32:20 "For someone who was never meant for this world. I must confess I'm suddenly having a hard time leaving it. Of course, they say every atom in our bodies was once part of a star. Maybe I'm not leaving. Maybe I'm going home." One of my favourite moments of all the movies.
I always loved the doctor's comment in the beginning about telling Jerome about his son sometime. Because after watching, you know he knows, and that Jerome doesn't know he knows. It'd be textbook foreshadowing if only you could be expected to realize he was alluding to something upon first watch.
This film is filled with subtle hints like that. Like the head janitor taking the paper cup from Jerome, and then not wanting to give up the bag of garbage. He was trying to protect him.
The films composer Michael Nyman altered the piece Impromptu in G Flat Major, by Schubert. Nyman added notes and harmonies that only a 12 finger pianist would be able to play and added them digitally. 🎵
Niccol is a great filmmaker. This, The Truman Show (writer) and S1m0ne which was dismissed at the time but is coming more and more a reality by the moment.
"I never saved anything for the swim back" is a quote I got framed and keep on my office wall. A reminder from one of my favorite films to keep going, no matter how far from the shore you are.
"For future reference, right-handed men don't hold it with their left." Is a quote I got framed and keep on my bathroom wall. A reminder from one of my favorite films to keep shaking, no matter how sure I am that I'm finished.
It's almost impossible to make a movie that's not derivative of other movies, but when I first saw this, it was unlike any other movie I'd seen with its unique plot. And kudos for reacting to it.
To answer your question about the doctor at Gattaca (Lamar): he knows immediately. The first thing that he does with Vincent is take a urine sample, so that would be when he notices the strangeness of the handedness. This is in the flashback, right as we learn how Vincent got the job with Jerome's urine sample. But in the narrative, we see Lamar much earlier, and in that first conversation he mentions his son: "Have I ever told you about my son? Remind me to sometime." When he finally does, right before Vincent goes on his trip to Titan, we learn the truth: Lamar's son "wasn't all they promised", meaning that while he was engineered like most everyone else, he was too flawed to be accepted to Gattaca. Hence why "he's a big fan of yours (meaning Vincent)." Vincent is an inspiration to Lamar's son (and, by extension, to Lamar himself), showing him that your genes aren't the only important thing. Vincent gave Lamar's son hope, without even knowing it, simply by existing and fighting for his dream. So, Lamar keeps his secret, right up until the end.
As I interpret the events of the movie, three people know Vincent's secret - the janitor, the doctor, and the Director of the mission (who murdered to keep Vincent's secret a secret - because he didn't want his mission derailed and he did not care about the gene thing at all).
"You're going to miss your flight.... Vincent" chokes me up every time. The doctor calling him by his real name letting him know that he's known all along. great movie, Great reaction.
Pivotal part in the movie was when the officer referred to Eugene as a cripple. That fired up his ego. When he told the officer he is getting off this ball of dirt, and the pride you hear in his voice, that was when Vincent's dream become Eugene's dream as well
Also, as good as Ethan Hunt and Uma Thurman are in this, and their characters, my personal stand out is Jude Law and his character. He gives such a great performance, and his character is just so compelling. This movie really is sorta beyond words.
absolutely one of my favorite sci fi movies. The script is just so well written, and the score is absolutely perfection. Jude Law was incredible in this and that ending montage always makes me so emotional.
I remember watching this when I was 14, this movie left a lasting impression. It’s a fantastic film and very relevant as genetic engineering continues to push boundaries. GATTACA is also one of those films you get something new from it on multiple viewings.
One of the biggest commentaries in this movie is how genetic perfection isn't perfect. Basically, this society is flawed in it's thinking. Look at everyone. Anton was supposed to be perfect, yet all he was was a cop. Director Josef was not supposed to have a violent gene, yet he committed murder. Jerome was supposed to be the best athlete, but he finished second and was an alcoholic. And nobody seemed happy.
I like the script because it does allow the audience to relate the theme of 'you cannot change WHAT you are' and by understanding that, can unlock the path to understanding WHO you truly are. Humans are not a 'what', they are a 'who', and our protagonist is the sort of person, who will not leave any energy for the swim back to shore. I honestly cannot think of a better description of the human spirit than that.
