Rick Baker is a legend. The special makeup effects master is responsible for creating work for "Videodrome," "Thriller," "Harry and the Hendersons," "Coming to America," "Men in Black," "The Nutty Professor," and so much more. His work is iconic (and I don't use that word lightly) and arguably unparalleled. Hell, he won the very first Oscar for Best Makeup for his groundbreaking work on "American Werewolf in London," and he would go on to win the award a record seven times. In short, Rick Baker is one of the best to ever do it.
Not only is Baker an artist, but he's also a fan of the classic makeup work of cinema, particularly the Universal Monsters, most of which were created by Jack Pierce. So it makes sense that when Universal decided to remake "The Wolfman," Baker would want to be on board to bring the lycanthrope to life. Baker...
Not only is Baker an artist, but he's also a fan of the classic makeup work of cinema, particularly the Universal Monsters, most of which were created by Jack Pierce. So it makes sense that when Universal decided to remake "The Wolfman," Baker would want to be on board to bring the lycanthrope to life. Baker...
- 10/12/2022
- by Chris Evangelista
- Slash Film
One of the best musical scores of all time — no hyperbole here, I genuinely mean it — is Wojciech Kilar’s beautiful, bombastic Bram Stoker’s Dracula soundtrack. And now, at long last, it’s getting a fancy vinyl release from Mondo. The score has been available on vinyl before, but this pending Mondo release has been remasted […]
The post ‘Bram Stoker’s Dracula’ Vinyl Soundtrack Coming From Mondo appeared first on /Film.
The post ‘Bram Stoker’s Dracula’ Vinyl Soundtrack Coming From Mondo appeared first on /Film.
- 8/23/2021
- by Chris Evangelista
- Slash Film
If you have an easy movie, the ones where the trailers practically edit themselves, that probably isn’t a Mark Woollen trailer. Woollen is the guy they call when the movies are more idiosyncratic, or their creators are, or both; the ones where the three-act structure may not be visible to the naked eye, or it’s hard to explain exactly what they’re about, but damn if they don’t make you feel something. But how can you see feelings, and in two minutes or less? What kind of marketing is that?
“I don’t know what marketing is,” said Woollen from the Santa Monica offices of Mark Woollen & Associates, where he employs a staff of 30. “I’m trying to represent the film. Filmmakers come to us in a vulnerable place. Sometimes we’re the first eyes seeing the first rough cut of film they’ve been working on for years.
“I don’t know what marketing is,” said Woollen from the Santa Monica offices of Mark Woollen & Associates, where he employs a staff of 30. “I’m trying to represent the film. Filmmakers come to us in a vulnerable place. Sometimes we’re the first eyes seeing the first rough cut of film they’ve been working on for years.
- 8/13/2019
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
If you have an easy movie, the ones where the trailers practically edit themselves, that probably isn’t a Mark Woollen trailer. Woollen is the guy they call when the movies are more idiosyncratic, or their creators are, or both; the ones where the three-act structure may not be visible to the naked eye, or it’s hard to explain exactly what they’re about, but damn if they don’t make you feel something. But how can you see feelings, and in two minutes or less? What kind of marketing is that?
“I don’t know what marketing is,” said Woollen from the Santa Monica offices of Mark Woollen & Associates, where he employs a staff of 30. “I’m trying to represent the film. Filmmakers come to us in a vulnerable place. Sometimes we’re the first eyes seeing the first rough cut of film they’ve been working on for years.
“I don’t know what marketing is,” said Woollen from the Santa Monica offices of Mark Woollen & Associates, where he employs a staff of 30. “I’m trying to represent the film. Filmmakers come to us in a vulnerable place. Sometimes we’re the first eyes seeing the first rough cut of film they’ve been working on for years.
- 8/13/2019
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Robert Townson, the veteran producer who helped build Varèse Sarabande into L.A.’s leading soundtrack label, is leaving after more than 30 years to launch a new venture producing live concerts of film music.
Concord Music, which purchased Varèse last year from Cutting Edge Group, has eliminated Townson’s vice-president position effective Jan. 31. “I have spent the past thirty-plus years helping build this incredible music company, and I am very proud of the legacy I leave behind,” Townson said in a statement to Variety.
