Last Summer Run
Directed by: Ron Howard
Written by: Ron Howard, Brandon Lee
Produced by: Francis Ford Coppola
Starring: Brandon Lee, Michael J. Fox, Keanu Reeves, Lea Thompson, Jaime Lee Curtis, Jud Nelson, Val Kilmer
ET Mania was still a wonderful thing, and Murdoch scheming behind the scenes was going to make you kill the man, that it almost made you forget about another director debut for Lucasfilm.
And By Goly did Ron do it in a stylish way that was by no means made hollow by scheming producers and directors and other companies that would make you wonder just what the hell is going on in this town?
Looking at you Universal, you have been incredibly quiet since the beginning of the year.
Anyway, Last Summer Run was cute, you could argue tame, coming of age story on one side, and a brutal, violent action movie on the other, that somehow managed to strike a fine balance between the two, thanks to a tight script, wonderful work by the actors, and of course, Ron's stellar work behind the camera.
It begins as the last day of summer in the fictional town of Redwood California, and it is the last day of summer for the beleaguered high schoolers of Great Tree Highschool, as Frank Grace (Lee) and his friends begin their long day of trying to figure out what they want to do with their lives after high school.
There is a big worry between them that they will lose touch with each other, and honestly think that it might be for the best to have that happen, so nothing could take away the memories that they have. Especially since their relationship has been strained by Molly (Lea Thompson) graduating early, and wanting to go to Stanford.
Michael (Fox) is trying to gather the nerve to ask Rebecca (Curtis) out to finally be his girlfriend but is too afraid to ask, afraid that he could ruin the relationship that they have already.
It goes through a half hour of just teens doing teenage things, and as the sun begins to set, they prepare to go home. If it weren't for what happened next it would have been a strange mix of Graffiti, and other films and you would have been satisfied with it.
And then Ron flips the script, by turning the whole script into an action film.
Molly sees her old boyfriend Clint (Kilmer) and he talks to her, wanting to try and make her come with her.
After she refuses, he knocks her out in front of her friends throws her in the car, tells them his honor is on the line, and tells Frank that he has been waiting to fight him for a very long time, and he has no choice but to go get to him before sunrise.
It makes no sense, and they should have called the police, but you realize you were going to suspend some disbelief, and the rest of their friends have to use their wits, and skills to get to where they need to be.
It was almost sysiphian in the way the action seemed to begin, as once they left town towards the hill, they were beset upon by goons and mooks, and running.
You heard that in one shooting day, Ron made everyone run over 10 miles just to show that everyone was going to get physically and emotionally exhausted by the whole thing, and then shooting some of the most intensive scenes in the film. It was something he only did once, and he ran it with them, just to show he was an actors director.
And it was brutal to watch the film at that point, as they fought, screamed, and ran a distance that would make everything seem close, but it was ever so far away.
Their poor feet.
And the final climax was every bit worthy of a film as any great victory, where the bad guy loses, and the good guys triumph and the girl… Yes, Ron flipped the script to where the girl gets the guy.
And it was hilarious.
Brandon showed that one-two punch as not only an action star but also as an actor, with Ron somehow using all the tricks in his bag to show every emotion he could. And make him a helluva actor who could do more than action, and being a heartthrob.
Michael J Fox somehow managed to turn a slightly bumbling best friend stereotype into a wonderfully competent sidekick, whose comedy comes from not only his inability to spit out his affections to his love interest, but also by pointing out the absurdity of the situation they find themselves in, but also accepting that it's happening regardless.
Lea Thompson may have had a reduced role as the damsel in distress, but her continued attempts to escape and call out the bullshit of the villain was hilarious, and funny, especially when she finally escapes and meets her friends and they all kick ass together. And having her being the one who delivers the final kick to the face to the person who kidnapped her was cathartic.
Jaime Lee Curtis shinned as easily the most gifted actress on set, because in a reversal of her usual roles, she is easily the strongest person in the cast… somehow using everything around her to even the odd, and even winning fights by standing still, and letting her enemies tripping over themselves. Using branches like a spear and humiliating others by just clawing while getting help. It was cathartic for her to not be seen as a "Final Girl" on Halloween.
And Val Kilmer… stole every scene he was in with coolness, charisma, and venom. He is wonderfully competent in several areas, and woefully incompetent which makes his successes menacing and his failures hilarious. It was like he was playing a real-life slapstick villain, but it made sense.
And everyone did well on the stunt team, because oh boy, were they kicked the crap out of in every scene.
It was a film that had to be seen, and many people did. It was popular in America and Canada, which saw the reversal of the coming-of-age story refreshing… Although some parents were a bit surprised that it was so violent, the PG rating it had really wasn't supposed to be there.
Yet you have heard that the kids love it, and that many went to the theaters again and again just to see the change from cute film, to a masterpiece in action that did not involve you at the director's chair.
And the critics adored it as a fresh look at how coming of age stories were, and that it harkened back to the hero's stories of old, of impossible tasks being completed by youths.
Ron said that the film was not him at his best.
If this was him not at his best, you really want to see him at it.
AN: Enjoy...
Also I hope someone can help me find a good pic for this on the top?
Amnesia: The Dark Descent Directed by: David Lynch
Written by: Mavis Kingsley
Produced by: Bruce O'Brian
Production and Distribution Studio: Lucasfilms Unlimited
Starring: Liam Neeson (David), Richard Harris (Alexander of Brennenburg), Jürgen Prochnow (Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa), Freddie Jones (Thurston Herbert) and Rutger Hauer (Johann Weyer).
Budget: $15,000,000 Domestic: $80,947,237 International: $6,892,401 Total Gross: $87,839,638
VHS: $310,472,242
Mavis Kingsley... what could you really say about how you felt about her? The woman who came in with false pretenses to spy on your company, was captured in the act, and then given a second chance to be a true and proper member of the team. You were in disbelief at first, certainly. You had to deal with many a corporate spy, and without a doubt, nearly all of them had proven themselves to be greedy, amoral, and cynical people who'd be willing to do just about anything if it meant they could bring someone down with them and get paid for it. Then there was astonishment. Mavis, unlike all those previous examples, had retained her hope and repaid her second chance with some of the most intelligent and innovative writing you'd seen in a long time. Pacific Rim, her first project, became one of the greatest TV Shows in history, and she had only gotten better since then.
It truly made you wonder just what the hell was Sidney thinking when throwing away a treasure like her.
But what truly set you agog was when she gave you her first idea for a live action horror movie. Not because you thought her incapable, or because you didn't think her talents would translate from animation to traditional filmmaking.
It was because, by that point, you'd gotten to know Mavis quite well; heck, she and Carrie had gotten along like a house on fire, Mavis' daughter, Millicent, could be counted among Mary's best friends, and if there was one thing you, Carrie, and everyone else around the offices had come to understand, it was that Mavis did not do Horror... at all.
Dave was still apologizing for that office prank that startled her to the point she stayed inside the break room for the rest of the day.
So when she came to the writer's office one day with a script that she seemed to have written all in one night (mostly due to her bloodshot eyes and dark eyebags that pretty much screamed how little sleep she'd gotten), many, including yourself, were curious about as to what exactly it may have been that Mavis was trying to write down since, in many ways, this work seemed to be an antithesis to everything she valued in her life.
And frankly, you were beginning to question if you really wanted to know what inspired this smorgasbord of darkness... or if you'd rather recommend a sleep therapist for her, because seriously, this stuff was dark!
Dark rituals, torture of innocents, travels through dimensions, the creation of a mysterious energy called "Vitae" through the torture of said innocents, running through a dark castle without any memory while being chased by an unseen monster and getting some help from what could charitably be descried as a "Half-dead monstrosity..." yeah, you were wondering if perhaps this was a work that should be buried. Honestly, had it not been for Mavis' own uncharacteristic insistence on bringing the script to life, you'd have just tabled it and let it gather dust.
Mavis, for all her talents, always seemed to have issues with her own confidence, something Carrie always tried to aid her with, whether it was being more assertive, or learning to present her ideas instead of letting them be picked from the bunch. You could see all of Carrie's coaching and influence when Mavis stood her ground, body somewhat shaking and struggling to meet your eye, her desire to have this project practically written all over her face and struggling with her own natural impulses.
Well, never let it be said that you'd never give your full support to the creatives working for you.
Although part of you suspected she was mainly doing this in order to overcome whatever it was that she'd seen that night.
So in the end, you approved the production, and even went to bat for the project by becoming the producer as well. Not that you'd be especially hands-on considering the many different projects you had to deal with, but at the very least, you wanted to make sure the project had a director that could make the project shine... and perhaps make it so that the script goes a bit beyond being just a fever dream. For all that it had great concepts and ideas, it was a bit disjointed in your opinion, and it really needed a bit of work to turn it into a more coherent screenplay.
It was an odd story, and so, you tried speaking to both George and Mike about it, both giving you different takes on which director would work best for this new production; George thought it would be a good idea to blood the then new hire, Sam Raimi, and let him have a go at the script. Mike, however, proposed that perhaps Wes Craven, a more established and veteran filmmaker, could take on the project.
Both ideas were reasonable and you could definitely have gone with either one had you not, on the most coincidental of all chances, found yourself turning on the TV one night before going to bed and coming across, of all things, an interview with the man who managed to gain acclaim with his adaptation of The Elephant Man. You recalled how Mark had raved about the role, having gotten the chance to flex his acting muscles beyond the previous roles he'd been offered and played as. And upon hearing the man in charge speak about the project, how he had to come to understand and bring about his vision of the story while also keeping to the overall message of the play and book... well, perhaps it was your instincts, or maybe it was just impulsiveness, but at that moment you just knew... you'd found your director.
David Lynch was not the kind of man one would think of when trying to make something mainstream, his movies leaning more surrealist and psychological, with themes that would sometimes be a bit too out there for regular audiences. However, it didn't change the fact that his movies were still popular, that there was a growing fanbase centered around them, and that for all that he was not a mainstream film director, he could very well be considered one of the most artistic, with his own vision on how to make movies.
And when you managed to get a meeting and offered him the script, he only needed to take a brief look to accept on the spot.
Having left it to him, Lynch took over the project with both aplomb and an enthusiasm that you did not think was characteristic of him. Then again, you had offered him complete freedom on the project so long as he and Mavis could come to an accord. Soon, the sight of the pair discussing the script, notes scattered all round them, and plans for sets and costumes had become common, with Lynch having contacted his own team to prepare for principal photography soon enough. The discussion for the script had finished, the plans had been made, and David soon left to begin what you were sure was going to be either a masterpiece, or a piece that would at least be shown on screen.
You did not expect him to try and film the movie in Germany of all places though! There was enough tension already with the Soviets to try and taunt them a bit more with the idea of one of your productions so near to their territory. Yet, Lynch was determined that he would get the best results if the movie could be done in an authentic German castle.
You're only glad that the authorities were so understanding, and accommodating once they heard from which studio he was coming from.
It appears Lucasfilms has many fans in high places, as soon, the pick of the lot was allowed for what was, as you were told, a pretty stable and smooth filmmaking experience. One would think that it would be more volatile, yet it appears that Lynch's style was truly suited for this kind of films as he was able to tackle in all the ins-and-outs of the film, as well as the several issues that cropped up with both good humor and adaptability.
If only the actors could see it as such.
Most of the crew and actors, although they knew about the script, knew about the subject, and they knew about the special effects in place... well, there's still only so much you can take while living inside a castle, at night, with odd noises going around, even if you tell yourself that ghosts are not real. The constant reshoots for scenes that just did not seem "real enough" was another point that they disagreed, and the entire size of the castle made it oh so easy to get lost in It. All things which Lynch assured them would make for an excellent motivator for many of the scenes, though you're not sure many of them are going to be keen on working with him again.
But the results were everything you could have hoped for.
The movie begins with a pseudo-narration by the protagonist, David, as he awakens inside a Castle in East Prussia, soon finding himself not able to remember anything about where he is, why he's there, or barely anything about himself save for his name. A note, supposedly written by himself to himself, tells him of how he took a tonic to erase his memories and tasks him with finding Alexander of Brenneburg, the man who brought them to the castle, and killing him for his actions against them.
From the very beginning, there is the mystery of just what exactly is going on, while David's narration subtly steers the audience into empathizing with him... something which may or may not last as more of his past is revealed as he travels through the dark castle. However, as he continues to explore, he finds himself assaulted by audio flashbacks, his voice along with that of Alexander soon revealing memories that slowly piece together a dark and horrifying past, showing how he'd come willingly to the castle after the discovery of an Orb in Algeria, how this lead to him being hunted by a monster, how Alexander promised him safety... and how he soon sunk to levels unheard of by kidnapping and torturing innocent people to produce the "Vitae" energy that should have kept the monster at bay.
The entire situation is made all the more tragic when David discovers that Alexander never intended to protect him from the monster, but to use him in order to gather enough "Vitae" to activate the Orb and open a dimensional portal to go back to his own dimension as it's revealed that Alexander of Brenneburg, a man who's lived for centuries, is not from this dimension, but was trapped here and has tried everything to go back home.
David's erasing of his own memories then becomes not an attempt at atonement, but of fleeing responsibility. At the same time, his experiences through the castle become suspect, as his pseudo narration begins to be questioned not only by himself, but by Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, the half corpse that's been kept alive by Alexander ever since their colleague, Johann Weyer, was sent to the other dimension and threatened to keep Alexander out if he ever killed Agrippa.
It then becomes a race against time as David has to make a decision as to whether he should destroy the ritual site for Alexander, or aid Agrippa to close the rift once and for all, which may very well kill them. David himself is unsure if this will even work, or if it's even real, but his aid of Agrippa at the end shows his evolution. Even when in the end all are consigned to the void, the voices of Agrippa and Weyer are heard, with Agrippa speaking in a trembling voice of reassurance to David that everything would be alright, leaving the audience once more to interpret as to whether that is the truth, or just an attempt at giving a moment of peace to an already dying man.
The entire experience is both surreal and dreamlike, just as Lynch's themes for his movies tend to be, along with a heavy emphasis on both a sense of urgency and the fear of the unknown during the exploration of Castle Brenneburg. Carefully placed notes and audio-flashbacks allow for the piecing together of just what is going on in a disjointed and non-linear story, with each piece adding another mystery until the climax finally reveals the truth of the matter, even if both the David and the audience may have preferred to remain in obscurity.
There is also this warping sense of reality when it comes to the story, as the voices and sounds that come from nowhere during the exploration of the castle tend to put the narration, and by extension David, into a state where we distrust his perception of what is going on. The ambient effects and the music, instead of being used liberally is left mostly to serve the story when it fits the most. Nearly all of the movie can be said to have next to no music, with only the lonely sounds of footsteps to break the monotony. Yet when the moment an event is about to occur, when the crescendo begins, the music breaks you out of the complacency you've fallen into, and as it grows even more towards an explosion... it instead falls once more as David manages to avoid the danger.
For the first time since Halloween, you'd never thought you'd feel fear in such a way that left you never wanting to experience it again... and yet eagerly waiting for it with baited breath, part of you hooked on just what will the climax be.
David had done the impossible; he'd turned the music in the movie into something to dread. He'd created the perfect atmosphere of terror that increased and built up to a crescendo, forcing every minute and every second of the movie into a heart pounding experience, with the brief moments when the supposed monster that is in the castle with David appears becoming outright moments of gibbering terror, enhanced even more by the fact that you can't see just how the monster looks at all!
It's just as he mentioned before; terror truly comes from the atmosphere, not the individual, nor the monster.
Lynch typically approaches his characters and plots in a way that steeps them in a dream state rather than reality, and such was the case for the actors who had to embody these new tropes and personalities. Liam Neeson as David managed to test the man to his limits where he had to embody not only an amnesiac, but one that at the same time could be extremely unlikeable and self-righteous, yet also pitiable and relatable. As more of his former memories and personality comes to light, the horror of his actions and the necessity of pinning them not on himself, but on Alexander, becomes his driving goal, not caring if he has to doom himself in the process.
It is ironic then that Agrippa, played by Jürgen Prochnow, brings perhaps the closest thing to salvation and understanding to David. A former colleague of Alexander, now his prisoner as he's tortured day in and day out in order to produce Vitae (the energy needed for the transportation to Alexander's dimension), he becomes David's oasis in the madness that the castle has become, lending an open ear, and counseling him when it all gets to be too much. Prochnow truly manages to evoke a reformed monster, who once like Alexander thought nothing of the cost for their goals, and now brings his wisdom to bear when it can do him no good, but perhaps it can for David.
But it's the role of Alexander of Brenneburg, played by the masterful Richard Harris, a veteran award winner for his countless roles in both film and on stage, that truly shines in his arrogance, his nobility, and his nuance, in both word and action. Alexander begins as the lowest kind of villain that could ever exist, and there is much evidence that supports such interpretation throughout the film, yet it's later recontextualized as more evidence also shows that he does not act out of sheer malice or evil, but out of a true, desperate desire to go back home. That he truly cares not for humans, for good or for ill, but that the actions he takes are motivated only by his desire to leave this dimension and never having to return. In a way, it asks the audience to think, and in some ways, understand the man's motives, even if they disagree with them.
And although Freddie Jones and Rutger Hauer had small roles in the film, it in no way made them irrelevant. Freddie, as a previous collaborator in Lynch's films, was able to give just what the director wanted in his role as Thurston Herbert, both in flashback and auditory hallucinations, the man who once was a friend to David and died so callously under the monster's claws. Rutger Hauer, however, managed in the final lines of the film to imbue it with such presence and care that if a future sequel is ever made, many would be clamoring to see just who is this man that managed to keep Alexander stymied for so long.
The movie was a hit with audiences and critics alike, with some even calling it a "masterful and refreshing new take on horror," what with the genre being dominated by Slashers as of late. To see a film that managed to invoke that age old feeling of terror, yet doing so without even showing blood or dead bodies, was a truly novel experience for the audience, who had gone in expecting another cerebral work from Lynch, getting that and much more. In some of the theaters, the late-night showings had to be cancelled as too many people were refusing to go out at night after seeing the film.
Perhaps that's one of the reasons why despite being a hit, it did not reach Blockbuster territory like the other, more generic Horror stories being released. Though to be fair, it was also released in the same month as John Carpenter releasing his version of The Thing From Outer Space, simply called The Thing. You had to give credit where its due, it was also a masterful horror story that managed to get the full backing of Disney when it came to its promotion, whereas Lynch refused to do any, saying that even a small hint of the film may have given away the entire plot. Frankly, it's a freaking miracle that you were able to get as much as you did, though it did suffer when it came to its release in both Europe and Japan. Even Romania, which could very well be called Lucasfilm territory, was not interested in a movie where they could hardly understand what was going on.
In the end though, it all came down once more to the VHS market. As word of mouth spread, and dares from those who had seen the movie were made amongst friends to watch it, the sales exploded to the point that a single run would not do. The movie ended up becoming something of a tradition, as Halloween movie nights would often include a showing, friends would dare each other to watch it with the lights off, and fans of David Lynch would add them to their collection, eventually gaining the coveted title of Cult Classic. A movie that not only made you feel the horror, but also forced you to think afterwards about how truly more horrifying it could get.
And for Mavis, she was finally given the accolades and attention that she deserved with her first ever movie being a hit. The premiere night that Carrie had to badger and convince her to attend together had her nearly enter an anxiety attack when the reporters swarmed her, only for you and your wife to move her along till she could recover.
Mary and Milly were little angels from above as their presence helped her go through the motions until she was able to enter and see the final product. And from the intense look in her eyes, the satisfaction which shone when David finally managed to stop Alexander, you could see that whatever had been that had kept such a tight grip on her heart and mind had, in some way, been finally exorcized.
She still had to call her brother to pick her up though, since she refused to go outside after the film.
For David Lynch though, it became one of the best productions he was a part of, and one of the best movies he felt he's ever made. On premiere night, you could see him and Mavis talking about a potential future collaboration if she ever made another Amnesia script. The thoughtful look on her face brought you both happiness for her being able to overcome whatever was troubling her before... and terror as to what she may come up with next.
Well, this was a rather interesting release to say the least. While Dreamworks movies had broken the mold and weren't afraid to tackle more mature types of stories like John Henry and racism, Sword of the Stranger was the first truly mature animated movie that you had distributed and produced solely by Sunrise with no American involvement outside of a few animators as part of the exchange. Apparently after the success of Dreamworks film lineup, Makoto had called and requested for Sunrise to begin working on their in-studio movie and their first theatrical debut altogether. Makoto wanted to prove the talent of Sunrise on a global, theatrical stage and to expand the studio's lineup beyond magical girls and mecha. Considering that Dreamworks was full duty for Gundam, you were all for it, and thus Sword of the Stranger was born.
Taking place in the Sengoku period, the film starts with a group of Ming Chinese warriors lead by a elderly bureaucrat and a blonde blue eyed warrior from the West on a mission in Japan for the Emperor. After a battle scene, it cuts to a young boy named Kotaro, an orphan surviving in the countryside with his dog Tobimaru. Kotaro has an encounter with a samurai with no name (Called Nanashi in Sub). After a tense meeting, the two are encountered by the Chinese Warriors who are revealed to be after Kotaro. After Nanashi successfully fends them off without drawing his sword, Kotaro hires him for protection and the two and the dog Tobimaru go on a journey through the countryside, continually hunted by the Chinese who seek Kotaro as part of a ritual for eternal life and the forces loyal to the local Lord.
Overall it's not the greatest or most complex of stories with the narrative being complex, but it does its job well and you feel is a compelling enough tale. The story shares a lot of elements and tropes with classic samurai films, most especially taking after the legendary Lone Wolf and Cub with a stoic and troubled samurai traveling with his young charge, though Kotaro being older and slightly more capable than the titular cub. It plays the tropes mostly straight, though does it pretty well and the characters are likable to root for and get invested in. While it's not trying to be a grand epic, Sword really exceeds as an atmospheric film. The world feels really alive and intimate with the beautiful animation combined with the focus on experiences and personal emotions of the leads. It really captures that spirit of adventure, opportunity, mystery and more that comes in the best western films that make for a good time.
The characters are flat and save for Nanashi's arc of forming a bond with Kotaro, very static. Still, they are interesting enough to get invested in and Nanashi and Kotaro do have a strong and likable chemistry of the roguish wolf and the bratty cub with some spunk with Nanashi teaching Kotaro how to survive and Kotaro helping Nanashi find a sense of purpose and warmth. Everyone else is pretty one note and mostly defined by a single characteristic, if that, though the villains are interesting.
It's commonly assumed that the ahistorical choice of having Ming Chinese warriors in the Sengoku was sort of a reactionary decision in response to your attempted assassination attempt and the major spikes of sinophobia that took place in Japan after. While it may have cemented the decision, Akiko said that they were one of the many early concepts, to add some variety to the genre instead of just another evil lord, ninja clan, tyrant shogun, etc. While there are claims of bigotry, the Chinese in the film aren't exactly evil. They're just doing their job for the Emperor and don't do anything awful outside of their hunt for Kotaro as part of the mission. They've got some likable characters, very interesting designs and are competent foes. The bureaucrat Bai-Luan is an interesting sort of lawful evil. Dude is just super committed to the Emperor and will do anything for his master. Considering all the crazy historical shit Emperors could get into for immortality, it's kind of a believable plot.
Standing out above the rest is the western mercenary Luo-Lang. It's been commonly said that he's basically a villain Bruce O'Brian even though he bares no physical resemblance or personality to you. A badass westerner who speaks fluent Chinese and Japanese and is an absolute master at sword fighting and marital arts, always seeking strong opponents....yeah you guess you can see the resemblance. As a warrior always in search of his greatest fight, Luo wasn't the greatest or most complex like Char and Scirocco, but he's a fun bad guy who steals his scenes and makes for an awesome foe for Nanashi.
You don't think that Sunrise was trying to create something to one up Gundam in terms of narrative, more of an experiment to test their limitations. A samurai film was chosen as it was one of Japan's most defining and popular genres and they had already tackled the other half of Japanese fame with Pacific Rim and Kaiju. Sure Sword of the Stranger was not the first animated samurai movie, but it was by far the most ambitious in terms of animation, most especially action. With this film, Sunrise has cemented their reputation as the masters of speed and action in anime.
The overall animation quality is interesting as while it's damn good, it chose some different directions from the Gundam formula. The Yasuhiko-Bluth school of character design is abandoned in favor of more simplistic and ugly to plain aesthetics for characters save for the main characters and the Ming who are more colorful and fantastical which makes them stand out and more interesting. Though this follows a style that Tadao Nagahama believed anime should adhere to, simplicity then excellence. Instead of striving for aristic perfection with "Every Frame a painting" that most of Dreamworks believes, Nagahama believes that most of the film should be simple in animation, and then have scenes of bold, beautiful and dynamic action or set design to make the most powerful and impactful scenes really stand out.
