duminică, 1 decembrie 2024

The Master and Margarita/Master i Margarita (2023)

The new cinematic version of Mihail Bulgakov's masterpiece, The Master and Margarita (in ingles), Margareta in romanian, Master i Margarita in original Russian. The novel was a closet one, written between 1928 and 1940 when Bulgakov died, and kinda unfinished, published only in 1966-and that was censored-and in 1967 in Paris. It's considered one of the most importnat novels of the Xxth century, and it is. And more.

There were various try-outs, from an Italian film in 1972 to TV series to other Russian versions in 1994 and 2025. It was considered unfilmable and there was a project in the 90's that fell apart because of budgetary reasons, Roman Polanski (!) was supposed to direct it and he said he had the best script he read in all his life !! I wished he would've done that, even flawed it surely would've been an interesting take on Bulgakov and a subversive political anarchic one. I read the novel when I was in high school, in Ceausescu's Romania, and made a huge impression on me. Was day-dreaming to make a film with Jack Nicholson as Woland, Michelle Pfeiffer as Margarita and Max von Sydow as the Master. The cat Azaello was problematic :) that was 1986 or 87. That was befoe Bowie became Pilate but I would've chosen him, or someone like Orson Welles ;) It read like a very spectacular extrvaganza, with effects and epic filmmaking. And then I saw on video, in glorious black and white, The Witches of Eastwick. Jack was the Devil, alright. That was before Tim Burton's Batman, ok? About Witches, was hugely dissaponited when I read John Updike's novel, in the early Nineties. I stick with the movie and its grand guignol finale...

The cast is eccelctic with two foreign additions *that in the Russian version are horribly dubbed over by a Ruski male voice ;(

Deutsch August Diehl (Inglorious Basterds, A Hidden Life, Plan A), as Woland (reminded me of a cool young Chris Walken!) 

Dane Claes Bang as Pontus Pilates (Bang was an exceptional Dracula in the series of 2020, streaming on netflix).

Yulia Sigir as Margareta, a spellbinding beautiful woman with the bluest eyes

Evghenyi Tsiganov as the Master 

a cool Behemoth (voiced by Anora's Yura Borisev !)and a cooler Azazello /Azazel.

Co-written (with Roman Kantor) and Directed by Michael Lockshin (his second film after his debut, Silver Skates), a Russian-American director that now is persona non grata in Russia, under crime & punishment for defaming the country's BS. He even received death threats !

17 mill. $ that look like 100 !!! shot in Russia and Croatia with post production in the US. 

1930's Moscow looks like Hitler's Berlin designed by Speer if the nazis would've won. This is Stalin's Megalopolis, a monumental grandeur, Big and massive, making people like pygmeys. 

And then the Russian scandal started. And they took off Lockshin's name from the film and all promotional markets in Russian cinemas and from all materials, and he was banned from Russia sine die. The film tho made 26 mill. $ in the Russian Box office and people who could see it then loved it. International distribution is a problem still, just heard it was selling at AFI market now. Hopefully some streaming service will get it, eventually it will but I think they are afraid to upset Putin & co these tense moments.

Amazingly the film played at Bucharest International Film Festival this fall, with the director attending. Would've loved to see it on the big screen.

About the production and the censorship and the debacle: 

BBC here 

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20240430-the-master-and-margarita-the-russian-box-office-hit-that-criticised-the-state

LA Times here  including an interview with Lockshin.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-04-10/russia-michael-lockshin-putin-master-margarita 




The film has drawn 5.5 million people to date, making it the top-grossing film in its 18-plus ratings category in Russian history. People email Lockshin to say they’ve seen it two or three times.


sâmbătă, 30 noiembrie 2024

A Good Year (2006)

 A Good Year - O comedie romantică

Alin Ludu Dumbravă 

Re:publik / noiembrie 2006  (scos acum de la naftalina re: Ridley and his old good ones).


Pitch: Sir Ridley plus Russell Crowe. / Adică Gladiator 2?/ Nu. O comedie romantică. / Ce? E o glumă? / Nu. Aşa am crezut şi eu, dar trebuia să am încredere. 


Nu îmi place Ridley Scott necondiţionat, G.I. Jane e o vomă, iar White Squall e şi plictisitor şi inegal şi întotdeauna am urît finalul la Someone to Watch Over Me. Dar acesta e cel mai light / upbeat film pe care l-a făcut şi pe care se vede şi simte că i-a făcut reală plăcere. Care-i şpilul? Ridley are o vie în Franţa, în Provence şi vecinul său este scriitorul Peter Mayle, specialist în istorii provensale, udate cu vin roşu şi delicii gurmande. 

