Visiting the Highlander New York Library at The National Liberal Club London - FILM LOCATION
I am a huge fan of Russell Mulcahy’s body of work with a particular focus on his visual styling exemplified in his second feature the genre-bending 1986 sword & sorcery film Highlander. Like many of my favourite films, Highlander feels fresh and original whilst seeming intuitively familiar.
Regrettably, I have not posted nearly enough about the stuff I enjoy and with Studiocanal’s forthcoming 4K UHD remaster release of Highlander it seems a good time to pick up the mantle and continue.
First Look at Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer for Christopher Nolan's OPPENHEIMER
Today 23 February sees production on Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer kick off in California.
Adapted from Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin's 2006 American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer is a biopic of J. Robert Oppenheimer the man "mainly" credited with inventing the most devastating weapon of the time - the atomic bomb.
Oppenheimer seems to be a companion piece to Christopher Nolan's 2017 Dunkirk which was an on the ground account of events that saw Britain become involved in the Second World War, whilst Oppenheimer follows J. Robert Oppenheimer's life and seems to look at events that lead to the end of World War II.
So last week I was very privileged to go along to an early preview screening of Dunkirk with an extended introduction from Christopher Nolan.
I have to say a large part of the draw for me was the “extended introduction” bit, for me there is some frustration when a filmmaker pops up to introduce their film and doesn't really give any insight into their vision or the thinking behind their involvement in the creation of film. So I'm glad to report that the BFI and Christopher Nolan over-delivered in this respect.
The world premiere of Dunkirk was held at Odeon Leicester Square with an annex screening at the British Film Institute IMAX, which I passed by on my way to the preview screening at the BFI itself.
I loved Batman V Superman and have been hanging for the home release with hopefully a ton of extras. Today it was confirmed that the home release will have 31 minutes of extra footage and will be available for download on 18 July with the Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, DVD version available to buy from 1 August. Watch the trailer below for glimpses at extra characters and scenes to be featured.
A couple of weeks ago I received a Bat alert in my inbox that the Batmobile from Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice had just arrived at the Odeon Leicester Square and could be viewed.
I should mention that for guys my age that grew up having their comic book world broadened by Frank Miller's dark interpretation of the Batman with his The Dark Knight Returns. The tale of an older Bruce Wayne - hard boiled by years of crime fighting and having his world implode in on itself as it slides further into dystopia. That is until The Batman we know uncomfortably shifts from vigilante to revolutionary activist as his chosen path turns him against the world and - makes him the most dangerous man alive as he almost single handedly rages against the machine, the tide and the dying of light. His the end justifies the means and he becomes maybe not the hero the future world wanted but the one it needed.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Ben Affleck's Batman Returns fire up the Bat-Signal (ZOOM)
In Christopher Nolan's The Dark KnightAaron Eckhart's Harvey Dent or Two Face perfectly captures this when he says:
DENT
Well, I guess you either die a hero
or you live long enough to see
yourself become the villain.
This has become de rigueur in our culture - but back then it was like nothing before, well certainly in the mainstream comic world. It changed everything - suddenly the the future our heroes have been fighting for in every comic ever written was stolen. Miller proposed that the future we all believed in does not pan out and is rather just a part of a slow slide into further dystopia and our heroes have to evolve or adapt to survive in this new world.
And whilst Zack Snyder' seems to have turned the whole thing on its head with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice promising to be the start or dawn of something great, rather than the swansong of The Dark Knight - it may be the film I have been waiting 30 years for.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Batman Poster (ZOOM)
His first listed production credit on IMDB is "Special Effects Assistant" on Ken Russell's Tommy, Chris Corbould has since then he has added 52 more credits with the most recent being "Special Effects Supervisor" on J.J. Abrams's Star Wars: Episode VII.
