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Sold by: Gagazet Media
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(1457 ratings)
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86% positive over last 12 months
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Death and the Compass
IMDb5.9/10.0
$31.06$31.06
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Format | PAL |
Contributor | Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez, Alejandra Liceaga, Katsumi Ishikuma, Andrés Vicente Gómez, Ariane Pellicer, Gabriela Gurrola, Diego López Rivera, Miguel Sandoval, Christopher Eccleston, Jorge Luis Borges, Karl Braun, Mario Iván Martínez, Peter Boyle, Eduardo López Rojas, Pedro Armendáriz Jr., Alonso Echánove, Alex Cox See more |
Language | English |
Runtime | 1 hour and 26 minutes |
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Product details
- Aspect Ratio : 1.78:1
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- Package Dimensions : 7.1 x 5.42 x 0.58 inches; 2.93 Ounces
- Director : Alex Cox
- Media Format : PAL
- Run time : 1 hour and 26 minutes
- Actors : Peter Boyle, Miguel Sandoval, Christopher Eccleston, Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez, Pedro Armendáriz Jr.
- Producers : Alejandra Liceaga, Andrés Vicente Gómez, Diego López Rivera, Karl Braun, Katsumi Ishikuma
- ASIN : B000058DG5
- Writers : Alex Cox, Jorge Luis Borges
- Country of Origin : United Kingdom
- Number of discs : 1
- Best Sellers Rank: #483,108 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #63,737 in Drama DVDs
- Customer Reviews:
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Customer reviews
3.7 out of 5 stars
3.7 out of 5
19 global ratings
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Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2005
According the movie commentary, this movie was originally made as a 50 minute movie for BBC television, but with funding from a Japanese production company, this version was made with adding an extra 40 minutes of footage. Though I haven't seen it, the 50 minute version sounds like a more cohesive film, judging once again from the movie commentary with Alex Cox. Another problem with the movie is its muddy soundtrack. Following what's being said by the characters is rough business all the way through. One of the most irritating additions is a jarring collection of progressively incoherent monologues by Treviranus (Miguel Sandoval), a cowardly character in the film, that only serves to break up the (limited) momentum of the story. Even with better editing and a sharper soundtrack, this would still be, I think, a mediocre movie. The main characters come off as wooden and unsympathetic. The extra short "Spiderweb", mentioned by an earlier review, is watchable, but isn't in my opinion worth the price of the DVD. As a saving grace for big Alex Cox movie junkies, the commentary is fun listening. For anyone else, I suggest Repo Man on DVD, or tracking down Cox's Highway Patrolman on VHS.
Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2011
I bought this to share with my AP Spanish Lit class. They were reading it in spanish and I thought they would be interested in an english interpretation. My kids and I previewed it at home and found it fascinating. Campy and overacted but with a strong sense of the author's intent. It brought out the themes of labyrinths of the mind, time, lawlessness versus the intellectual. We particularly liked the end monologue of the joker-like villain. I would recommend this to anyone who has read the book, or is interested in Hispanic literature and it's interpretations.
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2012
Strange, but provides a great platform for analysis of the story by the same name. Well worth the price paid. The discussions that resulted were priceless.
Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2007
The film was remotely based on the original short story, capitalizing on Borge's name. The screen play, acting, and settings were all far off the mark. Borge's would be cursing in Old Norse in his grave!!!!!! Definitely not useful as a teaching tool in secondary school advanced literature classes. I would sincerely like to have my money returned for this one!!!!
Disappointedly - Juan Jerolaman Morava
Disappointedly - Juan Jerolaman Morava
Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2015
Delivered as promised. Interesting film.
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2005
Things started like this. BBC asked Alex Cox to make a made-for-TV film based on a novel of Jorge-Luis Borges, and the finished original version (55 minutes) was televised on August 5th, 1992. I regret to say that I haven't seen this, but it seems it was received with good reviews. (Interestingly, Cox first wanted Harry Dean Stanton as the lead, which eventually went to Peter Boyle.)
Later on, however, the extended version (88 minutes) was made, which I have seen. It's still not bad, but it is clear that the shorter format was more suitable for the material. The film suffers from too many talks and no actions, but some parts are still fascinating in their own ways.
[IT'S ALEX COX, IT'S PUNK] Like his more recent film 'Revengers Tragedy' the world of Alex Cox is a punk-rock world even if he is using the book of Borges. The film is set in the near future, when one master criminal Scharlach leads his gangs in tow, and robs the bank. Though he is a killer, the film says, he does it with some devilish charms so some people think him as a hero. The film reveals it's tongue-in-cheek attitudes when one 'Borges' appears (and he is blind), and he is played by Alex Cox himself.
But ... well, here's the weakness of the film. For the film is actually about another case, leaving the evil Batman behind. The protagonist and detective Lonnrot (Peter Boyle) is to investigate another murder in a downtown hotel. A Jewish scholar was killed, and though police chief Treviranus (Miguel Sandoval) believes the victim was mistaken for another guest at the hotel (a plausible explanation), Lonnrot insists 'I'm looking for a more rabinnical explanation.'
And another murder occurs, probably related to the first one. Helped by a young journalist Zunz (Christopher Eccleston), Lonnrot seeks for the truths, going through the labyrinth with the clues left on the crime scenes, and using the theological knowledge gained from Zunz.
We should know Cox is using a very intelligent method, knowing the original writer's intentions about the inverted rules of detective novels. The original meaning of 'clue' is literally interpreted, and the detective wanders the labyrinthine world. The inside of a police station is shot in one long shot, with the camara following the policemen going through the numerous turns and narrow alleys of the place, making us lose the sense of direction. OK, I see.
For all its good intention and good location (in Mexico, Cox's favoorite place), the film is extended too long, with too many dialogues and unnecessary flash-forward sections. The problem is Miguel Sandoval's character whose part makes a frame of the story of Lonnrot. Naturally Lonnrot should be the main character, but the police chief, who should be the secondary character, interrupts too much. Moreover, the main story itself does not interest us enough until the very final moment, in which we see everything in the right way. Until then, the 'truths' about the crimes, the identity of the criminal, or the unusual method of the detective all only help confuse our mind, instead of drawing us into the world of the film.
Of course, these apparently unrelated factors all fit in the end, but to see them in the right places we have to wait almost 80 minutes, which is 30 minutes too long. Then we come back to the origin of the film. Why not 55 minutes?
Later on, however, the extended version (88 minutes) was made, which I have seen. It's still not bad, but it is clear that the shorter format was more suitable for the material. The film suffers from too many talks and no actions, but some parts are still fascinating in their own ways.
[IT'S ALEX COX, IT'S PUNK] Like his more recent film 'Revengers Tragedy' the world of Alex Cox is a punk-rock world even if he is using the book of Borges. The film is set in the near future, when one master criminal Scharlach leads his gangs in tow, and robs the bank. Though he is a killer, the film says, he does it with some devilish charms so some people think him as a hero. The film reveals it's tongue-in-cheek attitudes when one 'Borges' appears (and he is blind), and he is played by Alex Cox himself.
But ... well, here's the weakness of the film. For the film is actually about another case, leaving the evil Batman behind. The protagonist and detective Lonnrot (Peter Boyle) is to investigate another murder in a downtown hotel. A Jewish scholar was killed, and though police chief Treviranus (Miguel Sandoval) believes the victim was mistaken for another guest at the hotel (a plausible explanation), Lonnrot insists 'I'm looking for a more rabinnical explanation.'
And another murder occurs, probably related to the first one. Helped by a young journalist Zunz (Christopher Eccleston), Lonnrot seeks for the truths, going through the labyrinth with the clues left on the crime scenes, and using the theological knowledge gained from Zunz.
