SailNet Community banner
  • SailNet is a forum community dedicated to Sailing enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about sailing, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, repairs, reviews, maintenance, and more!

One Last "All is Lost " thread

26K views 168 replies 74 participants last post by  jzk 
#1 ·
From the NY Post:

Robert Redford was snubbed by the Oscars on Thursday, and he then bashed the distributors of his film, “All Is Lost,” saying, “We had no campaign.”

Redford was put into a nightmare p.r. situation on Thursday when the same day he’d been overlooked by the Oscars in the best actor category, he had to address the media at the annual opening press conference of his Sundance Film Festival.

Appearing at the Egyptian Theater in Park City, Utah, a moderator asked Redford about his exclusion from the Oscar nominations as the very first question. But while he said, “I’m not disturbed by it,” Redford couldn’t help but take a swipe at the film’s indie distributors, Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions. “Let me speak frankly about how I feel about it,” Redford said, before adding, “In our case, we suffered from little to no distribution… I don’t know why… they didn’t want to spend the money or they were afraid… were just incapable, I don’t know.” “It would have been wonderful to be nominated of course,” he said at the Sundance press conference. “It is a business and we couldn’t conform to that… I was happy to be able to do this film because it was independent and it stood the chance of having a wider distribution had they stepped up.”

He summed up, “So that’s what’s on my mind… the rest of it is not my business… it’s somebody else’s business. I’m fine.” And he also mused, “Hollywood is what it is. It’s a business…

There’s a lot of campaigning… it can be very political,” but, “I’m not disturbed by it or upset by it.” The film has made $6.1 million at the box office since its release in October, and is currently playing in 67 theaters. Redford had been considered to be an Oscar frontrunner. He was at the Golden Globes awards Sunday night as a nominee.
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Not wanting to spend many hourse reading the long thread... Is the film worth seeing in the theaters? Or wait until it's out on Netflix?

Regards,
Brad
 
#8 ·
I enjoyed it. I expected the issues with reality. Heck it is a movie so by nature it will be unrealistic. I would not have been happy if I paid $10 (or $40 for a family) as I would have been the only one who could have sat through it in my family. I downloaded a screener copy so I got my moneys worth. I would wait till it is out on Netflix.

I did not think he looked at all confused. I think he is just kind of unflappable, and seemed resigned to his fate. If the actor was 20 and acted like that I would have found it completely unbelievable.
 
#3 · (Edited)
I liked it for what it was.
It showed how a really tough competent guy who seems to have his act together and didn't let stuff get to him gradually got beat down by something much bigger than him until he was completely helpless and depending on pure luck.

The issue many sailors take with it is that most of his decisions could easily and rightly be second guessed.

That being said the terror of being in a ship in a storm that was in real trouble was displayed about as well as it could have been.

There was little drama like we are used to.
No Crying, praying. No young pretty female counter point for him to spar with no young person or pet for him to talk to.

The movie was pretty much defined by what it left out.
All that was left was a tough guy just going about his business of trying to survive in a really tough situation and loosing inch by inch until he had nothing left.
 
#4 ·
Thanks David.

Regards,
Brad

(I know someone who won't see a Robert Redford movie because Robert Redford was once in a movie with Jane Fonda.)
 
#5 ·
Sail magazine just summed it up best:

"The most anticipated sailing film of the past year, of course, was a major feature, All is Lost, starring Robert Redford as an unnamed solo sailor who loses his Cal39 in the Indian Ocean. Unfortunately, the film's creators made no effort to make it at all realistic and any sailor watching it is apt to feel insulted and annoyed.

Redford's performance was hailed as Oscar-worthy, but all I saw was a man who looked confused and aggravated for an hour and a half. I had the exact same expression on my face the entire time I was watching him."
 
#72 ·
Sail magazine just summed it up best:

"The most anticipated sailing film of the past year, of course, was a major feature, All is Lost, starring Robert Redford as an unnamed solo sailor who loses his Cal39 in the Indian Ocean. Unfortunately, the film's creators made no effort to make it at all realistic and any sailor watching it is apt to feel insulted and annoyed.

I agree, and I kept trying to figure out why the hell he would not heave to, and no trysail, no sea anchor out, just hoist the storm jib and let it run? No real effort to provision early on for abandoning the vessel. I kept asking myself why the heck is he not doing this, why not that. Lost all his water to a vent cap!?? I would have had that thing buried in duct tape and a 20 foot painter on the handle!
 
#7 ·
We just watched it (the credits are rolling as I type).
I agree wholeheartedly with Sail Magazine's review.
There were far too many technical errors. They made it impossible to suspend disbelief.
The film made Dead Calm look like a documentary.
 
#11 ·
The show wasn't as breathlessly fast passed as our typical Matrix movie that is for sure.
I give the director props for trying something different. I'll never beat a guy up for trying some thing different even if it doesn't end up being extraordinary.

