The Lighthouse - DVD

This is a great transfer with interesting details. Perhaps not a movie for everyone, but quite enjoyable if you prefer the type of film that requires repeated viewing.

Strange, unique movie. 10/10. Would watch again.

Good movie

The Lighthouse (2019) stars Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson and is directed by Robert Eggers, who directed The Witch (2015). The Lighthouse is truly one of the weirdest and most unique movies I've ever seen. It's about two lighthouse keepers in 1890 New England who basically drink a lot, go mad, and are at each others' throats, all while strange, hypnotic, and ghostly things happen. It is shot in black-and-white and in 1.19:1 aspect ratio to give it a claustrophobic look and feel. The black-and-white photography is excellent and really sets the dark tone of the movie. The acting is excellent by both actors. The Blu Ray generally is good, but it has volume fluctuations, like so many Blu Rays do. I found myself often reaching for the remote to adjust the volume throughout the movie. Some of the dialogue is a little hard to understand (muffled). Overall, not a bad Blu Ray release, though. Special features include the segment The Lighthouse: A Dark & Stormy Tale (37 minutes) and an audio commentary option with Robert Eggers. Recommended.

If you liked Robert Eggers' previous movie, THE WITCH, you'll probably like THE LIGHTHOUSE, although this isn't guaranteed. I enjoyed most of THE LIGHTHOUSE, but I didn't like THE WITCH at all. But Eggers' filmmaking skills had nothing to do with that. There's something about Puritan New England that really puts me off. Not New England itself, but Puritan New England. The rigidity of the Puritans, their aversion to beauty and fun, it's just not for me. THE LIGHTHOUSE takes place in New England - on an island off the coast of Maine to be exact - but there's nothing Puritan about it, though it's also not fun. Quite the contrary. THE LIGHTHOUSE is filled with things like flatulence, chamber pots, crude language, drunkenness, and sex. You get the idea. Things the Puritans obviously endured, but not-so-secretly hated, and to be truthful, I'm not a big fan of most of those things, either. But this is a movie about two men stranded in a remote lighthouse. If they had tea and discussed Chekhov in ever-so-polite terms, it really wouldn't be believable. Despite the above, this film, which is set somewhere near the end of the 19th century and contains only two characters, is filled with atmospheric beauty. Willem Dafoe is Thomas Wake, a crusty old lighthouse keeper, who looks like he hasn't had a bath in well, years. Robert Pattinson is Ephraim Winslow, a young man filled with secrets, who is at the lighthouse to learn Wake's trade. Problem is, Wake won't let Winslow near the lighthouse beam and saddles him with menial chores, instead. Chores no sane person would ever want to do, and ones that have no learning curve. If you're the kind of person who can't watch a movie unless there's nonstop action or plenty of jokes, then this certainly isn't the movie for you. If you like atmospheric period pieces, then this might be a film you'd like. If you're into characters and the psychology of relationships more than chase scenes, this could be a film you should definitely consider. If you wonder what would happen if two men who are antagonistic toward each other are stranded in the confines of a lighthouse, then you probably will like this. And, you can't hate black-and-white, and you must accept the fact that isolation can lead to hallucinatory madness, but it'll be up to you to figure out what's real and what's not. Be warned, though: this movie isn't perfect. Its darkness and gloominess is unrelieved, and some of the scenes seem a little overly long, though I think it still deserves five stars. Both Dafoe and Pattinson seem to relish their roles, and the claustrophobic atmosphere makes both men, but especially Dafoe, seem larger-than-life. That claustrophobic atmosphere also adds a kind of beauty that makes the horror of the men's isolation all the greater. To me, at least, horror seems all the greater when it's set against a background of beauty. We realize what could be, and that makes the horror of what is so much worse than if it were experienced against the backdrop of a jail cell or a mental institution, for example. It's analogous to a field of daffodils growing across your solitary prison cell. You can see them, but you can never touch. And then there's the foghorn. I can't forget the sound of the foghorn. To sum up: the sound and the cinematography are gorgeous. Eggers is no M. Night Shyamalan, so if you like his work, better skip this movie. Eggers doesn't tie up every loose end, but he plays fair with his viewers, though I admit, I understand the frustration of some at the film's ending. But Eggers' movies, at least so far, have made sense, even the fantasy elements. We, at least I, don't come away from Eggers' films asking ourselves what in the world went on. I know. This movie is one that sunk down into my psyche, and I thought about it for days, maybe weeks. Eggers' films are elegant and never rough around the edges. I guess only time will tell if he can keep this elegance up, at least in the long form and in the horror genre, but for now, for me, Eggers is batting 1000.

The case was cracked upon opening but other than that no issues with the product.

This movie has great style and is very dialogue heavy focusing on the characters and the setting of the lighthouse. Great acting by both the leads and the lighthouse becomes a 3rd character in itself. Movies like this are rare these days and it is nice to see a movie that takes a chance and does not just recycle a formula or genre. Slow pace, black and white, underlying tension, everything works very well together.

If you like the Lighthouse and want to see it in it's absolute best form outside of a theatre, this european Arrow release is simply the best you will find