FEAR, CHAOS, PAIN

You can push play and listen to the score as you read

Before Christopher Nolan dedicated a lot of months on pre production for "BATMAN BEGINS", Warner Bros. Studios had approached Darren Arronofsky to develop a story called "Batman: Year One" it didn´t work out. Then they aproached the  Wachowski brothers famous for THE MATRIX TRILOGY and M. Night Shyamalan ( THE SIXTH SENSE, THE VILLAGE) , but nothing came from that. Until Christopher Nolan was considered. Nolan’s pitch to Warner Bros that won him the directing job took just 15 minutes. 

He said to the  Warner Bros. executives: 

"this is what i want......  Darker and more Realistic."

Nolan showed them the treatment he had done with David S. Goyer and they were convinced they had their REBOOT TO ITS MOST POWERFUL FRANCHISE.

Before filmig began, Nolan showed cast and crew the film BLADE RUNNER as inspiration, his now famous line:

"THIS IS HOW WE ARE GOING TO MAKE BATMAN".

 One of the key elements for it to be a successful transition from script to screen was the casting of the main villains for all three movies. 

But not just any cast.

All actors are well seasoned consolidated performers. Who no one could doubt their talent or attributes. 

"ARE YOU READY TO BEGIN??"

Irish born actor, LIAM NEESON as Henri Ducard/R'as Al Ghul 

BATMAN BEGINS (2005)

As Ducard goes inside a prison, holding the disappeared Bruce Wayne. He asks the right questions to provoque his curiosity.

A role turned down by Viggo Mortensen , Guy Pierce and Daniel Day Lewis.

"THE WILL TO ACT"

Listen to Liam Neeson´s voice. He is calm and in control. Very much as his character QUI GON JINN from STAR WARS. He is at peace. As he tells BRUCE: "BREATH"

The main theme for Nolan in this film was "FEAR". Or as Ducard says:

"Tell us Mr. Wayne... what do you fear?"

To overcome it, to confront The BATS, the Anger, the Revenge.

"If you become more than just a man.... you become SOMETHING ELSE ENTIRELY, you become LEGEND Mr. Wayne."

Have you noticed, the name of officer who recovered the Joker card seen at the end is J. Kerr. 

Joe Kerr is one of The Joker's (more obvious) pseudonyms in the comics.
HEATH LEDGER AS THE JOKER

THE DARK KNIGHT (2008)

"what doesn´t kill you.... makes you ....stranger!?!

The Joker´s  mind works a little bit different than ours, he tells his victims how he got those scars ,the only problem is , he changes it every single time. 

Its been rumored that actors: Sean Penn, Paul Bettany, Robin Williams and Adrien Brody expressed interest in playing the Joker but Nolan always had Ledger on the back of his mind saying "Because he is fearless"

There is no lie in every word the JOKER says.

Even if it is the same character, every actor has a different way to portray it. Making a succesful JOKER, after Jack Nicholson´s 1989 performance was no easy task.

They say Heath Ledger secluded himself from the world for 6 weeks inside a motel room. 

This JOKER, enjoys so much telling lies and having everyone  confused (he sticks his tongue out and licks his lips, as if he was savouring the chaos) .That is his motivation. 

The main theme for Nolan in this film was "CHAOS"

Notice the pauses he makes between dialogues. As if he was biting his time, he is in ecstasy, he is in NO RUSH. That part is what makes Ledger´s performance unique. He even told BATMAN in the famous interrogation scene,  what his future would be....

"They will cast you out... like a leper"

TOM HARDY AS BANE 

 The Dark Knight RISES (2012)

"YOUR PUNISHMENT MUST BE MORE SEVERE"

Originally a member of the league of shadows,  whose only purpose is to DESTROY BATMAN and GOTHAM.

It is rumored Tom Hardy accepted the role without reading the script.

It´s not what he says but how he says it

"Do you feel in CHARGE?" says BANE...

Bane is a mixture of a wrestler with the voice of Darth Vader. Bane breaks Batman´s back before sending him to a dungeon far away. The main theme for Nolan in this film was "PAIN" The rise from the ashes. The Batman is broken and has to find the strength inside him to overcome the pain.

Have you noticed how, at the beggining of each film in the trilogy, the main villain(Ra's Al Ghul, Joker, Bane) disguises himself as one of his own henchmen .

This is the first live-action Batman project to feature The Scarecrow, a character who first appeared in the comics in 1941. It was originally planned that he’d appear in the aborted Batman and Robin sequelBatman Triumphant

In all three films there are No opening credits or titles.

To me, this trilogy is about,  falling into darkness and rising stronger.

Nolan has told us over and over again, there is strength

in looking up. In RISING. FIRST AS BRUCE WAYNE, THEN AS BATMAN.

