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Trailer (http://artistviewent.com/Details.aspx?id=0cacdc50-323d-e411-88c5-d4ae527c3b65)
Release Date: TBD
Starring: Brett Cullen, Cody Kasch, Elizabeth Rice, Gilles Marini, Johann Urb, Ryan Merriman
Directed by: Eric Colley
Written by: Me & Hallie Shepherd
Premise: Shortly after D-Day, three American soldiers and two Army Corps nurses are stranded behind enemy lines. They take a high-ranking German officer as their prisoner and try to orchestrate an escape.
watched the trailer three times and i want to watch the entire movie. that's called a fact. excited for you
That was exhilarating! Although I didn't learn much more about the story, there sure was some cool shit going on! Looking forward to finding out the motivations behind said cool shit! Congrats, proud of you like you were my own son!
Yeah, it was hard to grasp the story, but that is some incredible production value you guys have there! Can't wait to see the full thing. How did you get this project going? Did you have the script and then approach someone to direct or did you know each other already? Juicy details, bring 'em on!
So, short story long, Eric Colley and Hallie Shepherd are good friends of mine, whom I've worked on several smaller projects with in the past. Back around April of last year, I got a random text from Hallie asking me to start brainstorming ideas for a World War II film. Apparently they had gotten hooked up with this guy named Tino Struckmann, who's made a handful of low-budget war movies over the past few years.
Tino had a few very useful connections. First, the distribution company, Artist View Entertainment, which we were able to work with right from the ground floor on the understanding that as long as we delivered a quality product and didn't go totally off the rails, they would be our guys at the end of the process, making sure the movie got to where people could see it and our investors could make their money back. Second was a guy in Alabama who is one of the country's largest collectors of World War II military equipment, including multiple tanks, jeeps, transport vehicles, and a variety of artillery, and who also owns a rather large property on which he lets war re-enactors come in and do their thing a few times a year. The third was the re-enactment groups themselves, whom Tino had close relationships with, and whom we ended up using extensively as both background extras and as some of the smaller featured roles.
So with an understanding of what we would have available to us and what our limitations would be, we came up with the basic plot about a handful of soldiers and Army nurses who are captured while trying to evacuate a field hospital, and after an ambush of the truck transporting them to a POW camp, are left stranded behind enemy lines with no communications and a German officer as their hostage. The three of us hammered out an outline over Thai food one evening, I went home and wrote the first draft of the script in a little over two weeks, and then we spent the next five months revising and fundraising. After some frustrating setbacks trying to wrangle investors, we finally hit our target in September, about a week before our deadline to be able to cast and shoot the film that year.
That done, Eric and Hallie went down to LA and started taking meetings with actors and agents. The script was fortunately well-received, and we were able to garner interest from some actors we were really excited about, and many were willing to do the film for very little money, which allowed us to round out the cast with a greater number of recognizable actors than we expected. Some were primarily TV actors looking to add to their film credits, others, Ryan Merriman in particular, just thought it would be fun to do a war movie.
Our most invaluable resource through this stage was Brett Cullen, whom Eric and Hallie have been friends with for several years. He originally came on board just as a producer, with no intention of acting in the movie (though the part he ended up playing was entirely written with him in mind). He's been around for forever and knows everybody, so when it came to filling out the roles, he not only was able to make suggestions and provide input, but he also managed to do a little friendly convincing to push people over the top. And after going through a laundry list of other actors who ultimately would have been our consolation prize, we were finally able to convince him to play the character we always intended for him to play.
The shooting schedule was insanely ambitious: 12 days to shoot a 95 page script with multiple action set-pieces, and quite frankly, no possibility of going back for pickups if we missed something the first time through. The Alabama weather gods were largely favorable to us, as rain only became a real issue on two of the shooting days, and one rainstorm in particular we were able to use in our favor to add some nice atmosphere to an important scene.
