Thursday, May 16, 2013
"The Dark Knight" directed by Christopher Nolan; "A Dark Knight" composed by Hans Zimmer
This is a musical score used in the film "The Dark Knight" towards the end of the film, when Batman decided to sacrifice his alter ego's reputation to save the city's faith in Harvey Dent.
This musical piece overall gave me a sympathetic feeling. When this score was used, Batman told Commissioner Gordon to bring in the police and blame all of Harvey Dent's crimes on him, so the city wouldn't lose hope. Listening to this music made me think of all the lives Batman saved, all the hopes he salvaged, yet no one knows who he is. Now he deliberately makes the city hate him and hunt him down to keep Dent's reputation, and the undermine the Joker's plan in creating chaos in Gotham. At the same time I also admire his decision. He knows that people in Gotham will turn against the vigilante ego he created, but alleviate the people's fear, and keeping their faith in the city's leader is paramount. He is willing to throw away the reputation he's worked for to rectify Dent's crimes.
This music score did a very good job in setting the mood. All of Batman's actions and decisions, through this music I can feel all of the emotions as if I'm Batman, I can sympathize with his situation.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Christopher Nolan interviewed on The Treatment
On KRCW's program The Treatment, there was an interview with Christopher Nolan by host Elvis Mitchell. Christopher Nolan is a British-American director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for directing The Dark Knight Trilogy, "Inception", and "Momento". The interview was recorded on July 25, 2012, with Nolan talking about his latest work, "The Dark Knight Rises".
Overall Nolan talks about the making of this film. Surprisingly, he mentioned little about the process and obstacles he came across while shooting the film; he mostly talked about his thought process and the elements he brought upon through this film. I enjoyed that he talked about the psychological factors he tried to portray from the characters, because originated from the comics, Batman and his foes go beyond physical battle; the most important aspect that makes Batman so unique are the mental manipulation involved between him and his foes. Nolan talked about the concept of time, about the characters' concept of time, or rather, a lack of time acknowledgement at points. He also mentioned briefly the costume designs involved to magnify a character's personality and intention.
Nolan described Batman's character as a unique one. He said "I think it's so much more interesting if the threat is not just to the safety and prosperity of the people of Gotham, but also a threat to his own philosophy, his own way of life". This quote accurately describes the type of relationship between Batman and his enemies. In "The Dark Knight Rises", his main enemy is Bane. For the first time during the trilogy, Batman met someone who presented him with a physical challenge. Nolan mentioned this to remind his audience that despite suffering from old age and weakness, Batman is presented with yet another challenge that requires him to sacrifice even more of himself in order to defend what he believes in.
Besides how Batman deals with his villains, Nolan also talks about in "The Dark Knight Rises", how Bruce Wayne deals with his friends and himself. "He [Bruce Wayne] has people around him, who will be a conscience for him, who will question what he's doing, and particularly Alfred....also Commissioner Gordon, and Lucius Fox". Nolan reminded his audience that despite all his special abilities, Batman is only human. The human mind can be influenced, and sometimes he will go out of his way to accomplish something because his opponent made him desperate. Sometimes he makes a wrong decision, but there are always friends to remind him what is right. Multiple brains work better than one, and every hero needs allies. Nolan feels that Batman's allies are the sane part of his consciousness.
Lastly Nolan was asked why he chose the villain he did in "The Dark Knight Rises", or rather, why did he choose any of the villains in his trilogy. He replied "One of the most interesting things you can do to a protagonist is to set a mirror in front of them....I really enjoy telling a story where the protagonist is being undermined, and the villain is getting under their skin because they share knowledge, they share a point of view in some bizarre way". Both Bane and Batman wanted to save Gotham, but in different ways. Batman wanted to protect the city and its citizens, while Bane wanted to destroy it. Nolan picked Bane as a mirror for Batman, someone who is similar but different from him, so it will either confirm Batman's intentions or make him doubt himself.
I believe Nolan is a great director. Judging from what he said about his mentality in creating "The Dark Knight Rises", he does not settle for any less than extreme hard work and dedication. His creations often involve unique, out of the ordinary elements, and his contributions to the film world is phenomenal.
