Both have also been incorrectly labelled as difficult, divisive films – 2001 was a major critical and financial success but because four prominent New York critics disliked it, was labelled as getting a ‘mixed’ response.
Malick’s latest film currently has outstanding critical scores on review aggregation sites like Metacritic (85), Rotten Tomatoes (85) and a very respectable IMDb rating of 7.9, despite some critics recycling the words ‘pretentious’ and ‘perfume ad’.
But after seeing Malick’s film I was immediately reminded of something Stanley Kubrick once said in a Playboy interview around the release of his sci-fi epic:
Playboy: If life is so purposeless, do you feel its worth living?
Kubrick: Yes, for those who manage somehow to cope with our mortality. The very meaninglessness of life forces a man to create his own meaning.
Children, of course, begin life with an untarnished sense of wonder, a capacity to experience total joy at something as simple as the greenness of a leaf; but as they grow older, the awareness of death and decay begins to impinge on their consciousness and subtly erode their joie de vivre (a keen enjoyment of living), their idealism – and their assumption of immortality.
As a child matures, he sees death and pain everywhere about him, and begins to lose faith in the ultimate goodness of man. But if he’s reasonably strong – and lucky – he can emerge from this twilight of the soul into a rebirth of life’s élan (enthusiastic and assured vigour and liveliness).
Both because of and in spite of his awareness of the meaninglessness of life, he can forge a fresh sense of purpose and affirmation. He may not recapture the same pure sense of wonder he was born with, but he can shape something far more enduring and sustaining.
The most terrifying fact about the universe is not that it is hostile but that it is indifferent; but if we can come to terms with this indifference and accept the challenges of life within the boundaries of death – however mutable man may be able to make them – our existence as a species can have genuine meaning and fulfilment. However vast the darkness, we must supply our own light.
In fact the trailer for the Ben Affleck crime drama was given a considerable lift by the track Redemption, which features on The Way.
If you liked Mind Heist, then you’ll probably did the rest of the tracks, which feature plenty of epic sounding compositions that make great use of strings and beats.
You can listen to all the the tracks below and buy them from his official website here.
Opening with a brief snippet of the climax to Part 1 (intriguingly before the studio logo), the final Potter extravaganza deals with Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) finally confronting his destiny and taking on his wizard nemesis Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) as the forces of darkness surround Hogwarts.
For those that aren’t Potter experts here is a brief summary of the film series so far:
Chamber of Secrets (2002): Returning to Hogwarts, Harry learns about a series of attacks on students and a secret chamber where he has to kill a large serpent and defeat Lord Voldemort’s ‘memory’, which is in an enchanted diary.
Prisoner of Azkaban (2003): Harry hears an escaped murderer named Sirius Black is after him but realises Black was framed and is actually his godfather.
Order of the Phoenix (2007): Harry forms a secret student group after Hogwarts comes under the influence of a new teacher and ends up having to fight Voldemort’s followers (Death Eaters) at the Ministry of Magic.
Half-Blood Prince (2009): Harry learns how Voldemort has been using special artefacts (‘Horcruxes’) to become immortal and sees his mentor Dumbledore killed by Severus Snape, a teacher at Hogwarts who Harry has had suspicions about.
In the The Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010), Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) followed clues left by the late Dumbledore and went in search of Horcruxes (magical artefacts) to help them kill Voldemort, whilst avoiding the clutches of his followers.
Part 2 opens with Voldemort in possession of Dumbledore’s wand, whilst Harry and his gang have to get back to Hogwarts to destroy more Horcuxes and fight off the forces surrounding their school.
Now, did any of these plot details make your head spin?
One of the problems in writing anything about the Potter films is that it’s like reporting from a large foreign country – people know it exists but can get confused by the local details.
In many the Harry Potter phenomenon is the Star Wars of its generation – a franchise which recycles previous tales of good and evil, repackages them with special effects and places them within a detailed fantasy world.
When the films began in 2001, there was already a generation of children obsessed with the books (by then the fourth had been published to record breaking sales), so there was already a built-in audience.
But Warner Bros were smart to preserve J.K. Rowling’s vision and even if you are not a fan, these films are faithful to the books and technically well made.
Since David Yates started directing the films with The Order of the Phoenix (2007), there seems to have been a ramping up of the films in terms of scale and effects, even though they weren’t exactly small to begin with.
With this, the decision to split the final book in two was presumably made because the source material was longer than before and the studio was getting two blockbusters for essentially the price of one (albeit large) production.
Although this story is fast-paced, it feels like the third act of a previous film spread too thinly and perhaps the correct way for fans to see it is to experience it as a double-bill with Part 1.
Experienced in isolation, this film moves a bit too fast, whereas the previous film was a bit too slow.
At a running time of 131 minutes, Part 2 is essentially a war film in the wizarding universe as Hogwarts is under siege from Voldemort’s hordes: this means some key developments (especially involving two major characters) don’t really get the screen time they deserve and are drowned out by the clash of magical armies and characters brandishing wands.
Voldemort isn’t as scary now either, which is a bit of a let down considering the whole series has been leading up to this confrontation.
The best narrative pay off involves Severus Snape (Alan Rickman), who has a flashback montage that shows new sides to his character.
By coincidence I happened to see this on the same day as watching Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life and was struck by certain bizarre similarities: there is an extended flashback sequence involving trees, flowing water and an idealised red haired woman, plus there is also a sequence which touches upon issues of mortality.
Despite obvious differences with Malick, it is unusually bold territory for a children’s franchise to venture.
But part of the main appeal of the film franchise over the past decade is how they have provided a showcase for the latest in visual effects and cutting edge CGI.
The Yates films have been especially impressive at spectacle and here DP Eduardo Serra, the VFX crew under John Richardson and production designer Stuart Craig all work wonders in integrating CGI with real world locations and sets.
One of the more positive by products of the Potter series has been the growth in UK effects houses such as Double Negative, MPC, Cinesite and Framestore, who all sign off the franchise with absolutely sterling work.
The decision to make this 3D is a nakedly financial one that adds little to the visual impact of the film and the 2D version may be preferable for general audience (For the record, I saw it in 3D).
A final coda suggests there is room to expand the franchise if Rowling and Warner Bros wanted to, although whether that would be wise is another question.
With each new film over the last decade, the series has become something of a slog to those not addicted to the books, as you try to recap previous events and characters, so there is something satisfying that it is all finally over.
So, the final chapter is doubly satisfying: for fans it delivers the visual spectacle and reverence to the books, whilst for general audiences it is a last chance to experience the franchise before getting sick of the boy wizard and his pals.
Animal Kingdom (Optimum Home Entertainment): A brilliantly crafted Australian crime drama about a teenager (James Frecheville) who is caught between a Melbourne crime family headed by his grandmother (Jacki Weaver) and a local cop (Guy Pearce) who wants to bring them down. A stunning debut for director David Michôd, it deservedly garnered plaudits and an Oscar nomination for Weaver. [Read our longer review] [Buy it on Blu-ray or DVD at Amazon UK]
Obsession (Arrow Video): Brian De Palma’s 1976 thriller is the story of a New Orleans property developer (Cliff Robertson) who becomes obsessed with a woman (Geneviève Bujold) who looks just like his deceased wife. Modelled on Hitchcock’s Vertigo (1958), the screenplay by Paul Schrader and score by Bernard Herrmann almost make it a reworking of the previous film although it has its own hypnotic power. [Buy it on Blu-ray or DVD at Amazon UK]
ALSO OUT
Battle: Los Angeles (Sony Pictures Home Ent.) [Blu-ray / Normal] Black Sheep (Anchor Bay Entertainment UK) [Blu-ray / Normal] Conan the Barbarian (20th Century Fox Home Ent.) [Blu-ray / Normal] Doctor Who – The New Series: 6 – Part 1 (2 Entertain) [Blu-ray / Normal] Essential Killing (Artificial Eye) [Blu-ray / Normal] Fair Game (Entertainment One) [Blu-ray / Normal] Ironclad (Warner Home Video) [Blu-ray / Normal] Patagonia (Verve Pictures) [Blu-ray / Normal] That’s What I Am (Clear Vision) [Blu-ray / Normal] The Task (G2 Pictures) [Blu-ray / Normal] The Twilight Saga: The Story So Far… (Entertainment One) [Blu-ray / Normal]
But you know a scandal has truly taken hold when someone makes a Downfall parody about it.
YouTube mashups involving the 2004 film about Hitler’s final days have become an internet meme used to parody prominent figures or organisations brought low by topical events.
One scene in particular, in which Hitler (played by Bruno Ganz) realises that the war is essentially lost, has been re-subtitled countless times to fit a bewildering number of topics.
But now someone has ingeniousy re-cut other sequences from the film so that they fit with the News of the World phone hacking affair.
If you are unfamiliar with what’s been going on, just read the Wikipedia entry handily titled “News of the World phone hacking affair” to familiarise yourself with the details.
Incidentally, Downfall director Oliver Hirschbiegel said last year that he not only finds all these parodies funny but that they actually serve to make a wider point:
“The point of the film was to kick these terrible people off the throne that made them demons, making them real and their actions into reality. I think it’s only fair if now it’s taken as part of our history, and used for whatever purposes people like.”
UK cinemagoers can now finally see Terrence Malick’s latest film but how does it hold up after all the buzz and anticipation?
Ever since his debut Badlands (1973) screened to acclaim at the New York Film Festival nearly 40 years ago, a Terrence Malick film has become something of an event.
One of the most audacious directorial debuts in US cinema was followed five years later with Days of Heaven (1978), a troubled production which fortunately yielded one of the most visually remarkable films of the 1970s.
Then there followed a twenty year period where Malick didn’t make any movies, a time which stoked his legend and made people revisit the extraordinary beauty and craftsmanship of his work and cemented his place in the canon of American cinema.
Just when it seemed he would become the J.D. Salinger of US cinema, in the mid-90s it emerged that he was actually returning with an adaptation of the World War II novel The Thin Red Line (1998), which has the distinction of being one of the greatest and most unusual war films ever released by a major studio.
Six years later he made The New World (2005), a retelling of the Pocahontas story which contained the same slow-burn ecstasy as his previous work along with some breathtaking use of imagery and music.
Malick remains an enigma as his refusal to do any publicity or play by conventional Hollywood practice is matched by an extensive network of admirers and supporters throughout the very system he flouts.
Up to this point his forty year career has been highly singular.
Not since Stanley Kubrick has a filmmaker achieved such creative control nor inspired such reverential awe amongst his peers and true cineastes.
Financing for this film was presumably a bit trickier than his last two, but River Road Entertainment and producer Bill Pohlad managed to raise the reported $32 million budget and followed the recent Malick formula of casting a big star alongside talented newcomers.
The production was three years in the making, with the bulk of photography taking place in 2008 and various other elements stretched out until it eventually premièred at Cannes back in May.
Malick was actually spotted at the festival, but the producers accepted the award on his behalf and there was a wonderful symmetry to The Tree of Life winning a trophy of golden leaves.
Over the last few weeks Fox Searchlight have given it a platform release and amongst discerning film goers it has become one of the must-see events of the summer.
After all, this is a work by one of America’s most revered directors featuring one of the biggest movie stars on the planet.
But exactly is The Tree of Life all about?
It charts the memories of an architect (Sean Penn) as he remembers his childhood growing up in 1950s Texas, with two contrasting parents: his stern father (Brad Pitt), loving mother (Jessica Chastain) and two brothers.
At the same time, there is an extended sequence which explores the beginnings of creation and the development of life.
But the surprising aspect of the film is how these seemingly disparate strands do actually mesh.
Whilst it may divide opinion, there is nothing here that should perturb anyone with a genuinely open mind.
It is difficult to discuss specific story points without spoilers, but this is not some kind of art house indulgence but an inspired meditation on human existence and memory.
The signature Malick motifs are here: internal monologue voiceover, magic hour visuals and elliptical editing, and it follows themes he has previously explored, such as life, death and the nature of man.
Here Malick explores how life began but also asks the more pressing question of how death affects how we live our lives: should we embrace the selfish instinct to merely survive or a more compassionate approach to appreciate the present?
These two ways are embodied in the characters of the father and mother but also relate to any living thing in the history of the world, which is why the inclusion of Malick staples such as creatures and plants is not only appropriate but significant.
That the film relates these to the story of Penn’s character and his memories of childhood is part of its particular wonder: it is almost as if Malick was born to make this.
