After nearly a year, we are starting to hear back again from the films
that have delayed their release due to the Covid-19.
In this episode, I'll be talking about films that will soon visit the audience,
and focus on the directors' past projects, their individual styles,
and unique, memorable cinematography.
Musical films made over the past few years
have been adapted from existing stage musicals or remakes of old films.
Most have unfortunately disappointed critics and audiences.
It was because the director had no experience in musicals,
or even if they did, they ignored the characteristics
that made the original work so successful and beloved.
A remake of the eponymous 1961 film,
West Side Story is the director Steven Spielberg's first musical film.
Unlike recent musical films that brought disappointment one after another,
there is a lot to look forward to in this film.
West Side Story is a Broadway musical composed by great Leonard Bernstein
and written by Stephen Sondheim, who went on to become a legendary musical composer.
It is a modern adaptation of Romeo and Juliet,
and the conflict is between two races and gangs instead of two houses.
In any genre film he directed, Spielberg effectively captures their traits
and is loved by various generations as a result.
Spanning across thriller, horror, Sci-Fi,
Spielberg's interpretations have fascinated the audience,
who cannot help but wonder how he would interpret and express his first musical genre.
Spielberg is famous for using long takes, or "oner."
As if each shot is a stage play,
Spielberg carefully outlines blocking (the staging and path of actors in the frame)
and visually conveys story and relationships within his long takes.
Long takes are often found in classic musical films,
which lets the audience see the elaborate choreography in musical numbers.
Perhaps Spielberg is a director who is best suited for the musical genre.
You could say this film is where the master of music meets the master of visuals.
West Side Story's cinematographer is Janusz Kamiński,
has won two Oscars for Saving Private Ryan and Schindler's List
and has collaborated with Spielberg for decades.
I wonder how beautiful Kamiński's interpretation of West Side Story will be,
seeing how he has mastered various genres with Spielberg.
A24 is an American independent film distributor and production company.
Their recently distributed works include Minari, Hereditary, and Moonlight.
A24 mainly deals with movies with genres, styles, and stories
that can be easily overlooked in Hollywood,
so it lets the audience see the director's skills and artistry to the fullest extent.
It is known among film enthusiasts as a reliable distributor.
Green Knight was scheduled to be released in SXSW 2020,
its release was delayed after the cancellation of the event due to Covid-19.
Green Knight is based on an Arthurian tale
about Sir Gawain of Round Table and his adventures,
"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight."
King Arthur and his court are having year-end festivities at Camelot,
and they are suddenly visited by an enormous, green knight with an axe,
who wants to test their courage and honour
by offering an unusual challenge.
If one of the people here strikes his neck,
he will have to come to his place a year later to receive the same blow.
King Arthur's nephew Sir Gawain accepts and chops off the Green Knight's head.
But the Green Knight lives, picks up his head and,
tells Sir Gawain to visit him in a year's time at the Green Chapel
This legend is not only peculiar and fantastical,
but also full of film-like visual details
and a leap in time in narrative.
The Green Knight's director David Lowery
caught Sundance Film Festival's attention with his second feature,
and has been working across both indie and commercial film scenes.
Looking forward to seeing how David Lowery
artistically visualized this story under A24.
The adaptation of Frank Herbert's 1965 eponymous science-fiction novel
Dune has also been repeatedly delaying its release
but the day when you can see it in theatres is approaching.
Dune is considered the cornerstone of science fiction,
and has been widely loved for a long time.
Many directors attempted to adapt its vast story to screen.
Alejandro Jodorowsky, who is known for his surrealist imagery, was one of them.
The film was planning to star Salvador Dalí, Orson Welles, and Mick Jagger,
but its enormous scale made the film's production collapse.
This fascinating process was told in a documentary film called Jodorowsky's Dune.
Dune is directed by Denis Villeneuve, whose past films have all been critically acclaimed.
He explores and bestows each film with its own unique artistry,
which made his directorial style less conspicuous.
In a mostly subdued atmosphere,
Villeneuve creates still, realistic scenes,
uses shadows and darkness to create mystery,
and employs artistic and experimental cinematography
to create unique visuals that linger in the minds of his audience.
Having directed the sequel to the Sci-Fi classic Blade Runner,
Blade Runner 2049, Villeneuve has garnered critical acclaim,
and he is expected to show a new, different kind of appeal in his Dune
from the 1984 adaptation of Dune.
He been receiving fervent support from Sci-Fi fans.
Another reason to look forward to Dune is that
it will premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
Recently, Warner Bros. has been
making their Oscar contenders
have a world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
A Star is Born and Joker, both distributed by Warner Bros.,
were also revealed to the world this way.
The fact that Dune has received this push
implies their firm belief in the film's quality.
While this episode has mainly touched on three films,
but there are many other films that have been highly anticipated and waited for
Wes Anderson is known for stunningly detailed, beautiful visuals,
and his new film The French Dispatch
released its trailer in early 2020, but its release has been delayed instead of heading to streaming.
It is about to make its first appearance at the Cannes Film Festival.
Taking place in a fictional twentieth-century French city
where journalists are set in an outpost of an American newspaper,
The French Dispatch is said to have been inspired by The New Yorker.
Khaki Scout summer camp, private school, submarine, hotel, etc.,
Wes Anderson likes to use a specific place with its own characteristics
and he chose an American newspaper outpost this time.
As Wes Anderson films do, each frame looks like a painting,
and his fans cannot wait to see it in full splendour.
A trailer was revealed for Last Night in Soho by Edgar Wright,
a director who is known for making the most of films as visual media.
Edgar Wright's movie is famous for his visual gags,
which allows you to discover more details the more you watch it.
Sleek, polished editing and witty, clever script are also his notable traits.
Last Night in Soho has been nicknamed as a horror version of Midnight in Paris,
a film about time travelling to 1920s Paris,
because Last Night revolves around the protagonist
who finds herself in a body of a singer from 1960s London.
Edgar Wright has mainly mixed comedy and horror genres,
but this time, he seems to focus more on horror.
Seeing how horror is Edgar Wright's favorite genre,
I'm looking forward to seeing how his vision will unfold.
The North American film scene made stagnant by Covid-19
is starting to pick up steam again.
Here's hoping that we will soon unite
with the films that have kept us waiting for a long time.
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This was Show Me the Director's Mind,
당감마.