was so riveting and arresting, you just couldn't help but be drawn in. That whipping scene is what did it. It was akin to "Passion of Christ" the way it was done, except she was completely naked, which made it even more raw.

Some key lines and scenes that stood out to me were...

Something to eat, and some rest, and your children will soon be forgotten.

Are you an engineer or a ******?

Sell her. Sell the negress!

The scene where Northup was about to get hanged on the spot for defending himself against Tidbeat and the other oversear stopped the hanging, but left him partially hanging, so he had to tip-toe to stay alive in the mud and mush, all the while straining his neck and leg mucles, which could have given away at any given time. Meanwhile, everyone on the plantation is carrying on about their daily tasks, including kids playing in the background totally ignoring it. He spent the entire day there until his master returned at night to cut him loose.

The final scene when he returns home to see his now grown daughter, married, with child, and he weeps, apologizing to his wife for what happened. As if he was at fault. Suggesting that he felt guilt for initially going with the men who sold him to slavery for making more money for the family.

And who could forget THIS the "Run ****** run" scene...



WoW!! What a movie. The cast was stellar. I'll watch it again. Not sure if it's out on DVD as yet, but I'll have to own this movie.

Glad you liked it, because I thought it was boring as hell.

 

[NLT]

People act like they were watching real history not a liberal hollywood movie.

 

[MarcATL]

After seeing the movie now, finally, I understand now why Lupito Noyong'o got the Oscar. Although she wasn't that much in the movie, her scene was so riveting and arresting, you just couldn't help but be drawn in. That whipping scene is what did it. It was akin to "Passion of Christ" the way it was done, except she was completely naked, which made it even more raw.

Some key lines and scenes that stood out to me were...

Something to eat, and some rest, and your children will soon be forgotten.

Sell her. Sell the negress!

The scene where Northup was about to get hanged on the spot for defending himself against Tidbeat and the other oversear stopped the hanging, but left him partially hanging, so he had to tip-toe to stay alive in the mud and mush, all the while straining his neck and leg mucles, which could have given away at any given time. Meanwhile, everyone on the plantation is carrying on about their daily tasks, including kids playing in the background totally ignoring it. He spent the entire day there until his master returned at night to cut him loose.

The final scene when he returns home to see his now grown daughter, married, with child, and he weeps, apologizing to his wife for what happened. As if he was at fault. Suggesting that he felt guilt for initially going with the men who sold him to slavery for making more money for the family.

And who could forget THIS the "Run ****** run" scene...



WoW!! What a movie. The cast was stellar. I'll watch it again. Not sure if it's out on DVD as yet, but I'll have to own this movie.

Glad you liked it, because I thought it was boring as hell.

Yeah, it's a drama. A historical one, so it's usually not action-packed.

What types of movies do you typically watch and/or like?

 

[MarcATL]

People act like they were watching real history not a liberal hollywood movie.

Your point is...?

 

[sameech]

Yeah, it's a drama. A historical one, so it's usually not action-packed.

What types of movies do you typically watch and/or like?

Historical dramas that don't have Brad Pitt cameos.

 

[Zander]

I watched it a few nights ago. I found the film boring and exceptionally predictable. It was as formulaic as an Adam Sandler comedy. The ROOTS mini-series did a far better job on this topic over 40 years ago....

 

[initforme]

Slave owners and plantation owners were not to be looked up to that is for sure.

 

[MarcATL]

I watched it a few nights ago. I found the film boring and exceptionally predictable. It was as formulaic as an Adam Sandler comedy. The ROOTS mini-series did a far better job on this topic over 40 years ago....

Just curious...what's the formula in this one?

[MENTION=20854]Zander[/MENTION]

 

[Zander]

I watched it a few nights ago. I found the film boring and exceptionally predictable. It was as formulaic as an Adam Sandler comedy. The ROOTS mini-series did a far better job on this topic over 40 years ago....

Just curious...what's the formula in this one?

[MENTION=20854]Zander[/MENTION]

Alex Haley's "Roots" laid the foundation for all "slavery" films.

I appreciated the actors, their performances were excellent. The production was excellent. But the story felt old to me. Like it had already been done, a lot.

 

[guno]

It's gotten critical acclaim.

And I understand, for good reasons, based on the performances and the truth in story-telling.

I'm about to spend the rest of the afternoon watching it.

Have you seen it?

How was it?

One o the best movies I have watched

 

[MarcATL]

Yeah, it's a drama. A historical one, so it's usually not action-packed.

What types of movies do you typically watch and/or like?

Historical dramas that don't have Brad Pitt cameos.

Really?

I wonder who made that rule.

Brad Pitt actually STARRD in a historical drama...



Excellent film that I saw in the theaters at the time.

You're not good at this, are you?

 

[MarcATL]

I watched it a few nights ago. I found the film boring and exceptionally predictable. It was as formulaic as an Adam Sandler comedy. The ROOTS mini-series did a far better job on this topic over 40 years ago....

Just curious...what's the formula in this one?

[MENTION=20854]Zander[/MENTION]

Alex Haley's "Roots" laid the foundation for all "slavery" films.

I appreciated the actors, their performances were excellent. The production was excellent. But the story felt old to me. Like it had already been done, a lot.

You still haven't given me the formula as you understand it. You're basically just restating what you said the first time.

An example would be for a romantic comedy would be

1. Boy sees girl
2. Boy falls for girl
3. Girl thinks boy is loser
4. Boy gets girl
5. Boy loses girl
6. Some drama happens that bring them together
7. Girls falls for boy
8. Boy gets back girl in the end

That's what I was looking for, that's a formula.

About 3 romantic comedies come out per week, how man movies that cover slavery come out? Perhaps 1 every decade? If that?

You seem almost upset that the movie even exists. There aren't too many of these movies in existence, certainly not enough for you to state that "it's been done...a lot."

So...tell me the formula you got for this film. I'm curious to know.

 

[Peach]

People act like they were watching real history not a liberal hollywood movie.

It was real, accept the facts. Read Black Majority, the worst abuses occurred in states with the highest slave to owner ratio. South Carolina's slavery system would nauseate any human, and make them avoid the state!. I hate driving through there as it brings back memories of the book. I don't know about this movie eight now, I have no desire to cry more than I have in the last three months & 8 days.

 

[sameech]

Yeah, it's a drama. A historical one, so it's usually not action-packed.

What types of movies do you typically watch and/or like?

Historical dramas that don't have Brad Pitt cameos.

Really?

I wonder who made that rule.

Brad Pitt actually STARRD in a historical drama...



Excellent film that I saw in the theaters at the time.

You're not good at this, are you?

Let's see--Brad Pitt's production company makes a movie in which Brad Pitt plays the only white person who is not competing in the scum of the earth championships....curious coincidence.

The only character in the movie who wasn't a one dimensional stereotype was the guy who got himself killed and tossed into the river near the beginning. Even the lead was played about as completely flat as one person could possibly be. I was looking forward to seeing this movie and it ended up taking me 4 sittings to get through it it was so boring. Even the homecoming scene at the end that should have been the apex of the film had all the love, joy, warmth of someone meeting their mate's parents for the first time. A good true story was greatly disserviced by this treatment.