Yesterday two people cycled to our video store (Film Buff Central, Port Adelaide, Australia). They were from Venezuela and slightly misread our social media. We have been championing the film Hard To Be God in our articles relating to cinema distribution.
The couple had come to actually rent the film and I had to disappoint and let them know it hasn't been released on DVD yet. They cycled all the way from North Adelaide to Port Adelaide on the off chance we may have it.
I let them know that we are just as excited in seeing Hard To Be God and that one of our founding members Chris Luscri had traveled interstate to the Melbourne Film Festival almost exclusively to see it.
Chris came back from MIFF claiming it was the scifi film of the decade, which made me extra curious to see it. Well last night I was given an online copy and watched it immediately.
Masterpiece. You will not enter a world like this anywhere else. Hard To Be A God is a monochrome zone of smoke, fog, rain, mud, spit and desperation unlike any previous film excursion. A camera's wide angle constantly floats, amongst this atmosphere and rarely cutting as it glides around like a character trailing these damp feudal figures. Peasants don't just walk past; they stop and look at you as the audience is pulled in as a participant. I cannot wait to see it again and hopefully on the big screen.
Cinema needs this film. The art form needs something to wipe the slate clean. Medieval fantasy has become art-directed gloss with unnatural blue tones and well-kept hair. Where is the dysentery? Where is the gangrene? Hard To Be A God renders every Lord Of The Rings and Hobbit film as obsolete. Don't expect this to be at your next comic or cosplay convention unless the gamers grow up. This hard fantasy and sci-fi isn't for the milkshake slurpers.
Hard To Be A God will make you feel something. Half an hour later I went to the bathroom and observed an insect's entire journey crawling across the tiles. My own mortality depicted as six legs escaping from the light. This was the kind of meditative state the film put me in. We need Hard To Be A God shown in all its epic glory on the big screen and I encourage you to spread the word, express your anticipation and visit in droves when it gets here.
Mike Retter
The couple had come to actually rent the film and I had to disappoint and let them know it hasn't been released on DVD yet. They cycled all the way from North Adelaide to Port Adelaide on the off chance we may have it.
I let them know that we are just as excited in seeing Hard To Be God and that one of our founding members Chris Luscri had traveled interstate to the Melbourne Film Festival almost exclusively to see it.
Chris came back from MIFF claiming it was the scifi film of the decade, which made me extra curious to see it. Well last night I was given an online copy and watched it immediately.
Masterpiece. You will not enter a world like this anywhere else. Hard To Be A God is a monochrome zone of smoke, fog, rain, mud, spit and desperation unlike any previous film excursion. A camera's wide angle constantly floats, amongst this atmosphere and rarely cutting as it glides around like a character trailing these damp feudal figures. Peasants don't just walk past; they stop and look at you as the audience is pulled in as a participant. I cannot wait to see it again and hopefully on the big screen.
Cinema needs this film. The art form needs something to wipe the slate clean. Medieval fantasy has become art-directed gloss with unnatural blue tones and well-kept hair. Where is the dysentery? Where is the gangrene? Hard To Be A God renders every Lord Of The Rings and Hobbit film as obsolete. Don't expect this to be at your next comic or cosplay convention unless the gamers grow up. This hard fantasy and sci-fi isn't for the milkshake slurpers.
Hard To Be A God will make you feel something. Half an hour later I went to the bathroom and observed an insect's entire journey crawling across the tiles. My own mortality depicted as six legs escaping from the light. This was the kind of meditative state the film put me in. We need Hard To Be A God shown in all its epic glory on the big screen and I encourage you to spread the word, express your anticipation and visit in droves when it gets here.
Mike Retter