Pacing - ok, I see. I think though it's a bigger problem in Revengers Tragedy, with the scene at the court and when the Duke's sons visit the jail officials. What's your opinion?
I'll have to check out the films you mentioned.
Thing is, DATC is timeless. You couldn't tell it was made so long ago. And it's quite an achievement (films that are made in a similar fashion usually reflect the period they're made in, even in being the complete opposite).
Agree about the acting skills. While he did become even better, he already had it right there - and it's only his third big screen appearance. I want to believe that more than one director is biting his nails that they didn't get him in some fascinating project back then.
Yes, in that commentary, Cox wondered where did material for that final scene come from. His Red was incredible. How he bent every phrase: Getting distracted at "All roads lead to Rome", then of course "Do you honestly believe that we live more than once?". And how they tackled the voice changes.
I'm still going to say that I think Revengers Tragedy is the better film, however much I like DATC. I think it's better paced (although a bit of tightening in the scenes you suggest would not have gone amiss), the narrative is clearer despite being more complex, and the acting is generally better (Marc Warren and Paul Reynolds excepted). But it's not like I don't love them both!
There's no doubt that Eccleston has always had skill, technique, range, and the rarest thing in young actors, power; what he lacked early on was real control in switching gears. By the time of Shallow Grave, he's better than almost anyone at that, and he hits another level of virtuosity altogether around 2001. I think it's telling that there are so many writers and directors who've worked with him repeatedly over the years. I still don't get Christopher Nolan passing him up twice for younger actors. Other than the obvious shallow.
I cannot really compare the two films from the narrative point of view, because where RT works first of all as a story, DATC is primarily a work. At least that's how I see them. RT allows you to take the same journey as Vindici and you can f. ex. make out separate character arcs, with their tales. DATC reminds of a piece of music - with colour, effect sound, a detail in the picture, camera travelling, etc. being part of the system and meaningless if excluded from it.
Actually I should have said it was his second film - I misplaced Anchoress (in which, accidentally, you can see that staccato change of gears you mention). Perhaps his development was a bit stalled in the nineties, where the best was the television stuff. Shallow Grave and Jude, yes, but then nothing astonishing (A Price Above Rubies probably the best among the weird projects of that period), till there came The Others (plus TV films).
Repeated co-working - it must be mutual. When he is looking for quality, he is pretty harsh. Though I'm still confused over his enjoying the challenge and regretting everything afterwards politics.
Continued: I watched the interview on extras for Our Friends In the North (again, it was Danny Boyle who cast him in it, though didn't direct, like Cox with Let Him Have It), and I got the answers for almost all questions I had on CE and his work. Splendid. Great series, by the way.
no subject
Date: 2008-07-30 12:39 am (UTC)I'll have to check out the films you mentioned.
Thing is, DATC is timeless. You couldn't tell it was made so long ago. And it's quite an achievement (films that are made in a similar fashion usually reflect the period they're made in, even in being the complete opposite).
Agree about the acting skills. While he did become even better, he already had it right there - and it's only his third big screen appearance. I want to believe that more than one director is biting his nails that they didn't get him in some fascinating project back then.
Yes, in that commentary, Cox wondered where did material for that final scene come from. His Red was incredible. How he bent every phrase: Getting distracted at "All roads lead to Rome", then of course "Do you honestly believe that we live more than once?". And how they tackled the voice changes.
Criminal philanthropists FTW.
no subject
Date: 2008-07-30 12:56 am (UTC)There's no doubt that Eccleston has always had skill, technique, range, and the rarest thing in young actors, power; what he lacked early on was real control in switching gears. By the time of Shallow Grave, he's better than almost anyone at that, and he hits another level of virtuosity altogether around 2001. I think it's telling that there are so many writers and directors who've worked with him repeatedly over the years. I still don't get Christopher Nolan passing him up twice for younger actors. Other than the obvious shallow.
I don't deal well with shallow.
no subject
Date: 2008-07-30 02:28 am (UTC)I cannot really compare the two films from the narrative point of view, because where RT works first of all as a story, DATC is primarily a work. At least that's how I see them. RT allows you to take the same journey as Vindici and you can f. ex. make out separate character arcs, with their tales. DATC reminds of a piece of music - with colour, effect sound, a detail in the picture, camera travelling, etc. being part of the system and meaningless if excluded from it.
Actually I should have said it was his second film - I misplaced Anchoress (in which, accidentally, you can see that staccato change of gears you mention). Perhaps his development was a bit stalled in the nineties, where the best was the television stuff. Shallow Grave and Jude, yes, but then nothing astonishing (A Price Above Rubies probably the best among the weird projects of that period), till there came The Others (plus TV films).
Repeated co-working - it must be mutual. When he is looking for quality, he is pretty harsh. Though I'm still confused over his enjoying the challenge and regretting everything afterwards politics.
no subject
Date: 2008-07-31 12:24 pm (UTC)