ZNAK SAGITE — više od fantastike — edicija, časopis, knjižara...

Pogledao sam poslednji film Dona Siegela JINXED!, film koga se sam Siegel polu-odrekao, detaljno opisujući sve probleme koji su se desili u realizaciji u svojoj kapitalnoj knjizi A SIEGEL FILM koja je svakako obavezno štivo za svakog ljubitelja filma, ili pretendenta na ulazak u profesiju. Siegelova priča o radu na JINXED! pokazuje fazu u ratvoju Holivuda kada je sloboda koju su glumci, čini se s pravom, izborili postala suvišna, i na kraju je njegov film stradao u kovitlacu lične sujete Bette Midler, nesporno talentovane zvezde koja ipak nema taj profil da bi mogla da na takav način diktira nastanak filma.

Upravo zbog tih priča, godinama sam se uzdržavao od gledanja ovog naslova, pošto je to bio ne samo njegov poslednji film već i drugi naslov u nizu na kome je imao ozbiljne, gotovo degradirajuće probleme sa produkcijom.

Uprkos sveu tome, JINXED! zapravo uopšte nije loš film. Reč je o neo noiru sa određenom dozom komedije, koji sasvim pristojno funkcioniše i uspeva da unese izvesnu dozu svežinu u jamesmacinovsku postavku koja deluje kao da je done to death ali u ve[toj egyekuciji može da dobije neki novi kvalitet.

Iako JINXED! nije ni kamen temeljac neo noira, niti spada u red Siegelovih klasika, sasvim je sigurno da je reč o solidnom o filmu a konsenzus o tome da film ne valja proistekao je iz autorovog negativnog odnosa prema vlastitom delu. Međutim, ako se izuzme Siegelovo očigledno nezadovoljstvo što pod stare dane snima film na kome ne može da kontroliše stvari, a JINXED! je verovatno bio film na kome nije dobio zadovoljavajući tretman, to ne znači da njegova znalačka režija ne daje izvesnu eleganciju vrlo solidnim rolama koje su pružili Bette Midler, Rip Torn i Ken Wahl (svakako jedan od najprotraćenijih talenata ranih osamdesetih) i priči koja vrlo pristojno funkcioniše u ambijentima koje je snimio Vilmos Zsigmond.

JINXED! možda nije finale kakvom se Siegel nadao ali je jako dobar neo noir o marinalcima, kockarima, prevarantima, fatalnim ženama, koji uprkos diktaturi Bette Midler na snimanju uravo u njoj ima bitan adut jer je njen lik femme fatale koja se izdvaja i deluje nešto realističnije od drugih. Rečju, Bette Midler je upravo "dame" zbog koje bi se poubijala grupa hickova.

U tom domenu atipičnog kastinga, Bette Midler je Siegelova Barbara Stabnwyck, s tim što je njena pojava još obscenija, ne samo u fizičkom već pre svega socijalnom smislu. Ona je femme fatale za white trash, i u izvesnom smislu, možda je JINXED! osnov na koji će se ubrzo nadovezati Braća Coen.

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Mike Nichols je imao bogatu karijeru u kojoj je bilo promašaja, ali retko koji je toliko bizaran kao što je THE DAY OF THE DOLPHIN. Reč je o ekranizaciji romana Roberta Merlea, po scenariju dokazanog Nicholsovog sradnika Bucka Henryja. Međutim, film je bizaran od same postavke jer radi se o priči o naučniku koji uči delfina da govori, a sve se zatim degeneriše u triler kada se ispostavi da fondacija koja bogato finansira njegov rad zapravo želi da stvpori delfine koji će isporučiti bombu na jahtu američkog predsednika.

Nichols režira ovaj film sa velikim akcentom na vizuelno pripovedanje, lepotu kretanja delfina i sl. Međutim, taj pokušaj vizuelne sofistikacije i George C. Scottove dosta upadljive glume koja svemu daje naročitu "ozbiljnost" ne mogu da funkcionišu u spoju sa detinjastom premisom koja na kraju čini da se film pretvori u jednu u svakom smislu nedorečenu papazjaniju.

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Pogledao sam PLAVI VOZ Janka Baljka i rekao bih da je ovaj film jedna od manifestacija u sklopu pripreme našeg narod za mesijanski dolazak MONTEVIDEA u bioskope. Reč je o primeru tolike nemuštosti da prosto nameće jedno veliko pozivanje na odgovornost.

Krenimo redom, od objektivnog ka subjektivnog.

Prvo, film se u srpskim bioskopima prikazuje sa BluRaya a cena karte ne samo da nije prilagođena tome nego to nije ni na koji način ni najavljeno publici. Što se mene tiče, producenti i distributeri ne moraju nužno da smanje kartu filmu koji se pušta sa BluRaya, mogu i da je povećaju, ali je red da na neki način najave publici čemu će prisustvovati a ne da nas vabe na bioskopsku projekciju gde zatičemu ugođaj sličan gledanju BEOGRADSKE HRONIKE na velikom ekranu, sa slikom bez zrna kakva nije postojala ni u pionirsko vreme digitalne tehnologije u vreme kada sam ja pohađao FDU, čemu ćemo se kao temi još jednom vratiti kasnije.

Dakle, PLAVI VOZ je prevara publike, to je tehnički neuslovna projekcija materijala koji ne samo da bi, verovatno, dobio na bioskopskom dignitetu prebacivanjem na filmsku traku, već su producenti kao dobitnici novca za postprodukciju bili DUŽNI da prebace film na traku. Već godinama čujemo/znamo za muke filmadžija da skupe novac kako bi prebacili film na traku, uprkos urbanim legendama o digitalnoj projekciji kao budućnosti bioskopa, i PLAVI VOZ ih sve zajedno pravi budalama pokazujući kako to zapravo i nije nužno da bi se film javno prikazivao i da bi se potrošile državne pare.

U sadašnjim specifičnim političkim okolnostima, gortovo je sigurno da niko neće ni prići trainwrecku kao što je PLAVI VOZ i čini se da je opšta atmosfera da se taj slučaj što pre zaboravi i gurne pod tepih.

No, još je rano za zaboravljanje. Tek dolazimo do samog filma.

Scenario je napisao Janko Baljak u vreme kada je diplomirao na FDU. Sticajem okolnosti imao sam priliku da pročitam shooting script i iako to nije bilo ništa naročito, ono što je krasilo scenario jeste da je bio prilično jasan na nivou zapleta i odnosa među likovima, da su svi događaji, uprkos problemima u konzistentnosti tona, bili manje ili više uverljivi ali nesumnjivo razumljivi. U filmu, kroz katastrofalnu montažu i slao vođenje glumaca, došli smo do toga da priča nije jasna na najelementarnijem nivou u smislu ko je s kim drug, ko se kome sviđa, ko je prijatelj, ko neprijatelj i zašto. Scenario je barem u tom smislu bio savršeno jasan i PLAVI VOZ je najbolji primer koliko reditelj u saradnji sa ostatkom ekipe može da utiče na obesmišljavanje najelementarnijih osnova predloška.

Glumačka podela je u najmanju ruku konceptualno slaba. Reč je o omladinskom filmu, pa tu ima dosta glumaca-debitanata i na njih se zaista ne može svaliti krivica,. Izuzev miscasta u glavnoj muškoj uozi, svi su u najužem krugu glavnih uloga itekako mogli funkcionisati kao podela, ali već izvan najužeg kruga imamo potpuno sramotna rešenja sa sve kvarcovanim devojkama u 1980. godini, dizelašima i sl. Ipak, najveći blam su "stariji" glumci. Zvučaće neverovatno ali istinito ali PLAVI VOZ je do sada prva istinski slaba uloga inače tradicionalno pouzdanog (premda ja sam uvek skeptičan prema glumcima koji su dobri u "lošim" filmovima) Nebojše Milovanovića koji u ovom filmu otkriva publici svoju "mračnu stranu" i sposobnost da padne ispod svog inače sasvim solidnog nivou (o čijim temeljima, naravno, možemo polemisati). Čini se da je upravo Milovanović paradigtmatičan kao merilo rada sa glumcima na ovom filmu. Naime, ako je on kao iskusan i pozdan glumac ispod svog nivoa, onda su mlai glumci još i dobro prošli.

Po meni neetičan postupak producenata koji su sasvim sigurno bili svesni o kakvom trainwrecku je reč jeste ostavljanje kadra u kome se glavna glumica Sanja Popović skida. Taj kadar je sigurno obradovao sve njene poštovaoce, ali ovaj film svakako nije (vreme &) mesto za tu vrstu "debija" ako imamo u vidu koliko big deal ta vrsta inicijacije predstavlja za svaku mladu glumicu.

Konačno, dolazimo do vizuelnog aspekta PLAVOG VOZA koji je toliko slab da se graniči sa elementarnim odsusutvom poznavanja čak i najosnovnijih vidova vizuelne komunikacije. Ovde ne govorimo u filmu čiji reditelj i DP ne deluju talentovano. Ili ne deluju kao da su gledali dovoljno filmova. Ne, ovaj film je režiran i snimljen kao da su ga radili ljudi koji su dovoljno gledali TV Dnevnik. To nije pitanje realizacije već naprosto osećaja za kompoziciju kadra, ritam, mehanizme razvijanja priče koje čini mi se, u svom hromozomu ima svako rođen tokom 20. veka a naročito u njegovoj drugoj polovini.

Nažalost, ovaj film je u tom smislu do te mere nemušt da to zamalo deluje kao da je namerno, ali nije. Štaviše, u toj nemuštosti se krio verovatno jedini potencijal za estetsko objašnjavanje ovog promašaja a to je spinovanje da se radi po pokušaju rekonstrukcije omladinskog filma iz 1980. godine snimljenog u istočnom bloku, i da se PLAVI VOZ iskoristi kao high concept, kao loš flmu u filmu. Međutim, ni omladinski filmovi iz tog vremena, pa čak ni inkriminisani MATURANTI koji zbilja spadaju u talog naše kinematografije nisu ovoliko slabi i pokušaj da se film tako plasira završio bi kao duhovit falsifikat.

Fotografija je flah iz kadra u kadar, kao da je na celom filmu korišćen jedan objektiv koji se zatekao u nekom fabričkom settingu, iako optika kao što znamo više nije problem u digitalnom snimanju. Mizanscen samo parira tom fotografskom užasu, a poređenja koja često čujem da PLAVI VOZ izgleda kao "loša RTSova serija" može doći samo od nekoga ko ne gleda RTSove serije pa ne zna da su one dosta napredovale. Inače, DP je bio Jovan Milinov PROFESOR kamere na novosadskoj akademiji i on na s uvodi u možda najzanimljiviju temu a to je PUČ U EKIPI.

Naime, Milinovljeva fotografija je do te mere nestručna, da to prevazilazi Baljkovu komandnu odgovornost. Znam da će svi čistunci sada odmah potezati argument reditelja kao najodgovornijeg čoveka u ekipi filma i to je formalno tačno. Međutim, reditelj, koliko god nemao pojma a PLAVI VOZ je primer ozbiljnog nemanja pojma, IPAK, ne može da kontroliše APSOLUTNO SVE aspekte snimanja i mora da se osloni na to da članovi ekipe neće pružiti rezultate koji su ponižavajući za njihovu vlastitu reputaciju kao što je uradio Milinov. Sasvim je sigurno da bi film prebacivanjem na traku, i dobijanjem zrna na slici, stekao određeni film look ali to ne bi spasilo ovu fotku.

Sličan utisak o izneveravanju unutar ekipe imamo i u slučaju kostimografkinje Nevene Milovanović koja je do sada radila niz smislenih stvari. Njena rešenja koja je pružila u filmu ne da su pogrešna, ne da su javašluk, nego nisu ni za vraćanje. Svaki reditelj koji drži do sebe bi je otpustio kada bi mu ona ta rešenja ponudila na probi, dakle ne da bi ih vratio i rekao joj da smisli druga nego bi dobila odmah otkaz, a u ovom filmu ta rešenja su snimljena pa otud pola dece 1980. godine izgledaju kao da su se obukli prekjuče kod Kineza a druga polovina kao da su iz BALA NA VODI. Ovde nažalost ne govorimo o epohi koju je teško razumeti i rekonstruisati već o periodu o kome postoji mnoštvo dokumentarnih ili fikcionalnih zapisa. Ako imamo u vidu da je SAVREMENI kostim uvek mnogo teže osmisliti od onog u epohi, to samo potvrđuje koliko je sve ovo nedopustivo.

Onačno, u taj domen blama među članovima ekipe spada ton Miloša Drobnjakovića. Ako se još za Milinovljevu fotografiju može reći da nije tehnološki dovršena zato što film nije prebačen, ton bi po definiciji trebalo da se čuje dobro, čak i bolje sa BluRaya, ali ovde ono što se čuje nimalo nije kvalitetno realizovano. Ne samo da ima replika koje se ne razumeju već je celokupan miks nedorastao čak i srpskim standardima.

Jedina, uslovno rečeno, pristojna tačka i to ne po realizaciji već naprosto po čitljivosti namere jeste skor Janje Lončar koji je u najmanju ruku tačan ali je degradiran svim ostalim elementima.

Moju okolinu beskrajno zabavlja to što sam Filmsku režiju na fakultetu polagao kod Baljka, pa je sada zanimljivo videti kako izgleda rad čoveka "koji me je naučio svemu". Srećom, režija nam je bila sporedan predmet.

au...

Ne znam ko je taj Baljak (znam samo za Aleksandra), ali tekst razbija!