Overall Nolan talks about the making of this film. Surprisingly, he mentioned little about the process and obstacles he came across while shooting the film; he mostly talked about his thought process and the elements he brought upon through this film. I enjoyed that he talked about the psychological factors he tried to portray from the characters, because originated from the comics, Batman and his foes go beyond physical battle; the most important aspect that makes Batman so unique are the mental manipulation involved between him and his foes. Nolan talked about the concept of time, about the characters' concept of time, or rather, a lack of time acknowledgement at points. He also mentioned briefly the costume designs involved to magnify a character's personality and intention.
Nolan described Batman's character as a unique one. He said "I think it's so much more interesting if the threat is not just to the safety and prosperity of the people of Gotham, but also a threat to his own philosophy, his own way of life". This quote accurately describes the type of relationship between Batman and his enemies. In "The Dark Knight Rises", his main enemy is Bane. For the first time during the trilogy, Batman met someone who presented him with a physical challenge. Nolan mentioned this to remind his audience that despite suffering from old age and weakness, Batman is presented with yet another challenge that requires him to sacrifice even more of himself in order to defend what he believes in.
Besides how Batman deals with his villains, Nolan also talks about in "The Dark Knight Rises", how Bruce Wayne deals with his friends and himself. "He [Bruce Wayne] has people around him, who will be a conscience for him, who will question what he's doing, and particularly Alfred....also Commissioner Gordon, and Lucius Fox". Nolan reminded his audience that despite all his special abilities, Batman is only human. The human mind can be influenced, and sometimes he will go out of his way to accomplish something because his opponent made him desperate. Sometimes he makes a wrong decision, but there are always friends to remind him what is right. Multiple brains work better than one, and every hero needs allies. Nolan feels that Batman's allies are the sane part of his consciousness.
Lastly Nolan was asked why he chose the villain he did in "The Dark Knight Rises", or rather, why did he choose any of the villains in his trilogy. He replied "One of the most interesting things you can do to a protagonist is to set a mirror in front of them....I really enjoy telling a story where the protagonist is being undermined, and the villain is getting under their skin because they share knowledge, they share a point of view in some bizarre way". Both Bane and Batman wanted to save Gotham, but in different ways. Batman wanted to protect the city and its citizens, while Bane wanted to destroy it. Nolan picked Bane as a mirror for Batman, someone who is similar but different from him, so it will either confirm Batman's intentions or make him doubt himself.
I believe Nolan is a great director. Judging from what he said about his mentality in creating "The Dark Knight Rises", he does not settle for any less than extreme hard work and dedication. His creations often involve unique, out of the ordinary elements, and his contributions to the film world is phenomenal.
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Matt Damon
Matthew Paige Damon was born on October 8, 1970, in Boston Massachusetts to Kent Damon, a stockbroker, Realtor and tax preparer, and Nancy Carlsson-Paige, an early childhood education professor at Lesley University. Matt has an older brother named Kyle who is now a sculptor. The family lived in Newton until his parents divorced, when Damon and his brother moved with his mother to Cambridge. It was here that Damon met his close friend and collaborator Ben Affleck, who lived in the neighborhood.
Damon attended Cambridge Ridge and Latin School and he performed in a number of theater productions during his time there. He attended Harvard University as an English major, but dropped out to pursue acting. He made small roles in Mystic Pizza (1988), School Ties (1992), and Geronimo: An American Legend (1993), before landing his breakthrough role as a drug-addicted soldier in Courage Under Fire (1996). The role required him to lose 40 pounds in a short period of time, which resulted in health problems. Fortunately, critics took note of his performance and he felt it was a worthwhile risk to show his level of dedication to his craft.
The following year, he garnered accolades for Good Will Hunting (1997), based on a screenplay he had originally written while at Harvard. Directed by Gus Van Sant, the film was nominated for nine Academy Awards, and he and Affleck won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
In the following years, Damon went on to star in many high profile films, including Saving Private Ryan (1998),
Perhaps Damon's most recognizable work to date is his role as an amnesiac assassin in The Bourne Trilogy. \
Other highly acclaimed movies include The Departed (2006), The Good Shepherd (2006), and Invictus (2009), which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Source: www.imdb.com and images.google.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)