The Majestic (2001)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Frank Darabont

Writer (WGA):

Michael Sloane (written by)

Release Date:

21 December 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Sometimes your life comes into focus one frame at a time.

Plot:

Set in 1951, a blacklisted Hollywood writer gets into a car accident, loses his memory and settles down in a small town where he is mistaken for a long-lost son.

Plot Keywords:

Small Town | Communist | Amnesia | Memory | Screenwriter

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Jim Carrey	...	Peter Appleton
Bob Balaban	...	Elvin Clyde
Jeffrey DeMunn	...	Ernie Cole
Hal Holbrook	...	Congressman Doyle
Laurie Holden	...	Adele Stanton
Martin Landau	...	Harry Trimble
Brent Briscoe	...	Sheriff Cecil Coleman
Ron Rifkin	...	Kevin Bannerman
Gerry Black	...	Emmett Smith
David Ogden Stiers	...	Doc Stanton
James Whitmore	...	Stan Keller
Susan Willis	...	Irene Terwilliger
Catherine Dent	...	Mabel
Brian Howe	...	Carl Leffert / Head of the Studio
Karl Bury	...	Bob Leffert

Also Known As:

The Bijou (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for language and mild thematic elements.

Runtime:

152 min

Country:

USA | Australia

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:L | South Korea:12 | Sweden:7 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Brazil:Livre | Canada:PG | Finland:K-7 | France:U | Germany:6 | Hong Kong:I | Ireland:G | Netherlands:AL | Norway:7 | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Ferndale, California, USA

Company:

Castle Rock Entertainment

Trivia:

In the opening scene, the studio executives discuss a film in which a character named Floyd gets trapped in a cave-in. They may be discussing making a film about Floyd Collins, who was trapped in a cave in central Kentucky in 1925. The Floyd Collins story was the basis of the film Ace in the Hole (1951) by Billy Wilder, released in 1951, the same year that this film takes place.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Leo Kubelsky is talking with Peter Appleton as they walk through the studio Lot, as Leo Kulbesky announces that the "studio has suspended negotiations this morning," the shot shows Allen Garfield with a modern "in-ear" hearing aide. The rest of the time he is shown with out it.

Quotes:

[Instead of a piano piece by Franz Liszt, Luke plays a boogie-woogie tune]
Irene Terwilliger: Really, Luke! That's no way to treat Mr. Liszt. Stop that! Stop it, stop it! Who taught you to play like that? I demand to know. Where on earth did you learn to play such a thing?
Emmett Smith: I taught him that... when you weren't looking!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "HBO First Look: The Majestic (#8.21)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

Blues in the Bucket

I liked it too although I'm not usually a Jim Carey fan

This DVD came in my last batch from Netflix, and I wondered why I had ever chosen it. Finally on a rainy Saturday, I put it on and was enchanted and moved. Jim Carey was great as were all the cast. The story seemed so very timely in light of recent national events. A land where dissenting voices are labeled unpatriotic and people of intellect and wide-ranging analysis are dismissed as elitist is positively frightening. "The Majestic" shows how we can get back to being our best selves and fulfill our promise as a nation that now seems so bleak to some of us. Caring about each other, our community, that is how we really come alive and make a difference. Building and striving for what is possible and making it safe to express and fulfill dreams gives me hope that we really can get back to where we belong if we'd only stop being so self-righteous, rude, and intolerant. I grew up in the party of Eisenhower but never felt that opposing ideas were unpatriotic. We need to be kinder to each other, recapture the courtesy of a lost era, be thoughtful and intellectually curious to be sure that we come up with the very best ideas and solutions we can in today's world. "The Majestic" is a wonderful reminder of what ordinary people can do when we come together and work to achieve something that uplifts a whole community. I heartily recommend it.