As far as the criticisms go most of them are based on modern technology.
The movie doesn't as far as I remember set a date.

If you imagined that it happened in the 60's, 70's or 80's then the lack of new electronics would be expected. Also the guy was old, you could also imagine that he decided to recreate a voyage he did in his youth, again without modern electronics.

His shaving rather than preparing for the storm I interpreted as his being so experience he knew exactly how long the storm would take to get to him and he said to hell with it, he would shave first and still have time to take care of the boat.

As far as learning how to use the sexton in 5 minutes I interpreted that has his knowing how to use it but years ago and he just looked at the directions for a few minutes to remind himself of the basics.

I wouldn't recommend getting off the boat to board the container but who of us hasn't done something a little reckless and gotten away with it.

He definitely knew how to sail. He knew how to do emergency fiberglass repair. He knew how to climb the mast. He had some basic electrical skills.

He almost never lost his head, he was physically strong, he was resourceful and calculating.

What the director was exploring was that someone could get into a situation that despite having average or probably above average skills, judgement, luck, strength and determination can ultimately be beyond their ability to conquer.

We all love Bond 007 and Luke Sky Walker, Vin Diesel et al. Who doesn't have an inner 16 year old that wants to talk tough, shoot bad guys one minute and shag several beautiful women the next while never breaking a sweat or messing up our hair.

That kind of movie has been done a thousand times and is almost guaranteed to be a "good" move, it is a winning formula.

So maybe the real reason this movie is getting panned is because we don't like the message that an old guy probably a lot tougher and smarter than us can have some bad crap happen and despite his best effort fail.

Just like every time we hear about some boat that sinks or gets in trouble our first instinct is to figure that it would never happen to us because we would do X.

So no this is not a feel good movie but it does make you think that despite ones best efforts sometimes they are just not enough.

Not a popular message to hear but true non-the-less.
 
#15 ·
I did not enjoy the movie almost from the beginning.

I get that the film isn’t a documentary or training film about sailing.

What I didn’t like was that there were so many errors in technical detail that it brought me out of the film. These errors could easily have been omitted by using a knowledgeable technical advisor and would not have diminished the plot in any way – in fact might have enhanced it.

Some of the actions taken by ‘Our Man’ defied belief or understanding. One scene that pulled me out of the ‘reality’ of the piece was when, with a flooded cabin (water up to his knees) our protagonist decided to take a nap rather than pump it out. I wasn’t able to take the rest of the film seriously after that.

I like Robert Redford. He is an American icon; a true ‘movie star’ who has had some excellent and entertaining roles in his career. In this film, however, his portrayal of stoicism and inflappability came across as confused and overwhelmed. My wife and I speculated that his character might have been suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia and did not comprehend the gravity of his situation. In the two scenes in which ‘Our Man’ actually expressed emotion - holding his head in anguish and frustration; screaming out a profanity in anguish and frustration – Redford’s ‘acting’ was contrived and not believable.

In answer to those who suggest that those who did not like this movie didn’t because it was not of the typical Hollywood ‘Blockbuster’, shoot-em-up; car chase; gratuitous sex ilk I say this: that is a specious argument.

In my opinion movies should entertain and induce some kind of emotional response.

For me this film failed to entertain and the only emotion it drew from me was dissatisfaction.
 
#17 ·
We have a small non-profit independent film theater two blocks from the house. We see many films most have never heard of and enjoy them. As a general rule, we've found those that liked this film, enjoyed it modestly and more for the art of a film with no narrative. Some, in my opinion, just like Redford, no matter what. I wasn't aware of the opposite Fonda factor, although, I do hate Fonda. I've not found a single person who loved the film and more than half I know disliked it at some level.

I expected to find sailing errors, but the gross lack of attention to the technical aspects of sailing was confounding. An ASA101 grad would have made a better consultant and reduced the distraction of errors, which went far beyond those necessary to accommodate film shots.

Yes, it was hard to find in theaters. However, if I was a distributor that had to pony up the risky investment, I would have balked after seeing it too.

Netflix at best. You're life won't be missing anything, if you skipped it altogether. The Oscars got this one right.
 
#18 ·
Seriuosly, bene? Are you aware that kim freaking basinger has an oscar for acting? Kubrick never won for directing and you think nominating redford would compromise the oscars' integrity? Ha!
As a side note, the objective of art is to draw thought. By that measure, this film succeeded on SN!
 
#20 ·
Seriuosly, bene? Are you aware that kim freaking basinger has an oscar for acting? Kubrick never won for directing and you think nominating redford would compromise the oscars' integrity? Ha!
As a side note, the objective of art is to draw thought. By that measure, this film succeeded on SN!
I have to agree with you; some years they haven't been known to have the best "picks". Keep in mind it's the competition that they are up against that year.

