The Playlist

Style Or Substance? 20 Visually Stunning Movies That Go For Broke

By The Playlist Staff
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May 8, 2013 1:51 PM
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23 Comments

Features

No matter what you think of Baz Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby," opening this week in ultra-luxurious 3D, one thing's for sure – it looks pretty spectacular. Filled with lovingly crafted costumes, opulent sets, and computer generated imagery that makes ragtime New York seem like a quasi-futuristic metropolis, it is drunk on its own excess. It feels like the movie Luhrmann has been angling towards for a while and has finally achieved (thanks in part to the added dimensionality of 3D), for better or worse. It's a giant, gilded, vulgar monstrosity that overwhelms more often than it entertains. And it got us thinking about other movies whose similarly excessive styles have either been an asset or a detriment. So put on your 3D glasses, your best pink pinstripe suit, and grab a glass of bootleg liquor, for our list of 20 visually dazzling movies.

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Watch: Complete Tribeca Talks With Darren Aronofsky & Clint Eastwood And Ben Stiller & Jay Roach

By Kevin Jagernauth
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April 30, 2013 2:18 PM
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2 Comments

News

Well, the sun has set on another Tribeca Film Festival, but with a packed schedule, we weren't going to have time for everything. That being said, it was a great year for the festival, with more than a handful of surprising films and performances which we broke down in our Best And Brightest Of The 2013 Tribeca Film Festival. But festivals aren't just an opportunity for movies to find an audience, but it's a place for talent to talk, mingle and share anecdotes and while we could find space in our schedule, thank the digital age for preserving these convos.

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Darren Aronofsky Confirms Clint Mansell Is Scoring 'Noah,' Discusses Their Working Relationship

By Kevin Jagernauth
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December 11, 2012 12:04 PM
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0 Comments

News

Considering composer Clint Mansell has worked with Darren Aronofsky on all of the director's films to date, it's not a big shock that they will be working together once again. But still, it's nice to get some confirmation, and indeed, during a masterclass at the Marrakech Film Festival (you can read all the highlights right here) Aronofsky confirmed that Mansell will be back for his Bible epic "Noah." But perhaps most revealing is Aronofsky's description of their working relationship.

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Darren Aronofsky Says 'The Fountain' Was Too Expensive, Talks Connecting 'Noah' With Modern Audiences & More

By Jessica Kiang
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December 11, 2012 11:18 AM
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4 Comments

News

One of the most predictably oversubscribed events at the Marrakech International Film Festival this year was Darren Aronofsky’s masterclass. Lasting nearly two hours, however, and delivering a retrospective spin through the five feature films that make up his back catalog, as well as a few nuggets about the forthcoming “Noah,” it actually most caught fire when the proceedings were opened up to the audience. In this section, Aronsofky was at his most forthcoming and engaged, happy to share his expertise with the many film students who got questions in, and passionate in his encouragement of young local filmmakers.

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Watch: Darren Aronofsky's 1994 Short Film 'No Time'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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November 24, 2012 12:59 PM
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3 Comments

News

Last week, director Darren Aronofsky officially wrapped what is easily the largest production of his career, "Noah." And with the film not due until March 28, 2014, so begins a long fifteen month wait for the movie. So what can we do until then? How about taking a quick trip back in time...

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Hulk Hogan Wants A Role In 'The Expendables 3,' Darren Aronofsky Denies Claim That He Was 'The Wrestler' Before Rourke

By Charlie Schmidlin
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October 12, 2012 10:42 AM
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2 Comments

News

Following a painful divorce from his wife, a sentence of jail time handed down to his son, and the recently-released sex tape, it's grown increasingly harder for a YouTube search of Hulk Hogan to remind people of his glory days as a professional wrestler. His fall from grace has continued firmly in the public eye though, and this week Hogan took to Howard Stern's radio show to drop two film-related tidbits, even as his involvement in both remains debatable.

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'Bullhead' Director Michael Roskam To Direct Former Darren Aronofsky Project 'The Tiger'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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August 15, 2012 8:36 PM
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1 Comment

News

Welcome to Hollywood Michael Roskam. The director made waves with his Oscar-nominated "Bullhead" last year, and is now seeing the buzz turn into some palpable projects. Last week HBO ordered up a pilot of "Buda Bridge," a futuristic crime series he'll direct, with Michael Mann producing, and now he's stepping into his first bonafide Hollywood film, with some more big names backing him up.

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First Look At Russell Crowe In Darren Aronofsky's 'Noah'; Will The Film Feature The Giant Og?

By Kevin Jagernauth
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August 10, 2012 9:19 AM
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12 Comments

News

So, how soon is it to start marketing? If you're the folks over at Paramount, one year and eight months or so seems to be nothing, as just weeks after cameras started rolling on Darren Aronofsky's "Noah," we're now getting our first look at the Biblical epic.

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Kevin Durand, Marton Csokas & Dakota Goyo Book Passage On Darren Aronofsky's 'Noah'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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July 19, 2012 5:28 PM
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4 Comments

News

We'll say this, Darren Aronofsky's "Noah" is going to provide all kinds of opportunities for puns and riffs on its title over the next couple years as the movie blog world tracks its development. So bear with us as we use up our supply of clever ways to play on one of the most well known Bible stories besides the one about Jesus.

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Darren Aronofsky's Building An Ark; 'Noah' To Feature Crazy Demon Angels

By Edward Davis
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July 12, 2012 11:27 AM
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5 Comments

News

While most filmmakers just make it the CGI-way, Darren Aronofsky is taking a page out of Christopher Nolan's build-it-and-they-will-believe practical effects route and is constructing a full-scale Ark for his adaptation of the Biblical tale "Noah." Aronofsky took to Twitter recently and unveiled a massive-scale ark under construction, saying: "I dreamt about this since I was 13. And now it's a reality. Genesis 6:14." (Incidentally, that Bible quote is: "So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out.")

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