The Dark Tower (film)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The dark tower |
| Original title | The Dark Tower |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 2017 |
| length | 95 minutes |
| Age rating |
FSK 12 JMK 14 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Nikolaj Arcel |
| script | Nikolaj Arcel, Akiva Goldsman , Anders Thomas Jensen , Jeff Pinkner |
| production | Akiva Goldsman, Brian Grazer , Ron Howard , Stephen King |
| music | Tom "Junkie XL" Holkenborg |
| camera | Rasmus Videbæk |
| cut |
Alan Edward Bell , Dan Zimmerman |
| occupation | |
| |
The Dark Tower (original title The Dark Tower ) is a fantasy adventure by Nikolaj Arcel , which is based on the eight-volume fantasy saga The Dark Tower by Stephen King . The film was released in US cinemas on August 4, 2017 and in German cinemas on August 10, 2017.
action
Twelve-year-old New Yorker Jake Chambers has nightmares and is haunted by visions from another world in which a man in black tries to destroy a tower with the help of children he experiments with and another man tries with a revolver to stop this. The number 19 appears again and again and also a derelict house. Everything Jake sees in his dreams, he records on paper. However, those around him think he is crazy, according to his mother Laurie, her new husband Lon and also the boy next door Timmy, who is his best friend. His psychiatrist Dr. Hotchkiss doesn't believe him that the earthquakes that have occurred all over the world lately, but the cause of which no one can explain, are somehow connected to the tower of his dreams. Rather, he believes that in his dreams Jake processed the loss of his father Elmer, who died while working as a firefighter. However, Jake thinks there is more to them than just dreams. Even when he is not dreaming, he sees people whose skin only seems to be peeled open on their faces and has strange seams.
Although Jake finally removed all drawings from the walls in his room in order not to cause his mother any more grief in the future, she wants to put him in a clinic outside of town, but when he turns to Jill and her companion who work for this clinic and him want to pick up, recognizes the black man's followers, he flees and finds the house that he saw in his dreams and whose address in Dutch Hill he was able to find out with the help of his computer before he escaped. There he finds a console that asks him to enter his travel destination. He decides on the destination address 19-19 and, although the wooden floor that has come to life, which acts as a house guard, tries to prevent this, he arrives through a portal into the Mohave desert in the Midworld, another dimension in which violent sandstorms are raging.
The next morning, Jake arrives at the place where his visions led him and where he meets the man with the revolver. After telling him about his dreams in which he saw him and the black man and showing him the drawings that he brought with him into this world, the boy from the earth and the taciturn loner make their way through the world together eschatological world, with remnants of an earlier society that no one can do anything with. Roland Deschain of Gilead is, even if he has lost sight of his real task, the last of the once numerous gunslingers and the archenemy of the Man in Black. He's the only one immune to his whisperings. Driven by the desire to take revenge on Walter O'Dim, the Man in Black, for wiping out his entire family, he tries to track him down with Jake's special skills. In protecting the "Dark Tower", however, Roland is no longer interested, since he thinks the fight is lost, but he explains to Jake that an energy emanates from this center of power in the northern wasteland that prevents the darkness and the demons outside the universe can invade. Should Walter O'Dim succeed in bringing down the tower that holds the universe together, not only would the earth be destroyed in the subsequent apocalypse, but the mid-world would also perish. Some cracks and tremors are already showing in all worlds.
Walter O'Dim is a witch, he travels through the worlds and uses his magical powers to destroy everything and everyone who gets in his way. A few words, touches or gestures from him are enough to kill people or let them kill each other. He can also create deceptions and illusions or implant feelings such as hatred in people's minds. He is interested in children with special telepathic abilities, and especially in Jake, when he learns of his strong shining , because it is said that a few human children are able to bring the tower down all by themselves. To find Jake, he also pays Laurie and Lon a visit and kills Lon. Jake's mother can't help sharing her memories of Jake with Walter.
Roland brings Jake to a people to introduce him to the seer Arra. When Jake shares his visions with her, she realizes that the Shining is unusually strong in him, because Jake can use it to see across worlds, such as from the earth, which is called the fundamental world in the middle world, into other areas of the universe. Walter tracks down Jake in the village and sends his men out to bring the boy to him. The injured Roland and Jake are able to escape through a portal to Earth, where the man from Midworld is treated in a hospital. On earth, Roland shows Jake how to use a revolver. Here, too, however, the boy is tracked down by Walter and he takes him to his facility. Roland's attempt to follow the two there is supported by Jake with the help of his shining, in order to keep the portal between the two places open. Eventually Walter is forced to face Roland face to face in battle. The witcher almost succeeds in destroying Roland, but then the gunslinger thinks about his actual task and can kill the black man and free Jake from his captivity.
