DVD REviews
“A poetic and revealing documentary.... [Beckett’s FILM] and its history make up one of the most fascinating artistic projects of the twentieth century.” - Lloyd Schwartz, Fresh Air, NPR
“Unlike any other film for its in-depth, analysis of one short film, it has been acclaimed by critics and audiences everywhere… a mesmerizing, entertaining and timeless treatise on a highly interesting topic. The Milestone Blu-ray package is equally impressive with a second disc of supplements. This gets our highest recommendation. Notfilm is brilliant.” – Gary Tooze, DVD Beaver (leading Blu-ray review site)
“A remarkable piece of work. Notfilm is so loaded with suggestive observations that multiple viewings are both rewarding and, indeed, necessary. Milestone's presentation is excellent, and the extras are informative and enriching. Highly recommended.” – Michael B. Reuben, Blu-ray.com
“Notfilm is many things besides a making-of documentary… this is a film-study must. Notfilm’s investigation into the details of this unique artistic project is fascinating, seen from any angle.” -- Glenn Erickson, DVD Savant
“brilliant and informative” – Jonathan Rosenbaum, cinema scope
“As film criticism, Lipman’s “kino-essay” is a joy, opening up both Beckett’s and Keaton’s works and elucidating the uncanny overlaps between them, underpinned by Mihály Víg’s elegiac score. And it teases some of the unnerving implications of Berkeley’s always counter-common-sensical philosophy, with its uncanny anticipation of our post-cinematic, post-materialist economy, whose secrets will not survive.” – Nick Bradshaw, Sight And Sound
“an extraordinary package from Milestone Films. It's amazing how much research has gone into this film… as many details as possible are presented, in a continually engrossing narrative. And there are some wonderful extras. NOTFILM is an exemplary cinematic essay and shows how meticulous analysis can be riveting and utterly compelling.” -- critic Daryl Chin (on Amazon)
“Lipman covers it all -- the history, the play, the players, the prep for filming, the highs and lows… Wonderful (and) engrossing.” - Academy Award-winning animator John Canemaker
“a highly personal documentary years in the making, available in a two-disc edition with a generous amount of bonus material. I find FILM more interesting today because of Buster’s poignant presence and because Notfilm provides useful context." - Leonard Maltin, leonardmaltin.com
“The FILM / NOTFILM bundle released by the BFI is a fascinating insight into the personalities involved, the filmmaking process and the legacy of FILM. The package is greater than the sum of its parts. It’s an important work of film history and an absorbing glimpse into the mind of a visionary." - Rob Aldam, Backseat Mafia
“an affectionate but unfawning mix of history and criticism... Lipman is a witty and discursive narrator who makes even the often forbidding Beckett accessible." - Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat Gazette
“a real winner. Lipman delivers the definitive account of this one-of-a-kind collaboration between two geniuses.” - Amy Longsdorf, North Jersey Record
“Much more than a documentary, Notfilm is a deeply thoughtful and intriguing “Kino Essay” (that) shines much-needed light on Beckett’s Film. Surely to be of great interest to film and literary students as well as die-hard Buster Keaton fans, Notfilm is an important contribution to film analysis, and a must-own disc for my movie collection.” - Ming Movie Reviews
“Lipman’s Notfilm is an elegy to both Beckett and his collaborators, and a work of art in its own right. The comprehensiveness of this set makes it an absolutely essential purchase for the initiated." -- J.R. Southall, Starburst Magazine
“Notfilm is an absolutely excellent documentary on the strange odyssey of Beckett's Film from conception to screen" -- Ian Schultz, Pyschotronic Cinema
“Lipman’s brilliant “kino-essay” documentary offers historical background, cinematic context, and critical interpretation for Beckett’s movie. The Film and Notfilm dual-format release from the BFI goes one better than pairing the movie and the documentary: with the depth and breadth of archive material here, you could spend several hours immersed in learning.” -- Pamela Hutchinson, Silent London
“Two experimental films, made decades apart — one written by Samuel Beckett and starring Buster Keaton, and the other a free-form essay-documentary constructed from the outtakes of that project — collectively make for a lively tribute to silent comedy and avant-garde art. " -- Noel Murray, Top 10 DVD's of 2017, Los Angeles Times
“A remarkable documentary" -- Serge Téloma (on French release), Le Mag du Ciné
“The result of meticulous research and editing over more than seven years, Notfilm is both scholarly and captivating" -- Fabula, La Recherche en Littérature (on French release)
“I thought I knew everything about the genesis of this OCNI (Unidentified Cinematographic Object). But I was wrong. Beckett’s first and only film is now perfectly documented. On the jacket of the Blu-Ray we can read in capital letters FILM / NOTFILM, forming an inseparable entity." -- Christian Rosset (on French release), Diacritic