Why JACOB'S LADDER Nearly Broke Me 

at Anti social fish 42 - in one of the layers / circles of Hell - Hes married to a woman and has alive but Jezabel is not the woman hes married too and she is just a woman that works at the post office.. but when he sleeps in this reality , he is in a relationship with Jezabel..theres a whole entire world and reality.. so its definitely layers of reality / circles of hell , its not a on or off, black and white kinda deal , theres..alive , dead and even layer in between the dreams and hallucinations of jacob.

Yeah but "Jacob's Ladder" sounds similar to that, because he is ascending/descending the ladder as he progresses, and it gets worse.

@@orangehaze74 Biblically, Jacob's ladder refers to a giant ladder that angels use to return to heaven after their jobs on earth are complete. So the original intention with Dante's inferno and Jacob getting his sins burnt away in his hallucinations before he uses the titular ladder to ascend into heaven.

@@RegalFrog42 So... the purgatory?

@@orangehaze74 Dante's inferno is part one of the divine comedy, in part two he goes through Mount Purgatory, and in part three travels through heaven. Obviously Jacob's ladder isn't a direct adaptation of the source material, and judging by the original proposed title it only deals with hell. Since the film is a one off and no sequels were planned, this gives the filmmakers creative liberty to end it how they want, meaning they could completely ignore purgatory and send him straight to heaven for satisfactory narrative closure. There is the possibility that Jacob's ladder does deal with purgatory, but I don't know much about the second part of the divine comedy so I can't really comment on that (though it seems unlikely given that that would create a cluttered narrative). I hope this helps explain my point. :)

Correct. And the film itself was based on an ancient book called "Bardo Thodol" or "The Tibetan Book of the Dead" which describes what every soul must go through to reach the afterlife. That implies that every character you play in any of the Silent Hill games is actually dead.

I felt like the plot could have done more but the imagery is absolutely mesmerizing yet horrifying.

@@ComaLies225 hey. That’s exactly how I was left feeling after I watched it.

@@Ricardo-cl3vs Only Silent Hill 2 and 4, which are reflections of the main character's psyche and journey to overcome their grief and sin. 1 and 3 are based off an entirely different set of circumstances centered around a dark god and a cult.

@@AParticularlyConcernedCitizen Jacob's Ladder's influence is present in all silent hills, just in different forms. Silent Hill 3 has literally a similar metro level, with the character having to dodge an upcoming train in a tunnel, after having wandered in an empty metro station, just like in the movie. You can also see a lot of the "head shaking demons" in silent hill 3's valtiel. The hospital gore with grids and blood imagery is also very present in SH1 and SH3.

sure they arent just showing shit out of order because that doesnt make any fuckin sense at all lmao

Totally: the only “real world” sequences the audience gets is the attack on the platoon and the subsequent rescue to the medical tent. The rest is his made up “reality” that’s falling apart OR that one memory of tucking Gabe to sleep and going back to Sara.

I sure did think he was having war flashbacks until the ending...he was actually dying slowly in his bad trip then turned out good in the end.... it's sad and could've happened in real life

No. Not really "back to life", he's dead. He's dead from the moment he was stabbed in Vietnam. The "good" parts are flashbacks, at least as much as the bad parts. I suppose you could call them "visions", or visitation by angels. But they're not "real life". I do love how they switch it around in the end, and he's going upstairs with his son towards the light, presumably to Heaven. Probably at the same time this is a good plot twist, you can say it's flaw is that this isn't entirely clear, it lacks some explanation.

@@squirlmy Dude you are wrong and need to rewatch the movie. Every time he has a "falshback" to Vietnam , he has come back to life for a moment (such as the scene where he see a spider web and water is dripping on him, he see officers looking for him and the rest of the platoon that the experiment was conducted). He'll then fall back into death where he's met with this demonic altered reality. The more he becomes comfortable with the fact he is dying and at times dead, the more he begins to see his real wife and lastly his son who finishes guiding him into total dead. That when his toe is finally tagged. While he's dead he does get clues as to why he was killed and will also have actual memories of the battle and being stabbed. The beginning of the movie is in real time and he dies immediately after being stuck with the bayonet. That's when he starts experiencing a type of purgatory or the dichotomy between life and death and heaven and hell.