“My career has included over 1,400 of the label’s frontline soundtracks and historic film-music restorations, new recordings and countless international live film music events. Robert Townson Concerts, previously Varèse Live, will not be affected by this and will continue its bright future course,” he added.
The announcement comes on the heels of the label’s 40th anniversary last year, which was marked with a best-of CD...
Concord Music, which purchased Varèse last year from Cutting Edge Group, has eliminated Townson’s vice-president position effective Jan. 31. “I have spent the past thirty-plus years helping build this incredible music company, and I am very proud of the legacy I leave behind,” Townson said in a statement to Variety.
“My career has included over 1,400 of the label’s frontline soundtracks and historic film-music restorations, new recordings and countless international live film music events. Robert Townson Concerts, previously Varèse Live, will not be affected by this and will continue its bright future course,” he added.
The announcement comes on the heels of the label’s 40th anniversary last year, which was marked with a best-of CD...
- 1/25/2019
- by Jon Burlingame
- Variety Film + TV
A celebration of film and television music was once again at the heart of Krakow’s Film and Music Festival, now in its eighth year.
Running from May 27-31, the event brought together more than 58 international composers - including Stephen Warbeck (Shakespeare in Love, Mon Roi), Ramin Djawadi (Game of Thrones), Jeff Beal (House of Cards), John Lunn (Downton Abbey) and Trevor Morris (The Borgias, The Tudors) – for a culmination of performances, panels and master classes.
“Composers are not often given the attention they deserve,” said Artistic Director Robert Piaskowski. “So we wanted to create a space that presents film music as art, and where audiences can come and appreciate a score’s symphonic sounds.”
Piaskowski is not alone in his interests. The festival now aligns itself as the start of the season, with similar musical events taking place in Tenerife and Cordoba in July and Vienna and Gent (that also hosts the World Soundtrack Awards) in October...
Running from May 27-31, the event brought together more than 58 international composers - including Stephen Warbeck (Shakespeare in Love, Mon Roi), Ramin Djawadi (Game of Thrones), Jeff Beal (House of Cards), John Lunn (Downton Abbey) and Trevor Morris (The Borgias, The Tudors) – for a culmination of performances, panels and master classes.
“Composers are not often given the attention they deserve,” said Artistic Director Robert Piaskowski. “So we wanted to create a space that presents film music as art, and where audiences can come and appreciate a score’s symphonic sounds.”
Piaskowski is not alone in his interests. The festival now aligns itself as the start of the season, with similar musical events taking place in Tenerife and Cordoba in July and Vienna and Gent (that also hosts the World Soundtrack Awards) in October...
- 6/3/2015
- ScreenDaily
We sat down with Polish director Krzysztof Zanussi at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival after the premiere of his new film, Foreign Body. Zanussi, who has been directing features since the late 1960s and is well into his seventies, remains incredibly busy as a filmmaker while also continuing to teach at the European Graduate School and as a professor at Silesian University. Tending to favor varied, diverse casts and setting them in narratives outside of their own native lands, his latest, as the title suggests, is no exception. The director speaks about his busy schedule, his wish to convey the current state of affairs in Poland, as well as his lengthy collaboration with composer Wojciech Kilar, who passed away not long after production. Here’s my sitdown.
- 12/3/2014
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
As you know, music plays a huge part in the filmmaking process and plays with our emotions while we are watching the movie. Music heightens our senses and adds to the quality of film. When it comes to horror movies, the music is supposed to scare us, make us feel uneasy, and gives us moments of panic and fear. Director Martin Scorsese said the following about music and film:
“Music and cinema fit together naturally. Because there’s a kind of intrinsic musicality to the way moving images work when they’re put together. It’s been said that cinema and music are very close as art forms, and I think that’s true.”
Just the other day the main theme song from Halloween started playing on the radio, and it freaked my kids out to the point that they were in tears. It was sad but kind of funny at the same time.
“Music and cinema fit together naturally. Because there’s a kind of intrinsic musicality to the way moving images work when they’re put together. It’s been said that cinema and music are very close as art forms, and I think that’s true.”
