| Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind [HD DVD] | ![Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind [HD DVD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ZsM1lZ19L._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Director: Michel Gondry
Actors: Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Gerry Robert Byrne, Elijah Wood, Thomas Jay Ryan
Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.98
Buy New: $7.47
You Save: $12.51 (63%)
New (8) Used (5) from $6.49
Avg. Customer Rating:  664 reviews
Sales Rank: 13580
Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), French (Dubbed)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: HD DVD
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 108
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 62032831
UPC: 025193283122
EAN: 0025193283122
ASIN: B000N3SSBM
Theatrical Release Date: March 19, 2004
Release Date: April 24, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Screenwriters rarely develop a distinctive voice that can be recognized from movie to movie, but the ornate imagination of Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation) has made him a unique and much-needed cinematic presence. In Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a guy decides to have the memories of his ex-girlfriend erased after she's had him erased from her own memory--but midway through the procedure, he changes his mind and struggles to hang on to their experiences together. In other hands, the premise of memory-erasing would become a trashy science-fiction thriller; Kaufman, along with director Michel Gondry, spins this idea into a funny, sad, structurally complex, and simply enthralling love story that juggles morality, identity, and heartbreak with confident skill. The entire cast--Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Elijah Wood, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Wilkinson, and more--give superb performances, carefully pitched so that cleverness never trumps feeling. A great movie. --Bret Fetzer
Product Description
A guys finds out that his on-again off-again girlfriend has undergone an experimental procedure to erase him from her memory. Frustrated that the woman he continues to love doesn't even recognize him he decides to undergo the same procedure to remove his memories of her.During the procedure the man changes his mind and fights the process to retain his memories of his girlfriend in unlikely places in his mind.System Requirements:Runtime: 108 minsFormat: DVD HD Genre: COMEDY Rating: R UPC: 025193283122 Manufacturer No: 62032831
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| Customer Reviews: Read 659 more reviews...
 Moving And Intelligent, Exploring Love in an Unconventional Way January 6, 2009
"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" is a fantastic film, but that's not surprising. I've come to expect excellence from Charlie Kaufman, who always makes seemingly unfilmable plots into a brilliant screenplay. Michel Gondry, who directed Human Nature, directs with sensitivity and ambition, making the visual effects of memories being lost look realistic. The casting choices were unusual but perfect, allowing a group of talented actors to step out of their comfort zones and show how good they truly are. The leads, Jim Carey and Kate Winslet, are perfectly chosen. Carey plays the quiet, intelligent, Kaufman-like guy who doesn't know how to interact with others with Winslet playing the arty, rough, daring girl who opens up his world and shatters it down the road with an impulsive decision. The supporting cast, Kirsten Dunst speficially, also give wonderful performances. Such great work was put into this from all ends, and the result was a truly wonderful film.
I wouldn't say that "Eternal Sunshine" is as brilliant as Kaufman's Adaptation, but it is more universal. I'm partial to Adaptation because, as a screenwriter myself, the way Kaufman delves into that pain and longing and frustration a writer experiences rang so true to me, whereas "Eternal Sunshine" is a film that is not really specific to anyone. It's about love, what people mean to each other, how deeply the memories we have effect us, and even destiny. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be intrigued, and you'll certainly leave the film with the intention to see it again. A great movie.
9/10
 Life is about your relationship with your inner demons December 25, 2008
A strange movie about memory. Jim Carry is an unlovable schmuck, but for some reason he meets this wacky, gorgeous girl who's also quite horny. Slowly we get to see him interact with this girl, slowly we realize that there's much more behind their relationship. Why? Because it's a film from a Charlie Kaufmann script, where anything can happen. The couple has tender, happy moments that are very memorable (or memory-like) in an iconic kind of way. These are devices we refer back to, they make the movie feel like it is warm, comfortable, and we root for the heroes who struggle against what they are doing to themselves. Do they know that they were destined to be together? Things get weird - once we figure out what is going on, we get some back story. And then that back story gets back story. And then that back story also gets back story. And then the back story becomes the only story that there ever was. Because it's destiny. Complaints? None, really, although Kirstin Dunst acting horny is a bit awkward - she doesn't do horny well. Elijah Wood is good and creepy. And Jim Carrey - well, he can act... like a dork. I sometimes wonder how many people out there have so much time for resolving their inner demons that they don't really need to do regular things like work, cook, watch TV...
A BRUTALLY HONEST EXPLORATION OF LOVE December 24, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I was not a fan of Jim Carrey's until I saw this film. I bought it because Charlie Kaufman wrote the screenplay, and I loved BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, and ADAPTATION. I have, to date, worn out two discs of THE ETERNAL SUNSHINE....
The reason I love this movie so much is I've never seen one- ever- that was able to encapsulate with such terrible clarity, and frank eloquence, the nature of love, and ( specifically ) why we love. Though this masterpiece is extremely moving, hysterical, and lethally ascerbic, it is anything but cute.
Jim Carrey should have gotten an Oscar for his performance, as the quiet, loner, Joel, and Kate Winslet was equally wonderful. The entire cast was superb, in fact. The direction, and cinematography was great, but the story was genius.
Be smart, and get a little Sunshine....
External Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: A thoughtful romantic story or a dark precautionary tale December 22, 2008
What an intriguing idea for a story, a man and woman meet, fall in love, fall out of love, have their memories of the whole love experience erased from their memories by a reverse brain mapping process. Who among us would not jump at the possibility of erasing painful or unpleasant memories and then be able move on with our lives with no recollection of anything associated with the person we had wiped from our memory.
The lead characters in the story Joel and Clementine meet and fall and love, but after a period of few years they have drifted apart. Clementine discovers a doctor, who offers a service where he can erase memories of a particular person from your mind. Part of the process of forgetting is remembering. In order to map all the areas of the brain where the memories reside; the person wanting to forget has to collect all items associated with the person they are trying to forget. These items are shown to the individual, who is trying to forget and as they view the object a map of brain's reaction to the stimulus is created. Through the marvel of modern science this brain map is then used to execute a pinpoint destruction of the memories. Clementine successfully undergoes this procedure and completely erases any memories of Joel. Presumably, she is now free of the pain of a failed relationship. Joel is now a complete stranger to Clementine.
Later, Joel is told by a friend that Clementine has had all memories of him erased and he becomes interested in doing the same with his memories of Clementine. We are then treated to the spectacle of Joel having all memories of Clementine zapped. The erasing is done while Joel is sleeping and the "technicians" drink, party and mess around during the process, in a startling display of indifference to what is being done to this person. Perhaps this is an indictment against the medical community that treats our mental anguish and discomfort with drugs or other means with a sort of detachment from what other damage may be inflicted on the individual.
As we watch Joel's memories disappearing, through the use of clever cinematographic techniques, we see that Joel is desperately trying to keep the memories that are being removed. Other memories from his childhood become more vivid and we can clearly see that all his memories work together to create the person that is Joel. That is, I think, the precautionary tale of this film. We can not as humans selectively erase bad or painful memories from our minds without having an impact on our overall psyche. We may lose some pain, but we may also give up a piece of our soul or our being when we try to block out the bad and keep only the good. Our memories are complex and twisted and tied together in ways we do not fully comprehend, so be careful when you hit the erase button and enjoy the movie it will create its own map
3.5 stars out of 4 December 18, 2008
The Bottom Line:
With perfect performances by a vivacious Winslet and a restrained Carrey, ingenious writing/directing by Kaufmann and Gondry, respectively, clever plotting and a touching finale, Eternal Sunshine may have a clunky title, but it's one of the more original and interesting romances to come out in years.
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