The first viewing, in a movie theater (kids - look it up), I enjoyed it, but was too caught up in the plot, and to getting all the nuances of the v/o. But seeing it at home, paying less attention to plot, and more to character and atmosphere, I enjoyed it even more.
Anderson is truly a unique director, and I'm always looking forward to his new films.
"What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence."
I've watched it about 4 times now and it really just keeps getting better and better with each viewing. PTA is brilliant and I find all of his films to be like that, they never get old no matter how many times you watch them. Notice more and more with each viewing.
shareAgreed, this is one of my current favorites for re-watching in bits and pieces, whenever I have some time. There's also a mesmerizing little featurette on the Blu-Ray (the last one on the list, with a title that escapes me at this moment, but it's something like "Everything in this World"...?) that's a great mood piece all by itself.
Oddly, my other current favorite for re-watching every now and then is The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), a film by a completely different Anderson: Wes instead of Paul Thomas.
To me it didn't really even occur to put much of an emphasis on trying to figure out the (admittedly convoluted and dense) plot on the first viewing as I was entirely content just to be along for the strange and fascinating ride that, for the most part, didn't seem to make much sense for the protagonist, either. It's a great thrill to witness the story unfold like a bizarre dream, bouncing from one colorful scene to another, especially as the whole thing is so wonderfully shot, well acted and frequently very funny. Ultimately, all investigative yarns of this type go right back to Raymond Chandler and there, too, the sometimes almost impossibly complex plotlines aren't as important as the characters, the millieu and the moral rot uncovered.
"facts are stupid things" Ronald Reagan
The first time I watched this (this past weekend), I was a bit lost and found it did not grab me at all. MY GF lost interest quickly. I dozed off even, but admittedly watched this when I was tired, not realizing or knowing much about the film at all being so dense.
I rewound to catch some parts I missed and towards the end, much of it kinda clicked. Initially it just seemed like a bunch of unrelated vignettes that were mildly entertaining, but new characters kept being introduced and it was hard to follow...not a popcorn entertaining movie for sure for anyone who does not give 100% attention and observation.
After it ended, I immediately went back to the beginning to see what the hell I was missing in the opening sequence. The beginning narration didn't exactly grab me. I also noticed the ship at the end being confiscated and went back to see what role it played (yeah I was really tired and missed it all...plus the dialogue is somewhat inaudible at times).
Second time around I was engrossed and even started to watch a third time in 2 days, watching important bits and skipping through the ones I remembered clearly. Then it all started to make sense. All the dialogue was important. Some parts I had to replay a few times.
I definitely enjoyed it and will watch again. Gets better with each viewing, but I can understand why a casual viewer thinks it sucks or is boring. You have to know a bit about MKultra mind control, cults, drugs, CIA, Money laundering, conspiracy stuff, Nixon era propaganda, Manson & friends(ties back to all the others in the list)to really makes much sense of it. Tavistock, operation paper clip are other related topics distantly related. I'm sure there's more that I missed or am forgetting. Pynchon and Anderson are telling us things that are a hush little secret.
Glad to hear it worked out for you.
My first viewing wasn't very good, either. I read the book, which was just as incomprehensible, but I had it figured PTA would have gone at least half a mile to make it a bit more comprehensive than the book, which he did but that ain't really sayin' much. Wasn't expecting it to be as stagnant as well. The movie felt quite slow the first time around but mainly because of the fact that there was no huge change in tone, pacing or...Anything else. The film carried the same beat for the whole 2 and a half hours
But it stayed on my mind then I watched it subsequently and it slowly started clicking. I actually saw it 5 times in theaters and I think I melted my blu-ray from playing it so much. Can't get enough of it at this point, great film. So much of it makes sense now, including a lot of the odd choices on PTA's behalf (i.e. keeping the film's rhythm stagnant).
Honestly, 10/10 for me.
Howard Hughes was Italian?