On earth, where the earthquakes have been particularly strong in the last few days, solar flares are believed to be the trigger. Because there is little that matters to Jake on earth after his mother's death, he goes back to the midworld with Roland.
production
Rod
A cinematic adaptation of Stephen King's novel series The Dark Tower was tackled several times from 2007 onwards, but all projects were abandoned.
The director was the Dane Nikolaj Arcel , who became known for his work on the 2012 film The Queen and the Personal Physician . Arcel also worked on the script adaptation of the film. The other scriptwriters are Akiva Goldsman , Anders Thomas Jensen and Jeff Pinkner . After initially speculating that the film would follow the story of The Gunslinger from 1982, Arcels film begins in the middle of the The Dark Tower series, as King announced in March 2016. However, he left it open which books in the series should be represented in the film adaptation. However, King noted that the Man in Black would play an important role in the film. Arcel, on the other hand, stated that much of the history of film is set in today's modern world. This showed that it is not an exact film adaptation of the book series. In July 2016, Arcel confirmed this and announced that a continuation of the novel series was planned in principle, which would use those elements and characters, which, however, would go on a different journey.
Since the series of novels was long considered unfilmable, the film tells a new version of Stephen King's story that continues the plot and takes place after the events of the seventh and final volume. Sony Pictures and director Nikolaj Arcel avoided the problem of direct adaptation, which also opens up new possibilities for the film and the entire planned franchise. King helped Arcel by reading the script and sending the director a few notes. Arcel said: “He once said to me, 'I have some suggestions for adjustments,' and sent us a copy of the script, which was annotated with handwritten comments. He was kind and respectful. For example, at one point he wrote: 'Maybe Roland shouldn't talk so much in this scene'. He basically wanted to protect the true character of his characters. ”He also received direct feedback from King after he saw the full film. The latter said to him: “That is not exactly what is in my books, but the spirit and the tone were captured very well. I am very happy."
Cast and dubbing
In March 2016, Stephen King announced that Matthew McConaughey and Idris Elba would star in the film. Elba can be seen as Roland Deschain, who is also known from the books as Mid-World's last Gunslinger or The Gunslinger for short . McConaughey plays The Man in Black or Walter. Child actor Tom Taylor took on the role of Jake Chambers, Katheryn Winnick plays his mother Laurie and Nicholas Pauling plays her husband Lon. The young actor Michael Barbieri can be seen in the role of Jake's best friend Timmy. Roland's father Steven is played in flashbacks by Dennis Haysbert , and Jake's father by Karl Thaning . José Zúñiga plays Jake's therapist Dr. Hotchkiss, Eva Kaminsky as the clinic worker Jill, Jackie Earle Haley as one of the followers of the black man named Sayre, Abbey Lee as Walter's assistant Tirana and Fran Kranz as his right-hand man Pimli. Claudia Kim took on the role of the seer Arra Champignon.
The rabid Saint Bernard Cujo from the novel of the same name can also be seen in a cameo on the streets of New York. Stephen King said in an interview that he had missed Susannah, Eddie and Oy in the film.
In the German dubbing, Leon Boden lends his voice to the gunslinger Roland Deschain, and Benjamin Völz speaks the man in black. Sebastian Fitzner synchronizes Jake Chambers, Ulrike Stürzbecher his mother Laurie, Marcus Off her new husband Lon and Marco Eßer Jakes best friend Timmy. Peter Flechtner speaks to Dr. Hotchkiss, Rubina Nath dubbed Arra, and Tobias Lelle took over the speaking role for Sayre.
Filming and film music
.JPG)
Filming began in South Africa in April 2016 and took place there, among other things, on a set up in Cape Town , in front of the Table Mountain skyline, in the South African Cedar Mountains and the country's mighty national parks. Further recordings were made in New York , at the end of June 2016 between Broadway , 5th Avenue and Madison Avenue near Madison Square Park , for which no separate film set was set up, but the streets, squares and a park used as a backdrop were. In addition, the shooting in New York took place in a nightlife district on Lexington Avenue . The recordings confirmed the statements of the director, according to which the film is set in today's modern world. Filming was finished at the end of July 2016.
The soundtrack was composed by Tom Holkenborg aka "Junkie XL". The soundtrack to the film includes 29 pieces of music and was released by Sony Masterworks on August 4th, 2017.
Marketing and Publishing
A first trailer for the film was presented in May 2017. Another trailer was released in early July 2017.
