Why I hated The Village...
First of all, there's no spoliers here - and this isn't really a review, either.
Okay, here goes:
Last night some friends and I went to the midnight showing of M. Night Shyamalan's The Village. During a particularly emotional scene between Sigourney Weaver, and her son (played by Joaquin Phoenix) I noticed the boom mic at the top of the screen. I thought to myself, "Look at me, I'm so smart to notice stuff like that." Well, as the movie went on, I noticed a few more times and started to wonder if it was part of the movie. You know how Shyamalan like to put clues throughout the film. So, that when the big twist ending comes, you say "I should've known!"
(This is my Wagnerian photoshopped version of what I saw.)
As the film went on everyone else in the theater was whispering every time the microphone came into view. It was so bad in some scenes that it HAD TO BE part of the movie. I was thinking to myself, Maybe everyone in the the Village is part of a reality TV show." Anyway, it got so bad that people were laughing. And, this was during scenes where a lot of really good emotional acting was taking place.
So the move goes along, and had its twists and turns. Then it's over. And the boom mic had nothing to do with it. I was so weirdly-mad-freaked-out that I found a manager and told him that the film was cropped wrong or something.
I was talking really fast, and using big hand gestures to describe the boom mics at the top of the screen. He looked genuinely concerned, but also sorta weirded out by my cornering him near the ticket counter with all of this.
So, now the question is: What the heck was going on? I guess it was cropped wrong or something, since I noticed a boom mic during a trailer for that Jimmy Fallon/Queen Latifah movie too. So, if you go to Regal Lloyd Cinema - watch out.
Other than that: loved it.
Okay, here goes:
Last night some friends and I went to the midnight showing of M. Night Shyamalan's The Village. During a particularly emotional scene between Sigourney Weaver, and her son (played by Joaquin Phoenix) I noticed the boom mic at the top of the screen. I thought to myself, "Look at me, I'm so smart to notice stuff like that." Well, as the movie went on, I noticed a few more times and started to wonder if it was part of the movie. You know how Shyamalan like to put clues throughout the film. So, that when the big twist ending comes, you say "I should've known!"
(This is my Wagnerian photoshopped version of what I saw.)
As the film went on everyone else in the theater was whispering every time the microphone came into view. It was so bad in some scenes that it HAD TO BE part of the movie. I was thinking to myself, Maybe everyone in the the Village is part of a reality TV show." Anyway, it got so bad that people were laughing. And, this was during scenes where a lot of really good emotional acting was taking place.
So the move goes along, and had its twists and turns. Then it's over. And the boom mic had nothing to do with it. I was so weirdly-mad-freaked-out that I found a manager and told him that the film was cropped wrong or something.
I was talking really fast, and using big hand gestures to describe the boom mics at the top of the screen. He looked genuinely concerned, but also sorta weirded out by my cornering him near the ticket counter with all of this.
So, now the question is: What the heck was going on? I guess it was cropped wrong or something, since I noticed a boom mic during a trailer for that Jimmy Fallon/Queen Latifah movie too. So, if you go to Regal Lloyd Cinema - watch out.
Other than that: loved it.
2 Comments:
So what was happening? It's nobody's false about 'the Village' film. Too bad that you mentioned the name of the theater.. I used to work couple years in another company movie theater: A) When you told the manager of the theater that you saw unprofessional screening of film. His/her job is to make sure, that you're just don't like movie and looking for a fight. So the manager usually defend themselves. That's good. That's business. B) Now we live in the age that almost all movies are filmed in the Windscreen format. When filmmakers film the film and using boom mics. They want to record the sounds as loud and clear as possible. So even on the little tv monitors that they look what their camera pick's up. Director do see the boom mic above the screen, but above the "format that will be shown in the theater. You see, their TV monitor just regular "square" format (as your TV screen at home.) Event the film (inside camera or digital system) could record formatting closer to that "square" format. So usually the director put masking tape over the screen in the shape of Letterbox Format. Just to see what's in and out of that format. Basing on this theory, and that the movie theater that you choose might have un-experienced film projectionist. Who just didn't feed the right frame into projector. That's why in result, you might see the above "unseen by many" the part of the movie. Like you see the boom microphone. So it's not the magic of M. Night Shamalay, or the manager of the theater (who could've been the same projectionist who put the film in the wrong "framing" and was in hurry. 'Cause movie was scheduled to start, but forgot. You have choices like: change a movie theater, or watch the movies by ignoring the boom mics above, or just wait to go this same theater in one and a half years. When the projectionist or who was substituting change careers and graduated from school and got the real job.. Chao :)
I think I perhaps saw the same screening as you did.
A VERY bizarre experience to say the least... I thought it a treat to be able see a film behind the scenes that way.
How about that one shot in the woods where you not only see the boom and microphone, but the sound recordist standing there with the boom over his head!!!!!!
Another shot with William Hurt and the blonde girl sitting on the grass with the microphone at their feet in the grass.
I too thought it might be some bizarre comment by the director on reality / fiction... then it just became funny
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