April 6, 2008

Pop Quiz…

What do you get when you mix Felicity with Godzilla and throw in a dash of The Blair Witch Project? If you answered “the most top-secret movie of 2008” you are right, and if you answered Cloverfield you’d also be correct. From visionary producer, J.J. Abrams (Alias, Lost) and the skillful direction of Matt Reeves comes the most talked about movie of 2008, now on DVD. Actually, the buzz for this movie got started back in 2007 when the mysterious trailer debuted with the summer release of Transformers. At the time the movie didn’t even have a title. There were so many code names in play for the project to keep it secret, and Cloverfield was the one that stuck.

The hype surrounding this mystery movie was immense and Cloverfield opened on January 18th, 2008 to sold out theaters and record box office numbers. Sadly, the theatrical release of Cloverfield quickly became more popular for the numerous reported cases of motion sickness and people having to leave the theater, but those that managed to stick out the 84 minutes of gorilla-style camera work were treated to one of the best monster movies of recent time.

Cloverfield was born from the creative mind of J.J. Abrams, who while in Japan promoting Mission Impossible 3, was in a toy store with his son and noticed just how popular Godzilla still was, even after all these years, and decided that America needed a monster to call our own, but not necessarily Godzilla. After the 1998 debacle with Matthew Broderick I seriously doubt anybody would try to make a movie using the Big G’s name again.

As the project moved further into development several core concepts came into being. The movie would be shot with a single handheld camera, from the perspective of the actors, and it would be one of the most top-secret projects in recent film history. How secret? Let’s just say that the actors didn’t even know what they were auditioning for. Some thought it might be the new Star Trek movie, some thought it might be a film based on Felicity, while others, after reading random scenes from old Alias scripts, had no idea what to expect.

The premise and presentation of Cloverfield is rather voyeuristic. Its like you have found this video tape that belongs to somebody else and are watching it, only in this case, the tape has been found by the government, and you get the added thrill of watching classified video footage of New York City under siege by something terrible. The tape is shown "as found" with no editing on the governments part...that we know of.

Cloverfield tells the story of a group of friends. Actually, there are two stories that unfold quite cleverly. One is the love story of Rob and Beth, long time friends who have recently “hooked-up”. The movie starts with the couple in Beth’s father’s Manhattan apartment as they prepare for a fun-filled day at Coney Island. We see some playful banter between the couple and a few snippets of their day at the park are interspersed throughout the rest of the movie.

Suddenly the footage flickers and the time stamp has jumped nearly a month into the future. Jason, Rob’s brother, is using the camera to document a “going away” party for Rob who just got a new VP job over in Japan. He is unknowingly taping over Rob and Beth’s footage from their day at Coney Island. After a bit of pre-party planning and decoration the guests start to pack into Rob’s apartment for the big surprise. Hudson, or "Hud", is given the task of shooting video testimonials and goodbye wishes for Rob.

For the next 15 minutes we get to see some very realistic and unprofessional camera work, which was actually inspired by party footage found on YouTube. During this time we quickly get just enough background info on the primary characters to care about what happens to them next. Hud has a crush on Marlena, Jason and Lily are a couple and Rob and Beth have a huge falling out when Beth brings another guy to the party. Rob says some things he will certainly regret in about two minutes after an “earthquake” shakes up the party.

Everyone at the party heads up to the roof to see if they can spot anything and just about that time a massive explosion and fireball erupts from the center of the city sending debris flying all around them like a meteor storm. Everyone panics and rushes to the street just in time to see the severed head from the Statue of Liberty bounce off the side of a building, crush a few cars and tumble to rest just outside Rob’s apartment. Miss Liberty can certainly crash a party.

Just about then the Woolworth building several blocks away crumbles and sinks into the ground sending a wall of dust and debris rushing towards our group who quickly take refuge inside a nearby market. Once the dust has settled everyone agrees the party is over and it’s time to get off the island. The remaining 60 minutes of the movie is a rollercoaster ride of frantic suspense and action told through a visionary new style of cinematography.

The handheld camera concept does two things. First and foremost, it puts you IN the story. You are no longer a typical movie viewer watching things from the relative safety of your seat. You are actually in the shoes of the guy holding the camera experiencing the intensity and danger of every moment. You don’t have the luxury of wide angles or panoramic views. You are viewing the world through a very narrow lens and seeing only what Hud is aiming at.

For many of the scenes, especially at the party, the director allowed the actors to operate the camera giving everything the appropriate amateur flavor. Things got trickier when professional cameramen were given the camera and told to make things look sloppy. Matt Reeves was actually encouraging poor framing and bad focus – something cameramen would get fired for on any other film. And whenever something accidental happened (like the directory of photography falling down while filming the escape off the Brooklyn Bridge) they kept it in the film for added authenticity.

Shooting with a handheld camera presented more than a few challenges for editor, Kevin Stitt, who had to perform some magical cuts to make numerous takes seem like one long flowing continuous shot. When you don’t have multiple coverage angles, reverses, wide shots, etc. things get a lot trickier in the editing room. There are several extended “one’ers” in the film and I challenge anyone to find the cuts, at least the ones they don’t call out in the commentary. Kevin did a masterful job of pulling the best performances from multiple takes and blending them together as if they were one massive sweeping shot.

