Monster in a Box: The Movie
by Nick Broomfield
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DVD details
Actor: Spalding GrayDirector: Nick Broomfield
Brand: IMAGE ENT.
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 90 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-11-28
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Image Entertainment
Product features:
- Legendary monologuist Spalding Gray takes you on an unforgettable and often hilarious journey through the pitfalls of the creative mind in this brilliant follow-up to his critical and audience favorite, Swimming to Cambodia. Interacting with his audience and backed by a score from Laurie Anderson, Gray recounts the story of his attempts to write a manuscript and the bizarre tangents his everyday l
DVD Reviews of Monster in a Box: The Movie
DVD Review: Lose Laurie!
Summary: 2 Stars
Just saw this on DVR (taped off cable) and was appalled at how intrusive the soundtrack is. Spalding Gray doesn't need a soundtrack, never mind one that is as jab-you-in-the-eye-with-a-stick obnoxious as this one. The zooming and cutting and background images were also annoying, but I think I could have lived with that. The music (by Laurie Andersen) is almost always unsuited to the subject matter. And it is so loud at some points that I had trouble following what he was saying. A total miscalculation in my opinion. Just because they were both in the NYC downtown arts scene doesn't mean they belong together! Glad to see that I can delete it from my DVR, because I can always buy this DVD if I feel compelled to watch it again. I don't think that I will, though.
DVD Review: Er, not really..
Summary: 1 Stars
I thought Swimming To Cambodia was amazing when I first watched it. This doesn't even come close though. Unless you are his no.1 fan I would give it a miss.
DVD Review: Spalding Gray is Nothing Less Than a Genius
Summary: 5 Stars
The MONSTER IN A BOX is Spalding Gray's thousand-plus page manuscript he struggled to complete. It provides the framework/infrastructure for this moving and hilarious monologue. It's just Spalding Gray. No one else on stage. I saw it twice within 24 hours, loved it both times, and ordered it to share with friends who don't know this extraordinary artist or this particular work. DVD Review: An American Original
Summary: 5 Stars
There was nobody else like Spalding Gray. If you're curious about his work (and you should be), you should start by watching either "Swimming to Cambodia" or this film. They are worth owning, because you will probably want to watch them again and again and show them to your friends. "Monster in a Box" is my favorite. Watching it again recently, I realized that Gray could've been one of the greatest comedians of all time, and he certainly would've earned more money and fame as a comedian, yet it would've been a waste of his talents. He had too much to say about life to confine himself like that. And so he used that rarest of art forms, the autobiographical monologue.
"Monster in a Box" is about a lot of things. It's about the difficulty of writing a long work of prose. (The "Monster" in the title is the manuscript for a book he was working on, which I have read, by the way. The finished work is very good, although not as long as the manuscript.) It's about the film industry. It's about a fact-finding mission to Nicaraugua in the 80s. It's about Gray's fears about his own physical and mental health. It's about a trip to Russia for screenings of "Swimming to Cambodia." It's about Gray's role in a Broadway production of "Our Town." And much more.
But a summary of the content does not capture what this monologue is really about. Gray was an intense person who was trying his best to be true to his nature without being completely miserable. I saw him perform "It's a Slippery Slope" in Eugene, Oregon, in 1995 or' 96, and he was fantastic. He walked out onto the stage, sat down at a table with a glass of water, and talked for about 90 minutes. The audience was riveted. I wish a film version of that monologue was available. Several months later, I was living in Tucson, Arizona, and Gray came to town. He was still doing "Slippery Slope," but the following evening there was a showing of the film version of "Monster in a Box" in which Gray was available afterwards to answer questions from the audience. As I recall, he was humble, entertaining, and funny, and he did not dodge the questions even though some of them were quite personal. I feel lucky to have seen him.
The film version of "Monster in a Box," like his other filmed monologues, has been jazzed up somewhat with music and special effects, which is unnecessary but not too intrusive. I believe this monologue was his career peak. The next one, "Gray's Anatomy," is darker and not as funny, although still well worth seeing. It was very sad to hear of Gray's eventual suicide, but it's a glass half-empty, glass half-full scenario. Mostly I am thankful that he was able to share his experiences so freely with others, so that we could have some laughs and be the wiser for it.
DVD Review: A Must-See for anyone with a sense of humor
Summary: 5 Stars
I recently viewed this movie on IFC (cable). It was the next show after one I'd just finished watching, and if I'd know before hand that the whole thing was a monologue, I probably would never have watched. From the first minute of the performance, I was glued to my seat. Unlike myself, if you're purchasing the movie, you'll have the "pause" option on your remote if you need to break, but you'll never want to use it. There will be at least one of his stories that everyone has experienced at one time or another, and can relate and laugh hysterically. Through the whole performance, right up to the end, you want more. The only disappointment is that it had to end. Very highly recommend to anyone with an intelligent sense of humor.
Description of Monster in a Box: The Movie
Legendary monologuist Spalding Gray takes you on an unforgettable and often hilarious journey through the pitfalls of the creative mind in this brilliant follow-up to his critical and audience favorite, Swimming to Cambodia. Interacting with his audience and backed by a score from Laurie Anderson, Gray recounts the story of his attempts to write a manuscript and the bizarre tangents his everyday life and creative persona underwent in the process.General DVDs
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