ألفونسو كوارون
阿方索·卡隆
אלפונסו קוארון
アルフォンソキュアロン

Gravity

source: theinsightcoin

Gravity is a science fiction thriller directed by Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron starring George Clooney and Sandra Bullock. The story revolves around Dr. Ryan Stone, a medical engineer on her maiden space voyage and veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky, both left alone when disaster in the form of satellite debris hit their spacecraft. The visual effects, the seemingly long single shots and the cinematography by Emmanuel Lubezki makes Gravity a cinematic masterpiece. The 14 minute opening single shot is a captivating visual treat. Though an unusual pairing, the acting was subtle and neat, this being Bullock’s best performance in years.
The only loophole is the duration of the movie which is short as the audience could have done with a little more of the visual space fiesta. Overall, perfect use of sound, the 3D effects being “just right”, immaculate cinematography and crisp performances makes Gravity a must watch.
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source: blogsdiscovermagazine

When you take a science geek to a science-fiction film, no good deed goes unpunished. Throw together a bunch of narrative nonsense linked by sheds of technobabble and the boffins will enjoy your movie as high camp (see The Core, Armageddon) or indulge it as well-meaning drama (I’m looking at you, Prometheus). Try to be realistic, like the new movie Gravity, and pretty soon everyone from Neil DeGrasse Tyson to Time magazine (with spoilers galore) is fact-checking you for little slip-ups.

astronaut eva
The real deal: Astronaut Bruce McCandless zips around using NASA’s Manned Maneuvering Unit, back in 1984. Unlike what you see in Gravity, such suits are no longer in use, and astronauts remain tethered for safety. (Credit: NASA)
Let me start by saying this: Gravity is intense, riveting, and extraordinarily beautiful. It well deserves its critical and commercial success. If it plays fast and loose with some basic bits of physics–including, ironically, the laws of gravity–it gets a surprising amount right. So it is with affection, and a deep curiosity about space history, that I ask: Could the disaster depicted in Gravity really happen?

I addressed that question briefly when I was on Fox News recently. The short answer yes, Gravity gets a lot of the fundamentals right. Space debris is a real problem. If debris compromised the International Space Station and any capsule docked to it, getting back home would be very hard. (OK, not just hard–it would probably be impossible without a rescue mission, but that would be a different movie.) Here I’ll break down the real science and stories behind Gravity, while avoiding spoilers as much as possible.

Clooney and Bullock. I had the good fortune of spending some time with the astronauts of the STS-125 missions during their training sessions in 2008. They are the crew that went up in the space shuttle to repair the Hubble Space Telescope–just like the fictional crew in Gravity. George Clooney’s character, Matt Kowalski, reminded me of the chatty and gregarious Mike Massimino, who has made repeat appearances on Big Bang Theory. Sandra Bullock’s character, Ryan Stone, was evocative of the younger and more reserved Megan McArthur. But: Astronauts spend a lot of time training before a mission. By the time I met Massimino, McArthur, and the rest of the crew they had an easy, deep rapport. The notion that they would still be learning basic biographical details about each other on the mission, as happens in Gravity, is useful for advancing the movie’s narrative, but doesn’t reflect the way real astronauts talk.

Gravity
And the movie version: The aftermath of a space-debris disaster in Gravity (Credit: Warner Brothers)
The equipment. Gravity does a pretty good job showing how difficult it is to do basic things like removing circuit boards or tightening screws in space. The Hubble Space Telescope, space shuttle, and International Space Station are shown with a lot of realism. Astronauts really do rely on tethers when they do space walks, as shown in the movie. Kowalski’s flight suit is patterned on the real Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) flown by NASA in 1984. But: The MMU was abandoned by NASA after the Challenger disaster because it was seen as too dangerous. The only flying suit in use today is a little emergency pack called SAFER, which carries just 3 pounds of nitrogen propellant. Contrary to what you see on screen, NASA would not allow untethered flight even with a flight suit. And certainly no self-respecting astronaut would go stunt-flying around delicate equipment, using up all his propellant, as Kowalski does. But hey, it looks really cool on screen.

