the duelist ( russian : дуэлянт ) is a 2016 russian adventure drama film directed by aleksey mizgirev .

the film stars pyotr fyodorov , vladimir mashkov , and sergei garmash .

this is the russian third feature film produced using the imax format .

it was released in russia on september 29 , 2016 in full imax .

an adventure film , with dramatic and thriller elements set against the backdrop of palaces and the noble view of the russian capital , the movie centers on yakovlev , a retired officer , who returns to st. petersburg from a long exile .

while in the city , he fights as a duelist ’s representative .

during nineteenth-century russian duel law allowed for a duelist to be replaced by any one person .

the duelist is written & directed by indie russian filmmaker aleksey mizgirev , made by non-stop productions and produced by alexander rodnyansky .

the duelist ( 2016 film )

looking for movie tickets ? enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing the duelist ( 2016 ) near you .
will be digitally supersized by imax for a giant screen engagement starting in oct . 2016 .
reviewed at toronto film festival ( special presentations ) , sept . 13 , 2016 . running time : 109 min . ( original language title :
duelyant
)
the genre movie from alexander rodnyansky ' s non - stop productions and director aleksey mizgirev will be digitally supersized by imax for a giant screen engagement starting in oct . 2016 . the duelist marks the third russian - language film to be released on imax screens .
from fox international productions and fox star , this biopic of the eponymous cricket legend became the no . 2 opener of 2016 in
the title character in “the duelist” claims , repeatedly , that he doesn’t much like dueling .
aleksey mizgirev ' s film looks at the life of yakovlev ( pyotr fyodorov ) , a professional duelist in 19th century russia . the film ( shot in imax ) looks great , but the story is convoluted .
eye for detail makes the duelist ' s protagonists just as compelling as their setting .
review : ‘the duelist’ is a good shot . a very good shot . - the new york times
. the $ 8 . 4m launch is the top industry bow of 2016 . play will continue strongly with tomorrow a public holiday . disney strategically slotted
the duelist ' s chinese release is scheduled for 2017 , with a precise date to be determined later .
, senior executive vice president , imax corp . and ceo of imax entertainment .
imax enjoys a strong presence in the russian market and this exciting film will provide russian audiences with one of their most anticipated movies of 2016 .
a retired officer returns from exile and takes up arms as a duelist ' s representative for hire .
the distributor expects that the film will set a record for the highest - grossing russian movie in china .
guardians , that film being dubbed “russia’s avengers movie , ” isn’t the only genre flick to hail from the country . sony’s international division has released a new english - dubbed trailer for the duelist , a work that garnered some buzz in 2015 after it was announced to be the third russian - language film will be digitally re - mastered for imax in 2016 . the duelist is bound for imax theaters in russia and select international markets later this year , but it remains to be seen whether or not the u . s . will have that privilege . however , genre - lovers can at least get a look at the visually compelling tale about a the vengeful duelist who never loses , thanks to this new trailer .
there are no featured audience reviews yet . click the link below to see what others say about the duelist ( duelyant ) !
“the duelist” is rated r ( under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian ) for violence , nudity and merciless aleutians .
gorgeously empty , the duelist is more interesting as a reflection of the russian sociopolitical climate today than it is as an actual goddamn movie .
the russian pic the duelist , from the studio behind stalingrad and the oscar - nominated leviathan , is to screen on imax screens in russia and select international markets .
the russian pic the duelist , from the studio behind stalingrad and the oscar - nominated leviathan , is to screen on imax screens in russia and select international markets .
china , france and germany are among the few territories not covered by a global distribution deal between the duelist ' s producers and sony pictures .
china’s sea & shell film ltd . has picked up the russian movie duelyant ( the duelist ) for a theatrical release in the world ' s second - largest box - office market and predicted it would become the highest - grossing russian movie in china ever .
despite promising elements of mixed - genre thrills , the film is finally the underwhelming sum of too many plot devices .
one technical note : the film was shot in imax format , meant for a 40 - foot screen .
imax ' s interest in the duelist follows the giant screen exhibitor ' s increasing investment in non - hollywood films , especially local language pics for the chinese market .
for sony , the local - language play this week was russia entry the duelist . from super - producer alexander rodyansky , the period thriller bowed at no . 1 .
in 2016 , the cast of the classic yu - gi - oh ! anime would return once more , in a film called yu - gi - oh ! : the dark side of dimensions . this film follows the events of the anime , with the pharaoh having recovered his memories and finally passing on into the afterlife . kaiba is mad that he never got a chance to defeat the pharaoh in battle , so he wants to rebuild the millennium puzzle , and bring him back for one more card game . . .
in italy , finding dory continued to lead the box office by a considerable margin in the 3rd weekend . to boot , in local currency ( 13 . 3m euros ) , dory is now the no . 1 animated title of 2016 there .
imax ' s interest in ? ? the duelist follows the giant screen exhibitor ' s increasing investment in non - hollywood films , especially local language pics for the chinese market .
that said , the look of the movie is still the most appealing thing about it . whether you watch a film on a giant screen or an iphone , the format doesn’t untangle messy plot threads . “the duelist” looks good no matter how you watch it . just don’t take the story too seriously while you’re watching .
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans . it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
it ' s an impressionistic film , and most people want what they ' re accustomed to ; movies .
an adventure film , with dramatic and thriller elements set against the backdrop of palaces and the noble view of the russian capital , the duelist centers on yakovlev , a retired officer , who returns to st . petersburg from a long exile . while in the city , he fights as a duelist’s representative . ( nineteenth - century russian duel law allowed for a duelist to be replaced by any one person . ) though yakovlev fights for money , he also seeks honor and revenge against those who disgraced him , therein , challenging the russian providence . yakovlev fearlessly plays with destiny as an example of traditional romantic characters from the russian classics .
an interview with writer / director boots riley about his incendiary new film ,
sorry to bother you .
the duelist , which had its world premiere at the toronto international film festival earlier this month , opens in russia on sept . 29 . it will also be released in imax theaters in russia , becoming only the third russian movie in that format after stalingrad and this year ' s ekipazh ( crew ) .
we are sure that this bold and artfully executed picture will allow chinese viewers to enjoy russian culture and feel the touching power of one of the best russian cinema examples ,
said cheng yuhai , the founder of sea & shell film . he added that he believes the duelist has the potential to break the record for the highest - grossing russian movie in china .
right , because a lot of people compare the visuals to something you ' d see in a pixar film . that ' s quite the compliment !
fedor bondarchuk ' s stalingrad , the first russian film imax released , went on to become the highest - grossing film of all time in russia and played on imax screens in the u . s . and china .
after the very successful russian release of stalingrad in imax , we are excited to partner again with alexander and our friends at non - stop productions on the duelist ,
said greg foster , ceo of imax entertainment , in a statement on wednesday .
a controversial thriller about a hitman forced to undergo gender reassignment surgery has been added to the lineup of next month’s toronto international film festival .
starring : pyotr fyodorov , vladimir mashkov , and yuliya khlynina the duelist official trailer 1 ( 2016 ) - pyotr fyodorov movie set in 19th century imperial russia , the story revolves around a retired army veteran who makes a good living by settling duels for aristocrats , a common practice of the era . shot in imax . cast petr fedorov , vladimir mashkov , martin wuttke , julia khlynina , yuri kolokolnikov director alexey mizgirev subscribe to indie & film festivals : urltoken subscribe to trailers : urltoken subscribe to coming soon : urltoken we ' re on snapchat : urltoken like us on facebook : urltoken follow us on twitter : urltoken you ' re quite the artsy one , aren ' t you ? fandango movieclips film festivals & indie trailers is the destination for . . . well , all things related to film festivals & indie films . if you want to keep up with the latest festival news , art house openings , indie movie content , film reviews , and so much more , then you have found the right channel .
m . c . escher’s brain - bending paintings are a natural port of call for visual designers , and have cropped up in endless tv shows and games . on film his often - surreal inversions of natural laws have been more difficult to use , and aside from a memorable tip of the hat in labyrinth , inception is the film that’s made best use of them . in retrospect , of course a film set “within the architecture of the mind” would reference escher , since his etchings are dream architecture brought to life and given that they can support the film’s twisting perspectives and competing gravity wells .
but here ' s the thing : financial success of a film gives all the people who entertained me a better chance to win some money back for all the effort they spent on the endeavour . it also allows a better chance , for example , for that director to get his / her next film financed more quickly .
the look of the movie is still the most appealing thing about it . whether you watch a film on a giant screen or an iphone , the format doesn ' t untangle messy plot threads .
the ballad of narayama
is a japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice , telling a story of startling cruelty . what a space it opens…
( re ) assignment , formerly known as tomboy , a revenger’s tale , stars michelle rodriguez as a male assassin who undergoes a transition against his will at the hands of a rogue surgeon , played by sigourney weaver . the film , which is directed by the warriors’ walter hill , was criticised last year by the lgbt group glaad , which called the premise “sensationalistic” and said the film undermined the progress of transgender rights . the film festival’s press release makes no mention of the transgender theme , describing the story as “a trail of self - discovery and redemption against a criminal mastermind opponent” .
