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List Price: $12.98 | | Label: Universal Studios
Salesrank: 1291
Released: September 28, 2004 |
| Our Price: $3.96 |
| Used Price: $2.85 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
WHEN JOEL DISCOVERS THAT HIS GIRLFRIEND CLEMENTINE HAS HAD THEIR TUMULTUOUS RELATIONSHIP ERASED FROM HER MIND THROUGH AN EXPERIMENTAL SCIENTIFIC PROCEDURE, HE DECIDES TO ERASE HIS OWN PAIN BY GETTING THE SAME TREATMENT. BUT AS EACH MEMORY IS ELIMINATED, JOEL SUDDENLY REALIZES HOW MUCH HE STILL LOVES HER.
Description of Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (Widescreen Edition):
Screenwriters rarely develop a distinctive voice that can be recognized from movie to movie, but the ornate imagination of Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation) has made him a unique and much-needed cinematic presence. In Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a guy decides to have the memories of his ex-girlfriend erased after she's had him erased from her own memory--but midway through the procedure, he changes his mind and struggles to hang on to their experiences together. In other hands, the premise of memory-erasing would become a trashy science-fiction thriller; Kaufman, along with director Michel Gondry, spins this idea into a funny, sad, structurally complex, and simply enthralling love story that juggles morality, identity, and heartbreak with confident skill. The entire cast--Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Elijah Wood, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Wilkinson, and more--give superb performances, carefully pitched so that cleverness never trumps feeling. A great movie. --Bret Fetzer
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (Widescreen Edition) Reviews:
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind... I'm Sorry I Forgot the Movie 
2009-11-03 -
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: 9 out of 10: Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman is in a league of his own. If cloning is ever allowed in the United States we need to clone Mr. Kaufman. (If there is any community that will embrace cloning it will be Hollywood. Name any other place in America where nepotism is a religion. Hiring your own clone is the ultimate in nepotism.)
Charlie Kaufman has found that fine line between realistic dialog and interesting dialog. Characters talk, fight and fall in love just like they do in real life. But unlike most movies that try to mirror real life speech Kaufman makes it interesting. (Of course it helps that Kaufman is always throwing in the bizarre; such as adulterous homicidal book authors addicted to sniffing Angel Trumpet or people entering John Malkovich's head.)
Now just imagine if a Kaufman clone could, oh I don't know, help George Lucas write romantic dialog. (If there is anyone who occupies the opposite side of the good dialog screen writing scales its Lucas. His dialog is so wooden it would embarrass a marionette. Plus think of the Variety headline "Kaufman Clone helps pen Clones")
Oh the movie. Eternal Sunshine has some great performances especially by a subdued Jim Carrey. (This should surprise but after his brilliant turn in Man on the Moon, the only real surprise is how with his quiet desperate performance you forget its Carrey.) There is a really good subplot about the goings on at a mind erasure clinic. (The movie sensibly sets it up as a no big deal four-man operation like one of those laser eye surgery places in a strip mall.)
And there is a really realistic romance between Carrey and Kate Winslet that blows most movies away. Currently ranked Fifty-Seventh greatest movie of all time by the IMDb. Eternal Sunshine is one movie you won't be able to get out of your head.
Timeless.
2009-10-27 - I always enjoy movies that are a little out there. Eternal Sunshine passes with flying colors.
This movie is relatable, but not in a way that makes it boring.
We all know the story of having love, losing love, and wanting to make that pain go away.
This movie takes that and twists it so that you can see what life would really have been like without them and how it would be better and worse and why ultimately you are who you are because of what you got out of the person and how you helped mold them.
I like Jim Carrey and it was wonderful to see him take on a more serious role and do so superbly. Kate Winslet can play crazy and out there like no one's business. Kirsten Dunst adds a young fresh twist to the movie along with Elija Wood and Mark Ruffalo plays geeky just perfectly.
I recommend this movie to anyone who likes a mind trip and/ or a movie that is serious without being totally depressing.
Amazing Film!!!
2009-10-18 - Usually I like to watch comedies as well as action/adventure films, but this particular movie broadened my horizon to films that transcend typical storytelling. The premise is unique and with a 5-star cast, there is no denying a stellar performance. Granted you must watch the movie with an open mind to fully immerse yourself to this world. Don't expect hilarious comedy and action-packed adventure in this film, but do expect that this movie is one-of-a-kind
-steven
The persistant heart
2009-09-30 - This is one of my favorite love stories of all time and to my mind one of the 10 best films of the last 20 years. Be forewarned. It has a quirky premise and characters. The heroine, Clementine, played by Kate Winslett, is on the outs with her lover, Joel, played by Jim Carey. She impulsively decides to try out a new procedure which deletes unwanted memories. She has the memory of her relationship with Joel erased. When Joel finds out, he decides to have his memories of her erased. Most of the movie concerns the night of this erasure, when the unconcious Joel fights desperately to maintain the memory of his lost love. For such an outlandish premise, the movie seems very realistic to me. It poignantly portrays how constant love is and how we cherish our memories of even failed relationships. I don't want to say much more because I don't want to ruin the ending for anyone but, suffice it to say, that this film wonderfully portrays the complexity and permanance of love. It also calls to mind for me the French quotation, which loosely translated says that "the heart has its reasons which reason cannot understand". One final word to those of you who are not fans of Jim Carey. I am not a great fan of Jim Carey in his comic roles. The Jim Carey in this movie seems to be another actor altogether. More that anything else,he seemed like an ordinary guy with a broken heart. Highly recommended.
Missed it by THAT much... 
2009-09-01 - This is another very good movie that could have been great. Visually inventive, well-written, and mostly well-acted. It does require your full attention because it plays out of sequence. The credits don't even start for ten minutes or so after the movie has started. Despite the flaws it's one of my favorite movies.
The movie involves a near-future where memories can be erased. Jim Carrey's character finds out the hard way his girlfriend (Winslet) has erased him from her memory. He then goes to have the procedure done to forget her. In the process of forgetting her, he decides the memories are worth the pain of losing her, and he tries to foil the process.
Again, nearly all of the actors are excellent in this movie: Mark Ruffalo, Winslet, Tom Wilkinson, David Cross, and Kirsten Dunst. I've always found Elijah Wood annoying, but since that's the essence of his character, he was well-cast this time. The weak link: Jim Carrey. Carrey's a brilliant comic actor, but he hasn't got the chops for drama. Even as he plays a sad sack who defines flattened affect, he misses.
