Into Great Silence (Two-Disc Set)

Into Great Silence (Two-Disc Set)
by Philip Gr??ning

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DVD details

Actor: The Carthusian Order
Director: Philip Gr??ning
Brand: Gaiam
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language); French (Original Language); Latin (Original Language)
Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 162 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-10-23
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Zeitgeist Films
Product features:

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DVD Reviews of Into Great Silence (Two-Disc Set)

DVD Review: waste of time and ruining the percious raw materials
Summary: 1 Stars

"Silence is God's first language." You will see this quotation from St. John of the Cross on the phamplette in the CD case. The director made a wrong choice in that he used God's language instead of human's. Shortly, this film is as much superficial as the silence itself which surrounds the monastery physically. Silence in itself is nothing. It's just like a vacuum. I understand the intention of the director, but his intention is not supported by normal human psychology. It only brings irritation to the audience. Maybe he wanted his film to be interpreted in many different ways by them. But it's his own thinking. His own interpretation omitted the medium through which we can access to his intention.

Foremost, he wasted the precious time, which relates with the fact that monks do waste time in their monastery. When the director intermittently showed the faces of the monks, I thought that I was looking at the prisoners. Paradoxically, they are actually prisoners of love for God. If these are what the director aimed at, it's a great success. But it's not an appropriate and conscientious way of sharing his experience in the monastery for six months with other people who want to know the depths and reasons of the life of the monks. If this is a documentary which appeals only to our heart and soul, not to intellect, then it is not a documentary at all. It's just a propaganda for Catholic Church. In my thought, through this film, Carthusian orders will lose many vocations. His approach too much idealise monks lives and separate from the secular world. But they are only an extension of any other monasteries practicing looser rules than Carthusians.

The only thing I was surprised at was that I mistook the ear of the monk on the first scene for a wound in Jesus' heart.

What would Thomas Merton (who was tempted to join this Order) say if he is alive and see this film? He'll be very much disappointed, I think.

German people are sometimes too philosophical.

DVD Review: not remarkable
Summary: 3 Stars

Sure, the story of the filmmaker being invited to the monastery 16 years later is intriguing, and the shots of the interior of the monastery are interesting up to a point. But I don't think this film is all that it's being made out to be.

People are complaining about the slow pace. Maybe, but the obvious rejoinder to that is to say that Groning was attempting to capture the slow, deliberate rhythm of life in the Grande Chartreuse. And sure enough, when you're done with this film (a long one), you will actually feel as if you have spent some time up there in the French Alps.

The problem, as I see it, is this: if such was Groning's "brilliant" approach, then he dropped the ball in a much more important regard.

If I could sum up the lives of these monks in one word, it would be "ordo," order. They've got a highly regimented life, very institutionalized. Not only have they got the matins, vespers, complines, etc., but their meals are being served at exactly the same time every day.

If the filmmaker was so cleverly trying to capture the spirit of their lives up there, why does he engage in so many MTV-style jump cuts from candles, to leaves, to snowy mountains, to icicles melting, to celery being cut, etc. If he was so earnest about capturing the spirit of their routine, he should have injected more order into his editing, I feel. Perhaps this could have been accomplished with a color scheme? Music?

As it is, the film seems to jump around haphazardly from theme to theme, in a way that the lives of the monks certainly don't.

DVD Review: an experience to get into again and again!
Summary: 5 Stars

just enter into this experience and i am sure you will
find yourself away from this fast world we live in.

i recommend this Dvd to everybody. Watch it in a quiet place
and let the chants ,the way of the monks and the silence be of
a benefit to you to get close to GOD.

It is not a documentary. It is as almost you are taking part in it!

Brian Vassallo / Artist

DVD Review: Awed and inspired.
Summary: 5 Stars

I admire them, and I am glad I bought this video, but this is a very special calling. Not for everyone, and not for me. You must leave the world, and in these times, with so many problems, I believe you must live and work with your fellow men and women to solve them. But knowing that there are people willing to leave everything and search for God, inspires me to try and work harder to help solve these same problems. I would specially recommend this video to people who are thinking of following a monastic life, not to discourage them, but so they will enter with open eyes.

DVD Review: Great Film!
Summary: 5 Stars

Into Great Silence (2005) Starring: The Carthusian Order Director: Philip Gr??ning is a film about the Grand Chartreuse an ascetic monasteries in the French Alps. This is a documentary about the Carthusian order, their daily prayers, tasks, rituals and life styles. A wonderful chronicle of spirituality you must see.

Description of Into Great Silence (Two-Disc Set)

Nestled deep in the postcard-perfect French Alps, the Grande Chartreuse is considered one of the world s most ascetic monasteries. In 1984, German filmmaker Philip Gr?ning wrote to the Carthusian order for permission to make a documentary about them. They said they would get back to him. Sixteen years later, they were ready. Gr?ning, sans crew or artificial lighting, lived in the monks quarters for six months filming their daily prayers, tasks, rituals and rare outdoor excursions. This transcendent, closely observed film seeks to embody a monastery, rather than simply depict one it has no score, no voiceover and no archival footage. What remains is stunningly elemental: time, space and light. One of the most mesmerizing and poetic chronicles of spirituality ever created, INTO GREAT SILENCE dissolves the border between screen and audience with a total immersion into the hush of monastic life. More meditation than documentary, it s a rare, transformative experience for all.

DISC ONE, THE FILM:
Breathtaking 16:9 anamorphic transfer, created from Hi-Def elements
U.S. theatrical trailer
Optional English subtitles

DISC TWO, THE EXTRAS:
The Making of Into Great Silence : With behind-the-scenes footage,
location photos and handwritten notes from the monks
Additional scenes, including a segment on the preparation of the
Carthusian s world-famous Chartreuse liqueur
Night Mass
The Carthusian Order : An informative guide to the rules, architecture, and
daily schedules of the monks and the monasteries
Extensive photo, poster, and press kit galleries
And more!

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