Just the other day the main theme song from Halloween started playing on the radio, and it freaked my kids out to the point that they were in tears. It was sad but kind of funny at the same time.
- 10/30/2014
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
The King and the Mockingbird is one of those legendary animated features with a tortured production history, along the lines of Richard Williams’s The Thief and the Cobbler and Yuri Norshtein’s still-unfinished The Overcoat. French artist Paul Grimault began the project in the late 1940s under the title The Shepherdess and the Chimneysweep, taken from a Hans Christian Andersen story. The script was by Jacques Prévert, by that point one of the most important poets and screenwriters working in France. In spite of all these talents, however, production stalled and a great deal of money was lost. Grimault’s studio, Les Gemeaux, was forced to close and his former partner released an unfinished version without his permission in 1952. Eventually Grimault regained the rights to the project, secured funding and was able to finally complete his own version of the project in the late 1970s. It was renamed Le Roi et l’oiseau, literally...
- 10/4/2014
- by Daniel Walber
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
I expect composer Jóhann Jóhannsson will be getting hired more and more in the near future. Having come up through the documentary world, he was tapped last year for Denis Villaneuve's "Prisoners" and he ran with the ball, crafting a dynamic, layered, ominous score that really didn't get its due. That course is sure to be corrected with his work on James Marsh's Stephen Hawking biopic "The Theory of Everything," a piano-driven work that stands out as one of the film's most identifying features. I spoke to Jóhannsson not long after catching "Theory," which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September, and you can tell he's still warming up to this process and the attention. He's sure to garner awards traction for his work on this film, however, so he'll get used to it all soon enough. Read through our back and forth below and get to know a guy who,...
- 10/3/2014
- by Kristopher Tapley
- Hitfix
Final pieces of the late pianist and composer [pictured] will also appear in Krzysztof Zanussi’s upcoming feature Foreign Body.
Poland’s Alvernia Studios is to host recordings of the final compositions of the late pianist and composer Wojciech Kilar.
The pieces will then appear in Krzysztof Zanussi’s upcoming feature Obce Cialo (Foreign Body), a Polish-Russian-Italian co-production about the place of religion and faith in the modern workspace.
Kilar, who passed away last year aged 81, is known for film scores including Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Roman Polanksi’s The Pianist.
The recordings will be performed by the Aukso Chamber Orchestra in early January.
Poland’s Alvernia Studios is to host recordings of the final compositions of the late pianist and composer Wojciech Kilar.
The pieces will then appear in Krzysztof Zanussi’s upcoming feature Obce Cialo (Foreign Body), a Polish-Russian-Italian co-production about the place of religion and faith in the modern workspace.
Kilar, who passed away last year aged 81, is known for film scores including Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Roman Polanksi’s The Pianist.
The recordings will be performed by the Aukso Chamber Orchestra in early January.
- 1/9/2014
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Polish composer of film music best known for Bram Stoker's Dracula, Death and the Maiden, and The Pianist
Very few 20th-century classical composers set out with the intention of writing music for films. Wojciech Kilar, who has died of cancer aged 81, was no exception. Would he ever have dreamed, when he was studying composition in Poland, that he would later go on to score more than 100 films and build his reputation on that body of work rather than in the concert hall? It took Kilar more than 30 years of composing music for Polish films before he became internationally recognised because of his creepy score for Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
The acclaim that Kilar accrued from his music for Coppola's pyrotechnical horror movie led to work on other widely shown English-language films, such as Jane Campion's The Portrait of a Lady (1996) and three by Polish-born Roman Polanski...
Very few 20th-century classical composers set out with the intention of writing music for films. Wojciech Kilar, who has died of cancer aged 81, was no exception. Would he ever have dreamed, when he was studying composition in Poland, that he would later go on to score more than 100 films and build his reputation on that body of work rather than in the concert hall? It took Kilar more than 30 years of composing music for Polish films before he became internationally recognised because of his creepy score for Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
The acclaim that Kilar accrued from his music for Coppola's pyrotechnical horror movie led to work on other widely shown English-language films, such as Jane Campion's The Portrait of a Lady (1996) and three by Polish-born Roman Polanski...