much like the pokémon movies before it , the first yu - gi - oh ! film gave away trading cards with each showing . you would receive one of four random cards for each ticket you bought to see the film . the four cards were pyramid of light , sorcerer of dark magic , watapon , and blue - eyes shining dragon .
went on to become the highest - grossing film of all time in russia and played on imax screens in the u . s . and china .
after the very successful russian release of
from a long exile . while in the city , he fights as a duelist ' s representative . ( nineteenth - century russian duel law allowed for a duelist to be replaced by any one person . ) though yakovlev fights for money , he also seeks honor and revenge against those who disgraced him , therein , challenging the russian providence . yakovlev fearlessly plays with destiny as an example of traditional romantic characters from the russian classics .
globally . directed by guo jingming , the live - action / cgi fantasy was the no . 2 film in china this weekend where it booked over 35 % of available screenings . we do not have a confirmed figure out of china , although local reports put it at about $ 29m . of that , 325 imax plays were worth $ 2 . 3m in the middle kingdom where 15 of the film’s top 20 runs were imax . the film will continue to benefit from the national day golden week holiday there . lionsgate is reporting
two of the recurring villains from the duelist kingdom arc in yu - gi - oh ! were pegasus and bandit keith . pegasus forced yugi to enter his duel monsters tournament by stealing the soul of his grandfather . he also stole the souls of both mokuba and seto kaiba . this was all part of his plan for resurrecting his dead wife . bandit keith was the best duel monsters player in america . he was embarrassed by pegasus at a tournament , and he came to the duelist kingdom to seek revenge .
sushant singh rajput , kiara advani and anupam kher star in the biopic whose trailer generated some 22m views . the film was released in hindi , tamil , telugu , and marathi versions .
no sure shot : ' the duelist ' is a good - looking mess if you can keep up with the increasingly convoluted story , that ' s a plus , but mostly it ' s worth watching for the visuals . check out this story on urltoken urltoken
in india and the uk , fox international productions and fox star , released cricketer biopic m . s . dhoni : the untold story , batting $ 14 . 5m . the india bow is particularly remarkable as the second biggest opening of 2016 — after salman khan’s recent smash sultan . rather than rely on marquee name bollywood stars , m . s . dhoni ‘s key attraction is its legendary subject .
insomniac games ' staff has likely been living up to its name more than usual over the past month . with the announcement of two new titles for the oculus rift and release of the game and film of ratchet & clank , the veteran developer has been burning the midnight oil to say the least . therefore , it ' s no wonder that it should take some respite from the daily grind and mingle with fans , and that ' s exactly what the north carolina division of the studio did on the opening night for its film .
mizgirev ' s script is an indigestible , soap - operatic mess of backstories , clichés , and the kind of ambiguous mystic overtones that have become an unbreakable addiction for russian film .
i still believe inherent vice is misunderstood . i have film friends whose opinions i respect that hate the film . i guess when you are an auteur like pta an 8 million return on a 20 million budget won ' t hurt your future projects too much . the man translated a thomas pynchon novel to the screen and nobody was interested in seeing how he did it . plus , the soundtrack is amazing . 20th century women is my runner up . that was my favorite film from last year and completely accessible to a wide audience . should have been a huge hit .
also appearing at the festival is brain on fire , director gerard barrett’s film about a new york post journalist ( chloë grace moretz ) who experienced seizures , hallucinations and violent outbursts . meanwhile , in the exception offers mind games with higher stakes as rival agents wrestle over the fate of the abdicated german kaiser ( christopher plummer ) in the middle of the second world war . it also stars lily james , jai courtney and janet mcteer , and is the feature - film debut of the theatre director david leveaux .
stalingrad , from director fedor bondarchuk , was the first russian - language film to get its imax release , and it’s also a product of non - stop productions . the other one is more known in the mainstream thanks to its oscar nomination , the leviathan .
what we now know as the yu - gi - oh ! card game did not appear until later episodes , where it was called magic and wizards , and was in a much more primitive form . the anime followed the story of the original manga , with the much darker version of the pharaoh ( and his murderous antics ) . early versions of characters like kaiba and bakura also appeared in this series . this season of the anime had its own film , called yu - gi - oh ! the movie . the character designs in the film more closely resembled the ones seen later in the duel monsters version of the anime .
the imax® release of the duelist will be digitally re - mastered into the image and sound quality of the imax experience® with proprietary imax dmr® ( digital re - mastering ) technology . the crystal - clear images , coupled with imax ' s customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio , create a unique environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie .
a tale of honor , revenge and violence in czarist russia , the imax - shot “the duelist” is a spectacular , impressively realized period drama that’s notable not only for the talents of writer - director aleksey mizgirev but also the sponsorship of producer alexander rodnyansky . the latter may be the most ambitious and savvy of current russian producers , having shepherded andrey zvyagintsev ’s “ leviathan ” to international success and an oscar nomination two years ago . with “the duelist , ” rodnyansky is taking a more commercial turn , one that depends less on art - house refinements than on plush production values , action - movie tropes and a couple of stellar lead performances .
the film’s leads are also major assets . both are stars in russia and look like they have considerable international potential . with the smoldering dark looks of the young mel gibson or colin farrell , fyodorov could well have a future as a cosmopolitan romantic lead or marvel superhero . and mashkov , who’s already appeared in “mission impossible – ghost protocol , ” would be a great candidate if james bond needs any more russian villains . with these stars and its other strengths , “the duelist” is a welcome indication of the current russian cinema’s commercial ambitions and potential .
it’s a pity that certain epochs tend to get relegated to polite , slightly stuffy “masterpiece theater” terrain in screen translation . but if the alternative is something as strained as “the duelist” — which tries to impose megaplex macho - action spectacle on the upper echelons of 19th - century czarist russian society — then sticking to the status quo [ … ]
it ' s not entirely forgettable , yet in our current world where even big stars don ' t sell movie tickets , the duel had to have something more in order to really be successful . the film is an unfortunate misfire .
so i dislike seeing a personal favorite underperforming at the box office , it sucks . which brings me to my question of the week : which film , in your opinion , should have become a far bigger hit than it did ?
of course films are works of art , rather than contestants in a running match . if i got to see a film and loved it , what should i care about its success with the masses , right ?
it’s interesting to contemplate the film’s appeal to contemporary russian audiences since it leapfrogs over the communist era to evoke a time when the country was ruled by a proud and wealthy aristocracy . distinctions of class , in fact , are paramount in this tale , which is solely concerned with the prerogatives of the nobility .
we took a look at the film script in its earliest stage and we outlined what we needed to do to hit the major story beats for ratchet & clank . the film tells a version of the origin story that ' s streamlined and cleaned up relative to the original game . the basics are all there but it rambles a bit , almost like we made it up as we went along . . . which we kind of did . so now we ' re able to look at it with the benefit of everything we ' ve learned over the years , and craft a much sturdier beginning for the series .
mahendra singh dhoni is one of the highest paid athletes in the world and a gentleman cricketer who was captain of india’s team , leading it to world cup victory in 2011 . the film , directed by neeraj pandey , recounts his life story from the dusty roads of his origins in ranchi to the sacred grounds of the wankhede stadium in mumbai .
the duelist is written and directed by indie filmmaker alexey mizgirev , is produced by alexander rodnyansky , and boasts a cast that includes pyotr fyodorov ( stalingrad ) , vladimir mashkov ( mission : impossible – ghost protocol ) , yuri kolokolnikov ( game of thrones ) , and martin wuttke ( inglorious basterds ) .
unlike christophe gans’ 18th century martial - arts - horror hybrid the brotherhood of the wolf , which similarly tried to sex up an era usually reserved for middlebrow costume dramas , the duelist refuses to acknowledge fun . it is humorless and portentous . but can something so overwrought , so far off the deep end of macho fantasy really be called boring ? bringing to mind an imperfect clone of colin farrell cruelly robbed of the ability to smile , fyodorov glowers , broods , and furrows his thick eyebrows through every scene . duels staged behind paper screens , unfeasible secret conspiracies and identities , con games based on aristocratic honor—it’s the duelist ’s inability to recognize its own ludicrousness that makes it , in spots , delectable as camp .
– that have been explicitly framed as film noir or east asian noir , or that acquire legibility as noir texts through reception discourse and other critical activity . contributors look at historical and contemporary cases to understand the terms on which national , regional and transnational cinemas conceive artistic expression . their conceptualization and articulation of an internationally situated ‘east asian film noir’ helps raise questions around the politics of representation , authorial activity , generic and modal positioning and local and cross - cultural reception .
it’s a pity that certain epochs tend to get relegated to polite , slightly stuffy “masterpiece theater” terrain in screen translation . but if the alternative is something as strained as “the duelist” — which tries to impose megaplex macho - action spectacle on the upper echelons of 19th - century czarist russian society — then sticking to the status quo will do just fine , thanks . this ludicrous costume shoot - ’em - up only inflates its whopping clichés and anachronisms by placing them in the incongruously deployed imax format . despite the alluring novelty of watching a costume narrative in that supersized mode , alexey mizgirev ’s film is unlikely to find much welcome beyond former soviet territories .
