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Gravity (2013) (1 Viewer)

schan1269

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All this bickering about the realism of Gravity...


Seriously...


What they got right...


Feeling of weightlessness

Feeling of utter dread...of "what could go wrong" in space...without even needing a "physics-ally improbable" chain of events.

The overall look of the suits/ships.

The score.



What they got wrong...


The timeline. Simply no way to get to earth...from orbit that fast. But did we all want an 8 hour movie?

The space trash "physics" issue.

What Sandra looked like emerging from the space suit...and how quick she got out of it. Again, did we want an 8 hour movie?

The "map of space" being all wrong. Getting from ship to space station etc...did we all want a 36 hour movie?
 

RobertR

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Mark Booth said:
It cracks me up that movie goers can turn up their noses over relatively minor annoyances in a film like 'Gravity' and then walk out of that theater and into the adjoining theater and cheer for a man in a Spiderman suit flinging web from his wrists and swinging from building to building! Go figure!


Mark

You seem to be having trouble distinguishing between a movie that made an effort to be realistic and a comic book movie. See my comments in the Guardians of the Galaxy thread.
 

Mark Booth

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RobertR said:
You seem to be having trouble distinguishing between a movie that made an effort to be realistic and a comic book movie. See my comments in the Guardians of the Galaxy thread.

Both. Films. Are. Fiction!


Mark
 

RobertR

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Mark Booth said:
Both. Films. Are. Fiction!

Mark
There are different types of fiction. Moby Dick, for example, is different from Lord of the Rings. You don't seem to be able to make that distinction.
 

Mark Booth

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fiction [fik-shuh n] - something feigned, invented or imagined; a made-up story


I'm still waiting for the proof that Gravity's filmmakers claimed it was based on reality.


Mark
 

RobertR

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Mark Booth said:
fiction [fik-shuh n] - something feigned, invented or imagined; a made-up story


Mark
The story may be fiction, but that's not the same thing as saying that everything in it is. Or do you think whales and spacesuits are figments of the writer's imagination?
 

Vic Pardo

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Tino said:
I was referring to the IMAX 3D aspect of the film when relating to the experience of feeling like you're in space, not the actual technical aspects of it.

And my whole point is that imo, Gravity needed to be seen in that format to truly appreciate what it was trying to do. That's all. Not the scientific inaccuracies or the plot holes or the performances. Just the visceral impact of the film which is integral to the film going experience of seeing Gravity in IMAX 3D.


There was one time where I had the kind of visceral 3-D IMAX experience you're describing. (You're gonna roll your eyes when I tell you the film title.) It was at the big Sony IMAX theater at the Lincoln Square on 68th St. I was sitting dead center in the very last row, the perfect spot. (I bet you know the one.) The movie was a thrill ride, full of action, entertainment, and humor. I liked the storyline, I loved the fact that it didn't take itself too seriously, and I enjoyed seeing three Coen Bros. actors in a different element having a ball (Frances McDormand, John Turturro and John Malkovich--I think you can see where this is going :D). I love giant robots and watching them battling it out. I usually prefer them animated, but I thought the battles in this one were beautifully done and imaginatively executed. Yes, I'm talking about TRANSFORMERS 3: DARK OF THE MOON ( :eek:), a film that doesn't get a lot of love around these parts. In general I have not had good experiences with 3-D in the modern era. Yet with this one, everything was on point. It just all worked perfectly for me. And, despite its length, I didn't go to the bathroom during it. (I can't say any of the same, for instance, about AVATAR.)


I remember thinking at the time that it was quite a trip, but not the kind of experience I want too often. It was quite exhausting, but it had the elements to keep me perked up throughout. I thought, once a year I can handle one of these. Well, two years later, I did PACIFIC RIM in 3-D IMAX and after the first hour it got to be too much for me. It was just too overwhelming. Too much sensory overload. The sound was pounding my nervous system and my stomach got really upset. I even went to the bathroom and missed a crucial scene.