Saw this in my hs biology class. I remember my teacher talking about how the staircase in the house was shaped like a double helix of a dna molecule. Believe he mentioned some other places in the film that reflected that or genetics as well
I saw this around a year after it came out, and it changed the way I watched movies ever since. It's one of my favorites for that reason. Every scene is so well assembled. A lot of the scenes are nearly monochromatic, some are gold and warm, some are blue and cold. Vincent's scene crossing a street successfully juxtaposes against Jerome's story of throwing himself in front of the car because he came in second. The big obstacle the real Jerome faces is getting up the staircase, which is helical. There are just so many details that add to the experience of the story. Watch it a second time just to see how the art of visual story telling is embraced by this one. And most science fiction is action/adventure so it is rare to find one that is drama (another one that breaks the mold is Enemy Mine). Glad you liked it. I really enjoyed the reaction to it.
We saw this in theaters... we were big fans of the scifi renaissance that was happening (dark city, event horizon, contact, the 13th floor, soldier, existenz and the matrix would all drop from 97-99)
I saw this in the theaters, and it blew me away. I never understood why it got lost in the shuffle, it’s hardly ever mentioned. Fantastic sci fi drama with great acting.
Also: -"Marty" -"Ice Station Zebra" -The Wild Bunch" -"The Poseidon Adventure" -"Escape from New York" -"The Dirty Dozen" and others, not counting his voice work in animations...
I blind bought it on DVD years ago (back when a quarter of Best Buy stores were physical media) due purely to the cast. I was not disappointed. Worth every second of my time.
This is our most favorite "What if..." type Sci-Fi movies. Did you notice that the title of Gattaca is from the letter of DNA? :) Such an awesome movie!! Glad that you liked it so much even though it was such a quiet film. I remember that I did see this in the movie theaters but I really didn't come to understand this amazing movie until I saw it with my husband 4 or 5 years later. Another incredible "What if" Sci-Fi movie is Children of Men. Although it is a very difficult movie to watch, it is a wonderful piece of film making. Like this film, it shows a world asking that question of What if "This" happened?
I might argue that Children of Men is actually a zombies-by-proxy film. Zombie films are about people dealing with the chaos when social structures fall apart, and zombies-by-proxy films are zombie films without the zombies - some proxy is used in place of zombies. In Children of Men for example, the rebels are "zombies" - just some destructive force that can't be approached and altered, you just have to run away, and the police are zombies too. There are no social structures remaining that you can count on, and his friend and his friend's house are that calm in the middle of the storm, that emphasizes just how bad the storm is, a classic setting in a zombie film.
It's not like you to miss the fact that Director Josef was portrayed by the Great American novelist Gore Vidal. Vidal had numerous debates with noted conservative William F. Buckley from the PBS show Firing Line in the 1960s, in which they both went for blood.
@@NeilLewis77 Yeah, it took me a few viewings to realize the Director (Vidal) killed the other Director because he had discovered Vincent's secret and was going to use it to stop Vidal's mission. With the murder, it's game over for Vincent from the start......Also, the Director was sly enough to assign Uma Thurman's character to assist (and very possibly distract) the detective.
@@davidking4838 that's very astute. But actually mate I meant Gore Vidal being the most important person as in the real guy. Seeing as, although I love Hawk, Thurman and Law.... Vidal was a bonafide raconteur. A huge political mind, writer, producer, wit, actor, etc etc. The man was a giant.
I graduated from Cal Poly in ‘99 and had classes in the CLA Building where some exterior “Jerome’s Home” shots were filmed. Always floored by the magic of Hollywood and the keen eye of location scouts for marrying very different places/sets so gorgeously. The CLA building has since been demolished due to structural issues, but it was a landmark at that college for a long time and is reflected in a lot of my college design/photography projects.🎥🚀🧬
@@te1013 The CLA (Classroom-Laboratories-Administration) Bldg was love or hate around campus… it had just been completed in ‘93 when I started school. Modern/futurist aesthetics are like that. I agree withya on missing it - I’d always spot it flying out of ONT banking north, it’d be under the left wing as we ascended. 😊
I was a teen in 1997 and a huge science nerd. So myself and my friends all went to see this the first weekend and absolutely LOVED it. The entire premise at the time seemed juuuust sci-fi enough to be fun to think about. And of course not even five years later we had breakthroughs in genetics that made the premise of this movie seem less like sci-fi and more like an inevitability.
