#13: POSTER PARALLEL - THE MINIMIZED HERO

Radical Studios' Oblivion (2013)

"...a film so big, it doesn't really matter who's in it...sort of..."

That seems to be the ongoing suggested theme from the posters of a number of theatrical, sci-fi juggernauts pending a 2013 release.  Towering monuments of iconic, mid-century architecture crumbling in ruins...dirt and debris churned up from natural disaster and catastrophic warfare...while in the distance, the glimmer of a euphoric city skyline hints to the prospect of a satisfying resolution.  Meanwhile, in the minute foreground, our seemingly tiny (but present) hero(es) overlook the Brobdingnagian scene. 

One recent example of this theme is the preliminary poster for Radical Studio's Oblivion, the post-apocalyptic, post-alien invasion vehicle coming out in the new year (adapted from the graphic novel by Joseph Kosinski).  The poster shows that Oblivion is clearly a film that features cataclysmic destruction and degradation in the aftermath of an unfriendly alien visitors.  Our hero stands at the base of the waterfall, representing the prevailing existence of humanity in an era of irreversible chaos.  His figure is minimally scaled down, emphasizing the film's visual grandiosity.  Then, as your eyes wander over to the Alien-influenced text, it is revealed that our hero is portrayed by the most presidential of A-Listers, Tom Cruise.

Following through with my notorious fixation on the potency of A-List stars prominently featured in film posters (i.e. see post #4 on Bruce Willis), it's an striking turn having Cruise scaled down to a square inch of the poster's size, facing away from the fourth wall; this is a rare representation of Cruise, whose world renown profile has consistently carried promotional artwork for such as...well, have a look at the posters of any Tom Cruise film and you'll see my point. What's especially appealing about this style of promotion is the market's returned interest and faith in content, character and story, moving away from the habitual dependency on simply showing a blown out image of the film's most bankable star.  Instead, the poster significantly identifies with the film's story and titular symbolism, visually communicating an epochal end of humanity and the earth's looming demise into "oblivion". 

Here are a few more film posters that have currently personified this panoramically stylized theme (along with a few influential examples from past releases):

Paramount Pictures' "Star Trek Into Darkness" (2013)

Walt Disney Pictures' "Oz the Great and Powerful" (2013)

Paramount/Dreamwork's "Transformers" (2007)

Sony/Columbia's "Men in Black" (1997)

- MTK

#12: THE ADAPTATION ARCH - THERESE RAQUIN TO THIRST

Kang-ho Song, Ha-kyun Shin, Ok-bin Kim in Thirst

The key to adaptation is really rooted with simplicity.  You begin with the initial mold of a simple character and story, both with timeless consistency, and pair it with a disruptive conflict...everything after that is left to the evolving details, which gradually morph into varying genres and themes. 

Emile Zola's 1867 novel Therese Raquin (which was later adapted into a play in 1872) has consistently provided the perfect mold for a number of adaptations, each carrying their own distinct and memorable identity.

The story is carried from the perspective of the film's titular heroine, Therese, a young, lonely woman trapped in an arranged marriage to her weak, sickly cousin, as they are forced to live with her overbearingly manipulative aunt above the family's dress shop.  When a handsome stranger comes into her life, Therese is ignited with temptation and passion, soon realizing the reality of escape.  This then leads to a series of cataclysmic and tragic events, crippling secrets and murder. 

One of the most original and layered interpretations of Zola's thriller is Oldboy director Chan-Wook Park's 2009 film Thirst.  Now, it should be immediately stated that the connection between Thirst and Therese Raquin is not the primary, subliminal focus of the film.  First and foremost, Thirst is about vampires... not so much the trending vampire type: brooding, romantically dreary, desperately lonely and a thousand years old...but about recently deceased humans unexpectedly and undesirably blighted with this immortal fate, abandoned without guidance or limits to their unearthly powers.  

Before I start running off a clinical reiteration of the film's synopsis, eventually giving away too much, I'm going to stop here and revert back to the point of this post, which is purely to suggest two films bound through the cinematic adaptation of Zola's literary thriller: Marcel Carne's 1953 version of Therese Raquin (which was later titled The Adultress) and Park's Thirst.

Start off with Carne's version, which gives a classic yet modern modification of the original story (featuring Simone Signoret in the titular role), then follow with Park's Thirst, which pretty much consumes the plot of Raquin, stealthily enveloping it with its own charismatically gruesome twist. 
 

