The Man in the High Castle

[rueful]

Jan 24, 2015 16:00:10 GMT adina said:

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.

I have no preconceived notions about this story, since I haven't read the book... but I thought it was really funny that the I Ching refuses to put up with any Rufus fangirl nonsense at all.

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.

My complaints are a lot like the people who say, "Why is everyone mumbling all of a sudden?" when really they need help with their hearing. It's probably down to my aging eyes.  (I'm getting to be such a cranky old woman that next week I'll be yelling, "You kids get off my lawn!"  )  I'm not complaining about the dark in the street outside at nighttime (very intense scene!) but more about the dim interiors, as when Juliana and Frank are together in the apartment or her visit to her mother, which was during the daytime. I feel like in general, in films and tv these days, no one ever turns on a lamp; every face is always backlit through the window if it's lit at all. I just want to be able to see who is talking, and I especially don't want to miss any of Rufus's brilliant "eye acting".  

But that's a minor complaint, because I really liked the show.  I'm glad to see it has overwhelmingly positive reviews from viewers.  Out of 5345 reviews on Amazon so far, 4706 are 5 star!  

[nell]

I have to agree with Adina on the cinematography. The picture quality was amazing but then I watched it on a full size TV in HD. I asked a few others that also watched on TV and they also confirmed no lighting issues, even him indoors and dark lighting is a bit of a bug bear with him usually.  I assume all of you that had issues watched on a pc?  I do think it's ironic that a series that will be streamed plays better on tv than pc.

However,

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.....

Now listen very carefully I shall say this only once! Adina you must accept that John Smith is misunderstood. I feel you have fallen into a trap set by the director. Joe Blake is everything he seems to be. John Smith I am convinced is not, and even if he is I'm sure he has a very good reason And I'm sure that isn't just my Roof tinted specs talking

[kygal]

I hope Nell is right and I hope we get to find out!

[adina]

Jan 24, 2015 18:55:37 GMT nell said:

Now listen very carefully I shall say this only once! Adina you must accept that John Smith is misunderstood.

Ed McCarthy: WHAT?!
Frank Frink: Yeah, that's why I said that it was a bad idea to bring Ed to the Rooftop. He will start yelling at Nell in any minute now. We don't need this argument, do we?

Jan 24, 2015 18:33:10 GMT rueful said:

(...)but more about the dim interiors, as when Juliana and Frank are together in the apartment or her visit to her mother, which was during the daytime.

Yes, daytime, but those are scenes of bitter lives. That's why their contrast with the scene when Juliana is at her aikido lesson is so striking. This is the only place where she doesn't feel this being oppressed thing. The beauty of aikido shines.
(Well, from my point of view. )

[rueful]

:PLove the cap-it, Adina. I can almost see their expressions in the dim light. (Just teasing!!  Really great screencap!)

Jan 25, 2015 18:40:13 GMT adina said:

Yes, daytime, but those are scenes of bitter lives. That's why their contrast with the scene when Juliana is at her aikido lesson is so striking. This is the only place where she doesn't feel this being oppressed thing. The beauty of aikido shines.
(Well, from my point of view. )

I guess we'll have to have a friendly disagreement on this one.  To me, the akido scene is dim, backlit, and faces are almost always in shadow, even when she is happily chatting with her friend at the end of the lesson.  




I agree the scene has a feeling of "lightness," somehow, but I don't think it's due to the lighting, if that makes sense.  On the other hand, we do have a possible answer to my complaints (besides my need for better glasses) in Nell's comment about TV versus computer watching.  Maybe my screen is set too dark!  

I keep hoping we'll hear something positive about whether the show will become a series, so I will know whether Adina and I can continue to drive everyone else crazy with our exciting cinematography arguments!   I did find this mention:

The Man in the High Castle, which is currently the highest-rated pilot in the current season. As of this writing, it is also the most voted upon pilot by more than 3,000 votes.

[walt]

I was very surprised that TMITHC was mentioned in our newspaper reporting about the new Amazon pilots (free translation):

The storyline of TMITHC is intriguing. The season is set in 1962 and based on the novel TMITHC by Philip K. Dick who also wrote the guideline for "Blade Runner". The assumption was: what would have happened if the Nazis had won that war? In this dystopia the USA are separated into the "Greater Nazi Reich" in the east and the "Japanese Pacific States" in the west. The subway of New York is called U-Bahn, Hitler suffers from Parkinson and at the Times Square American nazis patrol with German shepherd dogs.

www.sueddeutsche.de/medien/abstimmung-ueber-neue-amazon-serien-guter-pilot-schlechter-pilot-1.2319838
(you have to scroll down quite a lot to find TMITHC)

[kygal]

I imagine some of the RT's are among the 3,000.

Nice info Walt.

[midoro]

Thanks Walt!

[GreenEyesToo]

for the info, Walt!

And I'm loving the cap-its!     < settles back to wait for the next episode of Adina v Rueful >

[rueful]

Thanks for the link and translation, Walt! 

I'm not sure how long it will be there, but the entire pilot is currently available on YT. The Man in the High Castle

[rai]

Jan 29, 2015 21:16:29 GMT rueful said:

Thanks for the link and translation, Walt! 

I'm not sure how long it will be there, but the entire pilot is currently available on YT. The Man in the High Castle

That's great news, Rueful, for those who have been unable to see the pilot.

Rufus told me he was pleased with the show and wouldn't mind doing another little series again.

So vote vote vote for "The Man" - I would love to see more of him myself.

Rai

[kygal]

Thanks Rueful!

[nell]

Thanks for the article Rueful . I'm so glad this is popular it certainly got my vote. I couldn't have said it better

Add The Man in the High Castle to the many works that have inspired/been adapted for screen. This novel, which presents an alternate history where the Axis Powers won World War II, is one of the writer's greatest and is on the edge of becoming Amazon's newest digital series.

