Gilliam was a part of monty pythons flying circus from its outset, credited at first as an animator his name was listed separately after the other five in the closing credits and later as a full member. Jun 27, 2014 if the name gilliam set off a little tremor of excitement when you heard it that is no accident because, with its combination of startling visuals, a headspinning storyline and oddball characters that dont always conform to their presumed parameters, snowpiercer is a film definitely in the vein of the works of the great terry gilliam. Nov 21, 2014 but past the half way point, bong really lets go, and we enter something akin to a terry gilliam world, where the warped and increasingly strange vistas threaten to engulf the increasingly stretched point that snowpiercer wants to make. In addition to gilliam i think you see distinctly french influences, says mcweeny. Rochette, the original comic artist of the graphic novel le transperceneige. Then wham, suddenly its turned into a bloody horror film.
Bong joonhos snowpiercer envisions a postapocalyptic world on a train. The mise en scene of snowpiercer is conveyed through entangling visuals, almost tropical in their entrapping profusion and knobbiness, like a steampunk exfoliation of the world of terry gilliam s brazil 1985, also a film in which to be a member of the underclass is to be caught into a hostile world like laocoon caught in snakes it seems very. While hollywood is busy with foundfootage horror, cynical raunchy comedies and comic book blockbusters the latter of which do incorporate conspiriana, lesserknown independent films are touching on far more abtruse matters that extend beyond the realm of the political. Snowpiercer owes the inspiration for much of its landscape and characters to filmmaker terry gilliam. Based on the french comic book le transperceneige, snowpiercer takes place 17 years. That said, bong has compiled a topnotch crew to ensure every single frame of snowpiercer is spilling over with incredible detail, from the terry gilliamesque rear. Snowpiercer trailer alright, here is a strange one. Snowpiercer is a 20 science fiction action film based on the french graphic novel le. Jul 09, 2014 snowpiercer sucks you into its strange, brave new world so completely, it leaves you with the all too rare sensation that youve just witnessed something youve never seen beforeand need to. Dec 30, 2014 if there is a more adventurous actor out there than tilda swinton, i am not sure who it could possibly be. The oscarwinner michael clayton cannot be accused of taking obvious roles. While it seems they are matching target, it isnt available to purchase there at least in my zip code.
The base material is a french graphic novel called le transperceneige. Chris evans captain america looking a lot like u2s the edge with hat pulled low as curtis, the textbook reluctant leader of one of the perpetual, and, in an adornolike nod, planned and. Snowpiercer, a breakneck scifi adventure about a train carrying the last. Bong joonho has delivered one of the most strange and visuallyarresting dystopias weve seen since terry gilliams brazil, and easily one of the most imaginative scifi action flicks in years. Why francobelgian comic book movies are more fun than marvel and dc. B this article has been rated as bclass on the projects quality scale. Jun 24, 2014 that said, bong has compiled a topnotch crew to ensure every single frame of snowpiercer is spilling over with incredible detail, from the terry gilliam esque rear with its various gloomy. So much so that one of the characters is actually named after him. He began his career as an editorial cartoonist, before an editor suggested he focused on his writing, which bore.
How snowpiercer became the summers coolest movie south korean director bong joonhos scifi epic fought its way to american screens. He looks out the window every year and he thinks that the snow is melting and that humans can survive outdoors again. Gilliam a nod perhaps to another gonzo director, terry gilliam, whose career has been a. With chris evans, jamie bell, tilda swinton, ed harris. The film is often reminiscent of the work of terry gilliam, specifically brazil, and im sure it. Plus, terry gilliam directed time bandits, which was one of my favorite movies when i was a kid. Snow piercer is a great premise with a mediocre story. We would be talking about bonafide classic status especially if someone like the late tony scott handled the train action sequences, and not the weak special effects team. From a visual perspective, snowpiercer is never less than stunning as it. Click here to watch full movie online click here to download full movie online austin americanstatesman you have to hand it to south korean director bong joonho, he knows where to give credit where credit is due. Gandalf figure gilliam a hamfisted tribute to director terry gilliam, from.