aleksey mizgirev’s film is set in 19th century russia , a time in which , we learn , duels among noblemen were frequent . and if you didn’t want to fight the duel yourself , you could get someone to do it for you .
the major markets to open were the uk , russia and mexico . while the
mizgirev orchestrates all this with steady skills in handling small moments as well as the huge canvas that an obviously ample budget has allowed him . cinematographer maksim osadchiy favors crisp , dark images that bring out expanse of luxury and squalor in andrey ponkratov’s superlative production design ; by any measure , “the duelist” offers the most sumptuous evocation of czarist russia seen in any recent movie .
really hits the ground running . the time is 1860 , and the location is st . petersburg , where young nobleman , yakovlev ( pyotr fodorov ) is a relentless and evidently professional duelist . yakovlev has a fearsome reputation as a “death machine” , notwithstanding the fact that he claims to detest duelling . his opposite number is count graf beklemishev ( vladimir mashkov ) , an apparent cad whom we’re not supposed to like .
it was really cool and collaborative . we didn ' t know at first what we were getting ourselves into . syncing up the game with the feature film brought a lot of variables that we don ' t usually have , but thankfully it turned out to be a breath of fresh air . the animation teams were very willing to cooperate . they consulted with us about a whole lot of decisions because longtime series writer tj fixman co - wrote the film script , so we had a lot of different connecting points . and the animation director for the movie is oliver wade , who is a former insomniac and good friend .
despite all of the new series , cards , and characters , there are fans who long for the days of yugi and his friends . it is because of this nostalgia that a 2010 movie called yu - gi - oh ! : bonds beyond time was released . the film unites the protagonists of the first three yu - gi - oh ! seasons , through the aid of a time - travelling villain .
so when we finished the game we ended up with all - new bosses , a bunch of new planets , a new weapon arsenal , new clank gameplay , new ship combat – not to mention the completely reworked visuals and an hour plus of new cinematics . it felt like we needed to get back to the core and soul of ratchet & clank and redefine it for the ps4 and 2016 . at this point we feel like we have a sturdy foundation to work from . maybe it goes forward from here , but we don ' t know yet ! we ' re still basking in the warm reception to this one .
in 2016 , microsoft released a development kit for a product called the hololens . it is similar to a vr headset in appearance , except that it has a clear visor over the eyes . its purpose is to show high quality augmented reality images , so that they appear to exist in real life . fans have been working on creating a yu - gi - oh ! game using the hololens , which displays images of the cards and monsters in a way that makes them look real . while still early in development , the dream of one day being able to play yu - gi - oh ! like they did on the show may become a reality .
and . . . well , when i love a film i just want as many people as possible to go see it . it ' s one of the most important reasons for me why i write on this site , and why i write so many positive reviews ( if i dislike a film , it must be really very newsworthy before i start to write about it ) . for some of my most beloved films i ' ve even secretly bought a second copy just to lend out to people .
the film on this list with the deepest roots in art history is , perhaps surprisingly , alien . you already knew that h . r . giger designed the xenomorph , based on his own nightmarish and surrealistic work . but what you may not have known is that he was inspired by francis bacon’s melty - faced study of pope innocent x , itself based on the portrait of that pontiff by spanish master diego velázquez . so the genesis of this film sees two of the 20th century’s masters and one 17th century legend conspire to bring us an acid - blooded nightmare monster . in any battle between alien and predator , therefore , alien should rest assured of the full support of the art community – although it boggles the mind to imagine what velázquez would have made of the creation .
yu - gi - oh ! the movie : pyramid of light was actually the second yu - gi - oh ! film . there had been an earlier movie based on season zero of the anime that was only released in japan . pyramid of light was about the resurrection of anubis , the egyptian lord of the dead . as with all yu - gi - oh ! villains , he only wanted to beat the main characters in a card game .
by the time the next season of the anime was released ( the one that was released in america ) , the duel monsters card game had been fleshed out . it became the central focus of the story , and was entwined with the story of the millennium items .
after losing to joey wheeler , bandit keith threatened pegasus , and is dropped through a trapdoor , which slid him straight out of the duelist kingdom . he would later show up under the control of marik , during the battle city arc . after being beaten by yugi , pegasus had his millennium eye stolen by bakura . he later became a recurring character in several of the movies , filler seasons , and yu - gi - oh ! gx .
update , writethru : the international box office got a boost this weekend , jumping 110 % from last frame across the top 10 titles , and dipping just 6 % versus the similar session last year . there were two major overseas openings for hollywood , with a raft of hot local movies in the mix around the globe — many with savvy studio participation . there are also a series of key milestones as finding dory finally splashed into germany and set a new bar for 2016 as well as crossing $ 500m internationally — putting the $ 1b worldwide mark within fin’s reach . and , there are no growing pains for bridget jones’s baby with a 3rd straight no . 1 in the uk as it cozies up to $ 100m overseas .
holdovers / expansions bridget jones’s baby universal , miramax and studiocanal’s presentation of this working title production is growing up nicely . with a $ 19m 3rd frame , renee zellweger and co have cumed $ 99 . 9m overseas for $ 120 . 9m in the worldwide buggy . by the time it reaches term , bridget should be looking at around $ 200m global — a nice bundle for a film that stumbled in the u . s . it’s getting a lot of mileage out of the uk where it is the no . 1 film for a third week in a row with a fantastic $ 6 . 7m frame and a 17 - day total of $ 41 . 1m .
. in the former , a 1m swiss franc bow is the biggest ever in the region .
american 20th century artist edward hopper’s paintings have an empty , desolate quality that fitted the isolated motel of psycho rather well . this particular 1925 painting , of a gothic farmhouse on a lonely plain , informed the look of the bates house in some detail , with the steps up the hill from the motel even offering a visual nod to the railroad of the painting . hopper was a keen fan of cinema and was apparently delighted that his painting had contributed to the film . hollywood has generally repaid the compliment , with this painting in particular also a huge influence on terrence malick’s days of heaven and a clear model for the homestead there .
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this is the first of several duels we see the film’s protagonist fight , and it’s soon clear that he’s at once skilled , shrewd and lucky . his intrepid and very illegal business is conducted with the help of a partner , baron staroe ( martin wuttke ) , who arranges yakovlev’s assignments . ( this character and one or two others speak german throughout the film , for reasons that one assumes are mainly commercial . ) and behind staroe , there’s the shadowy figure of count beklemishev ( vladimir mashkov ) , who has secretly masterminded yakovlev’s recent career while also attempting to woo wealthy princess martha tuchkova ( yuliya khlynina ) , whose younger brother prince tuchkov ( pavel tabakov ) is soon to face yakovlev in a duel .
really ? well there is a little badass film called dredd . . . . don ' t know if anyone out there has heard of it . . . it ' s just . . . . you know . . . . one of the unapologetic badass comic book films that also gets everything right .
it’s hard not to imagine “the duelist” as vladimir putin’s fantasy of imperial russia , in which men endlessly talk about honor while staring daggers and aiming firearms at each other , and where there’s nothing at all gay about a hero spending so much time impressively shirtless . naturally , women both virginally blonde and strumpetly red - headed tremble with yearning at the proximity of such masculine magnificence , resulting in the film’s single most howl - inducing setpiece : when not long after telling our protagonist “i hate you ! ” princess martha naturally finds herself boinking him . what’s more , she does it naked , in a carriage with big exposing windows , in the middle of a busy daytime city street . how did such episodes not manage to find their way into the pages of dostoevsky and tolstoy ? perhaps only because the latter lacked inspirational access to “emmanuelle” movies , not to mention the michael bay oeuvre .
the duelist , by russian director alexey mizgirev , is about a st petersburg gun - for - hire who takes on other people’s fights , while rage , directed by sang - il lee , is a grisly three - part thriller that hops between japanese cities and stars ken watanabe . the long excuse , also set in japan , is a comedy - drama about a man ( masahiro motoki ) who offers to care for the children of another man who is widowed by the same crash that killed his own wife .
while sporadically impressive as spectacle , particularly given its imax boost , “the duelist” often plays fast and loose with period accuracy , not just in terms of character behavior but in details of costume and production design . it is unclear whether this is because the filmmakers simply don’t care , or are going for any effect that might appeal to a modern action audience . ( for instance , yakovlev’s customary black - tunic garb makes it look like he just stepped out of “the matrix . ” )
i don ' t have any crazy hollywood stories about that or anything . we get together because we love making games ; we ' re a studio of people who are big fans of science fiction : star wars , back to the future , ghostbusters . we love brainstorming for games like this . we participated in weekly reviews , but were pretty insulated from day - to - day film production . developing the game was hard , just like it always is . we had the challenge of figuring out how to structure it , how to make it amazing with the limited time we had , just like always . we faced some new challenges in working out the macro around the film story , but that was no easier or more difficult than it ever is . just different .
last years the nice guys , i really don ' t get what is not to like about that film , great throwback feel to all those pulpy / sleezy films of the 70 ' s / 80 ' s . such a shame that it didn ' t catch on , seems like everyone i have talked to that did see it really enjoyed it .
