Westworld (film)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Movie
German title Westworld
Original title Westworld
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1973
length 89 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Michael Crichton
script Michael Crichton
production Paul Lazarus III ,
Michael I. Rachmil
music Fred Karlin
camera Gene Polito ,
Joseph August
cut David Bretherton
occupation
chronology

Successor  →
Futureworld - The land of the day after tomorrow

Westworld is an American science fiction film directed by, screenwriter, and bestselling writer Michael Crichton from 1973 . The film start in Germany was January 24, 1974.

action

In an uncertain future it will be possible to slip into various roles in amusement park-like facilities with the name Delos (based on the Greek island of the same name ), e.g. B. Gunslinger, knight or Roman ruler. So that there are no limits to the decadent debauchery of the guests, the extras consist of androids . The androids can be “injured” or “killed”, but nothing can happen to people due to special sensors in the weapons. This prevents injuries and deaths, and nothing stands in the way of the guests to behave according to the chosen age. At night, damaged androids are collected and serviced and repaired by engineers in underground workshops. Another aspect is that guests can have sex with androids.

Peter Martin and John Blane choose the Wild West (Westworld) for various adventures. Martin kills a gunslinger in a gunfight in the saloon. When he attacks Blane in his hotel room the next day, Martin kills him again. Martin is arrested according to his role, but is able to break out of prison.

A system error leads to disruptions in the amusement park's automated processes and malfunctions in the robots. Previously it was guaranteed that the androids were defeated by the guests in fights, but now there are confrontations in which this is no longer the case. In addition, the security settings of the weapons no longer work. Many of the guests die as a result, and the Gunslinger Android, which Peter has already defeated twice, sets off to take revenge on his opponent in the duel, according to his programming.

In a duel on Main Street, he kills Peter's friend John. Shocked by the event, Peter realizes the seriousness of the situation and flees from the android. After a long chase through the desert, Peter climbs into the Delos underground facilities , from which the entire complex is controlled and managed. In a laboratory, he can burn the robot's face with acid, which means that it can only perceive thermal radiation. Peter continues to flee into the world of the Middle Ages, but the android picks up its trail again. Peter finally sets it on fire in a medieval royal palace. Peter continues to flee into the dungeon. There he rescues a supposed prisoner. When he gives her some water to drink from a jug, he notices that she is also an android, as the water short-circuits her. The Gunslinger Android can follow him this far, but falls due to the severe fire damage, rears up one last time, badly damaged, then burns in a final series of short circuits and explodes. Peter is traumatized and collapses exhausted.

various

Sequels were

A few years after the "Westworld disaster", the mistakes seem to have been eliminated and "Futureworld" opens its doors. Two reporters are investigating the death of a friend of theirs who died shortly after he returned from Futureworld.
A five-part series on the US broadcaster CBS and a direct sequel to Westworld that completely ignores Futureworld . The inventor of the androids tries to usurp world domination by replacing important political figures with his creations. The TV series wasn't particularly successful and was canceled after the five episodes. One episode of the series is available as an extra on the Blu-ray version of Westworld , which was released on the German market in 2013.

Crichton took up the idea of ​​the hypermodern and deadly amusement park in his later bestseller DinoPark (1990), from which Steven Spielberg made one of the most successful films of all time: Jurassic Park .

Yul Brynner plays the gunslinger - based on his role in The Magnificent Seven (1960). Some of the exterior shots for the film Westworld were made in Red Rock Canyon State Park , Cantil , California.

There is also an English-language making of for the film entitled “The Making of Westworld ”, which was released on DVD in 2003. On the Blu-ray version from 2013 there is a German version of the making of under the title “Am Set von Westworld ” (approx. 9 min.).

Westworld was first shown on television in 1975 on NBC. The broadcaster showed a slightly longer version of the film: In one scene you can see the hovercraft fly by. In the original film, only scenes inside the hovercraft were used. Another additional scene later in the film shows a guest in the world of the Middle Ages who is being tortured.