We should know Cox is using a very intelligent method, knowing the original writer's intentions about the inverted rules of detective novels. The original meaning of 'clue' is literally interpreted, and the detective wanders the labyrinthine world. The inside of a police station is shot in one long shot, with the camara following the policemen going through the numerous turns and narrow alleys of the place, making us lose the sense of direction. OK, I see.
For all its good intention and good location (in Mexico, Cox's favoorite place), the film is extended too long, with too many dialogues and unnecessary flash-forward sections. The problem is Miguel Sandoval's character whose part makes a frame of the story of Lonnrot. Naturally Lonnrot should be the main character, but the police chief, who should be the secondary character, interrupts too much. Moreover, the main story itself does not interest us enough until the very final moment, in which we see everything in the right way. Until then, the 'truths' about the crimes, the identity of the criminal, or the unusual method of the detective all only help confuse our mind, instead of drawing us into the world of the film.
Of course, these apparently unrelated factors all fit in the end, but to see them in the right places we have to wait almost 80 minutes, which is 30 minutes too long. Then we come back to the origin of the film. Why not 55 minutes?
Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2001
At first glance, Alex Cox would seem the least likely interpreter of Jorge Luis Borges. Cox, best known for his Punk/New Wave era classics Repo Man and Sid and Nancy has a messy, overflowing visual style; where as the Argentine master's enigmatic puzzle-box stories are always meticulously constructed. On the other hand, Death and the Compass, one of the great short stories of the 20th century, is a piece drenched in the Kabbalah and the search for order in chaos and it is one of the more curious tenets of several mystical traditions that Wisdom may be hidden in the trash pile; or, as in another of Borges' stories, the manifestation of the omniprescence of God may show up in an unremarkable basement in Buenos Aires.
Cox's film is full of action and life, his sets overflowing with visual detail and just plain junk very reminiscent of Gilliam's sets for Twelve Monkeys (done on a much smaller budget, however). The movie is remarkably faithful to the particulars of the original story. Peter Boyle is very good as the obsessed and unorthodox police detective Lonrott who is way too clever for his own good. Miguel Sandoval is perhaps a bit too eccentric in his performance in the narrative framing sequence added by Cox, and the whole framing sequence may be overly "punched up" with odd sound effects and random jump cuts. But overall it's an excellent if unexpected interpretation of a classic story.
The disc sports a solid anamorphic transfer. There are a few specks at reel changes and some grain in the night shots (not an effect of the transfer, though, this was a fairly low budget film), and some nice extras: commentary from Cox and one of the members of Pray for Rain who composed the lovely gothy/techno vaguely retro-80s score, and an early 30 minute short of Cox's called Spider Web.
This is a lost gem of a movie that deserves a much wider audience. Terry Gilliam fans, in particular, should enjoy it.
Cox's film is full of action and life, his sets overflowing with visual detail and just plain junk very reminiscent of Gilliam's sets for Twelve Monkeys (done on a much smaller budget, however). The movie is remarkably faithful to the particulars of the original story. Peter Boyle is very good as the obsessed and unorthodox police detective Lonrott who is way too clever for his own good. Miguel Sandoval is perhaps a bit too eccentric in his performance in the narrative framing sequence added by Cox, and the whole framing sequence may be overly "punched up" with odd sound effects and random jump cuts. But overall it's an excellent if unexpected interpretation of a classic story.
The disc sports a solid anamorphic transfer. There are a few specks at reel changes and some grain in the night shots (not an effect of the transfer, though, this was a fairly low budget film), and some nice extras: commentary from Cox and one of the members of Pray for Rain who composed the lovely gothy/techno vaguely retro-80s score, and an early 30 minute short of Cox's called Spider Web.
This is a lost gem of a movie that deserves a much wider audience. Terry Gilliam fans, in particular, should enjoy it.
Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2005
Though "Death and the Compass" was reworked into a feature from a short project--and shows telltale signs of this--it might have succeeded better if only director Alex Cox had been content to allow the film's sound to come through clearly. The film has some great images and performances as well as funky avant-garde elements to both the visuals and story structure. However, when you're doing all that, you can only get yourself in trouble by also monkeying with the sound; here the dialogue is sometimes garbled, sometimes muffled, and sometimes mumbled (pick your poison).
Based on the Jorge Luis Borges short story of the same name, "Death and the Compass" follows a detective who has chosen an "intuitive" path of detection, finally risking losing himself deep in a labyrinth of speculation as he attempts to guess, second-guess, and out-guess the criminal pattern unfolding before him. Unfortunately the film, largely due to the sound trouble, ends up nearly as jumbled as the story. The film is commendable for its referencing of many other Borges stories, but ultimately it leaves one wishing for a great deal more cohesion.
One can look to Lars von Trier's "The Element of Crime" as a film that was, both in terms of story and stylistic flair, a comparable but far more successful venture. More obviously, one can look to Paul Miller's excellent "Spiderweb," a short film with a sort of "Guy Maddin" feel. "Spiderweb" is also based on Borges' "Death and the Compass" and stars Nigel Hawthorne. It is included on the DVD release of Cox's film (but somehow there is no reference to "Spiderweb" on the IMDB!).
Based on the Jorge Luis Borges short story of the same name, "Death and the Compass" follows a detective who has chosen an "intuitive" path of detection, finally risking losing himself deep in a labyrinth of speculation as he attempts to guess, second-guess, and out-guess the criminal pattern unfolding before him. Unfortunately the film, largely due to the sound trouble, ends up nearly as jumbled as the story. The film is commendable for its referencing of many other Borges stories, but ultimately it leaves one wishing for a great deal more cohesion.
One can look to Lars von Trier's "The Element of Crime" as a film that was, both in terms of story and stylistic flair, a comparable but far more successful venture. More obviously, one can look to Paul Miller's excellent "Spiderweb," a short film with a sort of "Guy Maddin" feel. "Spiderweb" is also based on Borges' "Death and the Compass" and stars Nigel Hawthorne. It is included on the DVD release of Cox's film (but somehow there is no reference to "Spiderweb" on the IMDB!).
Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2008
The 5 stars is for the DVD extra, Spiderweb, a short film made by Paul Miller (not Alex Cox) in 1975. I am a great admirer of Jorge Luis Borges and have read most if not all of his short stories, lectures, and poetry.
I was shocked by Alex Cox's interpretation when I saw it. It seemed everything opposite to what Borges was. It was loud, bombastic, short on attention, overly colorful, brash, and totally in-your-face. It would be equivalent to GG Allin doing J.S. Bach's Goldberg Aria. It may be a good film, but clearly, Cox's personality dominated (and suffocated) a Borgesian story.
Paul Miller's version, on the other hand, is much closer to what I personally feel are qualities associated with a Jorge Luis Borges work: Quiet, introspective, intellectual, multi-dimensional, multi-cultural, non-linear, with a strong, grainy, element of a nightmare.
I can't count how many times I have come across reviews of this DVD where people go on and on about Spiderweb as if it were the main movie. If you can put aside your prejudices against film length and black-and-white cinematography, then for all intents and purposes, Spiderweb IS the main movie you would purchase this dvd for.
I was shocked by Alex Cox's interpretation when I saw it. It seemed everything opposite to what Borges was. It was loud, bombastic, short on attention, overly colorful, brash, and totally in-your-face. It would be equivalent to GG Allin doing J.S. Bach's Goldberg Aria. It may be a good film, but clearly, Cox's personality dominated (and suffocated) a Borgesian story.
Paul Miller's version, on the other hand, is much closer to what I personally feel are qualities associated with a Jorge Luis Borges work: Quiet, introspective, intellectual, multi-dimensional, multi-cultural, non-linear, with a strong, grainy, element of a nightmare.
