Great Cinematography
There are still, today, examples of true mastery of the seventh art
I think fondly of the classic Hitchcock thrillers
I look back with fondness at the likes of Spartacus
The truth is, there have been others, and recently too;
Gladiator is another.
Look at this masterful montage at the very end of Gladiator - showing to us the value of the soul over that of the body (note: the language of this version is Turkish - in case the video is still available, that is! I had seen the French version - but never the Turkish one!
Here it is again - in its original version:
More of the wonderful music - always an epic scene enhancer - now: Lisa Gerrard of Dead Can Dance is simply mesmerizing as an artist in all she does...
There are many techniques to enhance the dramatic effect of any sequence - its effect and impact on the audience, both being different and vital all at once. A memorable scene, one that can become forever etched in its viewership's collective memory, has to come close to perfection in all of these departments: it has to be significant, usually a death scene will be the most significant one can get... There has to be artsy evidence there - lyricism is the best way to be artistic here. A fluid pace, where all shots come together in such a way that there are no doubts as to their order - they have gelled so well together that it all appears more natural than natural is. It looks as real as real can get - it looks like a dream as well.
And it has to have universal resonance too.
Once all that is present, cinematographic history can be made.
It is all a question of the technical delivery at that point - as with many artforms, it is all in the delivery, yes...
Note in the example shown above (again, depending on the availability of the videos...!) the rapid succession of close-up shots, followed by pan outs, the elysian fields scene, the masterful use of the haunting music all throughout and a zoom out at the very end - into the sunset, starting from a now empty colosseum - there is no better way to show the proper measure of our earthly existence as compared to the afterlife. True lyricism is achieved here. And the cinematographic skill as well as the judicious use of the masterful music achieved it.
The words of the black gladiator played by Djimon Hounsou
are most remembered there: they end the film, as he says "now we are free. And we shall see you again. But not yet. Not yet."
So very true - they are a beacon of hope that echo the more somber words delivered by the late great Oliver Reed who stated, twice in the film, that we are but shadows and dust - before he was himself killed in a scene. The fact is, Mr. Reed was not to die in this film; the script called for him to deliver the lines at the end that ultimately went to Djimon Hounsou! This was changed -the script was rewritten- as this was to be also Mr. Reed's final film, as we all know; lyrical irony perhaps right there that he was attributed a role with those lines to deliver as his cinematographic swan song. Of course, our earthly shells are shadows and they go from dust to dust - but out souls are another matter entirely - and we shall see you again, Oliver Reed...
I mentioned the great Alfred Hitchcock at the top.
His films were studied and scrutinized under all aspects by all would-be filmmakers - and many use his techniques to tremendous effect. It is only lamentable that the subject matters today are not as worthy as in the days of Alfred the Great!
Here is an example of that: great succession of images and the appropriate tension mounting - Alfred would like it, on technical merit alone - but nothing else, I am afraid...
Everyone will want to leave their mark, of course - by being as effective as their predecessors were, but by distinguishing themselves through doing so with material the others would probably not have touched with a ten-foot pole...
I am willing to give kudos to Ridley Scott - but not to Ron Howard.
My choice - my prerogative.
Both are equally sound in their technique and use of every tool at their disposal to make a memorable contribution to the seventh art - both want an Oscar before they go, evidently...
One chooses better material to make a film out of, that's all.
Let's end on a delightful note - with a lesson in true great cinematography - flawless in so many ways - by the man himself; Alfred Hitchcock!
Labels: commemorative, hollywood, reviews, simulpost, YouTube videos
posted by Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ at 10:44 PM
2 Comments:
Trivia courtesy of IMDB!
Trivia for
Gladiator (2000)
Like modern day athletes, ancient Roman gladiators did product endorsements. The producers considered including this in the script but discarded the idea as unbelievable.
'Russell Crowe (I)' began shooting for Gladiator a few months after The Insider (1999) wrapped. He had gained upwards of 40 pounds for his Oscar-nominated role in The Insider and yet lost it all before Gladiator began. He claims he did nothing special other than normal work on his farm in Australia.
Lou Ferrigno was originally cast as Tigris of Gaul, but was replaced during production by Sven-Ole Thorsen who had been lobbying hard for the part.
Oliver Reed suffered a fatal heart attack during filming. Some of his sequences had to be re-edited and a double, photographed in the shadows and with a 3D CGI mask of Reed's face, was used as a stand-in. The film is dedicated to his memory.
Connie Nielsen found the 2000-year-old signet ring which she wears in the movie, in an antique store.
In the Colosseum scenes, only the bottom two decks are actually filled with people. The other thousands of people are computer-animated.
Among the chanting of the Germanic hordes at the beginning of the film are samples of the Zulu war chant from the film Zulu (1964).
In the Spanish dubbed version Maximus says he is from Emerita Augusta (now called Merida). The Spanish dubbers claimed that, "Trujillo doesn't combine the 'qualities' to be cradle of the gladiator."
The wounds on 'Russell Crowe (I)' 's face after the opening battle scene are real, caused when his horse startled and backed him into tree branches. The stitches in his cheek are clearly visible when he is telling Commodus he intends to return home.
Maximus' (Russell Crowe) description of his home (specifically how the kitchen is arranged and smells in the morning and at night) was ad-libbed - it's a description of Crowe's own home in Australia.
Character actor Sven-Ole Thorsen not only played Tigris the Gaul but doubled as one of the spectators during that same battle.