I didn't know about it when it hit theaters, I saw it in 1999. My roommate and I were friends with an older couple who invited us to their house once. They had a huge DVD collection that filled a whole closet. They gave me a few that they had doubles of and Gattaca was one of them.
I don't recall if it's mentioned in the film but the word Gattaca is composed of the initials of the four nucleobases that make up DNA: adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine. The Human Genome Project was begun in 1990 with the aim of identifying, mapping and sequencing all the genes of the human genome. This led to much speculation on what the social effects might be if we ever came to know exactly what was the function of each gene in human DNA. This is one of the best hard science fiction films ever made. Hard science fiction is SF that relies only on currently accepted scientific theory for its prognostication and story telling, though often FTL travel is given a pass as it's hard to have a space opera without it. But then, there are current hypotheses as to how faster-than-light travel might be achieved.
Gattaca is one of the MOST sci-fi stories ever made: Sci-fi stores are not about "spaceships", sci-fi stories are social commentary thru the mechanism of presenting a different society to show contrast. Logan's Run is sci-fi. Star Wars is NOT sci-fi - Star Wars is action-adventure / space-opera.
@@dondumitru7093 I've seen Star Wars best described as Science Fantasy, i.e. fantasy with the trappings of space opera, spaceships, ray guns, etc. Flash Gordon, f'rinstance, is science fantasy. I recently came across a quote from George Lucas in which he said he never thought of Star Wars as SF, but rather as a fairy tale.
In my science fiction literature class, I show them two films: this one, and "Her" (2013). This film became hugely influential in popular culture, and is probably one of the reasons for the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) (2008). It gets shown in lots of ethics classes in medical schools and graduate programs in biology and genetics. I personally love the musical score, which to me is unbearably sad. To answer your question, I am convinced that Dr. Lamar *always* knew that Vincent was an imposter. I also think that Detective Hugo figured it out, and that even the Director (Gore Vidal) knew (I think he killed the Administrator in order to prevent him from revealing what he knew about Vincent). In other words, Vincent, despite his protestations that everyone was against him, at at least *eight* accomplices: the Director, Lamar, the head janitor, Irene, Jerome, Hugo, the Tony Shaloub character, and eventually even Anton. That is, rather, the point of the film: in a world where society insists that genetics is destiny, everyone (or practically everyone) is secretly hoping that it can be undermined, and will help (or at least not hinder) efforts to undermine it -- because no one wants to believe in destiny. It is a quintessentially American myth: the passionate, determined individual, with the help of his friends and even some of his reluctant opponents, can overcome the entire weight of the culture. Beautiful, if entirely unrealistic. I must say (speaking as a lawyer and law teacher) that it's a bit ridiculous how they just dismiss the legal aspects: "Of course it's illegal, but no one pays attention to the law." Dude, seriously? In a litigious society like ours? A lock of hair is a well-known love token. ♥
I've seen this like 3 times in various classroom settings. This was the default "we're watching a movie today" movie in biology/science in middleschool and highschool.
So happy you did this movie. So many reaction channels never even get close to watching this cuz it don’t do numbers but it’s such an underrated movie with strong messages.
Genetics and the idea of rapid reading of the genome was very much in the news at the time of this film. The papers were full of theories about insurance being denied based on preexisting conditions. As well as employers not taking on potentially risky employees.
I love gattaca. I like how everyone who meets vincent as jerome that had previously met him, pretends for him, willing him to succeed. That includes the Dr and Ernest Borgnine.
First time i ever saw this was in my high school genetics class in 2000. My teacher thought it was amazing (he was a geneticist) and made us write all about the science behind it and our opinions. It always stuck with me after that.
Went to theatre on whim alone one night, GATTACA was about to start. Wow, what a nice surprise. Such a well written story so on point as a future issue. The controversial issue is looked at and revealed by all the different characters from different walks of life to show the various sides and fallout of pigeonholing people. And of course showing the strength and weakness of the human spirit. Saw it again with my friends, had lots of interesting discussions. Which to me is a sign of a great movie, it makes you think and wonder.