Ultimately, shooting constantly with two RED Epics, we got everything we needed in those 12 days. There were certainly concessions that had to be made as a result of the short timeframe (and of course the limited budget), but to the credit of everyone involved, those concessions rarely show up onscreen in the finished film. Amazingly, the scenes we felt we were giving the shortest shrift to onset ended up being my favorite scenes in the movie. An enormous amount of credit goes to our amazing young cinematographer, Bryant Jansen (for a taste of his work, one of my favorite music videos, which he co-directed: Astronautilus - The Wondersmith and His Sons (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FdUdvajOp0)), and to our actors who rarely ever got more than a couple takes of any shot, and sometimes not even that. Everybody came to play, and they put everything they had into it from action to cut, every time.
After that, we spent about nine months in post-production whipping it into shape. I was originally slated to do some supplementary visual effects, muzzle flashes and whatnot, but we quickly realized that with our post-production budget, and my willingness to work for back-end points in lieu of upfront payment, I ended up doing the entirety of the visual effects work, which ended up totaling over 100 shots. Everything from muzzle flashes and bullet hits to explosions, sky replacement, power-line removal, to doing digital matte painting to change a modern, vinyl-sided, aluminum-roofed house to something that could have existed in the north of France in the 1940s. Exhausting work, but fun, and hugely rewarding when you get to see it integrated into the actual movie.
So now the movie is out of our hands, and the distributor is off peddling our wares, trying to get the most money to put it in front of as many people as possible. My understanding is that a theatrical run is unlikely, but hopefully soon it will be all over Redbox and Netflix and Amazon and iTunes and On Demand and on the shelf at Best Buy and probably on some fucking in-flight entertainment if all goes well. In the meantime, we're developing a pair of other projects with Artist View, with the intention of shooting both in 2015, though those are in such early stages that even if I was supposed to tell people about them, I wouldn't be able to. Exciting times!
would've followed the project every step of the way, but i appreciate so much how nicely you wrote your summary. i can feel it. thanks
Quote from: polkablues on October 20, 2014, 01:01:58 AM
making sure the movie got to where people could see it and our investors could make their money back.
Quote from: polkablues on October 20, 2014, 01:01:58 AMSo with an understanding of what we would have available to us and what our limitations would be, we came up with the basic plot
sounds roger corman, aka a role model in the film production industry
Quote from: polkablues on October 20, 2014, 01:01:58 AM
Second was a guy in Alabama who is one of the country's largest collectors of World War II military equipment, including multiple tanks, jeeps, transport vehicles, and a variety of artillery, and who also owns a rather large property on which he lets war re-enactors come in and do their thing a few times a year. The third was the re-enactment groups themselves, whom Tino had close relationships with, and whom we ended up using extensively as both background extras and as some of the smaller featured roles.
reminds me of
tishomingo blues, which right now btw wikipedia told me "It happens to be Leonard's favorite book of the books he has written."
Quote from: polkablues on October 20, 2014, 01:01:58 AMa handful of soldiers and Army nurses who are captured while trying to evacuate a field hospital, and after an ambush of the truck transporting them to a POW camp, are left stranded behind enemy lines with no communications and a German officer as their hostage.
i keep thinking it sounds like a lovely ww2 chamber drama genre piece
Quote from: polkablues on October 20, 2014, 01:01:58 AMThe three of us hammered out an outline over Thai food one evening, I went home and wrote the first draft of the script in a little over two weeks, and then we spent the next five months revising and fundraising. After some frustrating setbacks trying to wrangle investors, we finally hit our target in September, about a week before our deadline to be able to cast and shoot the film that year.
reminds me of when brian de palma and paul schrader went to see
vertigo together then had dinner while forming the idea that was quickly developed into
obsessionQuote from: polkablues on October 20, 2014, 01:01:58 AMRyan Merriman in particular, just thought it would be fun to do a war movie.