- 1/7/2014
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
Polish pianist composed scores for films including Roman Polanski's The Pianist and Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula
Wojciech Kilar, a Polish pianist and composer of classical music and scores for many films, including Roman Polanski's Oscar-winning The Pianist and Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula, died on Sunday. He was 81.
Kilar wrote music for more than 130 movies in Poland and abroad, with Dracula earning him the award for best score composer from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers in 1992. He died in his home town of Katowice, southern Poland, after a long illness, according to Jerzy Kornowicz, head of the Association of Polish Composers.
The composer was born on 17 July 1932, in Lviv, a former Polish city now in Ukraine, to a doctor and an actor. The family moved to Rzeszow in south-eastern Poland, then to Katowice in the south, where Kilar continued his musical education.
Wojciech Kilar, a Polish pianist and composer of classical music and scores for many films, including Roman Polanski's Oscar-winning The Pianist and Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula, died on Sunday. He was 81.
Kilar wrote music for more than 130 movies in Poland and abroad, with Dracula earning him the award for best score composer from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers in 1992. He died in his home town of Katowice, southern Poland, after a long illness, according to Jerzy Kornowicz, head of the Association of Polish Composers.
The composer was born on 17 July 1932, in Lviv, a former Polish city now in Ukraine, to a doctor and an actor. The family moved to Rzeszow in south-eastern Poland, then to Katowice in the south, where Kilar continued his musical education.
- 12/30/2013
- The Guardian - Film News
THR has reported that composer Wojciech Kilar died on Sunday at the age of 81.
Among his many film score credits are Dracula (d. Francis Ford Coppola), The Portrait Of A Lady (d. Jane Campion). We Own The Night (d. James Gray), Death And The Maiden, The Pianist and The Ninth Gate (d. Roman Polanski).
The composer’s accolades include a BAFTA nomination (Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music) and César Award in 2003 for Best Music Written for a Film, The Pianist and the Ascap Award in 1993 for Top Box Office Films, Dracula.
In a 2007 interview with Plus, a journal about Polish-American affairs, he recalled asking Coppola in Los Angeles what kind of music he was expecting and the director replied: “I did my part. You are the composer. Do what you want.”
Kilar’s dedication to composing primarily for the concert halls even led him to lose a commission to...
Among his many film score credits are Dracula (d. Francis Ford Coppola), The Portrait Of A Lady (d. Jane Campion). We Own The Night (d. James Gray), Death And The Maiden, The Pianist and The Ninth Gate (d. Roman Polanski).
The composer’s accolades include a BAFTA nomination (Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music) and César Award in 2003 for Best Music Written for a Film, The Pianist and the Ascap Award in 1993 for Top Box Office Films, Dracula.
In a 2007 interview with Plus, a journal about Polish-American affairs, he recalled asking Coppola in Los Angeles what kind of music he was expecting and the director replied: “I did my part. You are the composer. Do what you want.”
Kilar’s dedication to composing primarily for the concert halls even led him to lose a commission to...
- 12/29/2013
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Composer Wojciech Kilar has died, aged 81.
The Polish musician was BAFTA-nominated for his score to Roman Polanski's Oscar-winning film The Pianist.
He died in his hometown Katowice, in south Poland, following a long illness.
Kilar's other film work included Dracula and Polanski's The Ninth Gate.
On top of his work in writing symphonies and concertos, Kilar was known for his film composing career, writing scores for over 130 films.
He won the Best Score Composer award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers in 1992 for Dracula.
In 1977, he co-founded the Karol Szymanowski Society, composing pieces that utilised Polish folk songs and Catholic church music.
In his native Poland, he was known for his work with the three Polish film directors Andrzej Wajda, Krzysztof Kieslowski and Krzysztof Zanussi. In 1991, Zanussi produced a biographical film about Kilar.
In November 2008, Kilar was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.
The Polish musician was BAFTA-nominated for his score to Roman Polanski's Oscar-winning film The Pianist.
He died in his hometown Katowice, in south Poland, following a long illness.
