I've always loved this film, but I just found out that there is a special edition out there somewhere that presents this film in chronological order. Has anybody seen this and what do you think?
shareits ok but it loses a lot when shown this way.
(and the intro takes a lot of time)
It use to be on Youtube.
There's a way to show it from the dvd.
Instructions may be under faq, not sure.
Best unknown feature at IMDB.com
http://www.imdb.com/features/video/browse/
I saw it on YouTube once. It's kinda boring and you feel bad for Teddy.
shareI never felt bad for Teddy/John.
He had it coming for a long time.
Best unknown feature at IMDB.com
http://www.imdb.com/features/video/browse/
Ummm Teddy was the good man; he tried to help. He didn't deserve to die. The brunette chick on the other hand..
shareJust finished watching it in chronological order about 2 minutes ago. Weird thing is, I'm more confused than when I watched it in its original form. Maybe because I've seen the original so many times (its a GREAT film), all the sudden, it didn't make sense anymore. I knew too much!
My advice: avoid the temptation to watch it in chronological order. I think it actually took away from the film.
On an interesting side note, as I'm writing this - because I was watching the chronological version on VLC - it automatically started playing again.
It's in a loop.
It went back to the beginning.
I could probably read something into this but I won't.
I'm just going to turn it off.
Cue Twilight Zone theme song...
I drink your milkshake...
How did you find the file?
Got it Memento Chronological version
Don't know about a special edition but if you want to watch it in chronological order just watch the black and white segments going forward and fast forward through the color segments, then when the movie is over rewind and watch the color segments.
I just watched it like that the other week and it was easier to keep the story straight and keep track of what's happened and when it happened but it makes a lot more sense to watch it in the order that Nolan presented us with.
"I really wish Gia and Claire had became Tanner" - Honeybeefine
i thought the natalie character seemed more comprehensible in the chronological cut. i'd prefer the original version though, of course.
shareIt's on the Limited Edition DVD, you have to answer questions on the 2nd disc to get to it.
https://www.dvdtalk.com/features/navigating_the.html
I find the chronological version interesting BECAUSE it's so NOT-interesting.
In other words, the plot makes logical sense, but not dramatic sense. Things just happen, Leonard just does things, the end. I find it kind of boring, to put it bluntly.
I came back here after "Westworld," from the Nolan brother who wrote this Memento's story - season 2 is a lot like this. It's intriguing because it uses flashbacks to gradually reveal "what happened." But once you learn "what happened," it's suddenly not all that interesting.
In contrast, "Pulp Fiction," which gets referenced on this board as well, tells an interesting story even without the chronological shifting. In my opinion, of course.
Do you find this a positive thing though? That the chronological version isn't interesting?
Or do you just find it interesting lol
I only ask because I like stories that don't proceed in chronological order. I think there's a skill involved in using flashbacks and references correctly, and it's something that can be done sloppily or well. It just never occurred to me to revisit such stories in chronological order because the story itself (with its narrative structure) is what is important to me.
An interesting question!
Now that I think about it, I find it a decidedly NEGATIVE thing that the chronological version is less interesting.
Like I'd mentioned with "Pulp Fiction," the individual vignettes all stand on their own as both interesting stories and good cinema. Assembling them into non-chronological order helps emphasize the general themes and improve certain dramatic payoffs. But watching "Pulp Fiction" in chronological order works just fine.
I'd also mentioned "Westworld" season 2 as an example of a VERY weak story that's ONLY made interesting by its scrambled chronology.
In contrast, I feel I must mention "Westworld" season 1, which also plays fickle with chronology, but in a way that's totally organic (because it's literally how one character views the world) and satisfying even once the whole story is revealed.
So, yeah, much as I love this film, I'd have to say that it's a lesser film for its reliance on its reverse-chronology. It becomes worse than a gimmick; it's an actual crutch.
Hmm, interesting. Yeah, not sure how I feel on this. My leaning is that it doesn't matter if the chronological version is less interesting, because it's not the story that's being presented. I don't think it's necessarily a gimmick or a crutch.
But I'll keep this in mind I think, when I rewatch some things (like The Haunting of Hill House), including this movie. To see if it does make a difference to me personally.
On the topic of "gimmick" I find myself agreeing with this writer:
"One of my cinema pet peeves is when people refer to the structure of Christopher Nolan's Memento as "a gimmick." A gimmick is a hook that serves no point. It gets your attention, but by its very nature has no payoff."
"If Nolan dressed Guy Pearce in a chicken costume for the entirety of the movie and never explained it, that would be a gimmick."
"The reverse-chronology of Memento is essential to its power because it's the only way to put the audience in the mindset of its brain-damaged detective, Leonard Shelby (Pearce, not wearing a chicken costume)."
https://collider.com/memento-movie-explained/
Yeah, thanks!
I actually agree with the Collider article -- it's not a "gimmick" because, exactly like I said about "Westworld" season 1, it's an essential part of the film as a "thing."
It doesn't service the story (because, like I said, the story is unsatisfying in chronological order) but it DOES communicate Leonard's way of seeing the world.
And without giving away too much, the other Nolan brother (who wrote the initial short story version of this film, "Memento") used it again in "Westworld" for what I now realize is the exact same rationale.
Neat!
Nah, I don't see the point...
share