Projectory Goodness

Ahhh... after much hoo-ha, faffing around, and a trek across town to the ParcelFarce depot, it's finally in place! My shiny new Benq W100 projector began it's (hopefully long) service of movie showing last night, with a screening of Star Wars (A New Hope you fool, not The Phantom Menace). Sure it took a little "refinement" of the living room layout, and not all the furniture has a home anymore, but that's a minor side effect of undertaking the erection of your own cinema. Room shuffling aside, setup of the projector was effortless; a crystal clear picture right out of the box. No need for a screen, no twiddling and tuning (other than to get it in focus); just point at the wall and switch on for a bright, clear and frankly enormous picture. How much does such cinematic ecstasy cost I hear you ask? PixMania. 385 English pounds. If that's not the the AV deal of the year you people are impossible to please. As Ferris said, "If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up".

Now to the screening. I've seen Star Wars a countless number of times, yet only once on the big screen (during the summer re-releases of '97; a fine Summer it was too). I can not emphasis the difference it makes to see something like this projected several feet wide onto your living room wall. It's all consuming, like dropping out of the real world and being immersed into some long forgotten childhood dream. Thanks to this delightful gadget, I was reacquainted with something years of home DVD viewing had taken from me. The spectacle of cinema.

Sure, we can all watch our favourite movies at home in the intimate atmosphere engendered by the TV; but watching it on a projector? It's a different feeling entirely. It reminds you how "big" cinema can be. The broad strokes of escapist story telling can only really be at home on a broad canvas. The opening shot of the star destroyer and ensuing gun battle, watching the Millennium Falcon blast out of Moss Eisley, Darth Vader striking down Obi-Wan, to the climactic trench run on the surface of the Death Star... all these moments loose something when trapped on the confines of the small screen.

But no more! Finally I have the means to set them free, a gateway into the imaginations of countless filmmakers, past and present. Time to go through my DVD collection again, seeing everything as it was intended.

Renaissance

French cinema is often synonymous with style, and this visual gem from first time director Christian Volckman is no exception. Shot in stark black and white CGI, Renaissance is less a movie more a living graphic novel.

Set against the gritty backdrop of a future Paris, Renaissance spins a classic noir yarn of rogue cop, missing dame, and sinister organisation. Fusing elements of Blade Runner and Elmore Leonard (influences readily acknowledged by the writer and director), the plot draws us through the dark atmosphere with convoluted twists and reveals. Top this off with an unexpected ending, and you can easily overlook the more cliched moments.

Technically the movie is brilliant. Harsh black and white lends a stark beauty to the future Paris, giving us many visually memorable views of the cityscape. Characters move with grace and fluidity thanks to some exceptionally good motion capture work; especially noticeable in the films many action sequences. Speaking of which, there is a truly classic chase sequence captured through some brilliant camerawork.

The movie has been blessed with an impressive English dub; the likes of Ian Holm, Jonathan Pryce, and (man of the moment) Daniel Craig lending their voices and considerable acting talent to the characters. Despite this, characters do come across a little shallow and stereotypical of the genre. The lack of depth doesn't greatly impinge proceedings, but does keep it firmly in the realm of cool graphic novel rather than stunning noir.

A brief making of and a short from the director round out the dvd. Given the time and technique this took to create, you can't help but feel a little underwhelmed. Stylish, technically accomplished, and visually memorable, this cool piece of sci-fi noir should earn itself a place in your collection.