You can see where he's coming from cause when the style works, it works. It's something else when the film organically transitions from quiet and mundane travels into beautiful and captivating imagery and motion. In a divergence from Hiawatha, instead of impressionist backgrounds, the landsapes are traditional Japanese water colors which make the movie feels like it's one of the old stories comes to life. The climax similarly to Basil sees a cool 3D set piece of a giant ritual state which makes the final battle grandiose and epic. Then there is the action, where the film really comes alive with beautiful bladework in an epic back and forth. Everything is highly detailed with a beautiful clash of fighting styles and weaponry which follow sort of the spirit of HEMA. There's a great play in frame rates where it is being constantly switched with lower for quick and single strikes and higher for the epic and skilled clashes in a great mastery of Sakuga. Were it not for Gundam's fight scenes, you'd probably mark this as the best action you've seen in animation.
Soundtrack was probably the second best part of the film behind the fight scenes believe it or not. Just the perfect fusion of classical western and Japanese, a beautiful symphony of percussion and woodwind instruments that add majesty and beauty to every scene. The highlights are the horse travel scenes which are gorgeous and take you in from the soundtrack along with the action scenes where the grandiose orchestral sets make every battle great and intense.
Voice acting was an interesting story as while they had no problem casting the Japanese voice of Amuro for Nanashi, the producers wanted relatively unknown actors for the English dub so that way the film could stand on its own merits and not have people drawn in for anyone on the roster. Something George approves fully, but you thought it was a bit silly they didn't pick you for Luo-Lang when you are fluent in Japanese and Mandarin. As such, casting was lowkey and the only really notable presence on the cast was your Moonlight Dinner alumni Sean Astin whose acting seems to have improved since the horror film.
You also think you hit two incredible diamonds in the rough with the main hero and antagonist. Scott McNeil voices Luo-Lang, bringing a nice gruff, masculine and menacing authority that screams cool and danger. He also seems to have a fair amount of range and did his Mandarin lines pretty decently. Having just missed the mark for Rise of Cobra, Scott was brought in to read lines for Luo when they had a hard time finding someone with the right aura and he should be casted in the proper first season.
Then there's the star of the show, the man whose voice is laced with badassery in every syllable, Steve Blum. You thought you could never meet anyone in the rest of the 20th century who had a voice on the same level of awesome as Peter Cullen who absolutely killed it as Blex in Zeta Gundam. Yet it turns out the next best thing was right under youe nose the whole time as a slightly overweight mild mannered mail room worker at Dreamworks. With Sword's mandate for unknown, Steve was encouraged by some of the Dreamworks staff to try out thanks to his signature deep voice. While he had a way to go to yours or Mark's level, Steve really oozes charisma in his performance and has tons of natural screen presence along with good dramatic range, did fantastic as Nanashi and was a consistent point of praise from critics. You look forward to his future career.
Thankfully at the end of the day in spite of its mature, Sword of the Stranger wasn't counted as an R-rated film. While there was a ton of violence throughout, there wasn't any gore and it was mainly blood splatters and clean severed limbs if that makes any sense. The fact that there was no nudity, sex or swearing really seemed to save you, which means it got a clean PG-13, the first PG-13 animated film to come into existence. You're not sure whether to take that as an accomplishment.
Unfortunately, in spite of the greater accessed audience, Sword of the Stranger did above average in performance, being the lowest performing animated film under the Lucasfilms banner. Yeah, September wasn't the greatest month for debut but you had placed it in on Labor Day weekend for a decent start and advertising had pushed it being from the studio that created Gundam and Pacific Rim. Unfortunately, while Zeta Gundam was explosive in popularity, the association wasn't enough, especially when it wasn't a mecha or didn't involve Tomino. Maybe people just thought it was just going to be another Samurai movie and didn't pay too much mind when it didn't have the same universal acclaim of Lone Wolf and Cub. There were also more than a few parents who sent angry letters on why Lucasfilms supported the release of such a "Violent Adult Cartoon". Ugh, some people never change.
At the very least for anyone who was willing to get past the traditional animation biases, there was general enjoyment of Sword as a good and fun action movie. Not a bold innovator or among the greatest films in spite of its objective quality unfortunately, but still pretty good for anyone who loved Japanese media, action and animation. The plain old $52 million from a PG-13 animation in America was somewhat expected, but what really shocked you was how this above average returns was cemented with abroad runs. Sword of the Stranger was virtually non-existent outside of East Asia, and even when global marketing tried to stress the Sunrise-Lucsafilms connection, it just wasn't enough. Japan alone was responsible for $23 million while Hong Kong came in second of foreign markets with $6 million. So clearly if Japan wasn't zealous, then something must be wrong.
Perhaps part of the blame can be laid at the critics who you think were way too harsh. The general consensus was divided into thirds. One third loved the film, one third had mixed but positive reviews, one third absolutely hated it. One famous example is another legendary Siskel and Ebert divide where Siskel complained it was a "shallow copycat of Samurai films grasping for greatness" while Ebert enjoyed it as "A delightful spectacle of action and adventure in a love letter to the genre." Praise was given to voice acting for both sides of the Pacific, animation, and fight scene choreography. The story and characters were regarded as weak or bland with the film likely to have floundered if in live action. The fact that there were so many harsh critics when previous Dreamworks movies were usually held in high regard probably kept a decent chunk of the audience home at least stateside.
Fortunately, there was once again redemption in VHS where deep fans of Samurai movies, animation and action bought personal copies and it was a usual for movie nights where someone wanted more "adult" animation instead of the usual Disney stuff. Then again, there's plenty of fans in Japan and America who bought the VHS as part of the Dreamworks collections, but no matter the reason you're glad it's a usual sight in stores like Blockbuster.
When compared to the grand success and popular and cultural acclaim of Gundam and Macross, Sword of the Stranger was something of a pebble in the lake. Makes some strong ripples, but fades away to calm waters. If Disney keeps up the usual quality of its "rennasaince", then they might win this round with their upcoming Space Thanksgiving movie while there might not be another animated film til '84. Still, Sunrise didn't make Sword with the intention of the next Gundam, they just wanted to create a cool movie and really explore the studio's potential for theaters. In this, you think they more than succeeded, and with the money almost all going to Sunrise, they're going to invest that in continuing to create great anime.
Reservoir Dogs Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
Written by: Quentin Tarantino
Produced by: Alan Ladd
Production Studio: The Ladd Company
Distribution Studio: Lucasfilms Unlimited
Starring: James Caan (Lawrence "Larry" Dimmick/Mr. White), William Petersen (Freddy Newendyke/Mr. Orange), Mickey Rourke (Victor "Vic" Vega/Mr. Blonde), Bill Paxton ("Nice Guy" Eddie Cabot), Brad Dourif (Mr. Pink), Dennis Quaid (Marvin Nash), Lawrence Tierney (Joe Cabot), Billy Dee Williams (Detective Holdaway), Lee Marvin (Mr. Blue) and John Malkovich (Mr. Brown).
Budget: $10,000,000 Domestic: $31,635,710 International: $275,053,179
Total Gross: $306,688,889
VHS: $277,277,916
It's not that often when directors can claim that their debut film is counted among the best they ever made. You should know, as despite Five Dates always holding a special place in your heart, with it being a film based on you and Carrie's meeting and eventual romance, looking back on it, you have to admit that there is a roughness there that would only disappear as you got better at directing. Even then, you have to admit that unlike Scorsese, your films are not going to be artistic works that would impress the critics on every debut.
But then you have the genius level directors, those who just have the gift from the beginning, the genius to surprise all from the very start, who could see the need for innovation, the desire for originality, and would take no compromise on their vision save for those few precious occasions; Scorsese was one, George you were sure was another, and that kid Sam Raimi was well on his way so long as he learned to avoid what were clearly duds in disguise.
Yet you never thought that in the end, the kid who entered all brazenly into Lucasfilm to ask for a job at so young an age would join that club in so little time. For Quentin Tarantino had proven to possess a genius directing level when for the first time in taking on his script, he showed initiative, adaptability, stubbornness, and frankly a near encyclopedic level of knowledge of films made during both the French New Wave, the classics of Hong Kong Cinema, and the remaining films from your deal with Toho that you'd yet to return.
The kid was a freaking sponge! You hired him because you saw the passion in him the sheer love of movies he displayed when he actually answered with pride how his previous education had been in the cinemas. Once you got him involve he wasted no time turning into any and all of your directors as king about their films, their experiences, their lessons, all of it being taken in. And he remembered it all... every little idiosyncrasy from an old tale, the different jokes that could work in movies, even the funny anecdotes that a janitor may have he is able to then recite it to raucous laughter later on. You'd expected him to continue on this path at least for a bit longer, enough so that at some point you could give him his own production by the mid-80s.
Then Raimi came in and the game changed. You could not say that Tarantino was too young when Raimi was nearly the same age, already had a feature film, and was sitting on with the rest of the directors. This galvanized him, pushed him even further as he used his prodigious mind to write, creating a story that in a way spoke to him as much as he spoke to it. His full knowledge was set to create an entire lived in world, grounded in realism, with characters that jumped out of you in their outrageousness, yet also shined because of how relatable and believable they are.
Reservoir Dogs, when you first saw the title you wondered what the heck it meant, and you still do. But, oddly, enough, it seems to fit the movie in some subconscious level. When Quentin was given the title as part of Mike's plan you'd have thought it might be a good idea for him to have a veteran at his side just in case he went a bit overboard or was out of his league when it came to the minutia of direction. But in the end, it turned out you could have saved yourself the trouble, as by the second week Tarantino was already handling the entire set as a professional, and by the end of the month he'd finished the film, underbudget, and with time enough to actually release in this year.
And what a movie it was. Just like what one would expect from a Lucasfilm movie, it broke with every conception, every expected parameter, and did its own thing while delivering some high-quality entertainment. For Tarantino decided to work on heist film, and one would think, what can be done with the genre that has not been tried before? Well, what about a hybrid "whodunnit" Heist film where you don't actually get to see the heist, and instead are sent to the aftermath directly, where the entire situation has gone wrong, and where now you have to piece together just what the heck happened, which of these criminals turns out to be the one who messed up, and which one will survive in the end.
And nearly all of it being filmed in a single warehouse, with some mortuary props, with only minimal scenes of "Guerrilla Filmmaking" which Tarantino learned from Mad Max to show the high kinetic violent scenes of death, fighting, and overall brutality at times. Seriously, you mentioned how Mavis had nearly no blood in her movie, and now you think Tarantino took that as a personal affront, as he made sure to show both gratuitous violence and did not shortchange on just what happens when a man is shot in the middle of the chest, head, or any area of his body.
You'd be asking him if he was alright, had he not been so clearly laughing it out with the rest of the cast when they watched the film on premiere night.
The film involves a jewelry heist. Six strangers are recruited by a crime boss named Joe Cabot, and his son Eddie, whom everybody calls "Nice Guy". The six are almost all friends or associates of Cabot, who gives them colors for their code names (Mr. White, Mr. Orange, Mr. Blonde, Mr. Pink, Mr. Blue, and Mr. Brown) and expressly forbids them to reveal anything about themselves to each other, so if anyone is caught, no one can inform on anybody. But the heist goes wrong, the cops seem to show up way to fast, some members of the group are killed, and the rest start returning to the rendezvous point to try to sort out what went wrong. After the arrival of Mr. Pink, They realize that one of their members is a police informer. The arrival of Mr. Blonde, and the present he has in his trunk, complicates things even more; He's brought a cop with him that he then begins to torture. Things are also complicated by the fact that since no one knows each other, and no one trusts each other, discovering who is the informer is nearly an impossibility, had it not been for the nonlinearity of the movie of course.
For all that the movie is short, the entertainment comes just because of it. The mystery relies not in the Heist, but in who could have possibly be the cop among them, with the torture of the police officer serving as a background, and as a perfect framing to better explore and develop the personalities of each of the members of the team, as well as their relationships with Cabot and his son, which are slowly revealed in bits and pieces, with just enough to keep you entertained and committed to the overall drama, while also avoiding turning the entire film into just another violent smorgasbord.
The personalities of most of the characters are also truly magnificent in a way you had not expected. For Tarantino had decided to go in a different way most movies portray criminals. Rather than the smooth talking or tough guy archetype, each of his characters, from the six color coded men, and the bosses at the top, speak and act in a way that could very easily see them as regular people, or even high business executives; they make pop references and talk about the music and movies that are currently in vogue, they swear a lot (Mike had a field day with that alone) and the use of racial slurs was oddly enough fitting for these men who you can understand now as more than just another criminal, but it could very well be someone you meet on the street, making one question just how far away are we truly from becoming like they are.