Parallels have been drawn to the director’s own life story and there is no doubt that this is an acutely personal film which I suspect has been brewing inside of him for a very long time.
Some viewers of a particular experience may find certain sequences hit home with an almost unbearable emotional intensity.
But the lasting power of The Tree of Life is how manages to find the universal within the particular.
Viewers may be jolted by the juxtaposition of the cosmic with the domestic, but aren’t experiences of childhood and our later memories filled with such existential questions?
Is there a creator? Why are we born in order to die? What happens in the afterlife?
These are pretty big questions and the fact that Malick tackles them head on with an admirable lack of detachment is actually amazing in this day and age of recycled narratives and endless sequels.
Cinema is a medium wonderfully suited to getting inside people’s thoughts and feelings and Malick is a past master at capturing both the internal and external landscapes of the human experience.
That he does so again here with his impeccable artistry is to be richly savoured as the technical achievements of The Tree of Life are extraordinary.
For the Texas sections, cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki creates stunning images with a fluid intimacy that captures both the wonder of growing up and the internal emotions and memories of the major characters.
He used natural light and Steadicam to amazing effect in The New World (2005) and here he repeats the ecstatic brilliance of that film with photography that is appropriately transcendent.
The actors respond with considerable distinction: Pitt captures the simmering frustration and deep love of a stern but loving father; Chastain is magnetic as the ethereal mother; whilst the child actors – Hunter McCracken, Tye Sheridan and Laramie Eppler – fully convince. (Incidentally, Eppler looks uncannily like Pitt, although they aren’t related).
Pitt is cursed with a celebrity that often overshadows his acting work, but his performance here is quietly brilliant: his changing moods and inner conflicts are powerful to watch and this is his best work since The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007).
Penn has a much smaller role but he is a key presence and powerfully depicts a haunted, introspective man reflecting on his life. His role is brief in terms of screen time, but he is an important lynchpin for what happens.
Malick fans may like to note that Penn’s sequences are the only one Malick has ever set in the present – all of his previous films have been period pieces and there is a weird jolt at seeing mobile phones and skyscrapers here.
As for the scenes involving the rather large subject of the creation of mankind, they not only convince but provide something of a master class in the visual effects work of the last forty years.
Supervised by Dan Glass, they are genuinely awesome blend of high-resolution optical photography, modern CGI and unspecified trippy stuff which looks like nothing I’ve ever seen on a cinema screen.
The presence of VFX pioneer Douglas Trumbull on the effects team is obviously going to invite comparisons to Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) but I suspect his own film Brainstorm (1983) may have also been an influence in hiring him (although a forgotten sci-fi thriller it has sequences which visualise similar themes).
There is a grand sweep to the creation sequences which involves spectacular footage of natural phenomena, both in space and on earth: planets, meteors, volcanic eruptions, waterfalls, microscopic cells, jellyfish and even dinosaurs are all used.
Careful viewers may actually notice how they link to the Texas story, as there appear to be subtle visual and thematic clues between the creation of life and the individual lives depicted on screen.
Some stunning sound work throughout the film also helps anchor two seemingly disparate worlds, as the rumblings of nature and space are contrasted with the carefully constructed scenes of the family at home. (Malick aficionados might want to listen carefully for a particular recurring sound that also appears in the The Thin Red Line).
Although Alexandre Desplat worked on a score, Malick has opted to go for a score filled with classical composers, such as Bach, Berlioz, Smetena, Mahler, Holst, Górecki and John Tavener.
Again there may be comparisons to Kubrick, but Malick has his own style and edits to music like no other filmmaker working today, including some exhilarating sequences as the young boys grow up.
The period feel of 1950s small-town Texas is expertly captured by production designer Jack Fisk and the costumes by Jacqueline West give it a vivid period feel, which neatly evokes the power of childhood memories.
The Tree of Life is not a film that will be embraced by everyone and I suspect some may resent the fact that this is pure, distilled Malick with no compromise to conventional Hollywood storytelling clichés.
It is unashamedly ambitious and emotional, which are two qualities that put some audiences immediately on the back foot.
But there is a compelling story here, which is clearer than one might initially think – it just happens to be told in an unconventional way.
Malick has always made films built to last, even if recurring themes and motifs have vexed some viewers of his most recent work.
But the mere existence of this film in 2011 is almost as miraculous as the mysteries depicted within it.
A sublime work in the truest sense of the word, its beauty, vastness and grandeur make it quite something to behold.
It will probably be debated and thought about for a long time, which is entirely appropriate as it both reflects the questions and feelings of life itself.
The Tree of Life (20th Century Fox): Terrence Malick’s fifth film arrives in UK cinemas after winning the Palme d’Or at Cannes and a wrangle involving the film’s initial UK distributor Icon. The creation of the world is intercut with story of a Midwestern family in the 1950’s and we follow the eldest son as he tries to reconcile his feelings towards his father (Brad Pitt), mother (Jessica Chastain) and the wider cosmos. [Selected cinemas nationwide / 12A]
Trust (Lionsgate UK): Drama about the parents (Clive Owen and Catherine Keener) of a teenage girl who is stalked by an online sexual predator. Directed by David Schwimmer, whilst Liana Liberato co-stars as the young girl. [Selected cinemas nationwide / 15]
The Princess of Montpensier (Optimum Releasing): Bertrand Tavernier directs this period drama, based on the 1662 romance by Madame de la Fayette. Set amidst the religious wars of the period, it stars Mélanie Thierry in the title role, as a woman forced into marriage while loving another man. It co-stars Gaspard Ulliel, Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet, Lambert Wilson and Raphaël Personnaz. [Selected cinemas nationwide / 15]
ALSO OUT
Super (G2 Pictures): Dark comedy about a man who becomes a superhero vigilante (Rainn Wilson) and his sidekick (Ellen Page). Directed by James Gunn, it co-stars Liv Tyler and Kevin Bacon. [Selected cinemas / 18]
Holy Rollers (Crabtree Films): Comedy-thriller about how Hassidic Jews were recruited as mules in the late 1990s to smuggle ecstasy pills from Amsterdam into New York. Directed by Kevin Asch, it stars i Graynor, Danny A Abeckaser, Jason Fuchs, Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Bartha. [Selected cinemas / 15]
Film Socialisme (New Wave Films): Jean-Luc Godard’s latest film consists of three movements, including a Mediterranean cruise ship, multi-lingual conversations, a pair of children, and six sites from around the world in Egypt, Palestine, Odessa, Hellas, Naples, and Barcelona. [Selected cinemas / PG]
The first video of Meryl Streep playing Margaret Thatcher in the upcoming film The Iron Lady has surfaced.
A short teaser clip, it features two political advisers talking to her in what seems to be the early 1970s and most incongruously features Clint Mansell’s score to Duncan Jones’ sci-fi drama Moon (2009).
After an introduction from current DGA president Taylor Hackford, Michael Apted hosts a discussion which sees Abrams and Cameron ask Spielberg questions about his films and career.
It isn’t availabe as an embed but if you click on the image below, it will take you to the DGA page where – if you scroll down a bit – the full video can be found, along with highlights and photos:
Lasting over 90 minutes, it is a fascinating talk and covers:
The early visual effects Spielberg employed on Close Encounters and why he re-shot the ending
The classic fight scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and the fact that Spielberg didn’t get ill whilst filming in Tunisia because he had Sainsbury’s canned food shipped in from the UK.
Tips on directing children and how a fantastic preview screening of E.T. (1982) upset actor Henry Thomas
How he had to adapt his directorial style for Schindler’s List (1993)
The visual effects breakthroughs on Jurassic Park (1993)
Hugh Grant : Ah . . . I think that was one of the questions asked last week at one of the parliamentary committees. They asked Yates [John Yates, acting deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police] if it was true that he thought that the NoW had been hacking the phones of friends and family of those girls who were murdered . . . the Soham murder and the Milly girl [Milly Dowler].
Paul McMullan: Yeah. Yeah. It’s more than likely. Yeah . . . It was quite routine. Yeah – friends and family is something that’s not as easy to justify as the other things.
Speaking on BBC 5 Live yesterday to Victoria Derbyshire, he not only stated his case eloquently but there was a lively discussion as his former tabloid nemesis McMullan joined him live on air.
Have a listen here:
He also appeared on the BBC News channel later in the day, where his second confrontation with McMullen became very popular on the web (many Reddit commenters seemed thrilled the the BBC media player literally goes up to 11):
The film explores Fischer’s rapid rise to national fame and the political significance of his clash with Spassky, which attracted global media coverage as a wider Cold War confrontation between America and Russia.
It then delves into the later years of his life as he effectively retired at the peak of his career and became a wandering enigma, exiled from his own country, making controversial statements after 9/11, before eventually retreating to Iceland where he died in 2008.
Directed by Liz Garbus, it premiered at Sundance earlier this year and mixes rare archive footage and photos, along with interviews from those close to Fischer as well as figures such as Gary Kasparov and Henry Kissinger.
I recently spoke to Liz in London at the offices at Dogwoof, who are releasing the film in the UK, and you can listen to the interview by clicking below:
Don’t Look Now (Optimum Releasing): Nic Roeg’s classic 1973 film about a grieving couple (Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie) who relocate to Venice after a family tragedy, is re-released with wonderful transfer and some interesting new extras. A work of startling power and originality, it rewards repeated viewings, which reveal remarkable depths to Roeg’s technique and storytelling style. [Read our full review] [Buy it on Blu-ray or DVD]
Born on the Fourth of July (Universal): Oliver Stone’s second film to deal with the Vietnam War is the powerful story of Ron Kovic (Tom Cruise), an idealistic solider paralysed in combat, who then has to deal with the mental and physical scars of the conflict. Filled with compelling performances, especially Cruise in the lead role, it won Stone his second Oscar for Best Director and has gained a new relevance in the light of America’s recent wars. [Buy it on Blu-ray from Amazon UK]
The Kingdom (Second Sight Films): Lars Von Trier’s acclaimed 90s television mini-series is set in a Copenhagen hospital nicknamed ‘Riget’ (which loosely translated means ‘the kingdom’). The show follows a number of odd characters as they encounter strange things and revels in its oddness, wry humour and low-fi production values. This box set also includes the second series from 1997, which contains four episodes previously unavailable in the UK. [Buy on DVD from Amazon UK]
ALSO OUT
A Simple Wish (Universal Pictures) [Blu-ray / Normal] Anuvahood (Revolver Entertainment) [Blu-ray / Normal] B.B. King: Soundstage (Universal Music) [Blu-ray / Normal] Barb Wire (Universal Pictures) [Blu-ray / Normal] Beneath the Dark (Anchor Bay Entertainment UK) [Blu-ray / Normal] Drive Angry (Lionsgate UK) [Blu-ray / with DVD] Flipper (Universal Pictures) [Blu-ray / Normal] Hall Pass (Warner Home Video) [Blu-ray / Normal] Henry of Navarre (Showbox Media Group) [Blu-ray / Normal] In Bruges (Universal Pictures) [Blu-ray / Normal] Knockout (Optimum Home Entertainment) [Blu-ray / Normal] Musashi – The Dream of the Last Samurai (Manga Entertainment) [Blu-ray / Normal] Nim’s Island (Universal Pictures) [Blu-ray / Normal] Norwegian Wood (Soda Pictures) [Blu-ray / Normal] Primeval: The Complete Series 5 (2 Entertain) [Blu-ray / Normal] Tales Out of School – Four Plays By David Leland (Network) [Blu-ray / Normal] The Adjustment Bureau (Universal Pictures) [Blu-ray / Normal] The Mercenary (G2 Pictures) [Blu-ray / Normal] The Resident (Icon Home Entertainment) [Blu-ray / 10th Anniversary Edition] The Shadow Line (2 Entertain) [Blu-ray / Normal] Uncle Buck (Universal Pictures) [Blu-ray / Normal]
It is 20 years since Terminator 2: Judgment Day opened in US cinemas, so to celebrate here are 20 facts about the film you may not know.
1. It is technically an independent film
The first Terminator was made outside the studio system, as it was funded by Hemdale Pictures and distributed by Orion. Although the original film was a box office hit in 1984, the sequel was held up by various legal issues which were only resolved when Carolco stepped in to purchase the rights. Run by Mario Kassar and Andrew Vajna, the company had become very successful in the 1980s on the back of the Rambo franchise – First Blood (1982) and Rambo: First Blood Part II (1984) – the latter of which Cameron co-wrote. So, although a big budget spectacular, it was independently financed outside the studio system.
