Immortals (Tarsem, 2011)

[Dead & Messed Up]

Oh my effing gee. (http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/03/22/kellan-lutz-cast-as-poseidon-in-war-of-the-gods/)

First off, I've been a diehard fan of Greek myth since I was a tiny, tiny little bastard, and my favorite Greek hero was Theseus (cause he used his mind, not his muscles). Second off, Tarsem Singh makes with the beautiful imagery.

Granted, this sounds like a substantial reworking of mythic tropes (Theseus never led a war against the Gods), as well as a bizarre modern version. But it's Tarsem and Greek myth. If ever a subject deserved his orgasmic, transcendent touch, it's the operatic bombast of the Gods of Olympus.

[Sxottlan]

Can't wait to see what he does with this.

[Skitch]

I'm definately there. I used to read Greek Mythology like crazy as a kid.

[Dukefrukem]

This movie is called Dawn of War?

[number8]

On one hand, this is awesome. On the other, is this going to be a trend now?

[Watashi]

It seems with this recent trend, people are trying to make a God of War movie without actually making a God of War movie.

I rather see Kratos hack n' slash his way up Mt. Olympus than this.

[Qrazy]

I hate these type of movies. Someone should make a historical film and actually try to imbue it with some degree of historicism... and I don't mean the old sword and sandal films which didn't really either. I find there's very few historical/mythological films which actually care about history or the nuances of mythology.

[Watashi]

I hate these type of movies. Someone should make a historical film and actually try to imbue it with some degree of historicism... and I don't mean the old sword and sandal films which didn't really either. I find there's very few historical/mythological films which actually care about history or the nuances of mythology.
A real historical take on Greek mythology would be pretty boring.

[number8]

What, like TROY?

[D_Davis]

Awesome. Can't wait. If it's half as good as The Fall, we'll be in for a real treat.

[Qrazy]

What, like TROY?

Um, no, not at all like Troy.

[Qrazy]

A real historical take on Greek mythology would be pretty boring.

No, it wouldn't. Although I can see how what you think I'm talking about would be boring, but that's not what I'm talking about.

[Mysterious Dude]

The last time Tarsem made a movie, I listed to the critics and didn't bother to see the movie in theaters. I will not make that mistake again.

[Sven]

No, it wouldn't. Although I can see how what you think I'm talking about would be boring, but that's not what I'm talking about.

So why don't you tell us, then, what you mean.

[number8]

So why don't you tell us, then, what you mean.

It's not Troy, apparently. Just something similar to Troy.

[Qrazy]

So why don't you tell us, then, what you mean.

In terms of a historical film something which portrays the people of the time it's presenting more closely to as they may have actually appeared. In the vein of Andrei Rublev, Marketa Lazarova, Barry Lyndon, etc. In the case of a mythological film imbuing that sense of naturalism with fantastical elements (while I'm not it's biggest fan for other reasons, something like Excalibur).

[Qrazy]

It's not Troy, apparently. Just something similar to Troy.

Troy's camerawork is the anti-thesis of the kind of thing I"m looking for.

[lovejuice]

In terms of a historical film something which portrays the people of the time it's presenting more closely to as they may have actually appeared. In the vein of Andrei Rublev, Marketa Lazarova, Barry Lyndon, etc. In the case of a mythological film imbuing that sense of naturalism with fantastical elements (while I'm not it's biggest fan for other reasons, something like Excalibur).
i think what you describe works better with russian folktales or, in fact, folktales of any nation. greek myths are mostly boombastic and doesn't call for much subtlety.

[number8]

You're saying it should be like ROME, but Athena appears and Titus Pullo immediately shits a brick.

[Qrazy]

i think what you describe works better with russian folktales or, in fact, folktales of any nation. greek myths are mostly boombastic and doesn't call for much subtlety.

I don't agree. Have you ever read Hesiod's Theogyny? There's a lot more going on there than bombast. I am looking for something that approaches that kind of text on a cinematic level rather than contemporizes the work with slick oily SFX.

