Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: Following (1998)

4/07/2019

Following (1998) - Nolan's ineffectual debut

♥♥

+ Best $ Return of the Year: 40 Times its Cost + Most Overrated Movie of the Year + Worst Poster of the Year

A later-made poster with praise, beige color and a man in B/W for Christopher Nolan's Following

A young man has an odd habit of following strangers around London. One time he follows a burglar, who supplies him with some fresh bad habits.

Following is written and directed by debuting English master filmmaker Christopher Nolan (Inception (2010)). The story makes leaps in time such as other Nolan films do, and the leaps here are only obvious through the changing length of our protagonist's hair.
The acting is unremarkable in this ultra-low-budget first feature, which can't be grouped among the pack of inspired first efforts that have come from other filmmakers through time.
The use of black and white film here points to an aspiration to make something noirish, which is apparent in the content, - the presentation of the big city, a femme fatale character who commits fraud etc., - but it doesn't work. In line with its postmodernist era, the film is underlain with a modern electro-score (by David Julyan (The Cabin in the Woods (2011))). Following is a fast-forgotten filmmaker's training picture.

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Christopher Nolan: 2017 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 2017 in films - according to Film Excess
Dunkirk (2017) - Nolan champions cinema with masterful war movie Interstellar (2014) - Nolan heads to space in opulent, exciting epic
2014 in films - according to Film Excess
The Dark Knight Rises (2012) or, Batman and the Storm, Darkness, Anarchy, Evil, Depression
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
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2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess Inception (2010) - Nolan's best is a grand piece of action sci-fi, perfectly awesome nonsense
2008 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2008 in films - according to Film Excess
The Dark Knight (2008) - Nolan's best Batman
Batman Begins (2005) or, Modern, Dark, Smooth Batman

1998 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 6k $
Box office: Reportedly 240k $
= Mega-hit (returned 40 times its cost)
[Following premiered 12 September (Toronto International Film Festival, Canada) and runs 70 minutes. The shoot was designed as inexpensively as possible, with 16mm film stock the one big expense. Shooting took place in London, England from 1996-1997 on Saturdays, as the cast and tiny crew worked day jobs. The film made 48k $ in North America (20 % of the total gross). It was nominated for a British Independent Film award. Nolan returned with Memento (2000). Jeremy Theobald (Larceny (1996, short)) returned in The Bill (2000, TV-series) and theatrically in Batman Begins (2005). Following is fresh at 80 % with a 7.04/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Following?

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William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

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William Hurt has passed away

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Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

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4/07/2019

Following (1998) - Nolan's ineffectual debut

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