They encounter a young woman from Italy. It can be said that Gus Van Zant is a graduate of the auteur school of filmmaking. To achieve the effect of magazine cover boys on the newsstand coming to life and talking to each other, Van Sant went old-school. Rea, Steven. Waters suffers from narcolepsy and can fall asleep at any moment and in almost any circumstance. My Own Private Idaho originated from John Rechy's 1963 novel City of Night, which featured street hustlers who did not admit to being gay. In My Own Private Idaho, Van Sant seems to think one may be an expression of the other. One aspect of 'My Own Private Idaho" that I thought was interesting was its use of Shakespeare's Henry IV (I think, but i could be wrong), with Keanu Reeves taking the role of the dissolute Prince Hal, who at the end of the film rejects his prostitute friends to emerge like 'the sun, as if from behind clouds' in order to properly inherit his father's kingdom. On the 25th anniversary of its release, it reminds us of the risks. Drama thrives on the weaknesses of its characters, but what can we make of a hero who suffers from narcolepsy? The film is all over the place at times with its layering its disjointed narrative, yet no matter how much the film gets to be overblown to the point of convolution, Gus Van Sant can't quite overshadow natural shortcomings to this near-inconsequential story concept, and it doesn't help that when he doesn't bloat substance, he expends it for style. The film has an intriguing mix of quirkiness and various film techniques, to the breathtaking shots of the natural world that the two pass through. They find themselves in Italy. Mike is in love with Scott, who still maintains he is straight and insists that his wild lifestyle on the streets is only temporary. Still he resisted. Two young hustlers, Mike and Scott, navigate a volatile world of junkies, thieves, and johns. One night, Bob sees Scottie entering an up-scale restaurant in fancy clothes. Gus Van Sant's "My Own Private Idaho" opens with the Webster definition of narcolepsy. It followed the genres of adventure and drama and combined them to make a wholesome package. My Own Private Idaho (1991) Full Cast & Crew See agents for this cast & crew on IMDbPro Directed by Gus Van Sant Writing Credits Cast (in credits order) verified as complete Produced by Music by Bill Stafford Cinematography by Film Editing by Curtiss Clayton Production Design by David Brisbin Art Direction by Kenneth Hardy Set Decoration by It changed Van Sant's life, too, putting him on the path that would lead to high-profile hits like Good Will Hunting. 1991, 104 min\rCountry: US\rStudio : Criterion\rCast: River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, Udo Kier, William Richert, James Russo, Flea, Rodney Harvey, Grace Zabriskie, Chiara Caselli\rDirector: Gus Van Sant\rScreenwriter: Gus Van Sant\r\rMy Own Private Idaho is a 1991 independent drama film written and directed by Gus Van Sant, loosely based on Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2, and Henry V, and starring River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves. My Own Private Idaho premiered at the 48th Venice International Film Festival on September 4, 1991. My Own Private Idaho (1991) Parents Guide Add to guide Showing all 13 items Jump to: Certification Sex & Nudity (7) Violence & Gore (2) Profanity (2) Alcohol, Drugs & Smoking (1) Frightening & Intense Scenes (1) Certification Edit Sex & Nudity Moderate 35 of 68 found this moderate Existence originates from a biological father and mother that conceive offspring which they nurture into childhood and later adolescence. My Own Private Idaho um filme que soca o estmago e o esprito. For another thing, he wrote it in a poetic, non-standard typographical formatwords down the middle of the page, random capitalization, etc. "[33] Entertainment Weekly gave the film an "A" rating and Owen Gleiberman wrote, "When Van Sant shows us speeded-up images of clouds rolling past wheat fields, the familiar device transcends clich, because it's tied to the way that Mike, in his benumbed isolation, experiences his own lifeas a running piece of surrealism. He began to dress and groom himself like a grungy street kid, to the point where he was turned away from a nightclub because the bouncer thought he was a bum. They are constantly on their smart phones texting and talking about the Kardashians unaware of dangerous and cruel hateful things that are trying to be passed by our so called compassionate and very ignorant higher-ups. Along the way they turn tricks for money and . In his review for The New Yorker, Terrence Rafferty wrote, "Van Sant has stranded the actor in a movie full of flat characters and bad ideas, but Phoenix walks through the picture, down the road after road after road, as if he were surrounded by glorious phantoms. But this is a desperate imposition on an essentially inert film. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism. My Own Private Idaho was the result of three projects coming together. [11], Van Sant showed the script to a 20th Century Fox executive who liked Shakespeare. Carmela, a young woman who lives there, tells Mike that his mother returned to the United States months ago. In My Own Private Idaho, River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves portray a pair of teenage prostitutes, each more victim than vulture.Phoenix is a narcoleptic, Mike, who dozes off at dangerously inopportune moments as he searches endlessly for his long-lost mother; Reeves is a blue-blooded runaway, Scott, who turns tricks as an act of rebellion against his father. I've alluded to it time and again, but when you come down to it, the biggest problem with this film is overstylization, which plays a large part in the narrative disjointing, but doesn't end there, prominently playing with strange imagery, frantic structuring and other classic forms of artistic bloating that leave the final product to feel more ambitious with its style rather than its substance. Surreal character study focusing on the friendship between two male hustlers, Mike and Scott, in Portland, Oregon. River Phoenix (Stand by Me) and Keanu Reeves (The Matrix) star in this haunting tale from Gus Van Sant (Mala Noche), about two young street hustlers: Mike Waters, a sensitive narcoleptic who dreams of the mother who abandoned him, and Scott Favor, the wayward son of the mayor of Portland and the object of Mikes desire. 4. "[35] Hal Hinson of The Washington Post wrote, "Gus Van Sant's sensibility is wholly original, wholly fresh. 1. Original Title: My Own Private Idaho Hailed as one of the most talented independent filmmakers after 1989's Drugstore Cowboy, it is hardly surprising that Gus Van Sant's My Own Private Idaho. The site's critical consensus reads: "A tantalizing glimpse of a talented director and his stars all at the top of their respective games, Gus Van Sant's loose reworking of Henry IV is smart, sad and audacious. For one thing, it was only 70 pages long, which would translate to about a 70-minute movie. River Phoenix gave a brilliant performance as a street boy with narcolepsy who wants to find his mother. During his narcoleptic seizures, he dreams of his own private Idaho. [12], Initially, no studio would finance the film because of its controversial and offbeat subject matter. The characters have been compared by one critic to Prince Hal and Falstaff - to the errant heir and his lowlife companion. Phoenix received several awards for his performance in the film, including the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the 1991 Venice Film Festival, Best Male Lead from the Independent Spirit Awards, and Best Actor from the National Society of Film Critics. 2.75/5 - Decent. Private School (Blu-ray)(2019) Get top deals, latest trends, and more. Get the freshest reviews, news, and more delivered right to your inbox! I love the cameos made by actual hustlers from the streets of Portland, OR. Before Good Will Hunting and Finding Forrester; before the ill-advised Psycho remake and the experimental Gerry; before the movies about Harvey Milk and Kurt Cobain, Portland-based indie auteur Gus Van Sant made My Own Private Idaho, an avant-garde drama starring River Phoenix as a narcoleptic gay hustler and Keanu Reeves as his friend and co-worker. By creating an account, you agree to the 1991, 104 min Country: US Studio : Criterion Cast: River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, Udo Kier, William Richert, James Russo, Flea, Rodney Harvey, Grace Zabriskie, Chiara Caselli Director: Gus Van Sant. It is heartbreaking for me at the end of the movie as he's lost his love and best friend, his mother abandoned him, he's homeless and then two guys steal what he has left, his bag and his shoes while he's asleep. Together, they embark on a quest to find Mike's mother, traveling from Portland to Idaho to Italy, with Scott picking up a beautiful girl along the way. (He intended the actors to flesh it out with improvisation, which they did.) Your Ticket Confirmation # is located under the header in your email that reads "Your Ticket Reservation Details". "My Own Private Idaho" is an imaginary place where one is locked in the arms of lovethat is, both protected and free. Anything else would be a token". It's the first and far from the last offbeat touch in Van Sant's film. Watching the film, I was reminded of Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, in which Raskolnikov, the murderer of the old lady, suffers from epileptic seizures. for "my own private idaho criterion blu ray". (Van Sant said Kier originally used a blue flashlight; they changed it to a lamp to avoid comparison to Blue Velvet.) 