Bunraku (film)
Encyclopedia
Bunraku is a 2011 martial-arts action film
written and directed by Guy Moshe based on a story by Boaz Davidson
. The film stars Josh Hartnett
, Demi Moore
, Woody Harrelson
, Ron Perlman
, Kevin McKidd
, and Gackt
and follows a young drifter in his quest for revenge.
The title Bunraku is derived from a 400-year-old form of Japanese puppet theater
, a style of storytelling that uses 4 feet (1.2 m)-tall puppets with highly detailed heads, each operated by several puppeteers who blend into the background wearing black robes and hoods.
The classic tale is re-imagined in a world that mixes skewed reality with shadow-play fantasy. Its themes draw heavily on Samurai
and Western
.
Bunraku premiered as an official selection of the Midnight Madness section at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival
in Canada. A limited theatrical release was slated on September 2011.
Nicola the Woodcutter (Ron Perlman
) is the most powerful man east of the Atlantic, a shadowy crime boss who rules with an iron fist and nine assassins. His right-hand man is Killer No.2 (Kevin McKidd
), a cold-hearted, smooth-talking murderer with a red hat and a deadly blade. Along with his killers is Nicola's love, Alexandra (Demi Moore
), a femme fatale with a secret past. The citizens live in fear of this gang and wait for the hero who can overthrow them.
One night, a mysterious Drifter (Josh Hartnett
) enters the Horseless Horseman Saloon and talks to the Bartender (Woody Harrelson
). He wants two things: a shot of whisky and to kill Nicola. Soon, another stranger enters, a samurai named Yoshi (Gackt
). Yoshi wants to avenge his father by recovering a talisman that Nicola stole from his clan. Armed with crossed destinies and incredible fighting skills and guided by the Bartender's wisdom, the two eventually join forces to bring down the corrupt reign of Nicola.
, Moshe started working on the initial concept art for Bunraku in 2006. The first drafts of the screenplay were largely inspired by Westerns
and martial arts
movies, of which Moshe is a huge fan. In a 2010 interview, Moshe revealed that he first "sold the script for Bunraku to a production company... When it became clear that they would not film it, I bought it back." Moshe was asked in a 2007 interview on the subject of his future projects. "My next film is called Bunraku and it is an action-fantasy circus ride into man's fascination with violence. It has a sort of a Spaghetti Western, samurai movie feel and it's going to be built and shot entirely on a stage so it couldn't be more different than Holly, maybe 180 degrees from it actually. Like Holly, it also aspires to go a little beyond the pure entertainment factor, but I think that, all in all, I would like to be the kind of filmmaker who can tell and make more than one story or one type of genre. I feel like in the past an auteur was a person who constantly challenged himself, where, today, because of the fierce competition and growing difficulty of making different and unique films, filmmakers can get stuck in a certain style and movie genre and keep recreating the same films. It takes two years of your life to make a movie, and to me that's priceless. If I am gonna spend that kind of time pouring my blood and tears into it, then I wanna make sure I learn something on the way. That is what life is all about anyhow, I guess, growing and learning and then realizing you know nothing at all."
The $25m action film is produced by Moshe's Los Angeles-based Picturesque Films, Los Angeles-based Ram Bergman Productions and is fully financed by Keith Calder
's Los Angeles-based Snoot Entertainment. Snoot Entertainment was founded in February 2004 to independently develop, finance and produce both commercial genre-oriented live-action films and CG animated features with broad audience appeal. In a 2008 interview, Calder said. " I've always loved movies in the 'no-name stranger' coming to town and ending up in a bigger struggle (genre)... I think [Bunraku] is an opportunity to take this genre and spin it on its head and bring a unique and strong visual style to it." Acclaimed production designer
Alex McDowell
is co-producing the film. Asked about his first production in a 2009 interview, McDowell said he "met with Moshe, the director of Bunraku, and his producer Nava Levin a couple of years ago, originally to consult with them. His project was such an interesting and provocative blend of genres and technique that I got hooked and helped them to set up an innovative approach to pre-production that integrated pre-visualization, storytelling and design into a new fluid and low budget workspace for the creative team. The story is set on a theatre stage in a folded paper world where Russian gangsters, cowboys and samurai warriors come together in inevitable and never-ending battle. It's an elegantly choreographed dance of revenge, honor and friendship...It's cool!" IM Global
is handling worldwide sales.