if this plot’s tangle of euro - russian relations , financial debts , and fates is supposed to be a metaphor , it hasn’t been thought through . but mizgirev , who is best known for bleak exercises like tambourine , drum and the convoy , has somehow figured out how to make a visually incoherent movie without resorting to quick cuts . the duelist is being distributed in imax , and its aesthetic is all oomph : inertly acted , bombastically scored , and filmed from low and canted angles on sets so cavernous and so lavished with decay and water damage that much of the action appears to take place underground . that a movie called the duelist can’t get two shots of men pointing flintlock pistols at each other to match appears to be a secondary concern ; mizgirev is more interested in his collection of fetish - wear - esque period costumes , rain machines , crumbling textures , gruesome injuries , and self - loathing sex scenes .
so why watch ? because it’s so ridiculously overstuffed it’s kind of fun . that extends to , or perhaps begins with , the look of the film . it’s rich , overripe , yet still kind of seedy . lots of peeling paint and rain , rain , rain . the views of russia are fascinating , though the thought of living in such a place at such a time is not exactly appealing , unless you were a good shot .
if you were to suspect that yakovlev has big secrets in his past , that he and beklemishev have a history , and that the puppet master and the puppet will eventually face each other on the dueling floor—you would of course be correct . “the duelist” is , quite appropriately , one of those movies that resembles a russian doll : there are machinations within machinations , plots within plots , secret agendas within secret agendas . though the narrative conceits can sometimes begin to feel overly ornate , they generally adduce the kinds of pleasures such storytelling at its best entails , and occasionally touch on some genuine profundities of character and destiny .
we started with the main film locations : ratchet ' s home on veldin , aleero city on planet kerwan , drek ' s warbot factory on quartu , and drek and nefarious ' deplanetizer space station . some of these had a basis in the original game , but some we constructed from scratch . then we chose planets from the original game to push the action between the major story scenes . we tied it all together with the progression scheme of weapon levelling that we ' ve evolved over the years . at the end of it , we have in - game progression tied to the clarity of ratchet and clank ' s new story .
i ' m worried that his next one - annihilation - is going to tank . having read the book ( which i loved ) , it doesn ' t feel like it ' s going to have a very broad appeal to mainstream audiences . not that ex machina did either , but i ' m thinking that annihilation is a bigger budget film .
this was a very
feel - good
production in a lot of ways that led to all kinds of things like sharing models . we ' d send a model from one of the playstation 3 games to rainmaker , and they would up - res it , get it ready for the big screen , and send it back to us for the game . then we ' d change the shaders to get it ready for our proprietary engines . a lot of times the model that we see in the film is exactly the same as the model that ' s in the game . this is the first hardware generation where that sort of thing is possible . it speaks to how closely interwoven these two projects are .
in 52 markets — the uk , russia and mexico being the key plays .
the duellists - - the insult . harvey keitel keith carradine early and excellent roles
slifer the sky dragon entered the possession of yugi moto , who used it the during the final tournament of battle city . in the original japanese language version of the game , slifer was called osiris . the reason for this change is because he was named after roger slifer , one of the employees at 4kids entertainment , who worked on the english dub of the yu - gi - oh ! anime .
sofia coppola’s punk biopic of the doomed french queen may have included some distinctly anachronistic pairs of converse and manolo blahnik shoes , but she also took inspiration from the court portraits of the queen painted by rococo artist louise élisabeth vigée le brun . yes , a woman ! overcoming the sexism of the time in part thanks to family connections and also thanks to talent , the artist left more than 30 portraits of the queen and her family , and went on to travel around europe and paint russian royalty after the french revolution made her native land a less - than - hospitable place for a court painter . vigée le brun’s sugary palette and pastel colours are clearly visible in the film , and a scene showing a woman painting the queen is even included in the final cut .
film noir has been understood as a genre exclusive to hollywood . but classical us noir’s downbeat sensibility also finds expression in later films from japan , south korea and greater china ( including hong kong ) and taiwan that have both participated in and been excluded from circuits of global - noir traffic , past and present . noir is a form of generic expression , an international filmic sensibility and a discourse loosely joining innumerable texts and a range of production and reception phenomena . however defined and categorized , the genre offers a compelling frame through which to view individual works , looming political and cultural contexts , film industry and reception activity , and wider circuits and frictions of global screen - media flow . this anthology looks at a range of east asian films from the 1950s to the present – including
a bit of a cheat considering that this 1956 melodrama is a formal biopic of van gogh , but the great dutchman’s work also inspired the look of vincent minnelli’s film and warrants a place on the list . for one thing , minnelli deepened the yellows of his fields to match the artist’s palette using that friend of the auteur , spray paint ; for another , there’re plenty of scenes in which kirk douglas portrays the anguished van gogh at work , not least in painting his last great work , the brooding , menacing wheatfield with crows . anthony quinn steals the show with an oscar - winning turn as tough - guy ladies’ man paul gauguin , but only because there’s no award for best supporting landscape .
the film does what films do best , and that ' s follow the arcs of the main characters . there are more characters and time spent establishing character traits and connections as emotional content . for the game , we have some of that , but we ' re also filling in the gaps between major sequences with game mechanics and game pacing . we focus on what feels fun to do for 15 minutes at a time while doing things like upgrading ratchet ' s weapon arsenal throughout the game . i see it as each of these media doing the thing they ' re really good at , each tackling the same subject matter in a way that plays to their unique strengths .
the duel is an entertaining period film about keeping law in the old west . when a mexican general ' s nephew is found murdered in the rio grande river texas ranger david kingston is tasked with going undercover to investigate a known vigilante called the preacher . woody harrelson , liam hemsworth , and alice braga lead the cast and deliver solid performances . and the director does an impressive job at setting an authentic tone , and at creating tension and suspense . but the storytelling is rather weak and can drag at times . also , there ' s a little too much ambiguity to some of the character subplot . it can be a little slow and listless at times , but overall the duel is an interesting character drama .
the physical world of the movie teems with diverting period detail , which , along with the always interesting looking and sometimes very attractive members of the cast , are well shot by the cinematographer maksim osadchiy . not well enough to redeem the movie , however .
the game is told from qwark ' s point of view . it matches the film story , but qwark adds commentary and it ' s his version of events to a certain extent . at the same time , we think that the main story beats are there ; the big tentpoles – like ratchet ' s origin as a lombax orphan , clank ' s origin as a factory defect – are still there , and none of it invalidates later games . we didn ' t set out to rework the canon . in other words , the future series is still canon with everything else subsequently assuming part of the canon as well . the new game is just more of a cleaner retelling of sorts . don ' t freak out !
how smooth was the process of working with rainmaker and blockade entertainment on bringing this beloved video game series to the big screen while making the game based on the movie . . . er , based on the game ?
chad dezern : sure , well , we know we have the feature film coming out , and to us that represented a golden opportunity to tell the ultimate version of ratchet and clank ' s origins story . we knew we wanted to make the game on playstation 4 and hit a visual bar that ' s a lot higher than anything we ' ve been able to achieve before on previous platforms , but at the same time we never wanted to make just a
remaster
. we knew from day one that we wanted to effectively make a new game that was built on top of the foundation of the old game .
among those , we learn as the film begins , are the rules governing dueling , the standard means for an offended noble to defend his honor . the code lays down an intricate array of rituals and restrictions , but allows that one party may sometimes be replaced by another nobleman . thus do we enter the story of one yakovlev ( pyotr fyodorov ) , a professional duel fighter . when we first see him , yakovlev is facing off against another man in an elegant room , accompanied by their seconds and those conducting the duel . yakovlev apparently has nerves of steel : after the two men choose pistols , he offers his temple to his opponent . the man pulls the trigger and his gun doesn’t fire . yakovlev then raises his pistol to the man’s forehead , fires and puts a bullet through his head .
the battle city arc of yu - gi - oh ! introduced a new set of cards that had the potential to bring about the end of the world . they were called the
egyptian god cards
in the english dub , and the three of them were said to be overwhelmingly powerful . the three egyptian gods were called obelisk the tormentor , the winged dragon of ra , and slifer the sky dragon . these cards required three sacrifices in order to be summoned , and each of them had unique abilities that could swing the match in favour of the player who summoned them .
the four cards that were given away at showings of the movie are actually part of the plot . both yugi and kaiba used these cards in battle . the blue - eyes shining dragon was meant to be the most powerful variant of the blue - eyes type monsters .
while the finished film moved in a slightly edgier direction ( pictoral references on the walls of the production office included the princess bride ) , the original look for disney’s take on the rapunzel story was built around this painting by french painter jean - honoré fragonard . known for his hedonistic themes and chocolate - box cuteness , fragonard flourished in pre - revolutionary france but was all but forgotten for the century that followed the terror . it turns out paintings of flowers are instruments of aristocratic oppression , innit . still , that didn’t stop disney and its animators using this painting , in particular , to build their rapunzel story around . the only real difference is that they replaced the swing with some really , really long hair , and dressed their leading man in rather less girly clothing than was popular in france ' s ancien regime .


