Some time ago, I was fortunate enough to attend a special screening of the Tribeca Audience Award Winner for Best Picture, Here Alone, at an event held by the St. Lawrence International Film Festival in Potsdam, New York. In attendance were director Rod Blackhurst, writer David Ebeltoft and producer Noah Lang. Over the next several weeks, each of their respective Star Picks will be posted (in honour of the release of the film in theatres), each with a lengthy interview that should give you an insight into the world of movie making from three talented up and comers in the industry. Today, I introduce Noah Lang.
Son of talented character actor Stephen Lang (Avatar; Don’t Breathe), Noah has had a fruitful start to his career. With a wide array of films to his name already, he also produced another feature that was shown at the St. Lawrence International Film Festival, the well received Band of Robbers, though Here Alone is what I am going to focus on today – as it has solid momentum heading into its release. Lang’s work on the project is detailed quite nicely in the interview, and it will most likely say more that I can say here with the written word, so check it out below. It will give you insight into Here Alone, a clear picture for those unsure as to what a producer actually does, an idea of the complexity of the business, as well as so much more.
When the conversation turned to his favourite film, he demonstrated his movie knowledge by giving me a clear view of his influences. Though, when it came down to it, Lang promptly named the 1977 Ralph Bakshi cult classic Wizards as his top pick. An animated fantasy film, the producer was inspired by the creativity of the project (especially the way in which they completed the film – despite not having enough money), which drew him in – he estimates that he has watched it at least forty to fifty times.
A tale of good versus evil, Wizards was actually originally titled “War Wizards”, though on behest of acquaintance George Lucas, Bakshi changed it to the one word designation in order to not create confusion with a little movie that would be coming out two weeks later from the same studio, you guessed it – Star Wars. Ironically, Wizards was flourishing at the box office (despite Disney’s attempts to slow it down – it re-released Fantasia at the same time) until Star Wars was released and took everyone by surprise (it was originally expected to be a bust). Exploding in popularity, theatres clambered to screen it, deciding to drop the previously titled “War Wizards” (replacing it with the Lucas picture) instead of the powerhouse Disney production, ending what was shaping up to be a more than solid box office run.
Wizards is set in a distant future, following the destruction of the human race. At its heart, it is a warning about the perils of technology – as it is this that pushed the magic out of the world and led to the devastation of the planet. With all traces of the past buried (and a good portion of Earth being a radioactive wasteland), magic begins to pop up again in the few oases not touched by the ruination. It is here that there is still great beauty and purity in the world – elves, fairies and other fantastical creatures flourish once again.
It is in this setting that two brothers are born (a narrative as old as the Biblical story of Cain and Abel), one, a kindly, good hearted wizard, and the other an evil sorcerer with a soul as black as the darkest night. Polar opposites, protagonist Avatar (voiced by Bob Holt – giving him a gravelly, lazy touch – described by Bakshi as Peter Falk-like) advises the President (Jim Connell) of the untarnished lands, while Blackwolf (a Saruman-like sorcerer voiced by Steve Gravers) seethes in the dark, dying lands. Constantly ruminating in the shadows of his malignant kingdom, the malevolent wizard looks for an edge after constantly failing to inspire his army to defeat the forces of good. He looks to the past, finding ancient pieces of machinery and technology to tinker with. It is here that he stumbles upon a projector and footage from World War 2 Germany (both propaganda as well as video of blitzkriegs).
Sensing the power of what he has found, he will use it to inspire his troops and distract the good-hearted creatures who stand in their way – they are so pained by the horrific images that they stare wide-eyed, cowering while the evil orc-like goblins and other ghouls storm through their lines.
After the President of the countries of light is murdered by one of Blackwolf’s assassins (in front of the good wizard’s nose), Avatar must rouse himself out of his relaxed state and do something. He is at a point where he has aged a great deal, partaking in the finer things in life a tad too much. Alcohol and cigars are more important to him than working on the craft of his magic; he is also secretly enamoured with the much younger fairy daughter of the King, Elinore (Jesse Welles) – the innuendo most definitely suggests a hidden love for the curvy beauty.
