Venue:
Picturehouse
Date: 30/04/2017
A couple of years after it’s original release a one-off cinema showing of the black & chrome special edition of Mad Max:Fury Road, to coincide with a dvd reissue. Supposedly this was director George Miller’s preferred version – not sure about that but it might have been in his mind; “You will ride eventual shiny and chrome!”. It remains a high-octane adrenaline blast. The monochrome is particularly good at picking out details like Charlize Theron’s eyes, and seems to enhance the whole gotterdamerung feel of the big trucks roaring like dinosaurs in the desert – on the rubber road to Valhalla.
The audience:
wide awake
It made me think..
What a lovely day
Devil’s Advocate asks:
Hollywood, having found punters becoming less and less keen to pay a mark up for the delights of 3D, has hit upon the wheeze of charging mugs a second time for the thrill of watching the same movie again in black and white?
Just askin’ for a Satanic friend….
Full disclosure: I work for the studio responsible for this. The above is genuinely not how it’s been discussed internally – this seems to be very much a one off, and I’m not hearing about plans for more of the same.
Hollywood can be a nasty, cynical place (and, personally, I would pay money not to be subjected to 3D), but this is the way George Miller originally wanted the movie, and I do think it adds something, or at least changes something. Watched in black and white you become a lot more focused on shot composition and the actors’ faces, two of the movie’s real strengths. You lose some of the power of the desertscape at times, but the War Boys become more threatening and less cartoonish.
Fury Road is one of my favourite Hollywood films of the last decade. I think it’s superb. I was dubious about this, but it did work for me. And if nothing else, it gave me an excuse to go to the cinema and watch a great movie again.
thanks for that Bingo – this and the initial review have piqued my interest.
According to the wires, they’re doing the same with Logan
Ah, different studio so can’t speak to that.
Would seem a daft idea from where I’m sat: I enjoyed Logan immensely, but it’s technically a far weaker film, and I suspect black and white will only serve to highlight that.
Tee Hee! I’ve just googled it and seen they’re calling it “Logan Noir”, the scamps!
Agree with @Bingo-little -I hardly ever bother with cinema the days – more men in tights and capes etc but Fury Road thrilled in a way that reminded me what a shock the original movie was – just crazy stunt men, the desert and that rubber road to freedom that seemed to go on forever. Watching it in a dreary cinema in dream Whitstable made a big impression. And so did the black & chrome version – even delayed watching Line of Duty which was a positive snooze in comparison.
dreary not dreamy (Whitstable that is – or was)
I hear nitrate’s making a comeback too!
Well, if anyone knows around here, bri, it would be you.
Indeed. I know a lot of shit.
Something about the name ‘Tigger’. I just want to skqoosh your cheeks and rub your belly!
😂😂😂
I can’t recommend watching Raiders of the Lost Ark, with the colour turned down and the contrast slightly up, enough. I read about it somewhere (Onion AV Club? Paste?) and it’s true – in black and white you really appreciate how it’s lit like a classic film noir.