I Stand Alone
Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • Boring, pretentious junk
  • Movies don't get much more disturbing than this
  • Go Inside the Mind of an Ordinary Man Driven Nearly Mad by Circumstances and See what He Thinks
  • Not What I Expected...
  • Not even worth a rental.
I Stand Alone
Starring: Philippe Nahon , Blandine Lenoir , Frankie Pain , Martine Audrain , and Jean-François Rauger
Director: Gaspar Noé
Manufacturer: Strand Releasing
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005K9O8
Release Date: 2001-06-05

Customer Reviews:

1 out of 5 stars Boring, pretentious junk.......2007-09-15

Once again I have been suckered into wasting my time on boring, pretentious junk.

I like small, independent, even foreign films, when done right. This was not.

It was a mind-numbing, boring, pathetic attempt at film making. Violent? Ummm.. no. Shocking? Please. Horrifying? My God, Pocahontas was more horrifying. Yes, a porn clip in the middle of the film is the only thing that made me sit up and take notice. Awful, awful junk.

Forget all the rave reviews here and skip it, unless you need some sleep. This will induce it in spades.

4 out of 5 stars Movies don't get much more disturbing than this.......2007-09-01

As this story unravels, it shows a flurry of clips that give you a quick understanding of the main character's entire life. He was a struggling butcher that made a tragic mistake and went to prison. This scene is actually a recap of the director Gaspar Noe's previous film, a 40-minute shocker that won him some awards. This story pretty much begins with his release from jail.
This disturbing movie also has some common elements with Noe's following film, Irreversible. Besides the graphic sexual content, there is an overbearing sense of despair, revenge, and rage. Another tie-in I noticed with Irreversible is the infamous tunnel. Yes, THAT tunnel. It looked exactly the same to me anyway. The butcher walks with his young daughter down that evil passageway, which made me uneasy the entire trip.
I Stand Alone unmercifully traps the viewer inside the mind of this jobless butcher. All of his random thoughts are constantly strewn forth, which is both brutally captivating and just flat-out appalling. He spirals further and further into his lonely and depressing world, and it's clearly evident that some sort of catastrophe is inevitable.
There's even a scene late in the movie where the viewer is warned to leave the room, turn off the TV, do something besides watch what is about to happen(A 30 second timer actually starts ticking). Of course at this point it was impossible for me to turn back, but many viewers probably won't want to even make it that far.
So understand, THIS IS NOT A HAPPY MOVIE!! Many people will not recover from watching it. So I'd think twice before watching this one, unless you are as demented as me. You're welcome.

5 out of 5 stars Go Inside the Mind of an Ordinary Man Driven Nearly Mad by Circumstances and See what He Thinks.......2007-05-09

I Stand Alone

Gaspar Noe's SEUL CONTRE TOUT is a cinematic masterwork. Though this film is clearly not for the faint-hearted, it offers those willing to go where it takes them into a stark, ultra-violent, ultra-real world where truth is painful, but is a kind of truth that perhaps we need to hear and see. With exceptional mastery, Noe's style of film-making literally explodes in each frame of I STAND ALONE. The 16 mm, anamorphic vision is punctuated by gunshot sounds and quick, hard jumps into close-up shots. Violence, it seems, underlies each scene, but it is repressed. This leads us to feel tension of an unparalleled kind, and we wonder when this violence might explode. The film is 85 minutes of character study of one man, the Butcher, whose unedited, uncensored thoughts are put forth without pomp or circumstance. The Butcher's thoughts are the entire crux of the film and are exposed in long internal monologues. The thoughts we are allowed to "overhear" are disturbing, no doubt, but some, though not all, of these thoughts are similar to those we might have actually had at one time or another. This is troubling because no one wants to admit that they have these kinds of ideas. What is even more troubling is that we find ourselves compelled to see where all these repressed thoughts of loathing and hate lead to. We know it will be harsh, but we want to see it just the same. If you're looking for easy answers and simple truths sugarcoated for your pleasure, this is not a film for you. If, however, you're looking to see an original film that thrusts itself deep into your psyche and asks you hard questions without giving you the answers, you need to see this.

