Great film, but the DVD is hurting.

Rating: 8/10 (31 August 2002)

Enough reasonable (and a few truly dismal) reviews of Mememto already exist on the IMDB, so I can only add my vote that Memento is a film worth seeing. Whether or not it deserves to be called one the "greatest films of all time" is irrelevant, since that is a subjective honor anyway. It's high ranking is almost certainly due to a rapid flood of votes following its recent release (I mean, come on--Lord of the Rings ranks even higher than Casablanca, Star Wars and Citizen Kane!). The point is that, objectively speaking, Memento is a truly original, unique, and well made film, and there is some truly fascinating and thoughtful dialogue and narrative here. For that reason alone any film lover should check it out.
I must add, however, that the DVD features an Independent Film Channel interview with Writer/Director Christopher Nolan that is one of the most visually irritating pieces I have ever seen. The interview randomly skips frames, causing subtle but silly jumps that remind me of the lousy black & white film the castaways on Gilligan's Island once made ("I'd walk out on that picture even on an airplane!"). Presumably, someone thought this was an artistic touch, but the end result is that it just looks dumb, and I had to *turn the video off on a DVD* in order to enjoy or get anything positive out of the interview! That's quite a blunder considering how worthy the film itself is.