AICN Legends: Capone covers the Cannon Films canon with producer/director Menahem Golan!!!
Hey everyone. Capone in Chicago here.

In light of the recent passing of Dino De Laurentiis, I don't see how this edition of AICN Legends could be any more fitting or timely. As much as we live in a world of Jerry Bruckheimer and other producers of mega-wattage blockbusters, we don't really live in the world of the producer the way we used to. Men like Menahem Golan and his cousin Yoram Globus, the runners of the Cannon Group from 1979 to 1989, as well as De Laurentiis and others, made diverse types of films with an equally varied pool of directors and actors. Sure their bread and butter might have been in action and exploitation films, but they used the profits from those works to fund smaller, art-house fare.

Born in Palestine, Golan made a name for himself in Israel as a director, but only after attending film school in New York and working briefly for Roger Corman on 1963's THE YOUNG RACERS. He formed the production company Noah Films with Globus that same year, and the pair made EL DORADO, which Golan directed and co-wrote. A year later the company produced SALLAH, which got an Oscar nomination for best Foreign Language Film (the film won the Golden Globe in the same category). After 10 years producing Israeli films the cousins got the itch to move into the global market. While a couple of their productions had been picked up by U.S. and other worldwide distributors, including the Golan-directed MGM-distributed KAZABLAN and the great Peter Boyle vehicle JOE.

They made their stab at international recognition when Golan and Globus purchased the failing Cannon Group in 1979, and within a few years, the were producing dozens of movies annually, with Golan never straying far from the directors chair. Cannon releases under their regime included THE HAPPY HOOKER GOES HOLLYWOOD, LADY CHATTERLEY'S LOVER, ENTER THE NINJA (which Golan directed), NEW YEAR'S EVIL, SCHIZOID, all of the DEATH WISH sequels, THE LAST AMERICAN VIRGIN, 10 TO MIDNIGHT, the two BREAKIN' movies, BOLERO, LIFE FORCE, THUNDER ALLEY, RAPPIN', RUNAWAY TRAIN, KING SOLOMON'S MINES, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2, John Frankenheimer's 52 PICK-UP, STREET SMART, THE HANOI HILTON, BARFLY, MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE, A CRY IN THE DARK, KINJITE, THE FORBIDDEN DANCE, POWAQQATSI, CAPTAIN AMERICA, and STREET HUNTER, just to name a few.

The company put out many of the Chuck Norris films of the 1980s, including the MISSING IN ACTION series, INVASION U.S.A., FIREWALKER, and THE DELTA FORCE, directed by Golan and featuring the final on-screen performance of Lee Marvin. The company also provided a home for most of Charles Bronson's later works. Golan also discovered Jean-Claude Van Damme (casting him in BLOOD SPORT and CYBORG), and propelled Sylvester Stallone's asking price per film well into the eight-figure realm with COBRA and the Golan-directed OVER THE TOP.

As I mentioned, Cannon also made a name for itself working with established directors on films geared toward the arthouse crowd, including Jean-Luc Godard's KING LEAR, Zeffirelli's OTELLO, Normal Mailer's TOUGH GUYS DON'T DANCE, and John Cassavetes LOVE STREAMS. Golan and Globus pretty much invented direct-to-video sequels, and introduced the multiplex to theaters across Europe.

With 44 directing credits to his name, Golan might have actually been one of the few producers at the time with an credentials to actually make decisions concerning a film's production. Perhaps his most notorious work (in a filmography that includes MACK THE KNIFE, THE VERSACE MURDER, an adaptation of Dostoyevsky's CRIME AND PUNISHMENT, DEATH GAME, FINAL COMBAT) is the musical THE APPLE, which has seen something of a rebirth in recent years thanks to a few circulating prints and VHS tapes making their way into viewing parties and midnight shows across the country and around the world.

The reason I was fortunate enough to chat at length (we spoke for about an hour) is a very special event taking place at The Film Society of Lincoln Center from November 19-24, which is reuniting Golan and Globus for the first time in many years, after a falling out. For all the details on the various screenings (including THE APPLE, BARFLY, Nicolas Roeg's CASTAWAY, 52 PICK-UP, KING LEAR, LOVE STREAMS, OPERATION THUNDERBOLT, RUNAWAY TRAIN, STREET SMART, SHY PEOPLE, TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2, Raul Ruiz's TREASURE ISLAND, and TOUGH GUYS DON'T DANCE), guests, and events, go to the Film Society's website. I can't imagine a self-respecting New York film lover missing any part of this glorious retrospective. It's going to be a great week in the Big Apple.

To prime you for this week of bliss, please enjoy the man with a million stories to tell, both on screen and in his own words, Menahem Golan


Menahem Golan: Hello.

Capone: Hello, how are you?

MG: A bit of a cold, but feeling good.

Capone: Oh, you have a cold?

MG: Yeah.

Capone: I'm sorry.

MG: It's okay, I will heal. By the time I have to come to America on the 18th I'll be okay.

Capone: That's good, and congratulations on the event at Lincoln Center. That's got to be thrilling for you.

MG: For me, it's thrilling, because one of the reasons is it puts me and Yoram together again. After a long time, we didn't talk to each other, and this heals the relationship.

Capone: That's good to hear. I take it you've talked to him since they announced that they wanted to do this event.

MG: Yes.

Capone: Okay, I'm going to resist, as much as I can, the temptation to just sit and name the titles of films you directed or produced that I greatly admire. I would like to get a little bit into your entire career and life story. Do you remember what it was that first made you want to get involved in the movie business to begin with?

MG: All of this is a result of childhood. I am from a town called Tiberius, which is on the lake of Galilee where Jesus walked on the water, you know. And in this town, there were two cinemas that played three films a week, and I tried to see them all. Most of the films were either Westerns or musicals from America, and I fell in love with that, but my father stopped giving me money. I was eight, nine, ten years old and I spoke to the man who screened the movies, the projectionist, and asked him whether he needed somebody to help him turn the translation. In those days, the subtitles were not in the body of the film; the subtitles were run on a separate reel. You had to have somebody to turn it according to the voices and the dialogue that came from the screen.

Capone: Manually turn it?

MG: Yeah, and you know I begged him. I said, "I will work for nothing," and I came and started to go to projection room and roll the subtitles, according to the dialogue. I knew English a little bit, and I remember that I was so involved in the story of the movie, and sometimes I forget to turn the reel and I hear shouting from the theater "Hello, Menahem! Subtitles! Wake up."

I fell in love with American films. At this time when it came to Tiberius, the film THE GREAT DICTATOR by Charlie Chaplin. We all waited for weeks and we had a teacher, a female teacher, who used to sit on the table and read the kids--the boys I think we were eight or nine--we had mirrors on a piece of wire to see her underwear and we were betting on what color this underwear was. Anyway, she caught us and she called the headmaster and he gave us a punishment, "This weekend is coming shortly, and it's very important, everybody is waiting, you are not going to the cinema." And this punishment, I couldn't take, so I went to the cinema on the Saturday night, and the teacher was hiding in the gallery, and he saw me. Anyway, I saw this movie of Chaplin's, and the next morning the teacher called me in front of the class and said, "Where were you last night?" and I said, "At home." He said, "No, no don't lie. Where were you last night?" I said, "Well I was reading books at home..." I told him a foolish story, and then he slapped me on the face, and they threw me out of school for lying. For two weeks, I was not in school. [laughs]

But all of this is for the love of movies, as a child it started. I don't know how the bug came about. I studied movies at the New York City College. They had a film institute, and I studied filming, editing, etc. Then near the end of my training, I heard that Roger Corman was going to do a movie in Europe called THE YOUNG RACERS, and I always admired Roger Corman, because he discovered all of the great actors and he did films quite really cheap, most of them were exploitation films, but he was a very clever producer and still is. I wrote him a letter "I would like very much to join your crew. I'm not asking for money. I just finished at film school. Can I join?" And he said "Yes, if you will be on the 6th of June at this hotel in Monte Carlo, I'm doing a film called THE YOUNG RACERS about car racing." And I said, "I will be there."

I said later, "Listen, I must take my wife with me." She was with me. "Can she do something in the film? Maybe earn some money?" He said, "Well we don't have a make-up woman, does she know make up?" I said "Yes, of course" and I asked her, "Do you know make up?" She never did make up, and I asked her about it and I bought her a book. And on the airplane to France, she kind of learned it from a book. We went down to Monte Carlo, we came on the 6th of June, and there I found the students, among them Frances Ford Coppola--people that came from school before they became filmmakers. When I asked Francis "What are you doing here?" He says "I'm the sound man." I said "Do you know sound?" He said "No, but I have a book."

Anyway, we started to work. It was a Sunday, and Roger asked the people, "Tomorrow we are shooting the race when the driver gets the wreath." It's the flowers on his neck, and they throw champagne on his head, etc. So, "Do we have a wreath?" It was Sunday, and nobody dared to say that we didn't have a wreath when he have to shoot it at seven in the morning. "Who can get me a wreath?" Now, it's night already. I put my hand up and I said, "Give me a hundred bucks, and I'll go out and get a wreath." He gave me the hundred bucks, and I went to the streets and was looking for flower shops. All of them were closed you know, and then I found the shop, and it was closed. I looked for some kind of an address of the owner, couldn't find it, and suddenly a police car stopped by me.--they thought I was breaking into the shop. So they arrested me and they took me. I told them in broken French, "I'm looking to get a wreath for a film." They took me to the owner's home in the mountains, and he came, and I was working with him the whole night to build the wreath, and at seven in the morning, I came with the wreath to the set, to the location, and Roger Corman called all of the crew and said, "Gentlemen, here's another Roger Corman."

Capone: I've actually talked to quite a few people who got their start with Roger Corman--Peter Fonda and Ron Howard. Do you remember specific lessons about being a producer that you learned from him?

MG: Well, to understand what the budget is and to fight for every dollar. To do a low budget movie, it's more than a profession. Really, you have to learn how to do it, and when I started to do movies with Yoram [Globus], my cousin, we worked all the time at doing them at the lowest cost. We said, "You make money when you bring the costs low. Then you can make money." You don't think what you are going to earn; think what you are going to spend, and that was the school of Roger Corman.

Now, let me tell you a story about what happened with Francis Ford Coppola. We were sitting in the weekend all of us around the table for dinner in the hotel, and I told Roger... He asked me "What are you going to do after the movie, Menahem?" I said, "I'm going back to Israel and I'm going to make my first movie." He says, "What is your first movie about?" So I told him, "Do you know Theodor Herzl?" He said "No." I told him, "He is the father of Zionism. He wrote the book called "Old New Land," and in the book he wrote, 'We shall have a Jewish country when where there will be a Jewish Policeman, a Jewish thief, and a Jewish home.' So I am doing my first film about a Jewish policemen, a Jewish thief, and a Jewish home."

He liked it and he says, "How much money do you need to do this film?" I didn't know much about the costs, but I said "About $30,000. I'll give you the film for the world. I'll take only Israel." And he agreed; he actually agreed and he was about to in the next few days to write a contract, but Francis Ford Coppola told him "Roger, are you fucking crazy? This guy is going to make a Hebrew-speaking picture in black and white. I'll make for you an American film. Give me the $30,000." He gave the $30,000 to him. He never gave it to me. We were in Liverpool at that time shooting the race, and Francis on the weekend crossed the channel to Ireland, and he went to the studio and said, "I have $30,000 dollars and I have a script." By the way, Roger said [to Coppola], "Menahem has a script, this story, what can you offer?" Coppola said, "Not now, but tomorrow morning." He was living in a room nearby me, and I heard him all night typing on the machine, and he wrote the script that night, this was Francis Ford Coppola's first film. I can't remember the name, but you can find it.

Capone: Is that DIMENTIA 13?

MG: Right, this was his first film, which he made with the money that was supposed to come to me. [laughs] Anyway, I learned a lot from Corman, and we are friends still today. Then, I went to Israel and I did my first movie with financing in Israel with a guy who was a tailor who came from Australia and was quite rich. He financed most of it, and I worked without money on percentage, and the film was such a hit that I made good money. From then on we started the company Noah Films, the name of my father and we did some really big hits in Israel, like the Lemon Popsicle series, I don't know if you know of them. Lemon Popsicle did $10 million in Japan and $10 million in Germany. It was an amazing international hit, and then we took the story of the first Lemon Popsicle film, and we made in America, we did Cannon in America, THE LAST AMERICAN VIRGIN. It's basically Lemon Popsicle.

Capone: Aside from keeping an eye on the budget, what is your philosophy about the job of a producer?

MG: The first thing with my philosophy is: If you don't love movies, you can't make them. You must be in love with movies. Spielberg said, and I admire Spielberg as the best filmmaker in the world, he once said, "Film is to live twice. It gives you a second life." When you sit in a cinema and you absorb the story and you forget your life outside, your dreary life, your miserable problems, all of a sudden new life comes to your brain while you are captivated with the movie. It means you have "two lives." For me, filmmaking is like a second life. Do you understand?

Capone: Of course.

MG: And I was very influenced by the Italian Neorealistic period with [Vittorio] De Sica and [Federico] Fellini and the Italian cinema, and I tried to do it in Israel Neorealism, in other words taking story from the life of the people in the little towns of Israel. I never shot any movie about the wars or the political side. I would try to find love stories, which are connected to the dreary life outside of the main city. And some of them became big hits, and that's how I did KAZABLAN, a musical. And the head of MGM was visiting Israel, and we invited him to the opening of KAZABLAN, and on the spot in the middle of the screening, he said, "Did you sell it anywhere else?" I said "Not yet." And he offered me half a million dollars to buy the film for the world. It was a big thing for the Israel film industry.