I can't count how many times I have come across reviews of this DVD where people go on and on about Spiderweb as if it were the main movie. If you can put aside your prejudices against film length and black-and-white cinematography, then for all intents and purposes, Spiderweb IS the main movie you would purchase this dvd for.
Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2003
For any aficionado of Jorge Luis Borges' writing, "Death and the Compass" by Alex Cox is a must skip. Any trace of Borges' subtle fantasy and intricate intelligence is lost in the glut of this unsuccessful Terry Gilliam-wannabe. Its post-apocalyptic setting, flashy colors and characters, warped camera angles and close-ups may all stylistically remind viewers of Terry Gilliam films such as "Brazil". Except unlike a Terry Gilliam film, I can't seem to find a point to this movie. There's a complete lack of intelligent dialogue, even the actors appeared stumped by the lack of interesting or realistic lines. All of its flashy techniques and synthesizer sounds give the impression that Cox aimed too hard to make this film an instant "cult" classic. Along the way, the original short story is lost all together. The sole redeeming point of the movie comes at the finale, where an impressive vision of the labyrinthine Triste LeRoy is recreated. I really liked two of Alex Cox' other movies, "Repo Man" - which is about the supernatural adventures of a newcomer in the car repossession business, and "Sid and Nancy". I think both movies have incredible merit, but "Death and the Compass" is a miss.
So why am I giving this DVD five stars? Well, the previous reviewer was correct in that this DVD contains a "lost gem". It's just that this "gem" is not the feature film most would suspect; it is instead the "bonus" short film by Paul Miller called "Spiderweb", also based on Borges' story "Death and the Compass". Though according to the audio commentary by Alex Cox, this 20-minute short film was made in the seventies, it is shot in clear black and white, reminiscent of a 1930s' film. It's steeped in visual symbolism that interpret literary expressions. The entire film is thoughtfully shot and carefully edited. Unlike often-seen student shorts, it feels more like a mini feature film. Like a Borges story, it is short and sweet. And similarly, I will keep my review of it short. For any Borges aficionado, "Spiderweb" is a rewarding treasure find. For any movie aficionado, it is an intelligent adaptation of a Borges story that the author himself would have approved of.
So why am I giving this DVD five stars? Well, the previous reviewer was correct in that this DVD contains a "lost gem". It's just that this "gem" is not the feature film most would suspect; it is instead the "bonus" short film by Paul Miller called "Spiderweb", also based on Borges' story "Death and the Compass". Though according to the audio commentary by Alex Cox, this 20-minute short film was made in the seventies, it is shot in clear black and white, reminiscent of a 1930s' film. It's steeped in visual symbolism that interpret literary expressions. The entire film is thoughtfully shot and carefully edited. Unlike often-seen student shorts, it feels more like a mini feature film. Like a Borges story, it is short and sweet. And similarly, I will keep my review of it short. For any Borges aficionado, "Spiderweb" is a rewarding treasure find. For any movie aficionado, it is an intelligent adaptation of a Borges story that the author himself would have approved of.
Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2009
I will give this 5 stars based solely on the short film included in the DVD. I also have to ask, does anybody know where I can get more short films based on work by Jorge Luis Borges? Any help is appreciated.
Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2003
I watched the short film that was part of the extras on this disc and was very entertained. It was smart, to-the-point & had a sort of retro black & white foreign film feel while retaining the existential twist that makes it interesting.
Unfortunately,( don't get me wrong, I love many of Alex Cox's films )the feature was over-written, badly cast & had some of the worst recorded dialogue sound I've ever heard for a film.
I wish that someone would release Cox's 'Highway Patrolman' on dvd as this one seems like a wasted effort.
Unfortunately,( don't get me wrong, I love many of Alex Cox's films )the feature was over-written, badly cast & had some of the worst recorded dialogue sound I've ever heard for a film.
I wish that someone would release Cox's 'Highway Patrolman' on dvd as this one seems like a wasted effort.