[Qrazy]

You're saying it should be like ROME, but Athena appears and Titus Pullo immediately shits a brick.

Haven't seen the series yet, but I'd like to.

[Raiders]

So you mean a mythological film that isn't all fighting and big creatures, but that actually looks into the heirarchy of the gods, the beliefs of the people and how that shaped their culture?

Ew.

[Qrazy]

So you mean a mythological film that isn't all fighting and big creatures, but that actually looks into the heirarchy of the gods, the beliefs of the people and how that shaped their culture?

Ew.

:lol:

[Melville]

I don't agree. Have you ever read Hesiod's Theogyny? There's a lot more going on there than bombast. I am looking for something that approaches that kind of text on a cinematic level rather than contemporizes the work with slick oily SFX.
I want to see a faithful adaptation of Theognis' elegies. Just an ancient Greek and his bitter invective.

[Mysterious Dude]

Have you ever seen Pasolini's Oedipus, Qrazy? It might be kind of similar to what you're talking about.

[Qrazy]

Have you ever seen Pasolini's Oedipus, Qrazy? It might be kind of similar to what you're talking about.

Nope, been meaning to, although I'm mixed on most of Pasolini's films (including Canterbury Tales, Decameron, Arabian Nights). But I would agree that his heart is in the right place in terms of what I'm talking about and I admire that aspect of those films. As you may well know I'm really excited for Aleksei German's forthcoming History of the Arkanar Massacre, although technically it's more sci fi than history.

[baby doll]

I just see films based on the director, so given my affection for The Cell and especially The Fall, I'm totally there. Incidentally, anyone else think the video for "Losing My Relgion" is a total rip off of Derek Jarman (particularly Caravaggio)?

[[ETM]]

Incidentally, anyone else think the video for "Losing My Relgion" is a total rip off of Derek Jarman (particularly Caravaggio)?

Since Tarsem cites it as an influence in the very linked article above, I'd lean towards "homage" and "inspiration" rather than "rip off".

[KK2.0]

Awesome. Can't wait. If it's half as good as The Fall, we'll be in for a real treat.

I missed this one. :( It's on blu-ray?

[Wryan]

i think what you describe works better with russian folktales or, in fact, folktales of any nation. greek myths are mostly boombastic and doesn't call for much subtlety.

Oh this is delightful...

[Skitch]

I missed this one. :( It's on blu-ray?

It's incredible on bluray.

[Watashi]

Trailer (http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/immortals/trailer).

This looks worse than 300.

I can't stand Tarsem.

[Sven]

Trailer (http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/immortals/trailer).

This looks worse than 300.

Ouch. I think you might be right.

[Ezee E]

Looks very made-for-television. How disappointing.

[Dukefrukem]

9T4VbTuRdpw

I want to know why in the last shot, the last arrow fired, arrives at the target the same time as the previous three arrows.

[number8]

http://www.match-cut.org/showthread.php?t=2923

[Dukefrukem]

I swear I searched for the title. Maybe it doesn't work if they're all in caps.

[Raiders]

I swear I searched for the title. Maybe it doesn't work if they're all in caps.

The thread was called something else, so it wouldn't have shown up. I renamed it when I merged the two.

In any case, this looks absolutely pitiful.

[D_Davis]

I think it looks amazing. Tarsem is one of the few remaining directors who can get me into a theater.

[Ezee E]

I like Tarsem too, but this just looks like an attempt at 300 with a Sci-Fi Channel budget. Turns out it has a $115 million budget... :eek:

[DavidSeven]

The lead actor just seems so generic, which sort of gives this whole thing an amateurish vibe. Just noticed he's the new Superman in Man in Steel. Yeesh.

Should have worked with Lee Pace again.

[hey it's ethan]

I want Zack Snyder and Tarsem to have a cliché-visual-off to the death.

[Henry Gale]

The problem with that whole trailer is that it seems to be trying really hard to make the movie seem more juiced with adrenaline and testosterone than it probably is. Obviously the reason for that comes both before and after it takes the time to carefully but blatantly point out that it's "from the producers of 300", something they'll likely continue to say with every bit of marketing from here on out, but I feel like if more average movie-goers saw a trailer for The Fall, they'd think it looked cool with or without name-dropping. I don't see the point in making movies out to be something they're not. It just tends to just piss people off.

