The art of movie-homage has exploded on the silver screen over the past decade. Hollywood has lost some of its creative spark and is seeking new inspiration in the past.
George Lucas popularized movie-homage film-making by recreating the pizzazz of the old Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon serializations which were popular in movie theaters in the 1930s through 1950s. Lucas and Steven Spielberg have dominated the serializaton homages with their Star Wars and Indiana Jones series.
While there have been many lesser attempts to duplicate the Star Wars/Jones phenomenon, none have even come close to capitalizing on the pseudo-nostalgia that modern audiences project for the old action/adventure serials. But “Sky Captain” may open a new chapter in this genre’s history book.
Kerry Conran, who has not directed any major productions before, is zooming onto stage with what may be the grandmother of all movie-homage films. “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow” promises to unite the modern audience with the kind of science fiction the old serials only wanted to be. The magic of computer graphics animation has finally made possible the depiction of immense world-spanning sets and characterizations which were once crudely defined by models and miniatures.
But Conran has reached into the old bag of tricks and pulled out more film-making magic. Sir Laurence Olivier, now dead for about 15 years, has been digitally resurrected as the villain in “Sky Captain”, Dr. Totenkopf. Conran has dipped into archive footage from Olivier’s early career to produce a cinematic villain he felt no living actor today could have portrayed.
Not since Steve Martin’s imaginative “Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid” has anyone seriously attempted to interweave old film footage into a new story. There have been plenty of stock-footage shots embedded in movies that hark back to past events, but Conran’s Olivier is fulfilling a dream many have shared and giving life to a nightmare many have dreaded.
Should old actors be reused in new productions? The question has been bounced around critical circles for years. A Coca-Cola commercial from a few years back brought Humphrey Bogart and other long-dead actors back to life in a semblance of unity, but the digital mangling was minimal.
“Sky Captain”, while looking back to the past, may offer us a glimpse into the future of movie-making. How many more digitized stars will we be treated to as computer technology continues to advance?
The movie’s success or failure won’t depend solely on Olivier, of course. Conran has assembled as respectable cast in Jude Law (Sky Captain), Gwyneth Paltrow (Polly Perkins), Angelina Jolie (Capt. Franky Cook), and Michael Gambon (Editor Morris Paley).
Because so much of the movie was filmed against green screen background, requiring massive CGI customization, the actors had to rely upon their own imaginations more than in most movies. In many shots, they were only acting for the camera and director. Even for experienced film actors, that kind of work is pretty tough.
The giant robots and the New York City they destroy seem almost cartoonish, and the trailers give one the impression that Conran may have been influenced by “Cool World” as well as the old Warner Brothers World War II cartoons.
Movie audiences need to anticipate the sense of “Oh Wow! Cool!” that the director is obviously looking for. The story itself will have to compete with the special effects for the audience’s attention. “Sky Captain” could become a long-lasting favorite among classic film buffs, or it could die a quick, painful death. The wrong expectations led many people to decry “The Phantom Menace” (a much better movie than “Attack of the Clones”) when it should have been judged on its own merits.
Viewers shold be looking forward to a past world which never existed. “Sky Captain” is an idealized update on the old science fiction world of tomorrow. It’s magic will appeal to the sense of nostalgia modern audiences have developed for the way old films were made.
“Sky Captain” may be no “Casablanca”, but it does offer us a glimpse into how many future movies may be made. It seeks to bridge the past with the future.