Event Horizon (1997)

We can't help ourselves, so we're heading to hell for another stab at a Paul W.S. Anderson film. This time we're talking about Event Horizon from 1997, written by Philip Eisner, starring Laurence Fishburne og Sam Neill, along with Anderson regulars Jason Isaacs and Sean Pertwee.

On this track we cover:

- The flawed story and what could have been
- The physics-defying techno babble
- Visual effects and designs
- We explain why we love the film unconditionally anyway
- And why, in the future, we're still going to need old-fashioned pens

DOWNLOAD

Download the mp3 file here. Link.

Subscribe to the commentary podcast in iTunes. Link.

STATS

Participants: David Bjerre and Dennis Rosenfeld.
Day of recording: September 11th, 2014.
Version: Bluray version.
Movie runtime: 1.35.57

SCREENSHOTS

Laurence Fishburne as Captain Miller, and Sean Pertwee as "Smitty".

Cool sci-fi design.

Best scene Paul Anderson ever staged? Discuss.

Entering the haunted house... erhm ship.

The meat grinder!

Goth designs.

Poor Jason Isaacs.

Visions of hell. Indistinguishable from footage more or less removed from a major Hollywood film.

Where we're going we don't need eyes. Ironically the audience didn't see fit to face that problem.

ADDITIONAL IMAGES

The gigantic daylight station model.

Lewis & Clark to the rescue.

The Event Horizon was built at almost full size.

David's costume from the movie! (Scenes cut. Lawsuit pending)

No matter how advanced we get, we'll always need pens. From Alien (1979), 2010 (1984), Total Recall (1990), and Event Horizon (1997).

Paul WS Anderson likes to steal from Alien. Top right and left: Alien (1979). Bottom left: Alien vs. Predator (2004). Bottom right: Event Horizon (1997).

ARTICLES

Cinefex, March 1998, article by Kevin H. Martin
American Cinematographer, August 1997, articles by Ron Magid
Fangoria, August 1997, article by Dave Hughes

AUDIO/VIDEO

Commentary and making of from the Special Edition.

Event Horizon miniature effects. Link.

LINKS

Alternate film studio logos. Link.

Fire in zero G. Link.

Planet distances. Link.

IMDb. Link.

The Shining (1980)

Time to take a look at a little film about a family going slowly insane together: The Shining from 1980, directed by Stanley Kubrick, based on the book by Stephen King. Hated and revered, analyzed by many who shouldn't, but nevertheless the work of a master.

Join us as we train the light on this controversial film to find out if it really shines all that brightly.

On this track we cover:

- Kubrick's visuals and narrative style
- The production and Kubrick's work methods
- The novel vs. the film
- Shelley Duvall's teeth
- The insane conspiracy theories

DOWNLOAD

Download the mp3 file here. Link.

Subscribe to the commentary podcast in iTunes. Link.

STATS

Participants: David Bjerre and Dennis Rosenfeld.
Day of recording: December 12th, 2013.
Version: US Bluray version.
Movie runtime: 2:23:46

SCREENSHOTS

The Torrance family. Close your mouth Shelley.

The exterior of the hotel, shot in England.

Jack and the scrapbook.

Danny and the mysterious ball.

John Alcott's trick shot.

The twins. Or are they?

Jack and Danny and Jack.

Heeeeeere's to over-acting!

Cut! Print! Let's move on, it's not gonna get better.

Ghosty ghosts of the not European kind.

ARTICLES

American Cinematographer, August 1980
- Interview by Herb Lightman
- Article by Garrett Brown

Kubrick on The Shining: An interview with Michel Ciment. Link.

Stephen King Explains Why He Still Hates Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. Link.

All work and no play. Link.

Lia Beldam reflects on her role as Room 237′s guest. Link.

Aide to Kubrick on Shining Scoffs at Room 237 Theories. Link.

LITERATURE

The Shining: BFI Film Classics, by Roger Luckhurst.
Stanley Kubrick: A Biography, by John Baxter

AUDIO/VIDEO

Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures (2001). Link.

Staircases to Nowhere: Making Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. Link.

Stanley Kubrick's Boxes (2008) (TV Movie). Link.

Blu-ray extras
- The Making of The Shining
- The Visions of Stanley Kubrick
- View from the Overlook: Crafting The Shining

The Shining: Audiobook, Read by Campbell Scott.

LINKS

IMDb. Link.

Wiki. Link.

The Last Man on Earth (1964)

Time to tackle an old.... classic?

This is the original adaptation of Richard Matheson's novel I Am Legend. starring Vincent Price, as the last man on earth, battling hordes of bloodthirsty vampires.

The movie is in public domain, and can be watched for free on YouTube.

On this track we cover:

- The film vs. the original novel
- Later adaptations
- What could have been - unproduced screenplays
- Zombie / vampire / outbreak movies
- The realities of surviving in a post-apocalyptic world

PS: David accidentally says the wrong running time. It's 1:26:44 (not 48).

DOWNLOAD

Download the mp3 file here. Link.

Subscribe to the commentary podcast in iTunes. Link.

STATS

Participants: David Bjerre and Dennis Rosenfeld.
Day of recording: September 19th, 2013.
Version: Bluray or NTSC DVD or online version.
Movie runtime: 1:26:44

SCREENSHOTS

Vincent Price is The Last American in Italy.

Good planning is essential. Even mass murder needs planning.

The stakes are really high in this film. The stakes... Hello?

Vincent Price burns the vampire bodies.

Garden party with Ben Cortman.

Different kind of garden party with Ben Cortman.

Researching the disease.

When the last man on earth meets the last woman...

Another not so subtle expression from Price.

And the final resting place of Robert Neville.

ADDITIONAL SCREENSHOTS

So erhm... If no one showed up for work, who threw the lab coats around?

Moving car in the background.

ARTICLES

Reflections of a Storyteller: A Conversation with Richard Matheson, by William P. Simmons. Link.

Ed Gorman Calling: We Talk to Richard Matheson. Link.

He Is Legend: Richard Matheson, by Paul Riordan. Link.

LITERATURE

I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson.

Censored and Unproduced: I Am Legend screenplay, by Richard Matheson.

Faster and furiouser: The revised and fattened fable of American International Pictures, by Mark Thomas McGee.

Rational fears: American Horror in The 1950s, by Mark Jancovich.

Richard Matheson on screen: A History of The Filmed Works, by Matthew R. Bradley.

The Hammer Vault: Treasures From the Archive of Hammer Films, by Marcus Hearn.

AUDIO/VIDEO

The movie. Link 1. Link 2.

I Am Legend - Makeup test by Steve Johnson FX. Link.

I Am Legend - Makeup designs by ADI. Link.

LINKS

I am Legend screenplay by Mark Protosevic. Link.

I am Legend screenplay by John Logan. Link.

I Am Legend Archive (Interviews). Link.

How Stuff Works - I Am Legend. Link.

Eat by Date. Link.

IMDb. Link.

Wiki. Link.