2081: Everyone Will Finally Be Equal
08-19-08, 12:31 AM
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2081: Everyone Will Finally Be Equal
Sorry if there's a thread on this already. I searched, but it didn't come up with anything. Set in the future, this movie looks like it has potential to be amazing.
Trailer: http://www.finallyequal.com/
Based on this story: http://instruct.westvalley.edu/lafave/hb.html
Weird thing is, there is no page on IMDB I could find, and I'm hoping it's a full length film, though I'm not sure how they would do that.
Trailer: http://www.finallyequal.com/
Based on this story: http://instruct.westvalley.edu/lafave/hb.html
Weird thing is, there is no page on IMDB I could find, and I'm hoping it's a full length film, though I'm not sure how they would do that.
08-19-08, 07:32 AM
#3
DVD Talk Legend
This Vonnegut story has already been adapted. Once as a full-length movie:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113264/
The other's a short film:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1223957/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113264/
The other's a short film:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1223957/
02-26-10, 01:33 AM
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Re: 2081: Everyone Will Finally Be Equal
Hi guys I usually just read the threads on here but I was so surprised with a couple of the negative reactions to this film that I felt compelled to chime in.
I feel like we must have been watching different films because I could not disagree more with your assessment.
Here goes my review....
Kurt Vonnegut's 2081
I saw 2081 at an on campus screening at USC last week and it rocked my freakin' socks off.
Couldn't take my eyes off the screen.
Yes, I'll admit it's a little odd to release a short film by itself as a commercial DVD. Most shorts usually end up rotting on a shelf somewhere or being given away on YouTube, so 2081 is definitely an exception to the rule in this regard. But screw it I ordered a copy anyway because it was that damn good.
Just arrived Tuesday and I've watched it twice since then on a decent quality 1080p plasma and a 7.1 Onkyo 1200w surround system.
Video: 8.5/10
Minor bleeding on title and end credits. There is definitely a film grain but it's the good subtle kind which I prefer to digital for its richer texture.
Audio: 10/10
Flawless. Score by the Kronos Quartet of Requiem for a Dream fame.
Movie: 9.5/10
Amazing cast of mostly character actors - the actors everyone recognizes but never knows their names. You know, like "hey it's that guy from Braveheart!" Using character actors rather than above the title talent really helped the film in my opinion because it removed any elements of celebrity or star persona and drew me into the characters themselves. The fact that the characters seem vaguely familiar but not instantly recognizable gave me that frustrating "tip of the toungue" feeling where I knew that I knew them but couldn't quite put my finger on it. Couple with their nearly flawless performances and the effect was such that the characters (especially Harrison Bergeron's parents) felt like complete strangers and yet strangely familiar at the same time. In context of the incredibly sad story this really gave the performances a haunting quality unlike anything I'd seen before.
The score is by the Kronos Quartet and is simply as good as scores come. Check out the trailer on YouTube to for a sample and you'll hear what I mean. Also, no one is going to get rich working on a short film, so the fact that relatively big name talent Kronos scored it I think says a lot about the film's calibre. As a USC film student I see a lot of shorts throughout the year (40ish annually) - both student and professional - spanning the entire spectrum from utter Bantha fodder all the way to the occasional work of inspired cinematic genius. And I'd say this easily ranks among the best short films I've ever seen - hands down the best if you take the Pixar shorts out of the running.
Yes, it feels like it's over way too soon, but at the same time I don't think the story would have really worked as a feature. At 25 minutes however it is a tight self-contained story with interesting and complex themes told through powerful and incredibly human performances. The sound design was obviously a labor of love, and gives the the world of 2081 an aural richness of texture of a calibre rarely heard even in studio fare, much less in an indie short. The score is downright eargasmic (fingers crossed for a soundtrack release). Now wrap all that up and stick it inside one big piece of cinematic eye candy and you've got yourself an intensely beautiful and beautifully intense short film that packs some serious dramatic muscle.
Every frame is beautiful and there is not a visually dull moment onscreen from the very first shot until the final credits roll. But if you've come to the party just to watch stuff blow up then you'll be going home alone. 2081 is a science fiction film, not a sic-fi action film. Explosion count: 0. I found this to be a refreshing change of pace, a return to sci-fi's more intellectual roots (it is Vonnegut after all), a film as entertaining as it is thought provoking.
Initially I did find myself wishing that there was more closure at the end, but at the same time I understand that the open ending is kind of the point.
2081 is an all at once dark, elegant, disturbing, and beautiful celebration of individuality told through the lens of a dystopian cautionary tale. I saw the point of its open and ambiguous ending to be that it is up to us, the audience, to decide how the story ends, and to choose what what happens next. Is Harrison Bergeron's act of "underhandicapped" civil disobedience the spark that ignites a revolution or a just another crazy television stunt to be quickly forgotten?
Viewers must decide the answer for themselves. Because freedom, wherever it exists, is always a choice. And likewise wherever questions of freedom are ignored, freedom soon ceases to exist at all.
Personally, I found 2081 to be a profound cautionary tale. But that was just my interpretation and there's no point in waxing all philosophical on here since I suspect each viewer will probably find a some personal subjective meaning in the film.
I walked into the screening of just to kill time between classes, but walked out a fan. In short, I loved this film.
Even if the DVD is basically just a bare bones release, the film itself is really what you're paying for. As a young filmmaker it's encouraging to see indie films like this raising the bar for what can be done outside of the studio oligopoly. The production values are truly studio quality on every level. You get what you pay for, and in my case 2081 was ten bucks well spent.
Anyway, that's my two cents.
Trailer and opening scene clip are on YouTube.
I feel like we must have been watching different films because I could not disagree more with your assessment.
Here goes my review....
Kurt Vonnegut's 2081
I saw 2081 at an on campus screening at USC last week and it rocked my freakin' socks off.
Couldn't take my eyes off the screen.
Yes, I'll admit it's a little odd to release a short film by itself as a commercial DVD. Most shorts usually end up rotting on a shelf somewhere or being given away on YouTube, so 2081 is definitely an exception to the rule in this regard. But screw it I ordered a copy anyway because it was that damn good.
Just arrived Tuesday and I've watched it twice since then on a decent quality 1080p plasma and a 7.1 Onkyo 1200w surround system.
Video: 8.5/10
Minor bleeding on title and end credits. There is definitely a film grain but it's the good subtle kind which I prefer to digital for its richer texture.
Audio: 10/10
Flawless. Score by the Kronos Quartet of Requiem for a Dream fame.
Movie: 9.5/10
Amazing cast of mostly character actors - the actors everyone recognizes but never knows their names. You know, like "hey it's that guy from Braveheart!" Using character actors rather than above the title talent really helped the film in my opinion because it removed any elements of celebrity or star persona and drew me into the characters themselves. The fact that the characters seem vaguely familiar but not instantly recognizable gave me that frustrating "tip of the toungue" feeling where I knew that I knew them but couldn't quite put my finger on it. Couple with their nearly flawless performances and the effect was such that the characters (especially Harrison Bergeron's parents) felt like complete strangers and yet strangely familiar at the same time. In context of the incredibly sad story this really gave the performances a haunting quality unlike anything I'd seen before.
The score is by the Kronos Quartet and is simply as good as scores come. Check out the trailer on YouTube to for a sample and you'll hear what I mean. Also, no one is going to get rich working on a short film, so the fact that relatively big name talent Kronos scored it I think says a lot about the film's calibre. As a USC film student I see a lot of shorts throughout the year (40ish annually) - both student and professional - spanning the entire spectrum from utter Bantha fodder all the way to the occasional work of inspired cinematic genius. And I'd say this easily ranks among the best short films I've ever seen - hands down the best if you take the Pixar shorts out of the running.
Yes, it feels like it's over way too soon, but at the same time I don't think the story would have really worked as a feature. At 25 minutes however it is a tight self-contained story with interesting and complex themes told through powerful and incredibly human performances. The sound design was obviously a labor of love, and gives the the world of 2081 an aural richness of texture of a calibre rarely heard even in studio fare, much less in an indie short. The score is downright eargasmic (fingers crossed for a soundtrack release). Now wrap all that up and stick it inside one big piece of cinematic eye candy and you've got yourself an intensely beautiful and beautifully intense short film that packs some serious dramatic muscle.
Every frame is beautiful and there is not a visually dull moment onscreen from the very first shot until the final credits roll. But if you've come to the party just to watch stuff blow up then you'll be going home alone. 2081 is a science fiction film, not a sic-fi action film. Explosion count: 0. I found this to be a refreshing change of pace, a return to sci-fi's more intellectual roots (it is Vonnegut after all), a film as entertaining as it is thought provoking.
Initially I did find myself wishing that there was more closure at the end, but at the same time I understand that the open ending is kind of the point.
2081 is an all at once dark, elegant, disturbing, and beautiful celebration of individuality told through the lens of a dystopian cautionary tale. I saw the point of its open and ambiguous ending to be that it is up to us, the audience, to decide how the story ends, and to choose what what happens next. Is Harrison Bergeron's act of "underhandicapped" civil disobedience the spark that ignites a revolution or a just another crazy television stunt to be quickly forgotten?
Viewers must decide the answer for themselves. Because freedom, wherever it exists, is always a choice. And likewise wherever questions of freedom are ignored, freedom soon ceases to exist at all.
Personally, I found 2081 to be a profound cautionary tale. But that was just my interpretation and there's no point in waxing all philosophical on here since I suspect each viewer will probably find a some personal subjective meaning in the film.
I walked into the screening of just to kill time between classes, but walked out a fan. In short, I loved this film.
Even if the DVD is basically just a bare bones release, the film itself is really what you're paying for. As a young filmmaker it's encouraging to see indie films like this raising the bar for what can be done outside of the studio oligopoly. The production values are truly studio quality on every level. You get what you pay for, and in my case 2081 was ten bucks well spent.
Anyway, that's my two cents.
Trailer and opening scene clip are on YouTube.
Last edited by IamBatman; 02-26-10 at 01:46 AM. Reason: typo
