- Joined
- Feb 8, 1999
- Messages
- 18,397
- Real Name
- Robert Harris
Only a bit less feared than the notorious James gang, were the Sisters brothers. A film was created telling their tale in 2018.
Eli and Charlie Sisters (John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix) roamed the old west during the 1840s until about 1852.
This is a bickering buddy picture, as the two intertwine with another unlikely couple played by Jake Gyllenhaal and Riz Ahmed, and a magical gold mining elixir.
It's interesting as the director, who seems to get a decent beat on the old west, is French - this being his first English language film. It also harkens back to the concept of "spaghetti westerns," which were produced as low-budget affairs in Italy during the late 1960 to early '70s, and usually in Techniscope. There are a couple that have turned up on home video in the past.
In this instance, the film was shot in Spain, with some locations in Almeria, which another film was shot in the early '60s, as well as a studio in Romania.
Bottom line. It works
Never a romp, it's a down-beat tale, with a good bit of comedy, and essential bumbling about, shot with the help of an Arri Alexa, and finished in 2k.
It's also interesting from a visual perspective, as it's generally extremely dark, with faces obscured in many scenes, interestingly especially many of those abasing bright blue daytime skies, which are exposed for the skies and not the actors.
Seldom do we get quite this much darkness, although I recall a couple of family dramas from the early '70s which obscured many of the shots of humans, until it was recently retimed so that actors could be properly seen.
Image - 5
Audio – 5 (DTS-HD MA 5.1)
Pass / Fail – Pass
Plays nicely with projectors - Yes
Recommended
RAH
Eli and Charlie Sisters (John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix) roamed the old west during the 1840s until about 1852.
This is a bickering buddy picture, as the two intertwine with another unlikely couple played by Jake Gyllenhaal and Riz Ahmed, and a magical gold mining elixir.
It's interesting as the director, who seems to get a decent beat on the old west, is French - this being his first English language film. It also harkens back to the concept of "spaghetti westerns," which were produced as low-budget affairs in Italy during the late 1960 to early '70s, and usually in Techniscope. There are a couple that have turned up on home video in the past.
In this instance, the film was shot in Spain, with some locations in Almeria, which another film was shot in the early '60s, as well as a studio in Romania.
Bottom line. It works
Never a romp, it's a down-beat tale, with a good bit of comedy, and essential bumbling about, shot with the help of an Arri Alexa, and finished in 2k.
It's also interesting from a visual perspective, as it's generally extremely dark, with faces obscured in many scenes, interestingly especially many of those abasing bright blue daytime skies, which are exposed for the skies and not the actors.
Seldom do we get quite this much darkness, although I recall a couple of family dramas from the early '70s which obscured many of the shots of humans, until it was recently retimed so that actors could be properly seen.
Image - 5
Audio – 5 (DTS-HD MA 5.1)
Pass / Fail – Pass
Plays nicely with projectors - Yes
Recommended
RAH
