Dunkirk(2017)

[Notebook]

Just watched this on DVD, and a very good movie. Understated, and the audio levels aren't all over the place. The type of movie that reminds you how good films can be.

This probably summarises it:

Worth a watch.
N.

 

[Hielor]

The movie was enjoyable for 95% of it...and then ruined by terrible physics in the last few minutes.

Spoiler:
Given that the airplane was so effective for so long after its engine failed, why were the pilots stressing about running out of fuel? They obviously didn't need it.

 

[Notebook]

Agreed, but...
How should I do this?
1) its not a documentatry?
2( the Spitfire has a Merlin engine(magic?), a metaphor for the whole Dunkirk?
3) give up at this.

I know exactly what you mean, I was dissapointed when the Spifire shot down a Stuka without an engine.
On the other hand, I thought the attention the three Spitfires gave to their fuel state during the action was indicative of the discipline they would need as single engine fighters?
Of the three fighters, one crashed probably missing, one rescued from the channel, one took prisoner. Generic during Dunkirk?

Its an intriguing film, when I watched the opening scene I thought I was in for a Spielberg(Saving Private Ryan).

You get you moneys worth out of him, but they are a bit hard work.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duel_(1971_film)
Excellent stuff though

 

[Andy44]

I agree with all of the above, solid film as long as you forgive the exceptional glider performance of an empty Spitfire.

 

[Hielor]

1) its not a documentatry?

I know it's not a documentary, but I went in expecting realistic historical fiction, and that's what I got for 99% of the movie...and then they turned it into fantasy in the last few minutes. I'm sure most people weren't bothered, but given the effort to which they clearly went to make every other detail realistic, it was severely disappointing that they messed that up so thoroughly.

 

[Notebook]

True, but I'd forgive that considering the film as a whole. Its probably aimed at an audience who have little knowledge of the event(and gliding fighter aircraft!).Also, we don't see the Spitfire actually shooting down the Stuka, though it is implied.

Maybe a realisation that the French and British armies were very, very lucky.

N.

 

[RisingFury]

Dunkirk was also heavily shelled by the events of the movie, so a lot of the buildings were destroyed.

The private boats served a role, but not as large as the movie presented.

 

[Notebook]

As a fiction, I think it works.
There was a previous version:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunkirk_(1958_film)

Good film, worth a watch. Again, its quite a laid back production.
Spends a fair part following a small group of soldiers getting to Dunkirk.
N.

 

[Notebook]

Dunkirk was also heavily shelled by the events of the movie, so a lot of the buildings were destroyed.

The private boats served a role, but not as large as the movie presented.

I disagree!
Don't think the movie implies a greater roll for small boats than the Royal Navy did in the evacuation?

If you mean the Keneth Branagh part where he is walking along the mole. I think thats just a device to recognise what was going on.
Dunkirk is well known(relativly) as an episode, wouldn't think it was known much outside the UK/France now.

Went looking for info on the "little ships" at Dunkirk and I think this more or less sums up my attitude to the film:
http://www.adls.org.uk/t1/content/little-ship-inspired-christopher-nolan


N.

 

[Andy44]

The scene where the ship gets torpedoed while underway was pretty gut-wrenching. It takes some skill to portray something like that in a film.

 

[Marg]

Looking at the opening scene video I see unnatural teal colorization of ambient lighting again! What is this??? Nobody cares? It is so obvious, I would not pay a penny for this. This trend of unnatural color balance must be stopped. There is (pseudo)historical movie "Nameja gredzens" coming out soon in my country and internationally, and there is the same problem - bluish lighting. And when I wrote about this - most of the people were surprised (what I am a talking about?, etc.). It is obvious because there were pre-production photos of filming scenes put on some website - there everything was OK, what a normal person with normal eyesight would see in real life. In trailer - ooh, "bluishness" all over again! STOP!

 

[Andy44]

Looking at the opening scene video I see unnatural teal colorization of ambient lighting again! What is this??? Nobody cares? It is so obvious, I would not pay a penny for this. This trend of unnatural color balance must be stopped. There is (pseudo)historical movie "Nameja gredzens" coming out soon in my country and internationally, and there is the same problem - bluish lighting. And when I wrote about this - most of the people were surprised (what I am a talking about?, etc.). It is obvious because there were pre-production photos of filming scenes put on some website - there everything was OK, what a normal person with normal eyesight would see in real life. In trailer - ooh, "bluishness" all over again! STOP!

I wonder if that's the technique that started with Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan where they mute the color tones purposely to create a feeling more reminiscent of the 1940s while still shooting in color.

 

[Notebook]

When I worked in Telecine, I did colour grading. We did it for transmission while transferring to tape. We were unsupervised after training, and just left to get on with it.It was fairly basic on the Rank-Cintel Mark II/III. You alter Lift, Gamma and Gain, and adjust the colour bias of each.
It had Time-Code on the later machines, so you could balance each scene seperately.

Its a seperate operation nowadays, and seriously post-production. Freind of mine is a Colourist(thats what they call the job!), freelance and works in various places. Can do a lot of work from home as he a serious setup there.
From what he says, you give the Director/Producer what they want(if you want to stay employed).

N.

 

[Urwumpe]

Just bought the BluRay by pure chance (entered the local book store and right in front of my face was a last lonely BluRay of it)... so please, only little spoilers until I managed to watch it. :thumbup:

 

[Notebook]

I think you know the outcome already...

Though the "Alternate History" if Hitler had launched Operation Sealion in Summer 1940 always generates a good debate.

N.

 

[Linguofreak]

I agree with all of the above, solid film as long as you forgive the exceptional glider performance of an empty Spitfire.

Indeed, although "exceptional" doesn't quite cover the glide performance shown: he runs out of fuel around midday under a mostly-overcast sky. He lands at sunset under a mostly clear sky, and shoots down a Stuka in the interim.

If he can get hours of glide time out of a few thousand feet of altitude, why didn't he just fly back to England?

Also, given more realistic glide performance, at the point he ran out of fuel, there were still plenty of troops on the beaches. Why did he wait until after dark to be captured, instead of joining them?

 

[Notebook]

Its called.....Art:idea:

 

[Notebook]

Just to hijack my own thread with a tenuous connection.
Kenneth Branagh does a fine job in this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conspiracy_(2001_film)

If you haven't seen it, worth a watch. No action, but the acting/screenplay is excellent.

N.

 

[Andy44]

That Henry V scene makes me feel like Luke Skywalker ready to take on the Empire.

Of course, within an hour of that speech I'd probably have been laying dead in a mud puddle in France, but, you know...

 

[Notebook]

Old Mr S. had a way with words, he's still playing in lots of theatres.

Good version, though I'm alwaysed puzzled why they cut away from Branagh's speech on the "we band of brothers" line, then back to him?
(two minutes in).

N.