FILM 1798: DUNKIRK

FILM 1798: DUNKIRK

TRIVIA: According to actor-director Kenneth Branagh, roughly 30 Dunkirk survivors, who were in their mid-90s, attended the premiere in London. When asked about the film, they felt that it accurately captured the event but that the soundtrack was louder than the actual bombardment, a comment that greatly amused director Christopher Nolan.

Christopher Nolan, along with his wife Emma Thomas and a friend, made the crossing from England to Dunkirk on a boat, the way the civilians would have done during the original evacuation. Nolan said it took 19 hours because of sea conditions.

After first-hand accounts of the Dunkirk evacuation revealed to Christopher Nolan how young and inexperienced the soldiers were, he decided to cast young and unknown actors for the beach setting.

Director Christopher Nolan rode in the Spitfire shown in the movie in order to get a sense of the aerial feel of the fighter plane, and to help him shoot and provide a realistic experience of the dogfights.

Told from three points of view: on the beach with the infantry (including Fionn Whiteheadand Harry Styles), the evacuation by the navy (featuring Cillian Murphy and Mark Rylance, showing how civilians came to the rescue) and then in the air (with Tom Hardyengaging in plane combat). Speaking about the narrative structure in "Premiere" magazine, Christopher Nolan stated: "For the soldiers who embarked in the conflict, the events took place on different temporalities. On land, some stayed one week stuck on the beach. On the water, the events lasted a maximum day; and if you were flying to Dunkirk, the British Spitfires would carry an hour of fuel. To mingle these different versions of history, one had to mix the temporal strata. Hence the complicated structure; even if the story is very simple. Do not repeat it to the studio: it will be my most experimental film."

The ticking sounds that serve as a crucial theme on the film's score were recorded by composer Hans Zimmer from one of director Christopher Nolan's own pocket watches. He then put the sounds into synthesizers and altered them in different ways for the soundtrack.

Charles Lightoller, the most senior surviving officer of the RMS Titanic, participated in the Dunkirk evacuation with his private motor yacht, "The Sundowner". The craft has been preserved by the Ramsgate Maritime Museum in England.

Dunkirk (2017) is the seventh film between Christopher Nolan and Michael Caine after Batman Begins (2005), The Prestige (2006), The Dark Knight (2008), Inception (2010), The Dark Knight Rises (2012) and Interstellar (2014). Caine appears in an uncredited voice cameo (he's the voice on the radio talking to a Royal Air Force officer early in the film) . Caine previously portrayed a Royal Air Force officer in the movie Battle of Britain.

The scene in which Tom Hardy's character's Spitfire lands on Dunkirk beach was real; done on location with an actual Spitfire in flight, and was the first time a plane landed on that beach since 1940. After the scene was completed, however, the Spitfire became stuck in the sand. There was subsequently a frantic rush to get the valuable Spitfire out off the beach before the incoming tides could damage it.

The film was shot on the actual beach at Dunkirk where the evacuation took place. When scouting for the film, director Christopher Nolan found a button from an English soldier's uniform in the sand.

FILM 1584: THE DROP

TRIVIA: Last film appearance of James Gandolfini, he died one month after shooting had wrapped.

The film is based on the short story "Animal Rescue" by Dennis Lehane, from the collection Boston Noir.

The film is set in Brooklyn, New York and with American characters, but 3 of the 4 main actors are Europeans. Tom Hardy is British, Noomi Rapace is Swedish and Matthias Schoenaerts is Belgian. James Gandolfini is the only American among them.

Saint Rocco, whose statue in the church gives Bob the inspiration for his puppy's name, is a 14th century Italian Saint and is the patron saint of dogs. Part of the legend surrounding this Saint is of a dog who brought him food while he lay sick with the plague.

Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace went to a rescue center to prepare for their roles. Hardy did adopt a dog, a female pit-bull puppy, and took it to the set.

FILM 1569: LEGEND

TRIVIA: In the UK, Legend (2015) became the highest grossing 18-rated British film of all time, surpassing Trainspotting (1996).

Despite being very open about his sexuality in this film, in real life Ronnie Kray kept it very private as he saw it as a weakness which could be exploited.

Critic Benjamin Lee of The Guardian wrote a negative review of the film, giving it only two stars: a poster for British distributor Studio Canal displayed these, but placed them between the twins' heads, so that at first glance The Guardian appeared to be one of many outlets that had run four- and five-star reviews (until Lee himself pointed this out on Twitter).

Despite Reggie Krays actions, he became a born - again christian in prison.

The Blind Beggar pub featured in the movie is actually The Royal Oak on Columbia Road in London. The pub has featured in many British TV programs. It was the same pub used in '90s sitcom Goodnight Sweetheart (1993) and was also the scene for Victor Meldrew's failed reunion with friends in One Foot in the Grave (1990).

The Kray brothers story inspired the 1992, Morrissey classic "The Last of the Famous International Playboys".

A Parisian premiere to be attended by actress Duffy was scheduled for November 17, 2015 at the Olympia concert hall, however this event was canceled following the November 13 terror attacks in the French capital.

