Johann
07-28-2005, 07:51 PM
"I want to translate the excitement of the comic book to the audience"- Ang Lee
This is like a 2-DVD filmschool. It's loaded with everything you could want as a film student and fan of comics.
According to producer Gale-Ann Hurd, Ang Lee was "at the top of the list" of directors to direct a film version of The Incredible Hulk.
His "wide-ranging body of work" and the "deep humanity" in all his films drove Universal Pictures to go with Ang.
He did massive amounts of research for the film, reading all of the first 6 years of comics in the characters' history, watching all of the episodes of the Bill Bixby T.V. show, and setting to creating a film that explores "What would make a man a Hulk?, What science would create such a thing?"
It is Ang's first true "Hollywood" movie, and he and ILM pulled out all the stops. In the DVD extras we learn how Universal wanted to make more than just an action film with a comic book character.
Bruce Banner's father David worked on super-immune systems as a scientist, and his son is now working on the same thing but also things that repair damaged cells. The "nanomeds" that are introduced are elements that "maintains the existing structure" that would allow a man who was blasted with Gamma rays become a massive Hulk and not die.
Ang really wanted it to be something quite real and believable, so he talked to actual scientists to see how he could create a lab setting where an experiment can go so wrong as to change a man's cellular structure but still keep him "a man".
He went one further than the comics, about which he says "Nobody cares about Bruce Banner- they only care about the Hulk. My film-it's tragic, a lot of complexity, psychodrama, it's that enigmatic effort to put "Hulk-culture", pulp-art, with serious drama and try to make it work."
The DVD extras:
-The Evolution of the Hulk: a 16 min. expose on the characters' origins, Marvel Comics and Stan Lee, the film, and all things HULK. Great, well-edited feature.
-Hulkification: 4 comic book artists give us their take on a scene from the movie: the one where Talbot gets his ass kicked by the Hulk.
Adam Kubert's is the best to me but they're all awesome. Kubert is a legend in the comics biz, just like his old man-Joe.
Tommy Ohtsuka's is very sleek, very Manga- Hulk looks a tad like a vampire.
The great Salvador Larroca (a former mapmaker turned comics artist) creates a compelling series of panels.
The final demo panel by Katsuya Terada is AWESOME.
This DVD extra is fodder for comics fans and I wish they had this idea for every comic book movie and put it on the respective DVD releases. It's just so cool to compare a movie scene with a comic panel and see the differences.
-The Incredible Ang Lee: 14 minutes, we learn about the methods of the legitimately incredible Ang. This is where if you pay close attention, you'll see how this guy makes films. He makes them with his whole being: we see him in a motion-capture CGI suit playing the Hulk (Yes- Ang Lee is the actor here- all great directors are also great actors. I firmly believe this- and so did Kubrick- I could launch into how Kubrick was one of the best actors ever NOT to grace the silver screen, but maybe some other time), we see him in the booth with Danny Elfman, we see him on location, we see him with the prop masters, technicians, everyone. The guy does not know how to make a film without his hands on every conceivable element- just like Stanley Kubrick.
Eric Bana (who had to stifle his Aussie accent for his role) calls Ang a "Master" on two separate occasions.
Nick Nolte has very high praise as well, and it doesn't take long to come to the conclusion that the man is at the forefront of quality filmmaking. I've seen this DVD over 20 times and I never tire of it. I see and appreciate what went into making the movie and because I'm always hoping and praying that a great film will appear based on ANY comic character, I WORSHIP THIS FILM. Any film based on a comic character can convert me into a fan if the production has evidence of great care taken to make it. It could be called "Crap-Man", but if the film has qualities that speak to the soul...
This film is a masterpiece along THOSE lines. Fo' Shizzle.
-Editing/Style: this feature is arguably my fave just for the info and "nuts and bolts of filmmaking" stuff. They really worked hard on this DVD to give us things that allow you to understand the process of making movies and how nuanced and delicate bringing the green goliath to life is.
Hark, I herald this feature!
-The making of the Dogfight scene: another great "making movies" feature; we see how they used and studied actual dogs to make the first big action sequence in the film.
-The Making of The Hulk: 22 mins, excellent. We see how they got all those luminous camera shots and computer effects, the choreographing of visuals, the myriad of shots and angles and pure seamless fusion that makes it so damn great.
The camerawork by Fred Elmes! Sweet Jesus, zooms, flips, dissolves, shifting & morphing images- they went for broke on that Avid machine, broke new ground. The editing and pace and aesthetically pleasing eye-candy make this movie infinitely watchable. You're always guessing where each shot will take you-it's awesome. It's a living, breathing comic book.
Ang: "I think it's time to bring a sophistication to (special effects) in the computer world, so you can invest your emotion into it, not just watch a creature go crazy where in the back of your head you know it's CGI. I want to see if I can break that barrier...".
I bought the soundtrack because of the DVD. We see Danny Elfman stretch away from his "Elfman-ness" and we see Velvet Revolver cut a track that mirrors the Hulk's rage.
Everyone involved in making the movie lets us know that they were really trying to make the Hulk a special film, and how the CGI Hulk is not a "cartoon". As they said, he's an emotive, realistic character, like any other actor.
I'm in awe of this film and if you love Ang Lee, this DVD is a must-buy. It's one of the best I've ever had the priviledge to see.
