Sanchez wrote:Got my 3rd viewing tomorrow most likely, and I haven't read 80% of this thread since I saw it so late. So, I need some input. What are some cool, little things I should look for? Stuff with the storylines, small details in the cinematography or other stuff I might have missed? I basically need all the Caine moments.
I could probably mention so many things, but you probably already know most of them.
More of a general thing, but pay attention to the blending between narratives in the middle of a single scene. I absolutely loved how Nolan and van Hoytema were able to transition things like going from the water rising in the Dutch trawler to the water rising in Collins' plane. Most beats really just seem to click there like that.
Also, not that it's not noticed when you watch it, but anticipate the moment when the music just stops playing when the three RAF planes break off their pattern (close to the beginning of the film).
Another shot I like is when Farrier is flying behind the plane that hits the minesweeper and the water shoots up on Farrier's plane, and you get the streaks of water going across his windshield.
Probably also paid attention to this the first time, but when the first round of bombers come by in the beginning of the film, watch how many soldiers don't get up. It's sad as you begin by expecting they'll all come up, and many do not.
I don't really know what else could say. I could go all over the place with this, but I think we've talked pretty much everything dry heh.
Some things I noticed on my 3rd viewing:
(Keep in mind that I’m deaf and 2/3 of my viewings were without captions, those 2 viewings were in 70mm and caption devices only work with digital systems, so I’m sorry if I point out something that was made obvious by the dialogue.)
I’m not using spoiler tags because this thread has “SPOILERS” in the title and the film is in its 3rd week of release.
-when Tommy finds Gibson, he is burying the soldier, there’s a close up of the dead soldier’s foot, the very next shot is Gibson tying his shoe. This is an early hint that Gibson is a faker, implying he had just stolen the dead soldier’s uniform.
-Tommy, Gibson, and Alex are under the mole, an officer tells them to come up and board the docked destroyer, Tommy and Gibson quickly dunk themselves in the water to give the impression that they had just been pulled from the water instead of hiding under the mole completely dry for however long, trying to jump the queue and sneak on a ship.
Also, you can look for not only visual clues, but audio clues as well.
My favorite little detail is when Farrier towards the middle of the film decides to go after the Heinkel, and he looks down and sees the sinking Dutch vessel where Tommy and the rest are jumping out from. Later towards the end of the film when we see that scene from the perspective of Tommy and co., we see them escape the sinking boat. At this very moment, you can hear the sound of the Spitfire flying above them, but they never show it, you can only hear it. Nice little detail, I'd say!
Nicewatch wrote:Some things I noticed on my 3rd viewing:
(Keep in mind that I’m deaf and 2/3 of my viewings were without captions, those 2 viewings were in 70mm and caption devices only work with digital systems, so I’m sorry if I point out something that was made obvious by the dialogue.)
I’m not using spoiler tags because this thread has “SPOILERS” in the title and the film is in its 3rd week of release.
-when Tommy finds Gibson, he is burying the soldier, there’s a close up of the dead soldier’s foot, the very next shot is Gibson tying his shoe. This is an early hint that Gibson is a faker, implying he had just stolen the dead soldier’s uniform.
-Tommy, Gibson, and Alex are under the mole, an officer tells them to come up and board the docked destroyer, Tommy and Gibson quickly dunk themselves in the water to give the impression that they had just been pulled from the water instead of hiding under the mole completely dry for however long, trying to jump the queue and sneak on a ship.
1. Standard 70 mm or IMAX 70 mm?
2. How to find movie showings with captions?
3. Yeah, I love the "are we in this?" look that Tommy gives Gibson in that dunking scene.
Nicewatch wrote:
-when Tommy finds Gibson, he is burying the soldier, there’s a close up of the dead soldier’s foot, the very next shot is Gibson tying his shoe. This is an early hint that Gibson is a faker, implying he had just stolen the dead soldier’s uniform.
Maybe I am gullible, but it actually made me think Gibson was exchanging his soiled/wet/ruined clothes with a dead soldier's better clothing. I have seen other war movies (and other genres) where someone steals a dead man's shoes because their own are ruined, or steals a dead man's coat because they are cold. Aneurin has such a big-eyed innocent face.
Re your hearing - I am surprised cinemas don't have some kind of caption device for deaf people (like a handheld display or glasses that would overlay captions on the screen).
Nicewatch wrote:
-when Tommy finds Gibson, he is burying the soldier, there’s a close up of the dead soldier’s foot, the very next shot is Gibson tying his shoe. This is an early hint that Gibson is a faker, implying he had just stolen the dead soldier’s uniform.
Maybe I am gullible, but it actually made me think Gibson was exchanging his soiled/wet/ruined clothes with a dead soldier's better clothing. I have seen other war movies (and other genres) where someone steals a dead man's shoes because their own are ruined, or steals a dead man's coat because they are cold. Aneurin has such a big-eyed innocent face.
I don't say this much, but you are underthinking it.
Gibson's name isn't Gibson. It's likely something French, say Pierre. He is trying to get off the mole, and being French isn't much helping. He took British Gibson's clothes. Whether he killed him or found a dead man is up in the air (though I believe it's more likely the latter, and I would like to believe as much as well).
Maybe his clothes were also wet/ruined in the process, but there is a reason he took a British soldier's clothing and not a French soldier's clothing.
How did you feel about Gibson? I have seen many people say his death was very sad, but also some who felt like the movie was trying to make the viewer dislike him. For being a coward and may or may not killing the British guy, as Alex suggests.
I refuse to believe, even for a brief moment, that Gibson could've killed the soldier he buried. He just didn't have the look of person who would do something like that, if his own survival was his only goal, to the point he could kill a soldier from an Allied country, he certainly wouldn't have bothered opening the ship's door. His only "mistake" was getting overly scared and taking an extra step by trying fake an identity to run. Certainly not the worst thing someone theoretically could've done on that beach.
And I'm not sure how people could've thought the movie tried to make the audience dislike him. I thought it was pretty much a given the whole band hiding in that little ship were a bunch of (varying degrees) cowards. It's absolutely something people did and would do again under similar circumstances.
I personally don't think Gibson killed him either, and I also think we were meant to feel sympathy for Gibson. I was surprised that some think the movie showed him in more of a bad lighting (unfortunately i cant seem to find the tumblr post where I read it again). But people often interpret things very differently and that's interesting.
I don't think for a second Chris was trying to make us dislike Gibson. It was just presented as what it was: a young, scared soldier that was trying to survive. He's purposefully linked him to Tommy from the beginning. They both used the stretcher and they both submerged themselves to pass as Highlanders. How would Gibson be any more of a coward than Tommy? Also, Alex is a coward as well. He orders around for people to check if the water's come and to plug the holes in the boat, but he doesn't have the initiative of doing it himself. They're all presented as equally scared, except Farrier, obviously. The look on Collins' face when the water reaches his neck...
Also, I don't know how much English Gibson is supposed to understand, but he's also with Tommy, hiding below the mole, when the commander says that Churchill is PUBLICLY keen on saving the French but privately less so.
