'The Revenant' has is a highly anticipated movie due to its seasoned cast, award winning director and equally lauded cinematographer. The Leonardo DiCaprio led movie has been reported as a hellish filming, with the cast and crew immersed in very tough climate and other conditions. As early as now, though, this seems to have paid off, early glimpses of the film convinced many that it is a possible awards bait.
According to Variety, 'The Revenant' starts with a very strong contention for best cinematography. The reigning title holder, Emmanuel Lubezki, won the best cinematography for 2 years straight. He is teaming up once more with current best director Alejandro G. Iñárritu, who he worked with in the best picture and screenplay 'Birdman.' Lubezki shot on brand new Arri Alexa 65 cameras, even freezing a few of them in Alberta, Canada, while using only natural light. The stitching technique that was employed to make 'Birdman' appear as one unbroken take was used in a number of sequences as well.
According to The Guardian, the freezing Canadian wilderness was the greatest cause of suffering while 'The Revenant' was being filmed. With Luzbeki and Iñárritu preferring natural light and real action (as opposed to CGI) respectively, the cast and crew had to endure harsh conditions. Allegedly, many production members quit halfway through. Tom Hardy evaded the question when asked if 'The Revenant' shoot was as difficult as reported.
With the trailers and stills from 'The Revenant', it would seem that all that hard work paid off. The Wall Street Journal reported that 'The Revenant' claimed the top spot in Listen First's weekly rankings, beating out James Bond film Spectre. In stark contrast to 'Birdman's' "garish flair," Iñárritu's latest film savors the grit, "hard and uncompromising."
Many are impressed with the visuals, which depicts the untamed wild of 1823 North America. DiCaprio leads 'The Revenant', as a man betrayed by his crew, specifically wishing to avenge the murder of his son by a disloyal employee played by Hardy. Encountering many dangers in the wild, DiCaprio and the rest of the crew face unknown fates, which will be revealed when 'The Revenant' hits theatres on 25 December 2015.
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