Batman is not Superman, he is night, he is darkness. He is the absence of color. He hides in the shadows. He holds no flag. Only to protect the ones who suffer from INJUSTICE. 

That is the main reason batman works. He lives in darkness and has no superpowers. His greatest strength is that he can overcome anything. This trilogy works because Nolan understood the roots of the character. Bruce Wayne has faults and makes mistakes. 

He is after all HUMAN. 

What Year Is This?

They say "HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF". I don´t know how many times i´ve seen all three Back to The Future films, but  i can tell you this, they have stood  PERFECTLY "the test of time". I was seven years old when i saw the first one at a movie theatre and it changed my life, i  was amazed! Seeing Marty McFly TRAVEL through time was the best thing since RETURN OF THE JEDI or RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. Bigger than Indiana Jones and more believable than Luke Skywalker. He was the average kid. The every day dude. All i wanted was to be like him. He loved music and skateboarding. 

HAVE YOU NOTICED how director Robert Zemeckis uses   photographs and the printed WORD (newspapers) as narrative tools on all three movies?

WARNING!!!!

SPOILER ALERT: MANY PLOT POINTS AND IMPORTANT TWISTS OF THE STORY WILL BE REVEALED 

FROM HERE ON.

If you haven´t seen The BACK TO THE FUTURE trilogy, please STOP. 

Go watch them 

and THEN return to read Blogdayafternoon.

In Back to the FUTURE:

Marty is given a flier to "save THE CLOCK TOWER" because 30 years before it was struck by lightning. Giving us: 1) The engine of the story  AND  2) The solution of the story

As he arrives to 1955, in old man Otis Peabody´s farm. They all run to the barn and as they see the crashed DELOREAN. Peabody´s son takes out his comic book saying "that aint no airplane LOOK!!!"

 "TALES FROM SPACE" and it´s weird ressemblence to the Delorean and the spaceman.The urban legend says: A Universal Studios Executive wanted to call the movie "SPACEMEN FROM PLUTO" so Zemeckis added the comic book as a gag.

 Marty altered history by interrupting his parents from ever meeting , so he has to arrange that and figure out how he can travel BACK to the future. 

Doc in the background, Marty at the front in the middle the written word. Thanks to the flier they now know when and where a bolt of lightning will HIT. So Marty can travel to the future.

Marty must reunite his parents quickly or he will dissapear as his siblings have begun to in the photograph. ERASED FROM EXISTANCE. 

At the end, Marty has reunited his parents, traveled back to the future, BUT Marty can´t stop the terrorists from shooting DOC. By some miracle, he realizes Doc is still alive and wearing a bullet proof vest. He is  shown the letter  he wrote in 1955 warning him of the Libians, it was not destroyed. 

And notice, once again Doc in the background, Marty at the front in the middle the written word. 

In Back to the FUTURE PART 2 : Marty travels with Jennifer and Doc to the year 2015. To rescue his son from getting into prison. Notice how  Doc is in the background, Marty at the front in the middle the written word. 

After solving that, Marty sees an antique store and buys a SPORTS ALMANAC, so he can change the past and win big money. GIVING US:

1) The engine of the story 2) The solution of the story

As he travels to the future 1985, he finds out it is a different 1985. Biff has changed history, he now is wealthy and married to his mom, Doc is commited and George Mcfly was murdered. 

Then again he only believes what is written

in the NEWSPAPER.

Marty must travel bacl to 1955 to destroy the ALMANAC preventing Biff from ever changing history as he knows it. When he destoys the ALMANAC by burning it the newspaper he brought from the changed 1985, changes from GEORGE McFLY MURDERED to GEORGE McFLY HONORED. But... the DELOREAN gets hit by lightning leaving Marty trapped in 1955.

In Back to the FUTURE PART 3: After receiveing a letter from Doc from the year 1885, where he leaves instructions to where to find and repair the Delorean. Marty stumbles into a grave yard finding Doc tombstone. Marty decides to travel further  back in time to 1885 to save Doc from being killed by BUFFORD TANNEN.

He travels to 1885 and is carrying a photograph of the tombstone as proof, to tell Doc what his fate will be.

1) The engine of the story 2) The solution of the story

Again, Doc in the background, Marty at the front and in the middle the written word. 

TRIVIA FACT:

Many people know Eric Stoltz was supposed to play Marty McFly, but after several weeks of shooting, Director Robert Zemeckis found Stoltz acting lacked the proper humor for the story. So he decided to call back Michael J. Fox to work with him and reshoot every single frame. 

Not only were scenes shot, but also the now legendary photograph of the 3 Mcfly´s.

Here is proof of how linked are PHOTOGRAPHS to the BACK TO THE FUTURE TRILOGY.

This POST is dedicated 

in loving memory of

 Willie