Jonathan Livingston Seagull

source: Jonathan Livingston Seagull

THis movie was... a huge waste of time. Jonathan Livingston Seagull, the book, should have been left alone. I'm sorry. It's not possible to transfer such a beautiful book to video format. This movie should be better known as "the ruthless murder of a beautiful book" They ruined it. Luckily, my love for the book took over and I have removed this awful movie from my memory. Otherwise it would have spoiled the story for me. I think the only good part was the sound track. Neil Diamond is a genius, but by no means managed to save it. I would have to tell people not to see this movie if they want to save their views of Jonathan Livingston Seagull. RIchard Bach's message is something that can not be made visual.

First off if you are reading this you will most definitely read the book of the same title. The book doesn't translate well into film due to it's short length so there is a lot of padding out of Jonathon just flying around visiting different places but the visuals on show are very good. The animatronics (rememeber they didn't have CGI back in the 70's) are first class and it really does look like live seagulls. The movie is probably about the right length though at 95 mins perhaps trimming by 10 mins would not have harmed it. As you'll know it's a feelgood story about the quest to be a better gull and the importance of tolerance and forgiveness. I was a bit disappointed that one of the KEY SPOKEN LINES in the book was omitted from the script. When the young Jonathon is asked by his mother why he doesn't eat and is all bone and feathers he replies "I don't mind being bone and feathers, Mum. I just want to know what i can do in the air and what i can't, that's all. I just want to know" Considering the key part of the book is that Jonathon forsakes the squabbles and feeding frenzy to learn how to fly properly i would say that line is a pretty important one. Still it's a decent movie which is pleasant to watch.

This painfully boring movie was the worst movie i had ever saw until UFO-Target Earth came out in 1974, i actually fell asleep in my chair at the movie house while trying to watch this.. It was cheap made, and really had no kind of plot or storyline whatsoever!! I don't usually walk out of a movie i had paid to see, but this sorry thing was just too much for me... I never read the book this was supposed to be about, but it had to have been better than the movie, in the 33 years since it was made, i have never heard anyone mention it again... so that must very indicitive of just how bad this movie was.

After getting the book as a Christmas present in 2005, I was so in love with the story that I decided I must also watch the film, exactly one year later the DVD arrived on my doorstep from Play.com. First thing's first, I consider this to be one of my most favourite files, the reason I enjoy it is because to me it's very symbolic and the film includes all of my true loves; the sea, sky and gulls. I often warn people about this film before showing it to them because it's seriously a matter of personal taste. The average person probably wouldn't be interested in this. I absolutely love the music and I now have the soundtrack, together with the beautiful photography, the nature scenes and gulls, I believe it was a work of art, a masterpiece. So deep.. I've now watched it about 20 times or more and still never bored of it! Call me crazy but I cannot get enough this, I know the story inside out.. I know that it's a metaphor but the fact is, it's still based on gulls! That's what really makes it enjoyable for me, because I never get tired of watching birds, especially my beloved gulls.. The plot is simple, not confusing. Jonathan sees more to life than just fighting for fish all day long, he wants to learn how to master the gift of flight. (In real life, gulls and other birds actually do fly for fun.) He wants to take flying to new levels, he wants to reach the top (literally) and surpass everyone below, for they aren't thinking any further and don't even want to. Jonathan expands his knowledge on flight throughout life and beyond, meeting very few gulls like him and teaching others the joy of learning. It's inspirational because as the book suggests, Jonathan lives within us all and we can so easily relate to him wanting to do what he wants to do, and dealing with "peer pressure" almost, the other gulls put him down and tell him that his learning is wrong. This often happens to us in real life, some people are weak and go with the crowd while others continue to be themselves. One thing about this film that eeks me, the fact that so many people compare it to a Christian's story.. about heaven and Jesus and all, but really those are the type of people who see the bible's story EVERYWHERE THEY LOOK. This is NOTHING to do with Christianity (if anything, the devil chanting at the end of the film shows that stereotypical Christians are discriminative, and you're better off NOT listening to their silly rules!) Besides that, watching this film always brings me to life, like Jonathan, my passion is flying. I really cannot get enough of those beautiful flying parts and the whole thing is something I hold close to my heart. OK I admit I may be a little biased because I'm absolutely gull crazy... I don't think there are any gull nuts who wouldn't enjoy this.