Tarantino though, he just said he wanted to make a movie about criminals and that's that. Sometimes you wonder if you read too much into things.
And the interactions between each of them was what truly held the entire movie both for you and nearly everyone in the theater ion that day, especially since as the entire movie developed you begin to understand the underlying message of never trusting a book by its cover. It's not only the first scene when you find out how many of these men are career criminals, but later on how each of them behaves and acts can range from the honorable to the utterly despicable; Mr. Pink for example, while clearly a bad guy, is not someone that commits evil because they want to or to cause misery, but it's instead a byproduct in trying to reach the objective. During the entire film he can be seen trying to just do the job, without going beyond what is necessary, and perhaps that is one of the reasons why he's the only one of the gang who survives at the end.
Mr. White, played by James Caan, while at first showing himself to seem to be tougher and uncaring is a veteran who has done everything under the book and as such has little to no patience to young glory hounds or people that do not pull their weight, but he bonds quickly with Mr. Orange, the very definition of a rookie, defending and helping him when he's shot when the heist goes wrong. Mr. Orange, acted by Willia Petersen, is the definition of a rookie on his first day at the job, but is then shot at the failed heist, and during the entire movie has to deal with the accusations (true as they are) that he is an undercover cop, keeping it a secret till the very end, and when he finally reveals it to Mr. White, the ending never makes it clear as to whether he was shot by him or not.
Then there's Mr. Blond, the most sadistic and psychotic of all the men who has no compulsions at all against violence and torture. The man grabs a police officer and brings him to the warehouse only to brutally torture him during the entire movie, and is shown having a blast through it all. You'd thought that audiences could not find someone more hateable than Lane Smith when he played that backstabbing mayor in Red Dawn, but Mickey Rourke has him beat! You should have known he had the talent after his last time when he played Vlad Tepes, but dear God, watching him dance to a 70s song (in one of the best examples of Diegetic soundtrack's ever) just as he prepares to cut off the police officer's ear...you got chills, and you're sure everyone is going to remember this, no matter what.
Or at least they'll remember when Wes Craven, who'd been in the cinema at the time, had to walk out after it as it was too intense even for him.
The rest of the actors did not disappoint either; Lawrence Tierney and Bill Paxton as Joe Cabot and Eddie "Nice Guy" Cabot truly shine as the type of white-collar businessmen who find nothing wrong in using crime and violence to suit their own needs, and their final end, being shot by the very men who they hired, feels almost poetic in a way. Tierney from what you heard was veritable monster behind the screen, refusing to even learn his lines and making Tarantino's life impossible till the very end. He was convinced to at least finish his lines, though from what you heard not before trying to take a swing at Tarantino.
That he left the studios with a black eye was neither confirmed nor denied though.
Lee Marvin and John Malkovich, for all that they had small roles, managed to at the very least keep up with what they needed in the film. Malkovich however when above and beyond when he agreed to appear in the film considering he was already under contract to appear in Places in the Heart, but luckily enough, it only took him a few takes to film all his scenes. You'll make sure to remember this. Just as you'll make sure to remember Dennis Quaid. The man came highly recommended and you can see why, his entire performance, from beginning to end, hardly needed any reshot, and both him and Tarantino got along like a house on fire, both expressing interest in working together again in the future. You would not be surprised to see him getting an academy award soon enough.
In the end, Reservoir Dogs is truly a testament to the idea that "less is more." And though the film is extremely violent from beginning to end, it does apply to the botched diamond heist, which the entire film is based on, since it is only conveyed in the dialogue, except for one scene where Mr. Pink recalls his escape. This is not a normal crime film. The thing that really sets Reservoir Dogs apart from all of the others is that it is PURE. When you look at the screen, you're looking at reality; there's little to no comic relief, no goofy romantic subplot clumsily thrown in, a detrimental trademark of so many action films. Instead of all of that, Tarantino decided to just present the film as simply and straightforwardly as possible, and by doing that he makes it seem that you're really looking at a bunch of criminals trying to figure out what to do after a suspiciously failed robbery.
Unfortunately, for all that Mike own wizard like abilities to sneak through the many restrictions in American cinema, Reservoir Dogs proved to be a bit too much even for his prodigious skills. You may no longer live in the Hays Code Era, but apparently there was enough death and graphic violence in the film that the MPA felt justified in giving it an "R" rating of all things. Some of them even going as far as trying to give it an X Rating believing it to be a snuff film!
It's like they did not put any effort in watching the film or understanding the story behind it.
Mike however took it as both a personal affront and a challenge. And if there's one thing you've learned with Micheal Eisner, is that you never want to make an enemy out of him, as that just makes him more creative when he tries to screw you over. The MPA will give it an R rating? Then he will make the entire campaign revolve around said R Rating! He'll make all of America and the world over dream of watching the movie, and turn it into one of the most anticipated movies ever to be released!
And so the campaign is launched, commercials when available on LucasTV about the newest entry into Lucasfilm's library, interviews with Lucasfilm's youngest director yet in as many talk shows as they can get, interviews on Variety without giving away the full synopsis, but enough to wet the appetite of those who are looking for anything that can be found new and interesting, daring them with that R Rating, and making them wonder just what did Lucasfilm's do that was considered to be so outrageous that they needed to give it the highest form of censoring yet. Had they not gone above and beyond with most of their films? Did not Amnesia made nearly the entire nation learn to fear the dark once more?
Just what was it that could be so forbidden? And like anyone who has been denied something, it only made them want it even more!
Though it did not help with much for the results of the domestic market, it did however influence the many sales of the VHS sales afterwards. The audiences watching the film finding it an awesome display of violence and extraordinarily fresh and vibrant, raising the bar for crime movies in the modern era. More than one person who went to see it recommended it to friends, though unfortunately the graphic violence on display did turn off many of possible movie goers. It did nothing to deter the teens and young adults who flooded the stores in order to get the VHS tapes and own the movie to watch as many times as they wished though.
Whether it was just the freshness of the movie, the idea of an entire movie being done and shot in a single location, or fans who could recognize the clear influences and borrowed ideas from movies like The Killing or the Taking of Pelham 123, all of which Tarantino admitted on in his interviews, at the end of the day, the movie managed to get a respectable take in America when comparing it to the near miniscule budget used, most of it going back to the Marketing campaign for both Europe and Asia, with critics (when not being influenced and decrying the poor state of morals of today's cinema) loudly praising the film for both its style, its idea, and the characters.
Even Roger Ebert had to admit that the movie was good, with his criticisms mostly going to how short the film was, and how there seemed to be at times too much dialogue from characters that should be going into shock after being shot and bleeding for over an hour. Tough but fair you'd say, considering how the rest of the establishment tries to frame it as just another attack on good morals. As if you would ever sanction such behavior in the first place.
The one place you could say the movie shined though was in its overseas distribution. Asian markets like Hong Kong devoured the film, many comparing it to their own true and tried films but with a clear American and Hollywood touch. Director John Woo even called and asked to meet Tarantino in person to compare notes if he was ever interested. The Red Curtain countries, like always, tried to ban the movie, though you're sure that it will find a way to pass through at some point, not like it has any political connotations that could affect them.
But the two places where it made an even bigger impact would have to be both Britain and Italy, in wildly different spectrums; Great Britain was so completely shocked at seeing a movie that could very well give Scum a run for its money in the violence department, to the point that moralist Mary Whitehouse, whom you've heard is launching a very successful campaign against not only violence on TV, but also the movies and VHS market, organized an official protest and boycott of the film, making it as impossible to watch unless you owned a bootleg copy.
But Italy...oh boy the country went nuts for the film! There were viewings in every cinema at all hours of the day, with nearly all being sold out, to the point that the country alone made up for $100,000,000 of the international earnings! There were discussions on TV shows, invitation for Tarantino to appear on air, and even director Sergio Leone himself, the legend behind most of the westerns that have become classics in America, praised the movie. Calling it one of the most inspired and perfect examples of art and true proof of the power of artistic expression of cinema, he even went a step further, and called to Lucasfilms for distribution of his longtime project once it was finished.
Something called Once Upon a Time in America... Well, you're not going to tell him no.
The highest accolade though came next year, when Italy held their version of the Oscars, The David di Donatello Awards, when you'd heard that Reservoir Dogs won the award for Best International Film for 1983, nearly beating Gandhi of all movies by a single vote. Whether it was Leone's praise, or the connections the Italians felt, it seemed that the movie had been adopted as one of their own, and they were not shy on letting the rest of the world know.
Not a bad debut for a director that's yet to have his twentieth birthday.
The Dark Crystal Directed by: Jim Henson and Frank Oz
Written by: David Odell
Produced by: Gary Kurtz
Production Studio: The Jim Henson Company and Lucasfilms Unlimited
Distribution Studio: Lucasfilms Unlimited
Starring: Stephen Garlick (Jen), Lisa Maxwell (Kira), Billie Whitelaw (Aughra), Barry Dennen (The Chamberlain), Michael Kilgarriff (The General), Jerry Nelson (The High Priest), Sean Barrett (urZah), Steve Whitmire (The Scientist), Simon Williamson (The Chanter) and Toby Philpott (The Alchemist).
Budget: $25,000,000 Domestic: $71,206,267 International: $27,890,952
Total Gross: $99,097,219
VHS: $104,001,230
The Dark Crystal...is just amazing! There are no other words that could better describe the film, though you could try; grandiose, as the world alone is a masterpiece from the mind of Brian Froud, its designs are aa thing of both beauty and darkness combined that make you both compelled to watch, while at the same time feeling uncanny enough to make you uncomfortable. Perhaps it could also be described as though provoking, as the conflict between the Skeksis and the urRu does make you wonder about the different sides in one person and the need for balance in it (Though George would certainly have something to say about it). The again, you could also call it beautiful, as the design made sure to include vistas and nature sets that emphasize the peace and violence of nature, and how it can all have their own majesty regardless of its actions or non-actions.
Truly, you did not expect any of this when Henson proposed to you and George for a new idea he'd been working on. At most, you expected a fun romp, a comedy, or perhaps a high fantasy tale that would put his imagination to the test, another story that Mary could love and perhaps add to her collection for Muppets and all types of Henson works that she'd managed to convince you to buy.
And Henson managed to blow all of your expectations out of the water.
To begin with, The Dark Crystal takes place in a fantasy land that has fallen out of balance and turned to evil because, well, "the dark crystal" has lost a shard. Then comes Jen, a "gelfling", a small creature with a sweet face and long hair. Jen has been raised by the "mystics"; large, peaceful creatures that tell him he is the last of his kind, mainly because the "Skeksis", evil bird/reptile like creatures that are the complete opposite of the Mystics, have killed all the gelflings due to a prophesy that a gelfling will overthrow their reign. Then, simultaneously, the leader of the Skeksis and leader of the Mystics both die at the same time, and Jen has to go on a quest to find the missing shard of the Dark Crystal. On his journey Jen finds Kira, a female gelfling raised by "podlings", who also believed she was the last of her kind, and together, both Kira and Jen must find a way to restore the shard to the dark crystal, therefore creating balance in their world once more.
And frankly...that's it. That's the basis of the whole story. Oh, not to say that there is nothing else as said explanation removes how both the Chancellor and the General of the Skeksis begin scheming against each other to become the new rulers after the death of their Emperor, or how some of the Mystics are captured, or how the Scientist acts in some of the most insane manners you'd ever seen. Perhaps you could even mention how at some points Jen is mostly guided to his destiny, but still manages to save the day with the help of Kira, or how Kira had to die but was brought to life at the end once the Dark Crystal was whole once more thanks to the newly formed "urSkeks".
And yet, you can't help but feel somewhat at odds with it. The story, for all that it's fun and interesting, for all that it has so many interesting and thought-provoking scenes, for all that it actually makes you wonder about the world where everyone lives on...it's pretty simple at that. The story is a basic, by the number, good vs evil tale, where at the same time it can go fast from one scene to another. At the same time, what you see of the characters is what you get; there are never any scenes where you can see character development, nothing that would hint at anything beyond their scope, and nothing that would at any point make you believe that there could be any other interpretation or way it could have gone.
And dear God you loved it!!
From beginning to end, from the philosophical underpinnings to the amazing puppetry, from the designs that could evoke awe and fear simultaneously...it was a delight for the senses! The entire world created for the movie was quite unlike anything you'd ever seen, an entire original affair from the ground up; Brian Froud made the entire design of the Skeksis and the urRu wholly from imagination and made sure that it would have no basis with any animal on Earth, and it shows. During the entire film, there was an entire feeling of..."wrongness" whenever you saw them, knowing in some primitive part of your mind that whatever there was on screen, it was just not right in some way.
