Will you buy "Contact" if it releases on Blu-Ray??

[OokieSpookie]

So is this like a magical half assed way to skip the big stickies Wish List thread?

[User 13]

Good movie, great book.

[arush5268d]

Originally Posted by OokieSpookie

So is this like a magical half assed way to skip the big stickies Wish List thread?

[scraptor]

In a heartbeat. Terrific movie.

And Sky Captain, just because you didn't like the movie is no reason to spoil the ending for others.

[Victor Wright]

No question, this would be a definite buy. Saw the film four times at the theatre (unusual for me) and even inspired me to track down and read the book. Excellent movie...

[tommyboy81]

No. When I saw it i fell asleep and never wated it again.

[arush5268d]

Originally Posted by tommyboy81

No. When I saw it i fell asleep and never wated it again.

This movie is both interesting and boring. But I will say it's pretty unique. Since I don't have it on DVD, I would probobly pick it up on Blu.

[DetroitSportsFan]

I didn't like it enough to buy it.

[tommyboy81]

Originally Posted by arush5268d

This movie is both interesting and boring. But I will say it's pretty unique. Since I don't have it on DVD, I would probobly pick it up on Blu.

I'll have to rewatch it. It's been what 10 years? I was 16 or 17.

[Sky_Captain]

Originally Posted by scraptor

In a heartbeat. Terrific movie.

And Sky Captain, just because you didn't like the movie is no reason to spoil the ending for others.

It's a decade old, I don't think spoilers apply.
By the way, Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker's father and Verbal Kint is Keyser Soze...

[cartman781]

Originally Posted by Sky_Captain

Verbal Kint is Keyser Soze...

I was going to watch it for the first time tonight
Not

[scraptor]

Originally Posted by Sky_Captain

It's a decade old, I don't think spoilers apply.
By the way, Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker's father and Verbal Kint is Keyser Soze...

It's not about the age of the movie. It's about letting people experience the joy (or disappointment) of a movie on their own. Why spoil the ending of Casablanca, Psycho, etc., just because they're old?

Civility rules the interwebs once again.

[beb]

Originally Posted by Rotel1026

No, definitely not. Hated that she was an atheist and then the only way she could describe what happens at the end was in terms of how someone would describe their faith and belief in God.

When I first saw Contact, I had somewhat the same sentiment as you do, but on further reflection on the fact that scientists often rely on something like looks and smells very much like faith. I have considered myself a rather scientific, skeptical person, and a self-declared atheist/agnostic since I was 13, yet I also try and apply the same thinking to seeing flaws in how some atheists and/or scientists allow dogmatic and un-scientific thinking to rule out the possibility of certain experiences and phenomenon. I am all for ruling out certain things from consideration, once presented with enough evidence that further consideration is not warranted.

So while I have not read the Carl Sagan book that Contact was based on, I do know it was his attempt, as a lifelong skeptic and atheist, to address issues of the faith inherent in certain experiences. While science has done much (with the help of "Occam's razor") to shear away the dogma and superstition of ages past, it has not come very far in explaining the mysteries of consciousness and the mind. We are in the equivalent of the 1800's medical knowledge in terms of our knowledge and understanding of human consciousness (let alone non-human consciousness!).

Think about if you were Ellie, and you had the same experience she did. How would you fit that experience into your belief system, one tempered by a past emphasis on science, rationality, atheism, and skepticism (with a drive to understand the true nature of the universe, regardless of what the final answers are). Would you just think you went insane? Would you question the foundations of your beliefs in the nature of the universe? Would you waiver in your, dare I say faith that there is nothing that can't be measured and/or recorded with scientific equipment?

So to me, Contact is a brilliant movie on the nature of direct experience vs. scientific understanding, faith vs. reason. Albeit I agree it is somewhat flawed as a movie in that is somewhat waters down the controversial debate surrounding atheism vs. faith, likely in order to appeal to a wider audience).

For a wonderful (but heady and academic) book on trying to explain experiences like Ellie has in Contact, check out The Antipodes of the Mind: Charting the Phenomenology of the Ayahuasca Experience. One of my favorite books in the past 5-10 years.

-beb

PS yes I'd buy it on Blu-Ray!

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by Sky_Captain

It's a decade old, I don't think spoilers apply.

Given the apparent average age of our little "community" here.... may people around here were 7 or 8 when that movie came out.... so good chance they didn't see it....

besides, look at posts, all the time you see people saying "Patton was great, first time seeing it" or "Blade Runner wasn't what I thought it'd be" or "Close Encounters didn't make sense" or "2001 was boring"

etc etc.....

Blu-ray is causing many people to pick up movies they've never seen..... I don't think this one would be any different...... I wouldn't expect the need for a spoiler on the above mentioned movies, in a forum centered around film-buffs..... but let's face it... a lot of people here are just PS3 owners (I own two, so lay off) who got into blu-ray because of the PS3, not because they were big DVD collectors, or avid film-fans.....

They may becoming film fans.... but nonetheless..... many catalog titles are unknown to a large number of people here.....

so, in conclusion... I would like to thank the academy.... and say...

"Use Spoiler Tags, and have your pets spayed or neutered"