The movements. On the whole, Gravity does a fantastic job depicting the dreamy, slow-motion world of spaceflight. The scenes of laborious work on the Hubble telescope while the Earth looms overhead–all sense of up and down totally scrambled–are lovely and realistic. When things go wrong, Stone goes into a tumble and can’t stop. That’s the way things go in space–when you start moving you just cannot stop. It evokes a real-life, terrifying accident that happened three months ago when Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano suffered an internal leak in his space suit. His suit started to fill with water, covering his eyes and ears, while he went into a slow tumble. I highly recommend checking out Luca’s blog. But: This one has a MILD SPOILER attached to it. At one key point, Stone tries to hold onto Kowalski but he is pulled away, as if he is dangling over the edge of a cliff. At this point, everything the movie got right about spaceflight goes horribly wrong. Both astronauts are still in floating in microgravity. One tug and Kowalski would come floating right back. Oops.

Space debris
A partial map of the 500,000 known bits of space debris in low-Earth orbit. (Credit: NASA)
Space junk. If you’ve seen the Gravity trailer, you know that the whole chain of events in the movie starts with a swarm of space debris. Russia shoots down one of its old satellites, creating a hailstorm of orbiting junk that sets of a chain reaction. In fact there is a lot of debris in low-earth orbit: NASA is tracking about 500,000 pieces larger than 1 centimeter (roughly a half-inch) across. At that altitude, objects are orbiting at about 30,000 kph (18,000 mph), fast enough to make a crater. The Space Station is designed to survive a hit by a 10-centimeter (4-inch) chunk, but a hailstorm of debris could easily destroy shuttle and Station alike. Space engineers really do worry about space-junk chain reaction–sometimes called the Kessler Syndrome–and are looking at ways to reduce the amount of debris in low Earth orbit. But: The Russians know all about this and presumably wouldn’t do anything to create such a problem; in fact, they are prohibited from doing so by treaty. Debris in low Earth orbit wouldn’t knock out communications satellites, which circle at much greater altitudes. And MILD SPOILER you wouldn’t see the junk coming. It’s traveling at ten times the speed of a rifle bullet. Think how easy it is to see a rifle bullet coming your way. Uh huh.

Orbital dynamics. The Hubble telescope, Space Station, and another location in the movie (I’ll leave it unnamed) all have quite different orbits. You can’t just hop from one to the next. Neil DeGrasse Tyson was especially annoyed by this one. But I think it falls well within artistic license: It’s a way to dramatize the astronauts’ predicament, and Gravity handles the drama effectively, even if it isn’t realistic.

Astronaut risks. The whole point of Gravity is that life in space is incredibly dangerous and precarious. True enough. But: The greatest risks in space flight are takeoff and landing. Space itself is surprisingly safe in comparison. The statistics tell the story. A total of 18 people have died on space flights, but of those 18 only 3 have lost their lives in space proper: The crew of Soyuz 11, who died on June 30, 1971, when a valve failed and their capsule depressurized. Their deaths helped inspire the Fallen Astronaut memorial sculpture and plaque on the moon. The other 15 died during takeoff or landing. Another 11 died during training (including the 3 who died in the Apollo 1 fire). And far more people have lost their lives on the ground making spaceflight possible. An estimated 350 people have died due to rocket explosions, and 24 more in a variety of spacecraft factory and launchpad accidents.

Hubble repair
The fourth and final space mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope, in 2009, looked very much like the scenes in Gravity. (Credit: NASA)
The bottom line: So what would really happen to you if you were stranded in space? The standard Space Station suit carries 8 hours of oxygen, plus a 30 minute reserve. If you cannot refill or find a safe haven in that time, CO2 levels build up and you eventually black out. With all that space debris flying around, more likely you would spring a leak in your suit.

If you depressurize, your timetable gets a lot more, er, compressed. Exposed to vacuum, you’ll pass out in about 10-15 seconds (and don’t try to hold your breath–the air pressure will explosively expel the air from your lungs). Animal studies show that monkeys exposed to vacuum for less than 3.5 minutes could be revived with no permanent brain injury. At that point, the animals’ hearts stopped and there was no turning back. One person was exposed to vacuum, during a 1965 ground experiment, and lived to tell the tale–take a look at this amazing video of NASA test subject Jim LeBlanc. Some other hair-raising case studies are here. Unless help were right at hand, the true ending to Gravity would likely be a grim one.

