496 Che

[lacritfan]

Saw this at the Landmark today. Want to preface by saying I know next to nothing about Che Guevara and haven't even seen Motorcycle Diaries so I can only comment on the film itself and not any of the politics.

• -I think it's a big mistake to divide it into two separate movies. It's mostly in Spanish anyway so dividing it in two isn't going to make it any easier for American audiences who hate reading subtitles to swallow. They're better off presenting it as a four hour art house movie, having just two showings a day and charging a bit more. I do have to commend Soderbergh and Del Toro for filming it in Spanish instead of English with accents, really adds to the authenticity.
  
  -Other reason they should keep it as one movie is I think Part One is a lot more interesting than Two. If I had to pay separately I would feel a little let down by Part Two. Part One is a lot like Traffic, most of it follows Che across Cuba intercut with over exposure for scenes in Mexico City where he first meets Castro and black & white for when he was in New York after the fact; the different styles worked well going back and forth. Part Two is just a linear retelling of his last days in Bolivia and while there are some great scenes it just wasn't as interesting. Did remind me of The Thin Red Line except with hot brush-covered mountains instead of lush grass-covered ones. Scenes like a handful of Che's men hiding while the camera pans up to the mountain top with an entire battalion closing in were particularly effective. I guess the bottom line is Two doesn't really provide a satisfying resolution to everything that was built up in One.
  
  -I don't know what the real Che was like so I don't know how good a job Benicio did in portraying him but his performance was outstanding and I can understand why he won Best Actor at Cannes and hope he at least gets nominated come Oscar time.
  
  -Really isn't the Lawrence of Arabia of this generation, not anywhere near as epic in scope (literally) to me. Mountains aren't the same as vast deserts, there aren't any scenes like the appearance of Sherif Ali from the horizon or the Aqaba scene that pans from the desert to the sea with the cannons facing the wrong way. A similar train derailment scene has nothing on the one in LofA. It is epic enough that I would try and see it in a theater as opposed to VOD but if it's your only option you won't lose as much as like seeing LofA on a TV would.
  
  -I suppose if there's a failure of Che it's that I now only know events of his life but not much about the man himself. Del Toro's performance conveys Che's passion but I don't have an opinion on the man one way or another. I'm guessing the final takeover of Havana/Cuba and the aftermath might have given more insight but this is totally left out of the film.
  
  -Any fan of Soderbergh or Del Toro should definitely see it even as two separate movies. Who knows, I may have appreciated Two more if I had time to let One sink in.

[Antoine Doinel]

The roadshow screenings have been extended into January. I hope the financial success of these screenings encourages IFC to expand the offering to other cities.

[redbill]

The roadshow screenings have been extended into January. I hope the financial success of these screenings encourages IFC to expand the offering to other cities.

...thus making it an actual road show.

[flyonthewall2983]

After seeing the trailer, I'm a little confused. Can someone tell me if both parts are different aspect ratios or just one?

[Antoine Doinel]

According to IMDB, Part One is 2:35:1 and Part Two is 1:85:1.

[chaddoli]

That's correct. Don't quite know why he decided to do that.

[King Prendergast]

That's correct. Don't quite know why he decided to do that.

I can confirm this, just saw it last night at the Ziegfeld. Still trying to get my head completely around this epic. It is surely a masterpiece. SS's finest film to date.

[exte]

According to IMDB, Part One is 2:35:1 and Part Two is 1:85:1.

Because he shot the second film first with the red prototype. Afterwards, in gearing up for the second film, he told red he would shoot anamorphic, and they thought he was crazy. By the time he began, they were ready with updates...

Here:

Let me tell you what is incredible about Steven Soderbergh in my eyes.

1. Academy Award winning Director.

2. Loves to shoot his own stuff. And edit it.

3. He doesn't ask anyone's permission to do what he thinks will work.

4. Made a decision to shoot two Ché features (Benecio Del Toro) based on seeing Peter Jackson footage and one quick test shoot at his house (with Jarred, Deanan and myself) on two prototype, pre-production RED ONE cameras.

