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The Trial

The Trial (1962)

February. 20,1963
|
7.6
| Drama Crime Mystery

Josef K wakes up in the morning and finds the police in his room. They tell him that he is on trial but nobody tells him what he is accused of. In order to find out about the reason for this accusation and to protest his innocence, he tries to look behind the façade of the judicial system. But since this remains fruitless, there seems to be no chance for him to escape from this nightmare.

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CheerupSilver
1963/02/20

Very Cool!!!

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Sexyloutak
1963/02/21

Absolutely the worst movie.

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Abbigail Bush
1963/02/22

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

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Jenna Walter
1963/02/23

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

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Ian
1963/02/24

(Flash Review)Criterion needs to remaster and give commentaries for this film. I have to admit I watched this film three times before I sent it back. Highly unusual. 1st) didn't give it proper focus; 2nd) proper focus yet the plot left me with questions; 3rd) clarified some things but still left with questions. The cinematography blew me away. Add a story that is intriguing and puzzling as it seems to straddle the line of surrealism; mainly cognitive but partially visual. The film is based on a Kafka book and every scene was thoughtfully framed to help tell the tale. The backbone of the plot is a man is awoken from bed with a strange man standing in his room declaring that he has been arrested and must stand trial. Yet nobody can or will tell him what he is accused of! He wanders through unusual places and buildings and tries to figure out what he is accused of. Will he learn the accusations against him? Will he be found guilty or innocent? This film makes you think and find symbolism in the visuals and will keep you pondering it for a while.

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John Brooks
1963/02/25

This film receives such good reviews now because it is the movie-going, pseudo-intellectual clique that rates and comments it. This film gets all its power from status and fame: written originally by Kafka, directed and interpreted by Orson Welles, starring every oddball's beloved (and admittedly great actor) Anthony Perkins. If this doesn't smell like pseudo-intellectual cinematic elitism, nothing ever will.This film, as all which lack any heart or girth at the core, focuses on acting (Perkins fantastic, rest very good too), strong cinematography, and atmosphere. And yet, not everything that glitters is gold. This is a case of shape rather than depth, form over content, exterior vs inside, artifice better than true quality. This here is the narrative of the film rather than the film itself: a film should have a great point and a great conclusion, but should also have...well, a great film ! This here is just plain boring because once one has appreciated the eerie atmosphere of empty, humanless landscapes, the absurd in the works, the strange characters etc... there isn't anything left to digest but lengthy, lengthy intervals of futile dialog, never an ounce of symbolism or worthwhile depth, just a ton of the self-indulgent, steady-paced same old exchanges. The so-called tension is never really there, and the tagline "the logic of a nightmare" just never incarnates in the film. The introductory little cartoon sets the tone for a masterpiece with a wealth of symbolism and deep literary purpose, and the first 40 minutes are very good and intriguing; but how quickly the film loses itself in a weak effort to further its plot and in stead dwells in a little puddle of self-absorbed irrelevance only ultra-specific fans could find to their liking. There's no universal appeal whatsoever - this film is like a severe case of the 'fish in a bowl', never lifting its head up for awareness; just totally absorbed into its technical little project, and even in its absurdity certainly could've used some clarity. The point, the narrative of the film are good; not the film.

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Rainey Dawn
1963/02/26

One of the most artfully filmed movies - very much surreal. This is also one the best films roles for Anthony Perkins, he's perfectly and rightfully cast.Imagine waking up and the police are in your room, you are told you are under arrest - but not in the traditional sense of the words "under arrest". Imagine you are made to stand trial for and never knowing what the charges are against you. You have to defend yourself without knowing what you are defending yourself against. This has happened to Josef K. (Perkins) in this dramatically bizarre, twisted mystery-thriller.9/10

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liam_prendergast
1963/02/27

Its hard to compose a hard hitting film when so much media is out there challenging and criticising contemporary power structures. Orson Welles' film communicates the feeling of ambiguous persecution which is the product of state surveillance. He doesn't understand the reason for his trial because there is no viable reason other than the legality of it. If what we do is simply governed by laws and legal code then human moral code becomes useless; human moral code has broken down and K sees that the other accused citizens have become 'nothing more than dogs' to the system. In the same way that we are today obedient to authority and lack the ability to liberate ourselves from structures of control K conforms to the will of the authority due to a vague threat of violence."No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks." Universal Declaration Of Human Rights, article 12.You as a citizen of the western media empire are likely the victim of authority and systems of control. Systems that worm their way into your psyche and cause you to self regulate and become demoralised. The victims of a surveillance aesthetic mentality, many subsist under fear of the chimera of surveillance organisations and corporate-government control.Don't believe me, look a little deeper down the rabbit hole: https://wikileaks.org/"You may object that it is not a trial at all; you are quite right, for it is only a trial if I recognise it as such. But for the moment I do recognise it, on grounds of compassion, as it were. One can't regard it except with compassion, if one is to regard it at all. I do not say that your procedure is contemptible, but I should like to present that epithet to you for your private consumption." (The Trial, Kafka)

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