Ooo i like that

Amen! In full agreement 👌

Sounds like hollywoods masonic satanic doctrines messed yo mind up bad. Im truly sincere in sayin im sorry to hear that. Hollywoods main job is to twist n pervert scripture. And they get results, just like your comment.

@@majinblood6133 scripture is fake so

@@majinblood6133 Well said!!! Its tragic how people soak up hollywood scripture but will deny and spit upon the real thing.

One critic said it was pretentious

@@SamuelBlack84 sounds like the critic is

@@UC4AQUgrQ9EwVIGoF0w7xHXg I couldn't care less what some nobody thinks about a film I like, all that matters is that I like it

Look up on here the Siskel and Ebert review and watch how Ebert makes Siskel’s take on the movie look stupid.

@@SamuelBlack84 i always feel the need to correct them when they’re that wrong lol

1:45 Does that red car seem too "young" to have been there BEFORE the Vietnam War, when the kid got killed?? Why did he go in the first place? He didn't HAVE to if he was married w kids, right?

@@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823it seems like he got divorced before getting drafted

I AGREE WITH YOU

@@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823 I think he was an older officer so it might not have been that uncommon.

Nonsense! The film is about a mortally wounded US soldier in Vietnam. These things that are happening in the movie are what is going through the poor saps head as he is dying.

@@chiricahuaapache5132 though to be fair, you dont know if somewhat of an angel comes to you while you pass away, perhaps he already experienced some of these moments, thats why louie tells him ''every time''

@@chiricahuaapache5132 no shit.

I thought louie was supposed to be lucifer.

@@JAMMY174 no, it’s quite possible that Louie represents the Archangel Michael who in principle carried the sword of righteousness who slayed the dragon likened to the destruction of our inner demons (Jacob’s inner demons are represented by Jezebel the girl from the post office, he even calls her a HEATHEN, as well as his attachment to his old life and especially his dead son). Michael the Archangel can also be called upon for emotional and psychological protection to help one in times of conflict with others or called upon to protect one against psychological attack. Louie is the one who helps keep Jacob out of hell. When Jacob gets thrown out of the car and robbed by Santa he winds up in that horrible hospital where the faceless doctor shoves the needle in his head. He’s left laying helplessly in bed until Louie comes and gets him out. The nurses and orderlies try to stop them from leaving but Louie picks up a crutch and keeps them at bay with his “sword” while he gets Jacob out of bed saying, “What is this? The Middle Ages? And they call this ‘modern medicine?’ This is barbaric. BARBARIC!” Louie then takes Jacob back to his office where under the light of heaven he fixes Jacobs’s slipped disc. Jacob even says, “Am I dead Louie? I was in hell. I don’t want to die Louie.” To which Louie replies, “I’ll see what I can do about it.” Jacob then comments about how hell is “all pain.” Now this is where the most significant sign comes that makes it undeniable that Louie is his guardian angel. Besides the part where Jacob straight up tells him he looks like an angel of course. Louie asks if he’s ever read Meister Eckhart before quoting him saying, “Eckhart said, ‘The only thing that burns in hell is the part of you that won’t let go of your life: your memories, your attachments. You burn them all away. But they’re not punishing you’ he said. ‘They’re freeing your soul.’ So the way he sees it, if you’re frightened of dying and then you’re holding on you’ll see devils tearing your life away. But if you’ve made your peace then the devils are really angels freeing you from the earth. It’s just a matter of how you look at it that’s all.” It’s Louie that not only takes him out of hell but gives him the most powerful tool of all: knowledge. Jacob had been holding on to his life, his temptations (represented by Jezebel), and the death of his son; and it was ripping his soul apart. Once he was able to let go it was the very thing that was tearing his soul apart that eventually saves it. His boy. it’s his son that leads him into the light.

Wow ! Yes you are right.

It also reminds me of a movie called "Scenic Route". A buddy trip movie .. i won't give up any spoilers because it's a great movie.

Finally! You are the only other person I've ever seen who made the Owl Creek Bridge connection... I read that story in high school not long before seeing this movie and I thought it's what inspired the movie.

@@Mark-db1ok it did

You nailed it . That's what I was thinking after watching it. Thanks for confirming

If Tim Robbins deserves that much then what does the writers and creators deserve? Heaven?

Yeah it's just too bad that this year some dude decided to start writing with his foot, so everybody else was pretty much screwed after that, award wise

You are right. The cut scenes are creepy and powerful. I've been waiting ever since the 90's for a director's cut to come out. The closest I've come is putting together a sort of director's cut myself, by splicing the cut scenes into the movie, where the script tells you where they belonged. Unfortunately, I did this on video tape back in the day, and have no way of transferring it digitally.

@@morlockmeat we got the snyder cut you never know man

@@johnlawful2272 - After a couple decades, one can only hope. Ha! I’m still waiting.

I loved this movie, tragic story with an amazing performance by Robbins. I remember watching the deleted scenes and asking why the hell they were cut? I seem to remember it was test audience reactions over it being too intense but watching the film now the ending in particular seems abrupt with no real climax. I recommend this movie to anyone that will listen. So many moments that stand out, the scene of him waking in the bath is heartbreaking.

@@jekw23 - Agreed. And I don't know why they haven't released a director's cut with the extra scenes yet. Don't have to worry about test audiences now.

Like Lost Highway, Jacob's Ladder shares its premise with the short story The Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.

It takes place from when he was first stabbed in the jungle, he passed out and wakes up sees a spider, to the table, the surgeon said he was a hell of a fighter, so I'd guess he actually lived for about an hour or maybe even 2 hours, the length of the film

They dont make them like they used too :(

2010s also had a ton of movies as psychologically poignant as this movies. Currently, I'm watching classic movies and everytime I turned back to modern movies and carefully choose the great ones, they never disappoint. Same thing with music albums. 2010s is in my opinion still an overall great decade for music, film, and tv shows. Maybe because I'm still young and pretty explorative, but again, art is subjective, yet why the generalisation tho? Every decades has it's fair share of trash and great stuffs, so nah, I highly disagree to your take. You may want to watch "Get Out" or "Hereditary" because they're really really good. There are others I bet you, but again, try exploring more!

The director of Joker said it best: If it isn't a superhero movie, it won't get made.

to true...wrapped in plastic and sanitized with bleach. Everybody is to concerned with being PC and not getting cancelled. Artists are rebels, critics and commentators on society. The powerful don't like that. They want conformity.

@@filmcomicsexplained Can you please do a "Flatliners" vid? Also, the "inability to let go" theme here, w jakob reminds me of the hell experienced by Robin Williams' characters wife, after her suicide, in "What Dreams May Come"

The beginning of SH homecoming when he was in the hospital was damn near exactly the same

The similarities are worn on the sleeve for sure. Very derivative in the BEST way.

The whole franchise! Not just SH2 💛

@@drogon1644 Fer sure. SH3 is the dead ringer for me when comparing.

Similarities of both run from the nape of the asshole to the… nape of the balls to the… nape of the genitalia

Me too! I watched it when it came out on video when I was 13. I think it was the first psychological horror movie I actually kinda understood. Plus, the man with the shaking/vibrating head really freaked me out too!

at Reckless eating - we rented this movie in 1991atthe movie rental place , i was 10 going on 11 years old that year.. same thing here this movie scared the crap of me as a kid, it scared me so much , that only now 30 years later am i going back to explore jacob's later and see other people in the world try to explain the movie to me. to get me to be less scared of the movie and less scared of death...10 year olds dont need to be scared of death we had our whole lives in from of us, but now i am 41 years old, so i am looking at this really really scary old movie trying to get through it

This movie scares the crap out of me as an adult.

at SIM it also scared /scares the crap out of me as a adult as well.

@@TheNecropolis20 Dude, it can't be scary anymore. Once you see macaulay culkin in the photo or Jason Alexander (I hear the bass guitar thumping from Seinfeld). Ving Rhames. All of those pop culture references would have to not exist to have the same level of intensity as the original release. Even the title actor went on to do comedy.

Yesssss!!!! This is very similar to my personal pet theory, only you've kind of improved it. I've always thought the ups-and-downs, terror followed by calm circle mirrored the actual experiences of his body with his brain trying to frame it into a meaningful whole. You get a patient in critical state, stabilise them (calm) then they drop again (oh shit!) and you re-stabilise over and over. The brain is telling its own version of events as it tries to keep up, so is reacting in an almost dream-like state as it keeps trying to knit reality together, cos that's all "reality" is, the perception and story created by our brain. And, just like dreams, time is distorted. Then it all finally ends with the NDE trope of immense calm as you walk into the light. I'm sure others have similar thoughts but I've not seen someone say this before. I award you the highly coveted RHBlob Award for Cinematic Critique ;-) And thank you for your work as a 1stR. I have a couple of friends who are paramedics and I genuinely don't know how you guys can maintain in such an insane environment where it can all pop off in a nano-second. The stress would just do me in. You're all amazing.

Wouldn't putting someone in ice like that kill them? Shock?

my dad was a surgeon in Vietnam and spoke of this phenomena

​@@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823yep, thats definitely just a hallucination and never actually happened just like every interaction that involves Jezebel

I do too. But for me, it makes me question what am I at risk of losing in this crisis, and could my life potentially be better off with out it? And if my life might be better off after the fact, why am I struggling so hard to prevent that from happening?

Seems like a lot what to simplify existence down to tasks, objectives and accomplishments in life- while religion like Christianity boils it down to experience and having a relationship with your creator where existence changes significantly. Even if others disagree with the fact that humans come from God, then much changes as to who we are let alone our very purpose….. and yet so many fail to give an explanation to replace what they are taking away….. There’s alot here to think about for sure…..

@@nunyabizness6734 Because people struggle with or hate change. Change brings a lot of uncertainty and that which causes stress, drama or problems. Also not to mention we lose control when change is brought into the picture

@@daydreamdirty Is it not possible, however, that there is no purpose outside of our base biological directives and that the experience of being alive only holds as much value as we put on it as individuals?

Are we already dead?

it's even more surreal when you realise that this is the same filmmaker that made movies such as Flashdance and the Lolita remake

Finally, another person that remembers Bravo’s 100 scariest movie moments

That scene is definitely up there for most disturbing ever.

@@fluxcapacitor21 I’m just happy people remember Bravo I’m general lol

There's a wonderful lovemaking scene in this film where Jacob and his woman are making love. It's highly erotic and beautiful to watch. Oh. Ooooohhh yes .... Oooooooooohhhhhh ...... Mmmmmnnnn, it's absolutely sublime.

The poster on the train....that says "This is Hell"....or something along these lines.....I didn't notice it until the 2nd time I watched the movie

There's a twisted irony to including Camus there, because in a way it almost shows how Jacob believes himself to be detached - only to be trapped in hell/purgatory because of the attachments he still has. The thing about "The Stranger" is that the entire book twists interpretations of the world into utter meaninglessness, which is totally believable for a veteran to cope with his PTSD. Good eye on that detail!

Right? I have a similar feeling, one of the best movies that I don't think I'll ever be able to see again

If you live every minute of everyday the best you can, you've lived your life without regret. Do that; you will have no need to talk with him. Any conversation with him will always lead to that one simple thought. Nothing to let go of if you let it all go while you are alive. I mean, what is there to reckon with if you did all that _could_ do? Just saying.

@@danielduncan6806 - I simply thought he'd be a fascinating individual to have a conversation with. That's all.