the wrestler is a 2008 american sports drama film co-produced and directed by darren aronofsky , written by robert d. siegel , and starring mickey rourke , marisa tomei , and evan rachel wood .

production began in january 2008 and fox searchlight pictures acquired rights to distribute the film in the u.s. ; it was released in a limited capacity on december 17 , 2008 , and was released nationwide on january 23 , 2009 .

it was released on dvd and blu-ray disc on april 21 , 2009 , in the united states .

rourke plays an aging professional wrestler who , despite his failing health and waning fame , continues to wrestle in an attempt to cling to the success of his 1980s heyday .

he also tries to mend his relationship with his estranged daughter and to find romance with a woman who works as a stripper .

the film received universal critical acclaim and won the golden lion award at the 65th venice international film festival , where it premiered .

film critic roger ebert called it one of the year 's best films , while rotten tomatoes reported that 98 % of critics gave the film positive reviews .

the success of the film revitalized the career of mickey rourke , who went on to receive a bafta award , a golden globe award , an independent spirit award and an academy award nomination for best actor .

the wrestler ( 2008 film )

all you need to know is that the wrestler is the best film of 2008 .
the wrestler is a film about an aging professional wrestler making a living playing small venues in the usa .
рестлер
( the wrestler ) 2008 ( music video ) / w . a . s . p . - crazy
the film appeared on many critics ' top ten lists of the best films of 2008 . [ 36 ] [ 37 ]
рестлер
( the wrestler ) 2008 ( music video ) / w . a . s . p . - crazy - youtube
the latest on what’s happening at the film society of lincoln center , dispatches from the new york film festival and exclusive content from film comment magazine .
the first film in the watchamania series will be the wrestler ( 2008 ) , darren aronofsky’s award - winning tale of a pro wrestler who abandons his daughter , plays a bunch of nintendo , dates a stripper and wrestles ernest ‘the cat’ miller . basically .
to find out more search ‘adrian film’ on facebook or follow the film on twitter @ filmadrian .
now in his late 70s , mr street ' s achievements range from a record deal and multiple autobiographic book releases , to helping design costumes for feature film the wrestler ( 2008 ) .
( reviewing “the wrestler” in the february issue of cahiers du cinéma , emmanuel burdeau also refers to gibson’s film . )
“the wrestler” closes the new york film festival on october 12th ; it will open in limited release on december 19th .
having just learned that the director of the wrestler is darren aranofsky , my interest in this film has shot up .
the film won the golden lion at the 65th venice international film festival and was nominated for two academy awards .
with all of the critiques from acclaimed film festivals peppered throughout the wrestler trailer , one gets the impression that the film is deep and its story focuses on characters rather than plot .
the wrestler takes place , as the title suggests , within the world of professional wrestling . with the original development of the film , director darren
become our fan on facebook , post your favorite nyff film on the wall , and you could win a pair of tickets to closing night film the wrestler , directed by darren aronofsky .
darren aronofsky on ' the wrestler ' director darren aronofsky talks about making a realistic film about a notoriously fake sport . his oscar - nominated film , starring mickey rourke as a professional wrestler well past his prime , will be released on dvd next week .
mickey rourke ' s sympathetic turn as randy ' the ram ' makes the wrestler much more than a standard sports film . by peter bradshaw
garbage wrestler : czw and roh regular necro butcher makes an appearance in the film , and he puts randy through hell in a hardcore match .
the wrestler was a good film . but for me and a few other people i know have seen it , its not top oscar material .
how do you make a realistic film about a notoriously
fake
sport ? that was the question darren aronofsky faced when he agreed to direct the wrestler , a movie starring mickey rourke as a gnarled professional wrestler whose glory days are gone .
with my previous investigation of film authenticity i examined the techniques used in the film saving private ryan . like most of the films that i will study , the issue of authenticity falls nicely within the boundaries of historical settings . this is simply because a historical film requires a reconstruction of its original settings . however , the term ‘authenticity’ does not just have to be confined to a period piece . issues of authenticity can also be valued within a contemporary setting . it is with the film the wrestler ( 2008 ,
for a down on his luck wrestler , randy the ram sure does win a lot .
the chance to play that poignant confusion is the real prize that rourke and tomei earn in the wrestler .
the documentary captures the wrestler’s real - life battles with drug and alcohol addiction and road to sobriety .
the latest on what ' s happening at the film society of lincoln center , dispatches from the new york film festival and exclusive content from film comment magazine . header : karen weeks ( design ) , susan sermoneta ( photography )
he was blackballed by the major wrestling promotions and hit bottom publicly in 2008 while wrestling for a small company in ohio .
feature film adrian — currently in pre - production — will dramatise the life and legacy of professional wrestler adrian street , who previously worked in beynon’s colliery in blaina .
darren aronofsky ' s filmmaking in the wrestler is the most subtle and nuanced he ' s ever done .
the wrestler is a 2008 american sports drama film directed by darren aronofsky , written by robert d . siegel , and starring mickey rourke , marisa tomei , and evan rachel wood . production began in january 2008 and fox searchlight pictures acquired rights to distribute the film in the u . s . ; [ 3 ] [ 4 ] it was released in a limited capacity on december 17 , 2008 and was released nationwide on january 23 , 2009 . it was released on dvd and blu - ray disc on april 21 , 2009 in the united states . it was released in the united kingdom on june 1 , 2009 . [ 5 ] aronofsky considers [ citation needed ] the wrestler a companion piece to his 2010 film , black swan , as both films feature a character with a demanding art .
stephanie mcmahon biography - facts , childhood , family life & achievements of businesswoman & wrestler .
if you ' ve seen darren aronofsky ' s oscar - nominated , golden globe - winning film the wrestler , you ' re likely aware that it features one of the smartest and most poignant , albeit brief , video game cameos in recent film .
? , part of the new york film festival , this saturday at 1pm .
great review of a brilliant film . rourke was robbed for the oscar here !
savage appeared in his first theatrical film in 2000 making an appearance as his macho man character in the movie ready to rumble where david arquette daydreams a sequence fighting savage at a gas station . savage ' s most famous film role was in the 2002 film spider - man as the wrestler bonesaw mcgraw ( based on the comics character crusher hogan ) .
the wrestler is a movie starring mickey rourke , marisa tomei , and evan rachel wood . a faded professional wrestler must retire , but finds his quest for a new life outside the ring a dispiriting struggle .
, this wrestler had his career completely destroyed and by a piece of wood of all things .
we are pleased that mickey rourke will be in attendance at wrestlemania to support the wwe superstars who support him and the film in which he stars , the wrestler ,
wwe officials explained .
in 2008 , wall - e became the most acclaimed animated film since 1995’s toy story , but it still missed out on a best picture nomination at the oscars . the number two film , the dark knight , also did not get nominated , which allowed slumdog millionaire ( # 3 ) to take the top prize .
looking for movie tickets ? enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing the wrestler near you .
you almost couldn’t get rourke for the film . how different do you think the film might’ve been with nicolas cage or another actor who doesn’t have the real - life parallels to the ram ?
what effect is the internet having on film criticism ? use the comments to have your say .
new film portal : 1 . hulu 2 . youtube screening room 3 . snagfilms
similarly grateful was infinity ward to have their ultra - popular shooter used in the film .
director darren aronofsky is known for his intense , psychological films — including 1998 ' s pi and 2000 ' s requiem for a dream . his 2008 film the wrestler stars mickey rourke as randy the ram , a wwe - style professional wrestler who is well past his prime . isolated from his family and living in poverty , the ram is forced to wrestle in small matches held at rec centers and veteran ' s halls . the film was nominated for two oscars — best actor , mickey rourke , and best supporting actress , marisa tomei .
there are a lot of movies from 2008 that i haven’t seen yet so i’m only going to make a list of five new releases .
the wrestling promoter character that artie auditioned for doesn’t appear much in the completed film . i remember the role being a little bit more prominent in the screenplay draft i had read before the film went into production .
peter sciretta : there was a very long period of time between requiem [ for a dream ] and trying to get the fountain off the ground . and now the wrestler is being billed almost as a come back film…
neither bird nor plane , mickey rourkes character is a choreographed pro wrestler who offers more entertainment than sport .
if his physical appearance is one sort of shock , the film is another . the wrestler is his first leading man role in almost two decades and it ' s a genuinely affecting story of a once - successful professional wrestler who is now at the end of the road . randy robinson has lost practically everything there is to lose .
a faded professional wrestler must retire , but finds his quest for a new life outside the ring a dispiriting struggle .
the film received universal critical acclaim and won the golden lion award in the 2008 venice film festival in august , where it premiered . film critic roger ebert called it one of the year ' s best films , while rotten tomatoes reported that 98 % of critics gave the film positive reviews . for his role , mickey rourke went on to receive a bafta award , a golden globe award , an independent spirit award and an academy award nomination for best actor . tomei also received an academy award nomination for best supporting actress .
the wrestler follows randy as a heart attack forces him to reassess his reckless life – inside , outside and after the ring .
the film has had its first major outing at the venice film festival only a couple of weeks before i meet him . it won the golden lion for best film and wim wenders , the president of the jury , said : ' this is for a film with a truly heartbreaking performance in every sense of the word . and if i say heartbreaking , you know i mean mickey rourke . '