Still...... Redford still didn't put up the best performance. As a whole the movie sucked.
 
#21 ·
Post with spoilers!

Saw it last night with the Admiral. I really liked the movie. I agree with the previous posters that noticed that Our Man is flawed, but has a fascinating back story. This story is not a story for sailors as much as it is about Our Man. What brought him here? How can he survive this? How much more can he take? WHAT WOULD I DO?? His opening monologue sets the table perfectly.

I also think that this is the reason why there are no wide shots in the movie, except for those shot from below. The focus must remain on the character. Panoramic ocean views and shots of the boat under sail would be a distraction.

With his lack of skill and preparation, the character was obviously way over his head in taking on the trip. I also agree that he HAD to take on the trip unprepared, but why? Was he running away? Was he getting too old to go later?

I found myself constantly wondering what his profession could have been, to be so unflappable at all times. Was he a surgeon or successful businessman? The director did a great job of demonstrating the value of not panicking, when many of us would have been freaking out.

This may be a strange take on the movie, but I think the director deliberately humanized the character by leaving in the mistakes. This is obvious from the very first scene- he is sleeping in his vee berth when the container strikes the boat! He also doesn't have a signal mirror or a bucket. OBVIOUSLY, these issues would have been addressed in pre-production.

His weaknesses are offset by his two greatest traits- his ability to stay calm in the face of disaster, and his will to survive. Case in point- calmly shaving down below, instead of prepping for the storm. He has been through the wars of life before. This is how he survived before. This is how he will survive this disaster.

Again, I do not think this is a great sailing movie. It certainly isn't as good as Deep Water or many of the other sailing movies mentioned on this board. But it is a great character study, and was certainly worthy of some great discussion here.
 
#22 · (Edited)
I said it in another thread - fixing some of the blatant errors would have made the film much better without taking anything away from the character and his story arc.

For example, how in the hell does the boat GET IMPALED ON A CONTAINER ON THE AFT STARBOARD BEAM while the boat is under sail? Then you've got the shaving, the laziness in keeping the water out of the boat, on and on. It just made no sense.

It's worth watching - but only on Netflix for free.
 
#24 ·
I said it in another thread - fixing some of the blatant errors would have made the film much better without taking anything away from the character and his story arc.

For example, how in the hell does the boat GET IMPALED ON A CONTAINER ON THE AFT STARBOARD BEAM while the boat is under sail? Then you've got the shaving, the laziness in keeping the water out of the boat, on and on. It just made no sense.

It's worth watching - but only on Netflix for free.
While he was sleeping, a mammoth container ship that had wander out of the shipping lanes aggressively altered course to miss this abandoned sailing vessel after attempting to reach said vessel on VHF. The force of such a course alteration caused a container to fly off the ship at such a great speed that it pursued the sailing vessel until an inevitable collision occurred.
 
#25 · (Edited)
I think this would be a great movie to play the drinking game. Buy the DVD, invite your sailing buddies over, play the movie for 10 minutes, hit pause and the one with the less number of errors spotted in that 10 minute period has to chug a beer.

I can also see this movie showing up on "Mystery Science Theater 3000" in a few years.
 
  • Like
Reactions: flyingwelshman
#32 ·
OK as long as we have established who is in charge. :)
Now be a good lieutenant and send a BFS t shirt to Mr. Redford.

Just kidding or maybe !!!

It's not like we are arguing about something stupid like guns, anchors or dogs. This is important it's a movie.

It is so cold I have to get outside.
 
#33 ·
I paid $4.99 on Vudu

I didn't like it - typical even in it's untypical-ness.

Maybe it's already been mentioned but what helped seal it for me was the fact that he proceeded to basically light a friggin' bonfire in his life-raft and kind of crazily kept feeding it until it became a HUGE bonfire.... which was kind of like putting icing on the stupid cake.

...Then, after very calmly sinking/drowning/resigning himself to Davey Jones's locker -he swims back to the light and is plucked from the sea- Fade to black....

Anyway- all was not lost. I think that's the point, no? Don't give up? Who knows.

I did like the ring Rob Redford was wearing though- that was cool- and I hope I am able to climb a mast when I'm his age.
 
#39 ·
Maybe it's already been mentioned but what helped seal it for me was the fact that he proceeded to basically light a friggin' bonfire in his life-raft and kind of crazily kept feeding it until it became a HUGE bonfire.... which was kind of like putting icing on the stupid cake.
Actually that may have been a rational or at least rational to an exhausted brain response.

If you are almost dead, out of supplies and and there's only one potential way to save yourself a hail mary to make the biggest possible fire to be seen makes sense. If it works great if not you have ended the agony.

Actually it makes sense.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top