Snowpiercer sucks you into its strange, brave new world so completely, it leaves you with the all too rare sensation that youve just witnessed something youve never seen beforeand need to. The mighty terry gilliam on gilliamesquea book, a style, a way of life the monty python director reflects on battles with hollywood and cultures obsession with blood. In snowpiercer, the train trip to end all train trips the new york. In the future, the earth is now an icecube all over and the surviving humans live on a train that never stops running. Actually, the movie felt like his in a lot of ways, especially the bits of comedy injected into such a dark and depressing story.
Snowpiercer influences 6 sci fi classics that influenced. The only survivors live in the train snowpiercer which is driven by a perpetual motion engine created by the millionaire wilford that lives in the engine part. This article is within the scope of wikiproject comics, a collaborative effort to build an encyclopedic guide to comics on wikipedia. My buddy domhnall ohuigin had mentioned this movie more than once. By finding this out you fully understand the character in which the movie follows and why he behaves the way that he does.
Snowpiercer is set some 17 years after the earth has frozen over. John hurt 1984 as the requisite gandalf figure gilliam a hamfisted tribute to director terry gilliam. I am a monty python fan, and i was interested in hearing the perspectives of the only american member of that group. Seeing new films clearly influenced by terry gilliam, for example, is a. The scifi thriller snowpiercer, directed by bong joonho and scheduled to be released on june 27, imagines the world in an ice age where the last members of the human race live on a train. Snowpiercer is a bizarre, dark masterpiece of a scifi action film. Its only in the last few years that ive discovered just how great he is, and how many amazing movies hes made. Im not sure where the line is between a good gonzo movie and a creative mess, but i know that snowpiercer is on the right side of it with the same giddy fervor he brought to the monstermovie genre in the host, director bong joonho here takes on the postapocalyptic adventure. In snowpiercer, the train trip to end all train trips the. Curtis journey is still worth following, framed as a succession of terrible choices that he is pushed to. Gilliam shares a name with terry gilliam, whose dark, surreal, and absurdist films were very likely an influence on this movie, especially the orwellian satire brazil and frenchcinemainspired scifi thriller 12 monkeys. Working from the french source comic book le transperceneige. Jumping ahead several hours or days between individual issues is one thing, but this book did a weird thing where it would jump ahead just a couple minutes like we were a camera only capturing the moments that were interesting.
Snowpiercer is the enthralling and thoughtprovoking postapocalyptic. If there is a more adventurous actor out there than tilda swinton, i am not sure who it could possibly be. Then again, shake a snow globe, and theres no telling where its disparate parts will settle. An intimate look at the films of terry gilliam, visionary director and animator terry gilliam is a famously candid commentator on his own work. Can we discuss the fact that gilliam told curtis to not listen to wilford and cut his tongue out immediately. The mighty terry gilliam on gilliamesque a book, a style. The nations release the substance cw7 with the intention of controlling the global warning, but accidentally it results in another ice age destroying earth. The filmmaker sat down with us to talk about snowpiercers journey to the screen. Nov 09, 2014 while hollywood is busy with foundfootage horror, cynical raunchy comedies and comic book blockbusters the latter of which do incorporate conspiriana, lesserknown independent films are touching on far more abtruse matters that extend beyond the realm of the political. Gilliam on gilliam directors on directors terry gilliam, ian christie on. Jun 27, 2014 the scifi thriller snowpiercer, directed by bong joonho and scheduled to be released on june 27, imagines the world in an ice age where the last members of the human race live on a train. Bong joon hos snowpiercer is a terrific, dark dystopian nightmare mixed with flashes of terry gilliamesque absurdity and the filmmakers own fractured frame of reference.
Imagine this stellar graphic novel material at the hands of someone who can master this kind of unsubtle yet biting satireparable, like a terry gilliam, instead of the marxist agitator behind the disastrous okja. At times, snowpiercer recalls terry gilliams brazil, both in its. The ultimate point of the film does not reside in the piercing but in the snow. Though adapted from a 1982 french graphic novel, its real roots can be. I felt lipsmacking anticipation about seeing snowpiercer, the first. The only survivors are the passengers of a super train traveling across the globe with a perpetualmotion engine. His cartoons linked the shows sketches together and defined the groups visual language in other media, such as lp and book covers and the title sequences of their films. If the name gilliam set off a little tremor of excitement when you heard it that is no accident because, with its combination of startling visuals, a headspinning storyline and oddball characters that dont always conform to their presumed parameters, snowpiercer is a film definitely in the vein of the works of the great terry gilliam. Snowpiercer may be terry gilliaminspired, but it lacks. Chris evans captain america looking a lot like u2s the edge with hat pulled low as curtis. Designed by wilford, an engineer who knew the experiment would fail, the. There have been failed insurrections in the past but oldtimer gilliam. The graphic novel was first published in 1982 under the title le transperceneige, and later retitled the escape. But, its definitely in stock and available at amazon, at least at the time of this posting.
