BestBuyZon | BestBuys, BestSellers and BestDeals at Amazon

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audience Rating: Unrated
Binding: DVD
Brand: Image Entertainment
EAN: 0715515031127
Format: Anamorphic, Black & White, Dolby, DVD-Video, HiFi Sound, Silent, Surround Sound, THX, Widescreen, NTSC
Label: Criterion Collection
Languages: EnglishOriginal Language
Manufacturer: Criterion Collection
MPN: IMEDCC1761D
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Criterion Collection
Region Code: 1
Release Date: August 12, 2008
Running Time: 99 minutes
Studio: Criterion Collection
Theatrical Release Date: 2006

---

Related Items:

• Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom - Criterion Collection
• Vampyr - Criterion Collection
• Larisa Shepitko: Eclipse Series 11 (Wings / The Ascent) - Criterion Collection
• The Small Back Room
• Earrings of Madame de...
• see more

Browse for similar items by category: Click to Display

---

Editorial Review:

Product Description:
Studio: Image Entertainment Release Date: 08/12/2008 Run time: 99 minutes

Amazon.com:
Guy Maddin's feature, Brand Upon the Brain, may well be his best. Maddin buffs will be reminded of Tales of Gimli Hospital, due to its horrific, slanted comedy, yet this film delves poetically into this auteur's autobiography. Brand Upon the Brain is constructed in black and white with Maddin's unique blend of old-fashioned and modernist filmic styles and techniques, yet what is most wonderful is the plot's melding of fantasy and reality. Broken up into sections marked by title cards recalling silent films, the film takes place on a Canadian island called Black Notch, where protagonist, Guy (Erik Steffan Maahs as old Maddin, Sullivan Brown as boy Maddin), is raised under the thumb of his controlling mother (Gretchen Krich) who is managing an orphanage. Unfolding in chapters such as "Memory Floods Back," "Background," and "Dark Schedules," Brand Upon the Brain tackles issues of homosexual awakening in a pious environment, cross-dressing, sibling rivalry, youthful lust, escapism's role in the development of artistic imagination, plus many darker topics that will thrill viewers ready for the macabre. In Chapter Six, garments are fetishistically removed with "Undressing Gloves", linking childhood play and adult desire. Maddin's childhood acquaintances, like bully Savage Tom (Andrew Loviska), and crush Wendy Hale who morphs into a boy called Chance with a simple haircut (Katherine Scharhon) underscore the director's love of carnivalesque characters. Smears of Vaseline on the camera lens, quavering shots that look hand-rendered, quick-cut editing, and sets alongside costuming lend the film an over-the-top nostalgia that borders on camp. This adds to the absurdist tale an historicism that convinces the viewer of this story's truth, though it is clearly fictionalized. In fact, the extras contain a mini-documentary interview with Maddin, in which he describes the roughly two-percent of the film that actually occurred. Also notable is the audio format experimentation. Having once toured live as a silent film narrated by various artists in person, the DVD contains narration from Maddin's point of view in several different voices, such as Isabella Rossellini, Laurie Anderson, and John Ashbery. One can select whose voice they want to serve as Maddin's stand-in, which is jarringly strange. The short films, "It's My Mother's Birthday Today," and "Footsteps," about the sound effects company who contribute greatly to the hazy, atmospherics, are also excellent. It is so lovely to see such an individualist gain recognition through Criterion Collection, as this will hopefully expose more viewers to this stridently independent artist. —Trinie Dalton




Rating: - Infinite possibilities of soundtrack and Maddin's genius
This is one of Maddin's best, though my favorite is still his Dracula one. I like the DVD because there are several audio tracks so you can make you own art via messing with the narration soundtrack. I started out first with Isabella Rosellini, then moved to the next, which was Maddin himself. It was a joy to find Laurie Anderson on one of the tracks, also Crispin Glover. My favorites were Maddin and Glover, though there was another actor on there who also wrote the script, Louie... can't seem ... Read More

---

Rating: - It's too Unique to Miss
This is a very unique example of film as art. In one of the special features on this disc, a blurb reveals Guy Maddin's full intent. BRAND ON THE BRAIN! "toured as a live event to many cities around the world, featuring an eleven-piece orchestra, a Foley team, a celebrity narrator, and a castrato." So this film is basically a silent movie elevated to performance art, with the celebrity narrator and Foley team becoming an essential part of the performance, as the film is supplemented with narration ... Read More

---

Rating: - Why is this an overpriced Criterion release?
I'm a longtime fan of Guy Maddin - I own every one of his feature films on DVD from "Gimli Hospital" up to "Brand Upon the Brain". I anxiously await the video release of "My Winnipeg" since there is no arthouse theater around here where I could have seen it. I have long felt that Maddin's movies deserve to be honored with the prestigious, pretentious, pricey Criterion label ...

But not this one.

I hate to say it, but Guy is slipping. He's starting to repeat himself, and the ... Read More

---

Rating: - More Fun to Watch than Maddin Probably Intended
Judging by effort alone, this is a five star movie. Alas, only the final product is rated. Guy Maddin deserves props for creativity and refusing to make a typical movie. The craft is decidely personal but the story is merely a compendium of previous, better stories.
Brand upon the Brain is presented as biographical in tone. If so, Maddin had a childhood that was some bizarre combination of City of Lost Children, Lord of the Flies, Flowers in the Attic, and a Victorian orphanage that would make ... Read More

---

Rating: - Guy Maddin's masterpiece.
This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.

Brand Upon the Brain! is what I would consider an experimental film direcred by Guy Maddin. The film has no dialogue but only a voice over. The DVD has the voice overs by multiple people each narrating the whole film. It also includes a soundtrack by foley artists.

The plot is about a man who lives with has family and a group of orphans on the grounds of a lighthouse. Other than that it can be confusing to follow ... Read More

---