Kilar's other film work included Dracula and Polanski's The Ninth Gate.
On top of his work in writing symphonies and concertos, Kilar was known for his film composing career, writing scores for over 130 films.
He won the Best Score Composer award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers in 1992 for Dracula.
In 1977, he co-founded the Karol Szymanowski Society, composing pieces that utilised Polish folk songs and Catholic church music.
In his native Poland, he was known for his work with the three Polish film directors Andrzej Wajda, Krzysztof Kieslowski and Krzysztof Zanussi. In 1991, Zanussi produced a biographical film about Kilar.
In November 2008, Kilar was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.
- 12/29/2013
- Digital Spy
Warsaw, Poland (AP) — Wojciech Kilar, a Polish pianist and composer of classical music and scores for many films, including Roman Polanski's Oscar-winning The Pianist and Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula, died Sunday. He was 81. The composer died in his hometown of Katowice, southern Poland, following a long illness, according to Jerzy Kornowicz, head of the Association of Polish Composers. "The power and the message of his music, as well as the noble character of Wojciech Kilar as a person, will stay in my memory forever," said Kornowicz. Polish film director Kazimierz Kutz said working with the
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- 12/29/2013
- by The Associated Press
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Nathan Barr is a unique composer that tends to focus on horror titles, including Cabin Fever, Grindhouse, True Blood, and Hostel. Recently, Nathan was nominated for two Emmy Awards in the category of “Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music” for The Americans and Hemlock Grove, and is the subject of our latest Q&A.
In this feature, Nathan tells us about his collaborations with Eli Roth, performing entire scores on his own, his work on True Blood, and owning a human bone trumpet from Tibet:
Congratulations on your recent Emmy nominations for Hemlock Grove and The Americans. What does it feel like to be nominated for not one, but two Emmys this year?
Nathan Barr: It feels great. I’m really proud to work on both shows, and to have received this kind of recognition feels amazing. It’s an honor to be nominated.
You frequently collaborate with Eli Roth on his projects.
In this feature, Nathan tells us about his collaborations with Eli Roth, performing entire scores on his own, his work on True Blood, and owning a human bone trumpet from Tibet:
Congratulations on your recent Emmy nominations for Hemlock Grove and The Americans. What does it feel like to be nominated for not one, but two Emmys this year?
Nathan Barr: It feels great. I’m really proud to work on both shows, and to have received this kind of recognition feels amazing. It’s an honor to be nominated.
You frequently collaborate with Eli Roth on his projects.
- 8/28/2013
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Famed "Batman", "Spider-man", "Men In Black" and "Wanted" composer Danny Elfman has been given the boot from the upcoming big budget "The Wolfman" remake according to Cinemusic.net and The Playlist. What's strange is Elfman had apparently already written an entire score for the new horror movie said to be similar to Wojciech Kilar's haunting work in "Bram Stocker's Dracula", however the film's constantly shifting release dates mean that Elfman simply doesn't have the time to stay with the project and finish his work. Instead, Paul Haslinger ("Underworld", "Shoot 'Em Up") has been brought onboard to do the film's soundtrack and no doubt give it a more grungy, rock-based sound. In a strange bit of similitude, Haslinger was a member of Tangerine Dream - the influential 80's electronic...
- 11/14/2009
- www.ohmygore.com/
Quick, what’s the scariest horror film score out there? I’m sure a couple of no-brainers came to mind, and a few of you probably thought of something wholly original. Thanks to the Cinemagic channel on Sirius Xm, we have an official list to choose from. There are a few shocking inclusions, and a couple of omissions, one that I, myself, deem glaring.
See for yourself:
Halloween John Carpenter 1
Psycho Bernard Herrmann 2
The Shining Wendy Carlos/Assorted 3
Jaws John Williams 4
Alien Jerry Goldsmith 5
Omen, The Jerry Goldsmith 6
Bride of Frankenstein Franz Waxman 7
Thing, The Ennio Morricone 8
Exorcist, The Pendereki 9
Fog, The John Carpenter 10
Rosemary’s Baby Christopher Komeda 11
Hellraiser Christopher Young 12
Friday the 13th Harry Manfredini 13
A Nightmare on Elm Street Charles Bernstein 14
Suspira Goblin 15
Poltergeist Jerry Goldsmith 16
Changeling, The Rick Williams 17
Dawn of the Dead Assorted 18
Haunted Palace, The Ronald Stein 19
Amityville Horror, The Lalo Schifrin 20
Creepshow John...