I agree that it looks a little bit phony with the same sort of enclosed soundstage / green screen feel that Snyder's film did, but I still really liked what I saw from a visual standpoint in that trailer (or at least in terms liking the ambition with a lot of its design). And maybe the fact that I think it looks pretty shouldn't surprise me since it's still Singh behind the camera, but I'm still looking forward to this more now since I have an actual idea of what it looks like instead of before when I was simply intrigued by the hypothetical "Tarsem directs a Greek gods epic with $100 million+ budget" movie in my head.

[Wryan]

Cavill doesn't seem to be much of a speechgiver. But I like the look of it well enough. I liked the look and approach of 300. I can see what they were going for, and it almost worked, but it just didn't totally reach it. Maybe this will.

[Winston*]

I like the helmets.

[KK2.0]

The problem with that whole trailer is that it seems to be trying really hard to make the movie seem more juiced with adrenaline and testosterone than it probably is. Obviously the reason for that comes both before and after it takes the time to carefully but blatantly point out that it's "from the producers of 300", something they'll likely continue to say with every bit of marketing from here on out, but I feel like if more average movie-goers saw a trailer for The Fall, they'd think it looked cool with or without name-dropping. I don't see the point in making movies out to be something they're not. It just tends to just piss people off.

I agree that it looks a little bit phony with the same sort of enclosed soundstage / green screen feel that Snyder's film did, but I still really liked what I saw from a visual standpoint in that trailer (or at least in terms liking the ambition with a lot of its design). And maybe the fact that I think it looks pretty shouldn't surprise me since it's still Singh behind the camera, but I'm still looking forward to this more now since I have an actual idea of what it looks like instead of before when I was simply intrigued by the hypothetical "Tarsem directs a Greek gods epic with $100 million+ budget" movie in my head.

or maybe 300's producers are putting pressure on Tarsem to emulate Snyder which is always a recipe for disaster, but with these large budgets producers have the last word.

what turned me off on the trailer was the low budget look of some scenes, in contrast to a few impressive shots

notsureifwant.gif

[number8]

What's funny is that the best shots in the trailer last a split second while the terrible ones go on and on.

[megladon8]

My god that looks horrible.

The Fall was bad, too.

Tarsem Singh's best film was The Cell and it doesn't look like that will change.

[Dead & Messed Up]

What's funny is that the best shots in the trailer last a split second while the terrible ones go on and on.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v179/deadandmessedup/Picture5.png

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v179/deadandmessedup/Picture3.png

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v179/deadandmessedup/Picture2.png

[megladon8]

I really have no qualms saying that if you think this looks great, and thought the 300 trailer looked terrible, you're a hypocrite...because they look like THE EXACT SAME MOVIE.

Even that horrible pre-battle speech Cavill gives feels like the next "THIS IS SPARTA!"

[number8]

Thanks, DaMU. Those are exactly the shots I meant.

[Wryan]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v179/deadandmessedup/Picture2.png

I spy some Bosch influence. That's cool with me...

[DavidSeven]

I don't think it looks exactly like 300. Henry Gale is right; it looks a trailer cut to follow the beats of the 300 trailer, but with footage from a film that doesn't necessarily have those beats. It's got all the awkwardness of those fake YouTube trailers.

And whoever decided to greenlight the inclusion of Cavill's speech in the trailer should be dismissed immediately. Those few seconds just make the entire film look damn hokey.

[Ezee E]

Disagree though. 300's visuals are better, and more importantly, came first. This one looks like it's trying to be 300.

[megladon8]

Disagree though. 300's visuals are better, and more importantly, came first. This one looks like it's trying to be 300.


Actually, it looks like it's trying to be that "Spartacus" TV show.

Which looked like it was trying to be 300.

[Derek]

It looks like it's trying to be a good movie and will most likely fail because it's directed by Tarsem Singh.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I spy some Bosch influence. That's cool with me...