Ok-bin Kim and Kang-ho Song in Thirst

Ok-bin Kim and Kang-ho Song in Thirst

Marcel Carne's Therese Raquin or The Adultress (1953)

Simone Signoret and Raf Vallone in Therese Raquin or The Adultress (1953)

Proving the unfading intrigue of Zola's tragic romance and cautionary tale, a new film adaptation titled Therese is currently being filmed and is set for a release in the 2013, returning back to its original 19th century, Parisian era.  

Here is an image taken on set of Elizabeth Olsen (Marcy, Martha, May, Marlene) as Therese, along with supporting talent Jessica Lange.  The cast will also include Tom Felton (Harry Potter series) and Oscar Isaac (Drive, Sucker Punch). 

Elizabeth Olsen and Jessica Lange on the set of Therese

-MTK

#11: POSTER PARALLEL - THE BEDROOM SCENE

For the promotion of their third season, the cast of ABC's Happy Endings farcically followed suit with the somewhat bizarre trend of featuring a television series' ensemble cast posing together in bed. 

Cast of ABC's Happy Endings (2012)

Whether nude, fully clothed or a combination of both (oddly portrayed in the 1994 Friends poster below) number of things could be communicated through this type of campaign (the obvious being sex, youth and boundlessly undefined intimacy and companionship).  It's also a convenient way to squeeze everyone into frame...

Whenever I notice this theme, I just think of Paul Mazursky's progressive, ultra-"swinging" '60s film Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice and it's famous image of the cast (two sets of couples played by Elliot Gould, Natalie Wood, Robert Culp and Dyan Cannon) naked and in bed with the tagline: "Consider the Possibilities".

Here are some examples of this odd trend from various television campaigns throughout the past decade:

Friends (1994)

Gossip Girl (2007)

One Tree Hill (2003)

Queer as Folk (2000)

-MTK

#10: ON THE ROAD (MIRRORING RUCHSA)

In the teaser and trailer promotion of Walter Salles anticipated film adaptation of Jack Kerouac's On the Road, the film's rugged, mid-century Americana visuals and graphically pounding taglines comparably echo artist's Ed Ruscha's tribute to Kerouac in his 2009 exhibition, "On the Road".

In the trailer, the photography captures the dreamy, effervescent hues that lightly glaze the retro-inspired photography and graphic artwork that is thematically interpreted through Ruscha's series of paintings.  Featuring stiff, simplistically modern font with each letter hinting of subtle opacity, the taglines and titles layer a backdrop of rustic landscapes and gravelly tones of blue, grays and yellowish gold.

See the parallels between the film's promotion (above) and Ruscha's work (below):

Ruscha's exhibit of "On the Road" was recently featured this past year in 2011 at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles.  Visit their site to learn more about Ruscha and Kerouac's connected vision.

-MTK

#9: IN THE HALL OF THE MOUNTAIN KING

"In the Hall of the Mountain King" plays a large part in the development of Peter Lorre's villain in Fritz Lang's "M"

It's interesting how some of the most recognized pop culture creations are often loathed by their authors.  Led Zepplin lead Robert Plant grew to detest "Stairway to Heaven" (which he referred to has "that bloody wedding song") while Kurt Cobain referred to "Smells Like Teen Spirit" as a "sell out". Even John Lennon was known to openly dismiss some of The Beatles most iconic pieces of work. 

When Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg wrote the 1875 score for Henrik Ibsen's 1867 play, Peer Gynt, Grieg expresses his distaste for the eerily climatic excerpt, "In the Hall of the Mountain King", saying, "...I have written something that so reeks of cowpats, ultra-Norwegianism and 'to-thyself-be-enough-ness" that I can't bear to hear it, though I hope that the irony will make itself felt."

With Grieg's disinterest aside, the song has still succeeded to evolve into something beyond its classically epic routes, morphing into a boundlessly versatile piece of familiarized stock soundtrack. Constantly adapted and featured throughout various media channels, the song features one repetitiously steady, pluckily troublesome tune with just the right amount of dissonance to suggest an ominous presence of thrill and villainy. From film soundtracks (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' satirical adaptation in their Academy-Award winning score for The Social Network) to progressive rock covers (The Electric Light Orchestra's jam session version from their 1973 album, On the Third Day), the track has become innately recognizable. 

Here is the track of Grieg's Op. 46, "In the Hall of the Mountain King":

One of the most accessible tribute's to Grieg's horror-infused score was its signature use in Fritz Lang's 1931 thriller, M. 