See for yourself:
Halloween John Carpenter 1
Psycho Bernard Herrmann 2
The Shining Wendy Carlos/Assorted 3
Jaws John Williams 4
Alien Jerry Goldsmith 5
Omen, The Jerry Goldsmith 6
Bride of Frankenstein Franz Waxman 7
Thing, The Ennio Morricone 8
Exorcist, The Pendereki 9
Fog, The John Carpenter 10
Rosemary’s Baby Christopher Komeda 11
Hellraiser Christopher Young 12
Friday the 13th Harry Manfredini 13
A Nightmare on Elm Street Charles Bernstein 14
Suspira Goblin 15
Poltergeist Jerry Goldsmith 16
Changeling, The Rick Williams 17
Dawn of the Dead Assorted 18
Haunted Palace, The Ronald Stein 19
Amityville Horror, The Lalo Schifrin 20
Creepshow John...
- 10/30/2009
- by Kirk
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
I’ve always said that the best new music being released now-a-days is coming from the video game composers. In the virtual world of video games, the new generation of techno-composers has been putting out some of the most amazing music I’ve heard that not only utilizes full symphonic orchestration, but also incorporates the use of electronic elements -together taking the art of suspenseful composition to a whole new level.
Two perfect examples of this new generation of musical masterminds are Cris Velasco and Sascha Dikiciyan, the composers of the Prototype Original Soundtrack.
The Prototype Video Game is set in New York City (home to the East Coast Fangoria Offices) as a virus infects people and the military attempts to put an end to it. The protagonist, Alex Mercer, has shape-shifting powers that allow him to create specialized morphs for attack, defense, or sensory enhancement. The music for this blood-drenched,...
Two perfect examples of this new generation of musical masterminds are Cris Velasco and Sascha Dikiciyan, the composers of the Prototype Original Soundtrack.
The Prototype Video Game is set in New York City (home to the East Coast Fangoria Offices) as a virus infects people and the military attempts to put an end to it. The protagonist, Alex Mercer, has shape-shifting powers that allow him to create specialized morphs for attack, defense, or sensory enhancement. The music for this blood-drenched,...
- 7/19/2009
- by no-reply@fangoria.com (Zoth Ommog)
- Fangoria
Faithful Blood Spattered Blog readers may well know by now that I am obsessed with music and its effect on the moving image. I myself am something of a musician too and it's always a pleasure to talk to other mildly deranged audiophiles who craft their own sounds for films that either exist or exist within the cozy confines of their skulls.
One such composer is Edward Douglas, who in 1996 formed the majestic dark music collective known to horror enthusiasts everywhere as Midnight Syndicate.
I love this man's deep, dark and gleefully ghoulish arias and, in the wake of his most ambitious and eeriest release The Dead Matter: Cemetary Gates (the 10th Ms album to date and not to be confused with the film The Dead Matter that is in fact directed by the multi-talented Douglas), I opted to pin Douglas down and ask him many, many questions.
Here is that interview.
One such composer is Edward Douglas, who in 1996 formed the majestic dark music collective known to horror enthusiasts everywhere as Midnight Syndicate.
I love this man's deep, dark and gleefully ghoulish arias and, in the wake of his most ambitious and eeriest release The Dead Matter: Cemetary Gates (the 10th Ms album to date and not to be confused with the film The Dead Matter that is in fact directed by the multi-talented Douglas), I opted to pin Douglas down and ask him many, many questions.
Here is that interview.
- 10/22/2008
- Fangoria
This review was written for the festival screening of "The Pianist".