2. James Cameron had previously sold his rights to the franchise for $1
Although he created the iconic character and story, Cameron sold his stake in any future sequels for the nominal sum of $1 before the first film was even made. His reasoning was that this was the only way he would be allowed to direct his first feature film. As it established his career, he later said that was the price of a ‘Hollywood education’. In 2009 he told the Toronto Sun :
“I wish I hadn’t sold the rights for one dollar. If I had a little time machine and I could only send back something the length of a tweet, it’d be – ‘Don’t sell.’
Although he was paid a reported $6m to write and direct T2, he has never seen any money from any of the subsequent films, TV shows or merchandising.
3. The film has a strange connection with the Rodney King incident
The biker bar scene where the T800 arrives was filmed just across the road from where LAPD officers assaulted Rodney King in March 1991. The famous amateur video, shot by George Holliday, is reputed to have two bits of footage on it. One is the T2 crew filming shots of Schwarzenegger and Furlong on a motorbike in the San Fernando Valley and the other – shot later – is of several police officers beating the crap out of King.
The resulting trial of the officers and their controversial acquittal triggered the LA riots of April 1992.
The irony is that the villain of T2 is a cop. When writing the script several months before filming, Cameron wrestled with what form the T-1000 would settle on and in Rebecca Keegan’s biography ‘The Futurist’ explained why he chose a police officer:
“The Terminator films are not really about the human race getting killed off by future machines. They’re about us losing touch with our own humanity and becoming machines, which allows us to kill and brutalise each other. Cops think of all non-cops as less than they are, stupid, weak and evil. They dehumanise the people they are sworn to protect and desensitise themselves in order to do that job.”
4. The groundbreaking visuals involved the first version of Photoshop Dennis Muren of ILM was in charge of the 35 CGI artists who achieved the ground breaking visual effects of T2. Using techniques that had been pioneered in The Abyss (1987) and Willow (1988), the breakthrough came with a new piece of software that was the first version of Photoshop.
John Knoll of ILM and his brother Thomas Knoll (a PhD student at the University of Michigan) had developed the program, and like the chip in the movie which takes Cyberdyne in new directions, it allowed them to create the remarkable liquid effects in the pseudopod sequence in The Abyss (the first film ever to use Photoshop) and the morphing transitions in Ron Howard’s Willow (where humans turn in to animals).
For Terminator 2 Cameron decided to go much further and have a major character which was heavily reliant on the emerging digital tools. ILM created a version of what would become the scene where a silvery T-1000 walks out of the fiery wreckage of a burning truck.
Cameron was impressed and the visual effects budget ended up being $6m (a huge sum at the time), but it raised the bar for the entire industry. Muren and ILM would build on their work by creating the dinosaurs for Jurassic Park (1993) – if you look closely at the scene where Cyberdyne Systems is introduced you can spot an inflatable dinosaur hanging from the ceiling.
5. Billy Idol was the original choice for the T-1000
Hemdale had wanted O.J. Simpson to play the Terminator in the original film and T2 had its own strange moment of casting when Billy Idol was considered for the role of the T-1000. Cameron even featured the rocker in early concept drawings for the character but after he got injured in a motorcycle accident Idol was replaced by Robert Patrick.
6. English censors had major problems with two scenes
The BBFC objected to the scene in the psychiatric hospital where Sarah Connor picks a lock with a paper-clip, as they felt it was too realistic and might encourage people to copy it. They also had issues with the shoot out at Cyberdyne Systems where the T-800 shoots several SWAT team members in the leg as it resembled the old IRA practice where paramilitaries shot victims through their kneecaps.
7. Two sets of twins were used in the film
Two scenes utilised a pair of identical twins to create the illusion of the T-1000 in disguise as another character. Don and Dan Stanton (who had previously been in Good Morning Vietnam) played the hospital security guard who gets caught out at the coffee machine. Linda Hamilton’s twin sister was used as a double in the climactic fight and another (deleted) scene involving a mirror.
8. It was the most expensive film ever made
At a budget of $102m it was, at the time, the most expensive film ever made. But, like the Rambo movies, it was funded by pre-sales to foreign distributors. With Schwarzenegger and Cameron now much more bankable figures at the box office, Carolco not only raised the budget easily but had even made a profit before the film was released. Cameron’s future films Titanic (1997) and Avatar (2009) would also become the most expensive made up to that point, as well as the most successful.
9. Cameron also produced Point Break whilst preparing T2
During the preparation for T2, Cameron also served as producer on Kathryn Bigelow’s Point Break. Cameron had married Bigelow in 1989 and had also directed her in a music video (‘Reach’ by Martini Ranch), where she played the leader of a cowgirl gang.
Point Break was originally known as Johnny Utah and Bigelow was determined to cast Keanu Reeves in the lead role, which puzzled Cameron as the actor was best known for the Bill and Ted movies. The film would open the week after T2 in July 1991 and was a box office success which established Reeves as an action star.
10. Arnold Schwarzenegger was initially disappointed with his ‘good’ character
Cameron completed the script in a marathon 36 hour writing session in May 1990, just before flying to the Cannes film festival where Carolco officially announced it. When Cameron first told him of the idea that the T-800 would kill anyone, Arnold Schwarzenegger was a little concerned that the Terminator would not actually terminate anyone.
11. Part of Robert Patrick’s anatomy had to be digitally removed from one scene
For the scene where the naked T-1000 arrives and steals the cops clothes, the effects team had to digitally remove a sensitive part of Robert Patrick’s anatomy. But on video versions of the film it partially showed up, prompting Cameron to later joke that he wanted his money back for the “digital willy removal”.
12. Linda Hamilton became deaf in one ear during filming
In the elevator sequence where Sarah Connor escapes from the hospital with John and the T-800, Hamilton went for a bathroom break and forgot to put her ear plugs back in. When Schwarzenegger fired his shotgun at the T-1000 above right by her, it resulted in serious hearing loss in one ear.
13. Practical make-up was blended with the CGI
The visual effects by ILM were skilfully blended with practical special effects and make-up from Stan Winston’s studio which involved the deteriorating face and body of the T-800 and the changes in the T-1000 as it got shot and physically distorted.
14. The sounds of the film were a lot cheaper than the visuals
The sound of the T1000 morphing was achieved in a number of cost-effective ways. When it moves through the bars at the psychiatric hospital, we are hearing the sound of a can of dog food being emptied. Another foley effect was achieved by dipping a condom-covered microphone into a mixture of flour and water and then shooting compressed air into it.
15. The freeway chase involved some highly dangerous stunt work
Cameron shot the helicopter chase on the freeway himself as his Steadicam operator felt it was too risky. If you look closely you’ll see an actual chopper fly under the freeway overpass and in a later shot just clear a bridge. Cameron implicitly trusted his helicopter pilot, but also admitted that a stunt involving the T800 jumping on to a moving truck was “really dangerous” and that he wouldn’t have done it in later films.
16. The ending was changed late on
The original ending saw an older Sarah Connor look at her son John playing with his daughter in a peaceful future scenario but was cut after a test screening at Skywalker Ranch. Carolco felt it would ruin any future sequels and Cameron relented with a rewrite just one month before the film’s release, using road footage from the scene just before the attack on Cyberdyne Systems. The first ending can be seen in later special editions of the film.
17. It was the highest grossing film of 1991 and won 4 Oscars
When it eventually did open on July 4th weekend in 1991, it opened in 2,274 cinemas and half of all tickets sold in America were for T2. It earned $54 million during that weekend and would eventually gross $204 million in the United States and $519 million worldwide.
At the 64th Academy Awards it won Oscars for Best Sound, Best Make Up, Best Visual Effects and Best Sound Editing. It was nominated for Best Cinematography and Film Editing.
18. Despite the huge success of T2 Carolco later went bankrupt
Although Carolco made had major hits such as T2 and Basic Instinct (1992), the company played a risky game in the early 1990s. As their budgets grew, they needed to have hit after hit to sustain their growing costs. Whilst major studios had the protection of a larger corporate owner, Carolco eventually came to grief with the disastrous releases of Cutthroat Island and Showgirls in 1995. Both were costly flops and the company filed for bankruptcy, with most of their assets being purchased for $50 million. Mario Kassar and Andrew Vajna later created C2 Pictures which produced Terminator 3 in 2003.
19. It got a timely DVD release in August 1997
T2 has been released by several different companies on VHS, Laserdisc, DVD and Blu-ray. In 1993, the Special Edition cut of the film was released to Laserdisc and VHS, containing 17 minutes of never-before-seen footage including a dream sequence featuring Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn, a scene where John Connor prevents Sarah from destroying the Terminator and the original epilogue of an elderly Sarah in the future.
The subsequent “Ultimate Edition” and “Extreme Edition” releases also contain this version of the film. When it was first released on DVD as a single disc in August 1997 – the same month as the original ‘judgement day’ in the film.
20. Skynet went live around the same time as Google
In the film we learn that Skynet goes live on August 29th 1997, whilst in real life the domain name for Google was registered on September 15th 1997. Coincidence? 😉
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Paramount): The third film in the series sees more battles between alien robots, which includes the destruction of large chunks of Chicago. Directed by Michael Bay, it stars Shia Labeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and John Turturoo. [Nationwide / 12A] [Read our review here]
Larry Crowne (Optimum Releasing): Comedy-drama about a man (Tom Hanks) who tries to turn his life around by returning to community college in LA. Directed by Hanks, it co-stars Julia Roberts and Gugu Mbatha-Raw. [Nationwide / 12A]
The Conspirator (Universal): Period drama about Mary Surratt, the only female co-conspirator charged in the Abraham Lincoln assassination. Directed by Robert Redford, it stars James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Tom Wilkinson and Kevin Kline. [Nationwide / 12A]
ALSO OUT
A Separation (Artificial Eye): Iranian drama about the knock on effects of a couple breaking up. Directed by Asghar Farhadi, it stars Leila Hatami, Peyman Moadi, Shahab Hosseini, Sareh Bayat, Sarina Farhadi and Babak Karimi. [Key Cities / PG]
As If I Am Not There (Element Pictures): Drama set during the Bosnian war, about a woman (Natasha Petrovic) who gets caught up in the horrors of the conflict. Directed by Juanita Wilson, it stars Stellan Skarsgard and Miraj Grbic. [Key Cities / 18]
Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo (November Films): Documentary about the Japanese fascination with insects. Directed by Jessica Oreck. [Key Cities / U]
Michael Bay is a very different director compared to The Coen Brothers, so why does he keep casting actors from their films?
It was during the latest Transformers film, as Chicago was being destroyed by intergalactic robots, that it struck me that its director might have a thing for America’s leading fraternal auteurs.
When John Turturro (perhaps the quintessential Coen actor) and Frances McDormand (another Coen regular who also happens to be married to Joel) appeared in the same scene, it was hard to ignore the weird sensation that the spirit of the Coens had entered into the most commercial blockbuster of the summer.
If you take a close look at the films of Bay and the Coens, there has been a lot of crossover in terms of the actors who have been in their films.
The pattern seems to be that Bay casts actors who have established themselves in the Coen universe.
With The Rock (1996), Nicolas Cage was cast in his first blockbuster lead role after appearing in Raising Arizona (1987). A coincidence? Then why does William Forsythe crop up in exactly the same films?
John Turturro is the wild card.
Perhaps the actor who embodied the Coens early period – with key roles in Miller’s Crossing (1990) and Barton Fink (1991) – he has also carved out a parallel career in Adam Sandler comedies such as Mr. Deeds (2002) and You Don’t Mess With The Zohan (2008), as well as the Transformers franchise.
Steve Buscemi is just below Turturro when it comes to paying his Coen dues, with roles alongside him in Miller’s Crossing and Barton Fink, as well as a fantastic turn in Fargo (1996).
But he has also been a quirky presence in Bay’s spectacular’s such as Armageddon (1998) and The Island (2005).
These last two movies expand the Coen-Bay matrix further still, as Peter Stormare starred alongside Buscemi in both but only after notable appearances in Fargo and The Big Lebowski (1998).
He also squeezed in a role in Bad Boys II (2003) for good measure.
But things get back on track with Scarlett Johansson – cropping up in The Island after her role in The Man Who Wasn’t There – and John Malkovich, who appears in the new Transformers film after his role in Burn After Reading (2008).
