Dorathen Better Late Then Never

Spoonatects Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Seraherrera The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

cricketbat It's a bit long and a bit slow, but Far and Away is a well-made epic drama. Though I've seen it many times now, this film is still able to keep my attention and play with my emotions. Also, it's a fine St. Patrick's Day movie, to be sure.

petra_ste "His best friend is a talking pie!" "Sold! Howard, you've done it again!" (cue Happy Days theme) from The SimpsonsI didn't have such terrible memories of Far and Away, last seen when I was little more than a kid - probably for a number of factors, including John Williams' slick soundtrack, Enya's memorable Book of Days, my schoolboy crush for the young and radiant redhead Nicole Kidman... and mostly for the premise of the Oklahoma Land Rush, a fascinating topic.Watching it as an adult, Far and Away is bad. Being a Ron Howard movie, emotions register with the subtlety of a stampede of buffaloes; the camera swoops around emphatically, rotates, takes flight; character moments are corny, comedic scenes juvenile. People complain about, say, Spielberg's populism and lack of sophistication... but, compared to Howard, good ol' Steven is as thematically dense and thought-provoking as Stanley Kubrick.Kidman and Cruise, who later became competent (in Kidman's case even great) performers, here are just coasting on their looks. Cruise in particular attempts an Irish accent which sounds like he has a moribund but petulant leprechaun stuck in his larynx.4/10

juneebuggy I remember seeing this years ago and really enjoying it, this time around not so much. Its okay, entertaining. The accents (with just about everyone concerned) are terrible and the plot does get a bit overblown and silly at times, actually the whole tone of this movie was a bit silly which I don't remember from before.Despite it all though, still an enjoyable enough movie. Episodic in its western frontier telling, with many adventures, decent period details and some grand scenes i.e. the land rush which is shot on a huge scale with hundreds of extras, horses and wagons and stunts galore.Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman do a decent enough job with their roles, not much chemistry though for an (at the time) real life couple. I enjoyed Tom in some of the boxing scenes and Robert Prosky was lovely as Shannon's Da.The story follows an impoverished 1893 Irish tenant farmer who has recently lost his home and his father. Through a series of somewhat witty events he runs off to America with his spirited landlords daughter. They arrive in Boston with barely more than the shirts on their backs, pose as brother and sister (while falling in love) and struggle for the American dream, which in this case also includes joining the Oklahoma land rush. 9/23/15

VilyaLorien A lot of people are comparing this film to Titanic, I'd rather compare it to Gone with the Wind and Downton Abbey. This film supposedly took place one century before it was filmed. Yet the topics and things that it grapples with are still with us to this day. Immigrants came from all over the world to start a new life in America, which was still largely unexplored frontier territory; only to be sucked into the same situations, caste system and society order that they had just left. Much less the clash of too many people and cultures in too close of quarters. Case in Point: Joseph and Shannon from Ireland. I wasn't sure what to expect from this film. Many had commented that they didn't care for it. I found the actors and actresses to be very believable in their parts and accents. I must agree that this is one of Tom Cruise's best roles. I was very moved by the various positions the leading man and lady were placed in. I felt every blow that Joseph received, I wanted to slap Shannon for her sharp tongue. I wanted to cry at scenes, I laughed at many. I found the music to speak volumes and was pleasantly surprised that John Williams was the composer. There were a few Schindler's List notes, but not enough to subtract or distract in the least from the film. The sweeping shots of both Ireland and Oklahoma with their openness contrasted by the closed closeness of the city made you feel closed in and dead-ended. You can even nearly smell the rank stench of men, the filth of the streets and the sweat of the oppressed. Very seldom do I find a movie that actually 'speaks' to each of my senses as this film does. Go ahead, pop it in and step back in time. Perhaps, you would also care to bring some modern tissues with you...