I had the misfortune of seeing this film when it first came out. When it was over I had come to the conclusion that it was the most horrible film I had ever seen, and the other five people in the theater agreed with me. What a waste of perfectly good celluloid. Avoid this movie at all costs!

This film´s photography puts any other film´s to shame. How they managed to catch footage of the seagull at those altitudes is amazing. However, photography alone does not make a great movie. The novel is great and the film is almost a page for page filmatization of the book. However it is a tad long and one´s interest in the philosophical bird diminishes near the end. Younger viewers which perhaps are not as blasé as I may find it more enjoyable. For those of you who have not read the book; this is a must-see.

SPOILERS Ok, where to begin. Each week I visit the Union and meet with a random group of people. The group is the Hull University Philosophy Society and I'm the President (something to be proud of? well guess it goes on a CV). Anyway, one week a guy who goes called John suggests we watch this film he likes. As it seems like a good idea, it's agreed we'll watch it. That film is "Jonathan Livingston Seagull". In the film we're presented to a Seagull called Jonathan. Unlike his flock he believes there is more to life than survival. After his attempts get him expelled from the flock, Jonathan travels the world before meeting the mysterious Chang, who teaches him how to really experience life. So what can be said about this film. Well without sounding unintelligent, I just don't get it. For the majority of it, it seems to be following a sort of disney type plot, so much so that it could have been done in cartoons and featured some sort of humerous cartoon pidgeon who kept him company and kept flying into things. After a while though it seems to switch into some sort of flying version of the story of Christ. To be honest, I felt it was a bit of an awful film. People would discuss afterwards about how it was following Kant's ideas, but I must confess I don't see how. The thing that shows how dire this movie was though is that after watching it, most people's favourite part seemed to be the moment when a seagull called Fletcher flew into a cliff face. The way this film was done was fantastic, I've got to give them credit for that. The ammount of effort which must have gone into finding particular footage of seagulls must have been enourmouse, but effort alone doesn't make a good film. I've got to say that this is one to avoid, not least for the plain, simple fact that I really do hate Neil Diamond. Find better ways to spend your time.

JONATHAN LIVINGSTON SEAGULL is a film about a bird and his philosophical musings. As he flies about, he wonders if there's more to life than just eating fish heads, how high he can fly and is there some special purpose to life--all in a live-action two-hour film! Yes, this is #253 of why you should hate the 1970s--right between the song "Muskrat Love" and Richard Nixon! Okay, there really is no such list--but if there was, this film would be on it! That's because this is a god-awful film that was actually embraced by "with it" people and made the book a huge best-seller and the film a must-see. And to make it worse, the film is so deadly serious and tries so hard to be philosophical--while all it really consists of is a seagull flying about as inane dialog blares on the screen. Could this get any worse?! Well, yes, because while the music does sound lovely, Neil Diamond also sings several songs that made "Heartlight" (sure to be included if there was a "reasons to hate the 1980s" list) seem hard-edged! So what positive things do I have to say about the film? Well, the cinematography is lovely and must have been spectacular on the big screen. Also, when Neil Diamond isn't singing, the music is lovely. However, with two hours to the film, these reasons become irrelevant after just a few minutes as the rest is just a ponderous pile of....well,... guano. And the fact that so many once-respected actors LOVED the project and agreed to do voices for it is a testament to the power of mood altering drugs and hippie psychology!! Harry Medved included this in his book "The Fifty Worst Films of All Time". While I have disagreed with some of his choices, I can heartily agree that this film merited, no DEMANDED, inclusion! In summation, I'd rather eat glass than see it again! It's THAT bad!!!

This review is based on the first 45 minutes of the film - it is the only film I have ever walked out of. The single worst film I have ever seen. Pretentious drivel masquerading as some sort of art. Not even watchable in a "so bad its good" way. It is way, way below that standard. A seagull who wants to "fly" - not fly, "fly" (possibly with 2 y's). It is every bit as bad as the plot synopsis (and that is the entire plot) sounds. I thought that the book had had some interesting ideas, even if it was a bit on the twee side, but the film removed any vestige of charm from the book in favour of a literal interpretation of the book's message. All we have is a seagull who wants to "fly". (Please note that this review was not written by SoylentGreenIsPeople91, who has actually never seen this film)