This film has me completely bamboozled. Want to vote on what I should watch next? Click here! www.patreon.com/jamesvscinema Have a great day! Stay away from your clones.
It's confusing as hell but still great. II've seen it 4 times and I still don't get it. For your next film try ""Dog Soldiers". The second best Werewolf movie ever made.
I don't have ALL the answers offhand, but the biggest thing is that in Primer we're dealing with non-instantaneous time travel. In media we're used to time travel like Back To The Future, or Avengers Endgame; you push a button and whoosh, you're in the past. Primer's time travel takes time, they go in the box for six hours and they go six hours into the past. Six days? Six days in the past. It makes it all a lot more complicated.
Props to you for tackling Primer. Shane Carruth was a math major and worked as a programmer before he decided to make this micro budget classic. He only made one other film, then stories about his bad behavior got him #metoo-ed out of the business.
James.. man.. always surprising. Love the high concept, though 'low budget' look to this movie. One of my alltime favourite SciFi movies. God i wished all movies looked like this. Maybe it's the film grain? As time has gone on, movies look worse and worse to me; less real life.
What I love about this movie is that the engineers talk and behave like actual engineers and not like Hollywood caricatures of engineers as it is usually the case.
This is probably the best time travel movie ever. Most such films use time travel as a device to further a separate plot. For example, Back to the Future is a story about family and friendship that uses time travel to tell the story. But Primer is a film about time travel itself. It examines the fact that in a world with time travel, you can’t know anything or trust anything. You don’t know what you are really seeing. You don’t know what you are really hearing. You have no frame of reference for what anyone else knows. You cant be sure of anything. You can’t even know your own past. You can’t trust anyone. You can’t even trust yourself It’s pretty deep, and this film does not shy away from it.
You watch Primer > you watch a explanation video> you watch Primer again> you realize you didn't understand anything > watch another video...and the cicle repeats. That was my experience. 😅
All I remember is, man makes time machine, time machine only works from when you start it, man gets fucked, movie ends in an airport (?), and that's it. No more explanation needed.
You can't figure out the end, because the director filmed and then REMOVED everything that explains it on purpose, including the ending, exactly to confuse the viewer and.not have an ending. It's the biggest issue I have with the movie.
This is a top tier time travel movie. It DEMANDS that the viewer pay attention to see that the time travelling happened before we knew about it. There are diagramed timelines available the are great to have handy on a second viewing. This movie is a multiple viewing must just to see how many Abe's & Aaron's are from different times or are getting clues from other selves from the future. This is one of my favorite films and I'm glad to see you reacting to it!
His followup movie Upstream Color is one of the most unique sci-fi/indie movies ever made. Does some truly incredible things with editing and sound. A completely unique experience that I can’t recommend it enough (especially since you watch with headphones)
@@aerthreepwood8021 Yeah dude absolutely sucks but since he's said he's retired from filmmaking I don't feel bad appreciating the work he did. Also him being incredibly toxic works well with Upstream Color's themes tbh
+1 Agree. I saw Upstream Color at the cinema on release. Half the audience walked out during a particularly difficult scene, I've never seen anything like it. Me, I love the film, I'm still pondering it's meaning.
Turn Box 1 on at noon today. Enter box 1 at noon tomorrow. Stay in box for the time needed to bounce around enough to exit at Noon of yesterday. You've successfully went back in time but now two versions of you exisit till you watch yourself get in the box. What makes this a great movie is they took so long to tell you he started a day 0 box before even showing anyone. So he always had a true return point. This is the box that the coworker accidentally used.
As an engineer who would love to switch over to filmmaking, the fact that Shane Carruth did it with this movie was such a huge deal to me when it came out. Carruth, the director, was a software engineer (or mechanical?) at the time he was making Primer.
I’m sure others have mentioned it, but I highly recommend seeking out both the Director’s commentary as he goes in depth about the time travel as well as any video going into the time travel diagram of this film
I am SO excited to watch your reaction to this film. Primer is one of my favorites! Got my snacks ready to go. Thanks for always providing great videos and take care of yourself man!
I wonder if anyone has recommended "Beyond the Black Rainbow". I wouldn't necessarily compare it to this movie narratively, but when it comes to odd sci Fi movies, it's a very stylistic movie. You might dig it!
Thank you so much for reacting, I am glad you enjoyed this. This is in my top three favorite time travel films. To travel back in time 6 hours in Primer (2004): Set a timer to turn on the box, as the box is powering up that’s when your future self exits. Next, you would go to motel to avoid the events of the day. Before you go to climb into the box, download stock market data of that day. When you get to the box, power it down, and climb in before it shuts off, this triggers the backwards travel through time. The oxygen is necessary as they've mention the box is flooded with argon… and backwards travel takes just as long as forwards travel. (be prepared to spend 6 hours in that box). From a filming perspective, this was shot on super 16mm, later upscaled to 35mm which why one of the scenes is grainy. Also Almost all the film was used in the final cut, this movie was on a tight budget. For more about its production I highly recommend the Director’s commentary. Thank you again James, for your reaction and insights!
This movie is nuts. There are a ton of diagrams out there that try to break down the full plot. It helps...sorta. I can usually follow complicated time/mind screw movies, but this one still hasn't fully clicked for me, even after a few watches (some of them sober, even!). I can usually get a good 75% through the movie until I lose track of which iteration of who I'm looking at. But I love how it really takes its time in the discovery of this weird technology and only scratches the surface of the implications of it. I do like how the time travel works a bit like Tenet in that you go back as long as you spend in the box, this was the first movie I saw that used that mechanic.
You can't figure out the end, because the director filmed and then REMOVED everything that explains it on purpose, including the ending, exactly to confuse the viewer and not have an ending. It's the biggest issue I have with the movie.
What's funny is that this is one of the only time travel movies where the internal logic works completely without plot holes - which is why it's so complicated
No, it's complicated because the director literally cut the ending and several important plots. You can't figure out the end, because the director filmed and then REMOVED everything that explains it on purpose, including the ending, exactly to confuse the viewer and.not have an ending. It's the biggest issue I have with the movie.
@@wackyvorlon It's not "an idea". It's the director's own words. He cut the explanations on purpose to keep the movie ambiguous and open for interpretetion, with no actual true story.
Super impressed you dove into this one. Very low budget indie...that is absolute genius film making. So happy you reacted to Primer! There are some good videos breaking down the time line.
Both this and Upstream Color focus in on the perspective of characters, not the audience. The characters are too close to a thing and can't see the larger picture (like the characters in this not understanding how someone else could have used the machine, because it happened in the future). Everything makes sense and all the information is there if you parse through it, but during the movie you are completely in their footsteps, even when that means not knowing things
The director of this made another movie later called Upstream Color that's just as bizarre, if not more so. If you want another good time travel movie, there's one called Timecrimes that's more straightforward but still plays around a bit with the concept. Also, you've seen a few David Lynch movies but Inland Empire is his most out there movie and is something you should definitely watch if you like the feeling of "what the hell is happening" that came up somewhat in this movie.
And pointless, as the director has clearly stated. You can't figure out the end, because the director filmed and then REMOVED everything that explains it on purpose, including the ending, exactly to confuse the viewer and.not have an ending. It's the biggest issue I have with the movie.
Omg Yes, this is one of my favorite films and my favorite time travel movie,very underappreciated imo, glad you enjoyed it!! it's a great example of how much power a good script for a cool concept can have with a very low Budget.
Every time I watch this movie it seems different. It's so hard to figure out when the clones appear and how far ahead of the other characters they are.
Also the reason their hand writing is getting worse and worse (my understanding at least) is because they held their hands over the device when they were floating stuff. De-syncing their hands from the rest of them and as they travel more and more the sync gets worse and worse
I agree with another post here. You cant stop listening to what they are saying. Youi talked over a part early on when they explained how the machine works. The dialogue is very key in this movie,. And yes it takes multiple viewings. :)
This movie still blows my mind. Thanks for reacting to it! I highly recommend reacting to Ordinary People (1980) if you've never watched it. It's a great "blind watch" and is Robert Redford's directorial debut. It won Best Picture!
When you think about it, the technology they use is the same as in TENET, but the inversion happens within the box. Overall less exposition but possibly more complex. As for the messed up handwriting, it could have been caused by them both exposing their dominant hand in the "field" at the beginning, but don't quote me on that.
I've said it in your comments before but I'll say it again. I love it when you watch old movies through the eyes of a young filmmaker, and learn something new in the process. "La Belle et la Bete." (Beauty and the Beast) Jean, Cocteau. 1946. Nobody's watching or reacting to it. But everybody should see it.
YES! 🔥🔥 One of my all time favorite time travel movies. There’s timeline diagrams online, definitely brain twisting (though not as crazy as Tenet lol). There needs to be way more fans of this movie
I’ve watched quite a few of your videos, but reacting to Primer earned a subscribe from me. I really enjoy your brand of reactions and willingness to watch truly unique movies👍🏻
I've watched this several times. I think the confusion is that; in every other time travel movie or story, we as the viewer are seeing the whole story... the whole outside perspective. In this movie, we are seeing only one perspective in a loop of time traveling players. A snapshot of one set of characters in one of the many timelines as they loop and effect each other. How many loops, how many versions of each person have occurred? 10, 20, 50... 1000 who knows. Think of the movie Groundhog Day, but you only see one day from the many loops. You would be completely confused by the character and events.... How does he know the future, why does he know these people, how does he know people who clearly don't know him?
My theory on the writing problems is that Shane's hand functions in a time shift from the present, which interferes with the brain's nerve signals and affects the character of the writing. There is a scene in the film when, early in the construction of the machine, Shane drags his hand over an exposed part of the machine. Presumably, this is when the synchronicity was broken. Primer's script is a masterpiece but I don't know anyone who figured out all the timelines on the first viewing. This is a movie to watch again and again, with notepad in hand. Some may say this marks a failure for the filmmakers, but I think such more experimental films are needed to explore the limits of what is possible in film narrative. Besides, the atmosphere in this film is fantastic, and for this alone the filmmakers should be commended.
I've seen this movie four times. It's a delicious little Rubik's cube of logical twists and turns which takes time to unscramble. And it requires your undivided attention, as hints and clues are dropped subtly throughout the film. A truly remarkable piece of work by Shane Carruth. A quick example: Early on Abe wakes up on the floor, slightly confused, and answers a call from Aaron. We then see him quickly rehearse what he's gonna say to his flatmates as he passes them in the next room, even though it's just a trivial greeting. Which means, at this point he's ALREADY doing time traveling. Not only that: The scene implies that he woke up dazed because he'd been drugged. In retrospect, we realize that a version of himself was probably who did the drugging. So he's already a victim of his future selves' shenaniganery, and doesn't realize it.
Based on your prior movie reactions, I think you would really like Sling Blade, the movie that launched Billy Bob Thornton's career. It's basically his Rocky since he wrote it then shopped it around to a studio that would let him star in it. Also, for movies with unique cinematography, you should check out Crank and Guns Akimbo, both have interesting sort of video-game-like visuals/pacing/characters.
Yes this movie is brilliant! Definitely justifies a second viewing; there is so much detail packed into this movie, all the little hints that tell you which version of which character is doing what at each time; there are several of both of them, and what's amazing how little the movie breaks its own rules; once you accept the premise of the box, everything fits together. I love that you highlighted the cinematography, color grading, and sound design; he's a very unique creator. He did this movie and *Upstream Colour* over a decade later which is a bit more abstract and conceptual but just a beautiful, beautiful film.
Thanks for doing this one. One of what I find the most interesting proof of concept movies. Once again you get so many points for going off the beaten path to find unique ones.
It's hard to know what to make of the plot, but the ending in particular is curious. Is Aaron trying to make a mega time travel machine in the hope of trying to control the rapidly increasing number of different variables/versions of himself so that he can continue to exist?
Love this movie. So much. There's a lot of movies that deal with time travel but I think this is the only one that really grapples with the inherent paradoxes in time travel. Nearly every other time travel movie sweeps these under the rug because of the complexity involved. Primer takes these ideas head on. And it's made so much more impressive by the fact that it was made for $7,000. Just goes to show how powerful a good idea can be in filmmaking. Viva independent cinema. James, please review a Peter Strickland movie! You'll love him. I highly recommend The Duke of Burgundy.
My favorite time travel movie, with dozens of details that you only catch after the second, third, fourth viewing. It's surprising that there hasn't been a "Hollywood remake," but so much of what makes this film special is in how it was made. Enjoy the next viewing, and maybe it's worth a reaction video of the next viewing, where you catch the things that only have significance and make sense after it reveals its secrets.
Hey James! A film I think you, specifically, would really like (it’s also a great film with Oscar noms and 96% RT) is In The Line Of Fire (1993). I cannot stress enough how much I think you’d like it and how much I’d love to see your reaction. Keep up the great work!
Its a pure time travel loop. He started with himself in the attic as a reset for all the experiments. An ultimate reset. He let his other self go, and at the end, hes constructing a "box" the size of a building.
So glad you got into this one. This was the only film i ever watched where I loved it but knew I didn’t fully understand what was going on and had to immediately rewatch it. A few watches later I finally found an intricate diagram of timelines online that helped me unpick it. Totally wild, and so inspiring to see such original high concept sci fi brought to the screen so successfully on such a shoestring budget. Always really happy to see people discover it
Basically this movie is showing you several timelines at the same time. You have to rearrange them in your head...and you never really know what version of the person is the one you're seeing, because when they see their past self going into the machine, that past self is doing what they did, it's going to timetravel and they are going to see their past self, it creates a loop of copies of them. And they can't even know if they are the original...because they all are. Man ...my brain... And another thing, did the clone do something they wouldn't do OR has the clone gotten further into the timeline and has done something they WILL do in the future? I know there is a chart you can find that explained what versions of them is in what scenes.
This movie blew my mind when I watched it when it came out. Saw it again years later and was still super impressed - especially knowing it was shot on a really small budget. Thanks for reacting to this!
Sticking to the shoestring budget and/ or contained settings, here we go: I assume you have already seen "The Man from Earth" (for free on RUclips), "Coherence" (the science is slightly more far-fetched, but excellent editing), "Los Cronocrímenes" (no spoilers), "Durante la Tormenta" (Mirage, idem), "Exam" (the one location worked well), "Twelve Angry Men" ( hours-concours), "Beyond the Two Infinite Minutes" (just watched it and thank me later!). There! You're all set! Cheers!!!
Now do a "Filmmaker reacts to Primer (2004) for the SECOND TIME!" episode, and then maybe a third. Or maybe just a video where you watch it over and over again until you get it.
This film has me completely bamboozled.
Want to vote on what I should watch next? Click here! www.patreon.com/jamesvscinema
Have a great day! Stay away from your clones.
It's confusing as hell but still great. II've seen it 4 times and I still don't get it. For your next film try ""Dog Soldiers". The second best Werewolf movie ever made.
Two of my most recommended films you should definitely check out James are
"CLERKS" (1994) and "MALCOLM X" (1992)
Also Great Film, Great Reaction James.
💯⌛️⏳️🕛🕧🕤🕚📦📦📦
I don't have ALL the answers offhand, but the biggest thing is that in Primer we're dealing with non-instantaneous time travel. In media we're used to time travel like Back To The Future, or Avengers Endgame; you push a button and whoosh, you're in the past. Primer's time travel takes time, they go in the box for six hours and they go six hours into the past. Six days? Six days in the past. It makes it all a lot more complicated.
Props to you for tackling Primer. Shane Carruth was a math major and worked as a programmer before he decided to make this micro budget classic. He only made one other film, then stories about his bad behavior got him #metoo-ed out of the business.
this movie is not 80 minutes long, it's 240 minutes long -- 3 viewings before you start to understand what questions you need to ask 😆
Good point! 😅
Why oh why didn't I take the blue pill?
James.. man.. always surprising. Love the high concept, though 'low budget' look to this movie. One of my alltime favourite SciFi movies. God i wished all movies looked like this. Maybe it's the film grain? As time has gone on, movies look worse and worse to me; less real life.
PLEASE react to TimeCrimes..it's another loop you would LOVE :)
This was shot on such a tight budget that everyone had to rehearse like a play because Shane could only afford enough film to shoot every take once.
honestly im surprised more people havent seen this, especially those like myself who love different concepts of how time travel is showed in media
If you like psychological thrillers with time space bending mechanics watch Coherence.
What I love about this movie is that the engineers talk and behave like actual engineers and not like Hollywood caricatures of engineers as it is usually the case.
The way they talk while designing and building the machine is *exactly* what it’s like. I was amazed.
yeah i hung around with some engineers from NCState when i lived in Raleigh. it feels so accurate!
Shane Carruth (the director) actually has a CS degree so It's accuracy totally makes sense and is probably barely even him having to act, lol
This is probably the best time travel movie ever. Most such films use time travel as a device to further a separate plot. For example, Back to the Future is a story about family and friendship that uses time travel to tell the story. But Primer is a film about time travel itself. It examines the fact that in a world with time travel, you can’t know anything or trust anything. You don’t know what you are really seeing. You don’t know what you are really hearing. You have no frame of reference for what anyone else knows. You cant be sure of anything. You can’t even know your own past. You can’t trust anyone. You can’t even trust yourself It’s pretty deep, and this film does not shy away from it.
You watch Primer > you watch a explanation video> you watch Primer again> you realize you didn't understand anything > watch another video...and the cicle repeats. That was my experience. 😅
Sounds a bit like my experience 😂
All I remember is, man makes time machine, time machine only works from when you start it, man gets fucked, movie ends in an airport (?), and that's it. No more explanation needed.
You can't figure out the end, because the director filmed and then REMOVED everything that explains it on purpose, including the ending, exactly to confuse the viewer and.not have an ending. It's the biggest issue I have with the movie.
This is a top tier time travel movie. It DEMANDS that the viewer pay attention to see that the time travelling happened before we knew about it. There are diagramed timelines available the are great to have handy on a second viewing. This movie is a multiple viewing must just to see how many Abe's & Aaron's are from different times or are getting clues from other selves from the future.
This is one of my favorite films and I'm glad to see you reacting to it!
His followup movie Upstream Color is one of the most unique sci-fi/indie movies ever made. Does some truly incredible things with editing and sound. A completely unique experience that I can’t recommend it enough (especially since you watch with headphones)
Oh wow I never realized Upstream Color was the same guy. That movie is an experience, for sure.
Shame about the whole "beating his wife" thing.
Have to check that one out cause Primer is one of my TOP movies
@@aerthreepwood8021 Yeah dude absolutely sucks but since he's said he's retired from filmmaking I don't feel bad appreciating the work he did. Also him being incredibly toxic works well with Upstream Color's themes tbh
+1 Agree. I saw Upstream Color at the cinema on release. Half the audience walked out during a particularly difficult scene, I've never seen anything like it. Me, I love the film, I'm still pondering it's meaning.
Turn Box 1 on at noon today.
Enter box 1 at noon tomorrow.
Stay in box for the time needed to bounce around enough to exit at Noon of yesterday.
You've successfully went back in time but now two versions of you exisit till you watch yourself get in the box.
What makes this a great movie is they took so long to tell you he started a day 0 box before even showing anyone. So he always had a true return point.
This is the box that the coworker accidentally used.
I doubt there's a single person who has seen this who would fault you for missing it. It's a total mindfuck.
In truth, their time travel has destroyed some of the information necessary to fully understand what’s going on.
As an engineer who would love to switch over to filmmaking, the fact that Shane Carruth did it with this movie was such a huge deal to me when it came out. Carruth, the director, was a software engineer (or mechanical?) at the time he was making Primer.
To clarify, it wasn't a clone machine with a side effect of time travel, it was a time travel machine with a side effect of cloning
I’m sure others have mentioned it, but I highly recommend seeking out both the Director’s commentary as he goes in depth about the time travel as well as any video going into the time travel diagram of this film
I am SO excited to watch your reaction to this film. Primer is one of my favorites! Got my snacks ready to go. Thanks for always providing great videos and take care of yourself man!
Actual insanity that the budget for this movie was $7,000.
I heard $5000. But dont think that makes any difference anyway 🙂
I wonder if anyone has recommended "Beyond the Black Rainbow".
I wouldn't necessarily compare it to this movie narratively, but when it comes to odd sci Fi movies, it's a very stylistic movie. You might dig it!
BIG seconded for "Beyond the Black Rainbow." man does that movie just crawl all up in your spine and not let go.
It is a great Panos Cosmatos film. Not as trippy as _Primer,_ but way more psychedelic.
I think you would really appreciate "The Man from Earth" (2007)
The 2007 Spanish film Timecrimes would be a great complement to this.
I prefer Timecrimes, it's so underrated.
Thank you so much for reacting, I am glad you enjoyed this. This is in my top three favorite time travel films.
To travel back in time 6 hours in Primer (2004):
Set a timer to turn on the box, as the box is powering up that’s when your future self exits.
Next, you would go to motel to avoid the events of the day.
Before you go to climb into the box, download stock market data of that day.
When you get to the box, power it down, and climb in before it shuts off, this triggers the backwards travel through time.
The oxygen is necessary as they've mention the box is flooded with argon… and backwards travel takes just as long as forwards travel. (be prepared to spend 6 hours in that box).
From a filming perspective, this was shot on super 16mm, later upscaled to 35mm which why one of the scenes is grainy. Also Almost all the film was used in the final cut, this movie was on a tight budget. For more about its production I highly recommend the Director’s commentary.
Thank you again James, for your reaction and insights!
This movie is nuts. There are a ton of diagrams out there that try to break down the full plot. It helps...sorta. I can usually follow complicated time/mind screw movies, but this one still hasn't fully clicked for me, even after a few watches (some of them sober, even!). I can usually get a good 75% through the movie until I lose track of which iteration of who I'm looking at. But I love how it really takes its time in the discovery of this weird technology and only scratches the surface of the implications of it. I do like how the time travel works a bit like Tenet in that you go back as long as you spend in the box, this was the first movie I saw that used that mechanic.