Special effects were also a lot more challenging given the handheld nature of the entire film. Normally, in a CG-effects laden movie you want your camera locked down or at least using a motion-control camera system to you can match your virtual camera to the real one. Cloverfield was a huge undertaking for the special effects team. Surveyors had to go onto the sets and plot hundreds of points on buildings and objects to recreate the CG set extensions as well as blend in the monsters and other special effects. Entire buildings had to be created in the computer and then smashed into realistic rubble.

Interestingly enough, the crew only shot for about one week in NYC, often with only 10-15 crew and actors; just enough to pick up the close shots of familiar landmarks and sell you on the fact that the events were happening in Manhattan. The rest of the shoot was actually on the Paramount backlot with plenty of CG magic to recreate the New York skyline. Even the Brooklyn Bridge was nothing more than a few square feet of wooden planks surrounded by green screen.

The actual monster in Cloverfield is quite impressive and totally unique. You only get quick glimpses for the first half of the film, but there is a great close-up near the end of the movie and plenty of great action sequences with him rampaging through the streets and leveling buildings. Perhaps more scary than the big guy himself are the parasitic creatures that drop off it. These insect-like creatures are the size of a large dog and look like something from Starship Troopers. They attack quickly and often in packs, and if they manage to bite you…well, let’s just say that it won't end well…just ask Marlena.

I have to admit, Cloverfield on DVD lost a bit of its theatrical magic for me. While I wasn’t one of the many who got sick in theaters, I did find the movie was more impressive on the big screen and more fun watching with a large group of people. Cloverfield is more of an “experience” than a movie. There is an adrenaline rush the first time you watch it, but for some reason you just can’t capture that same level of intensity on future viewings.

The Cloverfield DVD comes packed with a nice assortment of extras including a feature-length commentary with Matt Reeves, who offers plenty of insight into the making of this original project. There are several deleted scenes as well as some alternate endings and humorous outtakes. I actually found the Making of Cloverfield and the Featurettes quite informative and perhaps reason enough to purchase this DVD, if you enjoyed the movie enough to learn how it was made.

Filmmaking: 8
I really enjoyed the amateur film style of Cloverfield. It takes an epic action movie like Independence Day and allows you to experience it through a very narrow portal. At times you know there is cool stuff happening that you can't see, but you are at the mercy of Hud, or rather the creative direction of Matt Reeves. Perhaps the most interesting thing is there is actually no story being told in Cloverfield. You are just experience 6 hours of somebody’s' lives. Will Cloverfield ever achieve the cult status of Godzilla? Probably not, but it's a fun ride while it lasts.

Visuals: 8
On the whole, Cloverfield looks like it was shot with a camcorder by some panicked 20-something kids trying to escape Manhattan before they get eaten by some giant monster. The camera work is sloppy, the focus is often off, and that is exactly how it should be. For as unpolished as its presentation, one can only marvel at the exquisite CG effects which are so subtle and perfect you don't even realize that half (or more) of what you are watching isn't even there. Even the monster, during his big close-up reveal, manages to hold up under close scrutiny.

Sound: 6
Cloverfield has no soundtrack, or at least a conventional score, but that again goes right along with the gorilla-style filmmaking of the movie. There is a wonderful and somewhat chilling Overture during the final credits composed by Michael Giacchino. There is also a large selection of music you'll hear during the party sequence, but nothing that stands out. What bothered me the most is just how unimpressive the sound mix was for this DVD release. I saw Cloverfield in DTS in the theaters and was blown away. Sadly, there is no DTS mix on the DVD and listening to Cloverfield on my 1000w THX Onkyo home theater was disappointing at best. I had to crank the volume up about ten notches above my normal DVD listening level and even then, explosions and a giant shrieking and stomping monster failed to give my sub-woofer a workout.

Value: 7
As previously mentioned, Cloverfield is one of those movies that is great to watch once. Sure, there are a few memorable scenes worth revisiting, but there is no real conventional story or Hollywood ending. Truth be told, you'll end up feeling like you are watching somebody's vacation video, a vacation where a giant beast levels NYC and the military nukes what's left. I found far more value in the bonus features, and the commentary was quite educational. If you're like me and enjoy learning how they made the movie more than watching the movie itself, then Cloverfield is a cool DVD, otherwise it's a rental at best.

Overall: 7.8
If I were reviewing the theatrical release I would have scored Cloverfield much higher. It's a movie that any self-respecting action or monster movie fan must see, and hopefully you all got to see it in a theater where it works the best. Even on the biggest home theater screen monsters just don't look as menacing, and even on the loudest sound systems, they can't rattle your spine. On the flipside, this movie is suppose to give off the vibe that you are watching a tape found in a camcorder, so perhaps watching it at home with less than stellar sound is ultimately more realistic. Either way, Cloverfield is a great concept in filmmaking with amazing, yet subtle special effects, and an open-ended story that will have you trying to figure out the origins of the beast and debating his demise.