One of the greatest film composers of all time would have been 100 today.
Bernard Herrmann is best known for his long term collaboration with Alfred Hitchcock, but his career was a remarkable one that saw him score for directors such as Orson Welles, Fred Zinneman, Nicholas Ray, François Truffaut, Brian De Palma and Martin Scorsese.
After working in radio with Welles at the Mercury Theater company, he joined the precocious director for his debut feature film Citizen Kane (1941).
Groundbreaking in so many ways, Herrmann’s distinctive score marked him out as a composer to watch and he won an Oscar for his second film, William Dieterle’s The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941).
His work with Hitchcock began with The The Trouble with Harry (1955) and was followed up when the director remade his own movie The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) – Herrmann even makes a cameo appearence as the conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra during the sequence at the Royal Albert Hall.
Arguably the most famous director and composer team ever, Herrmann’s scores for Vertigo (1958), North By Northwest (1959) and Psycho (1960) are gold-plated classics and on The Birds (1963) he created an innovative sound design instead of a traditional soundtrack.
His later years saw him move to London, but in the final year of his life he worked with Hitchcock devotee Brian De Palma on Obsession (1976) and Martin Scorsese on Taxi Driver (1976).
The latter film provided a fitting epitaph with its brilliant use of percusion, strings and saxophone. Scorsese dedicated the finished picture to him.
Since his death, his reputation has continued to grow with directors like Quentin Tarantino (theme from ‘Twisted Nerve’) and even pop stars like Lady Gaga (main theme from ‘Vertigo’) using his music.
After all, this is a tent pole release that gives a huge middle fingered salute to the critics who loathe them and revels in the mindless thrills it serves up to audiences eager to part with their cash.
For two and half hours, we get the same template: alien robots transform before beating each other up, military people debate what to do (before deciding to blow up stuff anyway) and a young man (Shia Le Beouf) is caught up in all the action with his girlfriend (the fact that he has a new one here really makes no difference).
At times, the story didn’t entirely seem to make sense but involves the evil alien robots (Decepticons) tricking the decent ones (Autobots), after an important discovery which the US government has kept secret since 1969.
So in essence, this is just an empty retread of the basic elements of the series and whilst not quite as bad as the previous film, still provides precious little in the manner of genuine excitement or emotion.
But there is another side to the third Transformers movie which makes it an interesting case study, as it contains many elements (expensive visual effects, 3D) that typify the modern Hollywood release in 2011.
As we speak, an army of regular critics are desperately trying to pen anguished words on why a film like this even exists, why Michael Bay is Satan and that they got a headache from all the noisy action.
But we all kind of knew that going into this didn’t we?
It’s not like he hired Bela Tarr to do a page one rewrite of the script because of the negative reactions to the last film.
However, this release may have interesting implications for mainstream cinema going, coming after two blockbusters this summer (Pirates 4 and Green Lantern) were judged to have disappointing returns on 3D tickets.
Bay and Paramount have spent a lot of time and money trying to make this not only a big summer blockbuster, but one that gives an extra lift to the 3D format, which some see as vital to Hollywood’s long term future.
So instead of writing a ‘regular review’, here are 10 points that struck me after watching it.
BAY PUMPED TO THE MAX
This film almost plays like an extended tribute reel to the director.
At times it feels like that self-deprecating commercial he did for Verizon:
All of the signature Bay touches are here: swooping helicopter shots, an ‘inspirational’ musical score, fast cars, women filmed like models (he’s even cast one in a lead role), bright colours, men walking towards the camera in slow motion and – of course – slick, hyperactive editing.
And let’s not forget the choppers at sunset:
THE 3D DOESN’T REALLY WORK
Whatever side of the 3D camp you are on (and I’ve been very disappointed with the mainstream releases over the last 18 months) there is no doubt some are looking for this to inject new life back in to the format.
Previously a sceptic, Bay has admitted producer Steven Spielberg and James Cameron persuaded him to use the special 3D cameras invented for Avatar.
Bay and Cameron even recently had a lengthy sit-down together at a preview screening in order to build excitement for the film (which judging by the early geek reaction largely worked).
Here some sequences have shots which utilise depth well, but Bay’s natural tendency for quick cuts and frenetic action isn’t really suited to the format.
Bay also admitted that he shot faces with 35mm as he wasn’t happy with the conversion process, which sounded like a lot of time and money was spent on it.
But was all this effort worth it? When I looked at the spectacular action scenes, part of me just wanted to see them with proper levels of brightness and colour.
The bottom line is that when I go to the cinema I want that extra visual pop, because that’s part of what makes the medium so special and visually superior to home entertainment.
As it stands, 3D is hindering and not helping cinemas.
GOOFY COMEDY CHARACTERS
The silly comedy characters are now just annoying: in the first film Sam Witwicky’s parents were an acceptable supporting act, whilst in the second film they had become a serious nuisance.
Here their screen time is mercifully brief but weird, comedy supporting characters appear seemingly at random.
John Malkovich crops up as a boss with a weird voice who has an unexplained fetish for yellow, whilst Ken Jeong is a strange, hyperactive office worker and there are some dumb ‘pet’ robots thrown in for good measure.
I guess the point is to provide comic relief but it just ends up as distracting.
THE FINAL SECTION
The final battle sequence is epic but drags in the context of the overall film.
Lasting over over an hour, it contains some impressive scenes (such as live action skydiving stunts) but the curious side effect is that you become numb to it the longer it goes on.
That said, a lot of paying audiences are going to eat up he sky diving scenes and the bit where a building is being squeezed.
A-GRADE VISUAL EFFECTS
Lazier critics might just assume the visual effects on these films will be good given their budgets.
But treated separately, the work ILM and Digital Domain have done in bringing these robots to life has been stunning.
The level of detail in some of the set pieces (especially a collapsing building, complete with reflective glass) is extremely impressive, whilst the integration with the lighting gives it an extra kick.
Although the first film was robbed of the visual effects Oscar in 2007 (to The Golden Compass!), it is now the clear frontrunner for this category.
NASA INVOLVEMENT?
It seemed that this film was done with the co-operation of NASA (you’ll see why if you watch the first teaser trailer) and it even features a surprising cameo from a certain astronaut.
Only the most deranged viewer would believe in the fictional events depicted here, but could this film help stoke the popular mistruths about the Apollo missions that Capricorn One (1978) helped usher in during the 1970s?
WEIRD WORLD WAR II METAPHOR?
A significant plot development (which is firmly in spoiler territory) appears to be some kind of weird metaphor for World War II and how certain nations collaborated with an occupying invader.
This plot line also features the obligatory scene where the villain explains everything. Maybe Bay was getting nostalgic for when he shot Pearl Harbor?
These films also have a fetish for the military running right through them, so maybe it stems from that.
Watch out too for a bizarre reference to Iran’s nuclear weapons programme, which I certainly never expected from a Michael Bay movie, although his DP Amir Mokri is Iranian, so possibly its some kind of in-joke.
THE GENERATIONAL DIVIDE
This franchise exposes an interesting divide between the discerning critics who almost universally loathe them and the younger, paying audiences that lap them up.
Although even some fans of the first film didn’t like the second, it still grossed an enormous amount (over $800m worldwide), which suggests that despite their obvious shortcomings they provide the kind of action spectacle mainstream global audiences enjoy watching during the summer.
At the screening I attended, sections of the crowd were visibly excited and even cheered at one scene.
Despite the lack of interesting characters and story, their financial success seems to be because they mix elements of computer games (all shoot ‘em up and fighting robots) with a fairground ride (bright colours, quick movement).
Plus, we shouldn’t forget that an influential group of geeks grew up with the TV show and toys during the 1980s.
KILLER SOUND
Employing Dolby’s new 7.1 surround system Bay’s sound team have really surpassed themselves here. This Soundworks video explains how the many sounds were achieved:
The range of sounds is fantastic and although they sometimes go overboard with the levels, it gives some sequences a real lift. As with the visual effects, this is a likely contender in the sound categories come the awards season.
INFLUENCE OF NOLAN?
This might sound odd, but for stretches of the film I got the feeling that Bay is a big fan of the Christopher Nolan Batman films.
Not only does the climactic battle take place in the same Chicago locations as The Dark Knight (especially Wacker Drive) but there are little music and sound beats that seem to echo that film.
One wonders if the director secretly craves to make an action movie that is embraced by both audiences and critics in the way the Batman films or Inception were.
Of course there are major differences (in quality as much as anything else) but in the last hour Nolan popped into my head more than once.
So where does this all leave us?
Pretty much where we began, as critical opinion and commercial success will follow the usual Bay formula.
Whether it can save the current trend for 3D is the really interesting question.
Never Let Me Go (20th Century Fox Home Ent.): Although it died at the box office, the film adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s dystopian novel was a hauntingly beautiful drama about love, loss and time. Directed with considerable skill and taste by Mark Romanek, it features excellent performances from Carey Mulligan (especially outstanding), Andrew Garfield and Kiera Knightley. [Buy it on Blu-ray or DVD] [LFF Review and some longer thoughts on the film]
Akira (Manga Entertainment): Katsuhiro Otomo’s landmark animated sci-fi epic set in futuristic Japan is about a biker who learns of a secret government project involving the title character. Released on Blu-ray in a limited Collector’s Edition pack it has been remastered and comes with special 40-page booklet exclusive to the UK. [Buy it on Blu-ray or DVD from Amazon UK]
The Andrei Tarkovsky Collection (Artificial Eye): Although we recommended it a few weeks ago (the release was delayed by a few weeks) this DVD box set features several classic titles from the Ruassian director, including: Ivan’s Childhood (1962), Andrei Rublev (1966), Solaris (1972), The Mirror (1975), Stalker (1979), Nostalgia (1983) and The Sacrifice (1986). [Buy it on DVD from Amazon UK]
The Paolo Sorrentino Collection (Artificial Eye): Another DVD boxset from Artificial Eye features the first four films of Italian director Paulo Sorrentino, one of the most dazzling directors to have emerged from Europe in the last decade. This set includes the masterful political drama Il Divo (2008), the absorbing tale of a moeny lender The Family Friend (2006), classy psychological thriller The Consequences of Love (2004), and his breakout film One Man Up (2001). [Buy it on DVD from Amazon UK]
ALSO OUT
Coeur Fidele (Eureka) [Blu-ray / with DVD – Double Play] Cold Fish (Third Window) [Blu-ray / Normal] March of the Dinosaurs (Fremantle Home Entertainment)[Blu-ray / Normal] Miracle at St. Anna (Revolver Entertainment) [Blu-ray / Normal] No Strings Attached (Paramount Home Entertainment) [Blu-ray / Normal] Pigs and Battleships/Stolen Desire (Eureka) [Blu-ray / with DVD – Double Play] Season of the Witch (Momentum Pictures) [Blu-ray / Normal] Siren (Matchbox Films) [Blu-ray / Normal] Tenebrae (Arrow Video) [Blu-ray / Normal] The Lord of the Rings Trilogy: Extended Versions (EV) [Blu-ray / Normal] The Tourist (Optimum Home Entertainment) [Blu-ray / Normal] Tron (Walt Disney) [Blu-ray / Normal] Yogi Bear (Warner Home Video) [Blu-ray / Normal]
Recently, Ray Pride published a 2001 memo David Lynch wrote to cinema ‘projection departments’ in order to remind them of the aspect ratio, sound (‘3db hotter than normal’) and slight tweaks to the ‘headroom’ for screenings of Mulholland Drive.
Project the film in its proper 1.85:1 aspect ratio.
The correct fader setting on Dolby and DTS systems is 7. Malick asks that faders be kept at 7.5 or even 7.7, system permitting.
The film has no opening credits, and the booth operator is asked to make sure the “lights down cue is well before the opening frame of reel 1.”
With all the recent talk of “darkier, lousier” images, operators are asked that lamps are at “proper standard (5400 Kelvin)” and that the “foot Lambert level is at Standard 14.”
After some high profile disappointments (3D versions of Pirates of the Carribbean 4 and Green Lantern grossed less than expected) this tentpole release will be keenly watched by Hollywood.
The letters are also timely as projection in multiplexes is often poor, with multiplex chains skimping on bulbs and often showing a movie with the incorrect aspect ratio.
With the advent of digital projection systems these problems were supposed to be addressed, but it seems that some cinemas are still cutting corners and shortchanging audiences and filmmakers.
This video demonstrates how modern cinema projectors work:
Back in 1998, Paul Thomas Anderson spoke to Mike Figgis about the old saying that the ‘projectionist has final cut’ and how he witnessed a bad Fuji print of Boogie Nights at an LA cinema (relevant part starts at 6.24):
To some this may seem like technical trivia but if cinema is to survive in an era of digital downloads and shortening windows, then projection standards must remain high.
Lucy Walker’s campaigning documentary is an absorbing warning about the dangers still posed by nuclear weapons, even though its optimism blurs the wider issues.
Interviewing a variety of political leaders (Mikhail Gorbachev, Pervez Musharraf and Jimmy Carter) along with experts in the field (Joseph Cirincione) it paints a sobering portrait of a persistent, yet still largely hidden, menace.
The film shows through inventive graphics and research, the newer threats have emerged over the last 20 years: how states such as Pakistan and North Korea have acquired nuclear capability; the problems of enriched uranium on the black market; the near-miss incidents caused by human error and the prospect of terrorists using a dirty bomb.
Aside from the aforementioned incident in 1995, there are documented cases involving shocking lapses within the US military and the elusive figure of Dr. A.Q. Khan, the shadowy scientist mostly responsible for Pakistan (and maybe others) getting the bomb.
Director Lucy Walker didn’t originate the project, so it perhaps lacks the personal touch of her other recent film Waste Land, but she handles the information and interviews with efficiency and intelligence.
Where the film falls down slightly, is in the campaigning edge which creeps in too often: we sees pointless vox pop interviews where members of the public around the world are asked about nuclear weapons.
Is it really a shocker that most people aren’t experts on this?
There is also a disconnect between the premise of the film, which is the noble aim of reducing global nuclear stocks to zero, and the dark side of humanity which it reveals.
After watching it you may be more convinced than ever that zero nuclear weapons is necessary but virtually impossible, so long as nation states continue to have them or pursue them.
In the last decade US foreign policy in the Middle East has probably helped accelerate proliferation, with states such as Iran seeing it as a necessary deterrent to what they regard as Western aggression (Tony Blair’s presence in the film only accentuates this point).
The example given in the film of South Africa dismantling their programme is misleading, as it remains hard not to conclude that the racist Apartheid regime simply didn’t wanting the incoming ANC government to have it.
The fact that Israel officially deny the existence of their nuclear weapons program (which conveniently allows them to opt out of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) shows the extent to which even developed countries are literally in a state of denial about them.
One of the paradoxes of a nuclear arsenal is that countries feel safer with deadly weapons that they cannot use, as to do so would trigger their own destruction.
Speaking of which, at one point we see Osama bin Laden on screen and watching this film just days after his death was an interesting (if chilling) experience, which highlighted a pressing problem documentaries face in depicting current affairs.
As it happens the core of Countdown to Zero is still relevant, but in this day and age why does it take so long for a documentary like this to come out and risk being out of date?
Perhaps a multi-platform release around the buzz of opening at festivals might be an option for more arthouse films like this.
That being said, despite the ambitious optimism of the film’s campaign, this is still one that demands to be seen as it is an alarming reminder of the dark, self-destructive impulses of mankind.
Bridesmaids (Universal): Comedy about a single woman (Kristen Wiig) who is asked to be her best friend’s maid of honour, only for mishaps to ensue at the pre-wedding event. Directed by Paul Feig, it co-stars Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne and Chris O’Dowd. [Nationwide / 15]
ALSO OUT
Countdown To Zero (Dogwoof): Campaigning documentary about the proliferation of of nuclear weapons in the post-war era and the dangers they still pose in a post-9/11 world. Directed by Lucy Walker, it features contributions from Jimmy Carter, Mikhail Gorbachev, Pervez Musharraf and Tony Blair. [Nationwide / PG]
The First Grader (Soda Pictures): Drama based on the true story of an 84 year-old Kenyan villager and ex Mau Mau freedom fighter who fights for his right to go to school to get the education he could never afford. Directed by Justin Chadwick, it stars Naomie Harris and Oliver Litondo. [Key Cities / 12A]
Incendies (Trinity Filmed Entertainment): Drama about a mother’s last wishes which send twins Jeanne and Simon on a journey to the Middle East in search of their tangled roots. Directed by Denis Villeneuve, it stars Lubna Azabal, Melissa Desormeaux-Poulin, and Remy Girard. [Selected cinemas / 15]
Love’s Kitchen (2020 Films): British comedy about a chef (Dougray Scott) who takes over a pub restaurant. Directed by James Kacking, it co-stars Claire Forlani, Simon Callow, Gordon Ramsay and Michelle Ryan. [Key Cities / 15]
Cutter’s Way (Park Circus): Re-issue of the 1981 thriller about a mysterious murder which may or may not be linkd to a conspiracy. Directed by Ivan Passer, it stars Jeff Bridges, John Heard and Lisa Eichhorn. [Key Cities / 15]
Nicolas Roeg’s classic 1973 film gets re-released on Blu-ray with a wonderful transfer and some interesting new extras.
Based on the short story by Daphne du Maurier, it is about an architect, John (Donald Sutherland) and his wife Laura (Julie Christie), who relocate to Venice after a family tragedy.
There they meet two elderly sisters, one of whom (Hilary Mason) appears to be psychic and claims that their recently deceased daughter has been trying to warn them about something from beyond the grave.
Like those pictures, its reputation has increased considerably over time and it rewards repeated viewings, which reveal remarkable depths to Roeg’s technique and storytelling style.
The opening sequence is perhaps one of the greatest in post-war cinema, almost a film-within-a-film, and forms a stunning prologue to the action which later unfolds in Italy.
Wintry Venice is captured with remarkable authenticity – it was nearly all shot on location – and wisely the filmmakers opted to explore the less famous back alleys of the watery city.
This distinctive feel is boosted by the astonishing cinematography by Anthony Richmond and masterful editing by Graeme Clifford, which combine brilliantly to give the film its unique flavour.
Clifford has remarked that Roeg wanted this to be his “exercise in film grammar” and it is a visual feast for those prepared to look beyond the surface (as Sutherland’s character says early on “nothing is what it seems”).
Keep an eye out for the colour red, water, breaking glass and how they are sprinkled throughout with some highly inventive editing.
Perhaps most impressive is how Roeg uses these technical elements to accentuate the emotional core of the story, which centres on love, death, fate and grief.
Indeed, it is rare to find any film that mixes thought, feeling and style in the way Don’t Look Now does.
This is aided by wonderful performances from Sutherland and Christie, who do some of the best work of their careers and make a very convincing married couple, which is a surprisingly rare thing on film.
The memorable score is by Pino Donaggio, who was a Venetian singer and songwriter previously best known for his song “Lo Che Non Vivo” (later covered by Dusty Springfield in 1966 as “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me”).
It was his first experience working on a film and his rawness worked wonders, with his piano pieces, flute and strings providing a rich aural backdrop for what we see on screen.
An independent British and Italian co-production, the film was generally well received by critics on its initial release, although the US opening was hampered by an undeserved X-rating, due to the famous love scene.
Although comparatively tame by today’s standards, the censorious attitudes of the US censors to sex (still a problem even today) almost certainly dented the film’s commercial prospects in America, where cinemas and advertisers refuse to touch X-rated films.
For those interested in more back story to the US release, Peter Biskind’s recent biography of Warren Beatty claimed US distributor Paramount may have pressured the ratings board into giving the film an X-rating.
Why would they do this? Reportedly it was done as a favour to a certain movie star and may even be what Sutherland refers to on the extras to this disc when he talks of ‘famous’ and ‘nefarious’ influences on the film’s American release.
The original materials must have been in good shape as this restoration (overseen by Roeg and Tony Richmond) looks stunning: although there are traces of natural film grain, the clarity of the images on screen is stunning and probably a testament to the care in how it was originally shot and put together.
EXTRA FEATURES
Some of the extras have been ported over from the 2006 DVD re-release but are well worth revisiting and the new material centres around a batch of interviews with various cast and crew.
* Note that some extras feature heavy spoilers, so if you are new to the film be sure to watch them after your first viewing *
Audio Commentary by Nic Roeg: The director is joined by film critic Adam Smith for a highly informative commentary. Perhaps because the film is so visually rich, they opt for a wide ranging discussion triggered by certain scenes rather than try to keep up with everything we see on screen. Roeg is a fascinating talker and the conversation varies between production stories, the themes of the story, the difficulty of shooting on location on Venice and details about key moments.
Introduction by Alan Jones (7:12): This video introduction provides a little bit of context although it might have been improved with some visual elements, as it is basically a man talking to a camera.
Looking Back (19:31): A substantial featurette with interviews from Roeg, DP Anthony Richmond and editor Graeme Clifford. They all discuss various aspects of the film including the recurring imagery (water, the colour red, breaking glass), the themes of fate and coincidence, the fragmentary approach to visuals and the difficulty of shooting in Venice. The eloquent insights into the film might even surprise seasoned viewers. (N.B. Roeg is interviewed in a church and you might want to keep an eye on the background)
Death in Venice: Interview with Pino Donaggio (17:36): An essential element of the film is Pino Donaggio’s remarkable music. In this featurette the Italian composer describes his background and how Roeg hired him, despite the fact that he had never scored a film before. He was better know until then as a successful singer and songwriter and one startling fact is that Dusty Springfield’s 1966 hit “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me” was actually a cover of his song “Io Che Non Vivo (Senza Te)”. Roeg encouraged him to avoid certain conventions and combined with Donaggio’s rawness, made for an unusual and unforgettable score. Donaggio describes his use of music for certain sequences, such as the opening, the love scene and the climax. He also talks about how his work here led to him working with Brian De Palma on several films.
Trailer (2:32): This seems to be the original UK trailer and is notable for the quick cutting style, which gives it a surprisingly contemporary feel.
Newer special features include these series of interviews, along with an archive featurette:
Danny Boyle (15:10): The director of Slumdog Millionaire and Trainspotting is a massive fan of Roeg and Don’t Look Now, which he describes as “one of the masterpieces of the 20th century”. He also talks about Roeg’s unique directorial style and how, along with David Lynch, he is rare in exploring the ‘enigma’ of cinema. The fascinating and illuminating chat also covers how the director uses the persona of actors, a particular shot he copied for Trainspotting and a compressed version of the film (also included on the disc) that he made for a BAFTA tribute.
Allan Scott (14:31): The screenwriter discusses his amazing double life as a writer and businessman, his approach to screenwriting, the changes from the Daphne Du Maurier short story, the process of working with Nic Roeg (he did other projects with the director) and the film’s legacy.
Tony Richmond (23:48): The DP describes how he got into the industry, his background in music documentaries, the symbolism in Don’t Look Now, shooting the opening scene in Hertfordshire, the difficulties of shooting in Venice, using the newer Panavision cameras, natural light, shooting the love scene quickly and secretly and the uniqueness of Roeg’s style.
Donald Sutherland (23:14): The actor talks about how he was cast, his early thoughts on the script (which Roeg quickly shot down), his fear of vertigo and drowning, doing his own stunts, the power of the story, working with Julie Christie and the technical innovations of the film. He also discusses how ‘famous’ and ‘nefarious’ influences may have had a part in US distributor Paramount cutting out 25 minutes, the enduring power of the famous sex scene (and the difficulties of filming it) and he also has a fantastic anecdote about an actor friend (who wasn’t in the film). Sutherland also makes a fairly astounding admission about watching his own movies.
Also new are these two featurettes:
Compressed version of Don’t Look Now made by Danny Boyle for BAFTA tribute (4:31): Although interesting I’m not sure how I feel about the inclusion of this. One can only assume that it was made with the best of intentions (it was for a BAFTA Roeg tribute night after all) but the music track is totally out of whack with the images and the scenes from the film lose a lot of power when stripped from their original context.
Excerpt Sex and Death from documentary “Nothing Is As It Seems” (15:37): This excerpt from a TV documentary (shot in what appears to be the late 1970s) on grief features Dr. Colin Murray Parkes, a psychiatrist and expert on bereavement, discussing the issue in relation to Don’t Look Now. Skilfully intercut with clips from the film, it provides an interesting scientific counterpoint to the paranormal ideas presented in the film.
In what has been a great year for classic 1970s cinema on Blu-ray, with notable re-releases of Taxi Driver and Apocalypse Now, and now Don’t Look Now.
