1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die: #6
Okay...I should address the elephant in the room. I've pulled another sneaky one on all of you because this isn't actually the sixth film on this list. That would be Two Or Three Things I Know About Her, which would pain me to do now because the title starts with a "T" not a "2". Yes I am that pedantic. I've made a note of it though, don't worry, I will get back to it once I hit the "T" section in about 25 years.
And I'm not doing The 36th Chamber Of Shaolin either because much like with 1900, I could not find it anywhere with English subtitles and I utterly despise dubs. So like when I made an executive decision to talk about 1917 instead, I made another one here and thought of something I think you should see before you die that comes alphabetically between 2001 and the next film on this list. And thinking about films I'd seen that fit that criteria, it was either this or Roland Emmerich's 2012, so I'll hear no complaints thank you very much.
Interestingly though, I barely remembered anything about this, only that I had seen it at some point. And that was awesome, because this was close to feeling like a new experience to me. Plus I feel quite justified in unofficially putting this on the list, because if there is one thing this film demonstrated to me in spades, it's just how much a good director can improve an...okay script. I mean think about it, yes this film might have invented the concept of a zombie that can move faster than the sperm of a 96 year old man, but those are a dime a dozen nowadays, and other than that and an anti-military slant that isn't very common in the subgenre, this really doesn't do anything new or interesting in either the story, structure, or the characters.
And while that is still a problem to me, what it does do, and in absolute spades, is directing, cinematography, and editing. So much so that it makes it one of the most memorable zombie films I've ever seen. The choice to film the whole thing on a crappy digital camera was genius, because it gives everything such a rough and raw feel and makes the lighting much dimmer that blends perfectly with the overall tone and gives it a unique look too.
Danny Boyle's directing is also absolutely stellar and he gives every scene something visually interesting. I for one, have never seen a film with so many damn dutch angles that manages to look completely natural and not make me feel seasick, and there's so many images burned into my mind after watching it. And you know what, the second scene of this film positively dunks all over The Quiet Earth for how much it can make you feel like the main character is truly alone. And that was a film that wanted you to believe he was the only person left on Earth, not just in London.
And the editing...christ I love the choice of shooting quick shots from the zombies' perspectives and then cutting out any sound from them when they're about to attack. And how it's sensible enough to let a lot of music (oh, and the soundtrack bangs too) start off very subtle and build into a massive crescendo by the end of the scene. And...well basically, I could rattle on about this kind of thing all day, but I must be getting boring now.
So I'll shake out a few more complaints and then be on my way: I think the kid's acting absolutely sucked. She can barely say a single line convincingly, which is especially noticeable when all the other actors are at the absolute top of their games throughout. There's also a tendency to have some really cheesy dialogue that often feels incredibly jarring to the horrible situation the characters find themselves in. Not saying you should never have some levity in darker films, but something about this just didn't sit right with me.
Speaking of that, though, I find the entire opening scene pretty goofy. I don't know if this was the intention, but it seemed to me to be implying that the Rage virus was caused by the scientists showing the monkeys the news? Not that I'd blame them for getting incredibly angry at that, but even I've never spontaneously developed a blood-borne pathogen in that situation. And why the hell does the scientist say "rage" just to be dramatic even though the people holding him at gunpoint will have no idea what he's talking about?
But none of that is really too important, especially not in such a strong directorial statement such as this. Even if it might not be doing anything too original story-wise, you ain't never seen anything like it directing-wise. It's pretty damn awesome and should be proudly stamped on this list officially, not just on my word.
Okay...I should address the elephant in the room. I've pulled another sneaky one on all of you because this isn't actually the sixth film on this list. That would be Two Or Three Things I Know About Her, which would pain me to do now because the title starts with a "T" not a "2". Yes I am that pedantic. I've made a note of it though, don't worry, I will get back to it once I hit the "T" section in about 25 years.
And I'm not doing The 36th Chamber Of Shaolin either because much like with 1900, I could not find it anywhere with English subtitles and I utterly despise dubs. So like when I made an executive decision to talk about 1917 instead, I made another one here and thought of something I think you should see before you die that comes alphabetically between 2001 and the next film on this list. And thinking about films I'd seen that fit that criteria, it was either this or Roland Emmerich's 2012, so I'll hear no complaints thank you very much.
Interestingly though, I barely remembered anything about this, only that I had seen it at some point. And that was awesome, because this was close to feeling like a new experience to me. Plus I feel quite justified in unofficially putting this on the list, because if there is one thing this film demonstrated to me in spades, it's just how much a good director can improve an...okay script. I mean think about it, yes this film might have invented the concept of a zombie that can move faster than the sperm of a 96 year old man, but those are a dime a dozen nowadays, and other than that and an anti-military slant that isn't very common in the subgenre, this really doesn't do anything new or interesting in either the story, structure, or the characters.
And while that is still a problem to me, what it does do, and in absolute spades, is directing, cinematography, and editing. So much so that it makes it one of the most memorable zombie films I've ever seen. The choice to film the whole thing on a crappy digital camera was genius, because it gives everything such a rough and raw feel and makes the lighting much dimmer that blends perfectly with the overall tone and gives it a unique look too.
Danny Boyle's directing is also absolutely stellar and he gives every scene something visually interesting. I for one, have never seen a film with so many damn dutch angles that manages to look completely natural and not make me feel seasick, and there's so many images burned into my mind after watching it. And you know what, the second scene of this film positively dunks all over The Quiet Earth for how much it can make you feel like the main character is truly alone. And that was a film that wanted you to believe he was the only person left on Earth, not just in London.
And the editing...christ I love the choice of shooting quick shots from the zombies' perspectives and then cutting out any sound from them when they're about to attack. And how it's sensible enough to let a lot of music (oh, and the soundtrack bangs too) start off very subtle and build into a massive crescendo by the end of the scene. And...well basically, I could rattle on about this kind of thing all day, but I must be getting boring now.
So I'll shake out a few more complaints and then be on my way: I think the kid's acting absolutely sucked. She can barely say a single line convincingly, which is especially noticeable when all the other actors are at the absolute top of their games throughout. There's also a tendency to have some really cheesy dialogue that often feels incredibly jarring to the horrible situation the characters find themselves in. Not saying you should never have some levity in darker films, but something about this just didn't sit right with me.
Speaking of that, though, I find the entire opening scene pretty goofy. I don't know if this was the intention, but it seemed to me to be implying that the Rage virus was caused by the scientists showing the monkeys the news? Not that I'd blame them for getting incredibly angry at that, but even I've never spontaneously developed a blood-borne pathogen in that situation. And why the hell does the scientist say "rage" just to be dramatic even though the people holding him at gunpoint will have no idea what he's talking about?
But none of that is really too important, especially not in such a strong directorial statement such as this. Even if it might not be doing anything too original story-wise, you ain't never seen anything like it directing-wise. It's pretty damn awesome and should be proudly stamped on this list officially, not just on my word.