First Sci-Fi thriller of the year

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6 members have voted

April 22nd, 2013 at 7:30:13 PM permalink
zippyboy
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 2
Posts: 665
Quote: Fleastiff
Spoilers? Prequels? .... If its utter nonsense... who quite cares?

Thanks so much for your input, Flea. Always sometimes a pleasure.
April 23rd, 2013 at 3:32:51 PM permalink
Pacomartin
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 1068
Posts: 12569
Quote: zippyboy
... which rendered the beginning narration unnecessary and therefore a mistake IMO), all info was given in dribs and drabs in the form of character development.


A surprising number of movies have narration and/or some sequence with a newspaper clipping that were added at the insistence of producers. Invariably they screen the unfinished film before a focus group where inevitably they hear the comment:

"I didn't understand what was happening until halfway through the movie.. they should explain the back story in the beginning!"

These are people who just stare at you blankly when you explain that obviously the director made an artistic choice for the "reveal" to come gradually. Not everything has to be so obvious that a chimp would understand it.

So these expository scenes or narrations are added at the last minute so the chimps don't get confused. You can often recognize these scenes because they tend to feel out of place. Famously the entire narration in Blade Runner was added after the film was edited, along with the bland happy driving scene at the end with the outtakes from The Shining.

Many people don't know that Romeo and Juliet was performed for hundreds of years with a happy ending.
April 24th, 2013 at 7:31:01 PM permalink
rxwine
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 188
Posts: 18633
Quote: Pacomartin
A surprising number of movies have narration



http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=HSRridF2nkg#t=13s
You believe in an invisible god, and dismiss people who say they are trans? Really?
April 24th, 2013 at 8:38:49 PM permalink
Pacomartin
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 1068
Posts: 12569
I recognize him from the Bell Labs science films they used to show us in school. He was Dr. Research!
April 25th, 2013 at 12:34:55 AM permalink
AcesAndEights
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 6
Posts: 351
Quote: Pacomartin
Famously the entire narration in Blade Runner was added after the film was edited, along with the bland happy driving scene at the end with the outtakes from The Shining.

You didn't tell the whole story though: legend has it that Harrison Ford thought the narration was stupid and unnecessary, so he intentionally mailed it in when reading the narration.

And of course, Ridley Scott took it out for his first director's cut that came out in the early 90s, and most subsequent cuts of the film have continued to exclude it, including his 2007 Final Cut.

If you get the right DVD set, you can watch one of the old versions with the narration. I'm pretty sure I've done it once, but it must not have been that terrible, because I barely remember it. If I remember correctly, the amount of narration drops off significantly about halfway through the film.
"You think I'm joking." -EvenBob
April 25th, 2013 at 7:17:43 AM permalink
Pacomartin
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 1068
Posts: 12569
Quote: AcesAndEights
You didn't tell the whole story though: legend has it that Harrison Ford thought the narration was stupid and unnecessary, so he intentionally mailed it in when reading the narration.

It's difficult to dispute that point. Presumably everything in the narration could easily be gotten from context. It is kind of an insult.

  1. Deckard (voice-over): They don't advertise for killers in the newspaper. That was my profession. Ex-cop, ex-bladerunner, ex-killer.
  2. Deckard (voice over): Sushi, that's what my ex-wife called me. Cold fish.
  3. Deckard (voice-over): Skin jobs, that's what Bryant called replicants. In history books he was the kind of cop that used to call black men niggers.
  4. Deckard (voice-over): I'd quit because I'd had a belly full of killing. But then I'd rather be a killer than a victim. And that's exactly what Bryant's threat about little people meant. So I hooked in once more, thinking that if I couldn't take it, I'd split later. I didn't have to worry about Gaff. He was brown-nosing for a promotion, so he didn't want me back anyway.
  5. Deckard (voice-over): I didn't know whether Leon gave Holden a legit address. But it was the only lead I had, so I checked it out. Whatever was in the bathtub was not human. Replicants don't have scales. And family photos? Replicants didn't have families either.
  6. Deckard (voice-over): Tyrell really did a job on Rachel. Right down to a snapshot of a mother she never had, a daughter she never was. Replicants weren't supposed to have feelings. Neither were blade runners. What the hell was happening to me? Leon's pictures had to as phony as Rachel's. I didn't know why a replicant would collect photos. Maybe they were like Rachel. They needed memories.
  7. Deckard (voice-over): The report would be rountine retirement of a replicant which didn't make me feel any better about shooting a woman in the back. There it was again. Feeling, in myself. For her, for Rachel.
  8. Deckard (voice-over): I don't know why he saved my life. Maybe in those last moments he loved life more than he ever had before. Not just his life, anybody's life, my life. All he'd wanted were the same answers the rest of us want. Where did I come from? Where am I going? How long have I got? All I could do was sit there and watch him die.
  9. Deckard (voice-over): Gaff had been there, and let her live. Four years, he figured. He was wrong. Tyrell had told me Rachel was special: no termination date. I didn't know how long we had together, who does?
April 25th, 2013 at 12:36:13 PM permalink
rxwine
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 188
Posts: 18633
2001 A Space Odyessy, could have had narration, (for the last third) but I don't think that it would really be a plus. The mission, the monolith, was suppose to be a big mystery and suppose to create "wonder" in the viewer. As all the space shots, and trip -- all high tech at the time.

I think "Loopers" which I saw recently had narration to explain how the society was setup for the main characters. But it was limited to creating the scene for the finale' which seems proper.
You believe in an invisible god, and dismiss people who say they are trans? Really?
April 25th, 2013 at 1:18:01 PM permalink
AcesAndEights
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 6
Posts: 351
Quote: rxwine
2001 A Space Odyessy, could have had narration, (for the last third) but I don't think that it would really be a plus. The mission, the monolith, was suppose to be a big mystery and suppose to create "wonder" in the viewer. As all the space shots, and trip -- all high tech at the time.

I think "Loopers" which I saw recently had narration to explain how the society was setup for the main characters. But it was limited to creating the scene for the finale' which seems proper.

I thought the narration in Looper was occasionally unneeded. But in general, it was okay. Which was how I felt about the film overall - just okay.
"You think I'm joking." -EvenBob
April 25th, 2013 at 2:39:46 PM permalink
Nareed
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 346
Posts: 12545
Quote: rxwine
2001 A Space Odyessy, could have had narration, (for the last third) but I don't think that it would really be a plus.



You know what it could have had? A plot. That would have been great.

It's still the most realistic depiction of space travel.
Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER
April 25th, 2013 at 7:01:03 PM permalink
Pacomartin
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 1068
Posts: 12569
Quote: Nareed
You know what it could have had? A plot. That would have been great.


Keir Dullea, who played Dave Bowman in 2001 A Space Odyessy is still acting after over 50 years in movies. He said it drove him crazy to make that movie and hardly say anything at all. He desperately wanted some more dialogue.

The movie was based on some short stories by Arthur C. Clarke, but his novel was published after the movie was released. I was eternally grateful since Arthur Clarke has a very straightforward storytelling style and he explained the whole story in very clear detail. I was only age 12 at the time and I kept asking my father what was happening in the movie. Of course, he had no clue, but he felt compelled to try and make up something to tell me.
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