Poster for Fritz Lang's M

In M (a crime thriller that follows a small German town trying to catch a disturbed child-killer on the loose, played by Peter Lorre), Lang features Grieg's creeping tune as an allegorical alarm to the villain's presence.  Whenever Lorre's desperately unhinged villain identifies his young victim, he would begin to whistle the ominous tune. 

Here is a clip of Lorre's trademark interpretation of the "In the Hall of the Mountain King":

-MTK

#8: LOOPER (AND THE LAST ACTION HERO)

In the wake of The Expendables second installment, its starting to feel like we're slowly sinking into the film industries' era of  "The Last Action Heroes".  While we continue to somewhat desperately celebrate aging action mega-leads that we've familiarized ourselves with on a first-name basis--Arnold, Sly, Bruce, Van-Damme--audiences are refusing to absorb an equivalent of the cinematic modern day action hero.

As opposed to platforming up-and-coming, blockbuster action stars (which are few and far between in comparison to the era of the '80s and '90s), the action vets of yesteryear are not only still getting cast but repurposed.

In this past fall's sci-fi film Looper, Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt play older and younger version of the same character, featuring Gordon-Levitt with heavy, face-morphing prosthetics and Willis with...well, no physiognomonic alterations at all. 

Granted the appeal of the idea was to make the two characters, representing one man at different ages, look as convincingly alike as possible.  However, the lack of adjustments to Willis' features defines him as the tributed icon of the film and the primary model of the character.

But why wouldn't that be the case...he is the actual "action hero" of the film (see post #4).  .  

What's so exceptionally (and allegorically) poignant about Looper is the paralleling camaraderie and conflict between Willis and Gordon-Levitt's characters and what it subtly represents throughout the process of the generational "movie star" transition.  While both versions of the character have a dependency on each other to stay alive, one of them still has to eventually step out of the light (well, in regards to the film's plot, "die") in order for the other to thrive and exist.

-MTK

#7: POSTER PARALLEL - THE OBSTRUCTIVE TAGLINE

Kimberly Pierce's 2013 remake of Carrie

It seems like a tagline obstructing a poster's artwork can effectively communicate just the right amount of head-turning intrigue fused with minimalistic simplicity and blatant alarm.  It also introduces "character" as a centerpiece.   

It's the mugshot of film and television's promotional fare. 

Here are the teaser promo prints for the upcoming Carrie feature film remake and the new FOX series, The Following, featuring cryptic subtext to both anticipated project. 

FOX's upcoming 2013 series The Following

 /Film did a feature last year reflecting on the beginning of this unwavering trend. 

-MTK

#6: PARIS IS BURNING

The late Dorian Corey and Pepper LaBeija of Paris is Burning

Writer and existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre once said, "Life has no meaning a priori...It is up to you to give it a meaning, and a value is nothing but the meaning that you choose. "

Echoing the post-modernist perspective, it's a theory that represents a daunting freedom, fueling the human mind to embrace their existence as their own complete invention.  While to the average individual this may insinuate a more chaotic, uncontrolled approach to life, Sartre's theory illuminates the passionate vision of the cultural pioneer who chooses to move against the illusion of conformity and social expectations, even if it leads to life of inflated intolerance, tribulation and pain.

The late Octavia St. Laurent in Paris Is Burning

In Jennie Livingston's 1990 documentary feature film, Paris is Burning, the film encapsulates the layered and inspired perspective of the influential "ball culture" that took place throughout the dimming, post-modernistic late-eighties of New York City.  Over the span of seven years, Livingston immersed herself within the fiery and influential subculture of the gay, transgender, African American and Latino "Ballroom" community, capturing the unabashed celebration of expression, style and non-conforming beauty.  The practice of the ballroom competitions (which originated out of Harlem in the 1920s)  would feature various categories of contestants who would "walk" across the ballroom floor, judged based on their interpretation of style, the realness of their "drag" and the charismatic innovation of their movement.

The film captures a definitive, influential era of New York City and a morphing extension of urban culture that was steadily fed to the mainstream attention; while Livingston's film introduced the vocabulary of  "reading", "shading", and the cheeky practice of "vogue" (the source to Madonna's iconic 1990 track).  While many of the film's indelible characters have since passed, such as Octavia St. Laurent, Dorian Corey, Anji Xtravaganza and Willi Ninja, the New York City Ball community still remains as one of the city's most eminent subcultures. 

The subjects of "Paris is Burning"

In the October 2012 issue of Paper Magazine's Nightlife Issue, images from photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders were featured in a modernized (with a hint of early-ninties throwback) reflection of today's existing NYC Ballroom scene.

