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Movies / On DVD / A Grin Without A Cat
A Grin Without A Cat

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A Grin Without A Cat (2002)

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Reviews Counted:22

Fresh:20

Rotten:2

Average Rating:7.9/10

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 3 hrs

Genre: Foreign Films

Theatrical Release:May 1, 2002 Limited

Synopsis: A GRIN WITHOUT A CAT is Chris Marker's epic film-essay on the worldwide political wars of the 60's and 70's: Vietnam, Bolivia, May '68, Prague, Chile, and the fate of the New Left. Released in... A GRIN WITHOUT A CAT is Chris Marker's epic film-essay on the worldwide political wars of the 60's and 70's: Vietnam, Bolivia, May '68, Prague, Chile, and the fate of the New Left. Released in France in 1978, restored and "re-actualized" by Marker fifteen years later (after the fall of the Soviet Union), we are proud to release the film now for the first time in the United States. Described by Marker as "scenes of the Third World War," the film (the original French title is virtually untranslatable) is divided into two parts, each weaving together two strands: Part 1: Fragile Hands 1. From Vietnam to Che's death 2. May 1968 and all that Part 2: Severed Hands 1. From Spring in Prague to the Common Program of Government in France 2. From Chile to - to what? From 1967 (the year Marker argues was the real turning point) on, A GRIN WITHOUT A CAT is a sweeping, global contemplation of a defining ten years' political history. -- © 2001 First Run/Icarus Films [More]

Director: Chris Marker

Director: Chris Marker
Studio: First Run/Icarus Films

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Release:

May 5, 2009

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • Chris Marker's epic film-essay on the worldwide political wars of the 60's and 70's: Vietnam, Che, May '68, Prague, Chile, and the fate of the New Left.
  • Source: Icarus Films
  •  
     
     
     

    Reviews for A Grin Without A Cat

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    1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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    It's not your usual political doc.

    Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
    10/15/09
    Dennis Schwartz
    Dennis Schwartz
    Ozus' World Movie Reviews

    Depending on your mood and your familiarity with international politics from 30 to 40 years ago, A Grin Without a Cat can be either talky and esoteric or haunting and prophetic.

    Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
    06/14/09
    Dan Lybarger
    Dan Lybarger
    eFilmCritic.com

    It recreates the feel of the period, but in the end its obscurity undercuts its power.

    Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
    05/11/09
    Mark R. Leeper
    Mark R. Leeper
    rec.arts.movies.reviews

    A Grin Without a Cat plays more like a creative mix tape than a standard hunk of journalism.

    Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
    05/07/09
    Jeffrey M. Anderson
    Jeffrey M. Anderson
    Combustible Celluloid

    Just to take in Grin’s first few moments, a mash-up of Battleship Potemkin and police whacking May ’68 protesters, is to see a mind sifting through chaos and making beautiful, critical sense of it.

    Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
    05/06/09
    Joshua Rothkopf
    Joshua Rothkopf
    Time Out New York

    A masterpiece among masterpieces, the two-part, three-hour A Grin Without a Cat is Chris Marker's most ambitious, clear-headed string of cinematic clauses and ideological couplets, and also his most impenetrable.

    Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
    05/05/09
    Eric Henderson
    Eric Henderson
    Slant Magazine

    massive, towering, and impassioned

    Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
    05/03/09
    Paul Brenner
    Paul Brenner
    Filmcritic.com

    This slapdash documentary about left wing political movements is probably best understood in the original French and was a lot more relevant in 1977 when it was first made.

    Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope | comment Comment
    04/24/09
    Robert Roten
    Robert Roten
    Laramie Movie Scope

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    07/18/05
    Emanuel Levy
    Emanuel Levy
    EmanuelLevy.Com

    While it regards 1967 as the key turning point of the 20th century, and returns again and again to images of dissidents in the streets, it's alarmingly current.

    Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
    01/17/03
    John Hartl
    John Hartl
    Seattle Times

    An exhaustive investigation into the roots and after-effects of the revolutions and counter-revolutions that rocked France, the U.S., China, Latin America and Czechoslovakia in 1967 and 1968.

    Full Review Source: eye WEEKLY | comment Comment
    12/02/02
    Jason Anderson
    Jason Anderson
    eye WEEKLY

    A timely look back at civil disobedience, anti-war movements and the power of strong voices.

    Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
    11/08/02
    Jonathan Curiel
    Jonathan Curiel
    San Francisco Chronicle
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Marker's incredible collection of newsreel footage -- TV footage from various countries, home movies and other celluloid wonders -- eventually shapes a scattered, pinwheel idea of the era's attitude.

    Full Review Source: San Francisco Examiner | comment Comment
    11/07/02
    Jeffrey M. Anderson
    Jeffrey M. Anderson
    San Francisco Examiner

    This is a movie about the world at war with itself, and the result is riveting, sublime and unforgettable.

    Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
    09/26/02
    Patrick Z. McGavin
    Patrick Z. McGavin
    Chicago Tribune
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Although it's a bit smug and repetitive, this documentary engages your brain in a way few current films do.

    Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
    08/29/02
    Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
    Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
    St. Paul Pioneer Press

    A three-hour cinema master class.

    Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
    06/18/02
    Ed Kelleher
    Ed Kelleher
    Film Journal International

    Achieves a sort of filmic epiphany that revels in the true potential of the medium.

    Full Review Source: MovieMartyr.com | comment Comment
    05/06/02
    Jeremy Heilman
    Jeremy Heilman
    MovieMartyr.com

    It's always fascinating to watch Marker the essayist at work.

    Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
    05/01/02
    Ken Fox
    Ken Fox
    TV Guide's Movie Guide

    Fierce, glaring and unforgettable.

    Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
    05/01/02
    John Anderson
    John Anderson
    Newsday
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    A work of extraordinary journalism, but it is also a work of deft and subtle poetry.

    Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
    05/01/02
    Dave Kehr
    Dave Kehr
    New York Times
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
     
     
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