as the film points out , wrestling may be fixed , but it certainly ain ' t fake . this may be a film , but it certainly ain ' t fake either .
mickey received a golden globe and a best actor oscar nomination for his work in the film .
spielberg - loving , spike lee–attacking critic armond white is the film world’s brother from another planet .
the wrestler is an undoubted triumph for aronofsky . this is no better demonstrated than the rehabilitating effect the film had on rourke . randy ‘the ram’ robinson is a role made for a jaded star who brings his own turbulent history to the character .
savage ' s memorable voice gave him voice acting roles for various television and film projects . he voiced the rogue alien wrestler
rasslor
in the dexter ' s laboratory shorts dial m for monkey . he also provided his voice in many other shows including the voice for
gorilla
in an episode of king of the hill and the voice of space ghost ' s grandfather in an episode of space ghost coast to coast . savage served as the voice of
the thug
, in disney ' s academy award nominated 2008 animated film bolt , which was his last theatrical film appearance . savage reprised the role in super rhino in 2009 for the short film featuring the cast of bolt .
new york magazine’s culture blog , vulture , posted a great piece yesterday by deadspin founder will leitch about darren aronofsky’s the wrestler , which closes the new york film festival on october 12 . among the highlights are meditations on hair metal , the surprising acting ability of some of the professional wrestlers who appear in the film , and the movie’s surprising dedication .
disney / pixar ' s robot love story
wall - e
found a home on many of the year end movie top ten lists for 2008 .
, the co - producer lasted a total of “35 days” . on a tight budget the crew would film the scenes away from the wrestling during the week . that left the weekend for the production team to use the live events to film the wrestling actions scenes .
a powerful , warts n all expose of the life of an aging wrestler in a career best performance from mickey rourke .
had previously toyed with the idea of setting the film as a period piece . the backdrop would be during the rise of the highly successful
director darren aronofsky says he almost made a documentary instead of the wrestler , and that affected his approach to the film .
i just sort of wanted to get back to grounding myself in reality ,
he says .
“this film is not only one of the year’s best ; it may well end up as the finest of 2008 . at the very least , it deserves consideration for best picture and best director , along with the expected oscar kudos for ledger . ” — peter howell , toronto star
™ and © twentieth century fox film corporation . all rights reserved . property of fox .
1 . the act of killing ( joshua oppenheimer , 2012 ) 2 . caché ( michael haneke , 2005 ) 3 . synecdoche , new york ( charlie kaufman , 2008 ) 4 . spirited away ( hayao miyazaki , 2001 ) 5 . wall - e ( andrew stanton , 2008 ) 6 . uncle boonmee who can recall his past lives ( apichatpong weerasethakul , 2010 ) 7 . lost in translation ( sofia coppola , 2003 ) 8 . talk to her ( pedro almodóvar , 2002 ) 9 . the wrestler ( darren aronofsky , 2008 ) 10 . boyhood ( richard linklater , 2014 )
i assume after the film ends , cena runs out and aa’s randy and the ayatollah on top of kane .
the most interesting aspect of the film is its depiction of the irreconcilable difference between someone ' s public and private personae .
the new target in iran ' s long - running grievance about its negative portrayal in popular western cinema is , the wrestler , a film directed by darren aronofsky and starring mickey rourke , due for release in the us on december 17 .
“the wrestler” is rated r ( under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian ) . it has fake bloodshed and real nudity .
comedian and new york times bestselling author artie lange admitted on the howard stern show yesterday that he auditioned for darren aronofsky ‘s the wrestler .
2 . the wrestler — who knew the sight of mickey rourke in a hairnet while tossing out deli meats could be such a joy .
top 5 vhs experiences of 2008 1 . “the hand that rocks the cradle” 2 . “the pelican brief” 3 . “breakdown” 4 . “home alone 2 : lost in new york” 5 . “double team”
i think it ' s something you ' ll see more of ,
denerstein added . in the case of the wrestler , the film critic says the references to the nes and call of duty 4 add a sort of poignancy , helping to make narrative leaps .
mickey rourke in
the wrestler
is one of the all - time exalted examples of an actor meeting a character and of each redeeming the other .
to be frank , no one wanted to finance the film with mickey involved . only one company in the entire film financing world agreed to do it , and at a number that was nearly impossible to get the film made . and i think most people didn’t think mickey rourke was sympathetic . there you have it .
remained strong earning an average of $ 10 , 427 in 171 theaters . the overall number one film ,
nominations were announced today . at first glance , no one film jumps out as the big player , but
prominent wrestling figures have commented on the movie . aronofsky remarked during an npr interview on wwe chairman vince mcmahon ' s feelings on the wrestler :
hume , also responsible for the wrestler ' s laboriously accurate title sequence , said that the film ' s producers and directors wanted that
classic video game
look and feel for wrestle jam , an effort that took weeks to create .
for most of the film , aronofsky’s camera trails behind randy , as though the wrestler is constantly performing his ring walk - out . it is part of a losing battle to move away from his wrestling persona and transition him back into the ordinary world .
the occasion is a screening of the film “the resurrection of jake the snake roberts , ” at 7 p . m . at villagio cinemas .
in regards to the wrestler , stern asks hogan if he was offered the lead in and hogan says yes but that he turned it down . the reason ?
andrzej wajda antonio campos ashes of time bamcinemafest benicio del toro brooklyn museum c . j . contino changeling che chopard chris chang clint eastwood contest darren aronofsky david fincher documentary evan davis facebook filmcatcher film comment film comment selects film criticism in crisis ? film society of lincoln center flickr godlis green screens happy go lucky in girum imus nocte et consumimur igni jim jarmusch kelly reichardt kent jones kevin lee ladies and gentlemen the fabulous stains laurent cantet manny farber martin scorsese mavericks and outsiders michael almereyda michel ciment mickey rourke mike leigh moma museum of modern art new directors / new films new york film festival new york jewish film festival olivier assayas oscar micheaux paradise podcast positif rendez - vous with french cinema required reading richard peña ronit waisbrod satyajit ray snapshots spanish cinema now steve mcqueen steven soderbergh susan sermoneta the class the film talk the wrestler tom treanor twitter views from the avant - garde walter reade walter reade theater waltz with bashir we live in public wendy and lucy wong kar wai young friends of film youtube
* all images and quotes taking directly from
the wrestler dvd , 2009 , all rights reserved to optimum releasing
, unless cited .
was the final film in the $ 10 , 000 club with an average of $ 10 , 713 in five theaters .
top 5 new releases of 2008 1 . “paranoid park” 2 . “zidane : a 21st century portrait” 3 . “let the right one in” 4 . “the pleasure of being robbed” 5 . “silent light”
clint mansell , the composer for aronofsky ' s previous films , π , requiem for a dream , and the fountain , reprised his role as composer for the wrestler . slash played the guitars on the score . a new bruce springsteen song , also titled
the wrestler
, plays over the film ' s closing credits . [ 15 ] springsteen wrote the song while on tour in europe after receiving a letter and a copy of the script from rourke .
shekhar kapur is an indian film director , producer and storyteller . he gained global recognition with the film bandit queen ( 1994 ) , which won the national film award for best feature film in hindi and the filmfare critics award for best movie and best direction . he also introduced cate blanchett to the world in his two historical biopics of queen elizabeth , which were nominated for seven academy awards , and won five bafta awards , including best film . he has recently directed and produced a captivating series exploring the life of the young genius , william shakespeare , for an american broadcaster .
a mining museum in torfaen could become immortalised on the big screen as part of the life story of a brynmawr - born ' glam rock ' wrestler .
character as himself : all of the wrestlers in the film are playing themselves and their real gimmicks , aside from rourke and the ayatollah .
he’s more of a ’70s wrestler , but i was a very big fan of ivan putsky , “the polish power , ” being an aronofsky .
he was also mesmerised by the
larger - than - life characters
he saw in american magazines and was determined to become a wrestler .
you can catch the full documentary below , and also on tavernise’s vimeo page , where—in addition to an extra 30 - minute chapter on “the fountain” entitled “ access to excess ”—he’s hosted a 42 - minute bts documentary on “ the wrestler , ” the director’s intimate 2008 film starring mickey rourke . as befitting the stripped - down aesthetic of that film , the doc “ within the ring ” is raw , filmed under noticeably frigid conditions , and , in a fantastic sight , contains aronofsky attempting to jump over the top rope of a wrestling ring to shaky results . sit back and watch it all below .
the application of professional wrestlers would throw up similar results to the live crowd aspect of this film . apart from rourke’s character ,
crazy heart is yet another “performer on the skids” story , but one with a killer soundtrack and masterful acting by jeff bridges . but the film lacks the gut - level truthfulness the less accomplished mickey rourke brought to every frame of the wrestler . crazy heart . a film directed by scott cooper , based on a novel by thomas cobb . at ritz at the bourse , fourth and ludlow sts . ( 215 ) 925 - 7900 or urltoken , also bryn mawr film institute , ambler theater , and local chains .
“slumdog millionaire” “wall - e” “the dark knight” “waltz with bashir” “the wrestler” “synecdoche , new york” “changeling” – yes , i realize i am the only person who liked this movie . “man on wire” “rachel getting married” “the wire” ( season 5 ) – when a large number of film stalwarts disappear from a major film festival to watch a tv show , it deserves to be on this list .
“for your art - house pleasure and discomfort , here’s one of the most talked - about film - festival triumphs of 2008 , a disturbingly avid re - creation of the last six weeks in the life and slow , self - imposed wasting of irish hunger striker bobby sands . ” — lisa schwarzbaum , entertainment weekly
director darren aronofsky says he almost made a documentary instead of the wrestler , and that affected his approach to the film .
i just sort of wanted to get back to grounding myself in reality ,