Totally. A very classical quality to it, and the packed frame looks Boschian:

http://www.pixplant.com/textures/generated-scaled/bosch-garden-of-earthly-delights.jpg

I also got a Michaelangelo fresco vibe:

http://dozenroses13.files.wordpress.c om/2010/03/michelangelo_-_fresco_of_the_last_judgement. jpg

(Note: this is not a comparison meant to indicate quality, only similarity.)

[Sxottlan]

Not exactly what I was expecting, but I'm definitely looking forward to it.

And Tarsem Singh hasn't made a bad movie yet.

[Dukefrukem]

I really have no qualms saying that if you think this looks great, and thought the 300 trailer looked terrible, you're a hypocrite...because they look like THE EXACT SAME MOVIE.

Even that horrible pre-battle speech Cavill gives feels like the next "THIS IS SPARTA!"

I don't remember anyone saying the trailer to 300 looked horrible.

[B-side]

I think it looks like fun. I'll watch it.

[Dukefrukem]

full length trailer

http://www.latinoreview.com/news/new-trailer-for-immortals-13994

[lovejuice]

Recently watched The Fall and loved it.

[BuffaloWilder]

Now we're talking. THAT looks like a Tarsem movie.

[Rowland]

Totally. A very classical quality to it, and the packed frame looks Boschian:

http://www.pixplant.com/textures/generated-scaled/bosch-garden-of-earthly-delights.jpgHmm, this exudes more of a Where's Waldo vibe for me.

[Rowland]

full length trailer

http://www.latinoreview.com/news/new-trailer-for-immortals-13994This looks terrible.

[Sven]

This looks terrible.

Unfortunately, I think you're right.

[BuffaloWilder]

You're both insane.

[Ezee E]

An improvement, but still a horrible choice for a lead. That guy is bad.

[Rowland]

How doesn't it look like a sequel to 300?

[Russ]

full length trailer

http://www.latinoreview.com/news/new-trailer-for-immortals-13994
Yawn.

And no one was a bigger Tarsem fan than me. This smacks of sellout.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Hmm, this exudes more of a Where's Waldo vibe for me.

Heh. Now I want to Photoshop Waldo in there.

[DavidSeven]

Too. Much. Green. Screen.

Seriously, I'm getting really tired of this. Use a freakin' location.

[D_Davis]

I'm stoked because it's Tarsem, and will see it, but yeah...it looks too much like 300. While it kind of looks like his style, it looks like that in the same way that 300 kind of looked like Tarsem; that is, it looks like someone trying to make something look like Tarsem.

[lovejuice]

that's horrible, indeed.

Funny, I read the appearing texts as "from the producer of 300 [who's] chosen by God!"

[TGM]

I'll echo the sentiments that this looks awful.

[Grouchy]

It just doesn't look like the same type of film as The Cell or The Fall. But, then again, trailers play up the commercial side of every film anyway, so who knows.

[eternity]

It's also worth noting that Tarsem's next is a kids movie, or at the very least, it's been described as being "the more childish" Snow White film coming out next year.

[B-side]

I think it looks neat. Especially the action sequences.

[Qrazy]

I think it looks neat. Especially the action sequences.

Do you like the part where things go boom?

[B-side]

Do you like the part where things go boom?

I mostly like the absurdly slow slow motion fighting. It's as if the two people exist in two entirely different realms of time and space. It's a very cool dynamic.

[Henry Gale]

Yeah, I guess you can say you think it looks bad, but you definitely can't fault that footage for looking generic. A lot of it seems like it'll definitely need the context of the final movie to actually justify how it makes sense beyond looking really cool.

But at the same time, I was actually impressed by most of what I saw there. Aside from what it offered in terms of dialogue and potential storyline, that is.

[amberlita]

I'm so tired of Mickey Rourke.

[B-side]

Amazing new trailer.

GSmJ5UXtUnk

[Morris Schæffer]

Yeah, that might be worth seeing on the biggest screen.

