Pleasantly surprising and a bit of a tearjerker to boot . . .

Rating: Null/10 (4 June 1999)

I have to admit that I didn't see this movie when it hit theatres primarily because the promos just gave no indication what it was about [that and I've never really cared for Brad Pitt]. However, despite problems with sound levels [which REALLY need to be worked out, everything being too soft, then the music cutting in and slamming you into the wall opposite the tv] the movie was a surprise. I really liked it, and Brad Pitt [Joe Black] does a fine job as Death, a being who has always been so locked into its job it has never had a vacation and calling upon Anthony Hopkins [William Parrish] to act as "mentor" in the world of mortality. Its three hour length may have been one thing that turned people off in the U.S. I don't recall ticket sales being that high for this movie. But the script needs those three hours to allow the audience a plausible reason to LIKE Joe Black, which is necessary for the story to work. A movie well worth renting for any evening.