4 out of 5 stars Not What I Expected..........2007-05-04

Maybe I'm jaded, I have seen a few "extreme" films, though I have been powerfully affected by more than a few (usually NOT the most violent or goriest). I did not find this film particularly shocking. Yes, the XXX clip is graphic for non-porn film --think Human Anatomy 101, and the final violent "fantasy" sequence is prolonged to the point of discomfort.

Still, those looking to see the envelope pushed will be disappointed. This is not "Ichi the Killer" or "The Devil's Rejects".

In fact, all the hype about how "shocking" this film is obscured the fact that the main character is well-drawn, wonderfully portrayed and though he's full of rage and violence, it's hard not to pity the dumb brute as he bludgeons his way hopelessly through the bleak slums like an enraged, tormented bull, soon to be put out of its misery . This film is ultimately a tragic character study. It is mature and thoughful.

The butcher is definitely not a sympathetic character, but like Keitel's cop in the Bad Lieutenant, he is doomed, trapped by his self-hatred and misanthropy. The Butcher's "redemption" is as twisted and illusory as his values. Like a Kafka character, he is lost in a world that he cannot understand or control.

It's a great, bleak look at alienation in Western society. If that appeals to you see it!!!
If you want action, over-the-top-violence or some sort of neat Hollywood moral or resolution, avoid this film.

1 out of 5 stars Not even worth a rental........2007-03-23

Unless your french and speak the language don't bother with ths drawn out boring movie. Many critics have praised this stale and boring excuse for a movie but don't take the rotton bait. Don't bite like a sucker fish, it's a complete waste of time. Not even worth a rental.
Ghost in the Shell - Stand Alone Complex 2nd G.I.G.
Average customer rating: Not rated
    Ghost in the Shell - Stand Alone Complex 2nd G.I.G.

    ProductGroup: DVD
    Binding: DVD

    Ghost in the ShellGhost in the Shell | Characters & Series | Anime & Manga | Genres | DVD | Video
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    ASIN: B000RNLF22
    I Stand Alone (Seul contre tou) (Uncut) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.4 Import - Australia ]
    Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    • When people pass their use by date
    I Stand Alone (Seul contre tou) (Uncut) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.4 Import - Australia ]
    Director: Gaspar Noe
    Manufacturer: Accent
    ProductGroup: DVD
    Binding: DVD

    GeneralGeneral | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video
    GeneralGeneral | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video
    ASIN: B000AV8ZGA

    Product Description

    Australia released, PAL/Region 4 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. Languages: o English (subtitles) o French (Dolby Digital 2.0) Synopsis: In this French drama, Gaspar Noe, who won awards (Prix Georges Sadoul, Cannes Crix Week) for his 40-minute Carne (1991), continues where that film ended, beginning with a Carne recap: The Butcher (Philippe Nahon) narrates, telling how, as a war orphan working at 14, he opened his horsemeat butcher shop and fathered a mute, retarded daughter. After the mother and daughter left for life in a Paris suburb, he served a prison term after an assault on someone he mistakenly believed had raped his daughter. The follow-up sequel, set in a Lille suburb, begins in 1980: Obese bar owner (Franjkyie Pain) is pregnant by The Butcher, who is unable to find work. The couple moves in with her mother, but he becomes irritated with the two women and goes to Paris where the humiliation of job-hunting and the sum total of futility and hopelessness triggers thoughts of what he might accomplish with his gun and his last three bullets. Shown at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. Special Features: o Interactive Menu o Scene Access o Uncut

    Customer Reviews:

    4 out of 5 stars When people pass their use by date.......2006-07-21

    One person's stuggle with the world is sometimes hard to watch at times and in some respects the way he treats people comes back to haunt him,The lead does a good job of a person who's world falls apart around him.
    The fairly explict sex scenes and domestic violence would not make it in mainstream viewing.
    Worst part is this could be any city in the world and in a world where the almighty dollar rules
    I Stand Alone [Region 4]
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      I Stand Alone [Region 4]
      Starring: I Stand Alone
      ProductGroup: DVD
      Binding: DVD