Watching Gravity, I was reminded of another recent sci-fi movie, one that paid even closer attention to the real details of a space mission: The smart, under-appreciated Europa Report. I thought about how incredible it is that so few people have died in space–not a single fatality since 1971. And I kept thinking, again and again, how spectacular the universe looks from orbit.

Gravity may be a disaster movie, but after watching it I was itching to go into space myself.
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source: neucineplexxat

Die brillante Bio-Medizinerin Dr. Ryan Stone geht auf ihre erste Raumfahrts-Mission. An ihrer Seite der Astronaut Matt Kowalsky, ein Veteran auf seiner letzten Mission vor dem Ruhestand.

Ein Routineausflug außerhalb der Kapsel endet im Desaster. Ryans Shuttle wird zerstört und die beiden sind plötzlich ganz alleine im dunklen, schwarzen All. Um sie herum ist Stille. Sie haben jeden Kontakt zur Erde verloren und es gibt keine Hoffnung auf eine Rettung.

Einzig durch ein Band zwischen ihnen werden sind die beiden miteinander verbunden und verlieren sich gegenseitig nicht auch noch. Angst wird zu Panik und jeder Atemzug frisst etwas mehr von dem wenigen Sauerstoff auf, den sie noch haben. Und die einzige Möglichkeit jemals wieder nach Hause zu kehren, scheint tiefer in den dunklen weiten Weltraum vorzudringen.
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source: pilulapop

“Gravidade” é sobre botar os pés no chão. Sobre deixar de vagar sem rumo e se reerguer. “Gravidade” é sobre renascimento. E é também uma ficção científica espetacular de deixar os cabelos em pé.

Começando com uma sequência de 13 minutos de duração, o diretor Alfonso Cuarón estabelece rapidamente seus personagens por meio de diálogos envolventes. Assim, descobrimos que o astronauta Matt Kowalsky é o comandante gente boa, tranquilo e simpático como a própria persona do seu intérprete George Clooney. Por outro lado, Ryan Stone (Bullock) é a séria e inexperiente especialista da missão, responsável pelo reparo do telescópio Hubble. Ela é que irá servir como personificação da solidão humana e de nossa capacidade de emergir, de tentar sempre ir em frente.

Bullock tem a melhor interpretação de sua carreira, e Cuarón está inspiradíssimo não apenas nos planos sequência, mas na inventividade em usar a câmera de forma dramática, como ao entrar dentro do capacete da protagonista. Além disso, ao respeitar o fato de que o som não se propaga no espaço, o diretor comprova a dramaticidade do silêncio com momentos de tirar o fôlego em que a ausência de som deixa tudo ainda mais assustador.

O filme possui uma estrutura episódica em que a história acaba importando pouco, a não ser como discussão a respeito do acaso e suas reações em cadeia. A equipe de astronautas que estava reparando o Hubble sofre um grave acidente ao ser atingida por detritos de outros satélites. Como consequência, a Dra. Stone passa a vagar sozinha pelo espaço. O nome “stone” (pedra) não é por acaso, assim como a posição fetal que ela assume em um momento de virada de sua atitude passiva no longa. Trata-se de uma mulher que está mais ligada à Terra do que ao espaço, mas que vai precisar se reinventar para não ser apenas uma pedra flutuando sem gravidade.

O visual é belíssimo, as cenas de ação inacreditáveis a trilha sonora de Steven Price oferece aflição na medida certa, aproveitando a criação do suspense pela simples ausência de peso e anteparos. Há várias citações (com direito à voz do Ed Harris a la “Apollo 13″) e é tudo muito belo, simbólico e poderoso. Apesar do filme se render um pouco aos clichês de ação ao final, e de algumas frases expositivas, “Gravidade” é uma experiência única, que deve ser vivida na maior tela possível, com um ótimo sistema sonoro e de preferência em 3D (é só pensar que a profundidade de campo, aqui, é infinita).

Alfonso Cuarón construiu uma obra marcante que finge ser em tempo real e que consegue fazer com que torcemos logo pela sua resolução ao mesmo tempo em que não queremos que acabe. Um espetáculo hollywoodiano que na verdade é uma metáfora para a depressão e a busca por recuperação. Um filmaço de aventura, ação e suspense que no fundo é sobre colocar os pés no chão e respirar novamente.
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source: montagesno

Etter å ha arbeidet med den virtuose science fiction-filmen Gravity i flere år, gir Alfonso Cuarón uttrykk for at han ønsker å beskjeftige seg med mindre produksjoner fremover.

I et langt videointervju med David Poland (via The Playlist), forteller den meksikanske regissøren at den omfattende prosessen med å bringe Gravity til live var kunstnerisk stimulerende, men samtidig såpass utfordrende at han neppe gir seg i kast med et lignende prosjekt i nærmeste fremtid:

I enjoyed every single bit of the process, but I would never do it again (…) It was fun and exciting it was full of challenges. The film was not unlike the journey of the character in the film… It was filled with adversity, things falling apart. You learn to go through and it’s weird to say, but some of the adversities were enjoyable. So, all of that was great, but I would never do it again.

Nå som Gravity er klar for å møte sitt kinopublikum, melder spørsmålet seg: Hva blir Cuaróns neste film? Regissøren har allerede lekt seg med alt fra barne- og fantasyfilm til romantisk drama, så spennvidden er stor. I et intervju med Vulture avslører Cuarón at lysten til å lage en skrekkfilm har kommet snikende, men at det ikke vil dreie seg om noen hvilken som helst samlebånds-slasher, snarere «something more psychological, more emotional, something that festers».

Hvis ønsket holder stand, er dette spennende nyheter for horror-fans. Cuaróns enestående håndlag med filmkameraet gjør at man formelig dykker inn i filmene hans, og det er ikke vanskelig å se for seg at dette kan skape en grøsseropplevelse av de sjeldne.
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source: infospesialnet

Satu lagi film yang wajib masuk dalam daftar tunggu kamu, Gravity, film ini bertema luar angkasa dan telah berhasil membius para kritikus di Venice Film Festival 2013. Film yang dibintangi oleh Sandra Bullock dan George Clooney, bahkan akan menjadi film pembuka di pergelaran Venice Film Festival 2013. Para kritikus film pun telah menghuji film ini dengan berbagai pujian dan rasa takjub. Menurut para kritikus, Alfonso Cuaron sebagai sang sutradara dianggap telah berhasil menampilkan akting menawan dua tokoh utamanya yakni Sandra dan George. “Penampilan yang sangat top dari Sandra Bullock dan George Clooney ditambah sengan spesial efek yang sangat keren. Gravity mampu menyenangkan penonton,” ungkap Mark Adams dari ScreenDaily. Tak hanya itu penonton film ini pun disuguhi dengan sinematografi dan spesial efek 3D yang keren.

“Film Gravity merupakan salah satu karya klasik sekaligus paling mutakhir yang mampu memainkan pertunjukkannya dengan baik dan mengolah teknologi digital yang nyaman untuk dilihat,” puji Justin Chang dari Variety. “Film ini mampu mendorong reaksi dari penonton, ‘Bagaimana bisa mereka melakukan hal itu?’, yang semakin langka kita rasakan dewasa ini,” lanjutnya. Tak kalah heboh dengan komentar dari kritikus film Variety, pengamat film The Hollywood Reporter pun berdecak kagum dan terus menjabarkan betapa alur cerita film ini sangat memukaunya. “Salah satu film paling realistis dan indah dengan setting luar angkasa, Gravity menggabungkan kisah menegangkan dan kejutan-kejutan tak terduga. Akhir cerita film ini juga cukup keren dan sinematik,” ujar Todd McCarthy dari The Hollywood Reporter. Gravity sendiri berkisah tentang dua astronot di luar angkasa yang berusaha bertahan hidup setelah sebuah insiden membuat mereka melayang-layang di luar Bumi. Rencananya, film ini akan dirilis di bioskop pada Oktober mendatang.
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source: blogudn

影／《阿凡達》導演盛讚！《地心引力》史上最棒
《阿凡達》導演讚珊卓布拉克《地心引力》表現超完美

珊卓布拉克挑戰體能極限【地心引力】最新預告片釋出

由鬼才導演艾方索柯朗（Alfonso Cuaron）執導、奧斯卡影后珊卓布拉克（Sandra Bullock）及喬治克隆尼（George Clooney）主演的《地心引力》（Gravity），獲得《阿凡達》科幻巨導詹姆斯科麥隆（James Cameron）盛讚，直說該片是：「史上最棒的太空電影」！