Capone: Since you were a trained filmmaker and made several dozen films over your career, do you think that influenced your nature as a producer, and you felt a little bit more at ease advising directors on their works?

MG: Yes. The producer must have almost a similar love to making movies. He's not just a moneyman; he has to be an artist. He has to have this sense of art, and some of the great producers became also some great directors, and I admire the great directors, and that's why when we had Cannon, I said to Yohan "We need to do some high-class art movies in order to not be named as exploitation company and that we are only doing action movies, etc..."

Although action movies conquered the world, like with Chuck Norris, who I had a contract with him for seven years. I did what the majors used to do before. I signed with Chuck this contract. And I had [Charles] Bronson. I did with him 12 movies, the DEATH WISH series. But beside all of that, I always said to Yoram "Yoram, we should keep our house open for directors who have artistic projects and are looking for house." So, when this news came out in Hollywood, many directors came to us like Barbet Schroeder, like Robert Altman. The main one that came to me was [John] Cassavetes. We did the film with Cassavetes, LOVE STEAMS, and we won the prize in Berlin. So the art movies gave us prestige, gave us opening to all of the festivals, to Cannes, to the Oscars, etc... While the money came from the action movies, from the ninjas, you know? [laughs]

Capone: [Laughs] Yes. I love those ninja movies of course.

MG: You know, I directed the first one, ENTER THE NINJA. I don't know if you saw it.

Capone: Of course. I'm very familiar with it.

MG: That was the first [ninja] movie [for Cannon].

Capone: And that movie in particular was interesting because you took the focus of martial arts movies off of China and moved it over to Japan, which hadn't been done.

MG: That was the reason behind it, and then we did AMERICAN NINJA. We did many NINJAs. We discovered Michael Dudikoff and we did many of these films, and they really sold like hot cakes.

Capone: And a lot of those sequels came out straight to video, correct? That was kind of unusual at the time.

MG: Yes, the video was good for us. It's a very good supplier for money, you know? The video really financed the big movies by doing it, because the majors were a very difficult competitor. Do you understand?

Capone: Yes.

MG: But they didn't do such movies. In every country in the world there are a number of distributors who can't get a major film for distribution, so we were the suppliers.

Capone: One film that you did as a director that I particularly liked was LEPKE with Tony Curtis, which was a really unusual film, because it was a Jewish mafia story.

MG: When we sold KAZABLAN to MGM, I was brought in by MGM to edit the English version. I shot KAZBLAN two times--once in English, once in Hebrew. And I was brought into MGM Studios to edit the English version, and all of a sudden one day I'm getting a call from a man called Hank [Henry] Plitt. I don't know if you heard of him. He was the owner of the ABC Theatre chain of cinemas in California. He invites me to lunch. I didn't know why, but I came and it was in Century City. He had the cinemas there. We were having lunch and he said, "Listen, I love Israel. I love Israeli films. I saw KAZABLAN and I would like to have it in my cinemas, but MGM wouldn't give it to me. They give it to my competitor. Can you talk to them?" I said, "How can I? I don't own the movie anymore; I sold it to MGM. I don't think they will listen to me. It's up to them and you."

But then I had an idea and I said, "Mr. Plitt, you like KAZABLAN?" He says "Very much." I said, "Why don't you do another movie with me?" And on the spot he said "Can you do a movie for $300,000?" I said, "I bet I can." He committed $300,000, and that's how we started LEPKE. He said,"Do you have a script or an idea?" I said, "Give me one day," and I didn't but I did what Coppola did! I went to a library and I picked up "The Encyclopedia of Crime in America," and I looked for a Jewish gangster and that's how I found Lepke, but then I didn't have enough money. We went to Well's Fargo Bank, and they gave us a loan and we actually did the movie for $1 milion. It was a great movie for Tony Curtis, and I think it was one of his last movies, but finally Warner Brothers bought it for distribution.

Capone: Yeah and you beat Sergio Leone's movie about Jewish mafia [ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA] by about 10 years.

MG: Yes, that's right.

Capone: You mentioned before your contract with Chuck Norris. How did the fact that you reintroduced the contract player idea into Hollywood again happen?

MG: We were both in New York promoting on Wall Street the first movie that Chuck was going to do with us, and the idea came to me... of course, I know the history of MGM, of all of the majors like Warner, etc... And to me it was kind of an amazing way that they ensured... They were fighting to have this stars you know and by doing a long-term contract, they supplied a lot of money to the stars. Chuck Norris made with us, he started very low, but then he reached $1 million dollars a movie, and we did actually 17 movies with him.

Capone: I didn't realize it was that many.

MG: Yeah and we did a lot of war movies on Vietnam, you know, the MISSING IN ACTION films.

Capone: DELTA FORCE is a great movie, if only because it's Lee Marvin's last performance, too.

MG: Yeah. Lee Marvin was an amazing man. He used to sit by the camera with me. He never left the camera. He didn't go to his cabin, to his room. He was such a wonderful man, you can't imagine.

Capone: You mentioned Barbet Schroeder before, and I recently saw BARFLY on the big screen again just a few months ago, because Roger Ebert here in Chicago, played it at his annual film festival and brought Barbet in to talk about after.

MG: Do you know the story about how it was born, this project?

Capone: Schroeder told the story after the screening, but I'd like to hear it from your point of view.

MG: Well, one day he came to me with a [Charles] Bukowski book and I read it over night. The next morning he came to see me, and he said, "I have a script based on this book. You like it?" I said, "I like it very much." "So can we start the movie?" I said, "Give me time, maybe in the summer. Give me six months." He said "No, no I'm not waiting. I must do a movie soon and I want to shoot in two or three weeks." And I said to him "Well, we need to cast this, we need stars, etc...," and all of a sudden the man took out an Italian knife, a jumping knife, and he put it on his finger. He said, "If you don't tell me we shoot this month, I'll cut off my finger." I swear to you that's what he said.

Capone: That's what he told us.

MG: I said, "Barbet, don't be silly. Give me time." That night, listen to this, I was leaving for London and I said to him, "Come again next week, and I'll talk with you; I'm going to London tonight." That night I was at the hotel in London, and there was a phone call from the guard of the building. He said to me "Mr. Golan, there is a man here, a crazy guy, holding a knife on his finger, and he says that if you don't come back and start the movie, he's cutting his finger." I said "Give it to me." and it was Babet and I said "Babet, don't be meshuga, come on! Come on, give me a chance. I like this script. I like the book. I like the story. You are a first-time director, after all." He just did GENERAL IDI AMIN DADA, you know the documentary? The famous documentary. I said to him "Please give me a chance," and he said "No." I had no alternative; I was afraid for his finger and I no alternative but to tell him, "Okay, we shoot next month." And we did shoot next month. I got him Faye Dunaway and I got Mickey Rourke, the brother of Stallone [Frank], who were my friends, and we started production.

Capone: Sure. I noticed in the program for the Lincoln Center events that the centerpiece event seems to be the screening of THE APPLE, which has become a cult hit, and people are still playing it in theaters. Tell me what you remember about making that movie.

MG: I will tell you, first of all, the film was invited to a festival in Canada in Montreal, The Montreal Festival. I was sitting in the screening, it was the premiere with Yoram and others. And all of a sudden, the crowd started to boo the film. "Boo! Boo!" And every number, "Boo." I was so insulted, I went up to the hotel which was near the cinema and I was living on the eighth floor, I went to the balcony and I was honestly going to jump.

Capone: Oh, no.

MG: I wanted to commit suicide, because you work on a movie so hard. It's a big movie, you see with a huge production, and I wanted to kill myself, and then we hardly played it. The film didn't play anywhere, and for 20 years it disappeared, the movie disappeared, and suddenly I heard that in New York they were playing it at midnight, and then it went on and on and on. It became a cult movie. That means that we were too... basically the music was before its time. Do you understand? I'm very proud that they are playing it. Myself, I did not see it for 20 years. You know, I shot it in Berlin. It was a tax shelter when we did it; we did tax-shelter financing, and Coby Recht wrote the music and gave me the idea. Basically, it's a biblical idea.

Capone: Have you ever really tried to figure out what it is about that film that has helped it get this revival in recent years?

MG: I have tried to understand it myself; I cannot. I don't know how it all of a sudden became a cult movie. It's very strange. I think it turns on the young people. They like now the music, I think.

Capone: You'd done a musicals before that, correct?

MG: Yes, I did THE SOUND OF MUSIC in Israel on the stage.

Capone: Oh, on the stage, okay.

MG: And about two years ago, I did DAYS OF LOVE. In Israel, I did a musical based on a story of two singers, one is a rock singer and successful, and one is a girl in this suburban town. And I also did DANGEROUS DANCE, and I produced the first... What do you call this dancing...?

Capone: Oh, break dancing? I was going to get into that next.

MG: Break dance, yes! It's called BREAKIN', and we were competing with Orion Films. They did BEAT STREET, and I was competing with them. My daughter told me that on the beach in Los Angeles, she said that you must go to the beach, because you see something amazing. I went there with her on a Sunday morning, and there were gobs of black kids dancing the break dance, and people surrounded them and I said, "There is a place to do a movie." And I started the first one immediately. We wrote the script, and then we brought a young director of musicals from Israel, Joel Silberg, and we did this movie. It was a huge success. I brought it first to MGM to distribute, so all of the management of MGM was sitting in the big screening room, and when they got up, I said "Will you distribute it yourselves?" "No, it's a schwartze movie." You know what schwartze is?

Capone: [Laughs] I'm familiar with the term, yes.

MG: "It's a schwartze movie," and they didn't want to put it out. I said to them, "Can I have another screening for you?" And I recruited kids from the street to the screening, and when the movie began with the dancing and all of that, all of the kids jumped on the chairs and started to dance. I said, "What do you think, it will not go?" Finally, I convinced them, and he started, he said "Okay, we shall play at 10 locations where they have schwartze children." Finally, the theater ordered the prints, and it was at 1,200 cinemas. It opened big for us and it made a lot of money.

Capone: I remember seeing it. You mentioned before about how you talked to your cousin about doing both the B-films--the action films, the dance films...

MG: Exploitation.

Capone: But they weren't all exploitation, many of them were tapping into things that were going on in pop culture at the time. And then you wanted to balance that with more artistic things.

MG: High-class artistic, yes.

Capone: I assume that one was paying for the other in a lot of ways.

MG: Yes.

Capone: A lot of the films that Cannon put out, including things like BREAKIN' or even with the MISSING IN ACTION films, tapping into the re-surging interest in the Vietnam experience, those films very much had their finger on the pulse of the zeitgeist in America. That was actually something I don't think people give the production company a lot of credit for, picking up on these emerging trends.

MG: You know, we were strangers to Hollywood. I tell you, we did two things that were revolutionary in Hollywood, let me tell you them. One, I was directing in New York a film OVER THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE with Elliot Gould and Margo Hemingway. And it was non-union, and finally the union decides to strike on me, and they came and a lot of people were union. They closed my set. They stood around my set and wouldn't let me shoot, but I went, and we hid in other locations and really we shot it under threat and under strike. But I implored the union to sit with us and come to some solution, but it can't be.

I claimed, "Look, you can't demand a film with the budget of one or two or three million dollars to pay every electrician a seat in first class." You can't demand all of those elements that are impossible for a low budget. At the same time, the majors are doing $50 million movies, and it is the same rule. So, I fought and I made the revolution, and still today if you ask the union, there is this law of Cannon that we introduced, me and Yoram, we produced, and we changed the rules of the union. Up to $3 million is one thing, but $10 million or more is another thing. So this is one revolution.

Another one, everybody said, "Those two Israelis are eating sandwiches in their offices." We didn't go to Beverly Hills pow-wows to meet other production companies that produced. We didn't leave the society of Hollywood; we kept on Israeli life in Hollywood.

You should know, I'm working now on a very big important film, which is called LAST SUMMER IN BADENHEIM, which is based on a prize winning novel by Aharon Appelfed, and I'm shooting it by the end of this year. I begin shooting in Prague and and Czech Republic, with big stars. It's going to be one of my best, I hope. The script, I worked on for four years, so I think it's going to be great. It's about the Holocaust, but it's a comedy. It's a black comedy about the Jews who were reluctant to believe that something bad is going to happen, and I say that if the Jews were revolting, running away from the trains, maybe one million were killed, not six million. This is a wonderful script by Aharon Appelfed, and when I'm in New York, I'll be doing some casting.

Capone: Okay, so you're going to be doing that when you are there in New York?

MG: Yes.

Capone: Tell me about the relationship you had with Sylvester Stallone.

MG: Well I'll tell you something funny. Somebody brought me this script, it was a television script for hand wrestling, you know, pulling hands down...

Capone: Arm wrestling, yes. [Laughs]

MG: Right. And I thought Stallone could do fantastic in it, so I called his lawyer and I said, "Tell me, I would like Stallone. I'm going to send you a script." So he said to me, "Mr. Golan, don't be silly. Do you know how much he gets? He gets $6 million." This was the time when Stallone was the highest-paid actor in Hollywood, and he got $6 million per film. I said, "I don't want to pay him $6 million dollars." "No? So why are you calling me?" "I want to pay him $10 million." The next week I had a call from him.

Capone: You got his attention then.

MG: Yes, you understand. After all, Hollywood was and remains a money machine, and all of the stars, even if they are artists, what they want is the highest salary. I remember when we shot with Stallone, he used to converse on the telephone with Schwarzenegger "How did they offer you?" "How much did they offer you?" They were kind of joking, which means, "Who gets more money?"