CANNES -- Roman Polanski, who survived the Nazi occupation of Poland as a young boy, has finally made a film about this horrifying period in that country's history. Because he didn't want the film to be autobiographical, he and writer Ronald Harwood selected as source material a 1946 memoir by Jewish pianist and composer Wladyslaw Szpilman, "Death of a City", a book noted for the detached tone of its recollection of misery, disease and near starvation in Warsaw. Polanski takes a similar tack, which makes for a remote emotional experience. What Szpilman goes through is beyond incredible. Yet "The Pianist" recounts those torments less through his eyes than in a cool third-person narration, keenly observing but uninvolved.
Too many books, documentaries and features already have told this story for Polanski's version to have the international boxoffice impact it deserves. His name will, of course, attract many. But you can't help feel disappointed that one of the few directors who actually lived through this tragic period isn't able to personalize the material more.
The scale of this production is epic. Entire streets of a now vanished city are re-created in Berlin's Babelsberg Studios and miniatures and digital effects later portray a city turned into an uninhabitable wasteland.
In the central role, Adrien Brody does his best with a highly educated character who is initially aloof to the coming trouble and then, as his dilemma becomes painfully obvious, scared and reactive.
When Germany invades Poland in September 1939, Wladyslaw is literally blown off the air when a bomb drops near a Warsaw radio studio while he plays Chopin. He returns home, where his parents (Frank Finlay and Maureen Lipman) are packing to leave, but their grown children prefer to stay, especially hot-headed brother Henryk (Ed Stoppard), who wants to fight. News of Britain and France's declaration of war against Germany causes everyone to stay, but soon the family has no choice. The Nazis enter the city on October 1.
The film charts the now all-too-familiar outrages. Initially forbidden to eat here or stroll there, Wladyslaw's family and all the Jews are eventually herded into a walled ghetto created by the Germans. Here Wladyslaw is able to find work playing piano in a restaurant. Then in 1942, whole blocks are marched into cattle cars and shipped to the Treblinka death camp.
An acquaintance in the Jewish police pulls Wladyslaw from his family's march and saves his life. He is anything but free, though. A three-year odyssey takes him from one hiding place to the next. People help him, perhaps out of friendship or kindness or perhaps -- the movie never really gets into it -- because of his celebrity status as a top Warsaw musician.
As his ordeal nears its end, a German officer (Thomas Kretschmann) comes to his rescue with food and even the gift of his coat. You never understand why this helping hand comes from an enemy. Perhaps the captain simply got tired of killing. He then disappears, evidently doomed to die in a Soviet POW camp.
Working with cinematographer Pawel Edelman and designer Allan Starski, Polanski re-creates the sweep of history. Color drains away and Wojciech Kilar's music grows increasingly solemn. But the movie lacks those specific personal moments that pull an audience into a story and let them identify with a character. Other than his musical skills, Wladislaw is a little too much the all-purpose victim-survivor.
In fact, as other Jews and Poles get executed right and left, you wonder why you are supposed to care so mightily for this particular man. He never even experiences any guilt that a seemingly invisible protective cloak around him benefits no one else.
Since Wladislaw is often alone, how he feels about what is happening to him other than such primal emotions as hunger and fear isn't always clear. The movie recounts its tales of horror and triumph, but never makes the viewer experience them.
THE PIANIST
R.P. Productions/Heritage Films/Studio Babelsberg/Runteam Ltd.
Credits:
Director: Roman Polanski
Writer: Ronald Harwood
Based on the book by: Wladyslaw Szpilman
Producers: Roman Polanski, Robert Benmussa, Alain Sarde
Director of photography: Pawel Edelman
Production designer: Allan Starski
Costume designer: Anna Sheppard
Co-producer: Gene Gutowski
Music: Wojciech Kilar
Editor: Herve De Luze
Cast:
Wladyslaw Szpilman: Adrien Brody
Captain Wilm Hosenfeld: Thomas Kretschmann
The father: Frank Finlay
The mother: Maureen Lipman
Dorota: Emilia Fox
Henryk: Ed Stoppard
Regina: Julia Raayner
Halina: Jessica Kate Meyer
Running time -- 148 minutes
No MPAA rating...