This is like a 2-DVD filmschool. It's loaded with everything you could want as a film student and fan of comics.
According to producer Gale-Ann Hurd, Ang Lee was "at the top of the list" of directors to direct a film version of The Incredible Hulk.
His "wide-ranging body of work" and the "deep humanity" in all his films drove Universal Pictures to go with Ang.
He did massive amounts of research for the film, reading all of the first 6 years of comics in the characters' history, watching all of the episodes of the Bill Bixby T.V. show, and setting to creating a film that explores "What would make a man a Hulk?, What science would create such a thing?"
It is Ang's first true "Hollywood" movie, and he and ILM pulled out all the stops. In the DVD extras we learn how Universal wanted to make more than just an action film with a comic book character.
Bruce Banner's father David worked on super-immune systems as a scientist, and his son is now working on the same thing but also things that repair damaged cells. The "nanomeds" that are introduced are elements that "maintains the existing structure" that would allow a man who was blasted with Gamma rays become a massive Hulk and not die.
Ang really wanted it to be something quite real and believable, so he talked to actual scientists to see how he could create a lab setting where an experiment can go so wrong as to change a man's cellular structure but still keep him "a man".
He went one further than the comics, about which he says "Nobody cares about Bruce Banner- they only care about the Hulk. My film-it's tragic, a lot of complexity, psychodrama, it's that enigmatic effort to put "Hulk-culture", pulp-art, with serious drama and try to make it work."
The DVD extras:
-The Evolution of the Hulk: a 16 min. expose on the characters' origins, Marvel Comics and Stan Lee, the film, and all things HULK. Great, well-edited feature.
-Hulkification: 4 comic book artists give us their take on a scene from the movie: the one where Talbot gets his ass kicked by the Hulk.
Adam Kubert's is the best to me but they're all awesome. Kubert is a legend in the comics biz, just like his old man-Joe.
Tommy Ohtsuka's is very sleek, very Manga- Hulk looks a tad like a vampire.
The great Salvador Larroca (a former mapmaker turned comics artist) creates a compelling series of panels.
The final demo panel by Katsuya Terada is AWESOME.
This DVD extra is fodder for comics fans and I wish they had this idea for every comic book movie and put it on the respective DVD releases. It's just so cool to compare a movie scene with a comic panel and see the differences.
-The Incredible Ang Lee: 14 minutes, we learn about the methods of the legitimately incredible Ang. This is where if you pay close attention, you'll see how this guy makes films. He makes them with his whole being: we see him in a motion-capture CGI suit playing the Hulk (Yes- Ang Lee is the actor here- all great directors are also great actors. I firmly believe this- and so did Kubrick- I could launch into how Kubrick was one of the best actors ever NOT to grace the silver screen, but maybe some other time), we see him in the booth with Danny Elfman, we see him on location, we see him with the prop masters, technicians, everyone. The guy does not know how to make a film without his hands on every conceivable element- just like Stanley Kubrick.
Eric Bana (who had to stifle his Aussie accent for his role) calls Ang a "Master" on two separate occasions.
Nick Nolte has very high praise as well, and it doesn't take long to come to the conclusion that the man is at the forefront of quality filmmaking. I've seen this DVD over 20 times and I never tire of it. I see and appreciate what went into making the movie and because I'm always hoping and praying that a great film will appear based on ANY comic character, I WORSHIP THIS FILM. Any film based on a comic character can convert me into a fan if the production has evidence of great care taken to make it. It could be called "Crap-Man", but if the film has qualities that speak to the soul...
This film is a masterpiece along THOSE lines. Fo' Shizzle.
-Editing/Style: this feature is arguably my fave just for the info and "nuts and bolts of filmmaking" stuff. They really worked hard on this DVD to give us things that allow you to understand the process of making movies and how nuanced and delicate bringing the green goliath to life is.
Hark, I herald this feature!
-The making of the Dogfight scene: another great "making movies" feature; we see how they used and studied actual dogs to make the first big action sequence in the film.
-The Making of The Hulk: 22 mins, excellent. We see how they got all those luminous camera shots and computer effects, the choreographing of visuals, the myriad of shots and angles and pure seamless fusion that makes it so damn great.
The camerawork by Fred Elmes! Sweet Jesus, zooms, flips, dissolves, shifting & morphing images- they went for broke on that Avid machine, broke new ground. The editing and pace and aesthetically pleasing eye-candy make this movie infinitely watchable. You're always guessing where each shot will take you-it's awesome. It's a living, breathing comic book.
Ang: "I think it's time to bring a sophistication to (special effects) in the computer world, so you can invest your emotion into it, not just watch a creature go crazy where in the back of your head you know it's CGI. I want to see if I can break that barrier...".
I bought the soundtrack because of the DVD. We see Danny Elfman stretch away from his "Elfman-ness" and we see Velvet Revolver cut a track that mirrors the Hulk's rage.
Everyone involved in making the movie lets us know that they were really trying to make the Hulk a special film, and how the CGI Hulk is not a "cartoon". As they said, he's an emotive, realistic character, like any other actor.
I'm in awe of this film and if you love Ang Lee, this DVD is a must-buy. It's one of the best I've ever had the priviledge to see.