In between he has worked with almost every major talent in the film industry, he has worked on almost every film worth mentioning and most definitely the ones we rate, we aren't the only ones who think so as he (and his team) have been nominated for many awards and he went home with an Oscar for Best Achievement in Visual Effects on Christopher Nolan's Inception. He has worked on 13 Bond films, overseeing the special effects from GoldenEye onwards, he has worked on the Superman series, The Dark Knight Trilogy, a Highlander film, Willow, Nightbreed, Alien3, Lara Croft, Shadowlands, John Carter, X-Men: First Class to give some depth to the breadth of Chris Corbould's work. He is very well known for pulling off impossible effects in camera, that is without the use of computer generated imagery. So you will understand if I was daunted going in to chat with man himself.
I could talk and probe Corbould's mind for a whole day discussing just one of the films he has worked on, how on Earth was I going to fit a salient conversation, with one of my heroes into a couple of minutes, with the world's press breathing down my neck surrounded by legends from across the Bond films?
It is finally here and it is a thing of beauty! Christopher Nolan’s re imagining of the Batman franchise beginning with 2005’s Batman Begins enjoyed phenomenal critical and box-office success. Now on 30th September7 OCTOBER, Nolan’s three Batman films – Batman Begins, The Dark Knight,
and The Dark Knight Rises – will be released by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment as The Dark Knight Trilogy: Ultimate Collector’s Edition.
The six-disc set features all three films with their existing extra content, plus two new featurettes and exclusive new collectible memorabilia. This must-own collection for fans of DC Comics’ Caped Crusader is available in premium packaging and includes UltraViolet™ copies. UltraViolet allows consumers to download and instantly stream in high definition to a wide range of devices including computers and compatible tablets, smartphones, game consoles, Internet-connected TVs and Blu-ray players.
The Dark Knight Trilogy Ultimate Collector’s Edition Box (Click to enlarge)
Zack Snyder's Man of Steel will be in cinemas in just under one month on June 14, 2013. Back in 2009 Zack Snyder made it clear that he was interested in bringing the DC Universe to life when he brought Alan Moore's epic The Watchmen to screen.
If you have seen Skyfall you probably felt that there were some
similarities to Christopher Nolan’s films as I did and I have been
bemused when others have said that Skyfall is The Dark Knight to Casino Royale’s Batman Begins but
couldn’t really substantiate the point past trying to draw a link between
The Dark Knight and Sam Mendes's quote regarding The Dark Knight -
see below. So I thought I would throw out some thoughts on possible
parallels and synchronicity I see
between Skyfall and Christopher Nolan’s
films. I would suggest that if you have not seen Skyfall yet you
stop reading this now.
In discussion with Drew Taylor of
The Playlist
regarding parallels between Nolan's Batman films and
Skyfall Sam Mendes has
said:
”In terms of what [Nolan] achieved, specifically ‘The Dark Knight,’ the second
movie, what it achieved, which is something exceptional. It was a game changer
for everybody," he explained about how it influenced his approach.
We’re now in an industry where movies are very small or very big and there’s
almost nothing in the middle," he continued. "And it would be a tragedy if all
the serious movies were very small and all the popcorn movies were very big
and have nothing to say. And what Nolan proved was that you can make a huge
movie that is thrilling and entertaining and has a lot to say about the world
we live in, even if, in the case with ‘The Dark Knight,’ it’s not even set in
our world. It felt like a movie that was about our world post-9/11 and played
on our fears and discussed our fears and why they existed and I thought that
was incredibly brave and interesting. That did help give me the confidence to
take this movie in directions that, without ‘The Dark Knight,’ might not have
been possible.
Because also, people go, ‘Wow, that’s pretty dark,’ but then you can point to
‘Dark Knight’ and go ‘Look at that – that’s a darker movie, and it took in a
gazillion dollars!’ That’s very helpful. There’s also that thing – it’s
clearly possible to make a dark movie that people want to see”
So in essence it sounds like Mendes is saying that The Dark Knight’s influence on Skyfall was all about the tone and how it
was as a measure for whether a dark film could still make a profit at a
blockbuster level.