Quote from: polkablues on October 20, 2014, 01:01:58 AMEverybody came to play, and they put everything they had into it from action to cut, every time.
i love it when people love what they do
Quote from: polkablues on October 20, 2014, 01:01:58 AM
The shooting schedule was insanely ambitious: 12 days to shoot a 95 page script with multiple action set-pieces, and quite frankly, no possibility of going back for pickups if we missed something the first time through. The Alabama weather gods were largely favorable to us, as rain only became a real issue on two of the shooting days, and one rainstorm in particular we were able to use in our favor to add some nice atmosphere to an important scene.
^i just plain love how short and sweet this description of the production is
Quote from: polkablues on October 20, 2014, 01:01:58 AMAmazingly, the scenes we felt we were giving the shortest shrift to onset ended up being my favorite scenes in the movie.
nice
Quote from: polkablues on October 20, 2014, 01:01:58 AMAfter that, we spent about nine months in post-production whipping it into shape. I was originally slated to do some supplementary visual effects, muzzle flashes and whatnot, but we quickly realized that with our post-production budget, and my willingness to work for back-end points in lieu of upfront payment, I ended up doing the entirety of the visual effects work, which ended up totaling over 100 shots. Everything from muzzle flashes and bullet hits to explosions, sky replacement, power-line removal, to doing digital matte painting to change a modern, vinyl-sided, aluminum-roofed house to something that could have existed in the north of France in the 1940s. Exhausting work, but fun, and hugely rewarding when you get to see it integrated into the actual movie.
^
this is the part when polka casually talked about doing something amazing, in case you missed thatQuote from: polkablues on October 20, 2014, 01:01:58 AMMy understanding is that a theatrical run is unlikely, but hopefully soon it will be all over Redbox and Netflix and Amazon and iTunes and On Demand and on the shelf at Best Buy and probably on some fucking in-flight entertainment if all goes well.
umm. i can't believe you're being casual. i'm guessing a blu-ray and i'll take it
Quote from: polkablues on October 20, 2014, 01:01:58 AM
In the meantime, we're developing a pair of other projects with Artist View, with the intention of shooting both in 2015, though those are in such early stages that even if I was supposed to tell people about them, I wouldn't be able to. Exciting times!
hang in there buddy, things will get better
The Corman analogy is pretty apt. Obviously we all wanted to make a movie that we were proud of artistically, but ultimately every decision down the line was made on the idea that it would allow our investors to recoup their investment and allow us to make more movies in the future.
Quote from: jenkins<3 on October 20, 2014, 05:36:52 AM
i keep thinking it sounds like a lovely ww2 chamber drama genre piece
That's not too off-the-mark, I don't think. Especially the second act, which is fairly deliberately paced, fits this description.
Quote from: jenkins<3 on October 20, 2014, 05:36:52 AM
Quote from: polkablues on October 20, 2014, 01:01:58 AMAfter that, we spent about nine months in post-production whipping it into shape. I was originally slated to do some supplementary visual effects, muzzle flashes and whatnot, but we quickly realized that with our post-production budget, and my willingness to work for back-end points in lieu of upfront payment, I ended up doing the entirety of the visual effects work, which ended up totaling over 100 shots. Everything from muzzle flashes and bullet hits to explosions, sky replacement, power-line removal, to doing digital matte painting to change a modern, vinyl-sided, aluminum-roofed house to something that could have existed in the north of France in the 1940s. Exhausting work, but fun, and hugely rewarding when you get to see it integrated into the actual movie.
^this is the part when polka casually talked about doing something amazing, in case you missed that
For added challenge, I decided early on that After Effects wasn't going to be good enough for a lot of the stuff I needed to do, so I picked up a copy of Nuke, which is a professional-grade compositing software that's been used on Gravity, the new Planet of the Apes movies, Monuments Men, tons of big movies, and taught myself how to use it while doing the effects for this movie. It was the right choice, because the end results turned out far better than I could have achieved with AE, but it sure felt like a risky move every time I had to scour the user manual or the online help forums to try and figure out how to make the program do some simple thing that I couldn't get my head wrapped around.
i think it is pretty cool that my home state is getting more and more involved with bigger films.
this looks great. as i'm sure you know now, alabama is pretty big on old military shit. have you ever heard of fort morgan? it's an insane place to visit in alabama, it's literally this giant ancient wonderland of horrible warfare that's remarkably preserved.