@@danielduncan6806 You’ve led with a bunch of platitudes without really explaining anything. The reason people should converse is the same reason neurons are designed to seek out active networks. People find purpose in the gaps of knowledge found in society. Neurons are only aware of their little bit of the COMMUNity, and it takes COMMUNication to determine ones own relevance and role in the greater scheme of things. Neurons literally have to be part of a community and fulfill a role to receive nourishment, lest they perish. This is the basis behind neuroplasticity. This is why an amputee that loses an arm will eventually begin feeling sensations in a non-existent hand when something touches their cheek. The neurons in the primary somatosensory cortex associated with the now missing hand no longer receive any signals. So they literally have to migrate and “learn to code” by attaching to the neighboring neurons responsible for sensations in the cheek. Society has much to learn about building a society, and the brain has most of those answers after billions of years of trial and error. Nature has even figured out motors BILLIONS of years before humanity was even the twinkle in the eye of natural selection. So, when you give your nebulous platitudes, remember that people have roles to fill, and they’ll never figure out what those roles are without communicating with one another. Even your comment serves a purpose of creating a contrast between useful communication and useless communication. 😂 The “good” is only defined by the existence of the “bad” after all. Existence is defined by non-existence. It is impossible to have something without the opposite of that thing. Cheers 🍻

@@morlockmeat Every conversation can be fascinating. The trick is to not presume to know everything and assume you have something to prove. I’ve been arrogant most of my life, and things were kept from me (the Universe, Fate, Karma, God; I’m agnostic currently, so I can’t say which) because of that arrogance. After I learned to embrace criticism, many doors were opened before me. All I can really say is how important it is to keep BOTH eyes open despite preconceived notions. Each eye only leads to two conflicting TWO-dimensional spatial understandings of the world. It is the reconciliation of two DIFFERENT two-dimensional knowledge that leads to a THREE-dimensional spatial understanding of the world. Arguing between two differing viewpoints is tantamount to arguing over which eye to close. The harder you argue for one idea over another the more you lose the ability to reconcile different ideas into a higher dimension of understanding. It is tantamount to closing one eye that, no matter which eye it was, you will ALWAYS lose a dimension of understanding. So, I support your desire to speak to people you find interesting and that you might learn from, but I also want you to understand that talking to those you believe you can’t learn anything from might just surprise you. Cheers 🍻

Ģģ

I vote for the costuming. Brilliant. Not complicated, tho. Very much like Pink Floyd, The Wall (movie)

I'm bothered by the kid that died before he went to Vietnam. I assume he was married. Why would a guy go to war with a family/kids at home? Surprised he wasn't bothered by the head at the party in the fridge. Too. Lol

​@@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823 I would assume he was drafted, it's the vietnam war.

@@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823The vietnam war had mandatory service for a lot of people.

Thanks for the warning on the remake. Looks like I'm not missing much.

There's a remake?

Honestly I just liked the ending of the remake that anything to forget line really hit hard bruh and I never saw the ending of the original

Strongly agreed

This is news to me. I thought since this is a great movie it would have publicised a remake

Do you know who actually won that year?

​@@lucasoheyze4597do you?

Yeah this was a bad year for that, as Daniel Day Lewis decided to learn how to write with his foot that year

It really affected me to, although I can't face watching the film again!

Sad she died of cirrhosis. It's a horrible way to die. I've seen it.

Beautiful is putting it mildly. RIP🌹

These might actually be from Pink Floyd the Wall in 1982.

yes!!! i thought so too! when the man explained the experiment at the end it made so much more sense

His presence is so comforting in this film. Great actor, brilliant script and fine performance all round!

@@filmcomicsexplained so very true

I love and fear this movie also. I can't put into words what it has made me feel. I will never forget it. Or forget the ways that it made me feel from, seemingly, deep inside my soul. Haunting. Haunting.