The film premiered on July 31, 2017 in New York and was originally due to come to US cinemas on February 17, 2017 to connect the number 19, which is very important in the series, with the release. For reasons of cost, however, it was decided to postpone it initially to July 28, 2017. After another postponement, the film was released in US cinemas on August 4, 2017 and in German cinemas on August 10, 2017. The film will be included in Netflix 's program on July 1, 2019 .
reception
Age rating
In the US, the film was rated PG-13 by the MPAA . In Germany the film is FSK 12 . The statement of reasons for the release states: “The film is staged with stunning images and contains a series of action scenes in which the ' gunslinger ' also kills numerous villains. However, the killings are not played out excessively and most of the time they cannot be seen in detail. For children and adolescents from 12 years of age, the events and especially the choreographed action scenes are recognizable as unreal and unrealistic. "
Reviews
Nerdist's Victoria McNally says Idris Elba and Tom Taylor developed a wonderful dynamic together, and the gunfights are appropriately cool. But it also feels kind of weirdly conventional, says McNally.
John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter says that even if the books offer more imagination than could ever fit into a feature film and the film tries to introduce newcomers to this world, the makers of the saga are not telling the content of the saga in an archetypal way, and the film seems somehow paved together.
To Owen Gleiberman of Variety, the film looks like a paranoid, metaphysical video game that contains some entertaining visual effects, but the emotional impact tends towards zero, which is not necessarily a disadvantage in this type of film.
Bettina Peulecke from NDR Kultur thinks that the film works best for those who are not familiar with King's books, and it is in the nature of things that the pure epic of his work and the multi-dimensional fantasy world can only serve as an inspiration for a single film: “Fans will recognize allusions, the normal viewer sees a solid action spectacle with strong main actors: Idris Elba as an internally torn and cool gunslinger and Matthew McConaughey as the diabolical man in black. "
A dpa review of the film explains that it is understandable and entertaining even for non-book connoisseurs: “Director Nikolaj Arcel [...] only throws the spotlight on King's fantasy world and leaves out a lot. This serves the clearly recognizable thread of the story, but it could also disappoint a few book fans. ”The review emphasizes the acting performance of Idris Elba, who interprets the role of the broken gunslinger in numerous facets, sometimes egotistical, sometimes vulnerable and sometimes relaxed and cool games. Matthew McConaughey is also a real highlight of the film.
Gross profit
The production costs of around 60 million US dollars are offset by worldwide revenues of 113.2 million US dollars, of which 50.7 million US dollars in the USA alone. The film has so far recorded 371,835 visitors in Germany.
Trivia
The film contains a variety of allusions to other Stephen King novels and films based on them:
- Shining : The opening scene shows a pair of twin girls in blue dresses reminiscent of the Grady twins. There's a photo of the Overlook Hotel on Jake's therapist's desk.
- Cujo : When Jake goes home, a large St. Bernard dog can be seen on the sidewalk.
- Christine : The red 1958 Plymouth Fury can be seen as a model car that Jake's friend Timmy plays with at the beginning of the film.
- Stand by Me - A Summer's Secret : When Jake finds the house he saw in his dream in Brooklyn, a warning sign appears. A similar sign hangs at the entrance to the scrapyard guarded by the dog Chopper.
- It : Jake and Roland roam the forests of Midworld and come across the remains of an amusement park. A destroyed ride bears the name Pennywise and balloons can be seen, both of which point to the murdering clown.
- Room 1408 : The portal Jake and Roland use to return to New York is number 14-08. 1408 is the number of the cursed hotel room in the novel.
- The convicts : Roland touches a black and white poster of Rita Hayworth in the gun shop . One such poster is used by the convicted Andy Dufresne to cover his tunnel used to escape Shawshank Prison.
- Misery : There's a copy of Misery's Child in Walter's control room.
- Salem has to burn : Towards the end of the film, Jake and Roland pass a sign for a shop called Barlow & Straker's. Master vampire Kurt Barlow and his human servant Richard Straker open an antique shop in the small town of Salem's Lot.
The number 19 plays a central role in the novel cycle. It appears in the film at the beginning as a chalk painting of the children playing. The destination portal that Jake specifies to reach midworld is numbered 19-19.
Spin-offs and sequels
In addition to the film adaptation of the book series with Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey in the leading roles, a television series is also being planned as a spin-off , in which at least Elba will take on the role of Roland Deschain again. It is said to be a prequel, the story of which is largely based on the fourth volume Glas (original title: The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass ) of the fantasy series and illuminates the origins of Roland Deschain in more detail. Anders Thomas is writing the script for this together with Nikolaj Arcel . Glen Mazzara takes over the post of showrunner .
Web links
- The Dark Tower in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The Dark Tower atRotten Tomatoes(English)
- The Dark Tower in the German dubbing index
- The Dark Tower - Official Trailer from Sony Pictures Germany on Youtube (Video)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Release certificate for The Dark Tower . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry (PDF; test number: 170063 / K).