The yak helmet worn by the gladiator who was slain by Hagen, is the same one worn by the warrior slain by Sean Connery, in Time Bandits (1981).
During filming, director Ridley Scott wore the red cap worn by Gene Hackman in the movie Crimson Tide (1995), which was directed by Ridley's brother, Tony Scott.
Richard Harris, who plays Marcus Aurelius, was originally set to play Commodus in The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) (but left the film due to artistic differences with director Anthony Mann and was replaced by Christopher Plummer).
At one point, Commodus mentions the emperor Claudius to Lucilla and Lucuis. Derek Jacobi, who plays Gracchus in this film, played Claudius in the BBC TV series "I, Claudius" (1976) (mini). Brian Blessed who played Caesar Augustus in "I Claudius" has a cameo appearance as a Coliseum spectator during the games.
The real-life Commodus was in fact the only Roman Emperor in history to fight as a gladiator in the arena. However, he did it several times, not just once. Also, he was not killed in the arena but was strangled in his dressing room by an athlete named Narcissus.
Although much of the movie is fictitious, it's interesting to note that emperor Commodus' historically accurate killer, Narcissus, was born in the same Roman African province as the one in the movie where Maximus becomes a gladiator.
In the original drafts of the script, the name of the main character was not "Maximus" but "Narcissus" the name of the man who killed Commodus in real life.
Mel Gibson was offered, but turned down the part of Maximus.
Contrary to rumor, Enya didn't record any music for the soundtrack of this film. The song simply sounds like something she would have recorded. The song, and in fact much of the soundtrack, was composed and sung by Lisa Gerrard.
Writer David Franzoni started developing the story in the 1970s when he read "Those Who Are About To Die," a history of the Roman games by Daniel P. Mannix; Franzoni later discussed the idea with Steven Spielberg during their work on Amistad (1997), saying that he envisioned Commodus as being something like Ted Turner in the way he combined politics and entertainment to establish a base of influence.
Ridley Scott was persuaded to do the film when DreamWorks head Walter F. Parkes and producer Douglas Wick presented him with a reproduction of the 1872 painting "Pollice Verso" ("Thumbs Down") by Jean-Leon Gerome, in which a gladiator stands over the opponent he has beaten.
On visiting the real Colosseum, Ridley Scott remarked to production designer 'Arthur Max' that it was "too small," so they designed an outsized "Rome of the imagination" which was inspired by English and French romantic painters, as well as Nazi architect Albert Speer.
Writer William Nicholson added the aspects of the film in which Maximus discusses the afterlife, seeking to make the character more accessible to audiences.
Over the course of the gladiatorial scenes, 'Russell Crowe (I)' broke bones in his foot and his hip, and injured both bicep tendons.
Writer David Franzoni chose not to use the end of the film to note that Rome did not, in fact, become a republic again, because he thought most audiences would already know that.
Among the changes necessitated by the death of Oliver Reed was the final scene, as it was supposed to have been Proximo who buried the figures in the sand of the Coliseum.
Editor Pietro Scalia added the shot of Maximus moving through a wheat field to the beginning of the film; it had been filmed for the ending.
Some shots of Oliver Reed had to be faked with CGI after his death, at an estimated cost of $3 million.
Maximus' Spanish heritage meshes interestingly with his choice of arms - as a General riding with the cavalry of the Felix Legion, (in the opening battle) he wields a sword known as a "Spatha", popular among the continental tribes especially in Spain and southern Gaul. As a Gladiator, he uses a sword similar to the spatha in appearance but shorter and broader. This weapon is known as the "Gladius Hispaniensis", and was adopted by the Roman infantry after Scipio's invasion of the Iberian Peninsula in the II century B.C., after the end of the 2nd Punic War. Roman infantry wore the gladius on the right side - this, facilitated by the short blade length, allowed the legionary to draw his weapon on the same side as his sword arm; cross-drawing would be hindered by the scutum (the large rectangular shield) while in formation.
The short sword used by the Roman army, the Galdius Hispaniensis, is seen being used by many gladiators in the film. The version used in the arena in the film is accurate as depicted; it was often shorter than the military version. The use of the gladius is actually the source of the word "Gladiator".
Various historians have tried to find proof that the awning in the Coliseum really was used as a cooling system.
As 'Oliver Reed' died with three weeks of principal photography remaining and as he was considered a key character, a clause in the insurance coverage on the movie would have allowed the film-makers to shoot all of Reed's scenes with another actor, with the insurers footing the cost (estimated at $25million). However, most of the actors and crew were exhausted from the punishing schedule and Ridley Scott did not want to lose Oliver Reed from the movie, so the script was rewritten and CGI used to give Reed's character a plausible resolution.
This is 'Russell Crowe (I)' 's favorite of the American films that he has done. He also cites Maximus as his favorite character that he's played so far.
Jennifer Lopez auditioned for the role of Lucilla.
IMDB cracks me up with their emphasis on names sometimes...
It's 'Oliver Reed' - not simply Oliver Reed...
And it's 'Russell Crowe (I)' - we have to know that he is the Russell Crowe the 1st! Not the second! Never second banana, Mr. Crowe - no! Second choice to play Gladiator Narcissus/Maximus, yes (and the first choice was... Braveheart, what a surprise! Hollywood is so predictable!) but, otherwise, Russell Crowe is always numero uno!
Will there be a 'Russell Crowe (II)' - ever?
I guess it is up to Mrs Crowe - the 1st!
;)
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