If you haven’t seen the movie yet (how is that even possible?) you should avoid this. It spoils everything.
The dvd for Inception comes out soon and as a result there has been a ton of press about the film. Christopher Nolan gave an interview to Wired about the film. In the interview they ask him about all of the internet theories (like this one I wrote) and he responds to some, but overall remains pretty vague.
The video below is a really cool idea, but could have been executed a little better. There is not a proportional amount of footage for everything to quite match up like it should.
This post contains minor spoilers for Inception. I also promise this will be the last lengthy post I write about Inception for a while.
In film there are two types of sound: diegetic and non-diegetic. Diegetic sound is that which comes from something within the film. An example would be characters speaking or music coming out of a radio. Non-diegetic sound is that which does not come from within the film. The most obvious example here would be music used to set the mood.
The most striking example of this is in Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange (which also happens to be my favorite film of all time). All of the sound is diegetic, even the soundtrack. This is because the entire story is being told by the narrator and he is adding sounds and music he likes to scenes as he remembers them and retells them.
This brings us to Inception. It turns out at least some of the sound in Inception is also diegetic instead of non-diegetic as I originally perceived. That sinister theme music the plays over the trailer? Definitely in the heads of the characters within the dreams. Watch the video below and prepare to have your mind blown…again.
Thanks to user JZP from the comments of the previous post for making me aware of this.
The following contains heavy spoilers for Inception. If you haven’t seen it yet, you definitely need to see it at least once before reading this. Inception is one of the best films of 2010 and an incredibly original piece of work. Do not read any further unless you’ve seen the film.
Huge Spoilers beyond this point, you’ve been warned
For the past two weeks after several showings, a ton of reading and even more discussion, I’ve reached some conclusions about Inception. The purpose of this blog post is two fold. First, I want to explain Christopher Nolan’s intent behind the film. Second, I want to discuss the seemingly ambiguous ending of the film and explain how it isn’t actually open for interpretation as some people believe.
If you haven’t seen The Dark Knight yet, what are you waiting for? It is the best movie I have seen in a long time.
There have been reports coming in all weekend about how it first had to have midnight screenings extended all the way up until 6am to meet demand. Now it has broken the all time opening weekend box office record. If that isn’t enough to make you go see it, there have been reports that IMAX tickets are hitting Ebay and selling for as much as $300. Reviews have been so good, it is currently the #1 movie of all time on IMDB.
If you are going to see the film and want to get yourself into the experience I suggest reading into some of this background material.
Gotham Tonight – These videos are supplemental material that should be watched before you see the movie. They explain what has happened in between the first and second films. Christopher Nolan Interview – Get inside the head of the director. I would predict there will be some golden statues coming this guys way in the future. Dark Knight Marketing – One of the biggest parts of the film was the incredible marketing campaign, this link explains what lengths they went to in order to make sure everyone knew about the film. History of the Joker – If you weren’t aware of all of the stories about where the Joker came from, you’ll find this one interesting.
(spoilers in the links below)
Finally, for those of you who have already seen the film there are a few things you need to check out to get the total Batman experience. First this comment thread of initial reactions to the film will help you find words to express how good it was. Second, this poll also does the same thing. Finally, this lengthy post deconstructs some of the major themes of the film.
Update: I started thinking, who would be the villain(s) in the third film. After reading the Wikipedia entry on all the possibilities, I gave up thinking about it.