- ↑ Age rating for The Dark Tower . Youth Media Commission .
- ↑ 'The Dark Tower' actually a continuation of the King books In: moviejones.de, June 16, 2017.
- ↑ The Dark Tower Director on Secrets, Theories and Spinoff Plans In: ign.com, June 19, 2017. (Video)
- ↑ The dark tower - Stephen King supported script work, should be happy with the result In: blairwitch.de, June 22, 2017.
- ↑ Tobias Mayer: Stephen King confirms Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey for 'The Dark Tower' adaptation In: filmstarts.de, March 1, 2016.
- ↑ Evan Saathoff: Jackie Earle Haley Joins 'The Dark Tower' As A Bad Guy Who Shouldn't Be In That Movie Yet In: birthmoviesdeath.com, April 14, 2016.
- ↑ Marty Sliva: The Dark Tower: Stephe King's favorite easter egg and hopes for the future of the series. ign.com, May 23, 2017, accessed June 6, 2017 .
- ↑ Nicole Lyn Pesce: A first look at Idris Elba as Stephen King's Gunslinger in 'The Dark Tower' In: nydailynews.com, May 17, 2016.
- ↑ Liz Calvario: 'The Dark Tower' Starts Filming In Cape Town; Stephen King Saga Stars Matthew McConaughey & Idris Elba In: indiewire.com, May 10, 2016.
- ↑ Tim Slagman: Stephen King film adaptation of 'The Dark Tower': Let it stuck, Gunslinger In: Spiegel Online, August 8, 2017.
- ↑ Idris Elba is The Gunslinger on The Dark Tower Set In. comingsoon.net, July 3, 2016.
- ↑ Ethan Sacks: Matthew McConaughey, Idris Elba film 'The Dark Tower' scenes, doing their gunslinging in New York City In: nydailynews.com, July 1, 2016.
- ↑ Nell Casey: Tantalizing New Photos From The NYC Set Of Stephen King's 'Dark Tower' Adaptation ( Memento of the original from October 20, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: gothamist.com, July 7, 2016.
- ↑ Adam Chitwood: New 'The Dark Tower' Set Photos Reveal Matthew McConaughey's Man in Black In: collider.com, July 1, 2016.
- ↑ Anthony Breznican: Stephen King's The Dark Tower film is being postponed In: Entertainment Weekly, November 3, 2016.
- ↑ 'The Dark Tower' soundtrack details In: filmmusicreporter.com, July 7, 2017.
- ↑ Annemarie Havran: 'The Dark Tower': First trailer for the film adaptation of Stephen King's 'Dark Tower' with Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey In: filmstarts.de, May 3, 2017.
- ↑ Annemarie Havran: 'The Dark Tower': New trailer for the Stephen King epic with Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey In: filmstarts.de, July 10, 2017.
- ↑ Stephen King's 'The Dark Tower' film premieres in New York In: reuters.com, August 1, 2017.
- ↑ Vera Tidona: New on Netflix in July 2019 - Complete list of all new films and series. In: gamestar.de, June 22, 2019.
- ^ The Dark Tower In: parentpreviews.com. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
- ↑ Reason for approval for The Dark Tower In: Voluntary Self-Control of the Film Industry. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
- ↑ Victoria McNally: 'The Dark Tower' Is Entertaining, But Not Groundbreaking In: nerdist.com, August 2, 2017.
- ↑ John DeFore, 'The Dark Tower': Film Review In: The Hollywood Reporter, August 2, 2017.
- ↑ Owen Gleiberman: Film Review: 'The Dark Tower' In: Variety, August 2, 2017
- ↑ Bettina Peulecke: Stephen King's fantasy saga 'The Dark Tower' In: ndr.de, August 7, 2017.
- ↑ Film review by dpa: On a solid foundation: With a horror factor: Stephen King's 'The Dark Tower' In: Stern Online, August 7, 2017.
- ↑ The Dark Tower In: boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
- ↑ Top 100 Germany 2017. In: insidekino.com . Retrieved April 12, 2018.
- ↑ Angie Han: 'The Dark Tower' TV Series Plans Unveiled, Idris Elba to Return as Roland the Gunslinger In: slashfilm.com, September 21, 2016.
- ↑ Dominik Zwingmann: The Dark Tower: First details about the spin-off series announced In: pcgames.de, September 23, 2016.
- ↑ 'Der Dunkle Turm' series adapts Book IV: 'Der Dunkle Durm' series as a prequel with Idris Elba - and close to the book In: moviejones.de, August 1, 2017.
- ↑ Max Wieseler: The Dark Tower - The Walking Dead Showrunner joins the series In: moviepilot.de, August 4, 2017.
