Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow 571
Set in a mythic version of the late 1930s, this movie is a stunning tribute to classic sci-fi serials, comics and pulp magazines of that era. Starting with a reporter investigating the disappearances of top scientists, the story quickly becomes a nearly constant barrage of giant robots, aeroships, submarine planes, ray guns and retro technology on a grand scale. The plot, which hurtles across maps of the world Indiana Jones style, definitely take a back seat to the effects. The character interactions are all predictable. But all of that is consistent with the genre, and for me it didn't get in the way of enjoying the hell out of this movie.
What sets this film apart from others is that every scene was shot against a blue screen. Except for some hand props and the actors themselves, the whole thing was computer generated. We've certainly seen plenty of CG, going all the way back to "The Last Starfighter" in the 80s, but I've never seen anything done so stylishly or so well. Perhaps the hazy, murky look is perfectly suited to both the 1930s atmosphere and the current state of the art of CG. It works.
The packed screening was followed by a Q&A with director Conran, who turned out to be an impressively low-key, likable guy. He started working on the film about 10 years ago with a blue screen in his living room, wondering whether he could create an entire movie in his Mac. The first 6 minutes took him 2 years. Initially he made an animated version, which actors later used as a guide as they mimed their way through the live version. When Paramount got involved they insisted on big-name actors, so the theatrical release is actually version 3. Hopefully all three will make it onto the eventual DVD. Conran mentioned that for his next project he wants to tackle Edgar Rice Burroughs' epic John Carter series.
The presenter, a filmmaking friend of Conran's, closed the screening with a joke about Pete Townshend meeting Eric Clapton in a London bar and commiserating about some new kid named Hendrix, "who's gonna kick our asses." He imagined that Spielberg and Lucas might soon be having a similar conversation somewhere in California. I have to agree that it seems like a distinct possibility.
Thanks to serutan for this review!
Can't wait to see this! (Score:3, Interesting)
My Impressions from the Commercials (Score:5, Interesting)
-Jesse
Kinda Reminded Me (Score:5, Interesting)
of the PC / Xbox game "Crimson Skies" when I first saw the previews.
Movie theatre trailer (Score:5, Interesting)
the Sci-Fi museum (Score:3, Interesting)
personally (Score:5, Interesting)
CGI should be a tool to enhance a good, original story.
I rarely see original plots anymore being made into movies.
One notable exception though, is the recently made Oldboy [imdb.com], a Korean movie.
If you intend to see this work of genius, avoid spoilers at all costs.
I'm impressed with something different (Score:3, Interesting)
1. Laurence Olivier starring in the movie, from old celluloid.
2. That film noir look achieved through filming the scenes in black and white... and then colorizing them! (Smacks forehead) What a great, simple, and clever idea.
Those 2 slick gimmicks have to lend an air of retro feel to the movie with aplomb, nevermind the other design elements, like the look and feel of the robots.
Gotta see this one.
The coolest part of this movie is... (Score:5, Interesting)
Wired had an article [wired.com] about it a while ago, and i've been excited to see it ever since.
Horray for garage studios!!
Wild ride to the past that should have been (Score:5, Interesting)
I wasn't part of the pulp era, but I enjoyed reading pulp and Golden Age sf works. There's just something free-wheeling, childlike, and wondrous about the visions of tomorrow that those stories embodied. I still like space opera, with vast galactic fleets spinning out of a nebular cluster to go into battle with the dreaded Zorkanoids -- or whatever the evil space being of the moment was.
The trailers for this reminded me of another "guilty pleasure" film, "The Rocketeer." I suspect "Sky Captain" will join "Rocketeer" in my movie collection as something that is aimless, harmless exciting fun.
Re:My Impressions from the Commercials (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:How about a plot too? (Score:1, Interesting)
Ahhh! But the problem, you see, is that Hollywood does not take into account the opinions of the minority. The majority of the sheeple in the market far outweigh the number of people who want more than just effects in their movies.
Hollywood has no motivation to improve both plot and effects, as most consumers will pay for any drivle that comes out.
John Carter of Mars! (Score:4, Interesting)
If done "so seriously it's fun" like Sky Captain appears, it could be one hell of a ride. If nothing else, I love a good swashbuckling movie.
