Beautiful, brilliant, and long.

Rating: 8/10 (2 October 2012)

A few years ago, I tried to watch this on DVD on my laptop. I managed to get through about fifteen minutes before I couldn't endure it any further and gave up, but told everyone that I'd watched it but hadn't cared for it.
I recently read Roger Ebert's review of the film and was struck by his insistence that this film can only be watched on the big screen, which I eventually did at the Astor Theatre in Melbourne.
In the first half, I found my breath being taken away by the epic beauty of the film, and found myself delighted by the charismatic and unusual protagonist. I also laughed much more than I expected to. At the intermission, I realized how correct Ebert had been – the epic scale of this film can only be captured on a big screen. I was loving it.
The film resumed for the second half. I was still held by the film but felt that there were a few false endings, when I was expecting it to (finally) wrap up – only to find it starting all over again. That is probably the only thing that detracted from me rating this film a 9 or 10. It's too long for me. I don't have anything against long films if I watch them without checking my watch – like Seven Samurai or Apocalypse Now Redux.
But during this film, I did check my watch during the last forty-odd minutes – which were, I admit, every bit as stunning as the rest.