Using his magic to transform the assassin into a guide of Peace (David Proval), the former evil hitman leads a ragtag team, which includes Avatar, Elinore and trusted elf warrior Weehawk (Richard Romanus) on a quest to destroy the dreaded projector and most likely face the looming threat of meeting Blackwolf face to face. Will they be able to make the perilous journey, saving all that is good in the world, or will they fall under the spell of black magic?
A mesmerizing spectacle of animation, Ralph Bakshi and his team create a visceral world of light and dark. As Lang highlighted, Bakshi was short on finances for the final battle sequences, but, instead of giving up, he got creative. Using rotoscoping – a way in which animators are able to trace over live action footage (frame by frame), they used old World War 2 video, as well as scenes from Alexander Nevsky, El Cid, Zulu, Battle of the Bulge, and Patton to finish the film. It adds a visual flair, depicting dark shadowy figures that are the epitome of evil, while also succeeding at providing an epic nature to the climax. For a patch job, it is extremely effective – an example of never giving up and finding creative ways to realize your dreams. During portions of the narration (read by Susan Tyrrell), Bakshi projects still images (much like a comic book), while at other times, he provides moody, unmoving black and white backgrounds while the characters move in front – like some sort of 3D comic book.
To once again return to the idea of technology, Wizards provides a more poignant message today than it did back in 1977. With the world revolving around cellphones and other forms of immersive technology more than ever, the addictive, cold blue screens draw us in, taking us away from the magic that comes from meeting people, making conversation and exploring nature. The message is reminiscent in some ways to Charlie Chaplin’s final speech in The Great Dictator – here is a portion that I think speaks to this: “. . . we have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives us abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical, our cleverness hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery, we need humanity. More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities life will be violent and all will be lost. . .”. As Chaplin highlighted in 1940, as Bakshi did in 1977, we cannot allow technology to interfere with the magical essence within ourselves – the humanity, empathy, love and compassion that sometimes gets lost when bombarded by the disenchanted skepticism that is spouted round every corner. Just because we have advanced, technologically speaking, and we now know, more than ever, how things work, that doesn’t make this world any less of a miracle.
There is also an undercurrent of a theme that revolves around love – between Avatar and Elinore. It speaks to the complexities of it, especially when there is an age difference, but also depicts the importance of having it in your life – it makes it all the richer, more fruitful and worthwhile.
A goldmine for World War 2 afficionados, you will see many influences from the 1939-1945 conflicts. Some of the battles resemble the conquering of the Eastern Block by the Nazis, then there is the footage of Hitler and blitzkriegs, an intriguing usage that places those videos in the background, adding the characters to the forefront (at one point, even showing the horrors of war projected in one of the eyes of the anguished fighters). Just one of many more examples – one of the weapons clearly resembles a luger.
I must say that there is one sequence that really made me laugh. The “They killed Fritz” scene finds an enraged and rather clueless gas-masked villain in a fury over the death of Fritz, firing randomly in every direction due to his anger – the character has an over the top, Gene Wilder-like aspect to it. Soon to discover that Fritz is okay (he is voiced by the director), he pouts over the disruption and the rude fact that it cost him being awarded medals. During the complaint, he accidentally shoots his friend dead, only to lose it once again – blaming it on the good guys. A nice little reference to his past work is the name ‘Fritz’, as Bakshi directed the iconic X-rated animated feature Fritz the Cat. If you are interested in seeing the scene, just type in ‘They killed Fritz Wizards’ and it will come up on Youtube.
A unique piece of cinema and a true cult classic, Ralph Bakshi’s Wizards is an interesting experience. To once again return to the Lucas/Bakshi connection, the Star Wars director actually recommended that Bakshi use Mark Hamill (taking the piece of advice, he was cast in the role of Sean – an approximately two minute part). With clear touches of psychedelia seeping over from the 1960s, the visuals, and sometimes the music, speak to the era. And, speaking of music, Andrew Belling composes an awe-inspiring score that encapsulates the soul of the epic tale in all of its fantastical glory. So, pull the trigger on adding this motion picture to your movie watching list, it may be an unexpected surprise.