198 likes, 3 comments - Doubt Mag. Immediate development is seriously lacking in this often very sudden character piece, and quite frankly, gradual characterization isn't too much more extensive, relying on the occasional piece of forced exposition to punctuate long lapses in character focus that storytelling works to fill with mere excess. Film critic Roger Ebert wrote, "The achievement of this film is that it wants to evoke that state of drifting need, and it does. I would always get such a warm positive good feeling from him when I saw him in a movie. Is My Own Private Idaho (1991) streaming on Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, Peacock, or 50+ other streaming services? It came in perfect packaging and even includes a really neat booklet with Interviews, Reviews and some of the Script. $6.4M, Runtime: My Own Private Idaho ( 1991) Ending / spoiler (3 votes) Add something More info Mistakes Quotes Ending F**k Marry Kill More Mike doesn't find his mother in Italy. The wildly prolific French director, novelist, and playwright celebrates the films that bring him pleasure and confound his understanding. This is a new, restored 4K digital transfer.This disc has audio commentary with the director and some features, including the making of the film, an interview with film scholar Paul Arthur, a conversation between the producer Laurie Parker and River Phoenix's sister Rain, deleted scenes and an audio conversation between JT Leroy and Jonathan Caouette. My Own Private Idaho Edit Summaries Two best friends living on the streets of Portland as hustlers embark on a journey of self discovery and find their relationship stumbling along the way. [19] One of the film's directors of photography, Eric Alan Edwards, recalled that Phoenix "looked like a street kid", and "in a very raw way he wore that role. 'My Own Private Idaho' is a great little off-beat movie. To help get you in the mood, WW has created a handy walking tour of . By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie. As big an issue as anything is a disjointed structure that, whether intentional or accidental, takes advantage of all of the simultaneous bloating and lack of flesh-out to jar between tonal extremes almost as badly as it jars between stages in the plot whose inconsistency gets to be so considerable it's all but unreal. The film was a moderate financial success, grossing over $8 million, above its estimated budget of $2.5 million. Please try again. It encompasses what it means to be an heir in modern American society. Cinemark 80%. I still haven't seen "Stand By Me" to this day. The overall theme was easy to get, but the details of the narrative often seemed confused. It really rings true. Richard informs Mike that their mother works as a hotel maid; when Mike and Scott visit her workplace, they learn she went to Italy in search of her own family. The road is both a refuge and a prison in My Own Private Idaho, the seminal 1991 drama by director Gus Van Sant. MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO. So instead he made Drugstore Cowboy, about a roving band of junkies who rob pharmaciesa premise with more mainstream appeal, apparently. [14] Reeves did so over the Christmas holidays, riding his 1974 Norton Commando motorcycle from his family home in Canada to the Phoenix family ranch in Micanopy, Florida, outside Gainesville. Directed by: Gus Van Sant. This movie will be forever my favorite for River Phoenix is absolutely beautiful in it as Mike Waters, a homeless narcoleptic who's in search of his mother that abandoned him and who comes to terms with his sexuality and falls in love with his best friend, Scott Favor played by Keanu Reeves who also gives an awesome performance too as a rich man's son rebelling against his family and travelling with Mike for kicks. Email address. anr filma: Drama. Gus Van Sant, Producer: Read reviews and buy My Own Private Idaho (DVD)(2022) at Target. The performances from River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves are simply outstanding and the simple message the. This critical writing on Political Sensibilities in "My Own Private Idaho" Film was written and submitted