You can't figure out the end, because the director filmed and then REMOVED everything that explains it on purpose, including the ending, exactly to confuse the viewer and not have an ending. It's the biggest issue I have with the movie.
@@Atlas_Redux Ah, makes me feel a little better
There are websites with the entire timeline of the film detailed, and I still don't get it.
Man I thought other time traveling movies were confusing, this one takes the cake for SURE
What's funny is that this is one of the only time travel movies where the internal logic works completely without plot holes - which is why it's so complicated
This is what happens when you mess with the timeline.
No, it's complicated because the director literally cut the ending and several important plots. You can't figure out the end, because the director filmed and then REMOVED everything that explains it on purpose, including the ending, exactly to confuse the viewer and.not have an ending. It's the biggest issue I have with the movie.
@@Atlas_Redux I don’t know where you got that idea.
The truth is, if you mess with time travel, this is what you get. The timeline gets scrambled.
@@wackyvorlon It's not "an idea". It's the director's own words. He cut the explanations on purpose to keep the movie ambiguous and open for interpretetion, with no actual true story.
Super impressed you dove into this one. Very low budget indie...that is absolute genius film making. So happy you reacted to Primer! There are some good videos breaking down the time line.
Absolutely a mind bend, but loved the trip!
OMG I never thought you'd watch this film! Most complex time travel film I've watched
Both this and Upstream Color focus in on the perspective of characters, not the audience. The characters are too close to a thing and can't see the larger picture (like the characters in this not understanding how someone else could have used the machine, because it happened in the future). Everything makes sense and all the information is there if you parse through it, but during the movie you are completely in their footsteps, even when that means not knowing things
An underrated Time Travel movie.
His second film Upstream Color is in my top 10 favorites
The director of this made another movie later called Upstream Color that's just as bizarre, if not more so. If you want another good time travel movie, there's one called Timecrimes that's more straightforward but still plays around a bit with the concept. Also, you've seen a few David Lynch movies but Inland Empire is his most out there movie and is something you should definitely watch if you like the feeling of "what the hell is happening" that came up somewhat in this movie.
Timecrimes was pretty solid yea :)
I’d like to recommend the Spanish film Time Crimes - another mind mangler, but not quite as complicated as this and a lot more fun.
You should also check out Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel.
Reading deep explanations of what this movie is and how the machine works is nuts.
And pointless, as the director has clearly stated. You can't figure out the end, because the director filmed and then REMOVED everything that explains it on purpose, including the ending, exactly to confuse the viewer and.not have an ending. It's the biggest issue I have with the movie.
Omg Yes, this is one of my favorite films and my favorite time travel movie,very underappreciated imo, glad you enjoyed it!! it's a great example of how much power a good script for a cool concept can have with a very low Budget.
One of the few movies I googled a few RUclips videos after and then rewatched lol
This movie was such a fantastic surprise (for me) when it came out. I was blown away how awesome it was/is.
One of my favorites.
Check out "Coherence" it's another low budget sci-fi mind twister.
Coherence is such a fun little mind fuck of a movie!
Every time I watch this movie it seems different. It's so hard to figure out when the clones appear and how far ahead of the other characters they are.
Great comment...I totally agree.
Also the reason their hand writing is getting worse and worse (my understanding at least) is because they held their hands over the device when they were floating stuff. De-syncing their hands from the rest of them and as they travel more and more the sync gets worse and worse
Oh, I have been waiting for THIS. Premium low budget filmmaking
ruclips.net/video/HAX2RuZm-Fk/видео.html You're welcome!
I’m SO glad you’re watching movies like these.
I agree with another post here. You cant stop listening to what they are saying. Youi talked over a part early on when they explained how the machine works. The dialogue is very key in this movie,. And yes it takes multiple viewings. :)
Yo, if you enjoyed this you should definitely check out the film Coherence
(2013)
I’m so jazzed that you’re watching this. I wish I could visit a universe where more of his films got made.
I saw this in the theater! Thought about it for weeks.
Yea dude! this is one of my favorites. one of the best approaches to time travel and really original
This movie still blows my mind. Thanks for reacting to it!
I highly recommend reacting to Ordinary People (1980) if you've never watched it. It's a great "blind watch" and is Robert Redford's directorial debut. It won Best Picture!
Wow, what a nice surprise. Phenomenal Film.
When you think about it, the technology they use is the same as in TENET, but the inversion happens within the box. Overall less exposition but possibly more complex. As for the messed up handwriting, it could have been caused by them both exposing their dominant hand in the "field" at the beginning, but don't quote me on that.
This is one of the most underrated movies of all time. Slips under so many peoples radar.
Me haz hecho recordar esta pequeña gran joya nostálgica
La veré de nuevo. 🤗
Really enjoyed this film, though at a certain point it makes me do an Austin Powers and go cross eyed.
Your reaction to this is a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.
Love your content James.
Stay blessed out there brother
I've said it in your comments before but I'll say it again. I love it when you watch old movies through the eyes of a young filmmaker, and learn something new in the process.
"La Belle et la Bete." (Beauty and the Beast) Jean, Cocteau. 1946.
Nobody's watching or reacting to it. But everybody should see it.
YES! 🔥🔥 One of my all time favorite time travel movies. There’s timeline diagrams online, definitely brain twisting (though not as crazy as Tenet lol). There needs to be way more fans of this movie
I’ve watched quite a few of your videos, but reacting to Primer earned a subscribe from me. I really enjoy your brand of reactions and willingness to watch truly unique movies👍🏻
I've watched this several times. I think the confusion is that; in every other time travel movie or story, we as the viewer are seeing the whole story... the whole outside perspective. In this movie, we are seeing only one perspective in a loop of time traveling players. A snapshot of one set of characters in one of the many timelines as they loop and effect each other. How many loops, how many versions of each person have occurred? 10, 20, 50... 1000 who knows. Think of the movie Groundhog Day, but you only see one day from the many loops. You would be completely confused by the character and events.... How does he know the future, why does he know these people, how does he know people who clearly don't know him?
Primer is a classic. Have you seen Bellflower? It’s a fairly violent love story that has a more modern indie vibe. Re-watch Road Warrior first tho.
One of the best films ever made. Have you seen the time-line(s) diagram that someone figured out? It’s insanity itself. Such a sophisticated movie.
My theory on the writing problems is that Shane's hand functions in a time shift from the present, which interferes with the brain's nerve signals and affects the character of the writing. There is a scene in the film when, early in the construction of the machine, Shane drags his hand over an exposed part of the machine. Presumably, this is when the synchronicity was broken.
Primer's script is a masterpiece but I don't know anyone who figured out all the timelines on the first viewing. This is a movie to watch again and again, with notepad in hand. Some may say this marks a failure for the filmmakers, but I think such more experimental films are needed to explore the limits of what is possible in film narrative. Besides, the atmosphere in this film is fantastic, and for this alone the filmmakers should be commended.
I've seen this movie four times. It's a delicious little Rubik's cube of logical twists and turns which takes time to unscramble. And it requires your undivided attention, as hints and clues are dropped subtly throughout the film. A truly remarkable piece of work by Shane Carruth.
A quick example: Early on Abe wakes up on the floor, slightly confused, and answers a call from Aaron. We then see him quickly rehearse what he's gonna say to his flatmates as he passes them in the next room, even though it's just a trivial greeting. Which means, at this point he's ALREADY doing time traveling. Not only that: The scene implies that he woke up dazed because he'd been drugged. In retrospect, we realize that a version of himself was probably who did the drugging. So he's already a victim of his future selves' shenaniganery, and doesn't realize it.
Londoncitygirl Primer Illustrated Explanation. She lays it all out in a simple video.
Hell yeah i think i left a comment about this one a few months ago, very exciting!
I need to rewatch this one completely drunk. Multiple sober viewings left me clueless.
I recommend another low budget Sci fi Coherence and Predestination.
Predestination is so good!
Based on your prior movie reactions, I think you would really like Sling Blade, the movie that launched Billy Bob Thornton's career. It's basically his Rocky since he wrote it then shopped it around to a studio that would let him star in it. Also, for movies with unique cinematography, you should check out Crank and Guns Akimbo, both have interesting sort of video-game-like visuals/pacing/characters.
You should react to Mulholland Drive!!! It’s amazing
Yes this movie is brilliant! Definitely justifies a second viewing; there is so much detail packed into this movie, all the little hints that tell you which version of which character is doing what at each time; there are several of both of them, and what's amazing how little the movie breaks its own rules; once you accept the premise of the box, everything fits together. I love that you highlighted the cinematography, color grading, and sound design; he's a very unique creator. He did this movie and *Upstream Colour* over a decade later which is a bit more abstract and conceptual but just a beautiful, beautiful film.
Thanks for doing this one. One of what I find the most interesting proof of concept movies. Once again you get so many points for going off the beaten path to find unique ones.
It's hard to know what to make of the plot, but the ending in particular is curious. Is Aaron trying to make a mega time travel machine in the hope of trying to control the rapidly increasing number of different variables/versions of himself so that he can continue to exist?
