(2004)
Written and directed by Kerry Conran
Starring: Gwenyth Paltrow (Polly Perkins), Jude Law (Sky Captain), Angelina Jolie (Capt. Franky Cook), Giovanni Ribisi (Dex Dearborn), Michael Gambon (Editor Morris Paley), Ling Bai (Mysterious Woman), Omid Djalili (Kaji), Trevor Baxter (Dr. Walter Jennings), Julian Curry (Dr. Jorge Vargas), Peter Law (Dr. Kessler), Jon Rumney (German Scientist)
Special Appearance by the late Laurence Olivier (video archive) as Dr. Totenkopf.
Rated PG (for sequences of stylized sci-fi violence and brief mild language).
Who is Kerry Conran? Well, if you don’t know, it’s high time you did because his eight-plus-year project Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is movie magic!
Nearly a decade ago, so the story goes, Conran started Sky Captain on his Mac. He put together a seven-minute digital conceptualization of the film in order to convince Gwenyth Paltrow to come on board the project. When she saw it, she promptly signed on board, winning the role as the strong-willed investigative reporter, Polly Perkins.
Conran’s technologically advanced vision was costly at $70 million dollars and was no small feat. Consider the technical process he followed to achieve the amazing product we see:
Created a series of storyboard drawings.
Converted drawings into digital images on his Mac.
Images were refined and animated to produce live-action reality.
Digital actors, known as animatics, were added.
Lighting, depth, and composition were enhanced.
A grid was created for each slot and mapped out on the blue screen stage floor.
Acting doubles were brought in and used to pinpoint the actor’s placement and movements for each scene.
The actors, Jude Law, Gwenyth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie and others were brought in and filmed in a blue room. Paltrow described it in a BBC interview as working in a "sea of blue." The only non-digital items on the film were the actual objects the actors touch in the film. Dots were in place to orient the actors where digital objects were located. The actors viewed the motions of the animatic actors to visualize where they needed to go in a scene. The actors were only on set for a month.
Adjustments of angles and shadows were made to produce a cohesive rough cut. The stars were muted in soft focus to give them the textured look of black-and-white movies.
I’ve heard it say that quality is achieved by a concentration on the details. I feel Conran’s film epitomizes this rule. The visual effects, indeed, the entire film is of such high quality that it is simply an amazing, impressive cinematic achievement. Forget about Spider-Man 2. The visual effects nomination and Oscar should be coming Conran’s way.
The visual concept for Sky Captain is ingenious. Conran sets his story in a time and place reminiscent of how the cartoonists and science fiction writers and artists of the late 1930's and 40's viewed the future-- Zeppelin passenger airships (e.g. Hindenberg) dock on the tops of skyscrapers; and flying robots and saucers (like those featured in Orson Welles terror-inducing War of the Worlds) invade and try to take over the world; and heros of the land and air (i.e. Flash Gordon) fight the forces of evil to save the world.
I think the genius lies in how the film looks. Everything is done in a scepia-like wash that has the lighting and shadows of the old black-and-white films. The effect makes you feel like you are watching an old film; and a classic one at that.
The script itself is a delighful surprise.
What endeared me to the film was Conran's references to the film The Wizard of Oz. For example, consider one of the early scenes in the film: Someone is kidnapping or killing scientists. The investigative reporter, Polly Perkins has just received a lead from a scientist, who has requested that she meet him at Radio City Hall. As they talk in the balcony, the premiere of the film Wizard of Oz is playing on the screen in the background. We watch Glenda, the good witch, materialize on the screen behind their faces. Soon afterword, when the theater's sirens sound, we hear Dorothy say "Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore." This symbolizes a loss of innocence, if you will, a foreshadowing of doom, the turning of the green season to Fall and Winter.
Another reference occurs when Sky Captain, Polly Perkins, Dex, and a few of the kidnapped scientists stand at the great door of Dr. Totenkopf. As one of the scientists approaches the door, a giant head materializes above them and proceeds to berate them for seeking out the doctor. It echoes Dorothy's visit to the inner-sanctum of the Wizard's palace and their conversation with the overly mean Wizard.
The song "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" is also used. It plays in the closing credits and seems to highlight Conran's obvious adoration of this classic film. But, I add, it lends a masterful final touch of class to this film as well.
The Oz references are highly fitting for a couple of reasons. Though Sky Captain is not the first film to use computer-generated sets and effects, it is the first film to use the medium on such a grand scale-- the only things that are real are the props the actors actually use. In comparison, The Wizard of Oz was an achievement in film in 1939 because it was the first film to incorporate technicolor.
More than this, though, I like the reference to Oz for symbolic effect. Oz is about numerous themes-- the loss of innocence; finding yourself off course and in search of your way home; the search for the meaning of life; overcoming your fears and/or weaknesses; finding the personal strength to fight your enemies; realizing what matters most in life; and the adventure of finding your purpose in life.
Sky Captain incorporates many of these same themes. One thing that Sky Captain has that Oz doesn't is a cleverly written love story in which Perkins and Sky Captain spar over their broken relationship with the same type of caustic enthusiasm as Princess Leia and Han Solo.
Lastly, I want to laud the performances of all the actors, especially Jude Law, Gwenyth Paltrow, and Angelina Jolie. I could not help but compare the performances in Sky Captain to those of the actors in the latest Star Wars episodes 1 and 2. The actors in all of these films acted in front of blue screens. In Star Wars, I felt the performances were as dynamic as card-board cutouts. This puzzled me because the actors (Liam Neesan, Ewan McGreggor, Natalie Portman, and Hayden Christensen), in my opinion, are quite capable, talented actors. I wonder if the performances are fashioned by who is directing the film. In light of this, Conran obviously is the better director.
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is one of the best surprises of the year. It's fun, it's smart; and it's one hell of an action ride.
Note: Technical aspects of the film used from the BBC article, Sky Captain’s Blue Screen Magic.
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