The Man in the High Castle

[walt]

a lot for all the infos and screencaps, ladies! Hopefully I'll soon have some leisure time to watch TMITHC soon myself...

[kissmekate]

Thanks for the screencaps, LTM. Nice appetizers. (I must confess I find _this_ uniform a little disturbing ... although he certainly wears it well.)

[kygal]

Thought it was good. Some character twists in the book so imagine the same for the series. Hope it goes to series. Rufus looked very handsome. Hope to see more of him. Lots of positive reviews/comments left at amazon. The 2 pilots I have watched were well done.

[lovethemanrs]

LOL. Hubby got in really late last night. I asked if if he wanted to watch a new Amazon pilot!!! He asked how long it was and when I said about an hour, he declined saying if it was a half hour that would be OK. Maybe we could watch it Friday evening? I started to watch it again anyway, meanwhile he grabbed a bowl of cereal and sat down with me. When Rufus appeared, he laughed, saying 'no wonder' I was so keen to watch it. In the end he watched the entire programme and thought it was good/curiously interesting. I joked with him about him watching it all, he just remarked that I'd 'suckered him in'. Way to go LTM.

Walt, make sure you get some 'down time' to watch really soon - well worth it.

[kissmekate]

Good to hear that your hubby enjoyed it, too! I hope I'll get around to watching it soon.

[Rachel]

Just finished watching this and was very impressed. The acting, the casting, the script were all first class. I hope this gets picked up, it's a great vehicle for Rufus. Regardless, I'll have to read the book. I filled out the survey afterward giving this pilot the highest marks. But I have to admit I lied about my age - not because I'm sensitive about my age, but because I wanted to fit into what is the desired demographic.

Agree with Rueful though, the lighting in some scenes was awful. I don't know why American TV directors make this choice. Also agree that Rufus looked lean and mean, a chilling character

[midoro]

Agree with you all, Ladies! Interesting plot and characters with very good acting. Also agree about the light lol! Want to see more of it, especially of Rufus!

Thanks LTM for the great screencaps!

[GreenEyesToo]

I've not been about for a few days, so it's great to see how many Rooftoppers have been able to view this so far (thanks for the caps, LTM!) and have given it the

It's nice to see such positive comments elsewhere, too, not only about Rufus (there's a lot of Twitter buzz about him) but about the production as a whole. It certainly seems to be the pilot getting the best feedback, so fingers crossed that's good news for later in the year.

Not enough Rufus, of course. But what a chilling role! I have my own theories about what his character is really up to.....

I agree about the lighting - let's hope that gets sorted if a series is made (either that, or they put Rufus outside in daylight!) and the dialogue wasn't always easy to catch, but overall a very intriguing concept and deserving of a full series.

[adina]

Well, there is always a back door - I managed to watch the pilot and it is even better than I expected! I think it was a terrific start, they put a lot of things into it. I finished watching the pilot with a "What's next?" urge.
(Well, I was in high spirits, so I thought I should ask the oracle, and to my great surprise, I found an online I Ching thingy. Just for fun, I asked my question and look what I got: www.ichingonline.net/read3.php?x_stp=1421767802&x_hex=797688&x_vrg=Will%20the%20pilot%20win%3F
"The small depart, the great approach." Of course it was just a silly playful deed, and I hope Mr Tagomi won't hate me for that! )

I have my own theories about what his character is really up to.....

Tell us your theories!

Until then I have only Mr Tagomi's warning to occupy with. "Darkness. Pay attention."

[kygal]

If you read the book you know what certain characters are up to. Will depend on if the series stays close to the book ....or not. Will be interesting to see.

[GreenEyesToo]

Oh well done, Adina - so glad you could view it! (We won't ask how! )

Jan 20, 2015 16:56:32 GMT adina said:

I have my own theories about what his character is really up to.....

Tell us your theories!

Double-agent. Or triple!

[adina]

Double-agent. Or triple!

Hmmm, don't you hang about with William Boyd too much these days? Well, for me, the pilot seemed to be pretty eager to give a solid base where the next episodes can be built on, the characters showed us their real face, not only the face they wear in public . (Or I just underestimate the slyness of science fiction.)
John Smith and Inspector Kido are the mirror image of each other, they do the same job, efficiently and mercilessly,

but it is pretty obvious who is the darker and more frightening. Eh, Rufus fans, it's goose pimples time.

[rueful]

Thanks for the screencaps, LTM!   I especially like the profile views.  

The Independent also gave it a good review.

In case you missed it, Amazon released their pilot episode for The Man in the High Castle last week – and it’s rather good.

If you’ve never heard of it, The Man in the High Castle was originally a novel by prolific sci-fi writer Philip K Dick. Yep, that’s the guy who wrote the book that became Blade Runner.