I've heard of Fort Morgan, but I don't know much about it. We've got a really similar-looking spot (though not as big as Morgan looks to be) in Washington called Fort Casey, which I visited countless times when I was in school. Really amazing vibe.
The place where we shot was in a town called Florala, right on the southern border. All you need is to look at my avatar to see how beautiful it was there.
oh i know, florala is awesome. there are places within range of there that are referred to as florabama, as well. fort casey is very similar, but fort morgan is pretty crazy because it resembles a prison, there are weird little crawlholes that you are not allowed to go through, which i have, and it brings you to a pretty scary place in your head, to imagine people lived like that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEd8tV6Q9tk
Youtube version of the distributor's trailer, in glorious 360p.
I've never been more proud to be an xixaxian. So much awesome.
More tidbits: I mentioned our opening credit sequence in jenkins' thread the other day, and I just discovered that the designer who made it for us has it posted on his Youtube channel. The music was composed by Jeffrey Alan Jones, who also did our sound design and mix.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rMclv54n1k
New version of the trailer, finally in HD! Still a little weirdly-edited and very action-centric, but better than the first one.
http://vimeo.com/110663098 (http://vimeo.com/110663098)
Holy shit, Filmdrunk is making fun of our poster! It suddenly feels real now in a way it never did before.
http://uproxx.com/filmdrunk/2014/11/this-week-in-posters-fifty-shades-of-grey-is-giving-strong-iois/#page/11 (http://uproxx.com/filmdrunk/2014/11/this-week-in-posters-fifty-shades-of-grey-is-giving-strong-iois/#page/11)
EDIT: It looks like clicking the link redirects you to the first page of the slideshow, so you have to manually click through to #11 to get to the goodness.
Quote from: polkablues on November 12, 2014, 02:55:46 AM
Holy shit, Filmdrunk is making fun of our poster! It suddenly feels real now in a way it never did before.
http://uproxx.com/filmdrunk/2014/11/this-week-in-posters-fifty-shades-of-grey-is-giving-strong-iois/#page/11 (http://uproxx.com/filmdrunk/2014/11/this-week-in-posters-fifty-shades-of-grey-is-giving-strong-iois/#page/11)
EDIT: It looks like clicking the link redirects you to the first page of the slideshow, so you have to manually click through to #11 to get to the goodness.
Must be a great feeling to see someone else catch the brunt for what had no responsibility for. Hopefully, they'll take the cue and let you do the dvd cover... With Ratner
There's no denying it's a ridiculous poster.
But just the fact that I can be browsing through a well-known website that I've visited on a daily basis for years and see it on there... it's like the scene in "That Thing You Do" when they hear their song on the radio for the first time. It's a cool feeling.
This is finally, gradually starting to make its way out into the real world.
Netherlands DVD release appears to be May 22nd: http://www.bol.com/nl/p/last-rescue/9200000040946697/
UK release June 1st: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Normandy-The-Last-Rescue-DVD/dp/B00S4YGDP0
For some reason I'm only seeing DVD in these territories, no blu-ray. And the UK distributor has elected to alter the title to "Normandy: The Last Rescue", despite the film not being set in Normandy nor directly related to the events of Normandy. Whatever moves units, I guess. They also made the cover slightly less atrocious, so I can't be mad.
Other territories still pending. I believe China has sold already, but I don't have info on release dates or anything. U.S. distribution is the biggest iron in the fire now, and will hopefully fall into place in the next month or two, for a likely release sometime this summer.
