The Secret Life of Walter Mitty [DVD] [2013]

This is a film I missed on the big screen and really wish I hadn't. The film gave me the impression Walter would be diving into all sorts of posters etc and living our lots of different adventures, this isnt really the case (maybe I was day dreaming like Walter) but im so glad, what you get instead is a really beautiful film that stays with you long after its finished. The film centres on our main character who leads a somewhat mundane existence which is only broken by frequent lapses into a Daydream where he sees himself doing what he'd really want to but doesn't (like us all i guess). Walter works at Life magazine which is shortly to close when he is sent some photo negatives by adventurer Sean O'Connell played by the ever excellent Sean Penn. When it becomes clear the main negative needed is missing , Walter goes on a mission to track down Sean O'Connell and retrieve this, what follows is wonderfully entertaining, with Walter finding himself outside of his comfort zone doing what he could previously only imagine (perhaps this iswhy his daydreaming gets less and less). There is great support from Kristen Wiig playing love interest Cheryl Melhoff and bad guy Ted Hendricks played by Adam Scott (Will Ferrells brother from Step Brothers) who you just love to hate and with possibly one of the best film beards ever. In short a really enjoyable film the sort that stays with you and requires repeating viewing, it has a feel of say the Truman Show where you just dont tire of watching and you know you will still be watching it in 10 years time. The downside , just the Benjamin Button Sequence , how I wish they'd cut it out , would of almost been perfect then.

I've never found Ben Stiller funny, and the concept of Walter Mitty having daydreams wasn't a premise which interested me in the least, so I avoided watching this film when it was released. But a friend wanted to watch it on DVD, and I went along with her - I'm glad I did, because it was super! Here's what I liked about it: - It's beautiful to look at. The photography has a lot of visually striking scenes in New York (including wide angle shots with straight lines), and beautiful views of landscapes in Iceland. The soundtrack also fits nicely. - Ben Stiller was really good. I've never enjoyed his previous films, but in this film I felt empathy for his character, and found some of his looks of bewilderment funny. The rest of the cast was also very good. - It's unusually creative - starting with the opening credits which are painted on to buildings. - It's a kind, upbeat film, and has a rather moving ending. Nothing negative to say.

I really love this movie. It was exciting, somewhat humorous, and it really spoke to me. I could easily relate to Walter Mitty, always day dreaming about better, more adventurous things, and this movie is truly inspiring. It had me on the edge of my seat at times, wondering if what was happening was real, or if it was another illusion and I was engaged from start to finish. And the best part? It has the most amazing soundtrack: two of my favourite songs where in this movie. If I was to pick a flaw, I'd say the humour is somewhat hit or miss. There were times where I'd chuckle, but also times where I felt the movie was trying to funny but not quite succeeding. I would definitely recommend this to anyone and everyone who has ever dreamed of better things.

Ben Stiller directs the 1939 short story, already known to audiences through Danny Kaye’s 1947 movie of the same name. On the surface as the film starts cool and aloof as the character appears to be, but it’s worth sticking with it to see the change as the film progresses. Ben Stiller directs himself as the titular daydreamer, who is a lonely, apparently buttoned up, individual in the Negative Asset department at Life magazine. As the magazine is downsized, he is tasked with producing the image to form the magazine cover, provided by the magazine’s ultra-reclusive photographer, who has (he claims) produced an image that is the ‘quintessence of Life”. However, the negative for which he is responsible has gone missing, and he must overcome his awkwardness to interact with the co-worker for whom he has a crush, as he searches for the elusive ‘Frame 25’.. If the first half is marked by day-dream heavy sequences which I found occasionally jarring, despite the cleverness of the photography, the second half is where the film really gains momentum, as the daydreams give way to Mitty’s reality as he finds ever new limits to his comfort zone. As we move from the office world filled with its somewhat too-cartoonish characters, we move to the bleak yet starkly beautiful scenery of Greenland and Iceland as the movie opens up both literally and figuratively. If the film has a weakness it is that it hinges so much on Stiller’s performance. He gets away with it, but the role does not speak to his strengths, and the chemistry with Kirsten Wiig’s character is not evident. This is more than made up for by the gentle and thoughtful way the movie unwraps its theme with Mitty’s revealing of his inner potential, combined with some truly exceptional photography. First time director’s can often fall into tricksy photography to mark their calling card, but here the tricks and ideas seem actually more like Stiller is having fun, rather than trying to just squeeze them in. It really works, and ultimately, what really makes this work is not the set piece moments, but a gentle understated approach to the sequences between the set pieces. Go with it, persevere through the daydream sequences which can be overegged.. and I think you’ll find this movie a surprise on many levels, quite beautiful, and ultimately far more satisfying than you probably expected. It’s more reflective, than comedic – and the better for it, if you know what you’re getting into.

