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DDAGGER
HOWTHEY FINALLY BROUGHT
JOHN BUCHAN’S ESPIONAGE CLASSIC THE 39 STEPS TO THE SMALL SCREEN
hen trying to recall mo- Wments from Buchan’s time-
less spy thriller, it’s sometimes difficult to dif- ferentiate between what
was actually in his original 1915 book and subsequently created on celluloid in three film versions.
Hitchcock in 1935 followed by remakes in 1959 and 1978 forged their own indelible cinematic mo- ments whether it was Robert Donat handcuffed to Madeleine Carroll, or, latterly, Robert Powell climactically dangling from Big Ben. Neither, of course, had anything really to do with Buchan.
For television’s first ever take on the classic chase tale set on the eve of World War One, BBC producer Lynn Horsford was very clear what they wanted: “With this adaptation we wanted to stay faithful to the spirit and period of the book, but asked the writer Lizzie Mickery to feel free to re-imagine it for a mod- ern audience more familiar with James Bond and Jason Bourne.”
It was, however, very much Hitchcock that director James Hawes had in mind when he took on the project. Not so much that Thir- ties’ film – all three versions have firmly copyrighted their scripts - but a much later and more colourful film from the Master of Suspense.
“Only when I was up for the job did I realise how obviously North By Northwest is, effectively, Hitchcock’s remaking of the same story. What it has more clearly is that sense of caper rather than a serious thriller.
“There are elements of height- ened reality and little comic twists which, rather than undercutting the drama, actually seem to enrich it. Anyway, that’s what we were trying to get at.”
Working yet again with cine- matographer James Aspinall on a
production that couldn’t have been more different than their previous BBC collaboration, Fanny Hill, Hawes was clear about the ‘look’. “I kept using the word ‘robust’. I wanted it to have attitude, be earthy. Basically, I wanted to evoke the world, the landscape and period without being hog-tied by them.”
According to Aspinall: “What’s nice about working with James is that he’s absolutely clear about what he wants. We went for some of those unusual angles that Hitchcock did, but also modern-ed it up by hav- ing a much more mobile camera; for instance, there’s a lot of hand-held in the action scenes.
The BBC had first toyed with the idea of shooting the production – which stars Rupert Penry-Jones as Richard Hannay – in Nova Scotia, but in the end opted for Scotland where Glasgow, Edinburgh, the moorlands and Loch Katrine, in the heart of the Trossachs, have, variously, ended up doubling for everything in the story famously set on both sides of the border.
With the judicious use of a bi- plane and a brief respite in the foul weather, Hawes even managed fi- nally to get his Hitch-style ‘crop duster’ moment - without resorting either to CGI or a model - as it chased Hannay across the moors.
The director explained: “When we first met Rupert, he said he was excited most of all by the idea of being that man who runs in front of that plane. Then, suddenly, there he was!” QUENTIN FALK
The 39 Steps, airing Boxing Day on BBC 1, was originated on 35mm Fujicolor ETERNA 500T 8573, ETERNA 250D 8563 and Super F-64D 8522
THE DP VIEW
JAMES ASSPINALL
he main challenge on this was Tthe rain. I think it rained on all the exteriors almost every day
which made it very hard. Being
essentially a ‘road movie’, there was effectively a different location almost every day, which also made the schedule very tough.
I love Fujifilm and it’s particu- larly suitable for period stuff. I espe- cially like the way it shows colour. I remember at Loch Katrine where we filmed the final shootout, there were very dark grey skies reflecting in the water as well as a sort of mist com- ing down from the mountain.
There was not much actual colour going on but in its own way, it looked extraordinary. Fujifilm stocks did help with that ‘look’.
FUJIFILM MOTION PICTURE • THE MAGAZINE • EXPOSURE • 23