he says . scott gries / getty images hide caption
as the short film columnist for indiewire , i’m always favorably inclined toward feature films made by directors who have a short film credit or two on their imdb page . if you liked these movies , check out the filmmakers’ shorter work .
best film ( as per usual , i broke the rules . i simply couldn’t get it down to 10 . )
the story of the wrestler concerns randy ' the ram ' robinson ; a washed - up professional wrestler who continues to cling on to his career despite his failing health with the hope of reliving the glory of his prime days . but when his condition worsens , he tries to find an alternate career outside the ring only to struggle with it…
maet : why wall - e doesn ' t get my vote for best film of 2008 is because pixar still handles timely themes with the young and not the mature in mind . of course they do it better than anyone else , but the potential of the film is undermined when it ' s still expected to perform within the confines of the genre and cater to the under 12 audience . i would ' ve loved to see an alternate ending on the blu - ray though .
reviewed at venice film festival ( competition ) , september 5 , 2017 . running time : 120 min .
danny boyles first feature , shallow grave , earned him the alexander korda award for outstanding british film at the bafta awards , as well as a host of other accolades including best director at the san sebastian film festival , the empire award for best director and best british film and the london critics circle film award for best british newcomer . boyles second feature , trainspotting , is one of the highest grossing british films of all time . the critically acclaimed film won four empire awards including best director and best film and was nominated for a bafta alexander korda award . in 2002 boyle made the smash hit horror film 28 days later , which earned more than $ 80 million worldwide . the film earned boyle a saturn award for best horror film from the academy of science fiction , fantasy and horror films . boyles other feature films include millions starring james nesbit , alex etel and lewis mcgibbon , the beach , starring leonardo di caprio , a life less ordinary , starring ewan mcgregor and cameron diaz , alien love triangle and sunshine starring cillian murphy . slumdog millionaire is his eighth international theatrically released film and recently won the people ' s choice award at the 2008 toronto international film festival . his work in television includes producing alan clarks controversial elephant , and directing strumpet , vacuuming completely nude in paradise and the series mr . wroes virgins for which he received a bafta nomination . boyles career started in the theatre with howard barkers victory , howard brentons the genius and edward bonds saved , which won the time out award . boyle has also directed five productions for the royal shakespeare company .
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans . it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
darren aronofsky : the wrestler was my idea . when i graduated film school in ’92 / ’93 , one day i wrote a list of ten ideas for films in my diary . and one of them was called the wrestler . when the fountain shut down the first time i started to think about it . i knew i wanted to do a wrestling picture . i teamed up my producer on this film , scott franklin , who was a wrestling fan , a bigger wrestling fan than me , and he loved the idea . he’s also a writer .
1 . synecdoche , new york ( charlie kaufman , 2008 ) 2 . eternal sunshine of the spotless mind ( michel gondry , 2004 ) 3 . django unchained ( quentin tarantino , 2012 ) 4 . the grand budapest hotel ( wes anderson , 2014 ) 5 . alpha dog ( nick cassavetes , 2006 ) 6 . her ( spike jonze , 2013 ) 7 . young adult ( jason reitman , 2011 ) 8 . the dark knight ( christopher nolan , 2008 ) 9 . tropic thunder ( ben stiller , 2008 ) 10 . children of men ( alfonso cuarón , 2006 )
there ' s nothing fake about the action scenes in the wrestler , though . aronofsky says all the wrestling scenes were shot with real wrestlers in front of live wrestling audiences .
although he called time on his career last year after around 15 , 000 wrestling matches , the former wrestler and his family will be closely involved with the production .
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well , there’s just a lot of sadness . these wrestlers aren’t organized . they have no union , no pension and no insurance . you meet wrestler after wrestler who sold out madison square garden ten years ago , basically running on fumes today . there’s a lot of drama there .
the video game randy and his child neighbor play in both the trailer and the movie was created especially for the film and was fully playable . the game features similar graphics to the original
mickey rourke has received critical acclaim for his comeback role in “the wrestler , ” where he plays a former pro wrestling legend who falls on hard times .
that track , titled
8 - bit wrestler ,
is barely audible in the final cut , but feinberg has made a version available on youtube .
( combat zone wrestling ) respectively . the final match of the film does take place within a major wrestling organisation , which is that of
after mickey rourke’s stunning work as randy “the ram” robinson in “the wrestler , ” it is hard to imagine anyone else playing the tortured sportsman – but the role was first offered to nicolas cage .
missed out on : “my winnipeg , ” “synecdoche new york , “mr . lonely , ” “the wrestler , ” “waltz with bashir” and some others… my bad .
brush up on the issues in this extensive critical symposium on film criticism in the age of the internet from cineaste magazine , featuring our own kent jones .
the wrestler has the intimacy of a fly - on - the - wall documentary . no stunt men were harmed - - or used - - in the fight sequences . but the drama makes for vibrant art .
note :
the wrestler
is one of the year ' s best films . it wasn ' t on my
best films
list for complicated and boring reasons .
well , we played “sweet child o’ mine , ” i don’t know , maybe three or four hundred times during the course of the film . mickey’s very good friends with axl , and axl was instrumental in helping us to secure “sweet child o’ mine” for the climax of the film .
these films may have opened new york and / or los angeles in 2007 but not until 2008 in most of the country . they belong on the above list : “4 months , 3 weeks , 2 days” “the band’s visit” “the counterfeiters” “the diving bell and the butterfly” “jar city”
aronofsky also achieves an authentic atmosphere in the variety of wrestling venues he showcases . his decision to cast working independent wrestlers and to film at real independent wrestling shows was wise and gives the film a gritty documentary feel . the wrestler also does a wonderful job depicting the backstage camaraderie among randy ' s fellow wrestlers , the eclectic blend of muscle heads , dreamers , athletes , and artists who serve as an unlikely support system for rourke ' s character .
the wrestler is a 2008 drama film written by robert d . siegel and directed by darren aronofsky . the story follows randy
the ram
robinson ( mickey rourke ) , a professional wrestler 20 years past his prime , working match to match and part - time at a supermarket to pay his bills . after a violent hardcore match , randy has a heart attack and is forced to retire and tries to find something meaningful in his life beyond wrestling ; his friendship with a stripper named cassidy ( marisa tomei ) and a new reason to attempt reconciliation with his daughter stephanie ( evan rachel wood ) . when his old wrestling nemesis
the ayatollah
( played by former wcw wrestler ernest
the cat
miller ) proposes a rematch on the anniversary of their biggest match , randy has to decide if his life in the ring is worth the risk of death .
that’s certainly true and it’s not the first time he’s made the claim . ( hogan also says it’s not the first major film he turned down , claiming he was offered the lead in highlander as well as little john in robin hood : men in tights . ) however , the director of the wrestler , darren aronofsky , officially denied hogan’s claim .
in the wrestler , actor scott spiegel plays a steroids dealer . real life would mimic art , as he was arrested a few short months later for steroids possession .
i told them ( the other miners ) i wanted to be a wrestler , but they laughed and said , ' you ' re too small ' .
in the new york film festival press conference , rourke called you a “tough” director , but you seemed pretty opposed to that word .
to chart this week ; however , those three new releases all reach the top six . this includes a new number one film ,
as the script enters its final stages , university of wales graduate joann randles is hoping to use the big pit national coal museum as a location to recreate the wrestler ' s early years ‘down the pit’ .
afa anoa ' i , a former professional wrestler , was hired to train rourke for his role . anoa ' i brought his two main trainers , jon trosky and tom farra , to work with rourke for eight weeks . both trainers also have parts in the film . [ 13 ]
todd mccarthy , of variety , said ,
rourke creates a galvanizing , humorous , deeply moving portrait that instantly takes its place among the great , iconic screen performances .
[ 25 ] ben mankiewicz , from at the movies , said ,
to put it simply , this is the best film i ' ve seen this year .
[ 26 ] le monde praised the film for melding european film style with an american plot , and stated that “mickey rourke’s performance in ‘the wrestler’ is a continuous celebration of the burdens and splendors of the profession of performance . ” [ 27 ] ( one other french film critic , philippe azoury , praised its portrayal of
the american heartland
as what he viewed as a bleak wasteland ) . [ 28 ] ) although the wrestler was not technically in roger ebert ' s
best films
list , he includes a note at the bottom of his review :
' the wrestler ' is one of the year ' s best films . it wasn ' t on my ' best films ' list for complicated and boring reasons .
[ 29 ]
lange is currently developing a wonder years - like television show concept with frank sebastiano ( beer league ) for comedy central based on his # 1 new york times bestselling memoir too fat to fish . the wrestler hits limited theaters on wednesday , december 17th . click here to see when the wrestler is coming to your town / city .
i was a champion in every weight division and won four world titles . i don ' t know any other wrestler who has done that .
i have no idea . for me , if it’s a painting , the actor’s the poet . it would’ve been a completely different movie , so who knows what it would’ve been with another actor . mickey rourke’s in every frame of the film , so the film is mickey rourke , you know ?
a powerful portrait of a battered dreamer , ex - professional wrestler randy
the ram
robinson ( mickey rourke ) , who despite himself and the odds stacked against him , lives to be a hero once again in the only place he considers home — inside the ring . the wrestler is the winner of 2 golden globes® including best actor mickey rourke and best original song by bruce springsteen .