Love this movie. So much. There's a lot of movies that deal with time travel but I think this is the only one that really grapples with the inherent paradoxes in time travel. Nearly every other time travel movie sweeps these under the rug because of the complexity involved. Primer takes these ideas head on. And it's made so much more impressive by the fact that it was made for $7,000. Just goes to show how powerful a good idea can be in filmmaking. Viva independent cinema. James, please review a Peter Strickland movie! You'll love him. I highly recommend The Duke of Burgundy.
Btw you know when James is tripping when his accent starts dropping when says "no idea" at the end
Since you liked that I'm sure you'll like *Coherence* !!
Please do "All Quiet On The Western Front" (2022)
This was only made with 7000 dollars CRAZY
Immediately dropped what I was doing to jump on this notification!
Imagine for a low budget movie it's one of the top 3 time travel movies of all time.
I think the last time I saw this movie was later this afternoon.
finally! i’ve been commenting for you to react to this for abt two years lol. can’t wait to watch this tonight. much love my dude.💙🤘🏽
I hope he watches Upstream Color too.
@@melanie62954 that would be a great reaction for him to do. 👍🏽
Predestination is another great time-pretzel movie
My favorite time travel movie, with dozens of details that you only catch after the second, third, fourth viewing. It's surprising that there hasn't been a "Hollywood remake," but so much of what makes this film special is in how it was made. Enjoy the next viewing, and maybe it's worth a reaction video of the next viewing, where you catch the things that only have significance and make sense after it reveals its secrets.
Hey James!
A film I think you, specifically, would really like (it’s also a great film with Oscar noms and 96% RT) is In The Line Of Fire (1993). I cannot stress enough how much I think you’d like it and how much I’d love to see your reaction. Keep up the great work!
Next up....COHERENCE (2013)
Its a pure time travel loop. He started with himself in the attic as a reset for all the experiments. An ultimate reset. He let his other self go, and at the end, hes constructing a "box" the size of a building.
Best time travel movie ever made. I absolutely love this one. If you like his style, check out Upstream Color.
I watched this movie twice and still don't know what happened LMFAO
So glad you got into this one. This was the only film i ever watched where I loved it but knew I didn’t fully understand what was going on and had to immediately rewatch it. A few watches later I finally found an intricate diagram of timelines online that helped me unpick it. Totally wild, and so inspiring to see such original high concept sci fi brought to the screen so successfully on such a shoestring budget. Always really happy to see people discover it
The movie is about the friendship between Abe and Aaron breaking down.
It is. The time travel aspect is what initiated the break down but the movie is about Abe and Aaron's friendship being tested.
Basically this movie is showing you several timelines at the same time. You have to rearrange them in your head...and you never really know what version of the person is the one you're seeing, because when they see their past self going into the machine, that past self is doing what they did, it's going to timetravel and they are going to see their past self, it creates a loop of copies of them. And they can't even know if they are the original...because they all are. Man ...my brain... And another thing, did the clone do something they wouldn't do OR has the clone gotten further into the timeline and has done something they WILL do in the future? I know there is a chart you can find that explained what versions of them is in what scenes.
This movie blew my mind when I watched it when it came out. Saw it again years later and was still super impressed - especially knowing it was shot on a really small budget. Thanks for reacting to this!
Timecrimes next!!!
Sticking to the shoestring budget and/ or contained settings, here we go: I assume you have already seen "The Man from Earth" (for free on RUclips), "Coherence" (the science is slightly more far-fetched, but excellent editing), "Los Cronocrímenes" (no spoilers), "Durante la Tormenta" (Mirage, idem), "Exam" (the one location worked well), "Twelve Angry Men" ( hours-concours), "Beyond the Two Infinite Minutes" (just watched it and thank me later!). There! You're all set! Cheers!!!
Sorry...comment before you start...SO GLAD you're watching this!
An easier time travel movie, but also good, is "Safety Not Guaranteed".
Oh man... Primer. James, seriously, watch Carruth's next film: Upstream Color. You felt like your mind melt here? You ain't seen nothing yet.
For great science fiction, do it 70's style: THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN and COLOSSUS - THE FORBIN PROJECT. And FANTASTIC VOYAGE (RIP Raquel).
Now do a "Filmmaker reacts to Primer (2004) for the SECOND TIME!" episode, and then maybe a third. Or maybe just a video where you watch it over and over again until you get it.
Do Triangle, Coherance, and Predestination. They'll flip your wig.
primer \'pri-mər\ n. : a small introductory book on a subject;