Also out in Japan on June 3rd. The Japanese cover is kind of amazing, by the way:
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(According to Google Translate, that title translates to "The Great Escape 1944")
Full Metal Jacket 2: Son of Joker
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Damn. Spot on.
What's funny is that Matthew Modine was one of the first names we were seriously talking about in casting the main roles, but we couldn't afford him.
how much does a '59 modine go for nowadays
Not an unreasonable amount, I don't think, but our budget only afforded us actors in the "doing us a favor" and "needing movie roles for their reel" range.
Is it mean for me to firmly believe he's both of those
You'd be surprised. There are actors out there whom I would consider all but washed up that won't get out of bed for less than 30 grand.
Available at US retailers July 7th, Redbox July 28th. About damn time. More information to follow.
Absolute hands-down guaranteed champion as my favorite Redbox rental of 2015, and polka I hope you keep in mind all the other hearts you're breaking.
It's a heavy cross I bear, but it is my burden to bear it.
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Now available in the US! (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00XVHKYVE/ref=s9_simh_gw_p74_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=desktop-1&pf_rd_r=0NT3EQSFFGY8K6YCR6D2&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=2079475242&pf_rd_i=desktop) Currently rocking a solid 6.5 on IMDb (one tenth of a point higher than the VASTLY superior Ain't Them Bodies Saints, so take IMDb rankings for what they're worth). Currently only on DVD, not Blu-ray, for some unknown reason that I'm sure is stupid.
Still due to be available at Redboxes on July 28th (http://www.redbox.com/movies/the-last-rescue), so when that day comes, go hit every Redbox within driving distance of yourself and clean those fuckers out! I've got backend on this movie, so you'd really be doing me a solid.
Side note: god, that Helvetica Bold title is bland-looking. I don't know if I'm about to watch a movie or walk into a Crate and Barrel.
:yabbse-thumbup: :bravo:
The poster seems to promise significantly more firebombing planes than I remember seeing in the movie, though. I'm guessing a good portion of negative reviews can be attributed to misaligned expectations. I'm sure there's an exciting way to communicate what this movie actually is, which is a low-budget war movie that feels realistic because it doesn't overreach in those ways.
In any case, I think one can understand what the movie is doing without too much trouble once it starts. And at that point it's easy to buy into. (It was for me.)
Quote from: polkablues on July 10, 2015, 03:49:28 PM
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi35.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fd179%2Fpolkablues%2F91TP5tEhf5L._SY679__zpsbzib5d2u.jpg&hash=f9101207a8ea0507f1ea6452b6d3ef267b9b0894)
Now available in the US! (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00XVHKYVE/ref=s9_simh_gw_p74_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=desktop-1&pf_rd_r=0NT3EQSFFGY8K6YCR6D2&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=2079475242&pf_rd_i=desktop) Currently rocking a solid 6.5 on IMDb (one tenth of a point higher than the VASTLY superior Ain't Them Bodies Saints, so take IMDb rankings for what they're worth). Currently only on DVD, not Blu-ray, for some unknown reason that I'm sure is stupid.
Still due to be available at Redboxes on July 28th (http://www.redbox.com/movies/the-last-rescue), so when that day comes, go hit every Redbox within driving distance of yourself and clean those fuckers out! I've got backend on this movie, so you'd really be doing me a solid.
Side note: god, that Helvetica Bold title is bland-looking. I don't know if I'm about to watch a movie or walk into a Crate and Barrel.
Quote from: Jeremy Blackman on July 10, 2015, 04:04:37 PM
:yabbse-thumbup: :bravo:
The poster seems to promise significantly more firebombing planes than I remember seeing in the movie, though. I'm guessing a good portion of negative reviews can be attributed to misaligned expectations. I'm sure there's an exciting way to communicate what this movie actually is, which is a low-budget war movie that feels realistic because it doesn't overreach in those ways.