5. Assembles his troops in Spain waiting for two RED ONEs to show up. Has told his team he does not need backup cameras. RED will come through. We got the CF cards working minutes before shooting begins by emailing firmware to Deanan, Rob and Ivan in Spain. They then drive to location and fire up the cameras and start rolling...

6. 1st day shooting in a walk down only valley, 100+ degree temperature. Cameras overheat. SS says "put ice packs on them until RED can figure this out" and continues shooting. Continues this process for a few days until we can email a firmware upgrade. Pre-production firmware, no exposure assist or frame guides of any kind, 24fps only... barely more advanced than "Boris" and "Natasha" used by Peter Jackson. Never complains. Not once. Only... "happy to be here".

7. Sends me an email how thrilled he is to shoot RED and probably will never shoot anything else, no matter what the budget. Loves the cameras.

8. After finishing the 1st (2nd) Ché movie, decides to shoot the next one anamorphic. We tell him he is nuts. He believes that we will find a way to make it work. We do. He is thrilled with the results.

9. After shooting and editing the two Ché movies, SS informs us he is shooting "The Informant" (Matt Damon) on RED. "What do you have in the way of improvements?" We give him Build 15. Off he goes.

10. Next up is "The Girlfriend Experience". Shot on RED Build 18 (with anamorphic support). His 1st AC surprises him onset that he can actually view the anamorphic footage correctly on his monitor. He wrote me a note to tell me, "you won't believe how good this stuff looks... well, maybe you will."

11. Next up... 3D on RED.

I have to say several things about Steven. He is wickedly smart. He never gets flustered (that I have seen). He is an incredible story-teller... one of the best.

He never once complained about "what RED couldn't do". He always made work what he could do with any given version of RED. If I tell him that we just enabled something, he'll respond with something like "well that will be nice. I could use that." Steven has never once asked us for any special treatment... only pushing us along by believing in us. Amazing what a powerful technique that is.

Sometimes on this board we get so carried away with every spec, feature or wish that we paralyze ourselves with actually doing something. I have learned a lot from Steven. Not just about cameras and shooting, but about living. "We have what we have and that is plenty enough (for today) to do something meaningful. If you give me more, I'll do more. But I have enough now." I just love his philosophy.

I have met many people during my business career. Michael Jordan is a close friend. As is Lance Armstrong. Steven Soderbergh soars to the elite list of people that inspire me. Peter Jackson is on that list as well. None of these people are on my list because they are big names. It is because they are big people doing big things without complaining about "what they don't have". Lance never said "I can't do this anymore because I have cancer". Peter never said, "OK... I'll look at these prototypes when they are really ready."

God love those that are brave and inspire us. Today, it is Steven Soderbergh for me. Not only did he believe in RED, he didn't wait for someone else to "do it" before he got brave and shot a large budget film(s) on completely unproven prototypes. He forced us to perform by believing in us. How could we ever let him down?

Jim

[Antoine Doinel]

IFC and Blockbuster love each other, and though it isn't completely confirmed, Che will probably arrive on Blu-Ray in mid-2009 at your favorite blue and yellow monolith.

[Zumpano]

Does anyone know where I can find the list of cities that this film will play when it's supposed to "expand" on Jan. 9th? Using the google I couldn't find anything, and IFC Films website is not very informative (a link to the expansion list of cities, as well as a link to an "official site" link to nothing).

Selfishly, I just want to know if Seattle is going to get this badboy.

[Adam]

I suppose if there's a failure of Che it's that I now only know events of his life but not much about the man himself. Del Toro's performance conveys Che's passion but I don't have an opinion on the man one way or another. I'm guessing the final takeover of Havana/Cuba and the aftermath might have given more insight but this is totally left out of the film.

I agree with much of this. Saw it last night, also in the "Roadshow" edition at the Nuart. Proper roadshow, no credits, a decent program that they hand you as you enter with all the credits and some photos.