I was thinking the same

What about the testing now with the EUA trump jabs? Lol wake up

Hey, never join the army. Wars are not fought for defence of the realm but for profit. Certain people have made colossal fortunes from every war dating back at least to World War One. (WWII is the exception, Hitler and Hirohito had to be stopped). They become as rich as emperors while the soldiers that went on the front line get nothing, apart from the annual Cenotaph ceremony where our glorious queen mimes giving a fuck for five minutes. Here in the UK we house our servicemen in accommodation that is actually so shoddy it wouldn't even be rented out to students. We have to have various charities for ex-servicemen because they are offered zero support after they leave the forces. Thanks to ten plus years of the Conservatives running the country numbers of homeless people have skyrocketed - and ex-soldiers make up an obscenely mis-proportionally large chunk of that number. Never join the army folks. You can serve your country just as well by qualifying as a teacher or a nurse or a doctor (funnily enough these professions are also underfunded by the Conservative government). Social workers and probation officers serve their country by carrying out an essential role (funding cut to nothing by guess who). Never, never join the army. Your body and your life are your own, and no person or agency in this world has higher sovereignty over you than you yourself.

You'd be amazed at what they're doing today then.

@@nobbynoris I agree with everything you say, but for the conservatives stuff. Maybe because I am in a different country. In America, it is the same as far as people declaring that conservatives are ruining everything, or democrats are ruining everything.... but I am pretty sure it does not matter if it's conservatives or democrats, they are going to take from the poor and give to the corporate elite. In my view (at least in America) we need a populist movement. The establishment is only good for one thing, and that is to please those who already have it all. Don't go to war. Absolutely not. But no mater if they are conservative or democrat, they are looking for one thing. And that thing is to control the poor.

Ashy!!!!! Keep hitting those high zombies rounds!

Mmhm if the exorcist could'nt break me this wouldn't Even A Serbian Film didn't - and I'm aware that's not up to the cinenematic standard of The Exorcist or Jacob's Ladder- js I guess having a strong ego protects you from damage I think the most unsettling film I've watched is Rosemary's Baby- not coincidentally, it's also one my Top 5 favourite movies of all time.

I laughed through the whole thing.

Plus the fact that this never actually happened, I think all his mates abandoning him for an unexplained reason is a representation of purgatory, he can't move forward or understand why, he is stuck now

Adding it to the list now!

Your Channel is the best!

Also the Movie Barton Fink by the Cohen Brothers would be awesome.

Awesome, I'm so excited for that. Your videos are the best.

@@foscojenkins6877 why do you say that?

So True My Good Friend!!! So True!!!

Yeah sorry. There are still amazing directors and films being made today. They never left.

@@gamblorrr like who?

@@journeytrials Charlie Kaufman, Noah Baumbach, Wes Anderson, Paul Thomas Anderson, Ari Aster, Robert Eggers, Alejandro inarritu, alfonso cuaron, Del Toro, Tarantino, Greta Gerwig. Those are just a few I can name off the top of my head.

@@journeytrials Check out Pan's labyrinth, Its very similar in feeling to this.

Absolutely!

Deleted scenes definitely scream Hellraiser

NIN vids, as well

Try Pink.Floyd the Wall Movie from 1983. You'll see these monsters.

Twilight Zone did an adaptation of "Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge." Pretty darned good, it was actually the only episode that was produced independently and acquired, rather than produced by Serling.

Glad you enjoyed it!

You can get that from wet brain. Too much drinking will do it. I heard of one where they guy was stuck mentally in the rain, begging his wife to let him inside. Forever.

Asked

Legend!

I'd know it. Just like my mind. Lol

Me too! I saw it in the movie theater @12, became one of my top favs, alongside Flatliners.

Yeah, but right now, you could buy a house at EXTREMELY LOW interest rates...like 1% was it?

Looks intriguing! Adding it to the list now :)

Frailty is absolutely amazing, one of my top 5 favorite movies of all time, you def would not expect the ending lol.

Frailty?

Frailty did not get enough love at the time

Heck yes. Definitely an under-fucking-rated movie. Has to be one of MM's best roles.

Where can I find this??

My pleasure!

You're very welcome!

Anytime!

It really did!

Thank you kindly!

@@filmcomicsexplained your welcome kindly !

I think there is a heavy influence of the Ambrose Bierce Civil War short story.