[number8]

Yeah, still pass. The full action scene I saw (the one briefly shown in that trailer with the golden dudes fighting the blue gladiator ninjas) at Comic Con was just abysmal, a lot more Zack Snyder than Tarsem.

From what I can gather, the cast and even Tarsem are pretty unhappy with the film. The producers apparently gutted the final product to make it more generic actioney like 300 instead of the script they signed on to, or the movie Tarsem wanted to make. At the Comic Con panel, Tarsem kept talking about how his original vision was something entirely different, "but this is cool too!" It was kind of sad.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Bwaaaaaaaaaam.

I was gonna see this the day I heard about it.

Bwaaaaaaaaaam.

I have no choice in the matter.

Bwaaaaaaaaaam.

But number8's depressing me.

Bwam.

[TGM]

The new trailer does look slightly more interesting than the previous one, though it still looks pretty bad. And, as pointed out above, the Inception music feels so forced in this trailer...

[KK2.0]

I guess the Inception music actually hurts the trailer even more since the whole movie already looks like a remix of others.

[chrisnu]

Wow, no.

PROVE. ME. RIGHT!!! *facepalm*

[Skitch]

THIS! IS! UNFORTUNATE!

[Rowland]

A writer at Slant, albeit one of the lesser-knowns, gave this ***½, arguing (http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/immortals/5904) that Tarsem's style transcends everything else that sucks about the film, including its allegedly misleading trailer.

[MadMan]

I really liked 300 and The Fall, so yeah I'll probably see this at some point.

And if its really not like the version that was originally planned, then maybe that will be released on DVD *shrug*

[B-side]

A writer at Slant, albeit one of the lesser-knowns, gave this ***½, arguing (http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/immortals/5904) that Tarsem's style transcends everything else that sucks about the film, including its allegedly misleading trailer.

Just as I was expecting. Excellent.

[Sxottlan]

This was a blast.

Beforehand I wondered if Tarsem would get reigned in for this one, either by himself or by the film's producers. But no. It looks like they let him cut loose. Might as well. He really was the star of the show. I'd say pretty much everything but the action shots are him through and through. And there's not a lot of hyper-cutting to the action. Love the shots of the gods in action.

The plot is really nothing to speak of, but like the Slant review said, Tarsem takes a standard revenge story and make it feel like it's something we've never seen before. Like something out of a modern art museum. The labyrinth for example. Almost a little too busy, but it's gorgeous to look at.

And it seems like the gratuitous shot of Freida Pinto's backside in 3D was meant as a joke.

[[ETM]]

Ebert gave it *1/2, but he loved everything I'm expecting, and just didn't understand the story at all. It's a bit of a puzzling review, because he references his "The Fall" review, where he said "see this film because there may never be another like it"... and continued "now there is", but he gave that one ****. So now I REALLY want to see "Immortals".

[Rowland]

Mind you, not all fans of Tarsem's art-directed-ad-absurdum approach are digging his latest. I don't know how many around here follow the great Nick Davis (http://www.nicksflickpicks.com/), but while he gave The Fall a B+ and featured it on his top ten for that year, he just gave this a C, writing on his twitter "I'd like six McChickens, large fry, super-sized CGI, a gold breastplate, and a blender to go. Blood on the fries, please."

[Dead & Messed Up]

I liked it. Pretty stupid from moment to moment, but gradually engaging. The most interesting character is probably Zeus (Luke Evans), who wants to leave the humans to their own devices and gets reaaaally pissed off when others disagree. This leads to probably the most interesting thing about the story, which is the mortality of Gods. They bleed red just like everybody else, and they can be killed, and some of them are killed, brutally so. That's a fantastic development, much-needed, so that we can feel a sense of stakes at the end.

All the same, this does feel like a lesser movie from Tarsem. Its pleasures aren't as intoxicating as the dark ebullience of The Cell or the fairy-tale anachronisms of The Fall. Others have noted that it's a superior 300. That's true, but I feel like we should set the bar a little higher.

I'd give it a B- or so, I guess. I'm glad I saw it. You might not be.