Capone: Stallone's latest film, THE EXPENDABLES, seems like it's a tribute to a lot of the action films that Cannon used to specialize in.

MG: Well remember Nu Image is headed and owned by two of my students . They were working for Cannon for 30 years, Danny Dimbort and Avi Lerner. What they are trying to do is do what Cannon did, but they are doing it now bigger. Did you see that movie?

Capone: Oh, of course.

MG: What do you think? I hated it.

Capone: Really? At Comic-Con, Stallone said he tried to get two of your old friends, Chuck Norris and Van Damme, to be in it too, and they for whatever reason didn't. But THE EXPENDABLES did make me feel young again. It did seem like a throwback to a lot of the things that I grew up watching, which were a lot of the films that you produced.

MG: But the story was so corny.

Capone: Maybe. I have to admit, I wasn't really paying attention to the story.

MG: And the fact that they brought in Schwarzenegger for three seconds...

Capone: The scene with Willis and Schwarzenegger was not necessary. Speaking of Van Damme, you literally discovered Jean-Claude Van Damme, right?

MG: You know the story?

Capone: Tell it to me. I know he was a waiter.

MG: He was a waiter in a French restaurant in Los Angeles. I was with my wife for dinner in this restaurant. I came, and the waiter came to me to see us to the table, and he recognized me and he said "Mr. Golan?" I said "Oui?" He said "I am Jean-Claude Van Damme," and he was holding two plates of food above his head--turtle soup--and rapidly he picked up his leg above my head touching my hair, but the soup did not move. Do you understand? It's a very, very difficult thing to do.

And I said to him, "How do you do that?" He said "I am Jean-Claude Van Damme." I gave him my card and said, "Come to my office the next morning," and the same month, I had the script for BLOODSPORT, and we did it and then I did with him another two movies, and he grew to become a star, and Universal took him and paid him a million dollars. Solid gold.

Capone: Do you think at that point, in the mid-80s, do you think the company was maybe stretching itself too thin? You had sometimes almost 50 films going in a single year.

MG: Yes, if you ask me now, of course you are right. But it was not our fault, it was the demand of the independent distributors around the world. They needed product, and we were the suppliers and we grew to become the biggest supplier. They used to call Cannes "The Cannon Festival." The thing is that, it was needed, and we over-produced, no question about it. But this was not the main reason that we collapsed. We acquired cinemas in Europe, and we had the EMI cinemas in London. We had Holland cinemas. We had Paris cinemas. We had a chain of cinemas in Italy. And the control of those cinemas, which were not in a good shape then, really almost killed us. We needed a lot of money, cash flow, and the bank kind of started to give of bad times. The banks that financed us. I would say that you are right in what you said.

Capone: As just a fan of film since you were a child, of all the directors that you got to distribute and work with, are there any in particular that you were particularly proud of having produced their films?

MG: Yes. I'll tell you, although we lost money on the film; OTELLO by Franco Zeffirelli, who, for me, was great master. And Andrey Konchalovskiy, he did for us four movies, and I remember someone saying that RUNAWAY TRAIN is one of the best movies of the century.

Capone: I love that movie. Just last week, I just saw his new film, the Nutcracker movie he made .

MG: Yeah? How is it?

Capone: It's very dark and it's a musical.

MG: I didn't see it yet.

Capone: I have a very vivid memory of seeing that RUNAWAY TRAIN when I was younger and just how visually staggering it was. People might not realize it, but for a time you owned the rights to SPIDER-MAN.

MG: For seven years!

Capone: Why did that not ever get made?

MG: Seven years! We couldn't make it because we couldn't raise the budget that we needed and we had about 20 drafts of the script. We couldn't afford it, so finally we sold it and got $1 million. I bought it for $400,000 thousand from Marvel when Marvel was down, and nobody wanted to do these kinds of pictures anymore. I think one of the BATMANs flopped or something, and the idea of doing a SPIDER-MAN didn't attract anybody. Finally you know it succeeded in attracting Columbia pictures, and they bought it from us and they did the movie. It's very big and quite a good movie.

Capone: But you did end up making a version of CAPTAIN AMERICA, though which they are also making again.

MG: It was not so good, but I tell you, if we had produced SPIDER-MAN, Cannon would exist today.

Capone: You had a very long relationship with MGM. What do you think about what they are going through right now? I guess they are done now...

MG: Look, MGM unfortunately they didn't produce movies enough. They didn't produce good movies in the last, what should I tell you, 20 years. They were just living on their library, you know. They were just living on the library and on television, etc. It finally hit them, and I know they are in Chapter 11 now, but I think they will come out of it. I think somebody will come with money.

Capone: In doing research for this interview, I came upon an interview with one of the dancers in BREAKIN', and he said a third BREAKIN' movie was planned. Is that true?

MG: Yes, yes, but it never worked out.

Capone: But still the term "Electric Boogaloo" is still used quite often as being synonymous with certain unwanted sequels.

MG: Yeah, but you know dance movies are doing well now.

Capone: I know. The STEP UP movies definitely owe a debt of gratitude to some of the things that you did. So in the last few years, you have been working primarily in Israel as a director, correct?

MG: Yes, and I'm directing this movie I'm doing in Prague and Europe.

Capone: And you still have your hands in certain projects as a producer as well?

MG: Yes, I bought a script from two Hollywood writers, which is called THE SNIPER, which is a very good action movie. It's about a group of snipers in the Afghanistan war, which I hope to do after this one.

Capone: Right. When do you think you'll start shooting your new film?

MG: I hope before the end of the year. I've been on it the last two months. We have done all of the preproduction and most of the casting. If you meet me in New York at the tribute, I'll be able to tell you who is the star. It's a very big star who's going to sign with me.

Capone: Well I'm actually in Chicago, so I won't be in New York, so this might be your last chance to tell me.

MG: [laughs] Ah, well. Give my regards to the head of your festival.

Capone: Michael Kutza.

MG: He knows me. I was there with a film, and we are quite friendly.

Capone: Mr. Golan, you have been more than generous with your time. I appreciate you talking to us, and enjoy your reunion in New York, and best of luck with your new film.

MG: Thank you. Write good things.

Capone: Oh, I will. Thank you very much.

MG: Thank you.

Capone: Alright, take care.

MG: Goodbye.

Posle duže potrage dokopao sam se Siegelovog manje značajnog TV filma THE HANGED MAN. U ovom radu glumio je Robert Culp koga sam fetišizovao zbog autorskog projekta HICKEY & BOGGS a u svojoj autobiografiji i sam Siegel naglašava da je Culp bio talentovan scenarista.

THE HANGED MAN je adaptacija romana RIDE THE PINK HORSE Dorothy B. Hughes koji je već ekranizovao Robert Montgomery. Montgomeryjeva verzija je bila vestern a Siegelova je noir sa Culpom kao junakom koji dolazi u Nju Orleans tokom Mardi Grasa kako bi razjasnio smrt svog prijatelja ali stvari nisu tako jednostavne kao što je mislio.

Don Siegel vuče THE HANGED MAN pomalo u pravcu egzistencijalističkog krimića, i praktično podjednak akcenat stavlja na zaplet sa fatalnom ženom, njenim ljubavnikom pokvarenim sindikalnim vođom kao i na junaka koji upoznaje njuorleanske Cigane koju mu uz pomoć Tarot karata predviđaju sudbinu.

Podela koju predvode Robert Culp i Vera Miles je sasvim na nivou, zaplet je zamršen na pravi način a Nju Orleans u vreme svečanosti je sjajna lokacija za intrigu i noir tako da uzevši sve u obzir, THE HANGED MAN je iznadprosečan televizijski film, i sasvim pristojna stavka u Siegelovom opusu u celini.

Quote from: crippled_avenger on 19-11-2010, 11:29:13
Pogledao sam PLAVI VOZ Janka Baljka i rekao bih da je ovaj film jedna od manifestacija u sklopu pripreme našeg narod za mesijanski dolazak MONTEVIDEA u bioskope. Reč je o primeru tolike nemuštosti da prosto nameće jedno veliko pozivanje na odgovornost.

Krenimo redom, od objektivnog ka subjektivnog.

Prvo, film se u srpskim bioskopima prikazuje sa BluRaya a cena karte ne samo da nije prilagođena tome nego to nije ni na koji način ni najavljeno publici. Što se mene tiče, producenti i distributeri ne moraju nužno da smanje kartu filmu koji se pušta sa BluRaya, mogu i da je povećaju, ali je red da na neki način najave publici čemu će prisustvovati a ne da nas vabe na bioskopsku projekciju gde zatičemu ugođaj sličan gledanju BEOGRADSKE HRONIKE na velikom ekranu, sa slikom bez zrna kakva nije postojala ni u pionirsko vreme digitalne tehnologije u vreme kada sam ja pohađao FDU, čemu ćemo se kao temi još jednom vratiti kasnije.

Dakle, PLAVI VOZ je prevara publike, to je tehnički neuslovna projekcija materijala koji ne samo da bi, verovatno, dobio na bioskopskom dignitetu prebacivanjem na filmsku traku, već su producenti kao dobitnici novca za postprodukciju bili DUŽNI da prebace film na traku. Već godinama čujemo/znamo za muke filmadžija da skupe novac kako bi prebacili film na traku, uprkos urbanim legendama o digitalnoj projekciji kao budućnosti bioskopa, i PLAVI VOZ ih sve zajedno pravi budalama pokazujući kako to zapravo i nije nužno da bi se film javno prikazivao i da bi se potrošile državne pare.

Заблуда је да слика са Blu-rey-a нема фину зрнасту структуру карактеристичну за филмску траку, под условом да је процес скенирања са негатива урађен како треба. Ја мислим да је овдје проблем са оригиналним материјалом који је такав какав је. Тешко је вјеровати да је вршена дигитална манипулација или Digital Noise Reduction - DNR са скенираним материјалом пошто је у питању нови филм а и та операција доста кошта. Као примјер шта може да се уради са оваквом обрадом нека послуже дискови филма Predator из 2008. и 2010. године.
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews36/predator_blu-ray.htm
http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Predator-Blu-ray/11375/#Review

djvaso, mislim da je tvoja primedba potpuno suvišna. Ne osporavam ja BluRay kao home video format, naročito kada je dobro urađen i dobro skeniran.

Ali, da bi se skenirao film, mora prvo da postoji negativ a PLAVI VOZ je sniman na HDu a od HD snimka bez ikakve naknadne manipulacije (i to rekao bih od loše zabeleženog HD snimka) pravljen je BluRay.

Dakle, film ni u jednom trenutku nije bio na traci.

Inače, danas se i većina filmova snimanih na traci zbog DI procesa na kraju štampa sa skenova na traku, što naizgled deluje besmisleno ali skenovi su dovoljno dobri da očuvaju sva svojstva koja su stečena snimanjem na traci a DI proces naravno uvećava mogućnosti u postprodukciji.

Međutim, i na samom HD snimku, bez faze fizičkog postojanja na filmskoj traci, moguće je u postu napraviti neki efekat zrna kako bi se simulirao film look. PLAVI VOZ nema čak ni to.

Moj prijatelj razgovarao sa ljudima koji rade u Tuckwoodu i oni mu rekli da se većina filmova tamo prilazuju sa hard diska! Filmske trake idu za bioskope u unutrašnjosti?

O čemu se radi? Ko je verniji originalnom izgledu filmova?

Ne. Tvoj prijatelj je nešto pomešao. Filmovi se mahom prikazuju sa filmske trake, međutim, svakako da u Tuckwoodu možeš da pustiš film sa čega god hoćeš dok je u "unutrašnjosti" filmska traka standard.

Quote from: crippled_avenger on 21-11-2010, 16:26:30
Ne. Tvoj prijatelj je nešto pomešao. Filmovi se mahom prikazuju sa filmske trake, međutim, svakako da u Tuckwoodu možeš da pustiš film sa čega god hoćeš dok je u "unutrašnjosti" filmska traka standard.

Ma ja to nisam primio zdravo za gotovo, čak sam bio sumnjičav, pa rekoh da proverim. On (moj prijatelj) je sad snimatelj za neku produkcijsku kuću tamo u BG i sa ljudima iz TW je ćaskao dok je pravio prilog, tako reći službeno. E sad, ili je on pogrešno shvatio ili mu je data netačna informacija.

Е па ја нисам могао знати да је филм сниман у инфериорном формату као што је HD тако да пребацивање на филмску траку тешко да би шта промијенило. И рећи ћу и ово: дигитална пројекција преко 4К пројектора ће бити све популарнија због нижих трошкова експлоатације. Слажем се да се њен квалитет не може мјерити са оним код филмске траке која је условно речено, због аналогнe природе, еквивалентна дигиталној резолуцији од 8К.

Ne daju smradovi jeftinu tehnologiju da bi održali monopol. Živeo 3D!!!

djvaso, ne bih se složio, prebacivanje na 35mm bi mu dale nekakvo zrno. Problem je što film naprosto nije dovoljno dobro slikan tako da mu transfer ne bi dovoljno pomogao.

Pogledao sam KEUROSING Tae Gyun Kima. Ovaj film iz 2008. godine ne spada u red naslova kojima južnokorejska kinematografija može da se pohvali. Naime, reč je o filmu koji je opterećen propagandističkim ambicijama i u svom ocrnjivanju Severne Koreje postaje neubedljiv, a to je neobično jer su navodno reditelj i ekipa proveli dosta vremena u razgovoru sa ljudima koji su zbilja prebegli sa Severa. Međutim, možda je upravo u tome problem jer Severna Koreja je prikazana kao pakao na zemlji, i sasvim je moguće da su mnoge izbeglice možda zacementirale svoju poziciju na Jugu time što su insistirale na pljuvanju Severa.

