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Movies / On DVD / Primer
Primer

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Primer (2004)

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Reviews Counted:113

Fresh:81

Rotten:32

Average Rating:6.5/10

Consensus: Dense, obtuse, but stimulating, Primer is a film for viewers ready for a cerebral challenge.

Runtime: 80 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Former engineer Shane Carruth announces himself as a force to watch with PRIMER, his first film. Carruth wrote, directed, edited, produced, photographed, scored, and stars in the film, which won... Former engineer Shane Carruth announces himself as a force to watch with PRIMER, his first film. Carruth wrote, directed, edited, produced, photographed, scored, and stars in the film, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. He plays Aaron, who, with his business partner and best friend, Abe (David Sullivan), experiments with a device that seems to have more power than they could ever have imagined. Playing with batteries, refrigeration, and other techniques and materials in Aaron's garage, they discover that their machine just might have the ability to move back in time. Originally dealing with Weebles figures and wristwatches, Aaron and Abe are soon considering making a box large enough to transport a human being--with remarkable results. An indie hit, PRIMER was made for about $7,000. Carruth shot the film with a purposefully grainy look, as if it were made in the 1970s. The retro feel works well with the futuristic elements of the story, which lead Abe and Aaron to question reality, truth, and their own physical and mental being. Because he learned about film on his own without going to film school or making any previous shorts, Carruth brings a freshness to the genre that is invigorating, with unexpected plot twists and complex narratives that invite multiple viewings. PRIMER is an unusual, unique, challenging, and thoroughly entertaining movie. [More]

Starring: Shane Carruth, David Sullivan, Anand Upadbyaya, Casey Gooden

Starring: Shane Carruth, David Sullivan, Anand Upadbyaya, Casey Gooden, Carrie Crawford, Jay Butler, John Carruth, Samantha Thomson

Director: Shane Carruth

Director: Shane Carruth
Screenwriter: Shane Carruth
Producer: Shane Carruth
Composer: Shane Carruth
Studio: ThinkFilm

[See More Credits]

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Reviews for Primer

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21 - 40 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

One of the best science fiction films I have seen, and certainly as one of the genre's best in recent years.

Full Review Source: Not Coming to a Theater Near You | comment Comment
05/24/05
Rumsey Taylor
Rumsey Taylor
Not Coming to a Theater Near You

Only after watching this film did I realize the even more amazing story.

Full Review Source: Zertinet Movies | comment Comment
05/21/05
Steven Snyder
Steven Snyder
Zertinet Movies

Unrelentingly boring.

Full Review Source: Lessons of Darkness | comment Comment
05/04/05
Nick Schager
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness

While Primer was not widely distributed and never found an audience, it is among the best speculative films of last year.

Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
01/28/05
Duane Dudek
Duane Dudek
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

You can choose to be fascinated (like I was), or just give up all together. Either way, you gotta admit, these guys have guts.

Full Review Source: Window to the Movies | comment Comment
01/09/05
Jeffrey Chen
Jeffrey Chen
Window to the Movies

If you've seen Memento, you've some idea of the ingenuity on display here. For $7,000 dollars, could you make a better big screen film?

Full Review Source: Looking Closer | comment Comment
12/31/04
Jeffrey Overstreet
Jeffrey Overstreet
Looking Closer

To enjoy the film you have to be willing to let your brain work overtime during every second of its 77-minute run, and even then you’ll miss things.

Full Review Source: Reno Gazette-Journal | comment Comment
12/16/04
Forrest Hartman
Forrest Hartman
Reno Gazette-Journal

Packs more ideas than a hundred big-budget studio films made for a thousand times more money.

Full Review Source: Des Moines Register | comment Comment
12/10/04
Jeffrey Bruner
Jeffrey Bruner
Des Moines Register

May very well be one of the best American movies of the year, and I'll be damned if I understood more than 40 percent of it.

Full Review Source: The Stranger (Seattle, WA) | comment Comment
12/05/04
Andrew Wright
Andrew Wright
The Stranger (Seattle, WA)

An unapologetically cerebral movie of ideas.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
12/03/04
Leah McLaren
Leah McLaren
Globe and Mail

It's one thing to admire what writer/director/composer/actor Shane Carruth wrought on his $1.98 digicam budget; it's quite another to have to sit through the mind-numbing results.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
12/03/04
Peter Howell
Peter Howell
Toronto Star

The ingenious debut of writer-director Shane Carruth, who assembled the film on his home computer and also plays one of the two leads, is purposely designed to be a little bewildering.

Full Review Source: Miami Herald | comment Comment
12/03/04
Rene Rodriguez
Rene Rodriguez
Miami Herald

It's a tiny-budget indie film with an interesting sci-fi story premise. Too bad the mystery overwhelms the humanity, so it doesn't quite work.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
12/03/04
Liz Braun
Liz Braun
Jam! Movies

Eerily, unswervingly transfixing.

Full Review Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel | comment Comment
12/02/04
Phoebe Flowers
Phoebe Flowers
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Even as Primer's plot ends up seeming contrived, that is, arguably, the thematic point: stories are always unstable and untrustworthy.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
11/19/04
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters

A smart, clever time-travel game played on audiences and with them

Full Review Source: Movie Habit | comment Comment
11/17/04
Marty Mapes
Marty Mapes
Movie Habit

I don’t need to be spoon fed, but unlock the kitchen for me, would you? And get a new sound guy.

Full Review Source: Cinerina | comment Comment
11/15/04
Karina Montgomery
Karina Montgomery
Cinerina

It takes a lot for a movie to surprise today's jaded, seen-it, bought-the- PlayStation-version sci-fi fan. Primer can. Let it.

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
11/12/04
Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel

A jigsaw puzzle made of pieces that may or may not fit together, it assumes the intelligence and interest of its audience, a brave move that pays off big.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
11/12/04
Tom Long
Tom Long
Detroit News

Carruth challenges us to imagine the impossible, then asks us to consider the moral, ethical and spiritual implications of what we have witnessed, and put those considerations on equal footing with man's desire to go where no man has gone before.

Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | comment Comment
11/12/04
Terry Lawson
Terry Lawson
Detroit Free Press
 
 
21 - 40 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
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Latest News for Primer

March 16, 2005: Ebert's Overlooked Film Festival 2005
A 70-mm French comedy by Jacques Tati will open my 7th annual Overlooked Film Festival this April, and a Bollywood musical starring "the most beautiful woman in the... More...

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