Robert Rodriguez, in an interview by Wired, explains the process of making the new double-feature, Grindhouse.
We want the movie to look like it's been out on the circuit for a couple of years, all scratched and deteriorated, lots of wear and tear — basically, we're trying to fake a relic. We were able to do all of that digitally. It's almost a step backward, because we're using technology to emulate an old camera system. It's kind of like the early days of CDs, when everyone thought the sound was too clean — companies would add the effect of the record scratching, just to ease people in.
I applaud Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino’s attempt to recreate the old feeling of grit and grime in film. Much too often, special effects are used to make movies look glossy and glamorous. Most of the time, they come out looking nauseatingly over produced.
I almost walked out of the new Star Wars movie Lucas vomited out of his studio, so over done were the special effects (maybe not the best example, but, eh). The poor actors probably spent 90% of their time in front of a green screen, interacting with nothing but each other, the director, and the occasional animatronic prop. Sure it’s a fantasy universe in space, but nevertheless it’s just too damn cheesy and unbelievable.
While Grindhouse might look equally unreal, Tarantino and Rodriguez are using digital enhancing to embrace the nostalgia and cheesiness of old school style, rather than attempting to create a hyper-realistic product. Rodriguez explains:
I told Quentin we could make a digital movie and have it look exactly like a film from the era. He said, "If you can do that, I'll be convinced." I took footage from Sin City and From Dusk Till Dawn, degraded it digitally, and mixed it with some music. I wanted it to look like a living graphic novel. I showed him the results, and he was blown away. He said, "All right. You win."
As a fan of cult cinema, I’m eager to see how the new homage film turns out. Films like 300 and Sin City, in all of their digitally enhanced splendor, simultaneously hearken back to the graphic novel and push film to a new level without trying to be overly realistic. Surreal overtones can be great; they take the viewer on a little journey, which is what movies should be about in the first place.
John Lichman @ Sun, 04/01/2007 - 2:14pm
Digital filmmaking has made the process of adapting comics good (sure, "300") but what about other franchises? And most importantly, let's not forget that this is just hyper-violent eye candy that found a niche because it was so awful.
But I guess as long as it's done digitally and tongue-in-cheek, it's cool.