No matter what kind of a cinema buff you are, whether you indulge in world cinema or not, there is one name that you must have definitely heard of – Bruce Lee (even my mum has heard of him, all thanks to me). And when it comes to discussing Bruce Lee and his movies, there is one movie which inarguably tops the list – Enter the Dragon. This is the grand-daddy of all martial films, the movie which inspired future generations of all martial arts movies. This was the big Hollywood production , co-distributed by Warner Bros with Golden Harvest, and in every way, bridged the divide between the east and the west. If Bruce Lee was the reason why people in the west started watching movies with subtitles (or atrociously funny dubbing), then Enter the Dragon features as one of the brightest medals which made him into such a big pop culture icon. This was the last film that he completed before his untimely demise, and Enter the Dragon remains as a masterful showcase for Lee’s larger-than-life kick-ass image. And even though it is 38 years old(yes, it is that old) and counting, it still remains the definitive martial arts movie of all time.
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During its original run at the box-office, Event Horizon received a lot of negative criticism, due to its gratuitious portrayal of gore and violence. It was unfairly dismissed as a combination of Alien and Hellraiser. But with time, it has garnered its well deserved reverence from scifi and horror afficianados as well building a cult following amongst movie geeks. Perhaps, it was a movie way ahead of its time. Because when you see a Blu-Ray feature of this film, even today, the sets, the ambience, the music, the violence and the effects – all gleam a very 2011 production, and not remind us of a late 90s retro-feeling scifi. It is quite surprising that the man who created this excellent film, then went on to make the not-so-impressive AVP and Resident Evil films.
The story:
The year is 2047, when the rescue ship Lewis and Clark manned with a handful of members comprising of a scientist, doctor and engineers, are sent to answer a distress signal received from a starship Event Horizon. Dr.William Weir, who built Event Horizon (EH) is a part of the team, and he reveals, how EH was built to test an experimental gravity drive, thus creating an artificial black hole. This would enable them to use the gravitational power of the black hole to bridge two points in spacetime, and greatly reduce travel time between astronomical distances.
Upon arrival at EH, the team starts searching for survivors and also come face to face with a series of revelations about themselves, their team mates and a whole new lifeforce.
**Warning : Spoilers ahead**
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God bless PrinceCharlesCinema. I just discovered them at the corner of Leicester Square, London. What is so awesome about this cinema is that they air cult movie favourites. And the ticket prices are very cheap as well – £6 for non-members and £4 for members [ annual membership for just £10 ]. Anywho, before this looks like a sales pitch, let’s get back to the movie. So, I watched Aliens on Saturday, for the first time on a big screen. The original release in 1986 meant I had to miss it. I was just 3 then, and also its 18 rating wouldn’t have helped. And also that Hollywood movies weren’t often screened in my hometown. [Trivia: The first Hollywood movie I saw at the cinema was Jurassic Park, dubbed attrociously in Hindi, in the year 1993] So getting an opportunity to watch Aliens on the big screen was not one to be missed.
Settling down to the cozy seats, as the first few seconds of reels flashed on the screen, I realised, this is a 1986 reel. The flickering black spots and the very analogue sounding background score – all of it was a bit retro, nostalgic as well as a bit disturbing at the same time. I started comparing it with a digitally recreated and cleaned Blu Ray/ DVD version and thought to myself, NO, doing that will just ruin this movie. So I just laid back, and lapped up all the awesomeness that I could. After all, it was Saturday night at the cinema watching Aliens with an audience who loved the movie as much as I do, if not more. Exclaiming, laughing, giggling and getting excited together with the audience is one big reason why cinemas can never be substituted by home cinema arrangements.
Get some really awesome screencaps after the jump.
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