An essential classic of 1970 cinema, it has never looked better and is an essential purchase both for new and seasoned viewers.
Don’t Look Now is released on Monday 4th July by Optimum Home Releasing
One can only guess what Stanley Kubrick would have made of the more developed online world we now live in.
Like many celebrities, over the last couple of years various actors, directors and producers have embraced Twitter as a self-promotional tool which use to engage fans and post updates.
But what about those filmmakers whose online activities go a little deeper?
I can’t remember when I first heard that David Lynch had a website, but it was a few years ago and when it turned out he was selling ringtones and doing weather reports, I had to check it out. Designed and maintained by the indexsy seo agency, it is now mostly dedicated to his music and you can also see the live Duran Duran concert he recently directed, as well as various music tracks from his films and TV shows. He also occasionally does cooking videos.
Ever since securing the ingenious URL www.romzom.com (sadly no longer active) for his breakout film Shaun of the Dead (2004), Edgar Wright has been fairly active online with behind-the-scenes video podcasts for Hot Fuzz (2007) and his own website which seemed to start in 2009. He regularly posts articles, videos and a lot of photos (at one point he even did a daily photo thing), but he also engages with people in the comments section, puts up videos he’s directed (be they music promos or early experiments in editing) and generally has a bit of a laugh whilst doing so. He’s also pretty active on Twitter.
What does one of the world’s greatest cinematographers do when he’s not shooting films like True Grit (2010), No Country for Old Men (2007) or The Shawshank Redemption (1994)? It turns out he runs a pretty active forum on his own website, where he answers questions from readers all around the world. Whether you have a query about cameras, lighting, digital intermediates, whether 4K really matters or the merits of anamorphic over super 35mm, Roger is there. It is more for the technically minded film fan, but given his amazing back catalogue of films, there are some illuminating stories on how scenes were shot and put together. An incredible resource, it’s a bit like having Paul McCartney give out song writing tips at your local music venue.
The screenwriter of Go (1999), Big Fish (2003) and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) runs a site he describes as ‘a ton of useful information about screenwriting’ and he’s not wrong with that description. When you think of screenwriting gurus who charge hefty amounts for books and seminars, it’s worth noting that a successful, working screenwriter is giving away lots of useful advice for free on a regular basis. More than that, he takes time to answer reader comments and also blogs with a lot of insight about storytelling and the wider industry. It is particularly useful for those little practical details which confront the working screenwriter, be it formatting, genres or pitching. He has also created an iPad app for reading screenplays (FDX Reader) and a web browser extension (Less IMDb) that makes the movie reference site easier to navigate.
The producer of Natural Born Killers (1994), Apt Pupil (1998), From Hell (2001) and the Transformers franchise runs what appears to be a fairly old school site. But look deeper and you find some hidden treasures, such as a message board, genuinely interesting links, and some fantastic Hollywood stories. There are sections titled good guys (Michael De Luca), bad guys (Peter Biskind), fun with lawsuits (eye opening to say the least) and an archive of related stuff going back to 1997. You can also make him happy by sending him the front page of the LA Times from June 18th 1952.
The successful US indie producer (American Splendor, In The Bedroom) has been an active blogger and Twitter user at a time of great turmoil and change for the independent sector. Part of that is down to the challenges facing filmmakers and distributors in a world where old economic models have been disrupted by new technologies and the financial crisis. His previous blog has now moved over to IndieWire and is a good place to visit to find out what the future of the industry might look like, as the ideas and debates he encourages may filter through to the mainstream.
If you have any other examples of filmmakers using the web in interesting ways, then leave them below.
Based on the best-selling novel by Nicholas Monsarrat, it tells the story of life on board a Naval corvette led by Captain Ericson (Jack Hawkins) and his inexperienced crew, who include Lockhart (Donald Sinden), Ferraby (John Stratton), John Morell (Denholm Elliott) and Hallam (Virginia McKenna).
Directed by Charles Frend and produced by Leslie Norman (father of Barry), it was a commendably frank depiction of the hardships of warfare.
The sense of realism is impressive for a film of the time: using a mixture location shooting, studio shots and model work, life on board the ship is portrayed with an admirable attention to detail.
We never fully see the enemy German U-boats and the effect keeps the tension high, whilst the stormy Atlantic is almost presented as a dangerous enemy of a different kind.
The hardships and moral dilemmas of World War II are also well presented, making the characters feel like real people struggling with life during wartime and not one-dimensional heroes.
Nominated for one Oscar (Best Screenplay) and three BAFTA Awards (including Best British Film and Best British Actor), it established Hawkins as a star and greatly boosted the careers of Sinden, Elliot and McKenna.
Sinden is especially worth watching, as he invests his role with considerable depth, which may come as a surprise for those more familiar with his later work in UK television.
It remains one of the better British depictions of World War II and still stands up well nearly sixty years on from when it was released.
This re-release from Optimum Home Entertainment has been digitally restored and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1: the 1080p transfer is impressive and wisely no digital corrections have been added to remove the natural grainy look of the film.
As with any film of this age there some slight imperfections but overall this looks very good for a film of this age, with the close ups of characters looking especially good.
The LPCM 2.0 audio track is handicapped by the original source material (often a problem with films of this age) but despite that, the dialogue is clean and easy to follow, whilst the action and overall ambience is fine.
The extras feature the following:
Interview with Donald Sinden (33 mins): The star recalls recalls how he got cast; how certain scenes were shot; his experiences on set; the problems filming romantic scenes and legacy of the film.
Trailer (4 min): The original theatrical trailer for the film In English, not subtitled.
Behind the Scenes Stills Gallery: A collection of photos from the filming of The Cruel Sea.
The Cruel Sea is out now on Blu-ray from Optimum Home Entertainment
The Fighter (Momentum Pictures): The story of boxer ‘Irish’ Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) and his half-brother/trainer Dickie Eklund (Christian Bale) is brought to the screen with formidable skill and energy by director David O’Russell. Set in Lowell, Massachusetts, it also explores the tensions within their large Irish family, which include his tough mother-manager (Melissa Leo), father (Jack McGee), several sisters and Micky’s girlfriend (Amy Adams). [Buy on Blu-ray or DVD from Amazon UK] [Read our full review]
Rabbit Hole (Lionsgate): Adapted for the screen by David Lindsay-Abaire from his own Pulitzer Prize-winning play, this is the story of a married couple (Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart) struggling to cope with the loss of their young child. Director John Cameron-Mitchell treats the subject with sensitivity, the two leads are excellent and Miles Teller is terrific in a key supporting role. [Buy on DVD from Amazon UK]
ALSO OUT
Brighton Rock (Optimum Home Entertainment) [Blu-ray / Normal] Cat O’ Nine Tails (Arrow Video) [Blu-ray / Normal How Do You Know? (Sony Pictures Home Ent.) [Blu-ray / Normal] Howl (Soda Pictures) [Blu-ray / Normal] I Am Number Four (Walt Disney Studios Home Ent.) [Blu-ray / Normal] Point Break (Warner Home Video) [Blu-ray / Normal] The Great White Silence (BFI) [Blu-ray with DVD] The Rite (Warner Home Video) [Blu-ray / Normal] Twilight Zone – The Original Series: Season 2 (Fremantle Home Entertainment) [Blu-ray / Box Set] West Is West (Icon Home Entertainment) [Blu-ray / Normal]
Does the expensive folly of Green Lantern mark the end of an era for super-expensive comic book movies?
Over the last decade Hollywood studios fully realised the commercial potential of bringing famous comic characters to the big screen.
Whilst Superman (1978) and Batman (1989) were big hits, ever since 2000 there has been a deluge of Marvel and DC characters at multiplexes.
The commercial success of X-Men (2000) proved that, if done well, mainstream audiences were ready for what was once regarded the preserve of geeks.
When Spider-Man (2002) became a record-breaking blockbuster, the pattern for the ensuing decade was set as franchises were built and merchandising dollars flowed in.
A generation who grew up familiar with the original characters embraced seeing them on the big screen with modern visual effects, as what once seemed goofy now became spectacular.
Out of this period came some well-crafted genre films, such as X-Men 2 (2003) and Spider-Man 2 (2004), along with some instant clunkers like Catwoman (2004) and Elektra (2005).
It even resulted in the previously unthinkable when The Dark Knight (2008) not only became a critical and commercial success, but was even talked of as a Best Picture contender.
But the summer of 2008 may in retrospect have been when a certain plateau was reached, as Christoper Nolan’s Batman sequel (which embraced an unusually realistic feel for the genre) became a genuine box-office and cultural phenomenon.
Predictably, the major studios green lit another wave of comic book adaptations, resulting this summer in Thor, X-Men: First Class and Captain America later this summer.
Which brings us to Green Lantern.
To actually see this in a multiplex with a paying audience (as I did) was quite an experience.
Not because it is good (it is pretty bad), or because it is an all-out fiasco on the level of Catwoman (it isn’t quite that either).
But because as I was watching it unfold, it started to seem fascinatingly bad given the gargantuan sums of money that were spent on it.
For starters, how much name recognition does the Green Lantern character actually have outside the comic book realm?
I know studios are running out of iconic names so fast that they are making reboots and team-up movies, but Green Lantern is probably best known for being easily confused with The Green Hornet.
Directed by Martin Campbell, the resulting film is a sloppy mish-mash of superhero tropes, in which a maverick fighter pilot (Ryan Reynolds) is granted special powers through a ring given to him by a dying alien warrior.
He then has to prevent a mysterious being from destroying large chunks of the galaxy (including Earth), as well as dealing with his former fighter pilot/businesswoman girlfriend (Blake Lively) and a rogue scientist with a silly moustache and large forehead (Peter Sarsgaard).
Opening with a baffling prologue that sets out the film’s wider universe, it races between set-pieces on earth and outer space, in which we essentially see the same old superhero crap.
A reckless protagonist gains powers which teach him to be humble; a glamourous female lead who is just there to be rescued; a father and son sub-plot involving Oedipal rage; mentor characters who don’t have any faith in their new student; and lots of visual effects which are just there to make fanboys go “awesome”.
But watching all this again, it felt like the law of diminishing returns had finally caught up with the genre.
The deluge of clichés and lack of any real surprise made it feel like Green Lantern marked the fading of the era which began over a decade ago.
One moment in particular stood out.
Part of the Green Lantern’s powers are that he can make any object providing his ‘will’ is strong enough, which means in a fight he can produce swords and machine guns.
But when he produced what looked like a big, comedy fist I really thought the filmmakers and effects guys were just having a laugh.
Added to that is way in which CGI is integrated with the live action. Yes, it is a fantasy, but did it have to look so goofy?
Four credited screenwriters (Greg Berlanti, Michael Green, Marc Guggenheim and Michael Goldenberg) is never a good sign and there are scenes that smack of rewrites and reshoots (especially one during the climax, which feels laughably out of place).
Finke reports that Warner Bros marketing saw the finished film “extremely late in the game” and that they “didn’t have access to more than 70% of the finished movie until two weeks ago”.
If true, this might explain why the studio has spent $100 million dollars on a late marketing blitz (expensive even for a blockbuster) in the hope that people turn up this weekend.
Whilst the deserved bad reviews (23% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 40 score on Metacritic) will only have a marginal effect on box office, it is hard for a wide release like this (it opens at 3,816 US cinemas this weekend) to actually have a bad opening, as mainstream audiences generally go to see the next big tentpole release.
But when a Warner Bros executive reportedly says: “I’m not going to tell you this is the greatest movie” when the studio have spent around $300 million dollars to make and market it, something has gone badly wrong.
If it ultimately turns out to be a disaster for the studio, and let’s not assume it will be a commercial flop, could it stem the long term tide of big budget comic-book films?
Next summer sees The Dark Knight Rises and The Avengers, directed by Nolan and Joss Whedon respectively, and they will probably turn out to be major hits, even though it will almost certainly be Nolan’s last Batman movie.
And then of course there is Zack Snyder’s Superman reboot, Man of Steel, which comes just a few years after the perceived commercial disappointment of Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns (2006).
Thor and X-Men: First Class earlier this summer actually turned out pretty well (despite my early reservations about both), although the latter is perceived to have underperformed commercially given the unexpectedly positive reviews it got.
But why do I sense that superhero fatigue has set in?
One theory is that the recession has hit the 16-34 demographic that traditionally spends money watching these films.