I assume that GRAVITY, being a somewhat quieter, more streamlined film, would have been a very different experience from either of these films, although I'm worried that all the characters spinning and camera churning around and the constant disorientation (which way's up? which way's down?) might have got to me. Granted, it's only 91 minutes, so it might have been tolerable. But I tend to be somewhat wary of 3-D IMAX these days and large-scale effects films in general. I haven't seen a comic book film since THE WOLVERINE in 2013. I did see GODZILLA last year (in 2-D) and it made me long for the simpler pleasures of SON OF GODZILLA and DESTROY ALL MONSTERS. ^_^


You know what I'd like to see in 3-D IMAX? A Bollywood musical or even a Hollywood one that had great dance numbers. :3dglasses:


Thanks for listening.
 

DaveF

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Vic Pardo said:
I assume that GRAVITY, being a somewhat quieter, more streamlined film, would have been a very different experience from either of these films, although I'm worried that all the characters spinning and camera churning around and the constant disorientation (which way's up? which way's down?) might have got to me. Granted, it's only 91 minutes, so it might have been tolerable. But I tend to be somewhat wary of 3-D IMAX these days and large-scale effects films in general. I haven't seen a comic book film since THE WOLVERINE in 2013. I did see GODZILLA last year (in 2-D) and it made me long for the simpler pleasures of SON OF GODZILLA and DESTROY ALL MONSTERS. ^_^


You know what I'd like to see in 3-D IMAX? A Bollywood musical or even a Hollywood one that had great dance numbers. :3dglasses:


Thanks for listening.

Gravity, 2D and 3D, left me ragged; unlike (the middling, IMO) Transformers and even Pacific Rim (great fun). Gravity has the brilliance of not being 3 hours of noise and visual distraction. It's slow and quiet, until it's not. Then it's LOUD, the world is spinning out of control and people you care about are in danger. And then there is respite; a moment to collect. And then it's life or death, white-knuckled danger.


It understands crescendo.


The 3D is secondary. It's just as good flat.
 

Aaron Silverman

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Gravity is a fairly straightforward action-thriller. For what it is, it's brilliant. It's also not what Vic is looking for in a movie. What's the problem?
 

Robert Crawford

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Aaron Silverman said:
Gravity is a fairly straightforward action-thriller. For what it is, it's brilliant. It's also not what Vic is looking for in a movie. What's the problem?
There is none! I enjoyed Gravity, some others not so much. Thus, a difference in film opinion, nothing to have a problem with.
 

Winston T. Boogie

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I loved Gravity and the film, to borrow something from another thread, really is a "gimmick" film and a beautifully executed one at that. It is a thrill ride, visual storytelling, that is meant to grab you and hurtle you through space until you come crashing to earth in the most breathless fashion possible.


I think people confuse the "you are there" sensationalism the film is trying to portray with scientific accuracy...which it is not really what it is going for. When I saw this in an IMAX theater it felt like it was about 5 minutes long...really it just flew by and was wonderfully entertaining.
 

Josh Steinberg

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Since Tino resurrected the thread, this is as good of a space as any to mention that I recently revisited the film.

I had always wanted to check out the “silent space version” of the audio, which was supposed to be the film’s space scenes without score and sound effects. That edition was limited to the 2D edition of the film, which I wasn’t interested in viewing. I’m a little more tech savvy today than when it first came out, and I was able to marry the 3D disc’s visuals with the silent space audio.

It was kind of a frustrating viewing experience because it came so close to being perfect but there were some odd choices in the mix that threw me off. I was not a big fan of the film’s score, and I found that most of the space scenes worked better for me without it. The flying shrapnel is even more terrifying when you don’t have an audio cue that danger is on its way - instead it just seems to come out of nowhere, with no mercy, and no possibility of avoiding it. Not having the score there emphasized how tiny we humans are in comparison to the vastness of space; it emphasized that space doesn’t care what happens to us, which makes it all the more terrifying.

