Lara Croft Tomb Raider (2001)

Angelina Jolie IS Lara Croft, but is Simon West's Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) the ultimate adaptation of the classic computer game? Join us and find out, as we pull apart this Hollywood blockbuster.

On this track we cover:

- The problems with plot and writing
- Simon West's direction
- Angelina Jolie's.... talents.
- Comparisons to Indiana Jones and other adventure films
- The Illuminati

DOWNLOAD

Download the mp3 file here. Link.

Subscribe to the commentary podcast in iTunes. Link.

STATS

Participants: David Bjerre and Dennis Rosenfeld.
Day of recording: April 4th, 2013.
Version: Bluray or NTSC DVD.
Movie runtime: 1:40:32.

SCREENSHOTS

Angeline Jolie tries to stop Simon West before it's too late.

THIS is flirting, Simon.

The actors try to fix the script in a last minute rewrite.

The triangle of unpossible plotting is offered up to the gods.

Space view from Neptune. You can see the plot holes from here.

Bad guy takes a nap. It's not like the fate of the world is on the line... Oh, wait.

No one rides the big pole as well as Angelina.

The boys are out in the cold.

Lara raises the triangle triumphantly. No, we don't know why either.

Father and daughter meet face to face. And then stop speaking for 7 years.

An illustration of cinematographer Peter Menzies Jr.'s strobe technique.

ARTICLES

Cinefex No. 87, October 2001, article by Joe Fordham
American Cinematographer, June 2001, article by Jay Holben
Premiere, June 2001, Tomb With a View, article by Christine Spines

LITERATURE

They Cast No Shadows, by Brian Desborough.

AUDIO/VIDEO

Bluray extras.
The Clangers: The Intruder (Episode 1x05, 28th December 1969). Link.

LINKS

IMDb. Link.
Wiki. Link.

The Shadow (1994)

"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?".

The Shadow from 1994 was the first big budget Hollywood attempt to make a film about the classic pulp anti-hero. Did they succeed? We investigate. The film was directed by Russell Mulcahy, written by David Koepp, based on the work of Walter B. Gibson, and produced by Martin Bregman.

On this track we cover:

- Creating a modern retro action adventure
- The origin of The Shadow
- The pulps and the radioplays
- Visual effects
- The utter implausibility of being able to cloud men's minds.
- And David talks about Alec Baldwin's hair

DOWNLOAD

Download the mp3 file here. Link.

Subscribe to the commentary podcast in iTunes. Link.

STATS

Participants: David Bjerre and Dennis Rosenfeld.
Day of recording: December 8th, 2011.
Version: German Bluray version, Netflix, or Fullscreen NTSC DVD.
Movie runtime: 1.47.25.

SCREENSHOTS

Tibet matte painting by Matte World.

Green screen Alec Baldwin in front of a model hut and model mountain in this Matte World shot.

The horrible painted backdrop.

Matte painting by Illusion Arts.

Aaaaw! I saw her first!

The split-focus shot.

The spectacular Illusion Arts matte painting, using the same street set twice.

Early CGI face by R/Greenberg Associates.

9 out of 10 megalomaniacs now recommend smoking.

You wouldn't like me when I'm William.

LITERATURE

Cinefantastique, No. 25, vol. 4 (August 1994)
- Article by Mark A. Altman
- Additional text by George Zebrowski, Tim Prokop, and Dan Scapperotti

Cinefex, No. 60 (December 1994), article by Mark Cotta Vaz
Starlog, Issue #205 (August 1994), article by Will Murray
Starburst, Issue #195 (November 1994), article by Alan Jones

Walter B. Gibson and The Shadow, by Thomas J Shimeld
The Shadow Scrapbook, by Walter B Gibson
The Shadow novelization, by James Luceno

The Pulps.
- A complete list of stories. Link.
- Reviews of the stories. Link.

AUDIO/VIDEO

Bluray special features.

The radioplays. Link 1. Link 2.

The Shadow Strikes (1937). Download.

International Crime (1938). Download.

LINKS

Shadow Fan Site. Link.

IMDb. Link.

Wikipedia. Link.

Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)

Welcome to our first attempt at doing an unofficial audio commentary in English. Our subject is the 1985 movie Young Sherlock Holmes, directed by Barry Levinson, written by Chris Columbus and produced by Steven Spielberg.

On this track we cover:

• The visual effects
• Steven Spielberg's involvement
• Our love of 80's movies
• CGI vs. doing things practically
• The creation of the Sherlock Holmes character
• And David reveals his dying words

DOWNLOAD

Download the mp3 file here. Link.

Subscribe to the commentary podcast in iTunes. Link.

STATS

Participants: David Bjerre and Dennis Rosenfeld
Day of recording: June 8th, 2011.
Version: Young Sherlock Holmes NTSC DVD
Movie runtime: 1.48:48.

SCREENSHOTS

To illustrate some of the things we talk about in specific shots, we have a few screenshots from the film.

Painted figures slide down a painted pyramid.

A clever combination of matte painting, models, and live-action.

Another outstanding matte paining.

LITERATURE

Cinefex, no. 26. (May 1986)

LINKS

Wikipedia's Young Sherlock Holmes page. Link.

Cinefex, no. 26. Link.

New York Times review. Link.

Young Sherlock Homes reunion. Link.