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Movies / On DVD / Masked and Anonymous
Masked and Anonymous

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Masked and Anonymous (2003)

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Reviews Counted:77

Fresh:19

Rotten:58

Average Rating:4/10

Consensus: Unintelligible and self-indulgent Bob Dylan vehicle.

Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for some language and brief violence

Runtime: 2 hrs

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Jul 23, 2003 Limited

Box Office: $115,149

Synopsis: Masked and Anonymous possesses such creative audacity, such a flow of ideas and provoking observations, transported by a barrage of wit, performance, and, of course, song, that you are bound to... Masked and Anonymous possesses such creative audacity, such a flow of ideas and provoking observations, transported by a barrage of wit, performance, and, of course, song, that you are bound to emerge from this singular film feeling both challenged and satisfied. Given the credentials of its architects, Larry Charles of Seinfeld and Bob Dylan, perhaps this is to be expected. But expectations are exactly what this extravagant political satire constantly overturns. At turns adventurous, playful, theatrical, and serious, this inspired combination of commentary and comedy is to be congratulated for what it accomplishes as much as the indulgence it avoids. Set somewhere, sometime, in an unnamed country, torn by civil war with unclear battle lines or ideology, Masked and Anonymous tells the story of a "benefit concert." Impressario Uncle Sweetheart (John Goodman) is scheming to find a headliner for this event whose purpose is unclear and whose charity is its promoter's pockets. Nina Veronica (Jessica Lange) is the veteran TV producer whose job it is to make the concert the international spectacle which it can never be. And when Sweetheart manages to get the iconic cult star Jack Fate (Dylan, in a wonderfully taciturn performance) released from prison, the stage is set for tumult. Jeff Bridges as the cynical investigative reporter, Penelope Cruz as his girlfriend, Luke Wilson as the devoted acolyte, and a sundry cast of supporting characters give this imaginative allegory its energy and spirit. Masked and Anonymous is part cartoon, part deconstruction, and all creative vision. -- © Sony Pictures Classics [More]

Starring: Bob Dylan, Jeff Bridges, Penelope Cruz, John Goodman

Starring: Bob Dylan, Jeff Bridges, Penelope Cruz, John Goodman, Jessica Lange, Luke Wilson, Christian Slater, Val Kilmer, Angela Bassett, Giovanni Ribisi, Mickey Rourke, Chris Penn, Cheech Marin

Director: Larry Charles

Director: Larry Charles
Screenwriter: Rene Fontaine, Sergei Petrov
Producer: Guy East, Marie Cantin
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics

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Release:

Feb 17, 2004

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Masked and Anonymous

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
04/29/09
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed

Only the scenes of Dylan on stage really hold the attention.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
12/30/06
Angie Errigo
Angie Errigo
Empire Magazine

...read as a collection of moments, mortared together with some stirring music, both from Dylan and his band and from others on the soundtrack.

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
08/23/06
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Herald | comment Comment
07/16/05
Paul Sherman
Paul Sherman
Boston Herald

Above all, it’s an exercise in cryptic Dylan self-mythology.

Full Review Source: Boulder Weekly | comment Comment
02/27/04
Thomas Delapa
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly

The great neglected movie of 2003, a rambunctious, provocative, genre-defying, and constantly surprising experiment.

Full Review Source: Nick's Flick Picks | comment Comment
01/23/04
Nick Davis
Nick Davis
Nick's Flick Picks

A strong contender for the worst movie of the century.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
11/09/03
Lou Lumenick
Lou Lumenick
New York Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A willful mess made interesting by the talent that it attracted.

Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
11/07/03
Joe Baltake
Joe Baltake
Sacramento Bee

Watching the film is like listening to Art Bell babble about UFOs -- it seems always on the verge of making a point but never gets there.

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
11/03/03
Jim Lane
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review

The music was fine, the film wasn't.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
10/18/03
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Just because the movie is largely unintelligible doesn't make it unwatchable, though sometimes it's artful in the same way a train wreck can be graceful.

Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | comment Comment
10/17/03
Sean Means
Sean Means
Salt Lake Tribune

A nonsensical vanity project for singer Bob Dylan that wastes the talents of a lot of folks who should have known better.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
10/10/03
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

With Sixties vigor and carefree looseness, the legendary musician and poet has given us a late-career "Purple Rain" that turns out to be a great bad movie.

Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
10/08/03
Jurgen Fauth
Jurgen Fauth
About.com

Far from the greatest story ever told.

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
10/03/03
Jay Boyar
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel

The idea of a movie where Dylan essentially plays himself sounds kind of promising. Maybe someday that movie will get made. It's not this one.

Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
10/03/03
Richard C. Walls
Richard C. Walls
Orlando Weekly

Absolutely no saving graces here.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
10/03/03
Randy Cordova
Randy Cordova
Arizona Republic
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Could just as well be titled 'Masters of War' or 'Tombstone Blues' or 'Everything Is Broken.' At every cut in the action, you expect a gray flannel dwarf to scream...

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
10/01/03
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

It's the sort of nonsense that's intriguing for about 15 minutes, simply because its incoherence approaches a surreal level. But then the novelty wears off, and it settles into being the worst thing a movie can be: boring.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
09/27/03
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

A fascinating mess.

Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | comment Comment
09/26/03
Terry Lawson
Terry Lawson
Detroit Free Press
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A more maddening, incoherent, frustrating film you're not likely to see.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
09/12/03
Shawn Levy
Shawn Levy
Oregonian
 
 
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