The Blade Runner connections don’t end with Philip K Dick either. Ridley Scott, who directed the 1982 film and is producing a sequel, served as one of the executive producers on the pilot.

The Man in the High Castle has been adapted by Frank Spotnitz, who was a writer on The X-Files for eight of the nine seasons of the show.

With Scott and Spotnitz attached to the project, it's safe to say that this show is in good hands.

The drama is set in a dystopian future where the Nazis have won the war with the help of Japan. The US has been carved up between the two superpower nations, with Germany owning the East Coast and Japan the West Coast.

There’s a neutral bit in the middle in Colorado and the Rocky Mountains where a resistance movement known as ‘The Man in the High Castle’ is based.

With Hitler now at death’s door and a feud breaking out between his underlings, it’s only matter of time before things turn sour as the superpowers engage in a Cold War that could end with a nuclear bomb.

The pilot stars Rufus Sewell as a villainous Nazi commander in New York, Rupert Evans as an aspiring artist in San Francisco, and Alexa Davalos as a judo instructor and runaway called Juliana.

The cinematography is stunning and vibrantly depicts the nightmarish world Dick imagined. The Japanese influences are (again) reminiscent of the San Francisco of Blade Runner – there’s even a little piece of origami thrown in just in case you didn’t get the Scott connections to the project.

The Man in the High Castle is a treat for sci-fi fans out there and is available to watch for free on Amazon. If the pilot receives enough votes on the video-on-demand service, it will be commissioned for a full season. We’re certainly hoping this will be the case.

Amazon may be languishing behind its rival Netflix in reputation – it was never going to be easy to compete with Breaking Bad, Orange is the New Black and House of Cards – but it has been making waves among the critics. Only last week, the video-on-demand service took home a Golden Globe for its show Transparent.

The Man in the High Castle, too, could be another winner if it gets the green light. And if the pilot is anything to go by, this could potentially be the best sci-fi show out there at the moment.



The Independent review included an image.

 

(Which shows that their faces are again in shadow!  I wouldn't mind if that were a cinematic choice
to show they're bad guys, but the good guys always seem to be in shadow too.)


Most of the reviews I've seen have been very good. A couple reviewers I read didn't like "the direction the show was taking," but my goodness, it was only the pilot! How do you know where it's headed?! I hope we get to hear soon whether it's picked up.

Jan 20, 2015 16:56:32 GMT adina said:

W
(Well, I was in high spirits, so I thought I should ask the oracle, and to my great surprise, I found an online I Ching thingy. Just for fun, I asked my question and look what I got: www.ichingonline.net/read3.php?x_stp=1421767802&x_hex=797688&x_vrg=Will%20the%20pilot%20win%3F
"The small depart, the great approach." Of course it was just a silly playful deed, and I hope Mr Tagomi won't hate me for that! )

Thanks for that I Ching link, Adina! I like that the short form of your answer was "Success!" I tried a question of my own. This is NOT a SPOILER, I haven't read the book, so I just tried a question based on Adina's and GE2's conversation: My question was, Is Rufus a double agent? The answer, "This is a time for dealing with reality as it is, not as you would have it be...If you persist in futile efforts to be the Shaper rather than the Shaped, you will completely miss this unique opportunity."

[kygal]

Thanks for the review Rueful. Interesting answer to your question. Glad it is so clear now..haha.

[adina]

Jan 22, 2015 19:11:14 GMT rueful said:

The answer, "This is a time for dealing with reality as it is, not as you would have it be...If you persist in futile efforts to be the Shaper rather than the Shaped, you will completely miss this unique opportunity."

Dear moderators, I know it is a bitter pill to swallow, but it's time to start to see Rufus as a determined nazi officer. Let the horror overwhelm you, don't try to lessen it. The I Ching says that, not me, ask Mr Tagomi, he will say I interpreted it well...or Rueful shouldn't play with me.

The Independent review included an image.
(Which shows that their faces are again in shadow!  I wouldn't mind if that were a cinematic choice
to show they're bad guys, but the good guys always seem to be in shadow too.)

I have to say I find the cinematography amazing and I am ready to defend their way of using the shadows lights and the filters.
Come on, this is a dark reality. Besides, Mr Warren and his nest must be a shadowy thing, and when they got raided, it was a hard attack. Those guys in the photo are there to fulfill a nightmare.
There is pretty much light in the Rikers scenes, coming through the windows!! To emphasize what is inside and what is going on.

It's perfect.
And in the close-ups Smith looks frightening and creepy!
The other plot line is about a coming war - they express that threat visually so well!
No, I think all of them were a cinematic choice, the lights were used to create atmosphere and to add some more to the characters and not to dim them.

+ a Rufus sigh.