Through the opening narration you're told that this happens on a different planet, in a different time, and that it used to be peaceful and beautiful land, yet something happened when the crystal fractured and two brand new species emerged. It makes sure to emphasize the dark attributes of the Skeksis, calling them dark and greedy, vain and selfish. Being who hoard all they can and constantly fight amongst themselves, and even though they're a dying race (quite literally decaying as time goes on, with only being ten of them) they still spend their time holed up in a macabre castle in a wasteland, scheming against the races out of it, and among themselves.
Heck, there are only ten of them, and they are still planning on backstabbing each other, and conspire against each other just for the chance to be the emperor!
On the flipside there are the urRu, a group of placid, lumbering, four-armed creatures who live amongst the life magic around them. It is interesting to note that when Froud was planning their design he was planning on them being more naturalistic, which works well with their slow, lumbering forms. When you spoke to Henson about it during one of your visits he mentioned how the idea behind them were to be the complete opposite of the Skeksis, purged of their materialistic instincts to the point that they have even abandoned the idea of interacting with the world itself.
How could they even survive was a mystery to you, but perhaps that's why they were also a race in decline despite supposedly being the good guys of the film.
Then there's Jen, a Gelfling, the last of his kind after the Skeksis wiped the rest of them from the face of the planet. There is not much information about them, but there are hints left from the few interactions there are with Kira when they meet about what they may have been at one point. There's also the Podlings which are a small and timid people hunted by the Skeksis and exploited as slaves. The Garthim, a race of giant arachnid beetles who the Skeksis use as their muscle. And finally, Aughra, an ogre-like oracle who studies the planets and brews potions for trade.
Frankly you were struck by how dark this movie really is; The Skeksis are a truly villainous race, with a frightening appearance, and a disturbing penchant for sucking the life out of their victims before using the zombified husks as slaves, not to mention the off-screen genocide they committed against the Gelflings. And with the special effects of your team combined with the nascent CGI technology, not to mention Henson's own puppetry specialization...it was all you could do at some points to not bolt out of the theater before you regained your wits once more.
And this is a movie for kids! Jesus, you know Henson likes to believe that children need and like to be scared, heck you argued for that kind of artistic freedom in Congress, but even so, this movie managed to impact you in such a way that there were moments when you were thinking on reconsidering said stance.
The technical aspects are another point in the movie's favor. This is the first live-action movie not to feature humans after all. The closest it gets is with people dressed up as Jen and Kira in longshots to make running and climbing more feasible. And to make up for it, Henson's puppeteers went all out here. Mary may not forgive you for saying this, but the puppetry in this film is miles above and beyond whatever they tried to do with the Muppets. There's so much detail put into every aspect; each of the ten Skeksis are resplendently designed in such a way to be distinctly different from one another. They have different facial features, wear different clothes, and even act in a different manner (as portrayed in a fantastic dinner scene displaying how varied their eating habits are).
The urRu also have an incredible amount of detail just on their faces alone, but also the way they slowly lumber about and their four arms interact with one another. The sheer amount of practice this must have taken from their dual performers alone is impressive. The settings and world around the characters are also brimming with life. There's a staggering amount of creatures and animals here, each with their own role in the local ecosystem. You may only see one briefly in the background, but even they enjoy the same attention to detail. There's just so much here. It's a full and brimming world that's so easy to be immersed into, and they even wrote fictional languages for each of the main races! Henson wanted to do an entire movie using only said languages with nothing but the entire visual aspect telling the story, though luckily Oz and Mike managed to talk him out of it.
The film's soundtrack was composed by Trevor Jones, he of Excalibur fame, and another composer you hope to work with at some point. You remembered how Jim had nabbed him just as said movie had been on the big screen, and had him work on the composition before The Dark Crystal had even started shooting. And a good thing too as Jones managed to compose a masterpiece of a score which reflected the settings' oddness by using acoustical instruments, electronics and building structures. It gave a truly odd and otherworldly feel that fit perfectly to the alien aesthetic of the movie, reminding by sound alone that this is not Earth and it's not a safe place.
Yet despite all the amazing aspects of the film, you have to admit that there are weak points to the movie that just don't seem to fit just right. The voice actors for one don't seem to manage to bring that much personality to the characters. The story is incredibly simplistic and is far from original, the Gelflings for some reason don't seem to enjoy the same attention to detail as everyone else, despite being the heroes of the whole story, and the dialogue and narration is a little lacking in places.
Though considering what Henson's original plan for the movie was, then perhaps it was designed in such a way so that you could take all the small details and nuances from the characters to extrapolate from them. You also have to admit that for all the amazing setting and art put into detail much of the world is pretty bare. There are vast swathes of lands where there is hardly anyone or anything to see or interact with, save for the final destination, or the locations where the main cast can meet with other relevant members.
The biggest drawback in your opinion though, was how the main character of Jen was, pretty much, a very passive character who always seemed to be dragged by the events happening, instead of taking a stance or making a decision on his own. It was like he was moving from place to place at times just because that was what the movie required of him.
Well, it was more than enough for the audience, who came in to see another of Jim Henson's puppet masterpieces...and left horrified at what they saw, at least at first. Many people still had the impression of Jim being "The Muppet Guy" and he had not helped said impression by putting in so much effort to produce the Muppet Movies, but it meant that when he went on tour to talk about his new movie, and he mentioned that it was not going to be like the Muppets at all, not many people believed him. At worst, they expected something like the Halloween specials from the Muppet Show, and kept on expecting the Dark Crystal to be just another family movie.
That after the first show there were parents decrying on the news how they had taken their four-year-old children to said movie and had to leave when they started crying...well, faults on them. Jim made sure to emphasize that while it was a children's movie, it was still going to be scary. At least most of the audience cottoned up to the fact afterwards, and though not the audience he expected, most of the teenage and young adult demographic made sure to attend, for the novelty if nothing else, and left with glowing praises and recommendation for their friends.
And of course, those soon to be teens who managed to sneak in on a dare to have bragging rights to their friends.
Unfortunately however, there was very little interest for the movie in the international market, floundering in Hong Kong, Europe and most of Asia. Oddly enough, the places where they managed to score big were both Romania and Japan. The former since, aside for their love for all things Lucasfilms, apparently they've heard of scarier folktales that would fit right at home with the movie. The dark tone, the discordant music, and the near impossible anatomy of the puppets themselves just added to their enjoyment of the film. In the end they just love the dark fantasy angle, hoping to see more of it in the future.
There's even a Jim Henson Fanclub which wrote to him, calling him a genius and a visionary, all without ever learning of the Muppets. You don't think Jim could have smiled wider that day.
Then there's the result from Japan, which constituted half of the international earnings. Japan went crazy for the Dark Crystal, with showing of the movie going as late as midnight with how much they wanted to see it again and again. The incredible display of puppetry reminding them on their own (which apparently is a thing) as master recognizes master alike. There's already call for toys, license agreements, even small-scale puppets to be made and sold for smaller functions. The Dark Crystal has managed to make itself a small niche in Japan, one that they better take advantage of, which you're sure they will. Jim is certainly not stupid.
Critics, unfortunately, displayed once more their lack of vision by panning the film, calling it a simplistic tale, one that was "all spectacle and substance", that could be seen in the most primitive of stories and would not lose anything if they simply avoided it and saved themselves the time. Seriously, did they watch the same movie you did?! Did they not see the amazing environmental storytelling, the promise of further adventures in the setting, the talent and sheer effort put in the themes and the movements of each puppet?! Are they blind to anything but their own prejudice?!
Well, that may be, but it's good to know not everyone shares their opinion. The Dark Crystal was nominated in many different award ceremonies, managing to win in all categories they participated; The BAFTA awards granted them the award for Best Special Visual Effects, they won the grand price at the Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival, as well as sweeping away the competition at both the Hugo and Saturn Awards, only missing the nomination for the 83' Academy Awards by a few days. It's a shame, but you're sure they will at the very least give a good showing for the next one.
VHS sales were another factor that once more showed how out of touch the critics were being with this film, as not only the current audience bought the film, but families who'd heard from their friends about it decided to give it a try, this time in their own home and accompanying their children this time around. While it was not a groundbreaking success, it was still a fun experience, with many mentioning that while scary, it was still a touching tale that still gave a good ending for all, showing the lessons of compassion, and of standing against evil when the time came.
A funny thing though, was how the success of the movie managed to give a huge boost for the computer game designed by Sierra On-Line. You still remember the meeting with Ken and Roberta Williams, back when Jim introduced you to the owners for one of the last remaining, and struggling, game companies. When you heard their plans to make a game out of the movie, and when you researched into them, you found no reason as to why to deny a small investment, one that paid dividends when their game exploded into the market, with the audience wanting more of the movie, and willing to consume everything that might give them even a fraction of the experience they'd managed to just watch.
You bought the game as well in order to see just how good it was...and when you were done you were amazed at the level of immersive storytelling, as well as how well they managed to understand the story to be able to adapt it into such an amazing game. One thing was certain, you were going to further invest in Sierra On-Line if you wanted more games like these.
As for Jim Henson, the man is satisfied. he's managed to shed the "Muppet Guy" look, he's managed a solid, if not spectacular, debut of a more mature story using the medium of puppetry, and he's already looking to the future for future projects he can do. Whether he decided to work with Lucasfilms or not, you're sure he's going to be just fine.
Mary was a bit sad that you did not let her see the movie, though you're sure she's going to try and watch the VHS tape.
That she spent the next four weeks sleeping with you and Carrie proved it.
The Score Directed by: Michael Mann
Written by: Dave Allister
Produced by: Michael Eisner
Production and Distribution Studio: Lucasfilms Unlimited
Starring: John Travolta
Well, this was a decent entry. Certainly not the greatest Lucasfilms movie, but a damn good heist movie and undoubtedly going to be one of the pillars of the genre. An adaptation of the book of the same name by Richard Stark in his Parker series, the movie follows a more gritty and dark portrayal of the genre than the usual thriller excitement as ruthless career criminal Parker when pulling off his biggest heist is betrayed by his team, thus setting him on a mission of revenge until everyone who crossed him is dead and Parker can have the ever elusive score.
You like to think that The Score is going to be a major part of the 80s crime retrospection in cinema that you started with Batman, where instead of glorifying or idolizing criminals as honorable rogues and larger than life figures, crime was shown in its full ugliness as a viscous and cutthroat world that made everyone involved worse off. This was heavily present in The Score where there was no camraderie between the heist gang and no Robin Hood like nobility to the mission. They were pure scum and scoundrels who worked together to steal a jewel and then turned on one another in the aftermath. Even the protagonist Parker has very few redeeming qualities, being a ruthless and near amoral man whose only redeeming feature was his belief in never betraying his coworkers or clients, thus making Parker kind of an anti-villain of sorts.
The role of Parker is done brilliantly by John, who continues to wow and impress critics and audiences with his acting range along with following your lead in doing a number of impressive stunts on his own. John gave a high class performance throughout and it was kind of chilling to see your best friend and best man be such a dangerous and menacing career criminal. John took the role thanks to having a lot of fun as Deadshot and wanted to diversify his acting portfolio along with reminding audiences that he had a lot of range to work with thanks to the upcoming Saturday Night sequel in later summer. You'd say he did a good job as John was often the most praised part of the cast and did excellent as a leading villain of sorts.
While the film didn't have quiet the same artistic value as say a Spielberg or Scorcese film, it was high quality and crisp and professional throughout, kind of like the Heist in a meta sense. If this was the type of work that Michael Mann could make with his second movie, then you were very hyped for Miami Vice. Michael Mann if nothing else had a real passion and talent for the crime genre and did an excellent job in storytelling, subverting a lot of the established tropes and really exploring the nastiness of the criminal underworld. It's interesting to compare The Score to his film debut The Thief, which was about a slightly sympathetic criminal who wants to leave the life behind but is trapped in his profession, whereas here Parker is kind of evil and relishes in his work. Parker's flat story is pretty excellent at showing a sort of modern Ahab in his obsession with The Score, which is reflected in the rest of the cast and shows how greed and immaterial scores can ruin lives. Also lots of really creative and high stakes action throughout, especially the Heist sequence.
For being a movie released in January with mild marketing, The Score managed to exceed expectations and was a comfortable hit. Unlike recent lopsided domestic and foreign performances, the box office returns were pretty even across the board. It had a strong post-New Years performance domestically though lost some steam by February. Overseas, it did pretty well in Japan, Hong Kong and Western Europe with a mostly even spread. Fans of the Parker novels were delighted with both the movie's quality and Dave's script being pretty faithful to the source material with Donald Westlake sending a letter of thanks and hinting he's open at another adaptation of either a Parker novel or one of his other works.
