Martin Scorsese, Lars von Trier Team Up For 'The Five Obstructions' Remake
05-13-11, 12:03 PM
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Martin Scorsese, Lars von Trier Team Up For 'The Five Obstructions' Remake
Project will see Von Trier deconstruct the film making process by forcing Scorsese to remake a film five times.
CANNES -The creator of Antichrist and the helmer of Taxi Driver will collaborate on their next project. Danish director Lars von Trier and Oscar-winner Martin Scorsese are teaming up for a remake of The Five Obstructions, von Trier's 2003 documentary deconstructing the film making process. In the original Five Obstructions, von Trier challenged fellow Danish director Jorgen Leth to remake his 1967 short film The Perfect Human five times, each time giving him a set of strict rules, or obstructions, that he had to follow. In one version, no edit is allowed to last more than 12 frames, or about half a second. In another Leth has to shoot in a slum in Bombay. Another version is an anime. After each attempt, Leth and von Trier meet to discuss the results and von Trier gives Leth his next challenge. The project has echoes of the Dogme 95 movement, which von Trier co-founded. In Dogme, directors had to follow certain strict rules, including always using a handheld camera, never using artificial light and always shooting on location. It is unclear which of Scorcese's films will form the basis of the Five Obstructions remake. Possibilities include remakes of Scorsese's earlier shorts, such as The Big Shave (1968) or What's a Girl Like You Doing In A Place Like This? (1963) or remakes of one of the many iconic scenes in Scorcese's feature length films. Earlier this year there had been speculation, denied by von Trier, that he was interested in remaking Scorsese's Taxi Driver, suggesting that iconic film could form the basis of this new project. TrustNordisk will handle international sales on the project. The new Five Obstructions will be done as co-production between Scorsese's Sikelia Productions and von Trier's documentary shingle Zentropa Real. Emma Tillinger Koskoff is production for Sikelia and Carsten Holst and Louise Vesth on behalf of Zentropa Real. Shooting is expected to start next year, after Scorsese finishes shooting on the Daniel Day-Lewis starrer Silence, set to begin early 2012.
CANNES -The creator of Antichrist and the helmer of Taxi Driver will collaborate on their next project. Danish director Lars von Trier and Oscar-winner Martin Scorsese are teaming up for a remake of The Five Obstructions, von Trier's 2003 documentary deconstructing the film making process. In the original Five Obstructions, von Trier challenged fellow Danish director Jorgen Leth to remake his 1967 short film The Perfect Human five times, each time giving him a set of strict rules, or obstructions, that he had to follow. In one version, no edit is allowed to last more than 12 frames, or about half a second. In another Leth has to shoot in a slum in Bombay. Another version is an anime. After each attempt, Leth and von Trier meet to discuss the results and von Trier gives Leth his next challenge. The project has echoes of the Dogme 95 movement, which von Trier co-founded. In Dogme, directors had to follow certain strict rules, including always using a handheld camera, never using artificial light and always shooting on location. It is unclear which of Scorcese's films will form the basis of the Five Obstructions remake. Possibilities include remakes of Scorsese's earlier shorts, such as The Big Shave (1968) or What's a Girl Like You Doing In A Place Like This? (1963) or remakes of one of the many iconic scenes in Scorcese's feature length films. Earlier this year there had been speculation, denied by von Trier, that he was interested in remaking Scorsese's Taxi Driver, suggesting that iconic film could form the basis of this new project. TrustNordisk will handle international sales on the project. The new Five Obstructions will be done as co-production between Scorsese's Sikelia Productions and von Trier's documentary shingle Zentropa Real. Emma Tillinger Koskoff is production for Sikelia and Carsten Holst and Louise Vesth on behalf of Zentropa Real. Shooting is expected to start next year, after Scorsese finishes shooting on the Daniel Day-Lewis starrer Silence, set to begin early 2012.
Last edited by JackBurton; 05-13-11 at 12:08 PM.
05-13-11, 09:47 PM
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Re: Martin Scorsese, Lars von Trier Team Up For 'The Five Obstructions' Remake
See I read the bit and it doesn't make sense...It's not a remake. It's just another film w/ LVT behind it utilizing literally the same premise towards a different director. It's just another film w/ the same idea...so it'd be like a another experimental film over a remake, no?
05-14-11, 04:45 AM
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05-14-11, 06:52 AM
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05-14-11, 07:11 AM
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Re: Martin Scorsese, Lars von Trier Team Up For 'The Five Obstructions' Remake
"The remake everyone's been clamoring for!
Martin Scorsese and Lars von Trier present
THE FIVE OBSTRUCTIONS
starring Leonardo di Caprio, Leonardo di Caprio, Leonardo di Caprio, Leonardo di Caprio, and Leonardo di Caprio!"
Martin Scorsese and Lars von Trier present
THE FIVE OBSTRUCTIONS
starring Leonardo di Caprio, Leonardo di Caprio, Leonardo di Caprio, Leonardo di Caprio, and Leonardo di Caprio!"
Last edited by Ash Ketchum; 05-15-11 at 03:01 PM.
05-14-11, 10:22 AM
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Re: Martin Scorsese, Lars von Trier Team Up For 'The Five Obstructions' Remake
See I read the bit and it doesn't make sense...It's not a remake. It's just another film w/ LVT behind it utilizing literally the same premise towards a different director. It's just another film w/ the same idea...so it'd be like a another experimental film over a remake, no?
What we have here is a new director and perhaps different challenges, technology, and a different scene/short film being remade within the experiment.
Doesn't seem like a remake at all. Perhaps one should just refer to it as "another experiment from Lars von Trier" or something like that.
I have not seen The Five Obstructions, but does von Trier edit that film or is it simple five consecutive showings of another director's unedited work? I ask b/c I am wondering if this could be considered "A Scorsese Film" or not since it will be essentially all material he directed being shown on screen unless I'm completely off about how The Five Obstructions is structured and what von Trier.
05-14-11, 10:44 AM
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Re: Martin Scorsese, Lars von Trier Team Up For 'The Five Obstructions' Remake
05-14-11, 10:53 AM
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DVD Talk Hero
Re: Martin Scorsese, Lars von Trier Team Up For 'The Five Obstructions' Remake
I hope one remake requires the use Monica Bellucci, Angelina Jolie and Charlize Theron in every role.
05-14-11, 02:04 PM
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Re: Martin Scorsese, Lars von Trier Team Up For 'The Five Obstructions' Remake
It's a documentary. Von Trier and Leth meet, von Trier lays out the rules of the obstruction, Leth makes the film, and we see a clip. Rinse and repeat.
05-15-11, 11:25 AM
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Re: Martin Scorsese, Lars von Trier Team Up For 'The Five Obstructions' Remake
Personally, I'd view this as more of a continuation of the premise than a remake, so maybe the term sequel would be a better fit.
It'll be interesting to see if von Trier re-uses some of the same obstructions, or has come up with new challenges for Scorsese.
As Groucho said, it's a documentary showing the presentation of the obstruction, then the making of the short, followed by a clip from the short. The original short was 13 minutes, so it might've been tedious to watch 65 minutes of essentially the same short with slight differences for that long. Unfortunately, the DVD release didn't not contain the complete versions of the remakes as extras.
It'll be interesting to see if von Trier re-uses some of the same obstructions, or has come up with new challenges for Scorsese.
As Groucho said, it's a documentary showing the presentation of the obstruction, then the making of the short, followed by a clip from the short. The original short was 13 minutes, so it might've been tedious to watch 65 minutes of essentially the same short with slight differences for that long. Unfortunately, the DVD release didn't not contain the complete versions of the remakes as extras.