made, compared the look of Bunraku to Alfred Hitchcock
's Rope
, in that it will play out (or at least appear to play out) in one long, unedited take. Hartnett explained " It's in the vein of Sin City
or something like that, where the world doesn't look like reality at all...Some of the scenes are gonna be more Michel Gondry-like I guess but a lot of them will be green screen as well...It's not fantasy. Well, I mean, it's not Narnia
. It's a film that, I don't know how to stick it into a genre, but I would say it's more a film like Sin City than anything else." In a 2010 interview, actor McKidd revealed that Bunraku " is a hybrid of a western and a martial arts film. The world it's set in is almost circus-like in the feel of it and it's all origami. The whole universe is constantly folding paper to create a cityscape or interiors of rooms or the sunrise." In a 2009 interview, McDowell, better known as the production designer of major Hollywood successes such as Minority Report
, The Terminal
or Fight Club
, indicated that in Bunraku the production was using "the idea that the movement in the camera work should dictate the set, rather than the set design in any way limiting the action. So, if a character performed a kick which needed a physical context such as a wall, that wall would be provided in the design. In this way, the actors should have a total freedom of space in which to work and to give of their best." McDowell's special value to Bunraku as a salesman has been front-loaded. The pre-visual content that he made to show during the 2008 Festival de Cannes
helped director Moshe to double the amount of anticipated investment in the production.
while promoting his film August. Hartnett stated "I'm going to Romania to shoot this film called Bunraku...All the cast isn't set yet, but it's going to be a lot of really interesting actors, in this weird kind of papier-mâché world...I've been trying to do as much artistic fare as I can and things that are compelling to watch as well...It's a story of revenge...My character is called 'The Drifter', and he comes into this world that doesn't look like anything like you've ever seen before...[The Script] has a lot of fight sequences in it, but it's more about these crazy characters...Like my character, he's a gypsy and he's coming into town and he's got something to prove and no one really knows what he's about."
In April 2008, Moore was confirmed to be joining the cast as the courtesan Alexandra. Interviewed at the 2009 Middle East International Film Festival
, Moore described Bunraku as a "big action adventure", "It has tremendous special effects" she enthused. In May 2008, Harrelson and Perlman were announced to be joining the cast. Harrelson is set to play The Bartender, one of the protagonists while Perlman was signed to the role of Nicola the Woodcutter, powerful warrior and crime boss, who is the central focus of vengeance for the film's protagonists. Bunraku marks the first time that Moore and Harrelson have worked together since the 1993 film Indecent Proposal
. When asked in a 2010 interview how he had managed to sign two international stars like Harrelson and Moore onto an experimental film, Moshe explained "They really liked [Moshe's film] Holly and responded immediately to the Bunraku script."
McKidd plays Killer No. 2, the right-hand man of Nicola and a deadly assassin. Describing his character in a 2010 interview, McKidd said "I play a very effeminate, master killer who's almost like a Fred Astaire
tap-dancing his way through the movie. It's so different than anything I've done." McKidd further revealed "It'll be a very interesting film. Moshe, who also directed, wrote what I thought was one of the strangest scripts I'd ever read, especially because the story takes place in an in-depth CGI universe. It's very allegorical – a mixture of a samurai film and a western in a virtual origami universe where everything is made of folding paper, and there's a lot of martial arts in it...I thought Bunraku was interesting enough to be in. I play the main killer of the movie who's hunting down Hartnett's character under the instruction of Ron Perlman's character, Nicola. They've been doing the effects for the last 19 months. But then this is an independent film, not Avatar. I'm really excited to see Bunraku."
On April 23, 2008, Japanese singer Gackt was confirmed for the role of Yoshi, a samurai
warrior seeking vengeance against Nicola. Although he has starred in Japanese television drama and feature films, Bunraku was his first acting experience in an international-flavored movie. Gackt came to the attention of Moshe through his role in the 2007 television historic drama Fūrin Kazan
, a year-long series produced by NHK
. In this series, he portrayed the heroic warlord Uesugi Kenshin
, winning him accolades, not only for his acting performance, but also for the music single "Returner ~Yami no Shūen~
" and the video for the same that were inspired by his role. Moshe personally went to Japan to convince Gackt to join the project.
in the town of Buftea
in Romania
. In a 2009 interview, producer Ram Bergman was asked about the choice of the shooting location, stating "we needed a lot of stages available because the whole movie is green-screen and we had to build 30-something sets. We needed to take control of a space for five months... [Romania] was probably 10%-20% cheaper than Prague. We did not want to pay top dollar, like you would pay in London or, to a lesser degree, in Prague or Hungary... Media Pro Studios had the most stages available [in Romania]. Bergman continued "we brought in heads of departments but the rest of the [film] crew was Romanian.