Conversely, the surprising commercial success of The Social Network, Black Swan and True Grit last autumn might hint that the studios have underestimated the box office potential of more discerning viewers.
Is it just because all the good characters and story lines have been exhausted, or have executives got lazy in assuming mainstream audiences automatically care about films based on comic books or graphic novels?
Time will ultimately tell, but when you see gargantuan amounts of money wasted on a major release like this you wonder if an era is slowly crumbling before our eyes.
A loving homage to the early work of Steven Spielberg, Super 8 mixes genres to create an unusual but enjoyable summer movie experience.
Set in Ohio during 1979, it tells the story of a teenage boy named Joe (Joel Courtney) and his group of friends who accidentally discover strange things happening in their small town whilst making a movie using a Super 8 camera.
After witnessing a spectacular train crash, quickly covered up by the US army, Joe has to deal with his lawman father (Kyle Chandler), his filmmaking buddies led by Charles (Riley Griffiths), a classmate named Alice (Elle Fanning), and a series of increasingly mysterious events.
In a summer filled with remakes and sequels, this singular project sees director J.J Abrams blend his love for the original series of The Twilight Zone with the Spielberg films that enchanted him as a young man.
For a major studio like Paramount, this is an unlikely summer tent-pole release as it isn’t based on a pre-existing property (or is it?) and there are no star names attached.
The end result is an entertaining love letter to the era in which Abrams grew up but also to the movies and TV shows which inspired him to become a storyteller.
Whilst the bedrock is a coming-of-age tale, it also mixes sci-fi and family drama with the kind of mystery and wonder that Abrams and Spielberg have both specialised in during their careers in film and television.
Spielberg is a producer on the film and reportedly had significant creative input into the script and final movie (it is even co-produced under his iconic Amblin’ banner), which is kind of like Paul McCartney teaming up with a Beatles tribute band.
Indeed, Super 8 is so intentionally marinated in Spielberg tropes that it is almost difficult to categorise.
Is it a homage? A cinematic mashup? Perhaps one analogy would be to say that it is a filmic remix of Spielberg’s greatest hits by Abrams.
It certainly draws deeply from Spielberg’s early blockbusters but also on other films he wrote and produced in that period when he established himself as Hollywood’s boy wonder.
Like Jaws (1975), it deals with a sinister threat to a small town; like Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), ordinary people are caught up in extraordinary events; like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), innocent children are contrasted against guilty adults; like Poltergeist (1982), a family struggles against dark, underground forces and like The Goonies (1985), a band of friends bond on an adventure.
(Spielberg fans will have fun spotting many other little details and references to his work)
Some people might level the accusation that Abrams and Spielberg have combined to just rip off and revisit the latter’s movies, but it is to their credit that they have actually crafted something new, whilst remaining respectful to those original works.
Perhaps the neatest trick of Super 8 is that it remembers that despite their spectacle, Spielberg’s early films had a rich vein of emotion that flowed from memorable characters.
Opening with an scene of eloquent sadness, the film is grounded in real life and even if some fantastical things later happen, it is all about how these events affect the characters and their relationships.
A good deal of this comes from the two young actors who anchor this film brilliantly.
Newcomer Joel Courtney has just the right amount of innocence and spirit in what is essentially the lead role, whilst his chemistry with Elle Fanning is both believable and charming.
She too is really quite something, conveying complex emotions with an ease rare for actors her age. One sequence early on, as she rehearses a scene for the Super 8 film-within-the-film, has shades of Naomi Watts’ audition in Mulholland Drive (2001).
The other actors round out the film nicely, with Riley Griffiths, Zach Mills, Gabriel Basso and Ryan Lee making up an engaging patchwork of friends and budding filmmakers.
In the token adult roles, Kyle Chandler as Joe’s police officer father and Toby Emmerich as the military commander are OK without bringing the house down, but perhaps that’s a by product of having so much focus on the kids.
It is also worth noting that for all his obsession with sci-fi spectacle Abrams (like early Spielberg) is deft at handling the little character touches, whether it be an extra talking on a payphone or revealing background visual details.
His recent reboot of Star Trek (2009) worked wonderfully because of this kind of attention to character and place and the same is true of Super 8.
The production design, cinematography and tone are all remarkably authentic to the vibe of the period and DP Larry Fong creates widescreen images that seem to curb his director’s occasional instincts to frame the action like he’s still working in television.
Ben Burtt’s sound design is also very effective, especially during the action set-pieces, which simultaneously keeps things real whilst also giving certain scenes a requisite fantastical lift.
One major caveat is that the visual effects sometimes feel overdone for key scenes, but that could be a case of the production needing to spend its allocated budget.
This is especially true as the film enters its final act and the compulsion to introduce big set-pieces threatens to drown out the carefully constructed tone of the film.
But even here Abrams deploys his secret weapon in composer Michael Giacchino, who is fast becoming one of the best of his generation after establishing himself with TV shows such as Lost and winning awards for his work on Pixar movies like Up.
As you might expect his work here deliberately channels Spielberg’s regular composer John Williams, but he also manages to weave in his own blend of melodies, which give the final sequences a special emotional kick.
It is difficult to discuss much of the plot without giving away spoilers, but despite some problems with the latter stages, it was very hard not to exit the film smiling.
Some might feel this whole project is simply an exercise in nostalgia, but it manages to be more than just a retread of Spielberg’s work by tapping in to the essence of what made them successful.
By mining the magic of a previous era, Super 8 reminds us that the simple pleasures of summer movies, like character and emotion, are often the most rewarding.
Super 8 is out now in the US and opens in the UK on Friday 5th August
Warner Bros have released the trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, which is the final part in the series and destined to be the highest grossing film of 2011.
For non-Potter fans this is technically film 7B.
For Potter fans, J.K. Rowling has a new project called Pottermore.
Green Lantern (Warner Bros): Big-budget superhero movie about man (Ryan Reynolds) who gets special powers after an alien gives him a mystical green ring which sees him join an intergalactic peace keeping force. Directed by Martin Campbell, it co-stars Blake Lively, Mark Strong and Peter Sarsgaard. [Nationwide / 12A]
Bad Teacher (Sony Pictures): Comedy about a lazy, foul-mouthed school teacher (Cameron Diaz) who, after being dumped, tries to woo a colleague (Justin Timberlake) who is also being pursued by a well-loved teacher (Lucy Punch). Directed by Jake Kasdan, it also stars Jason Segal. [Nationwide / 15]
The Beaver (Icon): Drama about a depressed businessman (Mel Gibson) who seemingly turns his life around by talking to his wife (Jodie Foster) and work colleagues through a beaver hand puppet. Directed by Jodie Foster, it also stars Anton Yelchin and Jennifer Lawrence. [Nationwide / 12A] [Read our longer review]
ALSO OUT
Potiche (Optimum Releasing): French comedy set during 1977 about a housewife (Catherine Deneuve) who takes over her husband’s umbrella business after he falls illness. Directed by Francois Ozon, it co-stars Gerard Depardieu. [Key Cities / 15]
The Messenger (The Works): 2009 drama (yes, a film that’s two years old is finally getting a UK release) about two officers (Ben Foster and Woody Harrelson) who who’s job it is to notify the families of fallen soldiers. Directed by Oren Moverman, itco-stars Samantha Morton. [Selected cinemas / 15]
Born To Be Wild (bfi IMAX): IMAX documentary about orphaned orangutans, elephants and the people who rescue and raise them. Directed by David Lickley and narrated by Morgan Freeman. [Key Cities]
Life In A Day (Scott Free): A crowd-sourced documentary made up of 80,000 YouTube clips shot around the world on July 24th 2010. Directed by Kevin McDonald, it will be screened across Vue cinemas on June 17th. [UK wide / 12A]
The Round Up (Revolver): French film about the true story of a young boy during the mass arrest of Jews by Paris police who were Nazi accomplices in July 1942. Directed by Roselyne Bosch, it stars Mélanie Laurent, Jean Reno, Sylvie Testud and Gad Elmaleh. [Selected cinemas]
Stake Land (Metrodome): Dystopian horror set in an America under attack from undead creatures. Directed by Jim Mickle, it stars Connor Paolo, Nick Damici and Kelly McGillis. [Key Cities / 15]
Swinging With The Finkels (UNO Films): British comedy about a pair of London millionaires who discover problems in the bedroom of their Covent Garden loft apartment. Directed by Jonathan Newman and co-starring Angus Deayton and Melissa George.
It is a smart way of marketing The Tree of Life to audiences concerned by the unusual nature of the film and perhaps says to geekier audiences that there is more to cinema than just comic book adaptations and Hollywood conventions.
The Tree of Life is in limited release in the US and opens wide on July 8th, the same day as the UK release.
A wonderfully prescient shot in Following even features a Batman logo – who could have predicted that Nolan would asked to reboot the franchise a few years later?
Earlier this month the third film in the Batman series The Dark Knight Rises (2012) began filming at the Farmiloe building in Clerkenwell.
The location was used as the Gotham City Police Station in the last two films and for sequences in Inception.
The building is adjacent to a public street, so some people were able to take photos and videos of cars, trucks, cranes and lights, although it seemed the filming took place behind closed doors.
But Craig Grobler of The Establishing Shot took an interesting set of photos at the location (no real spoilers) and caught glimpses of Nolan, Wally Pfister and a bunch of extras dressed as the Gotham SWAT team.
Check out the full gallery here:
There is also some video here:
In addition, filming has also taken place in Croydon and other locations around the UK before heading to the United States.
The Dark Knight Rises is scheduled to open in July 2012
Jodie Foster’s first film as a director in 16 years is a curious drama laced with surreal comedy.
Opening with the depressed head of a toy company (Mel Gibson) being kicked out of the family home by his wife (Foster, who also stars) and explores how he seemingly turns his life around by talking to people through a beaver hand puppet.
Loved ones and co-workers are bemused but initially welcome him back, with the exception of his angry teenage son (Anton Yelchin), who strikes up a relationship with a classmate (Jennifer Lawrence) who also has issues of her own.
Kyle Killen’s script was hot property back in 2008 and part of the appeal might have been the way it mixes a striking concept within a conventional setting, whilst providing a showy lead role for the central character (Steve Carrell was attached early on).
The resulting production had a rocky joureny to cinemas, as a much publicised voicemail scandal involving its star (on the back of other well-documented problems) led to its release being delayed by several months.
With this all in mind there is poignancy to the finished film, as the parallels between Gibson and his character are painfully apparent.
But if you put all that pre-release baggage to one side, how does the finished film stand up?
It turns out that the film isn’t bad at all and has surprising levels of emotion if one treats it as a drama, which happens to be sprinkled with humour.
Gibson gives a surprisingly nuanced performance in the lead role, which is no mean feat given that for most of the film he’s talking like Ray Winstone through a hand puppet (for some reason, the beaver has a British accent).
This leads to some bizarre scenes that strain credibility, but given his position of power at work and the relief of his loved ones to have him back home, it just about works.
The scenes where Gibson’s character talks through his puppet actually work pretty well, given that they could have been utterly ridiculous.
In the supporting roles, Foster convinces as an exhausted but loving wife, whilst Yelchin and Lawrence do their best with teenage roles that feel a little underwritten.
Although she hasn’t directed in a long time (her last film was 1995’s Home for the Holidays), Foster has mixes the contrasting tones in a way that you don’t often see with Hollywood productions.
The tasteful widescreen lensing by DP Hagen Bogdanski (who also shot The Lives of Others) gives it a nice visual polish and the slick editing by Lynzee Klingman keeps things moving well, whilst skilfully intercutting the main plot of the father with the parallel subplot of the son.
On film, the mentally ill are often depicted as either psychotic killers (e.g. Psycho) or underdog geniuses (e.g. Rain Man) but to her credit Foster avoids these cliches, focusing with a good deal of empathy on how regular families grapple with the pain and uncertainty of having a loved one suffering from a psychological ailment.
Furthermore, it floats the idea that traditionally accepted treatments might not work for everyone, which contrasts with films which routinely dish out the subtext that everything will be OK in the end.
Not everything works here. Two significant strikes against the film are Marcelo Zavros’ jaunty score, which belongs in another film entirely, and a key plot development late on which feels too melodramatic.
As I write this, The Beaver has died a death at the US box office, which suggests Gibson and Foster are no longer the box office stars they were and that audiences were baffled by the story and tone.
Parts of the preview audience I saw it with seemed to be laughing at certain scenes in a derisory way (never a good sign), but to sneer at this film (as some may do), is to ignore its empathetic heart, even if in places it doesn’t fully work.