sacrifice 2008 provided a particularly bad example : aj styles attempted a top rope splash on bg james , but missed by a mile and landed on his face even though james didn ' t move out of the way .
the official trailer for darren aronofsky ' s new film the wrestler , starring mickey rourke and marisa tomei . director darren aronofsky presents a powerful portrait of a battered dreamer , who despite himself and the odds stacked against him , lives to be a hero once again in the only place he considers home inside the ring . now playing in theaters everywhere !
mickey rourke is very watchable but i found the whole film a bit depressing . i felt like i ' d seen it all before .
after finding her efforts to be involved in the industry blocked , she decided to find a character on which to base her own film .
curiously , you resurrect mickey rourke’s career . one of the most wildly anticipated films of 2008 , aronofsky’s humanist drama “the wrestler” will close this year’s new york film festival . but even before it officially opens in december , the oscar buzz for rourke as past - his - prime wrestler randy “the ram” robinson is already starting to be deafening ( and rightly so ) . shot with handheld veritã© techniques that put you right up in rourke’s fascinating mug , the film chronicles the dreary decline of a once - famous ’80s ring legend as a heart attack forces him into retirement and existential crisis . with his ridiculous blonde extensions and overuse of both tanning beds and steroids , “the ram” is a tragic anti - hero to root for , especially as he attempts to connect with a fading stripper ( marisa tomei ) and his estranged daughter ( evan rachel wood ) . i spoke with aronofsky about his tremendously entertaining new film , how axl rose helped out , and why he couldn’t hit rourke in the head on - set .
darren aronofsky is the director of pi , requiem for a dream and the fountain . his latest film won the golden lion at the venice film festival , and was bought by fox searchlight the morning after it premiered at the toronto film festival ( you can read my review here ) . earlier this week , i was granted the chance to sit down with aronofsky for a half hour interview . below is the first part of the interview . we will be running the next part tomorrow , and the third part on friday . enjoy .
match some of this year’s university - trained new york film festival know - it - alls — that is , directors — with the school he / she attended . no prize for this one , just the satisfaction of knowing there was potential in all those years of film school .
the wrestler has received universal critical acclaim . rotten tomatoes reported that 98 % of critics gave the film positive write - ups based upon a sample of 215 , and gave it a golden tomato for best drama of 2008 . [ 22 ] at metacritic , which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics , the film has received an average score of 81 , based on 36 reviews , signifying
universal acclaim
. [ 23 ] alonso duralde , of msnbc , said ,
rourke ' s work transcends mere stunt - casting ; his performance is a howl of pain that seems to come from a very real place .
[ 24 ]
5 . wrestlers can act . anyone who knows anything about professional wrestling knows that it’s about as “fake” as a razor blade to the head . ( which we see . ) but who knew these guys were so natural on film ? ernest “the cat” miller is a former wwf wrestler who , in this movie , plays “the ayatollah , ” a faux - arab wrestler from the eighties . the character now sells used cars and is fat and happy in retirement . miller has three scenes , two of which involve no wrestling at all , and he’s funny , quiet , and dead - on perfect . we had no idea he was a wrestler in real life until we checked imdb .
this film made me appreciate and kind of get back into pro wrestling , brings it down to a human level . absolutely adore
in addition to
wall - e ,
another well - reviewed summer blockbuster , christopher nolan ' s
the dark knight ,
proved popular with the nation ' s critics . and the acclaimed stage to screen transfers of doubt and frost / nixon made many of the critics top choice lists as well . below you ' ll find a collected round - up of the various film critics choices for 2008 .
didn ' t the academy change the rules a few years back ? i think a song must be part of the actual film to be nominated - songs over the end credits no longer qualify . or am i mis - remembering ? i thought it just had to be written specifically for the film . anyone got the inside track on that ?
aronofsky ' s black swan explored the world of the ' high arts ' and as such it is a perfect companion piece to the wrestler , a masterful depiction of dedication and self destruction in the realm of the ' low arts ' .
was the only film to reach $ 10 , 000 on the per theater chart with $ 13 , 978 in one theater during its second weekend of release .
is a modern movie miracle . aglow in the wonderment of time , the film captures the poetry and pain of life with such originality that audiences may not want to awake from the dream the film casts upon them . working from a screenplay by eric roth , david fincher clocks in again as one of the most exciting voices in american film , and his extraordinary use of technology , often the enemy of performance , serves only to enhance brad pitt ' s brilliant turn in the title role . pitt ' s chemistry with cate blanchett creates one of film history ' s most powerful screen romances , reminding us all of the preciousness of each passing moment .
the wrestler director : darren aronofsky stars : mickey rourke , marisa tomei , evan rachel wood ( full cast ) studio : fox searchlight pictures the plot : with his battle scars and failing heart , retired professional wrestler randy
the ram
robinson ( rourke ) jumps back into the squared cirle , climbing his way up the independent - circuit ladder , with his eyes on a showdown with his longtime rival .
in the course of his review , le monde ’s thomas sotinel offers a clear take on darren aronofsky’s movie : “mickey rourke’s performance in ‘the wrestler’ is a continuous celebration of the burdens and splendors of the profession of performance . ”
the women film critics circle is an association of 46 women film critics and scholars from around the country , who are involved in print , radio , online and tv broadcast media . they came together five years ago to form the first women critics organization ever in the country , in the belief that women’s perspectives and voices in film criticism need to be recognized fully . wfcc also prides itself on being the most culturally and racially diverse critics group in the country by far , and best reflecting the diversity of movie audiences .
6 . bruuuuuuce . expect to see the boss on oscar night . bruce springsteen’s song “the wrestler , ” written exclusively for the film , plays over the closing credits , and it’s straight from the ghost of tom joad — aching , sad , gorgeous . the song’s so good , you almost expect sean penn to write another movie based off it , like with the indian runner and bruce’s “highway patrolman . ”
stephanie mcmahon is an american businesswoman and a professional wrestler . check out this biography to know about her childhood , family life , achievements and fun facts about her life .
the wrestler , robert d . siegel ' s heart - wrenching tale of randy
the ram
robinson - played by mickey rourke - a former professional wrestler far past his prime , is layered with metaphor . that includes metaphors like the ram ' s foil cassidy , an aging , single mother stripper—played by marisa tomei—as much a physical fantasy as randy . later , through randy robinson ' s doomed stint as part - time butcher - cum - performer , siegel and aronofsky drag the viewer through the titular wrestler ' s struggle with lost fame , estranged family , and the physical suffering that the ram must endure .
there wasn’t really a film that i could definitively go to the mat for this year . but there were more than ten that i really enjoyed .
the credit for his turnaround goes in part to his film co - star , friend and fellow former grappler “diamond” dallas page , who also will attend the screening .
the film won the golden lion ( top prize ) at this year ' s berlin film festival , and by most accounts , it was only a festival bylaw that prevented rourke from taking the acting prize as well . i definitely look forward to it . though if you were to ask who the first castmember of diner to earn an oscar nomination would be , how many would ' ve guessed mickey ? isn ' t the top prize in berlin the golden bear ? i think the gold lion is the venice film festival .
predictable as it is , this sad , strong beast of a film keeps us pinned to the mat with the strength of its compassion and the overpowering force of its central performance .
mad bull ( 1977 ) starring the dad from webster . and the film that inspired the hart / austin mania 13 double turn . this is made - for - tv gold .
former wwe and tna world heavyweight champion mick foley enjoyed the film , saying :
within five [ minutes ] , i had completely forgotten i was looking at mickey rourke . that guy on the screen simply was randy ' the ram ' robinson .
[ 33 ] wwe hall of famer
rowdy
roddy piper was said to have been highly emotional after watching a screening of the film . aronofsky said of piper :
he loved it . he broke down and cried in mickey ' s arms , so he was psyched that this story was finally told .
[ 34 ] insights on the film from roddy piper and other former pro wrestlers can be seen in fox searchlight pictures ' s
wrestler round table
, which was included in the blu - ray version of the film . [ 35 ]
animated features never get a nod for best picture because they are still treated as second rate film ( god knows why though since pixar usually spends about four years making each film ) . i liked wall - e , and if any animated feature does deserve a nod and / or win for best picture , wall - e is certainly it ( considering all animated films ever , not just from this year ) . why wall - e doesn ' t get my vote for best film of 2008 is because pixar still handles timely themes with the young and not the mature in mind . of course they do it better than anyone else , but the potential of the film is undermined when it ' s still expected to perform within the confines of the genre and cater to the under 12 audience . i would ' ve loved to see an alternate ending on the blu - ray though .
had the best per theater average of any film so far this year , pulling in an outstanding $ 220 , 000 in 4 theaters for an average of $ 54 , 798 . any doubts about the film ' s ability to expand wide should be greatly reduced after that . opening in second place was
“this haunting phantasmagoria of a film — comic , singular , surreal — is not only something no one but the canadian director could have made , it’s also a film no one else would have even wanted to make . which is the heart of its appeal . ” — kenneth turan , los angeles times
“ballast strikes me as one of the few american pictures of 2008 to say what it wants to say , visually and narratively , about a specific situation and part of the country , in a way that transcends regional specifics . ” — michael phillips , chicago tribune