Paper also featured documented images of today's "Kiki" Ball Scene, featured in a series titled "The Reincarnation of Rockland Palace", with photographs by Sara Jordeno and Twiggy Pucci Garcon.

Tyra Allure from the Mainstream House of Allure

Jocques Unbothered-Cartier aka Prince Charming of the Kiki House of Unbothered-Cartier

Pony Zion Garcon of the Mainstream House of Comme de Garcon

Watch the full version of Paris is Burning here.

-MTK

#5: THE KRUEGER COMPLEX

There is a layered depth to the creation of the Freddy Kruger character from A Nightmare on Elm Street that goes beyond the subplot of his villainy and Robert Englund's amplified characterization (not excluding Jackie Earle Hayley's more understated approach in the 2010 reboot, image above). 

Aside from the beaten, brown fedora and the his trademark, man-made claw, Wes Craven's choice of Kruger's attire--a red and green striped sweater--was not accidental.  It seems like an odd, presumably distracting exterior for a grotesque, supernaturally murderous figure such as Kruger (kinda like like putting Michael Meyers in a Cosby sweater).  However, what Craven intended was by communicated a visual contrast with Kruger's appearance, featuring the contrasting colors of red and green, two of the hardest colors for the human eye to process. 

Here, Wes Craven discusses his approach to Kruger's iconic look: 

-MTK

#4: POSTER PARALLEL - BRUCE WILLIS 2013

It's clearly a busy season for Bruce Willis...an apparent fact based on the many film campaigns banking on his iconic mug. 

Following the success of TriStar's Looper, the promotional prints for Paramount's G.I. Joe: Retaliation and Twentieth Century Fox's A Good Day to Die Hard have been released, proving there will not be any shortage of Willis-driven vehicles in 2013.

What's incredible about the featured posters below is the evolving minimalism of the artwork paired with its superstar subject, showing the monumental level of anticipated, worldwide appeal Willis' likeness still carries throughout the film market.

Looper (2012)

G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)

A Good Day to Die Hard (2013)

B.W.:  Holding his own since '88:

Die Hard (1988)

-MTK

#3: DRACULA

While Tod Browning's 1931 version of Dracula remains to be a signature classic in the American horror archive, the film has developed with age a distinct dissonance that reflects not only on the era of its creation but subtly highlights the evolution of music throughout the horror genre. 

In the opening credits of Dracula, the tone is set with the melodic score of Tchaikovsky's "Dance of the Swans" from "Swan Lake" (NOTE: Universal Studios, the studio behind "Dracula", recycled the same excerpt from "Swan Lake" in the opening credits of their subsequent horror feature, Karl Freund's 1932 version of "The Mummy").  However, as the film begins, there is a dense, silent lull from scene to scene that accentuates a stirring discomfort for the viewer.  This discomfort is the impulsive, sensory response to the fact that the film does not have a musical score.  For the modern horror viewer, this can trigger an inconclusive discordance to the film's fear-inducing intent, making it ineffectively frightening.

Bela Lugosi and Dwight Frye in Dracula (1931)

Browning's Dracula proves to be an example of how the post-mid-century horror film have become subsequently stigmatized by the accompaniment of a musical score.  From Bernard Hermann's sweeping score in Psycho (1960), John Williams' pulsating composition in Jaws (1975) to Harry Manfredini's whispery synth in Friday the 13th series (1980 - 1993), audiences have adapted to the guiding temperament of the horror film's score.  Like Pavlov's dog, a viewer responds to the music's "ringing bell", foreshadowing the anticipated emotion of "fear".  However, without the musical cue, a viewer is only left with their natural sense of fear and vulnerability.

Bela Lugosi in Dracula (1931)

However, a variation of filmmakers have discovered a way to communicate horror without the dependency of score, primarily through the style of "mockumentary" and reality-based visuals; films that have succeeded to play into this effect started with Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez's The Blair Witch Project (1999), moving on to Chris Kentis' Open Water (2003) and Oren Peli's The Paranormal Activity franchise (2007-2012).  Yet, the narrative-based horror film has yet to make this attempt.  Even with Kentis' Silent House (2011), an eighty-six minute horror film feature in "real time", which, although intended to appear as one realistic, seamless cut, was still accompanied by Nathan Larson's haunting score.

In 1998, composer Philip Glass was commissioned to compose a score for the Browning's Dracula.  Watch below to hear Glass' take on the project:

Philip Glass and the Kronos Quartet for Dracula

Go here to listen to Philip Glass' score for Dracula performed by the Kronos Quartet.

-MTK