      GeneralGeneral | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video
      ( I )( I ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
      GeneralGeneral | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video
      ASIN: B000A2W9J8
      Release Date: 2004-11-23
      One Book Stands Alone - Salvation DVD I
      Average customer rating: Not rated
        One Book Stands Alone - Salvation DVD I

        Manufacturer: McCowen Mills Publishers
        ProductGroup: DVD
        Binding: DVD

        GeneralGeneral | Special Interests | Genres | DVD | Video
        GeneralGeneral | Religion & Spirituality | Special Interests | Genres | DVD | Video
        ( O )( O ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
        Special InterestsSpecial Interests | Independently Distributed | Stores | DVD | Video
        Independently DistributedIndependently Distributed | Indie & Art House | Stores | DVD | Video
        ASIN: B0009UKUGU
        Release Date: 2001-12-01

        Description

        See the scriptural proof for yourself! Finally, a video that clearly reveals and scripturally documents the satanic attack upon the doctrine of salvation by grace. This video proves that the modern versions:

        Deny that Christ came to save the lost
        Eliminate the warning against trusting in riches
        Remove verses teaching salvation prior to baptism
        Change the gospel by removing the blood
        Make salvation occur over a process of time
        Claim that Christ will disown His children
        Deny the necessity of confessing Christ
        Reject the simplicity of salvation

        Also included are slides of the NIV Teen Study Bible, Two examples: "Sex - Another fun thing mean adults tell teenagers to keep away from. Church - What you have to get dressed up for so you can be bored for an hour at a morning service"
        I Stand Alone [Region 2]
        Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
        • Boring, pretentious junk
        • Movies don't get much more disturbing than this
        • Go Inside the Mind of an Ordinary Man Driven Nearly Mad by Circumstances and See what He Thinks
        • Not What I Expected...
        • Not even worth a rental.
        I Stand Alone [Region 2]
        Starring: Philippe Nahon , Blandine Lenoir , Frankie Pain , Martine Audrain , and Jean-François Rauger
        Director: Gaspar Noé
        ProductGroup: DVD
        Binding: DVD

        ThrillersThrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video
        ( I )( I ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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        1. Irreversible Irreversible
        2. Man Bites Dog - Criterion Collection Man Bites Dog - Criterion Collection
        3. Thriller - A Cruel Picture Thriller - A Cruel Picture
        4. Visitor Q (Sub) Visitor Q (Sub)
        5. I Spit On Your Grave (Millennium Edition) I Spit On Your Grave (Millennium Edition)

        ASIN: B00004VY6E

        Customer Reviews:

        1 out of 5 stars Boring, pretentious junk.......2007-09-15

        Once again I have been suckered into wasting my time on boring, pretentious junk.

        I like small, independent, even foreign films, when done right. This was not.

        It was a mind-numbing, boring, pathetic attempt at film making. Violent? Ummm.. no. Shocking? Please. Horrifying? My God, Pocahontas was more horrifying. Yes, a porn clip in the middle of the film is the only thing that made me sit up and take notice. Awful, awful junk.

        Forget all the rave reviews here and skip it, unless you need some sleep. This will induce it in spades.

        4 out of 5 stars Movies don't get much more disturbing than this.......2007-09-01

