Search - Plan 9 from Syracuse on DVD

Running down a dream...

Mark Tillapaugh | Syracuse, New York USA | 09/02/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a remarkable documentary film, chronicling one young man's pursuit of a dream...a dream to make films. What makes this film so remarkable is the heart, grit and determination that Ryan Dacko put into every mile of his cross country run, in his effort to attract the attention of billionaire Mark Cuban.
If you are looking for or expecting a big budget, high gloss Hollywood production, you should look elsewhere. What makes this effort stand apart from multi- million dollar productions is just how much Ryan Dacko achieves with so little.
What you do see here is America...small town America...big city America... wide open spaces America, as Dacko runs across the country. All of life's hopes and dreams, ups and downs, successes and disappointments are all on display here, as seen through the experiences of one man, running down his dream.
What you also see here is the illusory nature of the duality of success and failure...and how, in the end, it is the trying that matters, not the outcome.
The musical soundtrack is by the band The Lost Patrol, and this band's music serves the movie wonderfully. The haunting guitars and the ethereal vocals perfectly accentuate the solitary nature of Dacko running alone across America. You can sense the feeling of isolation that the runner must have felt as he pressed on despite the many and various obstacles he faced.
Although his dream ended differently than he would have liked, essentially, that does not matter. Ryan Dacko accomplished something that very few people before him have, the very run itself. No one, especially Mark Cuban, can ever deny him that.
I highly recommend this stunning documentary. It requires the viewer to take a different approach and not to judge it by high budget standards.Watch it for what it is and you cannot help but feel uplifted. I should add that I am not saying any of this because Ryan Dacko is my friend and I worked on parts of the film. I am saying this because I admire what Ryan Dacko did and the real outcome of his failure is a resounding success.
Oh yes, don't miss the idiotic comment from Mark Cuban at the end. It's priceless."

Old School Determination

Shredder666 | 10/23/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ryan Dacko may only be twenty-something years old, but he's not of this generation. He's cut from the fabric of a generation that's nearing extinction - that is, the generation of folks who put everything on the line to fulfill their dreams and aspirations - without fear of the criticisms that will be lodged their way.

Yes, in part, Plan 9 seemed like a cockamamie dream. Yes, Plan 9 wasn't necessarily the best way to go about getting the attention needed to work in this crazy film industry. We only know this through hindsight since there is no clear formula for success in the fickle film industry. That said, while everyone acts as a critic (Cuban included) of Dacko's Plan, nobody can offer a viable alternative.

Dacko's trek across the nation may very well be the blueprint of what not to do to get yourself noticed by an industry insider, but at least he had the balls to do something. Most of us are too lazy to run outside to pick-up the morning paper, let alone run a marathon a day for 4 months. At the very minimum, Dacko's film inspires people to go after their dreams by any means necessary. He makes no apologies for his methodologies, and fully understands what some people may think of him. These are admirable qualities of the human species - even if a tad irrational.

Indeed, the film is shot on the cheap, and there are obvious elements about the film that distinguish it from its bigger budgeted contemporaries; however, the point of Dacko's run was to get financial backing so he could make films at a higher level. How someone can mock Dacko's filmmaking knowing damn well that the crux of this run was to get the support needed to make better films is really the mind-boggler of it all. The charm of this film is the amateur feel to it. The visuals are at times grainy and the sound's not perfect. Tell us something we don't already know - this is to be expected from a small budgeted indie film. You don't rent a film like this looking for some cutting edge cinematography and top notch sound quality. You rent this film to watch an amazing journey by a very driven individual. For 90 plus minutes, you forget about your own mundane life and get to share in the Dacko's quest across the country - and what a beautiful quest it was. Only a cynical hater would not be routing for him. The failures and hardships that Ryan experiences are what make this film so interesting. The fact that Ryan is sharing his failure with the world is testament to his character. Actually, the film would not have been as interesting had it merely documented a guy running across the country without any mental and physical anguish - getting that huge reception at the finish line in Hollywood - and subsequently sitting for pitch with Cuban. Yes, if truth be told, this film appeals to the sadist in all of us. Everything falling out of place is what makes this film so special.

Considering how crappy and dumbed-down pop culture has become, Dacko breathes a sense of new hope and purpose into the potential of films today. After seeing the lists of movies that are coming out today, it's patently obvious that the industry is rife with favoritism based on who you know, not what you know. Even if 'Dead Heaven' tanked at the box office, Ryan would still be in good company. I bet you didn't know that Peter Steele of Type O Negative read the script for the lead part of that film and really dug it. Who cares if the trailer was a little lame? It was just a concept - an idea that needed massaging, just like 90% of every script ever written.

The Lost Patrol provides the amazing music in this film, sans the credits. I read a very bad of review of the film that described The Lost Patrol's music as "bar band", which I found puzzling. I would love to find out where this bar is that plays The Lost Patrol - it would certainly stand in stark contrast to the 99% of the bars out there that showcase crappy cover and generic corporate rock music. The only thing The Lost Patrol has in common with a bar is its propensity to intoxicate you. The music compliments this film like rice compliments beans.

This is a gritty, gut-wrenching film about the endurance of Ryan's spirit and determination. For those of you who have not really seen the country, the landscapes and little slices of Americana are worth the rental cost alone. If you dare to dream, you will LOVE this film. Highly recommended to real people with real dreams, not some cynical hipsters who try to make names for themselves attempting to be clever on the internet. Go buy it!
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