The TV series Westworld was produced as an adaptation of the film for the US cable broadcaster HBO , which has been aired since October 2, 2016. The series is produced by JJ Abrams and Jonathan Nolan , who also directs and is involved in the scripts. The actors include a. Anthony Hopkins , Ed Harris , Evan Rachel Wood , James Marsden, and Thandie Newton .

Digital image editing

Westworld was the first feature film to use digital image processing. John Whitney, Jr. and Gary Demos from the US company Information International, Inc. digitally processed the footage into a pixel-like representation to show the view of the artificial gunslinger. The approximately 2 minutes and 31 seconds long scene was implemented by color separation (three basic color separations and a black background mask) of each individual film image of the actually filmed scene. The individual color separations were then scanned in and replaced by rectangular fields, the color of which consisted of the color value determined in each case. The resulting pixel matrix was then exposed on regular film material and cut into the film.

Reviews

  • Lexicon of international film : A thematically ambitious science fiction film borrowed from the ' Frankenstein ' myth, technically perfectly staged and precisely photographed, but ultimately too much attached to the superficial, so that the brilliant idea is given away halfway.
  • Ronald M. Hahn , Volker Jansen, Lexicon of Science Fiction Films: The crown of entertainment can only be the desire for legitimate killing, cannibalized by a large company of typically American style that exploits a niche in the market for itself. That could have been an absolute hit. But the film doesn't go into depth. Much remains incomprehensible. For example, who is behind the organization that runs the theme park; what intentions? Do you just have to be afraid of misguided robots or those who control them? The film only delivers (sometimes a bit lengthy) action cinema. Great, however, Yul Brynner […]. 
  • prisma-online : "Westworld" was the first directorial work by bestselling author Michael Crichton. As in his book hit “Jurassic Park”, this is about excesses of the entertainment industry. If ethical principles no longer count and the satisfaction of lower urges (killing people and whoring around) come to the fore, then all technology is of no use either, so the message of this film. Crichton did not fathom the deeper layers that his story actually offers; he focuses on direct action. The most grateful role has Yul Brynner, who is dressed like in "The Magnificent Seven" and as an android seems completely believable. "Westworld" was a great success and had a usable sequel. Director Richard T. Heffron staged "Futureworld" in 1976 with Peter Fonda and Blythe Danner.
  • Variety : Westworld is an excellent film that combines solid entertainment, creepy topicality and wonderfully intelligent, tragicomic plot elements. Michael Crichton's underlying script is as superb as its direction.

Film music

Fred Karlin's film music has been released several times on CD and in different versions. The latest version is a compilation of music from the films Westworld , Coma and The Murderer in the White Coat on the CD label Film Score Monthly.

literature

  • Michael Crichton: Westworld. Verlag Bantam, 1974, ISBN 0-553-08441-0 .
    The book contains a foreword by the then MGM story editor Saul David , an account of the shooting of the film Westworld by Michael Crichton and the script version of the film in the version a few days before shooting began. Not all of the scenes from this script were ultimately included in the finished film. In addition, some scenes from the film are printed as photos and some pictures are available behind the scenes . In the script version, the world Futureworld is already mentioned and described, which does not appear in the Westworld film.
  • Ivo Wittich: West World , in: Filmgenres Science Fiction , edited by Thomas Koebner , Reclam-Verlag, Stuttgart 2003, pp. 256–250. ISBN 3-15-018401-0

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Denise Petski: 'Westworld', 'Divorce', Insecure '&' High Maintenance 'To Bow This Fall On HBO. In: Deadline.com. May 26, 2016, accessed June 20, 2016 .
  2. ↑ Westworld. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed December 8, 2016 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  3. ↑ Ronald M. Hahn, Volker Jansen: Lexicon of Science Fiction Films: [2000 films from 1902 to today] . 7th edition. Volume 2, Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, Munich 1997, ISBN 3-453-11860-X , p. 1016.
  4. ^ Variety , accessed February 22, 2008.

Web links

Wikiquote: Westworld  - Quotes