Oh yes - please, please please!!!

This year's Pilot Season -- a period in which Amazon users can vote on their favorite pilots in order for them to be turned into series -- includes an adaptation of The Man in the High Castle, which is currently the highest-rated pilot in the current season. As of this writing, it is also the most voted upon pilot by more than 3,000 votes.

Come on voters

Chances that this pilot will turn into a series? Well, let's just say it's probably a good year to be a PKD fan. We haven't always been treated to the best adaptations, and many of our favorite books still remain off the screens (but really, I doubt I'd ever want to see something like UBIK on my TV), but Amazon's The Man in the High Castle is truly something to celebrate as a great first step into our next scifi TV obsession.

Rufus and to us.

Many some that couldn't watch through Amazon can take advantage of You Tube.  Quick folks grab it while you can.

[adina]

So Rufus is pleased with the show?! Great.

And now let's see some words from another pleased creator - there is a little email interview with Frank Spotnitz. www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/the-man-in-the-high-castle-producer-frank-spotnitz-on-his-amazon-pilot

Let's start with the basics: How did you get involved in adapting the book, how long was this in development, and how did you wind up at Amazon?

Frank Spotnitz: I was approached by David Zucker at Scott Free about two years ago. They had been developing the project for about five years at that point and another broadcaster was interested in taking a crack at it. I wrote two episodes, but they didn’t get greenlit. The project was really in danger of never getting made when I got a call about 14 months ago from Morgan Wandell, who had recently joined Amazon. He asked me if I had any scripts I really loved, and I told him about “The Man in the High Castle.” To my delight, he and his colleagues at Amazon loved it, too, and it was greenlit about six months later.

I've never read the book, so correct me if I'm wrong on this, but my understanding is that the pilot covers about half the plot of the book, and that the book only takes place in the western part of the country, and doesn't show us Nazi-occupied New York. How did you approach adapting Dick's work for a TV series, and how much are you going to have to expand on what's in the novel to make this work as an ongoing show?

Frank Spotnitz: It was one of my favorite books in college. I was thrilled to have the chance to adapt it, but frankly a little intimidated by the thought of changing Philip K. Dick’s narrative in any way. But I knew that if I was going to make it work as a television series, I was going to have to do just that. While I had to change the narrative, I was determined to stay as true as possible to the themes and ideas that mattered to him. He has one of the most fascinating minds of any novelist I’ve ever read, and I didn’t want to dilute or corrupt his insights. The joy of turning this into a television series is that we can not only explore the themes in the novel, but do it on a very large canvas.

Following on that, do you have a sense of how long the story could run? Is this a 2 or 3-season show, or do you think the alternate America is rich enough to fuel a long run of stories?

Frank Spotnitz: It’s incredibly rich – and challenging. You never know how long a series will last, but I could easily see this story progressing for many seasons.

How much of the alternate New York and San Franciscos were created practically, and how much digitally? Is this the kind of show you could have produced on a TV budget at the time you were on X-Files? And what did you learn from making the pilot about how easy or difficult it will be to maintain this sense of quasi-period going forward?

Frank Spotnitz: I try to avoid digital effects wherever possible, but for some moments – like the reveal of the Nazi Times Square or wide shots of Japanese-occupied San Francisco – you have no choice. My favorite CGI elements are the ones where the audience has no idea they’re CGI at all, and there are quite a few of those.

The budget for this series is quite high, and I was amazed and impressed that Amazon was prepared to make the investment. It certainly dwarfs what we spent on “The X-Files,” but there would have been no way to depict this world properly without it. Having said that, I think people will watch this show for the characters and the human drama that unfolds, and I would never want spectacle to overshadow any of that.

Your pilot is not only the highest-rated of this round, but has by far the most votes of this round at the time I'm doing this. I know that isn't the only thing Amazon takes into account ("Transparent" was their lowest-rated pilot of the second batch, and look what happened), but are you feeling pretty good about your chances? I know some other pilot producers in this and previous classes have had the chance to start hiring writers and breaking story even before the pick-up decisions are made; are you doing any additional work on the project yet, or just waiting for a decision?

Frank Spotnitz: We are certainly hoping and preparing for success, but don’t have any official word yet. I have been disappointed too many times before, and know not to count on anything in this business until it’s really real.

For that matter, how has it felt having access not only to instant audience feedback, but largely positive feedback like this? Are you just constantly hitting reload on the show's Amazon page to look for new reviews, or are you trying to tune that out and focus on actual work?

Frank Spotnitz: I have always read all my reviews, the bad along with the good (although you remember the bad much more than the good!). I am just too curious to see how it’s playing with the audience, and I have a thick-enough skin to handle the less charitable assessments. It has been really nice to see how warmly this has been received, but I can’t say any of it would particularly change the way I would proceed with the series.

Having worked in broadcast and various levels of cable, how different, if at all, has the process of making this pilot for Amazon been? Did you make any different decisions with the crowd-sourced pilot process in mind, or is a pilot a pilot, no matter who's judging it?

Frank Spotnitz: I think a pilot is a pilot, no matter who’s judging it, but I will say I am thinking a lot about how to tell stories for the series in a streaming environment where you can anticipate a huge portion of the audience will consume an entire season in the course of a day, two days or a week. It’s a very different thing when you know you’re competing to win a time slot and your audience is going to have to wait a week for another installment.


It was interesting, wasn't it? Well, I could add some more questions.


(((I found this article interesting too, but it is rather for those who have read the book. nerdalicious.com.au/filmtv/ridley-scotts-not-quite-the-man-in-the-high-castle/ Read Dick's letter!)))


P.S. To Rueful -

[walt]

Rai and Adina for the extra infos on TMITHC!