You didn't catch the fact that GATTACA is somewhat an acronym with each letter being one of the genetic components Guanine, Adenine, Thiamine and Cytosine or did I miss that?
Locks of hair were used as gifts & endearments in the 19th & (early-mid) 20th century. It is generally given by a loved one (sister, girlfriend, mother) giving a physical piece of themselves to a boy/man who is going away for a long period of time. The significance seems to be lost on the younger generations. I’ve noticed reactor’s to Lord of the Rings, where a similar gesture is given, is looked at as strange to most of the younger viewers. I like to think of Jerome’s farewell gift as something very special & personal, unlike all the other hairs he had given him. I do also think it was a way for him to tangibly be along on the flight with Vincent, but there’s a deeper significance to it than just that.
Great insight. Although I feel the batch of hair was also given to Vincent as Jerome would be committing suicide. The camera then pans to Vincent showing his watery eyes showing he understood the gift. And knew what Jerome was up to. Great movie and the best scene is the last scene imo.
16:44 when Vincent gives the cup to the janitor! You're thinking he's leaving samples, but that janitor f*****g knows! That was the same janitor that was his boss
My 10th grade biology teacher played the last two days of class to play this movie for us, which was the first time I had ever seen the movie. An awesome way to wrap a science class.
I was an extra on this movie for the weeks that filmed at the Marin Civic Center in the Bay Area. I was an 18 year old college student and the 17 days of good money was really helpful. I didn’t expect to have so much fun. Extras reported very early every morning to one of the ballrooms at the Embassy Suites in San Rafael (near the Marin Civic Center set location) for hair and makeup. There were many very attractive female extras and many days started with Ethan Hawke and Loren Dean inexplicably finding themselves in that extras ballroom even though they had their own trailers for hair and makeup. Lol. They were certainly on a mission and had some success. It was always awkward for everyone when an extra would walk out with one of them to hangout in a Star Wagon. 😬 Ernest Borgnine was so nice to us! He had is own golf cart and would always show up to the extras set tent with treats from the far superior craft services meant for the celebs and would chat for hours with us … total class act.
This movie makes me cry every time ... Being perfect, wanting to be perfect, what is perfection, why perfection ... Then the unperfect achieves his dream. Such a powerful message ...
There were a couple of deleted scenes I wish they'd kept in the movie, but it's possible the director worried they would slow things down near the end. First, there is a scene where Anton's lieutenant confronts him, revealing he knows Anton is looking for his brother. Detective Hugo decides not to blow the whistle on Anton, but he hints that he (and others) are beginning to realize that this ethos of "genetic superiority" is not all it's cracked up to be. The second scene is a genuinely moving scene where Vincent runs into his old boss, Caesar, the Ernest Borgnine character. Caesar reveals he knew all along who Vincent was, and he was happy to let it slide. He was glad to see a fellow "Invalid" showing he could make good. Vincent leaves Caesar a parting gift, a brass telescope, and Caesar is so overwhelmed he breaks down crying. A beautiful moment.
"Produced by Danny DeVito!" You need to see some of Danny's directed movies too!! Death To Smoochy (Ed Norton, Robin Williams), War of the Roses (Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner), and Throw Momma From The Train (Billy Crystal). And of course, Matilda, but I hope you've seen that Shan 😉
The best part about this movie, is how they talk about the good AND the bad of genetic manipulation. You can do great things, but genetics will only get you so far. The Drive, the will to work for it is also very important. There is also so many subtle things in this, The director says he doesn't have violence IN HIS PROFILE. Which means he "genetically" isn't violent at all. BUT, he still beats another man to death with a keyboard. Genetics doesn't replace will.
We had a black and white TV back then and I saw it on that. I could only imagine the colour palette and how beautiful it must be. Like the sunrise over the solar panels, the night sea. I rate it the best sci fi movie ever.
In the deleted scene section of this video disc, the urine sample provided by Ethan Hawk's character is swallowed by the urine test inspector as a joke!
My high school biology teacher recommended this movie to me during my freshman year in high school, and I've loved it ever since. The ending never fails to bring a tear to my eye.