Aneurin Barnard reprises his role as the photographer David Bailey from We'll Take Manhattan (2012).

When Ronnie Kray enters The Blind Beggar to shoot George Cornell, he passes 3 people at the bar, the barmaid, a man with his back to camera and Martin Kemp. Kemp played Reggie in the 1990 film, The Krays.

Some of my most recent cover illustrations - more can be found here… https://www.flickr.com/photos/29592695@N08/albums/72157659042171433

FILM 1468: MAD MAX: FURY ROAD 

TRIVIA: Over 80% of the effects seen in the film are real practical effects, stunts, make-up and sets. CGI was used sparingly mainly to enhance the Namibian landscape, remove stunt rigging and for Charlize Theron's left hand which in the film is a prosthetic arm.

In creating the look of the film, director George Miller laid down two stipulations for the production to follow. Firstly the cinematography would be as colorful as possible in order to differentiate the film from other post apocalyptic movies which typically have bleak desaturated colors. Secondly the art direction would be as beautiful as possible, as Miller reasoned that people living in the post apocalypse would try to find whatever scraps of beauty they could in their meager environment.

The film editor, Margaret Sixel, is director George Miller's wife. When she asked her husband why he thought she should do it as she had never edited an action film before, Miller replied, "Because if a guy did it, it would look like every other action movie."

In a Cannes press conference for the movie, Tom Hardy apologized to George Miller for the reportedly complicated relationship between the star and the director during filming. He stated: "There was no way, I mean, I have to apologize to you because I got frustrated. There was no way George could have explained what he could see in the sand when we were out there. Because of the due diligence that was required to make everything safe and so simple, what I saw was a relentless barrage of complexities, simplified for this fairly linear story. I knew he was brilliant, but I didn't know how brilliant until I saw it. So, my first reaction was 'Oh my god, I owe George an apology for being so myopic.'"

After George Miller screened some footage at SWSX film festival, a man stood up and asked: "How the hell did you film that!?" That man was none other than director Robert Rodriguez.

Riley Keough, the actress who plays the red-haired bride, Capable, is daughter of Lisa Marie Presley and grand-daughter of Elvis Presley. In real life, Elvis Presley purchased Cadillacs for his friends and family which outnumber his personal collection (in real life he purchased 14 1959 Cadillacs as 'give away' automobiles, mostly used for charitable causes; in real life he does not own the 1959 model since he was stationed in West Germany when serving in the U.S. Army). Only film to date where Keough is seen in an automobile connected with her grandfather, who was an admirer of the Cadillac product line.

In a July 2014 interview at San Diego Comic-Con International, George Miller said he designed the film in storyboard form before writing the screenplay, working with five storyboard artists. It came out as about 3,500 panels, almost the same number of shots as in the finished film. He wanted the film to be almost a continuous chase, with relatively little dialogue, and to have the visuals come first. Paraphrasing Alfred Hitchcock, Miller said that he wanted the film to be understood in Japan without the use of subtitles.

The second sequel to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture without any of its predecessors being nominated, the first being Toy Story 3 (2010).

FILM 1461: THE REVENANT

TRIVIA: Leonardo DiCaprio had to devour a raw slab of bison's liver, even though he is vegetarian. He also had to learn to shoot a musket, build a fire, speak two Native American languages (Pawnee and Arikara), and study with a doctor who specializes in ancient healing techniques. DiCaprio calls it the hardest performance of his career.

Due to production being behind schedule, the snow melted during the location shoot in Canada before filming was complete. With summer rapidly approaching, there was no choice but to relocate the entire production to southern Argentina, where there were similar wintry conditions.

Shot chronologically on an 80-day schedule that took place over a total principal photography time period of nine months. This unusually long production time was due to the cold weather conditions, the remoteness of the locations and director Alejandro González Iñárritu's and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki's aesthetic plan to shoot only with natural light for maximum realism. Only a few shooting hours were available every day and had to be carefully planned in advance.

Tom Hardy was concerned about the safety of some of the stunts he had to do, which caused friction between him and director Alejandro González Iñárritu before Gonzalez allowed Hardy to choke him in return. Later, the image of Hardy strangling Gonzalez was immortalized in a T-shirt gifted by Hardy to all members of the crew, at the end of the shoot.

The origin of the title is rooted in the French verb "revenir," which means "to return." Revenant in French also means (reverting to) "spirit" or "ghost."

This film adds another name to the list of Oscar-winning directors (Alejandro González Iñárritu) that Leonardo DiCaprio has worked with. The others are: Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Danny Boyle, James Cameron, Clint Eastwood, Sam Mendes and Woody Allen. He has also worked with Quentin Tarantino, who has won two Academy Awards for screenwriting.

Alejandro González Iñárritu was insistent that computer-generated imagery not be used to enhance the film, stating: "If we ended up in greenscreen with coffee and everybody having a good time, everybody will be happy, but most likely the film would be a piece of shit."