Whilst I agree that The Dark Knight may not have been the biggest
influence on the story of Skyfall - as The Dark Knight Rises
is clearly more of an influence I felt I identified further synchronicity
and references to Nolan’s works past the tone and couldn't help wonder if the
Bond team were giving Christopher Nolan a little of his own - as he has
openly admitted to plundering from Bond films over time for his own needs - or
if it was more of an acceptance of Nolan’s not so subtle request to direct a
Bond film?
TheDark Knight Rises the most EPIC of stories hampered by the format of film, it has an Epic first quarter, a saggy middle followed by the most Epic of Epic endings in the history of Epicness.
That’s what my FaceBook status said after seeing Chris Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises his final chapter in his Dark Knight Trilogy. But of course that does not tell the whole story. Here are some light weight thoughts, that will be followed by a more in depth analysis when enough people have seen it for a proper post not to be considered spoilerish. Also bear in mind that I have only seen The Dark Knight Rises once typically Chris Nolan’s film need to be seen at least twice to absorb the detail.
In the countdown to the epic conclusion of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy - The Dark Knight Rises I was invited down to the plush screening room of Warner Bros. to reacquaint myself with Christopher Nolan’s Batman.
Here are some thoughts on the highs and lows of Batman Begins the film that started the most epic of super hero tales. I’m not going to do an in-depth analysis as there are countless books out there discussing Batman’s origins, history, legacy, the psychology of the man and the mask, Jungian archetypes and Freudian like discourses on the relationships of Batman. Besides a proper analysis would take more time and patience than you have. This post is some thoughts off the top of my head given the opportunity to re- watch Batman Begins.
“They told me there was nothing out there, nothing to fear. But the night my parents were murdered I caught a glimpse of something. I've looked for it ever since. I went around the world, searched in all the shadows. And there is something out there in the darkness, something terrifying, something that will not stop until it gets revenge... Me.”
First off I have to say re-watching Batman Begins I was reminded of how much it is a cinematic experience that needs to be enjoyed on the big screen with a decent audio system backing it up. I have watched the Batman Begins Blu-ray countless times (on my not too shabby big screen projection & 7.1 surround system) format and seeing it in a proper cinema again it was obvious it was really designed to be seen in a large format. But this post starts almost a decade ago… the year was 2004 the comic to screen adaptation landscape was dominated by family friendly fare standing tall above the graveyard littered with comic based films unable to take their graphic roots seriously enough to commit to the budget needed to bring a comic to life appropriately. As much as the technology to create credible effects debate is brought up – I still believe story is king and everything else can be built around it.
H ot on the heels of the interesting little hint we received from Oscar winning Costume Designer Lindy Hemming about Bane’s The Dark Knight Rises outfit over. We bring you a close up look at both the original outfits worn by Christian Bale’s Batman and Tom Hardy’s Bane in The Dark Knight Rises.
Yesterday in the build up to The Dark Knight Rises THe Establishing Shot was lucky enough to crack an invite to a screening of Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins, the tale that kicked off his dramatic Dark Knight trilogy that ends with The Dark Knight Rises. Just before the screening I got to check out both the original Bat suit and Bane suit used in The Dark Knight Rises.
According to my Bat Countdown on my Bat phone or rather my Nokia Lumia 800The Dark Knight Rises Edition we are still 115 Days or 4 months away from seeing Christopher Nolan’s finale in his Batman trilogy – the decidedly epic The Dark Knight Rises.
Recently Christopher Nolan showed his first four hour rough cut of The Dark Knight Rises to Warner Bros. executives and I’m sure we’ll be hearing more about their thoughts as information is leaked. But until then, I thought I would finish my analysis of The Dark Knight Rises trailer which I started way back when it was released - but have been time poor so didn’t really get around to finishing it. As I’ve been fairly busy of late with no end in sight and cant really write up new stuff (of which there is much) I dusted off my analysis and thought I would get it out.