One of my all-time favourite films. Great story, acting and score. A deep and cautionary tale that's all too real. The lock of hair represented Jerome living Vincent's dream, but it was also a token of remembrance and love. Vincent and Jerome had come to love one another in a Platonic way. Honestly, how could they not?
_"I never tell you about my son, did I?"_ Watch the full scene with actor, Xander Berkeley, playing Dr. Lamar as he conducts the final urine test before launch. He says, _"You're going to miss your flight, Vincent."_ He then gives Vincent a look that is so subtle and yet so powerful, is hands down one of the greatest subtle pieces of acting I have ever seen. It says so much with so little. If you find that hard to believe, watch for yourself. LAMAR LETS VINCVENT THROUGH I Gattaca ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-EJkRKBTn4C8.html
My favorite film. I also love that even though he worked for it, he had a lot of help. Not just the doctor but his old cleaner boss knew that's why he took the cup.
This is one of my long-time, all-time favorite sci-fi's. Some scenes were filmed in the Los Angeles aqueduct; I saw them filming from the freeway while my parents were driving. Yeah, the urinalysis doctor mentions his son in his first scene on screen, so he's known for as long as we've seen him (although he might not have known during the job application phase, which is shown later, non-chronologically). Also, Hank from Breaking Bad (Dean Norris) is the cop who stops Jude Law while he's drunk in public.
This is a fantastic movie with a terrific cast. One of the best things about this movie is how many bread crumbs there are. They leave all of these little clues with various characters, what they do/don't know, secretly supporting Vincent, etc. They're so subtle that you don't notice them unless you watch this multiple times. I absolutely love how thought provoking this movie is.
The beauty of this movie is hard to overstate. There's a less-known later film along similar thematic lines, but understated and more complex: "Code 46." Beautiful cinematography and score.
I was at home the first time I saw this movie. I rented it because the story was compelling to me. I loved the book a Brave New World and reminded me of it. It was the first movie I saw Uma in. She was an actress that caught my eye.
31:41 Perfect Juxtapoosition. Vincent climbs into his cockpit as Jerome climbs into the incinerator. Jerome puts on his prize for second-best, lost in the past, as Vincent takes out his card from Jerome which contains a hair sample to be used in the future. Jerome sits inside an engine that goes nowhere to become dust as Vincent sits atop an engine intended to drive him to the outer planets and back. Jerome ignites himself and becomes nothing as the engine is ignited beneath Vincent, sending him to space and he becomes the proof that anyone can achieve the dreams they strive to achieve.
It's a neo-noir who-dunnit. Visually, it has a 50s setting. The clothes, cars, etc. I love that Jerome gets on the Titan spaceship while wearing a three-piece suit.
I don't think it's in the film proper only a deleted scene . But the janitor KNOWS that he's not really Jerome. So he knows to dispose of it. A beautiful moment that the janitor is inspired seeing Vincent and he clearly has his own dreams he was never able to fulfill. I can only assume this element was cut for the reveal with the genetics officer. Speaking of there's a hilarious gag with the actor (Xander Berkley).
Thank you so much for reacting to this movie. This was voted the most realistic sci fi movie. Its one of my top 5 movies of all time. That line in the swim scene is so powerful
the doc knew from the first time he took vincent's urine sample. remember that the doc talks to his child often about vincent. so the doc has known it was vincent for years.
I saw this first in the theater and haven't seen it very many times since then. it's a sci-fi movie that doesn't transcend it's premise, which is somewhat uncommon. It's content to just work the premise to a satisfying, if circumscribed, conclusion. It may have cost so much because of all the character actors in this movie. It's slightly astonishing.
Yah, the cast in this film is solid and broad, I certainly expect that it contributed to overall budget. Also, the scenes are so meticulously shot, so shooting at the various locations is probably another big chunk of the budget.
I remember the first time I saw this Freshmen Year Biology Class I cried It’s beautiful but depressing Thanks Mr. Madden, you’re a Legend. Never Change
12:43 I think that this was the moment, when (the real) Jerome realized that he would end his own life. After Vincent said to him, that it would be the last time that they would be themselves, Jerome went quite and looked down without saying a single word.