The Windup

History. Epic battles with barbaric weapons and blood lust. Unconquerable odds against insurmountable enemies. Clean decisive lines between just men and evildoers. Ahh, the good old days. Maybe that’s the audience connection to Warner Bros. recent release, justifiably the first blockbuster event of 2007. Maybe in these days of terror, war and politics we share a primal longing for a clear line between who’s right and who’s wrong. Perhaps when the stakes are clear and heroes are called into battle, we will root for the just no matter what the odds.

Zack Snyder’s masterful 300 made a stunning impact on theater box offices and so, of course, on movie executives. But should any of that success comes as a surprise? My take would be that the success of 300 comes nicely timed on the tails of predecessors that had more than adequately prepped an audience ready for exactly what they were about to witness.

Warner Bros., the studio behind 300, did much of the advance work themselves. Long ago and seemingly far away there was Superman. In 1978, Warner Brothers helped distribute the film that would re-introduce movie audiences to the Super Hero. Though sequels launched into ever sillier skies, Warner was at the forefront years later when Tim Burton’s vision of Batman swooped onto summer movie screens. So it was, though Batman was the character territory of Bob Kane, as early as 1989 Warner had begun to tread lightly toward the turf of comic book artist and impresario Frank Miller. Once again sequels lapsed into, well, comic silliness and burnt off an audience with bad films and bad film making.

As in many ground shaking events, other elements take their places, heightening the excitement and opening new possibilities. Key to setting the stage was  2000’s Academy Award winning best picture Gladiator. Though the common ground in subject matter is obvious, what really is significant here is Ridley Scott’s undeniable sense of sensational visuals and action pacing, punctuated with stop-stutter editing. The overall effect was at once, epic adventure and modern spectacle. It would be nearly seven years for someone in Hollywood to understand that the success wasn’t a fluke.

Building on new technologies and taking on increasingly bold vision, creativity soared forward in 2005. A banner year for truly transitioning comic book movies into graphic novel cinema. In mid Spring, Frank Miller slammed onto movie screens with Robert Rodriguez’s Sin City. Saturated yellows and reds against stark blacks and whites bathed audiences in Miller’s world of graphic novel violence. Rodriguez’s no fear approach to story telling gave the movie industry notice that at least a few more walls were falling in the battle of art vs. good taste. These weren’t safe images or happy endings and no one felt they needed to be. And as if a nicely planned exclamation point, Batman Begins went blockbuster status that same June, both renewing the Batman franchise as a whole and telling audiences that graphic novels, the artists that draw them and the actors that play them, are all cool again. Frank Miller’s Dark Knight influence was plain and excellence in the film making process was obvious and successful.

The Pitch

Good vs. Evil. Epic struggle. Unrelenting enemies, unwavering heroes. Frank Miller. Warner Bros. Lessons learned and applied, new ground to be taken. Where’s the green light and what’s the budget?

With all that came before, all that remained was to be convinced of a vision and the competency to realize it. Using Frank Miller’s 300 graphic novel as a veritable planner for the film, the source material would provide a palate of style, color and sequencing that made visualizing the project far easier. A ninety second test reel and Warner was convinced to pony up a budget and release date.

The confluence of prior releases, audience reactions, profitability and studio balls hit the magic moment of art meets commerce in perfect unison and a movie event was born. All that remained was to tell the world and fill the seats. When you honestly believe you have something to sell, you have the freedom to sell that something honestly. Warner Bros. did on both counts and the subsequent marketing campaign launched for 300 told audiences exactly what they were in for and delivered on that promise.

The Delivery

A metallic dome of golden shields spiked with spears looking like some science fiction venomous oversized bug. A rumbling horned rhino, a larger-than-life threatening beast bathed in gold and sepia light. A screaming, charging bolt of bare skin and armor advancing toward an infinity of masked assassins. Battle engaged in heroic stance shimmering in dramatic sunlit shafts and textured with thick crimson splatters of warrior’s blood. Unforgiving, unashamed and unforgettable. And you’ll be utterly unable to take your eyes away. If ever the cliche of peeking through your fingers at cinema slaughter and bloodshed was justified, it is here. But you’d be cheating yourself out of a truly amazing cinematic experience, that is, if you could divert your attention. You can’t.

300 is perhaps the truest delivery on its advertising promises than any film I’ve seen in recent memory. Watching one of its trailers sets a tone and mood that is precisely the film’s own. Pulsing from one scene to the next takes the viewer through what seems the most dramatic and extraordinary set-pieces in the film, only to discover that there are so many set-pieces, scenes and atmospheres within the film that any scene could have been a suitable tease to buy a seat. A sense of danger, of overwhelming odds, of an epic stand, are all perfectly conveyed while warning of barbarism and gore but promising the heroism of a cause. A sense of history wrapped in a compelling story with the clear message that you haven’t seen this before.

Even the films main poster captures a perfect image and tagline to lead you into an experience both anticipated and startling. The advertising tag for 300 is “Prepare for Glory”, appropriate to preparing the audience for a great film. Appropriate too for Warner Bros. studio, director Zack Snyder, a spectacular cast and crew and of course Frank Miller. A glory realized much as the story itself, through the lessons of what has come before. Take note Hollywood. Interesting that the tagline for 2000’s “Gladiator” was “What we do in life, echoes in eternity”.

“Sin City” is a Dimension Films release. “Gladiator” was released by Dreamworks, SKG. All other films mentioned are by Warner Bros.

Friday, April 13, 2007