CANNES -- Roman Polanski, who survived the Nazi occupation of Poland as a young boy, has finally made a film about this horrifying period in that country's history. Because he didn't want the film to be autobiographical, he and writer Ronald Harwood selected as source material a 1946 memoir by Jewish pianist and composer Wladyslaw Szpilman, "Death of a City", a book noted for the detached tone of its recollection of misery, disease and near starvation in Warsaw. Polanski takes a similar tack, which makes for a remote emotional experience. What Szpilman goes through is beyond incredible. Yet "The Pianist" recounts those torments less through his eyes than in a cool third-person narration, keenly observing but uninvolved.
Too many books, documentaries and features already have told this story for Polanski's version to have the international boxoffice impact it deserves. His name will, of course, attract many. But you can't help feel disappointed that one of the few directors who actually lived through this tragic period isn't able to personalize the material more.
The scale of this production is epic. Entire streets of a now vanished city are re-created in Berlin's Babelsberg Studios and miniatures and digital effects later portray a city turned into an uninhabitable wasteland.
In the central role, Adrien Brody does his best with a highly educated character who is initially aloof to the coming trouble and then, as his dilemma becomes painfully obvious, scared and reactive.
When Germany invades Poland in September 1939, Wladyslaw is literally blown off the air when a bomb drops near a Warsaw radio studio while he plays Chopin. He returns home, where his parents (Frank Finlay and Maureen Lipman) are packing to leave, but their grown children prefer to stay, especially hot-headed brother Henryk (Ed Stoppard), who wants to fight. News of Britain and France's declaration of war against Germany causes everyone to stay, but soon the family has no choice. The Nazis enter the city on October 1.
The film charts the now all-too-familiar outrages. Initially forbidden to eat here or stroll there, Wladyslaw's family and all the Jews are eventually herded into a walled ghetto created by the Germans. Here Wladyslaw is able to find work playing piano in a restaurant. Then in 1942, whole blocks are marched into cattle cars and shipped to the Treblinka death camp.
An acquaintance in the Jewish police pulls Wladyslaw from his family's march and saves his life. He is anything but free, though. A three-year odyssey takes him from one hiding place to the next. People help him, perhaps out of friendship or kindness or perhaps -- the movie never really gets into it -- because of his celebrity status as a top Warsaw musician.
As his ordeal nears its end, a German officer (Thomas Kretschmann) comes to his rescue with food and even the gift of his coat. You never understand why this helping hand comes from an enemy. Perhaps the captain simply got tired of killing. He then disappears, evidently doomed to die in a Soviet POW camp.
Working with cinematographer Pawel Edelman and designer Allan Starski, Polanski re-creates the sweep of history. Color drains away and Wojciech Kilar's music grows increasingly solemn. But the movie lacks those specific personal moments that pull an audience into a story and let them identify with a character. Other than his musical skills, Wladislaw is a little too much the all-purpose victim-survivor.
In fact, as other Jews and Poles get executed right and left, you wonder why you are supposed to care so mightily for this particular man. He never even experiences any guilt that a seemingly invisible protective cloak around him benefits no one else.
Since Wladislaw is often alone, how he feels about what is happening to him other than such primal emotions as hunger and fear isn't always clear. The movie recounts its tales of horror and triumph, but never makes the viewer experience them.
THE PIANIST
R.P. Productions/Heritage Films/Studio Babelsberg/Runteam Ltd.
Credits:
Director: Roman Polanski
Writer: Ronald Harwood
Based on the book by: Wladyslaw Szpilman
Producers: Roman Polanski, Robert Benmussa, Alain Sarde
Director of photography: Pawel Edelman
Production designer: Allan Starski
Costume designer: Anna Sheppard
Co-producer: Gene Gutowski
Music: Wojciech Kilar
Editor: Herve De Luze
Cast:
Wladyslaw Szpilman: Adrien Brody
Captain Wilm Hosenfeld: Thomas Kretschmann
The father: Frank Finlay
The mother: Maureen Lipman
Dorota: Emilia Fox
Henryk: Ed Stoppard
Regina: Julia Raayner
Halina: Jessica Kate Meyer
Running time -- 148 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 12/27/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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