The Score was another film where critics and audiences seemed to be united in praise with the film not being the greatest crime thriller, but one of the best and very fun and enjoyable from start to finish. Praise was given to John's performance, the choreography, set design, script and cinematic score. At the same time, many of the other characters were regarded as flat and the movie after the heist seemed to be heavily focused on the revenge arc with little pauses or breaks. Some critics and audiences also took issue with Parker's character in and of itself as a villain with no heroic qualities. While it didn't generate controversy persay as this was a post-Godfather world, it most likely played a role in humbling the movie's box office performance, though on the other hand it sold crazy well in VHS rentals and residuals thanks to being seen as one of the highest tier of R-rated films, so nothing lost there.
Overall a pretty good performance and a nice hallmark to the heist genre which future films will have to compare to.
Sisu Directed by: Sam Raimi
Written by: Paul Schrader
Produced by: Don Simpson
Production Studio: Lucasfilms Unlimited
Distribution Studio: Lucasfilms Unlimited
Starring: Bo Svenson (Aatami Korpi), Klaus Wenneman (Bruno Helldorf), Otto Sander (Wolf), Yanti Somer (Aino) and Bruce Campbell (Schütze)
Budget: $30,000,000 Domestic: $15,539,111 International: $7,383,784
Total Gross: $22,922,895
VHS: $22,329,280
When you'd first heard of Sisu was when Mike was given full control for all movies in order to make the plan to beat Universal once and for all. You'd actually had to look up just what that word meant, and what was Paul thinking when he decided to make a film about the Lapland War of all things. it wasn't until you read deeper into it that you found a deeper story than what the actions in the film actually shown. At first glance it would look like one of the many current films that seem to be popping out, those that have a one-man-army unable to be killed as he faces against overwhelming odds only to come out unscathed at the end.
But you were wrong. Above it all, Sisu is a story that displays the determination and courage to never give up, even when every part of your body begs you to do it. To simply make the pain stop in any way possible after suffering to the last limits, of finding that final small spark of resilience and (at times) spite to move a bit further, keeping your will to live alive with all the madness and death around you. It displays a gorgeous panorama for the greatness that humans can soar, as well as the lows that the human condition can sink into. And he does it all with a story that seems so basic and simple at first glance.
Or it could just be an action movie. After all, Quentin did mention how he'd have loved to direct it as well.
Whatever it may be, it was a movie that, while violent, did have its charm, and one that you were certain could become one of Lucasfilm's Crown Jewels when it was given to Sam Raimi to direct. Despite some apprehensions about this being his first true Hollywood project, Mike felt that it was better for him to be kept busy rather than just letting him be suckered into directing any and all crap that was presented to him, and if the price was to have him direct a 30 million project, then so be it.
He may still be a bit angry about the whole Crimewave incident.
Still, Sam didn't seem to take it as such, as he was seen already speaking to Bruce Campbell about getting a role in the film. Well, it was not the first time that Lucasfilm's had to jump off the deep end to get results, and so far it had yet to disappoint you. Tarantino's own test had made him famous all over the world, with Italy declaring him a spiritual son what with going nuts for their movie, so what was the worst that could happen?
Well, nearly everything from how Sam looked when he returned with a haggard look in his eyes, a tired posture, and a near promise to "never again working in fucking Finland!" coming out of his mouth as the first thing he said. You could not get much more out of him so you decided to leave him to rest. However, it was when meeting with Bruce of all people that you managed to get the whole story out of him.
And to be honest... it was both equal parts sad and hilarious at times!
To start with, Sam had been hoping to use his previous starts to try and make the film, though in the end only Bruce seemed to accept, what with the rest of the cast deciding that acting was not for them and focusing on their lives, with one of them getting married and with a child on the way. Sam however was not undeterred and went looking for any and all actor that was free and willing to work with the film... in Hollywood, all the while forgetting about the possibility of working with the Finnish Film Industry.
Wel, you can't blame him. You were unaware that the Finns had a film industry at all.
The results were getting Bo Svenson and Yanti Sommer to play the roles of the two who could be called the heroes of the story. Which then came with more issues as Svenson, as the lead and hero, expected to have the most amount of line, only to be told that both Aatami and Ainu were both nearly silent till the end of the film, and leading to a near walk out by both of his stars until he promised them a greater paycheck to keep them in.
Hsi later hires were at least professional enough to work when the contract was signed, but then again they had speaking roles at least. Both Klaus Wenneman and Otto Sander were game for it, after all they were used to playing Nazis before, though of course it could not end that easily, as they did take some time to understand that yes, Raimi was the Director, and yes he was hired by Lucasfilms. Apparently in Germany you can't be called a director unless you're already balding or wearing glasses.
From what Bruce tells, you the experience was akin to herding cats, as if it wasn't a problem with Svenson, then it was Sommer, the woman seeing this as her chance for a big comeback, and Svenson once more making a fuss when told that it would all be filmed in Finland. Though credit where its due, he was right as it seems no one told Sam about how cold it could really get once you're that close to Russia and Germany. Seriously, at that time you need to start eating calories just to avoid losing weight!
This not only slowed down the shooting until Winter ended, which by sheer amount of luck only required them to wait for a couple of weeks, but once more reinforced the actor's belief that Sam clearly did not know what he was doing, with every day requiring for him to assert his authority, while also being diplomatic enough to not push them away into quitting. Speaking with Finnish authorities was also a hassle and a half when one does not know the language and have to rely in those very actors to translate, and then being refused due to much of the area where the film was being planned to be filmed was still, to this day, being cleared of landmines.
Yeah...Sam was not having a good Production at all.
You were beginning to worry when the tale got to that point, but Bruce allayed your fears, mentioning how "When the going gets tough, the tough gets tougher". Sam took everything going wrong with the production and just rolled with it rather than despair (though he did complain loudly afterwards). He may not have gotten to act in the areas he wanted in Lapland, but he was able to negotiate for better exposure for Finland's chamber of commerce in the movie if allowed in areas that were at least somewhat similar. It was a gamble, but one that paid off, even if the magicians and the set hands had to work double time to build the sets and fake cities around an area that they had not planned for.
It was rough, but serviceable for just what they needed.
The weather did not make it easy, as it was as often to rain as not. Most of the time they had to move the mud out of the fake roads made day after day just to film a single scene, and make up had to be constantly reapplied if they wanted to go for that gritty, worn look that the characters were supposed to have after a tired and exhausting war.
But the worst of all, was the dog.
The movie needed a dog, and so they got a dog. It was perhaps one of the most adorable ones they could get, and the crew spoiled it rotten because of it. You don't know how they managed it, but the dog simply loved the attention, managing to get in between any and all shots unless someone could distract him for long enough. They tried tying his collar to a tree once, and he would get to barking and pleading for attention for so long that the authorities had to get involved.
Yet whenever his scenes came, he managed to ruin them by moving in any and all directions except the one they needed him to go. For every right shot they got out of him, there were at least four or five that were ruined. And as one of the characters that were essential for the movie, it meant that so much of the project moved at a near glacial pace when compared to the different Lucasfilms projects of before. You know that this tends to happen, your own experience in Conan as an example of it, but you never though that a movie would slow down due to a freaking dog of all things.
You're beginning to suspect that the scenes where he was being shot at might have been more cathartic to the actors than one would expect.
However, the project moved along, and little by little, scene by scene, they actually managed to finish it. By the end, they were all nearly done with the entire movie, just wanting to go home, which is what they did as the rest of the staff began disassembling their previous work. Sam had to remain for it, but the rest of the cast, save for Bruce, just about went home then.
And that, as they say, is that.
Well... that was something alright, something that just had to be Sam's second film and first Hollywood project. You would say sorry to him, save for the fact that it seems he does not need it. For all the crap he had to deal with, the fact that he did it, and managed to come up on top to finally finish the film is a real point in his favor. He's had his trial by fire and come victorious, leaving a movie ready to be released and enjoyed.
Just for that, he deserves his rest and more; the very premiere of the film had him once more walking down the red carpet, and if the vulture press noticed some tension between director and actors, well they did not have that much time to find about it before you moved them all along to see the film.
And what a film it is; Aatami Korpi, a lone hermit digging for gold in the most northern region of Finland during the last months of WWII, manages to hit the jackpot and discover a motherload of pure gold. He loads up his bag with as much as he can take and hopes to keep a low profile while heading back to civilization. However, when a platoon of Nazis finds out what he's carrying, they obviously want to steal it.
However, trying to take Aatami's treasure proves to be a big mistake: no matter what the German's do to him, he simply won't die; Send him into a field of landmines? He destroys most of them to form a smokescreen and uses the rest to launch them as they are trying to cross it. Use dogs to sniff him up? He sneaks beneath one of the vehicles and douses himself in gasoline to hide his stench. Corner him near to a river when found? He lights himself on fire to escape into the river!
And don't even get you started when he just up and kills the nazis going into the river for him, and using them to breathe underneath after slitting their necks.
Heck, the moment they finally think he's dead, when he's finally hung and the gold taken, he still manages to align himself in such a way to not only survive, but then break his bonds, kill two pilots that had been looking for gas, while also stitching up his wounds. The guy will just not die until he has his gold back and every last Nazi is dead. You have to admit, the fact that Korpi is so indestructible takes some swallowing, until it becomes clear that his nickname, "The Immortal", is to be taken at face value: this man has more lives than a cat. Once you wrap your head around the fact that Aatami simply does not die, the film becomes all the more fun, as the enemy comes to realize that taking an immortal's hard-earned riches is an even dumber move than nicking a leprechaun's pot of gold.
The entire level of violence is something else, seemingly realistic at times, but not gratuitous. Sam Raimi has managed to find a balance that both shows the gritty, emotional state that pushes you to feel every punch, yet at the same time making it look at times just so.. goofy, but not in a way that makes you laugh, just something that makes your mind somewhat enjoy it. There' a lot of blood and guts shown, but it does not dominate the film, and it does not in any way make you think of slashers that have you sometimes trying to avoid it, but instead just eagerly watching and waiting for more.
There's even a group of female Finnish POWs who lend Aatami a hand in killing the baddies, with Sommer's reinvention as an action heroine actually working when she moves in and speaks in such a dry tone to the Nazi, telling him about how he's clearly going to die. Then later when she leads her own group to capture Wolf and take him prisoner in a tank. The ending takes the craziness up to eleven as the nastiest Nazi, Bruno, makes his escape on a plane, unaware the Aatami has hitched a ride, both sides devolving into a good old-fashioned brawl. The action ends with a bang for both Bruno and Aatami, with the former being hooked to a bomb and dropped to his doom, and the latter having to brace for impact as the plane goes down.
But only one of them is immortal in the end...
Frankly you enjoyed the film, reminding you at times of Tarantino's own style, but only on the surface. Sam clearly has his own definite take on what to add and what to use in the film, one which has managed to charm the entire audience and the critics as well. It was a clear departure from what they had thought about Reservoir Dogs, but the entire film just had this quality to it that just seemed tailor made for entertainment value for nearly everyone.
Finland seemed to love it as well, having their own action hero in the style of Hollywood, and including Korpi as fun fictional, cultural hero, taking inspiration from Simo Hayha instead. Man, the entire country must be made of badasses when you consider that they managed to fight both the Soviets and the Nazis, and make them reconsider their chances.
Overall, the movie was truly a success when it comes to acceptance by both the audience and the critics...which then begs the question, just why the hell is no one watching it?!
The answer is twofold, and in the end you can blame no one but yourself.
Reservoir Dogs made a huge impact overseas, the violence, the story, the groundbreaking new forms of film. It got to the point that it won the equivalent of the Oscars overseas...which meant that when seeing another movie that seemed similar to it, they were now looking for the same experience, and when they did not find it, they just moved away, not even considering that it could be as good or as amazing as the previous one.
But the biggest shock of it all came from that old enemy of yours, the one who just last month had been in your office, been refused by Mike once more, and had even mentioned how he's found a way to counter and prepare for Star Wars. You did not believe him of course, for what could he or anyone have that could match George's Space Opera? Well, the answer was released just this month, and the results broke everyone's expectations.
It seems that Universal, the "Evil Empire" as it had been called, had finally striked back, and in a way that showed once and for all that they could make as good a movie as Lucasfilm, that they could innovate with the best, and that you were no longer the only creative studio on the block anymore.