Doc Savage, Man of Bronze!! (Score:4, Interesting)
The real thing were written before physics was a respected scientific profession, and chemists and electricians were the cutting edge of technology. The World's Fair and the technological marvel of the Golden Gate Bridge are the settings for the Man of Bronze, a paragon of physical perfection raised by five scientists and flanked by his four comrades in arms, plus their pet monkey, pig and occasionally aided by Doc's sister.
They are slices of a different age, a different outlook. The world was as full of sinister forces as the headlines of today, but the steadfast belief that honorable and well trained (and euro-caucasian) men could triumph over evil was held as a truism. Airplanes were new, the world had just become global, but war had yet to span the whole planet.
Great books.
I have a strong feeling that this movie is based more on the modern steampunk and Sons of Ether (a la White Wolf's Mage) genre. A modern retake on an era, just like RenFaires have little to do with the actual Middle Ages.
--
Evan "Not for the Politically Correct sensitive"
Re:I can think of another... (Score:5, Interesting)
And you can tell. Up until now, I didn't know it was entirely shot in front of a blue screen, but every time I saw the commercial the thing that struck me was just how obvious the blue screen effect is. I just can't get over how awful (visually) this film looks, based on the trailer.
Blue Screen Filming (Score:5, Interesting)
The trouble is: It looks very much like that.
Good use of blue screening results in the characters looking like they're "there". From the commercials I've seen of this movie, it reminds me of one of those old CD-ROM games where they mixed live actors and CG backgrounds.
This one just doesn't work for me. It feels so artificial.
Re:Wild ride to the past that should have been (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:How about a plot too? (Score:2, Interesting)
2. Spiderman was only a sequel/remake to a 100 feature movies and paper cartoons, originating from a cartoon. The plot was barely good enough for a cartoon, designed barely well enough to be barely enterntaining to retarded children. I don't see how an adult slashdot reader can find the plot of Spiderman satisfactory.
3. By CG you mean CGI - "computer generated imagery", no?
Movies with shitty plots and pretty SFX make good box office. This is the lesson of StarWars. Before StarWars was a hit, it was generally thought that good plot would produce a good box office. Then Lucas made StarWars and hit the jackpot with it. Every hollywood movie ever since has been designed around the SFX. Basically, they design the SFX first, according to currently available technical means and the available budget. Then they tailor the plot to fit aroung the SFX - no wonder the resulting product is barely watchable while heavily stoned. This kinda tells you that most moviegoers are retarded and/or stoned, but it doesn't leave any hope that Hollywood will ever make a good movie again. If you want a nice plot, go see an independent movie.
There was a Cronenberg flick, eXistanZ, out at about the same time as The Matrix. Similar "trapped in virtual reality" type plot. Much less box office intake. Much less SFX, better plot, and better screenplay. Most people had a strong preference to either one or the other movie, as you can deduce from reading the comments on IMDB [slashdot.org]. You can also see, from the same comments that most people who liked the Matrix over the eXistanZ couldn't spell. nuff said.
MOD PARENT UP! (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:SciFi set in the past? (Score:2, Interesting)
If knowing something didn't actually happen makes a story worthless, we might as well just start throwing out the old SF from Vernes up to the early Clark, Asimov and Heinlein as well as all the historical fiction "littering" up our libraries and book stores.
Re:all the way back to "The Last Starfighter" (Score:3, Interesting)
TLS was rendered completely on a single Cray, and while some shots have a definite "atari" quality about them, some shots still hold their own, even today.
Yeah, Tron might have been first to market, but TLS was, imo, a whole hell of a lot cooler. TLS is why I went to Art School and why I have a degree in Computer Animation.
Of course, I spend my workdays subtitling video and being a linux bitch, but hey. That's the economy. A man can dream.
Re:all the way back to "The Last Starfighter" (Score:3, Interesting)
The Last Starfighter had a lot more compelling features:
1) Everything that looked like CGI in it was actually CGI. Tron had many, many sets that were made of wood and paint, and just painted to look like CGI.
2) The CGI was used to simulate real-world objects. For instance, when the recruiter lands in his 'space car' the car is a prop constructed for use in the movie. Later on, this car flies into space and becomes a CGI effect seamlessly. (Of course, the careful observer can tell when it happens, but the CGI does look good.)
3) General polish. Tron feels a lot like a tech demo. The Last Starfighter feels a lot like a movie, albeit a really cheesy one.
Of course, neither of the movies were very good...
Castle in the Sky / Laputa (Score:3, Interesting)
I definitely need to see this movie, if nothing else than to check for more similarities. :)