Međutim, čak i da pretpostavimo kako je na Severu stvarno tako kako ovaj film opisuje, odnosno da nema tendencionih propagandističkih zahvata, što je sasvim moguće, to ne čeni KEUROSING boljim filmom jer je oslonjen na neuverljivu patetičnu premisu o ugroženoj nejači čija loša pozicija biva dovedena do paroksizma i na kraju ne uspeva da izmami suze koje su autorov primarni cilj.

S druge strane, Severna Koreja u ovom filmu deluje kao jedan vrlo uopšten pakao na zemlji, bez nekog karakterističnog obeležja. U tom smislu, KEUROSING bi mogao da bude priča o bilo kojoj siromašnoj zemlji.

Ono što recimo deluje upadljivo neuverljivo nisu samo obeležja ukupne atmosfere beznađa i haosa, već i vrlo konkretni detalji poput dece koja lutaju ulicama, beskućnika, granice preko koje se manje-više slobodno prelazi što je dosta neobično. Teško je poverovati da jedna zemlja toliko optrećena bezbednošću dozvoljava toliko "slobodnog kretanja". Isto važi i za tretman dece. Teško je poverovati da u jednoj komunističkoj zemlji deca mogu na takav način ostati "izvan sistema". Kolika god da je beda, sasvim je sigurno da Severna Koreja makar radi represije pazi gde su joj građani u svakom trenutku.

Prilično je čudno da, ako imamo u vidu karakterističnu taktičnost južnokorejskog filma prema temi Severa, baš ovakav film bude južnokorejski kandidat za "oskara" pre par godina, jer ne samo da ima umetnički vrednijih filmova već i politički ubedljivijih. Ruku na srce, KEUROSING se bavi severnokorejskim narodom kao žrtvom, ali stanje u kome ih prikazuje toliko je ekstremno da ti ljudi neumitno zaliče na nekakve idiote.

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Reprizirao sam MEN IN BLACK 2 Barry Sonnenfelda, jedan od oklevetanih nastavaka čiji je verovatno osnovni problem bio u tome što je prvi film svoj uspeh bazirao na svežini koncepta i prilično neočekivanim rešenjima na polju glumačke podele i vizuelnog koncepta. Drugi deo je ostao bez elementa iznenađenja i naišao je na otpor kakav nije zaslužio.

Lišen atraktivne dramaturške dimenzije "uvođenja u story behind the story", Sonnenfeldu je preostalo da ispriča što zabavbniju i efikasniju priču unutar uspostavljenog univerzuma, i u tim okvirima ponudio je jedan fundamentalno dobro postavljen koncept sa inverzijom odnosa među junacima, sada Jay uvodi Kaya u igru posle deneuralizacije, obojica se susreću sa fatalnom vanzemaljkom iz rase koja očigledno appealuje zemljanima.

U vizuelnom smislu, Sonnenfeld ide tashlinovskim putem i isporučuje jedan frenetično brz, zategnut film bez praznog hoda koji se već tada razlikovao od tipičnih blokbastera po tome što nije trajao oko dva sata i insistirao je na tempu.

Ono što je ključni problem filma jeste selekcija komičnog materijala. Koliko god scenario na niivou odnosa i priče bio zapravo dobro postavljen, humoristička glazura nije sasvim na nivou i mnogi gegovi naprosto nisu smešni. Nio, visok tempo čini da se film ni na čemu ne zadržava.

MIB2 je nastavak koji po svojoj nepretencioznosti rediteljskog postupka i nizom efektnih rešenja stoji kao film koji je prototip sequela u dužem serijalu, kao što je recimo 007. U tom smislu, MIB3 koji se sada snima dolazi sa zakašnjenjem, ali isto tako stiže na teren koji nije kreativno iscrpljen u potpunosti.

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Pogledao sam THE LAST OF SHEILA Herberta Rossa. Reč je o high concept filmu o dekadentnom holivudskom mogulu čija je žena ubijena pod misterioznim okolnostima koji na svojoj jahti organizuje druženje sa prijateljima koje čine razne bizarne društvene igre. Uskoro naravno, ovo postaje neka vrsta žive partije CLUEDOa a traži se ubica njegove supruge.

Godinama kasnije snimljen je i pravi CLUEDO i paradoksalno, iako taj film po meni ima sličan domet, smatran je slabim cagh-in naslovom a THE LAST OF SHEILA se smatra uspelim primerom high concepta sa početka sedamdesetih. Međutim, ja boih rekao da se samo radi o tome što je na Rossovom filmu radila ekipa uglednijih autora, i to krajnje atipičnih pošto su scenario pisali pravi puzzle-freakovi Stephen Sondheim, čuveni autor mjuzikla i Anthony Perkins.

Međutim, koliko god da su oni puzzle-freakovi, THE LAST OF SHEILA ne nudi puno prilike za interakciju gledalaca sa materijalom, čak ni ne pobuđuje neku tipičnu potrebu za pogađanjem ko je ubica. Štaviše, retko sam se sretao sa hladnijim whodunitom.

Osnovni problem je u tome što se samo ubistvo dešava u flešbekovima, u kojima - ruku na srce - nema laži, ali ima dopunjavanja kasnije, tako da gledalac ima saznanja samo onda kada ih likovi razotkriju u mini-razrešenjima a ona su pak krajnje samovoljno postavljena.

Naravno, iako je whodunit, scenario nije dužan da intrigira na tom ludističkom terenu, ali s druge strane, ne samo da je film baziran na igri koju junaci igraju (a od tog koncepta jako brzo odustane) već izvan te vrste intrige, ne nudi karaktere za koje bi se gledalac iole vezao.

Očigledno je da su high concept na nivou scenarija i poznati glumci ključni aduti ovog filma, i Ross tu manje-više ni ne insistira na drugim izražajnim sredstvima. Ipak, zanimljivo je da identitet ubice često prikriva koristeći subjektivne planove i duge vožnje kamere (u čemu takođe nije dosledan jer razni likovi dobijaju subjkektivce) a to podseća na Italo tradiciju trilera. Međutim, to je bezmalo i jedini rediteljski postupak koji je zanimljiv i prepoznatljiv u Rossovom filmu.

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Pogledao sam BULGASARI Shin Sang-oka, najčuveniji film koji je snimio dok je bio u Kim Jong Ilovom zatočeništvu. U priči o ovom filmu postoji dosta kontradiktornih informacija među kojima je i ona da je deset godina bio bunkerisan u Severnoj Koreji zbog Shinovog bekstva na Zapad. Ipak, film je konačno otkriven u Japanu gde je prošao relativno pristojno na blagajnama a po ostatku sveta distribuiran je na home video formatima. Shin Sang-okova severnokorejska karijera je pod velom misterije, kao i sve okolnosti koje su ga tamo dovele. Sada neću ulaziti u detalje jer sam o toj temi koja me fascinira već više puta pisao.

Ipak, svakako je zanimljivo da je BULGASARI monster movie po uzoru na filmove iz serijala GODZILLA, mada bi se tu mogli naći i neki DAIMAJIN uticaji, pa i ponešto od hongkonškog pristupa u dramskim scenama. Film je realizovan uz pomoć Nakanove japanske ekipe koja je radila film GODZILLA 1985 a Suit je nosio lično Kenpachiro Satsuma.

Navodno, sam Kim Jong Il je kao veliki fan Godzille bio autor ideje za ovu priču, i BULGASARI je film koji se može čitati i kao anti-kimovski i kao pro-kimovski film.

Ideološka dimenzija žanrovskog filma je svakako dobro poznata i njena svesna integracija kako od strane autora, tako i od strane producenata nije ništa novo. Međutim, BULGASARI je verovatno jedini monster movie koji je na nivou jedne cele države i to jedne krajnje ideologizovane države odabran da reprezentuje njeno političko sagledavanje realnosti. U tom pogledu, BULGASARI je sasvim unikatan film.

Štaviše, BULGASARI se uz Bong Joon Hoov THE HOST može smatrati zapravo ključnim monster moviejem nastalim u Koreji u širem istorijskom kontekstu.

THE HOST i BULGASARI imaju dosta sličnosti, jedna od njih je svakako politička. Naime, u oba film monstrum nastaje kao direktan proizvod političkih okolnosti. U THE HOSTu to je zbog američkih vojnih lekara koji prosipaju otpatke u reku jer u Južnoj Koreji mogu da rade šta hoće zahvaljujući svojoj privilegovanoj poziciji. U BULGASARIju, monstrum nastaje kao daimajin, neka vrsta Golema koga pravi potlačeni seljak iz nemoći kako bi se opirao despotskom, kulačnkom, rečju nenarodnom režimu lokalnog vladara u trianestovekovnoj Koreji (iako, budimo pošteni, autori BULGASARIja ne pretenduju da ovaj film smeste u konkretan istorijski kontekst).

Razlika između monstruma u THE HOSTu i u BULGASARIju je u tome što je Bongov monstrum u početku odbojan, zastrašujući, surov i služi kao agens koji menja okolnosti i tera porodicu da se okrene sama sebi, ustane protiv sistema, u slučaju nekadašnjeg političkog demonstranta počne ponovo da diše punim plućima, da bi tek na kraju, na samrti to čudovište bilo tretirano kao greška prirode koje zapravo nije imalo zlu nameru i pridružilo se celokupnoj porodičnoj tragediji. Kod Shina, Pulgasari je "dobri monstrum" kao Godzilla u određenoj fazi razvoja lika, hrani se gvožđem, dakle oružjem, i raste sve do razmera kada vladareva vojska ne može da ga porazi. Međutim, kada porazi vladarevu vojsku i kada narod preuzme vlast, pojavljuje se problem Pulgasarija koji bi i dalje da se hrani metalom. Tada se Pulgasariju prinosi žrtva kako bi se uklonio ali i posle stradanja u svom nepobedivom, velikom obliku, on ostaje da živi kao malo stvorenje kao na početku.

Šta je onda ideološka agenda BULGASARIja. Jasno je da je feudalac simbol starog sistema, kapitalizma, feudalizma i svih klasnih razlika koje su hranile postojanje tog sistema. Štaviše, feudalizam na vrlo dobar način, možda i bolje nego kapitalizam, ilustruje samu prirodu korejskom poimanja vlasti pošto se Kim Il Sung u svojim spisima nikada nije sasvim odrekao koketiranja sa feudalizmom, barem kao pogledom na svet, te otud i na vlasti imaju naslednu dinastiju. Međutim, iz ove posavke čitljivi su negativci.

Ipak, Pulgasari je enigma jer on prvo pomaže narodu da se oslobodi ali onda postaje i mora biti uklonjen kroz žrtvu devojke sa kojom ima neku vrstu telepatske veze. Dakle, šta je Pulgasari?

Ovaj film, koliko ja znam, nije do sada nešto ozbiljnije teorijski tumačen i u principu, Pulgasari je tretiran kao greška odnosno kao slika samog Kima koji je bio bitan u jednoj fazi razvoje Severne Koreje ali onda je postao problem, i to je istorija u određenom smislu potvrdila ako imamo u vidu da je Severna Koreja šezdesetih bila prosperitetnija od Južne. Međutim, rekao bih da nije reč o nekakvoj lošoj ideološkoj proceni već pre o tome da Pulgasari ne simbolizuje ličnost već proces, da je on monstrum koji prestavlja revolucionarni teror kao neophodan deo borbe, a da uklanjanje njega kao entieta a ne ideje zapravo sugeriše potrebu da se neki drugovi nepovratno deformisani sprovođenjem revolucionarnog terora moraju skloniti.

S druge strane, možda je Pulgasari oličenje nasilja kao takvog premda prefiks revolucionarnog se ne može izbeći ako imamo u vidu funkciju ovog monstruma u priči.

Ako imamo u vidu militarističku prirodu severnokorejskog režima i akcenat koji se stavlja na razvoj odbrambenih mogućnosti ne čudi toliko insistiranje na oružju kojim se Pulgasari hrani i na opsesiji razoružavanjem, i zapravo, rekao bih da BULGASARI nije film koji tematizuje aktuelni trenutak severnokorejskog društva odnosno Pulgasari kao protagonista nije tema jedne završene priče već je ideja da se severnokorejsko društvo tada (i sada) zapravo nalazi negde na pola puta ovog neo-mita. U tom smislu BULGASARI deluje kao geška ako se gleda kao priča o zaokruženoj borbi ali ne i kada se tumači kao vizije jednog dalekog ishoda te borbe.

U estetskom i zanatskom smislu, BULGASARI nije ni nraročito slab, ni naročito kvalitetan film. Štaviše, jako je teško vrednovati ga jer nemamo nikakve parametre pošto je tadašnja severnokorejska filmska produkcija prilična misterija. Iako je japanska ekipa radila efekte, opet nije pošteno porediti ga sa tadašnjim GODZILLA filmovima, ali za njima ne zaostaje previše. Ipak, u poređenju sa onim što je snimano na Zapadu, BULGASARI najviše podseća na radove iz šezdesetih.

