r/movies • u/sp0rkah0lic • 5h ago
Discussion The Vast of Night
Ok. First of all I've never seen something like this, specifically.
Period piece 50's movies almost ALWAYS give some kind of wink and nod to 50s film making. Or even, a slight acknowledgement of the filmmaking of yesteryear.
This film does not in any way do that. It's a fully indie movie style. The first 5 minutes, almost infuriatingly so. Like a big middle finger to the audience. Ok. Messaged received.
Aside from that. This is an Amazon original movie that Amazon has quietly removed from it's platform. Amazon has declined any public content as to why. The movie is critically acclaimed and of a much better quality than the normal standard for "Amazon Original." Spoiler alert! >! this is a film about aliens <! and also very much about using the 50's as "American mentality."
The fact that I literally had to use VPN to watch this film tells me something. What that something is, I leave to you. Please. Go watch it.
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u/Phineasfogg 3h ago
For what it's worth, Amazon acquired the film after it premiered at Slamdance, so while it may have been branded as an Amazon Original, it's not a film they developed and/or fully financed.
Apparently the director of the film partnered with somebody to buy the rights back with a view to organising a physical release:
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u/-drunkmoses- 5h ago
They created a really tense low budget period scifi thriller that made you pay attention and listen to everything. Such a pleasant surprise.
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u/FaerieStories 5h ago
Great film! I think anyone who watches it won't regret it. It's flawed though: I think it does a phenomenal job of setting up and sustaining a sense of mystery and tension but ultimately it doesn't really know what to do with that and it fizzles out. Still, definitely worth the ride.
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u/trackofalljades 3h ago
It does have that “we ran out of budget before we ran out of ideas” feeling to the third act but man, I still love it.
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u/mdmnl 5h ago
Removed from UK Prime but not Germany and Japan? It's a great little film.
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u/sp0rkah0lic 5h ago
Confirmed. Searching trusted sources said VPN Germany, this proved correct. Prime video from Germany VPN it's available. But not in US. Again. I understand regional licensing issues and not trying to be a tinfoil hat type but again THIS IS AN AMAZON ORIGINAL. Like, wtf, why? It's all free money. Unless...idk. What?
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u/trackofalljades 3h ago
It sounds from what I’ve read like the filmmaker got back the American rights and is working on his own release now which will probably be better and include official media.
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u/notbarbarawalters 5h ago
This is my favorite story about conventional extraterrestrial lore, and they removed it?? Is that a country specific thing?
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u/sp0rkah0lic 5h ago
I don't know what other countries are affected but the USA definitely is. Also I've tried searching for WHY and all I can find is Amazon has declined comment.
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u/MajimaBuu 5h ago
This is the last movie I watched that I knew was immediately in my top 10 of all time
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u/Fresh_Bubbles 5h ago
Loved the characters! Just overall involved in all the details until they are finally attracted to the prairie next to the town.
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u/Basic-Yesterday-5641 4h ago
I didn’t realise Amazon had removed it from Prime!? Very glad now that I torrented a good copy a while back, I’m doing that more and more for good movies that are streaming only especially on one platform.
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u/DacStreetsDacAlright 5h ago
I think its a very well made indie film that lives and dies solely on the opening oner. The whipsmart dialogue gets really grating really fast, and ultimately the fact its an indie film betrays its ambition by the end.
It's a solid 7/10 movie imho. It's nothing amazing though.
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u/sp0rkah0lic 5h ago
I appreciate your comment. For me, the uniqueness of just the way this is made is enough to make me slow up and pay attention.
But again. I hate to keep harping on this. But the fact that this was a recommendation, and then, I literally could not legally access this from within the USA, it dramatically increased my interest. After watching this, that aspect of my "journey" has left me with an almost existential question.
Why?
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u/DacStreetsDacAlright 5h ago
Because there is rarely a more fucked business than film rights especially in the modern era. You wanna explain to me how Paramount+, owned by Paramount, who own the Star Trek Franchise, frequently looses access to the Star Trek movies they themselves own? Because they made deals decades into the future with other providers they still have to honour even though they have their own service now. Amazon probably did the same thing. Or the previous agreement expired.
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u/BMLortz 3h ago edited 3h ago
There are even some old films that fall into this problem. One of my father's favorite movies is The Flim-Flam Man, and it took a lot of work to finally secure a copy for him.
Here it is on Amazon for the low low price of $204.14
https://www.amazon.com/The-Flim-Flam-Man/dp/B005HYHNI6The American Success Company is another one that is generally hard to find. At least Amazon has it available for $8. But only streaming and Standard Definition.
Edit to add: u/sp0rkah0lic I too liked The Vast of Night. The scene in the car still sticks with me. My wife didn't like it because she found it to be too slow, and I agree it's a valid criticism.
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u/ohmuisnotangry 3h ago
I loved that movie. The way it feels like a real town with real people living in real houses... That to me was the best part.
Like when they go down to the guts of the school gym in a dark place, there are no jump scares - just a couple of old guys trying to fix the electricity with flashlights. It almost reminded me of a Ghibli movie in some sense (probably the scene in Laputa where the kids run into an old miner deep within abandoned mines)
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u/jupiterkansas 2h ago
Amazon didn't make the film. They simply bought the distribution rights, which was likely for a limited time.
While I greatly appreciate the flashy filmmaking on display, it's all in service of the most cliche alien encounter story imaginable, so it's a wash. But I don't want be too harsh on the film because it's a super low-budget first time filmmaker showing off his stuff, and the technical creativity and tension building on display is beyond impressive.
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u/happyhippohats 5h ago
The Vast Of Night was an Amazon original?
News to me, I own it on bluRay and have an Amazon subscription and had no idea.
Maybe that was your point
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u/sp0rkah0lic 5h ago
That's weird. Everything I've seen says there was no physical media distribution.
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u/trackofalljades 5h ago
There’s no legal/official disc release, at least not yet. There are discs out there if you look hard but they’re sold by those sketchy “services” that make physical media releases out of streaming assets (very poor quality, and not licensed).
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u/sp0rkah0lic 5h ago edited 4h ago
Right so I really question the legitimacy and the, ahem promptness of this particular comment.
Incorrect. This was not released on physical media. Who TF are you?
I mean. Am I crazy? Is this all going to be privately archived for my FISA hearing?
edit: a word
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u/TheSickestToastie 5h ago
Oh I absolutely love this film. It's so cosy, even stripped down to the bare bones like it is. Incredible long shots using simple camera techniques, all the bike riding shots. And the sound design is absolutely otherworldly if you watch it using headphones. Phenomenal movie.