I think they key is that this isn't really a biopic. I think it's two representations of guerilla revolutionary movements, the first showing how they can succeed (in Cuba); the second half how they fail (in Bolivia), using Che as the key character for each, but not trying to explain him fully. I think the criticisms of the missing elements of Che's life (anything before meeting Fidel; anything while being a minister, etc in Cuba) are misguided. So, oddly enough, I think the film overall might not have the most appropriate title for the film, although it's good for marketing. Far better than "Benjamin Button" is you're trying to pick between two long films.

[LQ]

AV Club interview with Soderbergh.

[Antoine Doinel]

Selfishly, I just want to know if Seattle is going to get this badboy.

Yep, and so are eight other cities.

[ranaing83]

Does anyone have any idea if the Roadshow version contains scenes that won't be in the film when it is split and released in 2 parts?

[Galen Young]

Selfishly, I just want to know if Seattle is going to get this badboy.

Yep, and so are eight other cities.

That's great news, I'm very excited to see the roadshow version. Except for -->Seattle (Landmark Varsity)<-- Damn it! I hate the fucking Varsity! (sorry to anyone here who might be a fan of the place) They might as well have dumped at the Seven Gables for that matter. I'll still be there for the first show though. (damn it...)

[royalton]

So I assume the roadshow is over in NYC after tonight? It sold out on me today.

[Antoine Doinel]

Yeah, tonight was the last night in NYC.

[TedW]

Does anyone have any idea if the Roadshow version contains scenes that won't be in the film when it is split and released in 2 parts?

The only difference: the roadshow has an overture and an entr'acte, with map sequences and music. And no credits. That's it.

[Jeff]

The roadshow version is going wider again on February 6. I can't find a complete list of cities getting it that day, but I do know that Indianapolis, Atlanta, and Denver (woot!) will be among them.

[ozukarodzi]

I had a chance to see Che (the Roadshow) today at Belcourt Theater, the film was shown in two part with a 15 minute intermission between, price at $15, which comes with a beautiful illustrated book. After coming out of the theater, one of my friend complained about the length and slow pace of some of the sequences (the Guerilla warfare).The length of the film never botherd me (close to 5 hour).

Guerrilla, the second part of the film closely resemble Che’s The Bolivian Diary.

[manicsounds]

"Che Part 1" opened wide in Japan, following with Part 2 1 month later. Part 1 debuted at #2 in the box office rankings, (Right behind Wall-E, which shows how bizzarely late Japan almost always is with films) so it is clear that the film has a big audience around.

[knives]

Yeah, it's finally coming to San Diego. I'm nervous though because it says 'special admission applies'. Anyone able to translate, can I just go in on a Saturday without doing anything special?

[PerfectDepth]

Yeah, it's finally coming to San Diego. I'm nervous though because it says 'special admission applies'. Anyone able to translate, can I just go in on a Saturday without doing anything special?

I paid $15 per ticket for a sunday matinee. Don't know if the evening shows are more expensive. But no, nothing special.

[knives]

Whew, I was worried I might need a slip like when they have sneak previews.

[domino harvey]

Who knows, I may have appreciated Two more if I had time to let One sink in.[/list]

Saw this last night and this is my gut reaction as well. Because the Argentine is one of Soderbergh's best films, a whirling and obtuse collection of strung together events. Much of the film is filled with small moments that look like a string of deleted scenes edited together. But this is where the magic of the film is found-- in how it tells a story in ellipses and excerpts. And this is a film that could convince me to go Blu, especially those skies in the last thirty minutes!

But Part Two really is a completely separate film. It seems like it's better to view this event as a double feature rather than an epic-length film, because Part Two is operating on a different, more straight-forward level. My first reaction simply was that it wasn't nearly as successful as the first part, but it's also so different in tone and execution that such a comparison doesn't feel quite fair. But both films are so dense that this is a five hour event that needs to be seen multiple times, a luxury not yet afforded to most of us.