Raimi's film would get redeemed in the future, with later videos analyzing it and finding it odd how it doesn't get the same amount of love or attention as his other films, yet the answer came from what you were watching at the moment. As you sat in a full packed cinema, with showings already scheduled well into the night, you could not help but contemplate just where the hell did Sidney got this guy? The movie was something simple, yet complex at the same time, the characters at moments seemed to just be tropes, but there was vibrancy and life behind them.
But above all, there was your old self-proclaimed rival in the big screen, finally making the transition into A-Lister, and probably willing to retake your old rivalry once more. Hopefully in a much more friendly way this time around. Still, as you left the cinema, you wondered, just who the hell was James Cameron, and how long had he been working at Universal...
The Terminator Directed by: James Cameron
Written by: James Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd
Produced by: Gale Anne Hurd
Production Studio: Universal Pictures
Distribution Studio: Universal Pictures
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Terminator), Michael Biehn (Kyle Reese), Linda Hamilton (Sarah Connor), Paul Winfield (Ed Traxler), Lance Henriksen (Hal Vukovich), Bess Motta (Ginger), Rick Rossovich (Matt) and Earl Boen (Doctor Peter Silberman).
Budget: $6,400,000 Domestic Profits: $323,619,200 International Profits: $110,902,923 Total Gross: $434,522,123
(Sidney Sheinberg POV)
The numbers kept on coming, and you could not contain the grin off of your face as they reported what you had already suspected, and what you had long been working on; For the first time in a long while, in a head on competition between movies, Universal had taken Lucasfilms to the cleaners and handed them their own asses on a silver platter. Oh how you longed to see Eisner's face at the moment, finally wiping that smug grin off his face. The man thought himself the big cock of the roost, well this should show him who truly ruled in Hollywood. With the numbers for whatever artistic, hyper-violent crap they tried to peddle showing pitiful returns, it would no longer look like they were invincible any longer.
They were bleeding now, so it was time to keep on the pressure.
You leaned back on your office chair, relaxing with a nice glass of scotch as you reminisced how long it had taken to bring you here. Not in the actually forgetting of course, you were not that old that you'd ever forget how you managed to get the job as president, or how you managed to turn Universal into the powerhouse of cinema that it had become today; It had taken years of effort, years of proving yourself to the right people, and it had taken the support and friendship from one of the last great titans of Hollywood... Lew Wasserman himself.
You'd learned so much from him, you still were in a way; the man had given you the age-old wisdom that had served you well during your climb to the top, and he had instilled in you a true love for the age-old institutions that kept Hollywood running, all the tricks of the trade in them, while also keeping from becoming one of the scums of the Earth that just kept on cropping up lately.
The city was truly going to shit, it had done so for years now, but perhaps the one thing that had truly proven it to you was when you saw the collapse of Warner, the rise of Lucasfilms, and how you and everyone just gathered to feast on their corpse. You'd been rough on everyone that day, and with good reason; you knew it was only luck and time that separated Universal and Warner, and it would have taken a single misstep for both your places to be switched.
Like hell you were letting that happen.
Oh boy, how did you get there? You put the scotch down as you tried to center your thoughts once more before going in too deep into memory lance once more. Just, why did all your thoughts kept on going back to Lucasfilms lately? You asked that, but you knew the answer; at the end of the day, it was impossible to take a walk down Hollywood in any way and not be reminded of that fucking studio. Whether you liked it or not, they had become so intrinsically linked with the city that to speak of one was to speak of the other, something that had taken studios like Universal, Columbia or Fox decades to achieve, they had done it in less than five years.
And because it reminded you of your greatest failure, and the most shameful at that.
God, what had you been fucking thinking that day! You'd promised Steven, you had fucking promised him! No matter what, when others would stick with him in victory, he would always stick with him through defeat. You'd been the one to canvass for him to direct jaws, seeing the potential that he had to bring in one of the best movies ever...and then threw it all away when your own paranoia about his friendship with Lucas bit you in the ass.
Not only that, but the movie made with Carrie, Some Nights, had nearly been a disaster, and you knew that was mostly on your staff. That it had managed to be saved and was bringing in money like never seen before did not stop your sense of paranoia about how Bruce O'Brian would take his own pound of flesh from you or your studio. It all just came down to fear in the end, the constant delays by Steven just made you think over and over; just why was he taking so long, why did he keep on complaining, what if what they were telling him was true and he was conspiring with both Lucas and O'Brian.
In the end, you made a choice, and it was the wrong one.
You did not only lose a great director that day... you also lost a friend.
Just...why did you do this to yourself, today of all days. The day when The Terminator is racking in the money and the accolades, where news and papers all around are proclaiming the return of the King as even Lucasfilms takes second page and have to admit that the movie is one of the best seen in a long time.
Perhaps because you've finally found the one director who could take Steven's place... and only in the safety of your office, when no one was around, and with your mind dulled by alcohol, could you admit to yourself... you were scared shitless of repeating the same mistake.
(Bruce O'Brian POV)
You had to admit, for all that you'd come to dislike Sidney, and for all the crap that Universal through at you and George when you were working for them, they could actually do some good work when they got down to it. Case in point, the master class film you were currently watching. It really boggled the mind how the very studio that had at one point been so stingy and outright obstructionist when it came to George's vision, could now be so supportive and permissive for this one.
Then again, they'd have to be, since James Cameron did not allow for any compromises in his vision from what you'd heard.
There were many words that were used to define Cameron, some less than flattering when it came to the handling of the cast, yet many more came with respect of the man, and with the look of people who had gone through a crucible and managed to survive whatever it had been thrown at them. From all of them, the one word that kept on repeating itself was "perfectionist", yet not one in the way of Kubrick like you'd feared, but one that expected the best out of everyone, and when he noticed they were not giving it then he'd demand even more.
Many more claimed that he was very difficult to work with, but also that he was not willing to order anything that he was not willing to go through himself. Well, that alone gains him a lot of points with you, yet at the same time makes you wonder, just how the heck did he manage to get a job with Sidney of all people. Many stories had come of Cameron sometimes going overbudget, or how he needed to be held back from some of his most out there ideas. For that he was lucky to get the help of Gale Anne Hurd, who aided him in the writing of the story and served as producer as well
And what a story it was! The movie begins with two men appearing in Los Angeles in separate locations, manifesting in sudden, blinding flash-storms of electricity. One is heavily muscular; the other man, slim and wiry. The mysterious muscular man obtains weapons and begins hunting down all women named "Sarah Connor", using a phone book to track his targets. He successfully kills the first two of the three listed women, yet when he attempts to kill the last Sarah Connor, he is stopped by the other man, Kyle Reese who has been sent back in time to protect her.
While hiding in a parking garage, Reese explains that the man hunting Sarah is actually a cyborg assassin called a "Terminator", built by Skynet, an artificial intelligence network created by Cyberdyne Systems. In the near future, Reese explains, Skynet gained self-awareness, initiated a global takeover of military hardware, and launched a nuclear war against humanity. Skynet then ordered that a scant number of humans were to be kept alive in order to be used as slave labor. However, John Connor, Sarah's son, rallied the few remaining humans and led a resistance movement against the machines.
After a grinding campaign, the human resistance was on the verge of victory. Then, in a last-ditch effort, Skynet sent the Terminator back in time to kill Sarah before John was born, preventing the resistance from ever being founded and allowing the machines to win by default. Reese volunteered to follow the Terminator back in time to protect Sarah, and after his use of the time transportation equipment, it was to be destroyed by the resistance in order to prevent further Terminators from going back in time.
They are alone in facing one of the deadliest machines sent by Skynet; the Terminator, who feels no pain, has no emotions, and will stop at nothing to accomplish its mission.
It was something that was both complex and simple at the same time. From what you've found from your many years of working in Hollywood (and the many times looking at pitches for Lucille when working for her) it was that Time Travel plots were just finicky things to work with. The very idea of using it made most of the drama and tension drain away, as if you could use it once, then you could use it as many times as you wished. It would usually take a very skilled writer to avoid the pitfalls of the story, and make sure that it was entertaining as well as coherent.
You have to admit, his perfectionism really paid off with this movie because as you can see, people are not getting tired of it. many are just watching it again and again without it becoming stale. With every small detail adding to the greater whole of the experience. Small moments and scenes that at one point you just ignored, suddenly become important and relevant when one watches it again, making you actually wonder how you did not notice it before.
The scenes of destruction and death also gave you the chills when you saw them. You don't know what it is, but seeing the scene of a Terminator stepping upon a skull and crushing it under its weight caused you more apprehension than all the killings, blood and torture than Reservoir Dogs and Sisu ever did. There's just this feeling of despair and hopelessness when you see how for all that humanity had managed to achieve, in the end we had been defeated by the very tools we had created to aid us.
Not that it takes away from the violence in the current time instead of the future. The violence and bloodshed in the film would be excessive, but when an unstoppable killing machine is after you, well, you have to push the envelope as hard as you can; taking an entire police station with 30 cops all shooting at him, surviving being ran over, nearly managing to take being crushed...yeah this is an enemy that is going to be living rent free in many a nightmare from now on.
However, for all the direction and story, you have to admit that this movie could not have been done had it not been for three actors. Arnold Schwarzenegger, your one-time rival, and now more than likely willing to take the title once more, has given the performance of his entire career in this movie. There is just something undeniably awesome about Arnold, with his sunglasses and leather jacket, going through the entire station with a shotgun and assault rifle and taking on everybody. His charisma helped the audience stomach the cold-blooded determination of the Terminator, but the character's singlemindedness also invites admiration; even as you were appalled by all the killing, you have to admit he does it rather well.
His physical presence and harsh accent have never been put to better use in a movie. For a moment you were sure that he really was some sort of robot or animatronic made to look like him.
Linda Hamilton however made for ana amazing heroine as well, breaking the mold from what many were probably expecting. She managed to run through such a full range of emotions (sweetness and vulnerability, toughness and despair, etc.) evolving the character from a regular girl going through her normal everyday life, to suddenly having the entire faith of humanity put upon her shoulders. The fear, yet also powerful strength that was required of her to accept it was just stunning and in full display through the entire movie.
And Michael Biehn... for a while now you'd been discussing the possibility for hiring him for some role or another, yet the chance never seemed to present itself. Well, now you can only feel conflicted as his performance proves that you were right in trying to get him to work for you, yet at the same time, had you done so, he would probably not be available for this role; a role that proves how an action hero is much more compelling when he's vulnerable not only to physical pain but emotional difficulties, to which his big, haunted eyes are put to good use.
It was truly the perfect movie to begin their counterattack. Only marred from the near lawsuit and small scandal that was quickly covered up so that it would not affect the release or distribution. Heck, you only heard about it long after, about how author Harlan Ellison tried suing Cameron for taking the idea out of his own previous work, while Cameron argued that he had gotten the idea out of a dream he'd had about a robot chasing after him. Well, Ellison might have tried continuing with the lawsuit, but the full power of Universal soon had him shut up and take the settlement without making too much of a fuss.
Overall, despite how much you wished it had not been so, you had to admit that Universal had managed to do an excellent movie, and even then you can't help but think that if the stars had aligned different, or if perhaps a roll of the die had been in your favor, then it would have been Lucasfilms who would have managed to make the film. You can only look at it and praise it nonetheless, it is an impressive work of cinema, with special effects that manage to almost match what your magicians at ILM can do, and with some of the best stunt work you'd seen so far. many of them went to Bruce's gym from what you heard, and that alone fills you with pride, knowing that the very least some part of his legacy is living on for future generations.
Though the earnings were more on the domestic side by a factor of 3:1, it did not matter much in the long run, only to say how much Science Fiction had gained in both popularity and acceptance in both the audience and the critics' mind. The movie managed to gain a huge following on both the cinema and the VHS sales, with critics praising both the subtle and not so subtle anti-technology warning when it came to either Skynet enslaving humanity, or how police officers are "enslaved" by their own beepers, leading the Terminator into the right direction of where Sarah Connor may be.
Oddly enough the partnership between Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd seemed to have dissolved after the movie was released. You're not sure why, but from what some sources tell you, there was some acrimonious words said about who truly owned the rights for the film, with Anne finally being paid a settlement and let go. As far as you know, she was more interested in forming her own Production Company rather than relying in Universal anyways, whereas Cameron, with the full backing and support from Sidney, did not feel that much need for jumping ship as it were. He's even been willing to sign in with a contract somewhat similar to what Steven had, though you can only hope that he's not screwed as much as he was.
As for future plans...well, oddly enough, there has been no news about a future sequel yet. That's odd since most of the other studios would already be jumping on the possibilities for more installments for a successful movie. You don't know whether to take this as a good sign that things are changing, or a bad sign that your enemies were getting smarter. But int the end, you could only hope that more films like these could keep on being made, if only so that the industry never gets so stagnated as it had been nearly a decade before.