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Reprizirao sam REVERSAL OF FORTUNE Barbeta Schroedera i mislim da mi se odavno nije desilo da prilikom ponovnog gledanja toliko uživam u filmu kao da je prvi put. Naime, slučaj Clausa Von Bulowa je prilično poznat i u tom smislu REVERSAL OF FORTUNE nije film koji se, barem u mom slučaju, gleda kao istinita priča koja je neizvesna i nepoznata. Međutim, način na koji je ona ispričana i dalje je fascinantan, pre svega na scenarističkom, glumačkom i naravno rediteljskom planu.

REVERSAL OF FORTUNE danas deluje kao putkoaz kako je THE SOCIAL NETWORK trebalo da izgleda, premda, reč je o filmu neuporedivo višeg nivoa po svim parametrima, i to mu ne smeta da bude duhovitiji i dinamičniji od Fincherovog nesumnjivo populističkog pokušaja pravljenja "ozbiljnog" filma.

Scenario Nicka Kazana, inače vrsnog scenariste koji je postigao značajan uspeh u raznim vrstama filma a danas je bezmalo zaboravljen, funkcioniše na više nivoa. S jedne strane, to je sudska drama koja doduše provodi samo par minuta u samoj sudnici, ali se vrlo zanimljivo bavi istragom i pripremom odbrane, otvarajući neke od suštinskih moralnih i pravnih apsekata koji čine slučaj Clausa Von Bulowa, pre svega vezano za sumnjive okolnosti pod kojima je porodica njegove supruge vršila svoju privatnu istragu, a potom i kroz ideju da se on brani kao da je nevin, odnosno da se ne insistira na tehnikalijama već na tezi da je Von Bulow nevin, iako deluje kao da je apsolutno kriv.

Odluka profesora Alana Derchowitza da brani Von Bulowa kao da je nevin je ključ filma. Naime, Jeremy Irons igra Von Bulowa kao nekoga ko je u najmanju ruku čudan, bizaran, dekadentan, sebičan i zapravo krajnje motivisan i sposoban da počini zločin tog profila. Međutim, Ron Silver prodire u suštinu Derschowitzove lične motivacije, i uverenja da je Von Bulow nevin koje proističe iz toga da ga on shvata kao različitog, čudnog čoveka, koji je javnosti podjednako neprihvatljiv kao i siromašni crnci koje on inače brani pro bono u advokatskoj praksi kojom se bavi kad ne predaje na Harvardu.

U tom smislu, REVERSAL OF FORTUNE postaje neka vrsta priče o apsolutnosti ljudskih prava koja se ne odnose na jednu grupu i ne zloupotrebljavaju u političkoj borbi već se odnose na sve, čak i kad su oni koji treba da budu branjeni na ideološki suprotnoj strani. Vrlo je važno da ni u jdnom trenutku, likovi ovo ne kažu eksplicitno već se to pre svega vidi iz odnosa koji igraju Ron Silver i Jeremy Irons. I u tome je jedan od ključnih intelektualnih kvaliteta filma.

Film počinje billywilderovskim monologom komatozne žene koji podseća na SUNSET BLVD i tu se sličnosti sa ovim genijem ne završavaju. Iako je REVERSAL OF FORTUNE drama po istinitoj priči u užem smislu, ovaj film je istovremeno i crna komedija za koju bi se moglo reći da je Barbetov pokušaj da uzme svoje učešće u klasnoj borbi kada ne bi bilo reč o istinitoj priči.

Domaćinstvo Von Bulow je groteskno i utisak njihove totalne dekadencije j samo pojačan time da je to sve, po svemu sudeći bilo istina. Njihovo ponašanje i međusobni odnosi međutim nisu samo bizarni već su suštinski savršeno motivisani iz prostog razloga što se tako ponašaju bogati ljudi koji se bave isključivo ispunjavanjem vlastitih želja i hirova u kojima na kraju ne razumeju da postoje stvari koj ne mogu da se kupe a to je poslušnost vlastitog tela (cronenbergovski motiv) i time započinju svoj sunovrat.

Barbet u saradnji sa DPjem Luciano Tovolijem, koga ljubitelji žanra znaju kao pouzdanog Argentovog saradnika, a on je overio zaista nke od najznačajnijih reditelja, gradi atmosferu tipičnu za producenta ovog filma Olivera Stonea, a to je da vizuelno vrlo ekspresivno priča jednu zapravo vrlo kamernu priču, što je Stone doveo do savršenstva u filmu TALK RADIO.

Međutim, vizuelna lucidnost (koja je zafalila Fincheru u THE SOCIAL NETWORKu) ispraćena je ubedljivom glumom koja ne beži od individualnih majstorija i kod Ironsa i kod Silvera ali nikada ne kliza u samodovoljnost. Njihova igra je na tromeđi holivudske dopadljivosti, imitacije i psihološke proživljenosti te bi se reklo da su oni ovom prilikom uspeli da proizvedu uspešan primerak jednog hibrida koji obično ne uspeva i da svoje bravure u potpunosti potčine celini.

* * * * / * * * *

Pogledao sam LES AVENTURES EXTRAORDINAIRES DE ADELE BLANC-SEC Luca Bessona po stripu Jacques Tardija. U ovom filmu Besson nažalost pokazuje da ni sam kao reditelj nije uspeo da odoli cormanizaciji koja ga je uhvatila kao producenta. Dok je u produkcionom poslu, Besson uspeo da istovremeno učini da stari brend ne znači mnogo, ali da se isto tako proširi na razne domene filmske produkcije, da radi i art-house, i francuski repertoarski film, i američki i da otkupljeje zanimljive strane filmove, postavši u izvesnom smislu stub internacionalnog žanrovskog filma, kao reditelj se držao ličnih i/ili ambicioznih projekata koji od JOAN OF ARC nisu na visokom nivou kvaliteta ali nizu bez ikakvog potencijala.

Nažalost, BLANC-SEC je film u kome praktično pre možemo prepoznati Šotrin nego Bessonov rukopis. Reč je o bezlično ekranizovanom stripu televizijskog dometa realizacije sa scenarijem koji je u potpunom disbalansu između ideje da li je reč o pilot epizodi za seriju (uvođenje mase motiva) ili bioskopski film koncipiran kao one-shot ili kao uvod u potencijalnu seriju filmova. Nisam siguran da BLANC-SEC funkcioniše na bilo kom od ovih nivoa i jedino što je iz filma sasvim jasno to je da Besson više nema strpljenja da ozbiljno i pedantno realizuje film (što je česta pojava i on nije jedini).

Kao jedini element filma vredan pažnje, sa čime se verovatno slaže i sam Besson jeste Louise Bourgoin, mlada glumica u glavnoj ulozi i čini se da je zadatak ovog filma bio da nju definiše kao zvezdu i lansira je. Nažalost, za razliku od Bessonovih ranuijih uspelih pokušaja da ovo postigne, a zna se da je on maher upravo za te stvari, BLANC-SEC nije film koji bi sam po sebi mogao da je afirmiše, iako je ona jedini segment koji će uopšte biti upamćen.

Očigledno, misliti da je Besson na bilo koji način big deal predstavlja stvar prošlosti, zaostavštine devedesetih, i reklo bi se da ni on samog sebe ne shvata tako ozbiljno.

* 1/2 / * * * *

Pogledao sam I SAW THE DEVIL Kim Ji Woona. Rekao bih da je sa ovim filmom posle BITTERSWEET LIFEa, Kim Ji Woon možda najbolje objasnio zašto je ipak druga liga, iako prvak druge lige, korejskih reditelja. Njegove kopije, prvo hongkonških, pa japanskih žanrovskih filmova imale su manje ili više uspeha pre svega zahvaljujući poslovičnoj pedantnosti južnokorejske produkcije, a u slučaju filma THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE WEIRD, reklo bi se čak da je to i bio svojevrstan događaj u sezoni.

I SAW THE DEVIL je prvi slučaj u kome Kim Ji Woon reinterpretira žanrovsku matricu koja je potpuno bajata, i to mu se nije desilo još od BITTERSWEET LIFEa. Kao što je u tom filmu obnavljao hardver HK krimića na K-način, pošto je oivaj prethodno bio apsolviran u samom Hong Kongu, Americi i Francuskoj, ovde se laća vrlo prepoznatljive matrice južnokorejskog osvetničkog filma koji je najviše afirmisao Chan Wook Park, reditelj koji je više od pet godina u stagnaciji i više nije ono što je bio, a u međuvremenu je lidersku poziciju i prepustio Bong Joon Hou koji se nametnuo kao ključni reditelj te generacije upravo zato jer se manje oslanjao na senzacionalizam. Kim Ji Woonov film je sav baziran na senzacionalizmu parkovskog tipa ali bez veštine narativnog oblikovanja manje ili više fetišističkih prizora fizičkog nasilja, i gotovo minimumom psihološkog nasilja. Dok je kod Parka pored fizičkog nasilja ključ uvek bio u psihološkoj dimenziji odnosa među likovima i surovosti koja iz njih provejava, Kim Ji Woon je od starta dosta jasan u tom domenu, jasno je ko tu kome šta i zašto i time gubi možda i ključni adut Parkove efektnosti a to je da žrtva do samog kraja ne zna zapravo zašto joj se nešto dešava. Tom direktnom postavkom nažalost nije ni dostigao bilo kakvu pročišćenost postupka, ako je to uopšte bio cilj, jer I SAW THE DEVIL ipak nije straightforward revenge flick, niti su fizičke manifestacije te osvete, a suočimo se sa tim, ovde se ipak sve svodi na to, naročito zanimljive, čak bih rekao da su fizički dosta blage.

Doduše, sasvim je moguće da idejna, a povremeno i tehnička naivnost tih Ripper sekvenci upravo proističe i nepostojeće investicije u likove i odnose usled čega se sva filmska iluzija vrlo lako razotkriva, a neke surove stvari deluju krajnje pitomo. Naravno, I SAW THE DEVIL nije jedini film baziran na šoku koji u krajnjem ishodu deluje krajnje tupo, u najboljem slučaju gadno, ali se od reditelja Kim Ji Woonove veštine očekivalo da nema takve probleme.

Izbor trajanja filma od bezmalo dva i po sata, čak i u odsustsvu seksa sa novorođenčetom kao ipak najpouzdanijeg signala višeslojnosti , sugeriše da Kim Ji Woon pokušava da kaže "nešto više", jer ipak suviše je mlad da do te mere izgubi osećaj za tempo i dimenzije filma. Problem je u tome što, i na tome mu ne zameram, ova priča prosto nema naročit podtekst i sve što se iz nje može pročitati iskažu likovi ("Ne smeš da postaneš monstrum da bi kaznio monstruma", "Čim si u prilici ubij silovatelja i serijskog ubicu, nemoj da se igraš sa njim jer su velike šanse da bude igračka-plačka" i sl.) a s druge strane, ono što je možda u žanrovskom smislu bila namera a to je da se napravi dvoipočasovno izdrkavanje za pamćenje takođe nije dalo očekivane rezultate. U tom smislu, nije problem trajanja ovog filma isključivo u nekom od klasičnih temporalnih aspekata filmskog iskustva tipa dosade. Problem je upravo u umetničkom iskazu koji implicira takva forma, i koji je potpuno drugačiji u filmu od sat i po.

Štaviše, film je do te mere oslonjen na opšta mesta da je često negledljiv osim ako gledalac nije gledao nijedan korejski film, ili pak beskrajno uživa u generic scenama serijskog ubice koji seksualno uznemirava, tranžira ili verbalno gnjavi svoje žrtve odnosno ako mu nije dosta tihovanja glavnog junaka obučenog u neki bizaran hibrid kožnjaka i perjane jakne. Ipak, na kraju reditelj se u svojoj želji da nam dočara nasilje, bol i osvetu pretvara u Batu Živojinovića iz ŠTEFICE CVEK i sve ostaje mahom na obećanjima, kako njegovim datim kroz film tako i onim koja likovi daju jedni drugima.

Uostalom, najveća ironija u ovom filmu koji se toliko bavi bolom jeste zapravo koliko je samo skončavanje negativca kome su namenjene sve te salve bola zapravo paradoksalno bezbolno. Ovom prilikom ga neću razotkrivati, ali veću emotivnu i fizičku prazninu na mestu akcenta koji bi trebalo da odvede do katarze kroz masakr odavno nisam video.

Vesti da će Kim Ji Woon sada pokušati da radi nešto u Holivudu mogu samo da raduju jer I SAW THE DEVIL je dead end za reditelja koji poseduje sasvim dovoljno poznavanje stila da na solidnom nivou proizvodi globalno komunikativan mejnstrim, pa zašto da ne, i da nastavi da se za Amerikance bavi onim što je i do sada radio - falsifikovanjem znatno boljih uzora.

* * / * * * * 

Evo, malo konkretnih cifara o "filmskom biznisu" u ex-SFRJ

http://dobanevinosti.blogspot.com/2010/11/najgledaniji-jugoslovenski-film-u-2010.html

Srbija je ponekad do te mere dekadentna da se u tome mora uživati:

Beograd
Skejteri žele sigurnu zimsku kuću

Dok će plivači natkrivanjem ,,Taša" uskoro dobiti još jednu oazu u predstojećoj snežnoj pustinji, ljubitelji ,,dasaka na četiri točka" i njihovi ,,saplemenici" na biciklima i rolerima gledaju u nebo kad zakazuju trening
Ovako bi to moglo da izgleda: vizija natkrivenog skejt parka u blizini TC ,,Ušća"

Među sportskim objektima koji će biti natkriveni i dostupni onima koji i zimi požele da se rekreiraju, naći će se otvoreni bazen centra ,,Tašmajdan". Prema rečima Ace Kovačevića, gradskog sekretara za sport i omladinu, radovi bi trebalo da traju najviše dva meseca, ali su pojedini ponuđači građevinskih radova uložili žalbu na ishod tendera. Zbog toga se još ne zna kada će nad bazenom osvanuti montažna kupola, koja će se u letnjim mesecima uklanjati.