I was asked a little while back the amount of effort required to analyse bits from the The Dark Knight Rises and whilst it is an effort. I'm a long time fan of Batman and knowing the complexity that Christopher Nolan puts into his films and trailers taking the time to analyse them properly goes some of the way to fully comprehend them and appreciate them.
The Dark Knight Rises offers up a surprising amount of information to a Bat fan as well as raises many questions. Which is why we love Christopher Nolan and I have to say kudos to him and his team for keeping as much of the film under wraps despite the very public filming.
As I say the Dark Knight Rises offers up a lot of subtext and semiotics for us to engage with. And you don’t have to be a Detective to figure it out.
Batman Begins (2005)
[Thomas Wayne carrying a young Bruce back to Wayne Manor]
Alfred Pennyworth: Took quite a fall, didn't we, Master Bruce?
Thomas Wayne: And why do we fall, Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.
[as Wayne Manor is burning down]
Bruce Wayne: What have I done, Alfred? Everything my family... my father built...
Alfred Pennyworth: The Wayne legacy is more than bricks and mortar, sir.
Bruce Wayne: I wanted to save Gotham, I failed
Alfred Pennyworth: Why do we fall sir? So we might learn to pick ourselves up
Bruce Wayne: You still haven't given up on me?
Alfred Pennyworth: Never
I’m guessing those quotes from Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins way back in 2005 will be all the more poignant with The Dark Knight Rises.
Bear in mind that although I mention Christopher Nolan’s name a lot below, some of the credit should be going to his brother Jonathan Nolan who wrote the screenplay along with Batman familiar David S. Goyer I use Nolan's name as a hold all for the team.
Also this is all educated speculation rather than based on any inside knowledge of the production or any unofficial spoilery media floating around the web.
and here we go...
The Establishing Shot: The Dark Knight Rises Trailer Analysis The Dark Knight Rises Trailer is 2:04 minutes long and rather than doing a frame by frame analysis it makes more sense if we break it down by scene.
I've been getting a couple of requests for my thoughts on The Dark Knight Rises prologue, some, from guys nowhere near an IMAX so below I’ve tried to give as much detail as I can. My post is split into 3 segments; the first outlining why The Dark Knight Rises could be good, the second running through the footage of the prologue and 1 minute montage from The Dark Knight Rises with commentary and the third some thoughts. So you can skip to the bits that interest you.
In anticipation of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises the finale of his Batman trilogy, my chosen iconic Film Location this time round is from the film that started it all – Christopher Nolan’s 2005 Superhero masterpiece Batman Begins.
As well as locations in Hertfordshire where Christopher Nolan went to school, Nolan has a fondness for London locations that he knows and likes. Having spent time in London studying at both the University College London and Raindance Film School. Nolan knows his way around London and certainly has favourite locations that he re-uses in a number of his films.
Batman Begins
After training with his mentor, Batman begins his war on crime to free the crime-ridden Gotham City from corruption that the Scarecrow and the League of Shadows have cast upon it.
Director: Christopher Nolan Writer: Bob Kane, David S. Goyer, Christopher Nolan Stars: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman
Christopher Nolan Batman Begins Film Poster (ZOOM)
Sadly Chris Nolan's epic finale to his Batman - The Dark Knight Trilogy is a year away from being released into cinemas on 20 July 2012. The bulk of London based filming has now finished and this week we were treated to the release of the first 1:29 minute The Dark Knight Rises teaser trailer. For those who aren't familiar with the Batman mythology, it may seem as mysterious as the first Inception imagery to be released however for those who know the Batman mythology, although visually engaging as all Nolan's work the narrative shown seems to be fairly clear.
Having said that as always Nolan has more tricks up his sleeve than the Joker at a card game. After reading a particularly bad and uninformed discussion of the teaser trailer earlier on a national paper's website I thought I would do a quick analysis over lunch so those less familiar with Batman mythos can be brought up to speed.
"Another over hyped turn from a super talent watered down to please the bigger market demographic. I love Nolan’s visual style but his plots always under deliver, on their promise. With the addition of a fluffy leading man/child actor I’m dreading going into the cinema to see how an incredible concept is slowly deflated."