Either way, though Lucasfilms may have been bested this time around, its course remained to both you and George. It seemed you'd both have to step up your game if you wanted to remain at the top of innovation and creativity when it came to filmmaking, and show every alarmist media rag now crying about the end of Lucasfilms just how wrong they were.
The Thing Directed by: John Carpenter
Written by: Bill Lancaster
Produced by: David Foster, Lawrence Turman
Production Studio: Touchstone Pictures
Distribution Studio: Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Starring: Kurt Russell
Budget: $15,000,000 Domestic:61,963,258 International: 52,611,139 Total Gross: $114,574,497
Released in June of 1982, The Thing was a film that from a commercial point, didn't make any strong waves in Hollywood. It had to compete in a super packed Summer Blockbuster run, including E.T, Kung Fu Kid, Wonder Woman and Wrath of Khan. While it did make a profit, it was nowhere near Blockbuster status and didn't dominate the public consciousness persay. Still, it was a strong success, and it did help affirm not only that Disney was here to stay as a competitor in live action and mature and dark stories weren't one and done with Halloween, it also cemented John Carpenter's employment with Disney thanks to a comfortable contract, giving them another great weapon.
An adaptation of the 1938 book 'Who Goes There?' and more faithful than the '51 adaptation, The Thing tells a story about a group of American scientists in Antarctica. At the film's start, a seemingly insane Norwegian is hunting a dog with explosives and a rifle, the Americans not understanding kill the Norwegian and let the dog inside of the base. However, it turns out the dog is a shapeshifting alien from outer space, a "Thing" that assimilates and imitates all life with fire as its only weakness. The alien soon sets out to assimilate the base with the scientists trapped by a snow storm, they must defeat The Thing but are overcome with paranoia as any one of them could be The Thing.
You're not ashamed to say this is the best horror film in recent years, definitely one of the best ever. Even Moonlight Diner couldn't come close to brilliant execution of its concept under Carpenter's masterful directing paired with an amazing script. It was one thing to have a creature horror like Alien or Moonlight where the humans must stay alive against a monster, it's another to have the cast fight an impossible monster with high intelligence that can become anyone or anything. Innocent creatures or trusted friends could be wolves in sheep's clothing and all it takes is one touch for a gruesome end. You and Carrie had a date night to watch at the advice of Cat who was present for the red carpet premiere, and both of you had the same story of a theater captivated in horror, anxiety and panic; though of the absolute best kind as audiences had to actively engage to keep track of who was who and all the little clues of The Thing with its attacks being horrendous and otherworldly nightmares in the best possible manner.
John Carpenter is a brilliant master of his craft, a literal Carpenter of the horror genre probably only matched by George Romero, yet the two leading the genre in their own distinct ways. It would have been so easy to just have it be a standard monster movie, but JCarpenter wisely chose to keep the paranoia and intrigue along with the fraying dynamics of the characters be center stage. The interplay, mystery and tension of The Thing's sabotage and the investigation serve as an excellent rising action to build the stakes and when a Thing finally strikes, it's a great climax which always leaves a bloody or disturbing mess with the heroes never resting. Sure the story can be bleak, but it's never pointless and there's some beauty in the tragedy and the compassion and bonds the men try to uphold. For you personally, the best element was the suspense and mystery of who was a Thing and trying to piece together the sequence of events and anticipate what happened. The concluding standoff between Macready and Childs would surely go down as one of the greatest endings in all of film and honestly you spent hours at Lucasfilms trying to analyze just which of them was The Thing, with Carpenter being incredibly tight lipped on the whole thing and turning it to one of the greatest debates in film.
The cast was really top notch with everyone playing their roles brilliantly, somehow playing to standard horror tropes yet also subverting them with everyone being some flavor of an everyman. The vibes were pretty similar to Alien where normal people had to deal with an impossible situation, though more rugged white-collar researchers than the blue-collar crew of the Nostromo. The actors did an excellent job showing a natural progression from camaraderie to distrust and infighting from The Thing with very believable and natural reactions to the crisis. You also loved how the actors portraying the characters who were assimilated into Things had all of these subtle details that mark them as others and yet are completely unrecognizable on a first watch. Kurt Russell was a standout and did well as a protagonist, showing him as excellent front billing material. It's also kind of funny how he seems to have become your niece Sarah's first celebrity crush after she met him at a Disney event. Keith David also continued a great live action showing to diversify his portfolio from voice overs, hopefully he's still fond of Lucasfilms to continue doing roles.
The titular star of the movie in The Thing is a fascinating and brilliant concept that is really used to its fullest potential as one of the scariest and iconic horror monsters of all time. You have to begrudgingly give due credit in that the special effects crew went above and beyond and made something comparable to ILM at its peak. The Thing creatures are some of the most grotesque and appalling designs put to film, all done through creative and technically genius practical effects. This is thanks to the mind of Rob Bottin who actually was a former ILM employee who got his start with the cantina aliens makeup from New Hope. Bottin decided to go freelance two years ago, and it was his art direction that pushed The Thing to be constantly shapeshifting and have its monstrous qualities. Now Bottin is going to get a fat five year contract from Disney, maybe it's time to revisit ILM salary and benefits.
Perhaps if released around Halloween or any other time then The Thing could have become a true blockbuster. Though as it was, near seven times the budget when directly competing against multiple Blockbusters and being such a gory R-rated movie was pretty damn good. It was a pretty even split domestically and internationally, though it did well in Europe with more than half of the international gross coming from there. This has been said to be attributed to Europe's history of authoritarianism, social paranoia and ongoing Cold War tensions with the latter being a heavy theme of the film through its paranoia and distrust of the cast. One major example being Romania where nine million dollars were grossed thanks to the very relatable horrors presented through its recent trauma of the Ceausescu deep state.
If there's one thing you have to admire about John Carpenter films, it's how consistent he manages to be in reception. Universal praise and adoration from general audiences while being met with mixed to poor reviews from critics. Horror enthusiasts were absolutely thrilled with the film and were grateful that the original novel finally had a great adaptation with high praise to the infighting and paranoia being of equal weight in conflict to the physical threat of The Thing. Few left the theaters unsatisfied and John Carpenter was hailed as a peer to the likes of Bruce O'Brian, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas for Sci-Fi. Adult Disney fans gave high praise and approval for Dark Disney to continue to be bold and never backing down from new forms of storytelling, even if it was released under Disney's new Touchstone brand. Once again it seems Disney can do no wrong or have no controversy from its maturity. Oh how the rest of Hollywood craved for this kind of brand loyalty. It was also pretty funny when a CBS report shared how the Antarctica scientists loved the film and were now conducting semi-regular "Thing Drills" complete with flamethrowers for fun.
Honestly, you were starting to think there was some sort of conspiracy in the critics sphere against Carpenter. Even if he was competition, it was bullshit how none of his great films had widespread critical praise when he deserved at least an Oscar nod. Oh sure reception was objectively better than his previous works, but it was roughly split down the line with a lot of the positive reviews seeming to be written in a begrudging and grumbling prose. For some reason, the negative reviews were really intense and vitriolic. Some critics were heavily hostile for the film's cynicism, bleak atmosphere, anti-authoritarianism and gruesome graphics. It was called at times boring, sloppy, lacking any warmth or heart, and a cynical and mean-spirited middle finger to science fiction, especially in comparison to competing E.T.
You want to know what the hell these people were smoking, acting like Carpenter made some crime against art. It was bizarre that so many people acted like a film can't be bleak and it has to be wrapped in a happy ending like New Hope, especially when there's praise for the somber end of Khan and Empire's tragedy. Yeah the horror aspects were probably among the darkest and most gruesome in the genre, but when bible-thumping Puritans are chill with the film then surely a hint must be taken? At the very least, critics were all around pretty positive towards the actors performances, even if for some that was combined with hate for the characters. Even the most squeamish could admit the film was pretty impressive on a technical level and ambitious in a similar style to the first act of Empire. Still, it's honestly a crime that The Thing would only be nominated for Best Visual Effects for the Oscars.
With a growing personal fandom and consistent box office success, John Carpenter would be a mainstay of Disney for the near future. Currently he is working on a horror film he wrote and also seems to be pushing Disney to purchase a multi-draft Sci-Fi romance script from Columbia. Such a status is shared by Kurt Russell who is once more a Disney star, though instead of being in mediocre family fluff was now a leading man for action and horror. Many critics are also likening the Carpenter-Russell duo to Steve and Richard Dreyfuss or you and George. A shame you likely can't hire him soon, though he did express an interest in working on King films. At the very least, this and Terminator will help to keep the Directors on their toes and not be content. Horror is also going in an interesting route as now there seems to be a 50-50 split in the genre between supernatural and sci-fi horror films.
There's also an interesting development with Lucasarts. They were developing some sort of game that was going to be a Who Dunnit like an Agatha Christie novel, but after The Thing was released they did a 180 and now it's a Sci-Fi deduction inspired heavily by The Thing though with some major differences in gameplay and dynamics. Something called Among Us.
Killer queen: Directed by: Bruce O'Brian
Written by: Carrie O'Brian
Produced by: Bruce O'Brian
Production Studio: Lucasfilm Unlimited
Distribution Studio: Lucasfilm Unlimited
Starring: Debbie Reynolds, Carrie O'Brian, John Travolta, Frank Sinatra, Evelyn Greer Garson, Vincent Price,Don Bluth, George Miller
It was becoming a trend, you think, of when it came to Movies written by Carrie, that they would be hated, but loved by the audience and the people who thought of you as the blockbuster and action director. They were competently made, but made with more of love, and because Carrie wanted it. Projects of passion and fancy, that you wanted to make because you wanted to make, rather then things meant to make money.
Killer Queen was a different beast entirely because as it turned out, working with heavy weights who were given an airtight script, was something that made people sit down and listen and watch. After all, anyone who watched your films that, you were good at two things.
Action and charecter. And the film had one in abundance and it wasn't the action, to the point where you honestly think you could probably go back and direct serialized television without any sort of problem, with how you manage it. The character development was superb, and sublime, and made you happy that Carrie was able to show just how far she had come as a writer. It was nice to see that Debbie's return to the silver screen be filled with not only love and support for her, but just pure raw, and unbridled praise from the entire Hollywood establishment.
And when you were at the premiere, you were able to just take yourself and Carrie into the theater, and not worry about anything, because Debbie had the entire world it seemed, eating out of the palm of her hand. She was able to charm the pants out of everyone she talked to, leaving them satisfied, but revealing nothing.
You honestly didn't care to be the director who made it, because the film wasn't yours, and you wanted nothing to do with the press. okay, it was important, but you had made it for Debbie to return to the stardom that she deserved and didn't want her rise to be sullied by your reputation.
But you were worried over nothing because all anyone cared about it was Debbie.
The Queen of the Screen is back, was one of the big headlines you read a few days after the premiere. And that was all you could see, praise. Sure sinatra was seen as an afterthought, John was happy to not be hounded by the reporters, and Carrie was happy to shut the door on everyone because she had the kids to worry about...
But hey, you knew Debbie could handle herself.
Debbie was back, and last you heard, Fox wanted her to work on two pictures... and she was mulling over it.
She told you she wouldn't accept it, but she wants to see how desperate Murdoch would get her to come to him.
Sid even sent a congratulatory letter, and she took a picture of it and made it a fuck you to Universal, and Sid was embarrassed.
On another, slightly unrelated note:
Queen's newest album went Triple platinum due to all the songs in the film and everyone wanting them... so, you paid back your friends and then some.
-------------------------------------------------------
Carrie lay down next to you as Debbie was giving another interview, but you turned the tv volume down to nothing. "You think your mom is going to miss the quiet life she had with her grandkids?" you asked as she snuggled up against you. "I mean... will she?"
"Mom is many things, but she is not sentimental. and not for the old Hollywood she worked in." She said. "That's the problem though, this ain't the old Hollywood she worked in... who knows. Maybe she will, maybe she won't. I know she will put her grandkids first though, if she is given the choice."
"Haven't you talked to her about it?"
"I have... She's still... processing." Carrie replied. "She just hasn't decided what to do."
"Anything I can do to help?" You asked.
Carrie then laughed. "Well unless you can be the director of all her movies and have me write them all... no."
"I mean-" That earned a punch in the arm. "Hey?"
"Oh stop you... Mom is going to be fine no matter what she chooses."
"You think she knows and or cares that we're leaving all the grunt work to her with dealing with the press?"
