First Impressions on 20 Minutes of David Fincher’s Benjamin Button

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Oh, wait a minute
Published 8/30/2008 by noreply@blogger.com (Simon Crowe) at Mostly Movies
Scenes from Fincher's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button have movie bloggers worried. More here. (/Film, In Contention) The cinematography was beautiful yet subdued from Fincher’s usual flash. Brad Pitt delivers a performance that will make you forget that he’s behind the make-up. The transformation will make you believe that a man can age backwards. I’m still excited to see the finished product, I’m just a little disappointed. Could it be that the film wasn’t what I expected, or maybe not what I wanted?

Telluride ‘08: “Benjamin Button” Preview Reactions
Published 8/31/2008 by Nick Plowman at Fataculture
... portion of the film before everyone else, but then I started reading around and most of the reactions are downright pathetic. I guess I’d rather see it as a whole, than just get out-of-context snippets. What do the naysayers want exactly? “Fight Club 2″? Well, apparently, if you go in with that mentality you are just setting yourself up for disappointment. If you intend to read any of these reactions like I did, ensure you have a salt shaker handy. All I am saying. Peter Scrietta of /Film said : “The footage I screened tonight was met with disappointment and concern. There ...

Telluride Watch 3: Benjamin Button and AwardsBuzz
Published 9/1/2008 by Variety.com * at Thompson On Hollywood
... What worked for Paul Thomas Anderson the year before seemed to backfire this time. For one thing, unpredictably, there were more bloggers and fan sites covering the fest this year. This instant reaction from Slashfilm gives a sense of how the fanboys on the blogosphere can weigh in on a movie. Fincher couldn't show one long sequence--the usual practice-- because he needed to show the passage of time and the different faces of Button (Brad Pitt), so the concept of the movie would be clear. ...

Is ‘Benjamin Button’ Too Long at Twenty Minutes?
Published 9/2/2008 at Vulture
... 's Alex Billington. "The result was quite unimpressive, but I'm left wondering whether it was the editor to blame for this 20 minute cut or whether the film really has problems." "There are moments of magic and wonder, but interrupted and surrounded by moments which had me questioning, 'Is this really the best footage he has?'" says /Film's Peter Sciretta. Equally underwhelmed was ...

Telluride Round-Up: Brad Pitt Qualifies For Oscar in 20 Minutes Flat [Telluride Film Festival]
Published 9/2/2008 by STV at Defamer
... To wit, one Fincher obsessive took a stick to Button's tender skin ("I’m still excited to see the finished product, I’m just a little disappointed. Could it be that the film wasn’t what I expected, or maybe not what I wanted?"), while Fincher himself insisted the preview wasn't about marketing or "positioning" — i.e. situating Brad Pitt's name ...

'Benjamin Button' and the Curious Stories Surrounding Him
Published 9/2/2008 at RopeofSilicon.com
... a lot of repetition that has to do with the romance between Pitt and Blanchett." That review alone seemed to be where it all began. At that time the film ran around three hours long and since then cuts have been said to have taken place. Anne Thompson only three days ago said the film is "a little over two and half hours" long. That statement came at the same time 20 minutes of snippets of the film debuted at the Telluride Film Festival following which negative buzz originated from SlashFilm , ...

Fincher's Wrath Over Heavy Metal Remake Could Sink Benjamin Button [Hype Killer]
Published 9/4/2008 by Meredith Woerner at io9
... throw-down with Paramount over the movieHeavy Metal? David Fincher screened Benjamin Button footage at the Telluride Film Festival. First Showing said although the footage looked amazing, "Button was confusing and very long. " Calling editing on the clips "disjointed," the critic explained, "The result was quite unimpressive, but I'm left wondering whether it was the editor to blame for this 20 minute cut or whether the film really has problems." Slashfilm also echoed concern, writing: The footage I screened tonight was met ...

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Trailer #2 Starring Brad Pitt in Glorious Quicktime HD
Published 9/29/2008 by Sean at Film Junk
... . Directed by David Fincher, and starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, this is a strange little fairy tale about a man who ages backwards. I know there were some negative reports from the footage that was shown at the Telluride Film Festival last month, but it’s pretty hard to second guess it after seeing this new trailer. ...