– Grad je za ovaj poduhvat izdvojio oko 15 miliona dinara, a osim krova, rekonstruisaćemo i kotlove u sportskom kompleksu, kako bi se omogućilo odgovarajuće grejanje – navodi Kovačević.

I dok će plivači natkrivanjem ,,Taša" dobiti još jednu oazu u predstojećim hladnim danima, ljubitelji pojedinih sportova još su prinuđeni da gledaju u nebo i poslušaju vremensku prognozu kada žele da zakažu trening ili takmičenje. Reč je o skejterima, bajkerima i rolerašima, a njihova Meka je – skejtpark kod TC ,,Ušće". Predstavnici grada priznaju da ideja o natkrivanju ovog prostora površine 40 puta 60 metara nije do sada razmatrana, ali bi je podržali, ako se pouzdano proceni da bi natkriveni prostor bio atraktivan za poklonike ,,razonode na točkovima".

– Prvo bi trebalo utvrditi koliko je takav potez isplativ, jer su to sportovi koji se uglavnom upražnjavaju kad je lepo vreme. Pitanje je koliko zaljubljenika u skejt u toku zime izlazi napolje, kako bi treniralo. To je ozbiljna i velika investicija i treba utvrditi da li bi tamo u hladnijem periodu godine dolazio dovoljan broj ljudi. Tako smo uradili i u slučaju voždovačkog ,,Pazlgrada", čije se natkrivanje pokazalo kao isplativ posao – objašnjava pomoćnik gradonačelnika Aleksandar Šapić.

Nenad Milenković, predsednik opštine Novi Beograd, kaže da su u ovom delu grada u planu radovi na terenima na kojima se okuplja veći broj uglavnom mlađih sugrađana.

– Pokrenuli smo akciju uređenja dečjih parkova i igrališta za neke sportove kojima se većina omladine bavi i zimi. Ne znači da ne bi trebalo pomoći i skejterima i to smo pokazali kada smo im na Ušću postavili teren i rasvetu. Opština je razmatrala mogućnost natkrivanja, procena je da bi postavljanje balona moglo da košta i čitavih 15 miliona dinara, što nije malo – smatra Milenković.

Malo ko se neće saglasiti da je lep prizor videti mlade ljude kako na čistom vazduhu izvode vratolomije na betonskoj ploči preko puta TC ,,Ušća". Ali, oni koji ovde prolaze češće, znaju da se ,,uspomena" na padavine tu zadržava i danima nakon što svuda unaokolo iščile tragovi kiše ili snega. Čak i posle nekoliko sunčanih dana u nizu, velike bare postojano odolevaju. Atmosferske padavine među elementima poligona zadržavaju se i zbog nagiba terena. Zato je na nekoliko mesta i popucao beton.

Za godinu-dve, ako se skejtpark ne natkrije ili sanira, mogao bi da postane neupotrebljiv, smatra Uroš Ilić, skejter sa gotovo petnaestogodišnjim stažom, koji kao instruktor prenosi klincima svoje znanje i iskustvo sticano i na takmičenjima u Hrvatskoj, Sloveniji, Češkoj, Mađarskoj...

– U državama u okruženju postoje natkriveni skejt parkovi ili platforme u zatvorenim prostorima. Zato njihovi takmičari postižu bolje rezultate. Ide proleće, tad se održavaju turniri, pa je najbitnije intenzivno vežbanje u toku zime, ali u jedinom pravom skejt parku, ovom u Novom Beogradu, to nije moguće – govori Ilić, napominjući da skejt poletarci zbog zimske pauze izgube interesovanje za kasnije usavršavanje na četiri točkića.

– Zabluda je da je vožnja skejta povezana samo sa lepim vremenom. To je sport kao i svaki drugi i mora redovno da se vežba – napominje Ilić.
N. Belić - D. Bukvić

Quote from: crippled_avenger on 28-11-2010, 11:30:40
Nažalost, BLANC-SEC je film u kome praktično pre možemo prepoznati Šotrin nego Bessonov rukopis. *

pogledala sinoc i sve vreme se pitala sta je bre ovo,sta je bre ovo???

Quote from: agota on 01-12-2010, 14:35:51

Quote from: crippled_avenger on 28-11-2010, 11:30:40
Nažalost, BLANC-SEC je film u kome praktično pre možemo prepoznati Šotrin nego Bessonov rukopis. *

pogledala sinoc i sve vreme se pitala sta je bre ovo,sta je bre ovo???

Bio sam malo prestrog prema Šotri.

Možda će nekoga zanimati jedan Crippleov pogled na promene pozicije Roberta Nemečeka na Avali

http://mislitemojomglavom.com/?p=1626#more-1626

zahvaljujući Willsteru, dokopao sam se AVALANCHE EXPRESSa mark Robsona koji je doživeo ozbiljan recut i probleme tokom same realizacije pošto je Robert Shaw preminuo kao, konačno, i sam reditelj. Robsona su u završavanju filma odmenili Monte Hellman i Gene Corman. Shawa nije bio ko da odmeni tako da je bilo dosta poteškoća oko kompletiranja njegove uloge. Ovi problemi u realizaciji doveli su do toga da je jedan film koji je ambiciozno koncipiran na početku završio kao neslavan trainwreck i tako je zabeležen u istoriji. O ozbiljnosti ovog filma u početku realizacije najbolje govori to što je Abraham Polonsky angažovan da adaptira roman Colin Forbesa a kao DP je radio Jack Cardiff koji je tada digao ruke od režije i vratio se svom statusu superstar snimatelja.

Film na kraju nije uspeo da bude čak ni zbir svojih činilaca ali je daleko od zloglasnog imidža.

Lee Marvin je daleko od vrhunske forme iz prve polovine sedamdesetih u ovom radu iz 1979. godine. Pa ipak, ako imamo u vidu da u ovom filmu zapravo nema jasno definisane glavne uloge i da su Robert Shaw i Maximilian Schell daleko aktivniji od njega u manjim ulogama, nije ni imao materijal u kome bi mogao da dominira. Slično važi i za Shawa kog je uvek zanimljivo videti u vozu u hladnoratovskoj priči jer neumitno podseti na svog Red Granta iz FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE.

Od njih trojice bećara najbolje se našao Schell kao negativac jer očigldno je njegova rola najbolje prošla u montaži.

Ceo film je surovo skraćen i time je verovatno najbolje sakriven produkcioni problem i što je još važnije, film je pretemeljen sa crosscontinental suspense epica u jednu intenzivniju priču. To je bio pravi Hellmanov potez i ekipe jer upravo u ovom trajjanju od nadomak sat i po, sas svim nedostacima, samo glumci, lokacije i studiozna tehnička egzekucija drže stvari na okupu.

Od svih žrtava koje je film podneo, u umetničkom smislu najviše je stradao Abraham Polonsky iz čijeg se ostatka scenarija prepoznaju neki zanimljivi elementi koa što je priča o "Geiger Group" - nemačkoj terorističkoj grupi koja radi za SSSR i ima predvodnika koji podseća na Carlosa. U špijunskom trileru tog doba, naročito američkom mejnstrimu, asasini te vrste su obično bili manje ubedljivo definisani.

Kad se podvuče crta, AVALANCHE EXPRESS nesumnjivo jeste tragično iskustvo ali nije toliko loš film koliko je oklevetan.

* * 1/2 / * * * *

Quote from: crippled_avenger on 01-12-2010, 23:56:01
Možda će nekoga zanimati jedan Crippleov pogled na promene pozicije Roberta Nemečeka na Avali

http://mislitemojomglavom.com/?p=1626#more-1626

Odličan tekst. Ovo bi trebalo neka novina da objavi jer obuhvata i promišlja sve važne činioce.

Hvala. Ali novine se ne bave promišljanjem svih važnih činilaca.

Ali bi trebalo. Ja se zalažem za idealne novine.

Mogle bi se zvati i-novine ili još bolje iNovine?

samo ''I'' 


jebi ga, da bi promijenio uredničku politiku moraš maltene doktorat da napišeš, na preko 500 strana obrazložiš zašto bi novo bilo bolje od starog, i naravno, da li bi zaradilo više para. Bar sam ja to tako načuo tu i tamo što se odnosa medija i (stranih) vlasnika tiče. Ovdje i nije strani vlasnik već Mitrović, dakle budimo zadovoljni i sa uređivanjem filmskog programa.

Prava meta trebao bi biti ''javni servis'', koji je postao nedozvoljivo seljački, i pri tome ne mislim na Žikinu šarenicu već na Sneki u kurvanjskim čizmama u prajmtajmu... a u nekim ozbiljnijim emisijama tim pevaljkama još postavljaju ''ozbiljna'' pitanja pa one razglabaju o društvu, politici, ekonomiji... Uostalom, zar nije sada konkurs za direktora RTS-a, Kripl samo izvoli, podržavamo te

Konkurs je završen. U jednom trenutku sam mislio da se prijavim iz čistog zajebavanja, ali sam se onda uplašio mogućnosti da me neko izabere kako bi napakostio Tijaniću. A to ipak sebi nisam mogao da dozvolim.

Drugo, potrebno je imati neko iskustvo rada u RTSu, kao i kada konkurišeš za direktora Službe gde doduše dovode i ljude koji nisu bili zaspoleni u njoj, ali to se dešava jako retko. Moj iskustvo nije malo, ali sam sa RTSom kao i sa Službom sarađivao samo honorarno, nikada nisam imao stalni radni odnos.

Obično se desi da te prime na Konkursu na koji ne računaš i gde nemaš kvalifikacije. I obrnuto.

eto ti ga sad, znači opet Tijanić direktor grrrrrrr

čim vidiš da ''javni servis'' ne može sat vremena nedjeljno da odvoji za emisiju o filmu onda znamo gdje nam je mjesto...

Ali barem urednik fimlskog programa pušta filmove koje kao da je pokupio slučajnim zahvatom u moju mladost: red Ramba, pa red Ratova Zvezda, pa red Edija Marfija pa red Stivena Sigala.

Ja sam stovalac Karlita bas zbog tog old school VHS pristupa, uprkos tome sto sam imao jedan bezmalo fizicki sukob s njim pre sedam godina. Karlito realno procenjuje poziciju filmskog i serijskog programa

Kada RTS (kao i ostale domaće televizije) bude primoran da pređe na HD zbog priključenja vaskolikoj Evropi, da li ćemo i mi praviti ovako ekstravagantne trejlere (samo sa Gordanom Kičićem i Banetom Trifunovićem u njima)?

BBC HD

Malo lake zabave:

http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-8-manliest-foreign-movie-posters-ever/

Sultan Rahi je... bog.

Nekada smo ovakva oružja imali samo u igrama (na primer u resistance Fall Of Man), ali sada ih imaju i američki soldati u avganistanskim pustošima:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101201/sc_afp/usmilitaryweaponsafghanistan

Evo nesto malo ozbiljnije...

http://www.prozor.cdtmn.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=86%3Aholivud-i-psihoanaliza-bogatih&catid=37%3Astav&Itemid=88

Mehmete, juče sam kao stari fetišista počašćen prequel stripom RED. Jednom sveskom od četiri koliko čujem da ima. Imaš li link do ostalih? I ako ih imaš da li bi ih podelio preko PM?

Razume se. Poslaću ti u toku dana, nešto me muči Internet ovde na poslu.

Hvala, Srbine!

Gareth Edwards talks about the unique guerrilla style of filmmaking he used on his highly acclaimed debut feature Monsters, and about his next sci-fi film in the works.

UK director Gareth Edwards worked in visual effects before directing his first feature, Monsters, for Vertigo Films. The film has been a huge hit since its debut at SXSW, selling widely and also earning raves from both critics and fanboys. It opens in the UK on Friday, also through Vertigo.

The low-budget love story/sci-fi drama stars Scoot McNairy and Whitney Able as two people travelling through a dangerous "infected zone" in the years following an alien invasion.

The project shot in late October 2008 with a crew of just five and the two actors, plus extras they met on locations across Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Texas. Edwards never wrote a full script, only an outline of scenes. He of course did the visual effects himself.

Edwards also talks about his next film, which will be produced by Timur Bekmambetov (Night Watch, Wanted).

Working in effects, did you have other ideas for your first feature or did you always want to do this story?

I had other ideas. They were all using effects. I had done a short film that Vertigo saw, and I went in to our first meeting and I threw out about three ideas. I thought they would think the monster movie was too ambitious, but James [Richardson] really went for it. I left that first meeting and he said, 'Yeah let's do it.'

I didn't have a script. I started to have this paranoia that maybe it wasn't really that easy. So I went back in for another meeting and James said, 'Okay write down on this piece of paper the day you want to start shooting.' And I picked a date three months away.

It's ballsy to set out to make a film with a low budget, with improv dialogue, on the road in foreign countries. Did you enjoy working like this?

Our best stuff was when we didn't plan it, we just reacted to stuff. 

I had the opposite attitude to most directors, I was concerned the budget was too big. I was trying to spend less money and [Vertigo] was trying to get me to spend more. They wanted to protect their investment and I wanted less pressure. I felt like I was going to offer to pay them back. They said this was the first time that's happened.

Did you enjoy the way of working without overly prepping?

I'd say 'I'm going to point the camera here, you can go where you want, you can do what you want, go for it, I might not stop filming for an hour but don't step out of character.' It would all go wrong, and off course, but in going off course something really interesting could start to happen.