影后珊卓布拉克在《地心引力》的演出，被詹姆斯柯麥隆大讚是「完美、近乎藝術」。（圖／華納）

詹姆斯柯麥隆看過《地心引力》後，對電影讚譽有加，直說自己「非常震驚」，更說：「我想這應該是有史以來最佳太空電影攝影，也是影史上最棒的太空電影！」他表示，《地》片是一部長久以來他渴望看到的電影標竿，尤其珊卓和喬治的搭配更是天衣無縫。

他認為珊卓的演出表現幾乎是藝術，而且完美詮釋出一名女性在無重力的太空求生的故事，需要非常長時間的訓練才能達到的最終成果。要呈現這樣無重力的電影需要面臨非常大的挑戰，「艾方索與他的劇組人員肯定花了很多時間克服種種困難，讓成果相當完美。」柯麥隆說。

鬼才導演艾方索柯朗因《地心引力》的大好評價，名聲也跟著水漲船高。（圖／網路照）

女主角珊卓布拉克則表示，自己要讓觀眾感覺她是個強悍的人，用這樣的方式來掩飾過往的傷痛。而且拍攝《地心引力》是一項極高的體能挑戰，她經常在離地面三公尺的空中，身上吊著12條鋼絲，模擬太空中無重力的情況。還有一個攝影機器配合她從各種角度拍攝，有時還會以時速40公里的速度衝向她，在她面前幾吋突然停止。

《地心引力》在威尼斯影展擔任開幕片後，獲得極大的迴響，也讓導演艾方索柯朗的名聲也跟著水漲船高。他將於本周日（8日）在多倫多影展中，和珊卓布拉克與喬治克隆尼一起踏上紅地毯，出席世界首映會。電影將於10月4日在台上映，最新預告也正式釋出。
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source: raya

انطلقت أمس الأربعاء الدورة رقم 13 من مهرجان بيروت السينمائي الدولي وعرض في حفل الافتتاح الفيلم الأمريكي (جاذبية) من بطولة جورج كلوني وساندرا بوليك وهو من إخراج المخرج المكسيكي ألفونسو كوارون الذي شارك في تأليفه أيضا ويدور الفيلم الذي صور بالأبعاد الثلاثية حول رائد فضاء مخضرم في رحلته الأخيرة مع مهندسة طبية في رحلة فضائية للاستكشاف لكن ارتطام حطام قمر صناعي بالمكوك يتسبب في تدميره تقريبا ولا يبقي للبطلين إلا القليل من الأوكسجين وعليهما النجاة من هذه الكارثة بعد فقد كل اتصال بالأرض وقد افتتح الفيلم أيضا مهرجان فينيسيا السينمائي في أغسطس الماضي وحظي باستقبال حافل أما فيلم الختام للمهرجان فسوف يكون فيلم المهاجرة للمخرج الأمريكي جيمي جراي من بطولة الممثلة الفرنسية ماريون كوتيار والأميركي جواكين فينيكس وتدور أحداثة حول معاناة المهاجرين البولنديين في الولايات المتحدة .. ويبلغ عدد الأفلام المشاركة في دورة هذا العام 77 فيلما تتوزع على 8 مسابقات من أهمها البانوراما الدولية التي تضم 28 فيلما وأفلام الشرق الأوسط القصيرة وأفلام الشرق الأوسط الوثائقية .. كما سيعرض خلال المهرجان آخر أفلام المخرج الإيراني جعفر بناهي (ستائر مغلقة) الذي قام المخرج بتصويره سرا وتسبب له في مشاكل كثيرة مع السلطات خصوصا بعد أن فاز في مهرجان برلين بجائزة الدب الفضي لأفضل سيناريو كما ينظم مهرجان بيروت للسنة الثانية على التوالي تظاهرة لأفلام حقوق الإنسان تعرض خمسة أفلام من فلسطين وألمانيا ومصر والسنغال وصربيا وكانت بيروت قد شهدت في شهر مارس الماضي الدورة السابعة لأيام بيروت السينمائية ومهرجانا خاصا للفيلم العربي شارك فيها عدد كبير من المخرجين العرب وأقيمت خلالها عدد من الندوات من بينها (المخرجون العرب ومؤسساتهم السينمائية في زمن التغير) تحدث فيها مخرجون من بلدان الربيع العربي مثل تونس وسوريا ومصر .