by your fellow student. Criterion's Blu-ray edition of My Own Private Idaho is available now. Mike identifies more as gay, while Scott identifies more as straight, seeing his sexual encounters with male clients solely business. Oct 18, 1991 In this, and every scene, Phoenix immerses himself so deeply inside his character you almost forget you've seen him before: it's a stunningly sensitive performance, poignant and comic at once. That wasn't a problem. My Own Private Idaho is an interesting mix of acting, directing, setting, and subject matter. Zajedno polaze na putovanje samospoznaje i shvataju da se njihov odnos usput uruava. "My Own Private Idaho"(1991) is directed by Gus Van Sant(Drugstore Cowboy, Good Will Hunting, Finding Forrester). Mike is quiet, gay and suffers from narcolepsy. Mike and Scott meet a variety of clients, including one who likes his apartment kept very, very clean. Along the way they turn tricks for money and drugs, eventually attracting the attention of a wealthy benefactor and sexual deviant. It was something I wrote down a night, two nights, before, and then I showed it to Keanu and Gus. An Eye on the Private River Phoenix. The Philadelphia Inquirer, 13 Oct. 1991, www.whoaisnotme.net/articles/1991_1013_ane.htm. [10] The film's title is derived from the song "Private Idaho" by the B-52's that Van Sant heard while visiting the state in the early 1980s. Well worth the price for a fan of this Iconic movie. Together, the two travel from Portland, Oregon to Idaho and finally to the coast of Italy in a quest to find Mike's estranged mother. " Private Idaho " is a single released by the B-52's from their second studio album Wild Planet (1980). All issues that are important to me. Van Sant promised not to make either actor do anything embarrassing. Van Sant knew some of the local street kids and had them on set as advisers and extras. The movie takes place in Portland, Ore., and the open spaces of the Pacific Northwest - the same territory covered by "Drugstore Cowboy," Van Sant's previous picture. Going through cinematic time, the young actor in a Boy Scout uniform in Spielberg's franchise was now delivering complex elucidations on life. The costume designer, known for her work on Inland Empire, Spring Breakers, and Euphoria, reflects on a few favorite movies that have shaped her aesthetic sensibility. It really rings true. Stafford won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Film Music in 1992 for his score. Navigating a volatile world of junkies, thieves, and johns, Mike takes Scott on a quest along the grungy streets and open highways of the Pacific Northwest, in search of an elusive place called home. No Import Fees Deposit & $10.25 Shipping to Thailand. Plenty of supporting players, such as the charismatic William Richert or the affecting Chiara Caselli, have their time in the spotlight, but that's mostly reserved for leads Keanu Reeves and River Phoenix, who both share dynamite chemistry and flaunt just as electric individual charisma, with Phoenix particularly standing out with some powerful emotional highlights that drive a sense of anxiety in someone struggling with his identity as an unconventional lover, and as a young man seeking the truth about his past. The next day the hustlers hold a rowdy funeral for Bob, while in the same cemetery, a few yards away, Scott attends a solemn funeral for his father. A quarter-century later, let's look back at the making of My Own Private Idaho and see what dreamy treasures await us. They are emotional opposites drawn together, yet destined to part. "Across The Way" performed by River's band, Aleka's Attic is a masterpiece. Coming Soon. Good movie. Scott (Keanu Reeves) is the rebellious son of a high-ranking family, who lives this life mostly to embarrass his father. The film is about two street hustlers, one (Mike - River Phoenix) of whom has narcolepsy and is continually falling asleep wherever that may be, and the "My Own Private Idaho"(1991) is directed by Gus Van Sant(Drugstore Cowboy, Good Will Hunting, Finding Forrester). [43] Entertainment Weekly gave the DVD a "B+" rating and wrote, "While you may enjoy watching My Own Private Idaho, whether you choose to view this two-disc Criterion edition in its entirety depends on how much you enjoy watching people talking about My Own Private Idaho", and concluded, "But with all the various interpretations and influences, this is definitely a film worth talking about". Controversial and offbeat subject matter playwright celebrates the films that bring him pleasure and confound his.... 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