When Amblin Partners boss Steven Spielberg — who evidently knows a thing or two about making war movies — first read Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns’ script for 1917, he gave the filmmakers some simple feedback: “People won’t be able to breathe.” Set on 6 April 1917, the story follows two British soldiers, reserved Schofield (George MacKay) and cheeky chappie Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman), on a perilous mission to deliver a letter that will call off an attack and save 1,600 lives, including Blake’s brother.
It’s a taut, thriller-like premise that honours the sacrifices made by a generation. Yet what Spielberg responded to also lay in the execution. As conveyed in the script, Mendes plays out the action in real-time and as if in one continuous shot. “The reason for doing it like that is to make the barrier between the audience and the characters as invisible as possible,” says Mendes. “The way into the movie is very simple, very direct.” Even for the director of an Academy Award winner (American Beauty), two James Bond films (Skyfall, Spectre) and that one where Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet shout a lot (Revolutionary Road), it has proven the filmmaking challenge of his life.
“Whatever happens to the movie,” Mendes says, “the experience of it was like nothing else I’ve ever done.”
THE IDEA
Bu hikaye Empire Australasia dergisinin January 2020 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Empire Australasia dergisinin January 2020 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Out Of The Cage
From the ashes of Suicide Squad has risen something fresh, bold and exciting: birds of prey. Inside the first-ever female-ensemble superhero film
The Master Of Suspense
With a string of dazzling, high-concept thrillers, bong joon ho has drawn comparisons to hitchcock. But his films also have a strong social message, and his latest, parasite, is no exception
Wonder Woman Swings Into The '80s
Director Patty Jenkins on setting Diana Prince loose in the era of excess
The Many Parts Of Martin Lawrence
As the comedian makes a bigscreen comeback, he talks us through his greatest roles
HIS NUMBER'S UP
AFTER 14 YEARS, THE LONGEST TENURE OF ANY BOND, DANIEL CRAIG IS ABOUT TO HANG UP HIS MARTINI GLASS AND WALTHER PPK. EMPIRE TRACKS 007 ACROSS THE GLOBE, FROM LONDON TO JAMAICA AND NEW YORK, TO BRING YOU THE ULTIMATE INTEL ON NO TIME TO DIE. AND HIS EMOTIONAL FAREWELL...
THE FALL GUYS
In 2011, Zack Stentz and Ashley Edward Miller were the hottest new screenwriting team in Hollywood. Then they disappeared. Eight years later, they tell EMPIRE their cautionary tale; revealing the tough reality of a writer's life Hollywood
Buddy Hell
The last blockbuster to be released in the 1980s, Tango & Cash seemed like a no-brainer: a buddy-cop team-up for two of Hollywood’s biggest stars. But it didn’t take long for the wheels to spectacularly come off
BLAZING a TRAIL
Queen & Slim IS A ROAD MOVIE, A TENDER ROMANCE AND AN UNFLINCHING LOOK AT WHAT IT MEANS TO BE BLACK IN 21ST CENTURY AMERICA. EMPIRE ASSEMBLES ITS WRITER, DIRECTOR AND TWO STARS FOR A FRANK, FREEWHEELING CONVERSATION ABOUT WHY IT NEEDED TO BE MADE
BATTLE PLANS
HOW SAM MENDES AND TEAM TURNED WORLD WAR I DRAMA 1917INTO A REAL-TIME, ONE-TAKE WONDER
An Oscar-winning director. The world's biggest pop star. A classic West End musical. Judi Dench with a tail. The biggest gamble of the year
Ever since the trailer dropped the world has been mesmerized by Cats. We journey deep inside the maddest, milkiest film of 2019