In any case, I think one can understand what the movie is doing without too much trouble once it starts. And at that point it's easy to buy into. (It was for me.)
It does feel a little like the distributor believes their role is primarily to trick people into watching the movie.
The kind words are much appreciated, by the way.
TOMORROW
EDIT: Today.
Is it exciting? How can it not be exciting? Watching this Thursday.
Definitely exciting. I just wish it was being made available on blu-ray as well.
I'm going to have this Redbox user review inscribed on my tombstone (after I inevitably blow my brains out because I was stupid enough to read Redbox user reviews):
"Really really st00pid movie of how bleeding-heart sissy liberals get all the GOOD people killed....." - PudbertSavannah
598 IMDb user votes :yabbse-thumbup:
Yeah, I am legitimately heartened by the fact it's holding steady at 6.4. If I were being ultra-objective about the movie, that's probably right around where I would grade it.
I'm nowhere near secure enough not to care about this shit, as it turns out. I see a post that's just "Worst Movie Ever. 1/2 star out of 5" and I can't allow myself to just assume that guy's an idiot or an asshole, I genuinely worry that I wrote the worst movie he's ever seen. I mean, I still do assume he's an idiot or an asshole, but I want the idiot asshole to like my stupid movie.
The boxing scene will linger in my mind the longest and most vibrant, I suspect, although the general camerawork was also memorable for me, and I was delighted by all the martial music.
It's a fully composed piece of work, with many littered treasures. For example it's replaying now while I type this, and there's that emotional scene in the beginning with the enemy solider falling into the trenches, then the SS arriving while a doctor operates, another example. Big moments! Glad I enjoyed the end of this movie, and glad I enjoy revisiting this beginning. I'd watch this again if I owned it.
Now and then I like others ponder aspects of believability related to personality and character for this time period, but oh sometimes I'm just plain in the movie, you know, which is always a good thing and well done. Crisp moments bring crisp characters and I like, of course, how you think about your characters. Oh yeah, the Dutch angle on the SS when he's asking about having his ear itched. Nice. Noticed storytelling devices, and they were all correctly installed I'm pretty sure.
On the Behind the Scene special feature there's a part when polka says "Well, it was extraordinarily helpful to our WW2 movie that people here in Alabama are nuts about WW2." And my closing point is I think you, polka, and your co-writer and the production crew and the actors, I think everyone was aware of the movie they were making and how to make a movie. And that's what I ask for from this world xx
I'm very happy right now.
The boxing scene is my favorite scene, too. It's also the one we were certain wasn't going to work because we were off schedule and had to shoot the entire scene in less than half a day.
Also, you've reminded me that I haven't watched the BTS feature yet. I should probably see what all ended up making the cut.
I enjoyed this a lot and was thoroughly impressed by the caliber of the production. Everyone in the cast nailed their parts and it's really well directed. Although I'm not typically a fan of WW2 movies, I found the story compelling. It's told very realistically with a lot of attention to detail, I have to ask how closely it mirrors actual events happening at the time? Were there any particular incidents involving POW's that you pulled from for this? It's got some pretty grisly violence and I'm glad you didn't pull back in that department.
SPOILERS
You guys mentioned the boxing scene, and I was SO glad that Lewis didn't just outright save Nancy in that moment, because it would've felt like such a cop out. It was a little hard to believe the Germans would treat their prisoners as honorably, though. Again, I'm not very familiar with how the military operated then. This is no slight against you, but I think the best thing the movie has going for is it is the look. It feels authentic for this region and period, and there does seem to be a palpable atmosphere of war in the air. You really lucked out with that location, must be a giant property because it never seemed like they were in the same place for too long. I do have to compliment you on your writing because there are some really powerful scenes and true to life dialogue. The faults I find in the movie are less with your script or the actors than the editing and score in a few places. There's one note in the movie that didn't seem right at all to me, though. Towards the end, when Lt. Maxwell is in a struggle with the Nazi, why would Lewis shoot? That's the most asinine idea on the planet. It's two against one and YOU'RE ARMED. Go up and give him the beating we've been waiting to see these German's get the entire movie! I guess there is an aspect where I wish there was more physically brutality than gun violence, just to drive the point home of how much things can HURT a little more. The way that Beckett is dealing with his injury through the whole thing makes that clear, but I would've thought the Nazi's would be so much meaner and give him way less sympathy. And I hate to say it, but there's no way those women wouldn't have been gang raped. I understand you're making a certain kind of movie, but those are the glaring flaws to me. I really did like it, though. I hadn't watched a war movie in a long time and it worked on a lot of levels to get that exhilaration going! Congratulations, man. Keep us posted on where else it'll be available and it's DVD release!
