One of the best and most overlooked genre films of 2007 was the exceptional Stephen King adaptation of THE MIST from acclaimed director Frank Darabont, who also director the King adaptations of THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION and THE GREEN MILE. The film broke even upon its original box office release but it is on video where the film really shines as for the first time the film is available the way that Darabont envisioned it which is in black & white as an homage to the way in which King originally wrote the novella. Darabont, who has collaborated with King on four of his stories so far (including the 1983 adaptation of “The Woman in the Room”) is a master at bringing King’s work to the screen and this is no exception.
Although the film is highly enjoyable in its original color version, it is the black & white version (available only on the 2-disk special edition version of the DVD) that the film comes to glorious 1960s monster horror film life. The feeling of the film is just like that of a ‘60s horror film and for anyone who can appreciate that era of cinema then you know what I mean. The film’s closest influence is 1968s NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD as the film is just as pessimistic and grim. Both films when viewed in black and white are not only a testament to superior genre filmmaking but are also highly enjoyable films that grab you and scare you to death.
There are many parallels that can be drawn between the two films from David Drayton (Thomas Jane) being a foil for Ben, David’s protection of his son Billy to that of Ben’s protection over Barbra, Mrs. Carmody (Marcia Gay Harden in an award winning performance if I do say so myself) as foil for Harry Cooper, and even Jim (William Sadler) as foil for Tom, the character that switches allegiances through the film, to name a few. There are many other similarities to the two films (which would be for another article) prompting one to realize that both King and Darabont are crafting their own homage to the films in which they grew up with.
In Darabont’s intro to THE MIST in black and white he discusses this version as the “Director’s Cut” claiming it is the version to best enjoy King’s story the way he meant it to be. Having not only read the original novella and listened to the audio book prior to seeing the film I can only agree with Darabont as when viewing the color version some scenes come across as being too real which can take a viewer out of the film. For anyone who truly enjoyed THE MIST, I suggest watching the version in which the director meant it to be watched and for which best represents the spirit of the story and that of its original creator Stephen King.
Although the film is highly enjoyable in its original color version, it is the black & white version (available only on the 2-disk special edition version of the DVD) that the film comes to glorious 1960s monster horror film life. The feeling of the film is just like that of a ‘60s horror film and for anyone who can appreciate that era of cinema then you know what I mean. The film’s closest influence is 1968s NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD as the film is just as pessimistic and grim. Both films when viewed in black and white are not only a testament to superior genre filmmaking but are also highly enjoyable films that grab you and scare you to death.
There are many parallels that can be drawn between the two films from David Drayton (Thomas Jane) being a foil for Ben, David’s protection of his son Billy to that of Ben’s protection over Barbra, Mrs. Carmody (Marcia Gay Harden in an award winning performance if I do say so myself) as foil for Harry Cooper, and even Jim (William Sadler) as foil for Tom, the character that switches allegiances through the film, to name a few. There are many other similarities to the two films (which would be for another article) prompting one to realize that both King and Darabont are crafting their own homage to the films in which they grew up with.
In Darabont’s intro to THE MIST in black and white he discusses this version as the “Director’s Cut” claiming it is the version to best enjoy King’s story the way he meant it to be. Having not only read the original novella and listened to the audio book prior to seeing the film I can only agree with Darabont as when viewing the color version some scenes come across as being too real which can take a viewer out of the film. For anyone who truly enjoyed THE MIST, I suggest watching the version in which the director meant it to be watched and for which best represents the spirit of the story and that of its original creator Stephen King.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment