Watch Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles For Free

This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

The "Toynbee Tiles" are a series of 130 known plaques, predominantly found in North American cities and first sighted in the early 1980s, that propagate the following message (see picture attached):TOYNBEE IDEA IN MOVIE 2001 RESURRECT DEAD ON PLANET JUPITERThe ambiguity of the message and the absence of ownership has long-fuelled an active online community contributing sightings and information that they hope one day will lead to enlightenment. Justin Duerr, the protagonist of Foy's film, is one such fan. First discovering a Toynbee Tile on his mail route, he has spent much of his adult life documenting new sightings and following leads to unravel the mystery.The online consensus, revealed and substantiated by Duerr, is that the message refers to a society named the 'Minority Association', operating in the early 80s, who advocated historian Arnold Toynbee's belief that 'dead molecules' could be rearranged to bring the dead back to life. Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey' is referenced in part due to the use of this mechanism to bring its astronauts back to consciousness in space. The content of the actual message is soon shown however to pale in significance to the intrigue surrounding its creator. Added text found around certain individual tiles points to a troubled, paranoid mind, obsessed with conspiracies (the USSR, NBC, the Mafia to name but three) and fearful for his own life.Duerr's background is almost as intriguing as that of the artist he is attempting to track down. Growing up in a converted barn, he had two passions; art and pigeons. His art teacher at school, who doted over his every stroke but wished for him to conform, served only to push him to drop out aged 16. Finding himself squatting in the city, Justin needed an occupation; a job as a courier was merely a means to an end, the pursuit of the Toynbee Tiles mystery quickly becomes his real life's work. With the help of the artist's own archival footage and Foy's cartoon recreations, Duerr traces the arc of his prior investigation to establish what is known about the person responsible for the cryptic tiles. Enlisting the support of two other Toynbee Tile aficionados, long-haired, forum moderator Colin Smith and photographer Steve Weinik, their research narrows the field of 'suspects' down until they are left with just one - the introverted, paranoid owner of a boarded-up home in suburban Philadelphia - nicknamed 'the Birdman' by local kids for his menagerie - and known only to leave in the early hours. With the architect of this decade- long mystery unwilling to come to the door, Foy and Duerr are clearly left with a difficult decision; do they harass the man and hope for a confession, or grant him his wish and leave him alone - with the mystery half-solved but lacking crucial confirmation? As it happens, much of the film's criticism (it rates only 60-odd percent on RT) is found in the supposed-inconclusiveness of Foy's chosen ending. However, I think it would be a mistake to view the pursuit of the Toynbee Tile creator as for the purpose and resolution of the audience's intrigue; it is much more personal to Duerr. If the man who has spent over a decade unravelling the mystery is content that he has his answer and ready to move on, who are we to demand he digs further?Perhaps some mysteries are best left as just that?

I wish I had some knowledge of the Toynbee tiles before I had watched this, simply so that I could have felt more of the emotions that the filmmakers must have felt. But even knowing nothing, I was completely consumed by the subject and although part way through I started to wonder if I actually wanted to know the answers to the questions being asked, the end satisfied both my curiosity and my reservations.It would be difficult to describe without giving too much away but I experienced an exquisite moment when my mind slipped half a second ahead of the narrative as a penny dropped momentarily before the narrator spoke. I had a smile on my face for the rest of the film.I'm sure that this will not suit many people but for me it was wonderful and inspiring.

"TOYNBEE IDEA IN Kubrick's 2001 RESURRECT DEAD ON PLANET JUPITER."Stanley Kubrick's 2001 provides the catalyst for a decades-long planting of tiles in streets all over the US and South America with the above message. The documentary Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles is director, writer John Foy's attempt to chronicle Justin Duerr's search for the author of these tiles and their meaning.The film is not as compelling as it might be as Wikipedia already lists the perpetrator, whom Duerr identifies after a process of elimination to be Philadelphian Severino "Sevy" Verna, aka James Morasco. He purportedly placed the tiles through a hole in the floor of his car while broadcasting a message via short wave radio about his theories.Thus the suspense is a surface affectation with the film really being about the process of identifying the artist of the tiles. Actually, the deconstruction of the tiles' meaning is more interesting than the hunt for the author, the meaning resting squarely on Toynbee's theory that the body's molecules after death could be reassembled on Jupiter as Kubrick had hinted in his denouement imagery.In addition to 2001, a 1983 short play by David Mamet, 4 A.M., depicts a Larry King-like radio host taking a call about 2001, Toynbee, and plans to populate Jupiter with those reconstituted molecules. Mamet has been flattered thinking the tiles were inspired by the play.Too many talking-head sequences mask the lack of evidence beyond the tiles themselves. Visits to the alleged perpetrator's hood are cold leads that only hint at disclosure and certainly add little to the hunt. Artfully moody original music by Foy lends atmosphere to what ends up an amusing account of two nerds searching out another nerd. I have enough of that experience visiting Com-Con and Star Trek conventions.

Another great documentary from Sundance.If you liked - Hoop Dreams, American Movie, Brother's Keeper, King of Kong, Young@Heart, In the Shadow of the Moon then SEE THIS MOVIE.Well made and entertaining. This movie will have your attention throughout. The presentation is meticulous. It is obvious this was a labor of love for all involved.This is what Sundance is all about. First time director and self financed. Five years in the making. The director even taught himself how to write film soundtrack so that he could score the movie on his own.