Holy shit, thanks! I'm really glad you got a chance to watch it, and REALLY glad you liked it.
SOME SPOILERS AHEAD
Quote from: Reelist on September 21, 2015, 08:43:06 PM
It's told very realistically with a lot of attention to detail, I have to ask how closely it mirrors actual events happening at the time? Were there any particular incidents involving POW's that you pulled from for this?
The story follows the general thrust of the historical moment, but takes plenty of liberties for the sake of telling the story we wanted to tell. We actually did read a ton of personal histories from POWs, but didn't take any specifics instances from them, just a general tenor. Basically, we wanted to be respectful of the history without being beholden to it.
Quote from: Reelist on September 21, 2015, 08:43:06 PM
It was a little hard to believe the Germans would treat their prisoners as honorably, though. Again, I'm not very familiar with how the military operated then. ... The way that Beckett is dealing with his injury through the whole thing makes that clear, but I would've thought the Nazi's would be so much meaner and give him way less sympathy. And I hate to say it, but there's no way those women wouldn't have been gang raped.
One of the things I very consciously wanted to steer clear of was presenting the German soldiers as a monolithic evil. A key theme of the story is maintaining humanity in the midst of war, and that only works if you allow the enemy to be humanized as well. Obviously the Nazi commander is more one-dimensionally villainous, because we did want someone for people to really root against, but most of the soldiers they encounter are literally kids. They weren't fighting for an ideology or a cause, they were fighting for no greater reason than they were unfortunate enough to be young German men at the wrong point in history.
This is why Dittrich is probably my favorite character in the movie. He's fully bought in to the cause, he's willing to fight and die for his country, but he has a genuine sense of honor. When he experiences his enemy acting mercifully and his commander acting cruelly, the resulting dissonance forces him to make a choice about his own humanity. That was so much more interesting to me than if we had just gone, "He's a Nazi. Nazis are evil. Ipso facto."
As far as the women go, it was meant to be heavily implied that Vera was raped by Hesse during her solo time as a prisoner. Beyond that, we get into that murky area of assuming all the Germans are cruel and evil enough to participate in something like that without reservation, which simply isn't a leap I'm prepared to make, at least not within the context of the story I wanted to tell, which is largely optimistic about humanity as a whole.
Quote from: Reelist on September 21, 2015, 08:43:06 PM
This is no slight against you, but I think the best thing the movie has going for is it is the look. It feels authentic for this region and period, and there does seem to be a palpable atmosphere of war in the air. You really lucked out with that location, must be a giant property because it never seemed like they were in the same place for too long.
Agree completely. Our cinematographer is a genius and we're lucky to know him.
The property we shot on was huge; something like 4,000 acres, if I remember right. We spent a lot of time finding distinct areas within that space to make sure each sequence stood out from the others. I'm happy it paid off.
Quote from: Reelist on September 21, 2015, 08:43:06 PM
The faults I find in the movie are less with your script or the actors than the editing and score in a few places.
Yeah, the score is probably my biggest complaint. I like the actual music, I just disagree with some of the use of it, particularly how overbearing it gets in what should be quiet dramatic moments. There are points where it undercuts some really fine performances that should have been allowed to speak for themselves.