But as the film kept going, more and more sound effects starting creeping into the supposedly silent track. Some of them made sense, like hearing the vibrations of explosions that Bullock’s character would have heard from inside her suit. Some made no sense, like metal objects crashing into each other in the vacuum of space. And I think it was probably a mistake to remove the score from the portions of the film that were interiors inside the space station and landing back on Earth where there’s oxygen.

My perfect version of the film would combine sound elements from both tracks.

But all in all, the silent space edition was a thrilling alternate take on the film and I think I enjoyed it more that way. Bullock’s performance is so strong that I really don’t need the music to tell me how to feel.
 

DaveF

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I bought it on blu-ray in 2016, specifically buying the 2D version with Atmos from Canadian Amazon, because it was OOP or no longer sale in the US. (I meant to buy the 3D version and merge them, but never got it, and have since stopped watching 3D.) And I’ve since never watched the blu-ray. I should try and get to it this Fall. I’m slowing watching my way through my backlog of discs bought back in 2016.
 

Tino

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I was not a big fan of the film’s score,
I was and still am. I thought the Oscar winning score by Steven Price was tremendous and really added to the terror of what was going on.

I haven’t checked out the silent version yet mainly for this reason but my interest is now piqued and I will check it out soon.

I heard a 4K disc was coming soon but have not heard anything recently. Anyone hear anything new?

And I still think this film is a masterpiece.
 

AshJW

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When I did a “space film“ retrospective couple of years ago, I watched it the last time and I really enjoyed it again (3rd time if I’m not mistaken).
Haven't watched it with the so-called silent soundtrack, but will do so next time.

I believe I included beside Gravity these films: Apollo 13, Red Planet and Mission To Mars. No Sci-Fi with too much fantasy elements because I wanted it as realistic as possible.
Next time The Martian is a must-see. Love that movie!
 

benbess

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I only saw Gravity once previously during its theatrical run, but I enjoyed it so much that I got the blu-ray shortly after it was released. Over the years I tried several times to convince my wife to watch it with me at home, but she'd heard about how many astronauts died in the movie, which always made her say no thanks. Anyway, a couple of days ago, after nine years of waiting, I decided to just watch the blu-ray myself and finally unwrapped it. It worked surprisingly well upscaled on our 4k player with our large 4K TV. My daughter joined me in watching, and she seemed quite gripped by most of it.

I remember at the time that Sandra Bullock got a got a nice addition to her retirement fund from the movie, and looking it up it was even better than I recalled.


Anyway, Gravity has a truly stunning portrayal of zero gravity and the vacuum of space, and the effects stand up really well. Sandra Bullock and George Clooney are also really good in this. Although the movie has some scientific inaccuracies, obviously they were making a dramatic movie not a documentary. Compared to Star Trek and most other sci fi movies, which in large part are made possible by huge scientific impossibilities that I just roll with for the most part, Gravity is on the real end of things, and I think is one of the outstanding sci fi movies of all time. The 90-minute length is remarkable for a big movie from this century, and a key part of what makes it work.

I wish Alfonso Cuaron would make another sci fi film.

But given the disaster it shows Gravity might be seen as almost a PSA warning about the dangers of space exploration. Nine years later, however, SpaceX and other companies seem likely to put us back in space in a big way over the next ten years. If we really have a spacecraft with people going to Mars around 2030, people might need to brace themselves for what might happen to some of those astronauts....

event_gravity.jpeg
 
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YANG

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...I believe I included beside Gravity these films: Apollo 13, Red Planet and Mission To Mars. No Sci-Fi with too much fantasy elements because I wanted it as realistic as possible.
Next time The Martian is a must-see. Love that movie!
Gravity, Apollo13 and the Martian forms a perfect theme of “Stranded Off Earth” trio for perfect weekend marathon that doesn't involve Alien Lifeform elements.
 

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