[Mal]

This is Tarsem's best movie, because he actually let the lead performance be a lead performance. Otherwise, damn is this movie narrow despite being in wide format.

[TGM]

This was just fun as hell. Sure, it's stupid, and at times it borders on flat out parody, but it's just so much fun that you don't even care. And it's really pretty to look at, too. Never before have I seen so many heads removed so beautifully from their respective bodies. This really is one of the better pure action films in quite some time.

[StanleyK]

This was complete shit. Just like the Clash of the Titans remake, it suffers from a generic hero (with standard mother character, story arc, love interest and amusing sidekick, all very predictable and not slightly compelling), a boring story, a gag-worthy subtext and terrible dialogue. The only difference is that it has slightly better cinematography (although having not seen The Fall, this film doesn't give me the impression that Tarsem Singh is a particularly gifted visualist, and certainly not gifted at all at editing) and really ludicrous violence. All the blood and gore are sickening, and the feeling that it's supposed to be 'badass' only made me even more sick. Mickey Rourke was the one saving grace of the film; his King Hyperion is a villain so thoroughly, unapologetically nasty that during his final battle with Theseus I felt a visceral need to see him get his comeuppance. His were the only scenes even remotely interesting in this film.

[B-side]

With Immortals we have Singh filtering history through the lens of the ornamental and fantastical. This isn't Greek history torn from the pages of your high school textbook. This is cut men and gods who exist beyond space and time (and aren't allowed to interfere in human affairs unless the titans are released) fighting impossibly elegant battles in front of gorgeous, expansive painted backdrops. An unknown creature fights Theseus with a spiked helmet in the image of a bull's head. He's not a bull, but he flails about and screams and grunts as if he were. Concurrent throughout is a paean to faith, more specifically of the Christian variety. This faith is weaved through a modern parallel of the faithful vs the faithless or those who can kill within the realm of their faith's dogma (no doubt alluding to Muslims). Hyperion and his men litter their space with the decapitated head of a statue and a steaming bull. Their disregard for the sanctity of the divine is obvious. Also within that modern parallel is Theseus rallying his troops like a politician, selling himself as one of them. Visually, this is also not the Greek history one pictures when reading historical documents. It feels more inspired by Jodorowsky's The Holy Mountain, the beautiful tableaus of Sergei Parajanov's later work and fantasy paintings with an eye for the grand in scale.

[Dukefrukem]

This might have been worse than 300.

This movie needed less Theseus more Gods battling stuff.

[Dead & Messed Up]

You'll never understand, Duke, and you never will.

[Dukefrukem]

You'll never understand, Duke, and you never will.

I agree with your post though; The most interesting part of the movie is seeing the Gods fear death and that quick little battle towards the end. But it hardly deserves a B rating for that. The rest of the movie drags for what seems like forever. Better than 300? Hardly... at least 300 is a mockery of itself at this point and the fight scenes are way more interesting and longer.

[Henry Gale]

Despite really loving Tarsem's work, I only just watched this a few days ago, but whaddya know, I liked it way more than I expected to (which was still an assumption that I'd like it more than the general reaction to it way back in the year of two-thousand and eleven). It's entirely his movie in the best way, with every other shot and camera move decorated or explored with an unexpected flourish to make me completely not care about how little I might be actually engaged with the narrative propelling it, because everything visual was doing that instead, almost like Renaissance painting and sculptures gleefully brought to life to reenact their purpose Night at the Museum / Toy Story-style. And by the end, I was almost felt like saying the story was decent! Good job, Tarsem, you magnificently talented illusionist.

Now I'm really looking forward to watching Mirror Mirror eighteen months from now!

[Skitch]

Mirror Mirror is great. Trust me. I was stunned how much I enjoyed it.

[eternity]

Mirror Mirror is great. Trust me. I was stunned how much I enjoyed it.
I thought it grew tiresome as it went on, but it's a surprisingly inventive little confection.

[MadMan]

I actually prefer this slightly over 300. Its silly to compare the two anyways: 300 is almost self-parody while Immortals plays its material straight.