The great thing about visual effects is that I can fix things in the background, put in warning signs, put things in TV sets, and make it connect to the story. We could manipulate everything to bring it back to the story.

That must have made the edit daunting.

We had about 100 hours of footage, which is not so bad considering. What was scary is that when you watched the raw footage you couldn't really tell if we had a film at all. My paranoia was that we'd have a film that was half an hour long...but our editor did the first assembly of the film and it came in at four and a half hours.

After that, it was like playing a game of Jenga. When you start taking out your favourite shots from the film you know you are doing okay. We had to picture lock with text on the screen to submit it to festivals. So it was hard to know what you'd be seeing in the final version. We had to send that text version to SXSW and they accepted it.

What were the effects? It's more than just the creatures so what were the less obvious things done in post?

All the signs in the film are Photoshopped, and the military hardware, like jets, helicopters and tanks, and anything on the TV sets.

And for instance, we went past a boat with a window, and I thought I'd put in a bloodstained handprint on the window. So I got fake blood from a shop, put it on my hands onto a piece of paper, then photographed it, and in the computer I put it onto the boat. You could've put the blood onto the boat, but like this I just shot whatever I got when we passed it and could figure it out in the edit.

It wasn't working the wrong way around, it was shooting a lot of stuff and then just figuring out how to get it to look like we'd been very clever and thought about it ahead of time.

How did you design the creatures?

You can't stray too far from nature, nature's had five million years of trial and error with design, I had two weeks. They are meant to be from the bottom of the ocean, they're from Europa, which is a moon next to Jupiter, and NASA believes there might be life there, and they go to have a look and obviously in our film it all goes a bit wrong. So I looked at crabs and octopus. And the final creature when its walking across, it can look more like an elephant. It's a sort of crab-elephant-octopus.

What's next for you?

I'm so lucky I've got a development deal for the next film. And [Vertigo] is pursuing some sort of scenario [to follow-up Monsters] and if they do that, I'm sure we'd collaborate.

You're working with Timur Bekmambetov instead of a studio for your next film.

When I got invited to Hollywood meetings, I thought, 'Oh my God, it's amazing.' And then you realise the seat is still warm from the last director. And you realise how 'important' you really are.

Timur really loved [Monsters] and I told him the idea for a film I want to do, and he said,  'Okay, let's do it outside the studio system. We'll finance it and develop it.'

I don't know where it will shoot, it could be anywhere. The tagline is: 'an epic human story set in a futuristic world without humanity.' It's science fiction.

I won't do all the effects on my own, but it would be very hard for me to NOT be the visual effects supervisor. We could shoot it next year, so now I've got to lay it all down on paper. 

Are you looking forward to getting started on that script?

For me the film is in my head, but nobody else can see that, so to make them happy you write the script. It's a process of making the film, but it's not the experience of sitting in a cinema watching a movie.

My goal would be to one day make enough money that I don't have to write the script, you just make the movie in your head.

Pogledao sam DARK COUNTRY Thomas Janea, rediteljski debi poznatog glumca koji nije dobar film ali pokazuje da bi jane trebalo da nastavi da se bavi tim poslom. Iako mi nikada nije spadao u omiljene glumce i često me je podesećao na Christopher Lamberta sa boljim vladanjem engleskoim jezikom, Jane je ipak imao neki manje-više cool izbor uloga i radio je sa dobrim rediteljima, tako da se nametnuo kao glumac koji meni lično ne odgovara ali garantuje solidan materijal.

Prošle sezone, doživeo je uspon na HBOu ali i prvi DTV film GIVE EM HELL MALONE koji je bio odlična, virilna varijacija na SIN CITY. Međutim, ko bi rekao da Janea zapravo variranje SIN CITYja sistemski zanima, i da je oin to uradio u svom debiju.

DARK COUNTRY je jedna TWILIGHT ZONE priča smeštena u SIN CITY stilizaciju, produžena do granice pucanja, nejasno stilizovana u retrofuturističkom ključu kao i MALONE, sa velikim budžetskim ograničenja koja se vidljiva, ne toliko iz samog materijala koliko iz pristupa pripovedanju.

Međutim, isto tako DARK COUNTRY je solidno glumljen film, sa razvijenim osećajem za vizuelna rešenja i kao takav obećava da bi Jane mogao sa manje pretencioznim materijalom, odnos sa razumno postavljeni rediteljskim zadatkom, da napravi mnogo više. U ovom filmu, on je hteo da simulira Lyncha, ali na kraju iz filma su se pročitale neke druge, znatno prozaičnije, reklo bi se upadljivo racionalne namere. Mđutim, sa nekim takvim materijalom, Jane bi mogao da pruži više i zato se nadam da ovaj film koji je takođe završio u talogu DTVa neće obeshrabriti njegov dalji umetnički razvoj.

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Jedna kinematografija! Jedan Fuhrer!

http://dobanevinosti.blogspot.com/2010/12/mels-hand-in-jodie-fosters-beaver.html

Melster se vraća!

Mehmete, hvala za linkove. Koliko god bizarno zvučalo, prequel strip je zapravo obiman i mnogo duži od tih tipičnih tie-inova. Kida INCEPTION tie-in u svakom smislu.

Pogledao sam BBCjev telvizijski film o John Lennonu LENNON NAKED u režiji Edmonda Coultharda, po scenariju Robert Jonesa, koga znam kao jednog od pisaca odlične serije PARTY ANIMALS.

Nažalost, LENNON NAKED je vrlo slab film i baziran je na nekoliko dosta nategnuto povezanih anegdota iz kojih se ne nudi previše potentan materijal ni za režiju ni za glumačku igru. No, to ipak nije opravdanje što se film u tom domenu kreće između imitacije i karikature 7u čemu nažalost prednjači iskusni Christopher Eccleston koji do te mere imitira lennona da mu ne ostaje puno prostora za bilo šta drugo, ali i on, takav kakav je, opet stoji kao glumački stub u odnosu na sve ostalo.

Ostatak benda prikazan je upadljivo karikaturalno, naročito McCartney, i trebalo bi videti da li je ovaj TV film otvorio neku polemiku.

U svakom slučaju, BBC je nekada morao da pogreši, rekao bih da je ovo ta prilika.

Pogledao sam BELI BELI SVET Olega Novkovića komisijski sa Macavityjem u Domu Sindikata, Sali 2, u kojoj je bilo dvadesetak posetilaca po mojoj slobodnoj proceni.

Posle filma SUTRA UJUTRO činilo se da se Oleg nekao opametio, da je smanjivo svoju pretenziju, okrenuo se nekim starim proverenim formama, jump cutovima, socijali, glumačkoj improvizaciji, margini, mudrijem procenjivanju koliko film treba da traje i sl. Ako imamo u vidu ogroman i mahom nezaslužen uspeh & kultni status tog filma u kome je ipak postojalo nekakvo zrnce osnova, tračak kvaliteta i sl. činilo se da se Oleg izvukao iz ambisa u koji je upao sa pretencioznim, upečatljivo groznim NORMALNIM LJUDIMA.

U BELOM BELOM SVETU, prvih petnaestak minuta deluje kao da je Oleg i dalje na stazi opamećivanja. Čak bi se reklo da film na tom samom početku deluje čak kao neki evropski art film sa FESTa. ima tu zanimljivih rešenja, pokušaja i sl.

Međutim, posle tog samouverenog početka film odlazi u vražju mater sa Uliksom Fehmiuom koji se pretvara u Baneta Popovića iz NORMALNIH LJUDI, Hanom Selimović koja preuzima funkciju Ljubinke Klarić, Glogovcem koji je proveren kadar iz oba filma i onda je jasno da Oleg ipak ništa nije naučio i da je na staroj stranputici.

Ono u čemu je definitivno napredovao jeste fotografski koncept filma. Miladin Čolaković sa Redom i dosta pokreta kamere uspeva da učini da film zaliči, na već pomenuti osrednji evropski art house i da ima nekog postupka u tom domenu, s tim što isto tako ima kadrova, kao što je npr. situacija kada Jasna Đuričić plače u klozetu restorana u kome se ta neka "aktivna" kamera razreši u jednom krajnje konvencionalnom, poentirajućem pogledu kroz prozor, jednoj panorami koja je stilski potpuno deplasirana. Takvih konzervativnih, statičnih rešenja iz prošlog rediteljevog života ima još, naročito u scenama Uliks-Hana u kojima Oleg ne može da odoli a da ne zastane i prpusti nas uživaju u skulturama svorenih od njihovih isprepletenih tela.

Što se Bora kao nekakvog aduta tiče, rekao bih da Bor zapravo za ovu priču nije značajan čak ni vizuelno. Film je većim delom urban i Bor manje-vuiše liči na bilo koji grad, a kopovi ili radnici na ulici su ndovoljno iskorišćeni i premalo integrisani u radnju da bi se uopšte zabeležili kao bitan detalj. Uostalom, scene u kojima zaigra kop nemaju nikakve veze sa samim kopom ili Borom, i deluju kao scenografija za muzički spot.

Još je paradoksalnije to da sirotinja o kojoj Novković i Markovićka govore zapravo uopšte nije nešto naročito siromašna, u odnosu na tipične prikaze srpskog naroda u našem filmu. Glavni junak Kralj je bivši bokser koji ima pare zarađene u pečalbi i kafić koji je stalno pun, u stanu ima savremenu belu tehniku i audio-video uređaje, lep motor. Ova siromašna devojka ima priliku da čak dva puta večera u restoranu, ima para za kafić i heorin, radi sa majkom u frizerskom salonu, sve je to neka podnoščjiva egzistencija. Jedina porodica na samoj margini je porodica njenog dečka u kojoj su baba, starija sestra narkomanka i zaljubljen mladić. Tu su deca bila suočena sa dosta lošom polaznom pozicijom , odrastala su bez roditelja a sestra je pride i silovana, dakle, čak ni njihova pozicija nije isključivo ekonomski determinisana niti ima ikakve veze sa problemima rudarsko-topioničarskog basena.

U tom smislu, Bor je kao lokacija potpuno besmisleno uveden i mislim da bilo kome van Srbije zapravo taj grad kao referenca ne znači ništa, ali zapravo još je zabavnije to što se film završava pesmom koju kao pevaju neki radnici, sirotinja, random skupljeni ljudi, što po odsustvu profilisanosti samo pokazuje da je sva sirotinja za Olega i Milenu ista, i onda oni pevaju o tome kako će otići kod bogataša i uraditi im i ovo i ono-tu nema nikakvog objašnjavanja klasnog sukoba, razloga osiromašenja i sl. jer se u filmu ne vidi nikakav ideološki mehanizam koji je te ljude na bilo koji način obespravio. E sad, naravno, mi možemo da kažemo da nam je jasno da su ti ljudi bez nade takvi zato što ih je sistem godinamqa unazađivao i da sada više ni nema potrebe da ih bilo ko onemugaćava u bilo čemu jer oni sada sami sebe uništavaju. U redu, ali to je ready made rešenje koje mi naslućujemo i njihove negativne osobine vrlo lako mogu biti i esencijalizovane.

Otud je cela priča u Brechtu kao uticaju prosto tragikomična jer se on ovde koristi kao inspiracija za uvođenje songova a suština njegovog doprinosa teatru i savremenom poimanju sveta u umetnosti uopšte, zapravo nije u formama kojima se služio već u suštinskom odnosu prema njihovoj realizaciji. naime, njegova ideja je bila da kroz eliminisanje emociej kao faktora učini da gledalac percirpira njegov narativ i klasne odnose koji ga čine, intlektualno. Međutim, Milena i Oleg se ne odriču emocije i to patosa. Brecht je imao obrnut problem sa emocijom, njegovo pisanje je imalo veliku emocionalnu snagu jer je bilo jako dobro i nije uspevalo da dovoljno parodira formu na koju se oslanjalo. Reklo bi se da je Brechta vlastiti dar za proizvodnju drame hendikepirao u vlstitim stremljenjima. Kod Olega i Milene to nije slučaj.

Njihov prikaz crnila doveden je do paroksizma. Kao što Crnogorci ne žive kao u ĐEKNI jer količinu takvih frikova razvodni neko normalan i moderan, tako i u krizi, i u Boru, u tom čemeru ima i kvalitetnih normalnih ljudi koji nisu silovani i nisu na igli. No, ovi su ga toliko zapaprili da film deluje kao da je reč o šali, samo što je ta ista šala bila smešna isključivo prvi put u NORMALNIM LJUDIMA a sada je to već postalo dosadno.

Ono što je osnovni problem ovog filma je ambicija da se ponovo uzleti posle prošlog uspeha i onda dolazi do ponavljanja istih grešaka. Novković očigledno nije reditelj za velike filmove i velike zamahe, a naročito ne za ovakve žanrovske i stilske hibride i u njima se ne snalazi.

A što se politike tiče, u ovom filmu je pokazao gorući problem naše kinematografije a to je da zapravo nemamo vrhunski politički obrazovane reditelje i da se njihov ideološki angžaman svodi na akcentovanje istorijskih događaja kao dokaza ove ili one teze ali da procese jako teško objašnjavaju. U tom smislu, još uvek nema filma koji bi studiozno uspeo da kapitalizuje bilo koju ozbiljnu političku temu, iako je fokus proširen sa nacionalnih i na ekonomske odnose što je u osnovi dobro.

U tom svetlu, BELI BELI SVET u masi viškova, možda i naznačajniji višak ima upravo u tom političkom pogledu.