        As this story unravels, it shows a flurry of clips that give you a quick understanding of the main character's entire life. He was a struggling butcher that made a tragic mistake and went to prison. This scene is actually a recap of the director Gaspar Noe's previous film, a 40-minute shocker that won him some awards. This story pretty much begins with his release from jail.
        This disturbing movie also has some common elements with Noe's following film, Irreversible. Besides the graphic sexual content, there is an overbearing sense of despair, revenge, and rage. Another tie-in I noticed with Irreversible is the infamous tunnel. Yes, THAT tunnel. It looked exactly the same to me anyway. The butcher walks with his young daughter down that evil passageway, which made me uneasy the entire trip.
        I Stand Alone unmercifully traps the viewer inside the mind of this jobless butcher. All of his random thoughts are constantly strewn forth, which is both brutally captivating and just flat-out appalling. He spirals further and further into his lonely and depressing world, and it's clearly evident that some sort of catastrophe is inevitable.
        There's even a scene late in the movie where the viewer is warned to leave the room, turn off the TV, do something besides watch what is about to happen(A 30 second timer actually starts ticking). Of course at this point it was impossible for me to turn back, but many viewers probably won't want to even make it that far.
        So understand, THIS IS NOT A HAPPY MOVIE!! Many people will not recover from watching it. So I'd think twice before watching this one, unless you are as demented as me. You're welcome.

        5 out of 5 stars Go Inside the Mind of an Ordinary Man Driven Nearly Mad by Circumstances and See what He Thinks.......2007-05-09

        I Stand Alone

        Gaspar Noe's SEUL CONTRE TOUT is a cinematic masterwork. Though this film is clearly not for the faint-hearted, it offers those willing to go where it takes them into a stark, ultra-violent, ultra-real world where truth is painful, but is a kind of truth that perhaps we need to hear and see. With exceptional mastery, Noe's style of film-making literally explodes in each frame of I STAND ALONE. The 16 mm, anamorphic vision is punctuated by gunshot sounds and quick, hard jumps into close-up shots. Violence, it seems, underlies each scene, but it is repressed. This leads us to feel tension of an unparalleled kind, and we wonder when this violence might explode. The film is 85 minutes of character study of one man, the Butcher, whose unedited, uncensored thoughts are put forth without pomp or circumstance. The Butcher's thoughts are the entire crux of the film and are exposed in long internal monologues. The thoughts we are allowed to "overhear" are disturbing, no doubt, but some, though not all, of these thoughts are similar to those we might have actually had at one time or another. This is troubling because no one wants to admit that they have these kinds of ideas. What is even more troubling is that we find ourselves compelled to see where all these repressed thoughts of loathing and hate lead to. We know it will be harsh, but we want to see it just the same. If you're looking for easy answers and simple truths sugarcoated for your pleasure, this is not a film for you. If, however, you're looking to see an original film that thrusts itself deep into your psyche and asks you hard questions without giving you the answers, you need to see this.

        4 out of 5 stars Not What I Expected..........2007-05-04

        Maybe I'm jaded, I have seen a few "extreme" films, though I have been powerfully affected by more than a few (usually NOT the most violent or goriest). I did not find this film particularly shocking. Yes, the XXX clip is graphic for non-porn film --think Human Anatomy 101, and the final violent "fantasy" sequence is prolonged to the point of discomfort.

        Still, those looking to see the envelope pushed will be disappointed. This is not "Ichi the Killer" or "The Devil's Rejects".

        In fact, all the hype about how "shocking" this film is obscured the fact that the main character is well-drawn, wonderfully portrayed and though he's full of rage and violence, it's hard not to pity the dumb brute as he bludgeons his way hopelessly through the bleak slums like an enraged, tormented bull, soon to be put out of its misery . This film is ultimately a tragic character study. It is mature and thoughful.

        The butcher is definitely not a sympathetic character, but like Keitel's cop in the Bad Lieutenant, he is doomed, trapped by his self-hatred and misanthropy. The Butcher's "redemption" is as twisted and illusory as his values. Like a Kafka character, he is lost in a world that he cannot understand or control.

        It's a great, bleak look at alienation in Western society. If that appeals to you see it!!!
        If you want action, over-the-top-violence or some sort of neat Hollywood moral or resolution, avoid this film.

        1 out of 5 stars Not even worth a rental........2007-03-23

        Unless your french and speak the language don't bother with ths drawn out boring movie. Many critics have praised this stale and boring excuse for a movie but don't take the rotton bait. Don't bite like a sucker fish, it's a complete waste of time. Not even worth a rental.

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        DVD

        DVD