This 20 tracktion movie follows the revolutionary lowerclass tailsection passengers fighting their way towards the luxurious front of the train, and plays out like a horizontal version of dredd. Snowpiercer sucks you into its strange, brave new world so completely, it leaves you with the all too rare sensation that youve just witnessed something youve never seen beforeand need to see again and again. He began his career as an editorial cartoonist, before an editor suggested he focused on his writing, which bore rich fruit across a number of genres. John hurt 1984 as the requisite gandalf figure gilliam a hamfisted tribute to director terry gilliam, from whose brazil the film clearly borrows. In a future where a failed climatechange experiment has killed all life except for the lucky few who boarded the snowpiercer, a train that travels around the globe, a new class system emerges. Snowpiercer takes place in 2031 after a failed globalwarming experiment has frozen all of earth and wiped out all life. Jun 27, 2014 but theres much to enjoy about bongs englishlanguage debut, the weird, engaging snowpiercer, even if you dont know terry gilliam from teri garr. Its amazing how terry gilliam seems to be left out of the best director conversation all the time. Bong joonhos scifi allegory snowpiercer is one weird and hilarious trip. Technically a 20 film, snowpiercer has first become available to western viewers mostly though online streaming options, and so i count it as a 2014 release here. It is loosely based on the french comic le transperceneige in 2014, an acceleration of global warming prompts. I couldnt believe it, and i was still waiting for curtis to do something even when he was eating or not eating his steak, but wilford kept on talking.
If youre going to make the most terry gilliamesque movie ever made by someone other than. The action and pacing in snow piercer is odd and disjointed. However, i can report that snowpiercer works brilliantly, the sum of. Sir john hurts characters name, gilliam, is an homage to terry gilliam, a director. Online shopping from a great selection at books store. Aug 07, 2014 snowpiercer sucks you into its strange, brave new world so completely, it leaves you with the all too rare sensation that youve just witnessed something youve never seen beforeand need to see again and again. If you like to participate, you can help with the current tasks, visit the notice board, edit the attached article or discuss it at the projects talk page. Jul 01, 2014 bongs cluttered, gadgety miseenscene is reminiscent of terry gilliams cult film brazil, particularly once the proles break through into the forward carsone is an aquarium, another is a greenhouse. Im unfamiliar with the work of the director or the graphic novel that the film is based on, and so. Chris evans stars in this postapocalyptic scifi set on a train that never stops running. But snowpiercer never hit the level of wit or whimsey that gilliam so organically produces. The series was continued in two volumes by writer benjamin legrand, replacing jacques lob. Terry gilliam has 45 books on goodreads with 25536 ratings.
Yes there are a lot of plot points that dont make much sense if looked at from the perspective of our reality. Cw7 is possibly a shout out to icenine, which has basically the same effect on earths biosphere. His book was interesting, and he is definitely a very funny guy, with some great stories. That terry gilliam and ridley scott should prove to be the biggest influences on bongs visuals and production design is no surprise. Jun 26, 2014 that terry gilliam and ridley scott should prove to be the biggest influences on bongs visuals and production design is no surprise. Jun 27, 2014 working from the french source comic book le transperceneige. Just when you think that snowpiercer has settled into a hollywood action movie rhythm, up pops some slapstick humour. Oct 16, 2014 18 things we learned from the snowpiercer commentary. First i want to say that this is one of the best and entertaining as hell. In snowpiercer, the train trip to end all train trips. Snowpiercer is a postapocalyptic science fiction film directed by south korean director bong joonho, produced by park chan wook, and starring chris evans, song kangho, go ahsung, tilda swinton, john hurt, ed harris, octavia spencer, luke pasqualino, and jamie bell among others. We would be talking about bonafide classic status especially if someone like the late tony scott handled the train action sequences. Snowpiercers tilda swinton on transforming into a creepy.
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