A wrap-up party was organised at the Terminus Club in Bucharest
at the end of June 2008.
on September 1, 2011 and in theaters on September 30, 2011. The official trailer for the film premiered on G4 TV
's Attack of the Show!
which aired on July 20, 2011.
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
written and directed by Guy Moshe based on a story by Boaz Davidson
Boaz Davidson
Boaz Davidson is an Israeli film director, producer and screenwriter. He was born in Tel Aviv, British Mandate of Palestine and studied film in London....
. The film stars Josh Hartnett
Josh Hartnett
Joshua Daniel "Josh" Hartnett is an American actor and aspiring producer. He first came to audiences' attention in 1997 as "Michael Fitzgerald" in the television series Cracker. He made his feature film debut in 1998, co-starring with Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later for Miramax...
, Demi Moore
Demi Moore
Demi Guynes Kutcher , known professionally as Demi Moore, is an American actress. After minor roles in film and a role in the soap opera General Hospital, Moore established her career in films such as St...
, Woody Harrelson
Woody Harrelson
Woodrow Tracy "Woody" Harrelson is an American actor.Harrelson's breakthrough role came in the television sitcom Cheers as bartender Woody Boyd...
, Ron Perlman
Ron Perlman
Ronald N. "Ron" Perlman is an American television, film and voice over actor. He is known for having played Vincent in the TV series Beauty and the Beast , a Deathstroke figure known as Slade in the animated series Teen Titans, Clarence "Clay" Morrow in Sons of Anarchy, the comic book character...
, Kevin McKidd
Kevin McKidd
Kevin McKidd is a Scottish television and film actor and director. Before playing the role of Owen Hunt in Grey's Anatomy, McKidd starred as Lucius Vorenus in the historical drama series Rome, and provided the voice of Captain John "Soap" Mactavish in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and the sequel...
, and Gackt
Gackt
is a Japanese singer-songwriter, actor, voice actor and author. Usually referred to by his mononymous stage name, he is known for his career as a solo artist and as the former vocalist for the defunct visual kei rock band Malice Mizer....
and follows a young drifter in his quest for revenge.
The title Bunraku is derived from a 400-year-old form of Japanese puppet theater
Bunraku
, also known as Ningyō jōruri , is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theater, founded in Osaka in 1684.Three kinds of performers take part in a bunraku performance:* Ningyōtsukai or Ningyōzukai—puppeteers* Tayū—the chanters* Shamisen players...
, a style of storytelling that uses 4 feet (1.2 m)-tall puppets with highly detailed heads, each operated by several puppeteers who blend into the background wearing black robes and hoods.
The classic tale is re-imagined in a world that mixes skewed reality with shadow-play fantasy. Its themes draw heavily on Samurai
Samurai cinema
While earlier samurai period pieces were more dramatic rather than action-based, samurai movies post World War II have become more action-based, with darker and more violent characters. Post-war samurai epics tended to portray psychologically or physically scarred warriors. Akira Kurosawa stylized...
and Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
.
Bunraku premiered as an official selection of the Midnight Madness section at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival
2010 Toronto International Film Festival
The 35th annual Toronto International Film Festival, was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 9 and September 19, 2010. The opening night gala presented Score: A Hockey Musical, a Canadian comedy-drama musical film. Last Night closed the festival on September 19.2010 TIFF included...
in Canada. A limited theatrical release was slated on September 2011.
Plot
In the aftermath of a global war, guns have been outlawed but people still fight, using knives and fists.Nicola the Woodcutter (Ron Perlman
Ron Perlman
Ronald N. "Ron" Perlman is an American television, film and voice over actor. He is known for having played Vincent in the TV series Beauty and the Beast , a Deathstroke figure known as Slade in the animated series Teen Titans, Clarence "Clay" Morrow in Sons of Anarchy, the comic book character...
) is the most powerful man east of the Atlantic, a shadowy crime boss who rules with an iron fist and nine assassins. His right-hand man is Killer No.2 (Kevin McKidd
Kevin McKidd
Kevin McKidd is a Scottish television and film actor and director. Before playing the role of Owen Hunt in Grey's Anatomy, McKidd starred as Lucius Vorenus in the historical drama series Rome, and provided the voice of Captain John "Soap" Mactavish in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and the sequel...
), a cold-hearted, smooth-talking murderer with a red hat and a deadly blade. Along with his killers is Nicola's love, Alexandra (Demi Moore
Demi Moore
Demi Guynes Kutcher , known professionally as Demi Moore, is an American actress. After minor roles in film and a role in the soap opera General Hospital, Moore established her career in films such as St...
), a femme fatale with a secret past. The citizens live in fear of this gang and wait for the hero who can overthrow them.
One night, a mysterious Drifter (Josh Hartnett
Josh Hartnett
Joshua Daniel "Josh" Hartnett is an American actor and aspiring producer. He first came to audiences' attention in 1997 as "Michael Fitzgerald" in the television series Cracker. He made his feature film debut in 1998, co-starring with Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later for Miramax...
) enters the Horseless Horseman Saloon and talks to the Bartender (Woody Harrelson
Woody Harrelson
Woodrow Tracy "Woody" Harrelson is an American actor.Harrelson's breakthrough role came in the television sitcom Cheers as bartender Woody Boyd...
). He wants two things: a shot of whisky and to kill Nicola. Soon, another stranger enters, a samurai named Yoshi (Gackt
Gackt
is a Japanese singer-songwriter, actor, voice actor and author. Usually referred to by his mononymous stage name, he is known for his career as a solo artist and as the former vocalist for the defunct visual kei rock band Malice Mizer....
). Yoshi wants to avenge his father by recovering a talisman that Nicola stole from his clan. Armed with crossed destinies and incredible fighting skills and guided by the Bartender's wisdom, the two eventually join forces to bring down the corrupt reign of Nicola.
Cast
- Josh HartnettJosh HartnettJoshua Daniel "Josh" Hartnett is an American actor and aspiring producer. He first came to audiences' attention in 1997 as "Michael Fitzgerald" in the television series Cracker. He made his feature film debut in 1998, co-starring with Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later for Miramax...
as The Drifter - Woody HarrelsonWoody HarrelsonWoodrow Tracy "Woody" Harrelson is an American actor.Harrelson's breakthrough role came in the television sitcom Cheers as bartender Woody Boyd...
as The Bartender - GacktGacktis a Japanese singer-songwriter, actor, voice actor and author. Usually referred to by his mononymous stage name, he is known for his career as a solo artist and as the former vocalist for the defunct visual kei rock band Malice Mizer....
as Yoshi, a swordsman from Japan - Kevin McKiddKevin McKiddKevin McKidd is a Scottish television and film actor and director. Before playing the role of Owen Hunt in Grey's Anatomy, McKidd starred as Lucius Vorenus in the historical drama series Rome, and provided the voice of Captain John "Soap" Mactavish in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and the sequel...
as Killer No. 2, lieutenant to Nicola - Ron PerlmanRon PerlmanRonald N. "Ron" Perlman is an American television, film and voice over actor. He is known for having played Vincent in the TV series Beauty and the Beast , a Deathstroke figure known as Slade in the animated series Teen Titans, Clarence "Clay" Morrow in Sons of Anarchy, the comic book character...
as Nicola the Woodcutter, crime boss of the East coast and powerful warrior - Demi MooreDemi MooreDemi Guynes Kutcher , known professionally as Demi Moore, is an American actress. After minor roles in film and a role in the soap opera General Hospital, Moore established her career in films such as St...
as Alexandra, a courtesan and Nicola's lover - Jordi MollaJordi MollàJordi Mollá Perales is a Spanish actor, filmmaker, writer and artist.Mollà's artwork is represented in the Carmen De la Guerra Gallery in Madrid, Picasso Mio Gallery in Madrid and Barcelona and Cold Creation Gallery in Barcelona...
as Valentine - Shun SugataShun Sugata' is a Japanese character actor from Yamanashi Prefecture. He is most known for portraying villainous characters.-Films:*Abunai Deka *Baka Yaro! 2: Shiawase ni naritai...
as Uncle, Yoshi's Uncle - Emily Kaiho as Momoko, Yoshi's cousin
- Mike PattonMike PattonMichael Allan "Mike" Patton is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and actor, best known as the lead singer of the metal/experimental rock band Faith No More. He has also sung for Mr...
as The Narrator
Development
Following the completion of his first feature film, HollyHolly (film)
Holly is a 2007 drama film about an American stolen artifacts dealer in Cambodia who tries to save a young girl from child traffickers. The film was directed by Guy Moshe, and stars Ron Livingston, Chris Penn, and Thuy Nguyen....
, Moshe started working on the initial concept art for Bunraku in 2006. The first drafts of the screenplay were largely inspired by Westerns
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
and martial arts
Martial arts film
Martial arts film is a film genre. A sub-genre of the action film, martial arts films contain numerous fights between characters, usually as the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often as a method of storytelling and character expression and development. Martial arts are frequently...
movies, of which Moshe is a huge fan. In a 2010 interview, Moshe revealed that he first "sold the script for Bunraku to a production company... When it became clear that they would not film it, I bought it back." Moshe was asked in a 2007 interview on the subject of his future projects. "My next film is called Bunraku and it is an action-fantasy circus ride into man's fascination with violence. It has a sort of a Spaghetti Western, samurai movie feel and it's going to be built and shot entirely on a stage so it couldn't be more different than Holly, maybe 180 degrees from it actually. Like Holly, it also aspires to go a little beyond the pure entertainment factor, but I think that, all in all, I would like to be the kind of filmmaker who can tell and make more than one story or one type of genre. I feel like in the past an auteur was a person who constantly challenged himself, where, today, because of the fierce competition and growing difficulty of making different and unique films, filmmakers can get stuck in a certain style and movie genre and keep recreating the same films. It takes two years of your life to make a movie, and to me that's priceless. If I am gonna spend that kind of time pouring my blood and tears into it, then I wanna make sure I learn something on the way. That is what life is all about anyhow, I guess, growing and learning and then realizing you know nothing at all."
The $25m action film is produced by Moshe's Los Angeles-based Picturesque Films, Los Angeles-based Ram Bergman Productions and is fully financed by Keith Calder
Keith Calder
Keith Calder is a British-born independent film producer best known for his work on All the Boys Love Mandy Lane and The Wackness with Felipe Marino and Joe Neurauter.-Career:...
's Los Angeles-based Snoot Entertainment. Snoot Entertainment was founded in February 2004 to independently develop, finance and produce both commercial genre-oriented live-action films and CG animated features with broad audience appeal. In a 2008 interview, Calder said. " I've always loved movies in the 'no-name stranger' coming to town and ending up in a bigger struggle (genre)... I think [Bunraku] is an opportunity to take this genre and spin it on its head and bring a unique and strong visual style to it." Acclaimed production designer
Production designer
In film and television, a production designer is the person responsible for the overall look of a filmed event such as films, TV programs, music videos or adverts. Production designers have one of the key creative roles in the creation of motion pictures and television. Working directly with the...
Alex McDowell
Alex McDowell
Alex McDowell, RDI is British production designer and film producer.McDowell was born in Borneo to parents of English origin. He wanted to become a painter and studied at the Central School of Art in London. He founded Rocking Russian Design in 1978 and started his career designing album covers...
is co-producing the film. Asked about his first production in a 2009 interview, McDowell said he "met with Moshe, the director of Bunraku, and his producer Nava Levin a couple of years ago, originally to consult with them. His project was such an interesting and provocative blend of genres and technique that I got hooked and helped them to set up an innovative approach to pre-production that integrated pre-visualization, storytelling and design into a new fluid and low budget workspace for the creative team. The story is set on a theatre stage in a folded paper world where Russian gangsters, cowboys and samurai warriors come together in inevitable and never-ending battle. It's an elegantly choreographed dance of revenge, honor and friendship...It's cool!" IM Global
IM Global
IM Global was founded in March 2007 by current CEO Stuart Ford. The company is one of the leading film financing, sales, and distribution companies in the world, with offices in Los Angeles, London, and Mumbai...
is handling worldwide sales.
Visual development
Snoot FX, a division of Snoot Entertainment, and Origami Digital LLC are responsible for all the animation and visual effects work on Bunraku. The movie will mix CGI and practical sets to create the world of "Bunraku". In a 2008 interview, Hartnett, who was instrumental in getting the film Sin CitySin City (film)
Sin City, also known as Frank Miller's Sin City, is a 2005 crime thriller film written, produced and directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez...
made, compared the look of Bunraku to Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's Rope
Rope (film)
Rope is a 1948 American thriller film based on the play Rope by Patrick Hamilton and adapted by Hume Cronyn and Arthur Laurents, directed by Alfred Hitchcock and produced by Sidney Bernstein and Hitchcock as the first of their Transatlantic Pictures productions...
, in that it will play out (or at least appear to play out) in one long, unedited take. Hartnett explained " It's in the vein of Sin City
Sin City (film)
Sin City, also known as Frank Miller's Sin City, is a 2005 crime thriller film written, produced and directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez...
or something like that, where the world doesn't look like reality at all...Some of the scenes are gonna be more Michel Gondry-like I guess but a lot of them will be green screen as well...It's not fantasy. Well, I mean, it's not Narnia
The Chronicles of Narnia (film series)
The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of English fantasy films from Walden Media that are based on The Chronicles of Narnia, a series of novels written by C. S. Lewis...
. It's a film that, I don't know how to stick it into a genre, but I would say it's more a film like Sin City than anything else." In a 2010 interview, actor McKidd revealed that Bunraku " is a hybrid of a western and a martial arts film. The world it's set in is almost circus-like in the feel of it and it's all origami. The whole universe is constantly folding paper to create a cityscape or interiors of rooms or the sunrise." In a 2009 interview, McDowell, better known as the production designer of major Hollywood successes such as Minority Report
Minority Report (film)
Minority Report is a 2002 American neo-noir science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg and loosely based on the short story "The Minority Report" by Philip K. Dick. It is set primarily in Washington, D.C...
, The Terminal
The Terminal
The Terminal is a 2004 American comedy-drama film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones. It is about a man trapped in a terminal at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport when he is denied entry into the United States and at the same time cannot...
or Fight Club
Fight Club (film)
Fight Club is a 1999 American film based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk. The film was directed by David Fincher and stars Edward Norton, Brad Pitt and Helena Bonham Carter. Norton plays the unnamed protagonist, an "everyman" who is discontented with his white-collar job...
, indicated that in Bunraku the production was using "the idea that the movement in the camera work should dictate the set, rather than the set design in any way limiting the action. So, if a character performed a kick which needed a physical context such as a wall, that wall would be provided in the design. In this way, the actors should have a total freedom of space in which to work and to give of their best." McDowell's special value to Bunraku as a salesman has been front-loaded. The pre-visual content that he made to show during the 2008 Festival de Cannes
2008 Cannes Film Festival
The 61st Annual Cannes Film Festival was held from May 14 to May 25, 2008. In addition to films selected for competition this year, major Hollywood productions such as Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Kung Fu Panda had their world premieres at the festival.The British press...
helped director Moshe to double the amount of anticipated investment in the production.
Casting
Hartnett confirmed his involvement as the lead character The Drifter in an interview at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival2008 Sundance Film Festival
The 2008 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 17, 2008 to January 27 in Park City, Utah. It was the 24th iteration of the Sundance Film Festival. The opening night film was In Bruges and the closing night film was CSNY Déjà Vu.-Films:...
while promoting his film August. Hartnett stated "I'm going to Romania to shoot this film called Bunraku...All the cast isn't set yet, but it's going to be a lot of really interesting actors, in this weird kind of papier-mâché world...I've been trying to do as much artistic fare as I can and things that are compelling to watch as well...It's a story of revenge...My character is called 'The Drifter', and he comes into this world that doesn't look like anything like you've ever seen before...[The Script] has a lot of fight sequences in it, but it's more about these crazy characters...Like my character, he's a gypsy and he's coming into town and he's got something to prove and no one really knows what he's about."
In April 2008, Moore was confirmed to be joining the cast as the courtesan Alexandra. Interviewed at the 2009 Middle East International Film Festival
Middle East International Film Festival
Abu Dhabi Film Festival is an international film festival. Created in 2007, the ceremony is held annually in October in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage , under the patronage of Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman of the ADACH...
, Moore described Bunraku as a "big action adventure", "It has tremendous special effects" she enthused. In May 2008, Harrelson and Perlman were announced to be joining the cast. Harrelson is set to play The Bartender, one of the protagonists while Perlman was signed to the role of Nicola the Woodcutter, powerful warrior and crime boss, who is the central focus of vengeance for the film's protagonists. Bunraku marks the first time that Moore and Harrelson have worked together since the 1993 film Indecent Proposal
Indecent Proposal
Indecent Proposal is a 1993 drama film, based on the novel of the same name by Jack Engelhard. It was directed by Adrian Lyne and stars Robert Redford, Demi Moore, and Woody Harrelson.-Plot:...
. When asked in a 2010 interview how he had managed to sign two international stars like Harrelson and Moore onto an experimental film, Moshe explained "They really liked [Moshe's film] Holly and responded immediately to the Bunraku script."
McKidd plays Killer No. 2, the right-hand man of Nicola and a deadly assassin. Describing his character in a 2010 interview, McKidd said "I play a very effeminate, master killer who's almost like a Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
tap-dancing his way through the movie. It's so different than anything I've done." McKidd further revealed "It'll be a very interesting film. Moshe, who also directed, wrote what I thought was one of the strangest scripts I'd ever read, especially because the story takes place in an in-depth CGI universe. It's very allegorical – a mixture of a samurai film and a western in a virtual origami universe where everything is made of folding paper, and there's a lot of martial arts in it...I thought Bunraku was interesting enough to be in. I play the main killer of the movie who's hunting down Hartnett's character under the instruction of Ron Perlman's character, Nicola. They've been doing the effects for the last 19 months. But then this is an independent film, not Avatar. I'm really excited to see Bunraku."
On April 23, 2008, Japanese singer Gackt was confirmed for the role of Yoshi, a samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
warrior seeking vengeance against Nicola. Although he has starred in Japanese television drama and feature films, Bunraku was his first acting experience in an international-flavored movie. Gackt came to the attention of Moshe through his role in the 2007 television historic drama Fūrin Kazan
Furin Kazan (Taiga drama)
was the 46th NHK Taiga drama beginning on January 7, 2007. It was aired throughout 2007.The four characters from left to right are wind, woods, fire, and mountain. The title is a reference to the war banner used by Takeda Shingen, which in turn was taken from Sun Tzu's The Art of War...
, a year-long series produced by NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
. In this series, he portrayed the heroic warlord Uesugi Kenshin
Uesugi Kenshin
was a daimyo who ruled Echigo province in the Sengoku period of Japan.He was one of the most powerful lords of the Sengoku period. While chiefly remembered for his prowess on the battlefield, Kenshin is also regarded as an extremely skillful administrator who fostered the growth of local industries...
, winning him accolades, not only for his acting performance, but also for the music single "Returner ~Yami no Shūen~
Returner ~Yami no Shuen~
is a single released by Gackt, on June 20, 2007, the theme song for NHK drama Fūrin Kazan.-Summary:The inspiration for the image used in this single ties into the NHK drama Fūrin Kazan, in which Gackt plays the warlord Uesugi Kenshin....
" and the video for the same that were inspired by his role. Moshe personally went to Japan to convince Gackt to join the project.
Filming
Filming for Bunraku began on April 17, 2008 on a budget of $25 million and continued over the course of 12 weeks at the MediaPro StudiosMediaPro Pictures
MediaPro Pictures is the largest film and TV production company in Romania, part of MediaPro Entertainment along with other production units from Czech Republic, Croatia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Bulgaria....
in the town of Buftea
Buftea
Buftea is a town in Ilfov county, Romania, located 20 km north-west of Bucharest. Its population is growing due to its proximity to Bucharest. One village, Buciumeni, is administered by the town....
in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
. In a 2009 interview, producer Ram Bergman was asked about the choice of the shooting location, stating "we needed a lot of stages available because the whole movie is green-screen and we had to build 30-something sets. We needed to take control of a space for five months... [Romania] was probably 10%-20% cheaper than Prague. We did not want to pay top dollar, like you would pay in London or, to a lesser degree, in Prague or Hungary... Media Pro Studios had the most stages available [in Romania]. Bergman continued "we brought in heads of departments but the rest of the [film] crew was Romanian.
A wrap-up party was organised at the Terminus Club in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
at the end of June 2008.
Post production
Brazilian-born filmmaker Guilherme Marcondes was hired to develop an animated opening sequence for the film, described as a "short [film] before the main feature". Marcondes described the project as "an interesting project with a lot of animation techniques, and the director of the feature Moshe is letting me do my own thing. A rare circumstance, so I'm glad to be doing it."Crew
- Guy Moshe – Director/Writer
- Keith CalderKeith CalderKeith Calder is a British-born independent film producer best known for his work on All the Boys Love Mandy Lane and The Wackness with Felipe Marino and Joe Neurauter.-Career:...
– Producer - Ram Bergman – Producer
- Nava Levin – Producer
- Jessica Wu – Producer
- Chris Farmer – Production designer
- Juan Ruiz AnchíaJuan Ruiz AnchiaJuan Ruiz Anchía is a Spanish cinematographer, perhaps most notable for James Foley's adaptation of David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross and At Close Range.-Early career:...
– Cinematographer - Zach StaenbergZach StaenbergZach Staenberg is a film editor best known for the Matrix Trilogy. Staenberg won an Academy Award and an ACE Eddie Award for the editing of The Matrix...
– Editor - Glenn Garland – Editor
- Terence BlanchardTerence BlanchardTerence Oliver Blanchard is an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, arranger, and film score composer. Since he emerged on the scene in 1980 with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra and then shortly thereafter with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Blanchard has been a leading artist in jazz...