A new film version of the James Thurber short story about a man who escapes his humdrum daily life by getting into exciting day dreams. Like all films of short stories, it bears no resemblance to the original other than taking the main idea and going it's own way with it. Thus it bears no resemblance to the original film version starring Danny Kaye other than having the same basic plot as that did also. Ben Stiller stars and directs. Walter works for life magazine, has a crush on a co-worker [Kristen Wiig] and can't complete an online dating profile properly because he doesn't have much - if anything - he can put on it. Anything that he's done in reality and not his imagination, that is. When the magazine faces closure, and the last ever issue is due, a famous photographer [Sean Penn] sends in a photo for the cover. But the negative isn't where it should be. And the quest for it sends Walter on a real life adventure more spectacular than anything he could ever have imagined... This is a project that was in development for a long time, and went through many potential leads and directors. All of the previous choices, you might expect, would have turned it into an out and out comedy. But Ben Stiller manages something different and far more subtle. There's occasional character comedy here, all of which arises as it should from character interaction rather than the need for a joke every few minutes. The film starts slowly, but with a purpose. Just to ease you into the reality of Walter's ordinary life, before pushing him off on adventure. But what catches the eye is the direction. The film jumps from fantasy to reality so seamlessly, with visuals that mesh together perfectly. And the music adds to all this. It's a famous and very subtle score that does enhance the mood. The aim of which is to inspire and make you relate to the main character. Which it succeeds in doing, because when he finally makes one very brave leap, the moment is cinema magic. With stunning location photography throughout, this is a treat for the eye. And the writing is clever, managing to let the plot develop nicely with some surprises along the way. Sometimes in life you get inspired. Something makes you want to break the routine and do something new and different. This film is one of those that will make you feel like that. Not least because it's subtle about the points it's trying to make, so you get them completely. Superbly directed, very well acted, and an inspiring experience. Watch it. It might just make you change your life. If you dare. The dvd box says that it only has language and subtitle options in English, but the set up menu on the disc actually gives the following: Languages: English. Russian. Ukrainian. Subtitles: English Danish Finnish Norwegian Russian Swedish Estonia Latvian Lithuanian Ukrainian. The disc doesn't start with any trailers, and goes straight to the main menu when loaded. Extras are: The look of life. The music of Walter Mitty. Two featurettes, both running no more than five minutes [approx.]. about the look of the life magazine set and the score of the film. Both are very interesting but a bit too short to have as much impact as they could. However Skateboarding through Iceland, a two minute long compilation of film of a key sequence being filmed, is a quite interesting look at how it was done. There's also a short section of reference photographs that the film used for some of the key scenes, which can be navigated through via the menu keys on the dvd remote.

I wasn't sure about this, but thought I'd give it a try. Very moving about the transition from a day dreamer to real life. The scenes where he is serenaded in Iceland to Space Oddity, to skateboarding to the Himalayas represented his journey from childish day dreaming to living as an adult was very good. I'll watch it again

👍

A nice adventure and kinda-detective tale for a simple city dweller and office-salaryman. From his modest but comfortable world and internalised ambitions, his fate is to be thrust unexpectedly around the world from Iceland to the Himalayas. I particularly liked the skateboarding back theme, charming understated romance and little nuanced random encounters. This is no Stiller farce, it's a character driven, original and intelligent voyage of self discovery. We are made to sympathise with our very atypical hero. It is nicely done, I came away nicely charged up with good feelings. A nioce find, RECOMMENDED

Grande film, bella interpretazione bella fotografa. Un film che riconcilia con la normalità dell'umanità.

Bien realizada la película y entretenida

Me encantó la película cuando la vi de estreno en el cine y los paisajes de Islandia ne llegaron al corazón. Así que primero me compré la película en Blue-Ray y algún tiempo después me fui de turismo esa maravillosa isla.

La storia è ispirata al medesimo soggetto del film "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" (titolo italiano "Sogni proibiti") con Danny Kay e Virginia Mayo (1947) ma la trama è attualizzata ai giorni nostri, meno "comica" (per quanto divertente) e più rivolta alla riflessione sull'autenticità dei rapporti umani e il rapporto fra la tecnologia e il vero senso dell'esperienza umana. Il film è anche un bellissimo e grande "trattato di fotografia" e piacerà molto a chi apprezza questo particolare aspetto dei prodotti dinematografici. Un film davvero bello e godibile, ne consiglio sicuramente l'accquisto e la visione. Spedizione veloce, nella consueta eccellenza dei servizi Amazon

This movie is nothing great or a standout in the list of great movies with soulful messages, but it would definitely be one of the most visually appealing movies to which there is very little competition. The movie has a life and fun factor of its own and superb performance by Ben Stiller (one of his best so far). Watch the movie with open heart and mind, let the scenes soak in, allow your imagination take over your logical and routine mind for once. Superb Bluray, great detail and audio imaging in the AV section. The scenes are beautifully shot and flawlessly reproduced with superb transfer quality from the Bluray. It's definitely worth to buy and keep it as a reference benchmark.