IMDb RATING
5.8/10
1.5K
YOUR RATING
An aspiring poet in 1950s New York has his ordered world shaken when he embarks on a week-long retreat to save his hell-raising hero, Dylan Thomas.An aspiring poet in 1950s New York has his ordered world shaken when he embarks on a week-long retreat to save his hell-raising hero, Dylan Thomas.An aspiring poet in 1950s New York has his ordered world shaken when he embarks on a week-long retreat to save his hell-raising hero, Dylan Thomas.
- Awards
- 7 wins & 9 nominations
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaShot entirely on location in Swansea, Wales over 18 days.
- GoofsWhen Dylan and John's "boxing" gets out of hand, Shirley exclaims, "Don't get your pantyhose in a knot." Pantyhose were not available to the public until 1959.
- Quotes
Dylan Thomas: There is no secret, John. No Holy Grail. Just what's in front of all of us. Don't open a book. Open a window.
Featured review
A monumental achievement: where art-house and great entertainment are snug bedfellows
Everyone in the cinema was quite struck by the profound and beautiful movie that is "Set Fire To The Stars". You could see it in the faces of the audience, as each person figured out which message had the most resonance.
This movie is much more than another biopic of an artist on the fringe of society. And for most audiences, it will be much more meaningful than Dylan Thomas's poetry. It took me a while to process the resonance for me in this movie. I had to filter the welcome enormity of Elijah Wood's screen presence and Celyn Jones' powerful persona. But they gave me enough gentle nudges and artistic clues under Andy Goddard's direction to lead me to the following conclusion: the purpose of this film is to unravel some of the mysteries of male friendship, and to lift the veil on hero worship (which Elijah must experience on the other side, in his real life) and, of course, where Dylan helped, it was on the transformative power of words.
With all this colour going on, the superb aesthetic of the black and white film compliments the mood nicely. Tantalisingly the film gives no pithy answers, or sound-bitten sentimentalism. Instead I need to look inside myself, and perhaps within the poetry of Dylan Thomas, to find some of those answers. Or maybe I just need to watch it again.
This review also needs to pay justice to the sheer entertainment value that is throughout the movie. I loved it - from start to finish. Elijah's performance is incredible. Celyn's character is jaw- droppingly intriguing (and believable), and the music from Gruff Rhys (of Super Furry Animals fame) is beautiful at all times and crosses a range of genres and styles. Everything is in balance, except Dylan's psyche - and that's what makes it fun!
This is a monumental achievement, where intellectualism and pure fun entertainment ride side by side. Perhaps it is the start of a new genre - where intellectual movies have taken their heads out of the clouds and are doing it with a smile. I'm sure that's how Dylan would have wanted it to be.
This movie is much more than another biopic of an artist on the fringe of society. And for most audiences, it will be much more meaningful than Dylan Thomas's poetry. It took me a while to process the resonance for me in this movie. I had to filter the welcome enormity of Elijah Wood's screen presence and Celyn Jones' powerful persona. But they gave me enough gentle nudges and artistic clues under Andy Goddard's direction to lead me to the following conclusion: the purpose of this film is to unravel some of the mysteries of male friendship, and to lift the veil on hero worship (which Elijah must experience on the other side, in his real life) and, of course, where Dylan helped, it was on the transformative power of words.
With all this colour going on, the superb aesthetic of the black and white film compliments the mood nicely. Tantalisingly the film gives no pithy answers, or sound-bitten sentimentalism. Instead I need to look inside myself, and perhaps within the poetry of Dylan Thomas, to find some of those answers. Or maybe I just need to watch it again.
This review also needs to pay justice to the sheer entertainment value that is throughout the movie. I loved it - from start to finish. Elijah's performance is incredible. Celyn's character is jaw- droppingly intriguing (and believable), and the music from Gruff Rhys (of Super Furry Animals fame) is beautiful at all times and crosses a range of genres and styles. Everything is in balance, except Dylan's psyche - and that's what makes it fun!
This is a monumental achievement, where intellectualism and pure fun entertainment ride side by side. Perhaps it is the start of a new genre - where intellectual movies have taken their heads out of the clouds and are doing it with a smile. I'm sure that's how Dylan would have wanted it to be.
helpful•1215
- andrewsnjackson
- Nov 3, 2014
- How long is Set Fire to the Stars?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- £700,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $4,280
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $1,132
- Jun 14, 2015
- Gross worldwide
- $4,280
- Runtime1 hour 37 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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Top Gap
By what name was Set Fire to the Stars (2014) officially released in Canada in English?
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