– Composer - Mary Vernieu – Casting
- Donna Zakowska – Costume design
- Scott Hecker – Sound editor
- Larnell Stovall – Fight choreographer
- Clayton J. Barber – Stunt Coordinator
- Oliver Hotz – Visual Effects producer
- Dane Allan Smith – Visual Effects supervisor
Festival screenings
| Event | Section | Location | Date(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto International Film Festival 2010 Toronto International Film Festival The 35th annual Toronto International Film Festival, was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 9 and September 19, 2010. The opening night gala presented Score: A Hockey Musical, a Canadian comedy-drama musical film. Last Night closed the festival on September 19.2010 TIFF included... |
Midnight Madness | Toronto Toronto Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from... , Canada Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... |
September 11, 2010 – September 14, 2010 – September 17, 2010 | |
| Fantastic Fest Fantastic Fest Fantastic Fest is an annual film festival in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 2005 by Tim League of Alamo Drafthouse, Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News, Paul Alvarado-Dykstra, and Tim McCanlies, writer of The Iron Giant and Secondhand Lions. The festival focuses on genre films such as horror,... |
Premiere Screenings | Austin Austin Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas.Austin may also refer to:-In the United States:*Austin, Arkansas*Austin, Colorado*Austin, Chicago, Illinois*Austin, Indiana*Austin, Minnesota*Austin, Nevada*Austin, Oregon... , Texas Texas Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in... , United States |
September 26, 2010 – September 27, 2010 | |
| Mumbai International Film Festival Mumbai International Film Festival Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short and Animation Films , is a festival organised in the city of Mumbai by the 'Film Division', Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India. It has been organised since 1990, and focuses on documentary, short and animation... |
World Cinema | Mumbai Mumbai Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million... , India India India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... |
October 24, 2010 | |
| Tokyo International Film Festival Tokyo International Film Festival Tokyo International Film Festival is a film festival established in 1985. The event was held biannually from 1985 to 1991 and annually thereafter... |
Special Screenings | Tokyo Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... , Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
October 27, 2010 – October 29, 2010 | |
| Dubai International Film Festival Dubai International Film Festival The Dubai International Film Festival is an international film festival based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Launched in 2004, it aims to foster the growth of filmmaking in the Arab world.-Overview:... |
Cinema of the World | Dubai Dubai Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi... , United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a... |
December 17, 2010 | |
| Hong Kong International Film Festival Hong Kong International Film Festival The Hong Kong International Film Festival is a platform for filmmakers, film professionals and filmgoers from all over the world to launch and experience new film work. There are seminars, conferences, exhibitions, and parties celebrating the festival community... |
I See It My Way | Hong Kong Hong Kong Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour... , China People's Republic of China China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres... |
March 31, 2011 – April 5, 2011 | |
| ActionFest ActionFest ActionFest is an annual film festival in Asheville, NC, started by Carolina Cinemas and Magnolia Pictures founder Bill Banowsky and action director/producer Aaron Norris... |
Action Cinema | Asheville Asheville, North Carolina Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active... , North Carolina North Carolina North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte... , United States |
April 9, 2011 – April 10, 2011 | |
| AM² West Coast Anime Convention | Summer Festival | Anaheim, California California California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area... , United States |
July 3, 2011 | |
| Otakon Otakon Otakon is a fan convention in the United States focusing on East Asian popular culture and its fandom. The name is a portmanteau derived from convention and the Japanese word otaku... |
Premieres | Baltimore Baltimore Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore... , Maryland Maryland Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east... , United States |
July 29, 2011 | |
| Lund International Fantastic Film Festival | World Cinema | Lund Lund -Main sights:During the 12th and 13th centuries, when the town was the seat of the archbishop, many churches and monasteries were built. At its peak, Lund had 27 churches, but most of them were demolished as result of the Reformation in 1536. Several medieval buildings remain, including Lund... , Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... |
September 21, 2011 | |
| Boston Film Festival Boston Film Festival Boston Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Boston in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It has been held annually since 1984, usually in early September.... |
Closing Night | Boston Boston Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had... , Massachusetts Massachusetts The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010... , United States |
September 22, 2011 | |
Theatrical release
ARC Entertainment, the US distributor for the film, announced on July 5, 2011 that Bunraku will be available on Video on DemandVideo on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
on September 1, 2011 and in theaters on September 30, 2011. The official trailer for the film premiered on G4 TV
G4 (TV channel)
G4, also known as G4 TV, is an American cable- and satellite-television channel originally geared primarily toward young adult viewers, originally based on the world of video games...
's Attack of the Show!
Attack of the Show!
Attack of the Show! is an American live television program shown weeknights on G4, G4 Canada and Fuel TV in Australia. The program is hosted by Kevin Pereira and Candace Bailey...
which aired on July 20, 2011.
External links
- International Sales (IM Global)