Quote from: Reelist on September 21, 2015, 08:43:06 PM
There's one note in the movie that didn't seem right at all to me, though. Towards the end, when Lt. Maxwell is in a struggle with the Nazi, why would Lewis shoot? That's the most asinine idea on the planet. It's two against one and YOU'RE ARMED. Go up and give him the beating we've been waiting to see these German's get the entire movie! I guess there is an aspect where I wish there was more physically brutality than gun violence, just to drive the point home of how much things can HURT a little more.
Interesting point. I guess the argument I would make is that Lewis panicked. Their half-assed escape plan was already going wrong, and he was rushed into making the first decision that popped into his head. I don't know if that's a good answer, but it's how I justify it in my head.
Quote from: Reelist on September 21, 2015, 08:43:06 PM
Congratulations, man. Keep us posted on where else it'll be available and it's DVD release!
Will do! My understanding is that the Redbox contract gives them exclusivity for a certain period of time, at which point we can get it on Netflix and whatever streaming and on-demand services we can interest in it. Meanwhile, the distributor is busy selling rights in various foreign markets. I'm looking forward to the streaming release, as that might be the only way people will be able to see it in HD, since it doesn't seem like a blu-ray release is in the offing.
SPOILERSFor what it's worth, it never bothered me that the Nazis were not evil-acting all the time. Made sense that there would be some mundanity to their jobs, and that they would be careful. I think it also considerably contributed to the atmosphere that a lot of that was kept contained, because we knew they could go full Nazi at any moment. They were sufficiently menacing and Germanic.
Quote from: polkablues on September 21, 2015, 10:06:40 PMAs far as the women go, it was meant to be heavily implied that Vera was raped by Hesse during her solo time as a prisoner.
Yikes, I guess I missed that too. It's been a while since I saw this, but even now in retrospect it definitely makes sense. There was something "off" about Vera as if something like that had happened.
I think I mentioned this in my original (private) review, but in recalling this movie now, I just want to reiterate how hardcore Bruno's death was. When that happened I was like "wait, what??" Even leading right up to it, I was sure there would be an interruption, someone would intervene, etc.
Now available on Amazon Prime streaming (https://www.amazon.com/Last-Rescue-Brett-Cullen/dp/B01DEGMYM8/ref=sr_1_1?s=instant-video&ie=UTF8&qid=1473715796&sr=1-1&keywords=the+last+rescue). I guess it has been for a little while now, but our distributor didn't bother to let us know. The only way we found out is that my uncle spotted it while browsing for a movie to watch the other day.
You've been Uncle-spotted! A sure sign that the film is out there, living it's life now.
Quote from: polkablues on September 12, 2016, 04:38:43 PM
Now available on Amazon Prime streaming (https://www.amazon.com/Last-Rescue-Brett-Cullen/dp/B01DEGMYM8/ref=sr_1_1?s=instant-video&ie=UTF8&qid=1473715796&sr=1-1&keywords=the+last+rescue). I guess it has been for a little while now, but our distributor didn't bother to let us know. The only way we found out is that my uncle spotted it while browsing for a movie to watch the other day.
Quote from: Just Withnail on September 13, 2016, 10:29:28 AM
You've been Uncle-spotted! A sure sign that the film is out there, living it's life now.
Some annoyances:
-It's listed under Action/Adventure, but not under Military/War. So someone going on looking specifically for a war movie to watch will not find it.
-The trailer is a new version recut by whatever company the distributor subcontracted the work out to, and it's basically a haphazard mess of random shots. I was never big on the original trailer to begin with, but this did not improve it.
-The description completely mis-sells what sort of movie it is, which is a guarantor of bad reviews. This is the shit I hate the most. It's setting the movie up to fail.
Still cool, though. Next step is when the domestic TV deal gets made and it starts randomly showing up on some weird cable channel at 2 a.m. on a Tuesday night.