Jaws. The Sixth Sense. Raiders of the Lost Ark. The Shawshank Redemption. Just a handful of movies that define cinema's existence. They thrill and entertain, are flawless in technique, and are powerful enough for the viewer to worry for their characters, or shed a tear for them. Well, Gravity just added to that list of masterpieces. A simple story, flowing with originality, following a single character in peril, in the vastness called space. Its script, acting, cinematography, editing, and soundtrack, make this a study in perfection. My other favorite movie of 2013 just found a strong competitor.
Mo says:
MoMagic!
I agree that it was a visually stunning movie. But this film was spoiled a bit for me by Apollo 13 which made Gravity seem soooo unrealistic (even internally).
ReplyDeleteReally? Actually "Apollo 13" didn't make much of an impression on me, so that's probably why I was so immersed in this movie. Apparently astronauts who have done space walks confirm the movie's realism.
ReplyDeleteBTW, did you notice the Houston voice Ed Harris'? Probably some kind of tribute to him, for doing "Apollo 13" and "The Right Stuff".
Not so much the space walking as the mundane stuff: the bombardments didn't damage the oxygen tanks or air scrubbers or vent hoses or power transfer lines or any of the thousands of little things that have to work in concert just to keep the air breathable etc. In A13 they were worried that the slightest damage to the heat shields or change in approach angle due to being underweight would ruin reentry. Just changing the approach vector required a 30-step "procedure" and exact calculations...and this was all with the entire NASA team working and communicating together! I'm sure we've come a long way in 40 years, but not that far (and if we had come that far, would George have gone out like that?!).
ReplyDeletePS. Yes, I noticed Harris' voice immediately. A very nice touch.
DeleteApparently, there are a whole bunch of scientific inaccuracies in the movie. Check it out:
Deletehttp://arts.nationalpost.com/2013/10/07/neil-degrasse-tyson-saw-gravity-then-spent-an-entire-night-tweeting-about-its-scientific-inaccuracies/