I have to admit that this is about the tenth time
I’ve seen Gravity. In theaters, I saw it four times in two weeks. I thought it
was amazing! I couldn’t believe it when the rest of my family saw it and said
it was boring. Boring? Are you kidding me? My sister in high school said “yeah
it’s just a lady floating around in space and nothing happens”. Well she’s not
the favorite sister…
I’ve always had a liking for space movies that give
at least some effort to being scientifically accurate. One time someone asked
me what my favorite movies were and all I could think of were 2001: A Space
Odyssey, Gravity, and Interstellar (which all won the Oscar for visual effects,
fun fact). Obviously I have more diverse taste but these all came to mind
together for whatever reason.
The sound in any space movie is key because
realistically there is no ambient sound in space. The focus is then placed on
the music and dialogue. I also bought the soundtrack album on iTunes after the
first time I saw the film. I swear, I could just listen to it all the way
through and picture whatever was happening. Doing this really illustrated the
emotional and narrative heartbeat of the film, especially since this film had
almost constant music, either from George Clooney’s honky tonk country music to
Steven Price’s outstanding score. I had always wondered how he produced some of
the sounds.
I wish we had watched 2001 in class instead actually
(which I’ve probably seen more times than Gravity) because I have only watched
2001 on my laptop or TV and I think it would have been a real trip to see it a
theater setting properly. After all, it isn’t a film that can be done justice
on a laptop and Kubrick probably would scold me for even considering watching
on such an inferior setting.
While I know you disliked the big Hollywood musical climax scene it was by far my favorite scene. I agree with Stanley Kubrick when he says “As far as I’m concerned, the most memorable scenes in the best films are those which are built predominantly of images and music” and I found the music to imply that she was like an angel descending from the clouds.
"after the first time I saw the film. I swear, I could just listen to it all the way through and picture whatever was happening"
ReplyDeleteoften the case...but with this film in particular, yes
Mostly I didn't like the addition of the "holy chorus" - thought it was too angelic for my tastes, when the religious aspect should have been implied - it was signaling sublime instead of letting us experience it.
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