Împreună au brodit un plot şi un vehicul pentru durul Russell Crowe, pe care Ridley îl consideră un sensibil. Şi iată filmul, o comedie romantică care se petrece în Provence, despre o casă, o podgorie, vin şi amintiri, mai concis, povestea unui om care se redescoperă pe sine. Max Skinner (Crowe) se ocupă cu producerea banilor la bursa londoneză, e un tip cinic, dur şi nemilos. El primeşte moştenire vila şi podgoria unchiului său Henry, cu care n-a mai comunicat de când era copil. Henry este un minunat Albert Finney în flash-back-uri în culori glorioase (amintind de rolul din Big Fish, la prima colaborare cu Ridley Scott de la debutul acestuia, Dueliştii, 1977). 


A Good Year nu arată ca un film din ziua de azi, ci mai mult din anii '60-'70, e un tribut Franţei şi filmului francez, dar mi-a adus aminte mai ales de Avanti de Billy Wilder şi de atmosfera toscană din Stealing Beauty al lui Bertolucci). Pe lîngă citatele Jacques Tati, prezenţa lui Didier Bourdon (unul din Les Trois Freres), cote-ul romantic e asigurat de ingenua Marilon Cotillard (decorativă în seria Taxi). Un film cu un buchet special, despre vin, cum să-l bei, să-l faci, să-l trăieşti, la joie du vivre, dragoste, prietenie, căldură. Problema e că şi tu vrei să-şi laşi slujba şi să mergi în Provence, dar cine oare îţi lasă moştenire un conac şi o vie? "Some Guys Have All the Luck", cînta Rod Stewart. Ridley Scott şi Russell Crowe sigur au. Dacă spectatorii se vor simţi măcar pe jumătate la fel de bine ca ei, pariul e cîştigat. Oricum vinul s-a băut. 


*** 3 din 5, 6 din 10 !

A Good Year, SUA 2006 Regia: Ridley Scott Scenariul: Mark Klein după cartea lui Peter Mayle, Imaginea: Philippe Le Sourd, Cu: Russell Crowe, Marilon Cotillard, Albert Finney, Abbie Cornish, Didier Bourdon, Tom Hollander, Freddie Highmore. 

# primul score al lui Marc Streitenfeld, anterior music editor (la RS via Tony Scott de la Gladiator, Hannibal, Black Hawk Down, Kingdom of Heaven, Matchstick Men), care a recidivat cu Sir RS la inca 4 filme, American Gangster, Body of Lies, Robin Hood, Prometheus si serialul Raised by Wolves.

Ridley's Favourite Flicks & LMA @87 !!!

Today Sir Rid is 87 !

Seems that not even Gladiator II is not the much expected BO hit he wanted to have. After the vain and bloated Napoleon and 3 flicks that didn't make much waves (The Last Duel, House of Gucci, All the Money in the World), plus the self-destruction (implosion) of the Alien franchise (Prometheus & Alien: Covenant), and a series that went nowhere in season 2 and was cancelled -Raised with Wolves, it seemed he recently fared better as a producer (Alien: Romulus).

This here is an unexpected list of Ridley Scott's favourite films, or the films who influenced him. Of course there are on top 2001-A Space Odyssey and Lawrence of Arabia, but there are also unexpected choices.

LMA/ Happy Birthday, and pls. give us one more movie we should care about ! Not You should Be Dancing, the Bee Gees biopic, you should be better dancing 4 real instead...


I already revisited recently Body of Lies and now I will watch again American Gangster, and might see again The Counselor, which I loved when it came out...Gladiator I revisit too much whenever I am on a binge of sorts..

joi, 28 noiembrie 2024

MadS (2024)

MadS is the horror genre surprise of the year and might as well be the horror film of the year !

There is a bit of Gaspar Noe's Climax in David Moreau's one-take, shot in real time (by Philip Lozano, a veteran cameraman and cinematographer of velocity as in The transporter, Banlieu 13, check here his nnarative of MadS) crazy (Mad!) feature, that had a very tiny time also on Romanian screens (under the title Noapte de cosmar). 


David Moreau shot his 1st film, ILS /Them (2006), in Romania, a gimmicky  thriller, then did a remake of Korean The Eye, an apocalypse thriller (Seuls) and a film about a lion cub (King). This is a zombie apocalypse drugged techno fueled Trip that doesn't stop for 1hr28. Kind of a very bad bad trip....The actress that plays Anais (Laurie Pavy) is really overdoing it, living the scenes like raving insane, well, MadS. Great sound and pulsating score. Shudder is streaming it.




An interview with Moreau about how they shot it. "Victoria with zombies". Someone wrote,"Romero's Run Lola Run"./ And some More ;)

Nominated for best film in Sitges 2024.

**** out of 5, 8 out of 10 !!!