Some of the influences here appear to be Magic (1978), the drama starring Anthony Hopkins as a ventriloquist and American Beauty (1999), with its dissection of suburban angst.
One recent film it closely resembles is Lars and the Real Girl (2007), which also featured a troubled, yet sympathetic, lead character with a bizarre fixation.
Like that film it may struggle to find a wide audience, but if you are prepared to go with it, The Beaver is a film with unusual depths that lie beneath its goofy premise.
A NASA video of Space Shuttle Endeavor‘s last launch has been re-cut so we can see all four camera angles simultaneously.
The original video was shot on multiple cameras fixed to the solid rocket boosters, but a Vimeo user (Northern Lights) has re-arranged the footage so we can see it side-by-side.
Set to the music of Ulf Lohmann from the Because Before album, the end result is pretty spectacular.
(For the full effect, be sure expand the video to full screen)
One of the best documentaries in recent years was Charles Ferguson’s devastating examination of the financial crisis.
In just under two hours, Inside Job takes us on a journey through the full horror of how a deregulated Wall Street, aided and abetted by a compliant political system, wreaked havoc on the world.
Using interviews, graphics, editing and narration from Matt Damon, the film explores the causes of the current economic meltdown and speaks to a variety of experts and policy makers including Nouriel Roubini, George Soros, Eliot Spitzer, Barney Frank and Christine Lagarde.
After premiering at Cannes 2010, it was quickly acclaimed as one of the best reviewed films of the festival and eventually won the Oscar for Best Documentary back in March.
At the ceremony Charles Ferguson gave a pointed critique of Wall Street and the financial industry:
This DVD release will probably be the best opportunity for a wide audience to see the film and it hasn’t lost any of its power since coming out at cinemas.
Perhaps most depressingly, the financial and political systems examined by the film seem to be in denial about the corruption and short-term thinking that led to disaster in 2008.
The highlight of the extras on this disc is probably the audio commentary by Ferguson and his producer Audrey Marrs, which is an informative guide to not only the content of the film but how they put it all together.
There is also a 12-minute featurette called “Behind the Heist: The Making of ‘Inside Job'” that features Ferguson discussing the context of the film in more depth.
The deleted scenes feature outtakes of nine interviews with people featured in the film: Charles Morris (5m), Dominique Strauss-Khan (7m), Eliot Spitzer (8m), Gillian Tett (4m), Jerome Fons (2m), Lee Hsien Loong (1m), Satyajit Das (9m), Simon Johnson (1m) and Yves Smith (3m).
These outtakes could perhaps have delved a bit deeper, but it seems Ferguson’s aim was for the film itself to be clearest explanation of the financial crisis.
If you didn’t see this at cinemas, it is a film I would urge you to see, as it remains the most concise and powerful explanation of a key issue of our time.
Ferguson gave some interesting interviews around the release of the film which included this 35 minute discussion with Katie Couric:
Then there is this 15 minute chat with Charlie Rose:
There is also this hour long discussion Ferguson did with the Commonwealth Club in March:
Inside Job is out now on DVD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
First, they discuss a sequence from Frank Darabont’s drama, where Andy Dusfresne (Tim Robbins) gets in to a row with prison guard Byron Hadley (Clancy Brown) on the roof of Shawshank Prison.
They discuss the use of a crane shot, how safety cables were removed digitally and the segue to his favourite shot of the film, where Morgan Freeman’s voiceover ‘syncs’ with the movement of the camera. (Click here to see the video)
Then they talk about the scene from the Oscar-winning No Country for Old Men where Sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) examines a hotel room where Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) is hiding in the dark.
A tense sequence, in which light and angles play a key role, they discuss specific shots and how certain decisions were made on the set.
For anyone interested in the cinematic image or how DPs visually construct a scene, it is essential viewing.
Apocalypse Now (Optimum Home Entertainment): Francis Ford Coppola’s classic 1979 drama about a special forces mission during the Vietnam War gets an incredible 3-disc edition, featuring 9 hours of extras, including the making-of documentary Hearts of Darkness. [Buy the Blu-ray from Amazon UK] [Read our full review here]
True Grit (Paramount Home Entertainment): The Coen Brothers adaptation of the Charles Portis novel (previously made in 1969 with John Wayne) is the tale of a young girl (Haliee Steinfeld) who recruits a grizzled lawman (Jeff Bridges) and a Texas Ranger (Matt Damon) to hunt down her father’s killers. [Buy the Blu-ray and DVD from Amazon UK] [Full review]
Ice Cold in Alex (Optimum Home Entertainment): World War II drama about a group of Allied troops who escape the siege of Tobruk and have to escape to Alexandria. Directed by J. Lee Thompson, it stars John Mills, Sylvia Sims, Anthony Quayle and Harry Andrews. [Buy the Blu-ray from Amazon UK]
The Cruel Sea (Optimum Home Entertainment): Unusually gritty 1953 drama about a naval crew struggling to survive the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II. Directed by Philip Frend, it stars Jack Hawkins, Donald Sinden and Denholm Elliot. [Buy the Blu-ray from Amazon UK]
Witchfinder General (Odeon Entertainment): Vintage 1968 British horror film about witch hunter Matthew Hopkins (Vincent Price) and his reign of terror during the English Civil War. Directed by Michael Reeves, it co-stars Ian Ogilvy and Hilary Dwyer. [Buy the Blu-ray from Amazon UK]
Inside Job (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment): A searing and fascinating documentary about the financial crisis from director Charles Ferguson, is a reminder of the social and financial costs wrought on the world by the Wall Street elite. Voiced by Matt Damon, it won Best Documentary at the Oscars earlier this year. [Buy the DVD from Amazon UK] [Listen to our interview with Charles Ferguson]
ALSO OUT
5 Days of War (Entertainment One) [Blu-ray / Normal] Age of Heroes (Metrodome Distribution) [Blu-ray / Normal] Hereafter (Warner Home Video) [Blu-ray / Normal] Jackass 3.5 (Paramount Home Entertainment) [Blu-ray / Normal] Le Mans (Paramount Home Entertainment) [Blu-ray / Normal] Paul (Universal Pictures) [Blu-ray / Normal] Psychoville: Series 1 and 2 (2 Entertain) [Blu-ray / Normal] Sanctum (Universal Pictures) [Blu-ray / Normal] Sex Pistols: There’ll Always Be an England (Fremantle Home Entertainment) [Blu-ray / Normal] Straightheads (Verve Pictures) [Blu-ray / Normal] Superman: The Ultimate Collection (Warner Home Video) [Blu-ray / Box Set] The Bird With the Crystal Plumage (Arrow Video) [Blu-ray / Normal]
These different trailers for Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining (1980) give an interesting glimpse of how different eras perceive a film.
After the commercial disappointment of Barry Lyndon (1975), Kubrick wanted to do something with a bit more box office potential.
An adaptation of a Stephen King novel with a big star (Jack Nicholson) seemed to be a way of combining his interests as a director with the opportunity for a hit movie.
We can see part of this journey in how The Shining has been depicted in various trailers down the years.
Before the original US release in May 1980 there was this creepy teaser, which used the now famous image of blood coming out of an elevator.
The mood and mysterious tone kept users guessing, whilst cleverly using one of the signature shots.
On its release in the UK a few months later, Warner Bros were probably disappointed at the patchy reception in the US.
This recently unearthed UK TV spot reveals a lot more, but the inclusion of a still featuring Jack Nicholson’s grin (different from those used in other marketing materials) makes me wonder if the publicity department was having an off day when they approved this.
Kubrick then made a number of cuts to the film (around 25 minutes worth) before it opened in London and it seems initial audiences were baffled or even bored by what they saw.
The director was even nominated for a Golden Rasperry Award for Worst Director (!), which seems ridiculous now but perhaps speaks to its gradual appeal.
Part of that was down to screenings of the film on television and video during the 1980s, as it gathered a new audience who could appreciate its unusual style and considered approach.
This trailer for the ABC TV premiere in 1983 calls the film a ‘ultimate exercise in terror’ and cuts together some of the famous images in the film, including one scene involving skeletons dressed up at a party that was excised from the UK cut.
By now the film had ended its theatrical run, but a new audience was beginning to experience it just as the home video boom was taking off.
But why did it succeed with home audiences just three years after cinemagoers had partly rejected it?
Part of it may be down to Kubrick’s style, which doesn’t always make concessions to first time viewers and that The Shining has a special quality when you see it at home.
After all, it explores the quiet terror of being alone in a building and the ghosts of the people that may (or may not) have lived there before.
Perhaps the solitary nature of viewing it in the home suited the film better than the communal environment of the cinema.
Another technical detail worth pointing out is that it was effectively shot in the aspect ratio of 1.37, which means that although it was conceived and framed for a 1:85 theatrical release, the film was visually well suited to the squarer screens of TV and didn’t have to be pan and scanned.
“At first sight this is an extremely simple, even static film. [..] Kubrick had put so much effort into his film, building vast sets at Elstree, making a 17-week shoot stretch to 46, and what was the result? A silly scare story – something that, it was remarked at the time, Roger Corman could have turned around in a fortnight. But look beyond the simplicity and the Overlook reveals itself as a palace of paradox…. Even if the drama appears straightforward, there’s the matter of the unearthly stage it’s enacted on – the hotel itself, with its extraordinary atmospherics. Hotel manager Ullman (Barry Nelson) welcomes Jack by telling him how a former caretaker, Charles Grady, went crazy and chopped up his family: the problem was cabin fever, the result of confinement in isolation. Not only do the Torrances suffer cabin fever but Kubrick wants us to as well. The Shining makes us inhabit every comer of the painstakingly constructed hotel sets, and the way the film guides us along corridors, around corners, up staircases – thanks to Garrett Brown’s revolutionary new gizmo the Steadicam – makes us feel we know every inch of the place, even (especially) the sound of its silences.”
It is true that there is an unsettling power to the film which takes the viewer right inside the mysteries of a particular place, rather than focus on the struggle between an innocent protagonist and an evil monster.
After his death people began to focus less on Kubrick’s reputation as a ‘reclusive genius’ and focus more on the glory of his work, which continues to inspire a generation of filmmakers fascinated by his attention to detail and impeccable craft.
With the proliferation of cheap digital editing tools and the web, frequent homages to Kubrick appear online, but perhaps the most memorable was this 2005 reworking of the film’s trailer as a romantic comedy:
Robert Ryang, 25, a film editor’s assistant in Manhattan, graduated from Columbia three years ago with a double major in film studies and psychology. This week, he got an eye-opening lesson in both. Since 2002, Mr. Ryang has worked for one of the owners of P.S. 260, a commercial postproduction house, cutting commercials for the likes of Citizens Bank, Cingular and the TriBeCa Film Festival. A few weeks back, he said, he entered a contest for editors’ assistants sponsored by the New York chapter of the Association of Independent Creative Editors. The challenge? Take any movie and cut a new trailer for it – but in an entirely different genre. Only the sound and dialogue could be modified, not the visuals, he said. Mr. Ryang won the contest, and about 10 days ago, he said, he sent three friends a link to a “secret site” on his company’s Web site where they could watch his entry. One of them, Mr. Ryang said, posted it on his little-watched blog. And that was that. Until this week, when he was hit by a tsunami of Internet interest. On Wednesday, Mr. Ryang said, his secret site got 12,000 hits. By Thursday the numbers were even higher, his film was being downloaded and linked to on countless other sites, it had cracked the top 10 most popular spoofs on www.ifilm.com, and a vice president at a major Hollywood studio had called up his office, scouting for new talent.
The video has since been seen over 3 million times on YouTube.
By 2008 Kubrick’s status as a legend was complete and when UK channel More 4 screened a season of his films that summer, this trail was a wonderful homage to the making of The Shining:
Over the course of nearly thirty years, the reputation of Kubrick’s horror has grown. But what kind of trailer would Warner Bros cut for the film today?
The fact that The Shining still resonates, after the chilly reception in 1980, through numerous showings on TV and home video, is a testament its enduring power.
For those not familiar, New York Congressman Anthony Weiner recently confessed that was involved in lewd online exchanges with random people on the internet.
On HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, the host and Lynch read out one of Weiner’s Facebook exchanges verbatim and the results were predictably funny (although definitely NSFW):
(Click here to watch the video if the above one is pulled down)