That was my 54 word response to Timeout when he asked what my least anticipated film of summer 2010 for inclusion in their bumper Summer Film Edition.
Since then I have learnt:
I was wrong about Inception
I was wrong about Leonardo DiCaprio
Both the Caipirihnias and Mojitos at the Hampshire Bar are bloody delicious.
Tom Hardy is going to absolutely rock the Mad Max reboot
I love the concepts behind Christopher Nolan’s films; they are fresh, challenging and always suggest depth. I also love his visuals styling - the guy is a master of making a cinematic image. His visuals speak in the language of Cinemascope & Technicolour. Clearly his technical film knowledge is par excellence. So why is it that none of his films have completely blown me away and I have felt that they are lacking something? The above skills should surely be enough for a skilled director to make a great film. Yet all his films tease me with a “this could have been an outstanding film” caress.
I enjoyed Batman Begins - but I suspect mainly because it was the first half decent interpretation of Batman on screen, it was also a great super hero film (Iron Man was still 3 years from release) and it also drew on Frank Miller’s Year One and Sam Hamm's expanded interpretation of Batman's origins. Which credibly filled in the missing years of Batman’s training.
For me the long winded and unfocused Dark Knight confirmed that Batman Begins was a bit of a fluke. Again the visuals were stunning and that scene where Heath Ledger is howling out the window of the police car that The Joker had just commandeered will always be one of my favourite scenes of all time
but as with his other films it was all style over hinted substance. That combined with Leonardo DiCaprio, who I think excels at style over substance was surely a double threat and no doubt Inception would be a huge success, but still a steaming pile of what could have been. Don’t get me wrong, growing up with a younger sister I have watched Leo DiCaprio since he was on Growing Pains
and seen almost every one of his films since. I like the characters he plays but I don’t expect much from them. I expect his performance to be very much in the soft and fluffy category. However there are exceptions to this. He was brilliant in What’s eating Gilbert Grape? And the bit of depth he showed in Scorsese’s The Departed lifted the film from the big budget, big cast but average film category. I also quite liked him in Catch Me If You Can which played to my expectations of him and loved The Quick and The Dead, which again cast him in the right role as a cocky young gunslinger. The issues I have with DiCaprio are 2 fold; he seems so much younger than he actually is, he just doesn’t come across as an adult for me. Granted this is my issue more than his. Secondly he just doesn’t seem to have the intensity that would lift his characters. For the whole of Shutter Island it felt like he was a student wearing his dad’s suit that had just checked into a mystery weekend holiday. Hence my expectations of Inception were understandably low. Even so I carefully avoided all Inception marketing, especially the trailers over the last months to minimise my awareness of the film’s plot and to ensure maximum enjoyment of the film. Reviews had started sprouting all over the place heaping praise on Inception. This doesn’t mean much I’ve seen countless crap films where reviewers misguidedly eager to be the first, or kowtow to their favourite Director/Star or marketing entity that would be needed to provide them with further preview screenings heralded the film (e.g. The Dark Knight) as this year’s masterpiece.
A website has been discovered that has an Instruction manual for the Portable Automated Somnacin IntraVenous (PASIV) device.
This will only mean something if you know that Inception is about "a world where technology exists to enter the human mind through dream invasion, a single idea within one's mind can be the most dangerous weapon or the most valuable asset".
Basically most of the action will take place in people's dreams and from the LA Times - "Leonardo DiCaprio as a specialist in the new branch of corporate espionage -- he's a dream thief who plucks secrets from the minds of tycoons after pumping them full of drugs and hooking them up to a mysterious contraption. The problem, though, is the land of nod can be volatile -- as can DiCaprio's character, Dom Cobb, who is a wounded dreamer after the loss of his beloved wife." Sounds intriguing. With that in mind the following manual discovered on http://www.pasivdevice.org/ makes more sense:
The manual ends with a flash demo of the machine in operation, the final screen:
