Ridley Scott: "Gladiator" Story Boards, Sketches and Inspirations

                             

         

Artists have long been influenced/inspired by the works of other artists (creative types) and their respective works. Composer/Arranger Isaac Hayes developed his popular version of the Bacharach/David song “Walk on by” while viewing Sergio Leone’s landmark film “Once Upon A Time in the West.”  His interpretation is in perfect coordination with the film’s prologue scenes imagery when paired with them. The Peace Movement’s anthem like; “Imagine,” was for many years credited to John Lennon alone. It was actually taken literally and tonally from the writings and thoughts of his wife, Yoko Ono. Van Gogh’s inspired copies of Millett, Delacroix and Doré became famous in their own rights. Picasso reproduced Velasquez and Delacroix to stunning and respected results in his time.  Director Ridley Scott is no exception to this artistic norm. His masterpiece of a film; the contemporary classic, “Gladiator” is directly inspired from his imaginings of the Orientalist masterpiece “Pollice Verso” (A Turned Thumb) by the great Jean-Léon Gérôme. The muses be damned.

“Pollice Verso” by Jean-Léon Gérôme

"That image spoke to me of the Roman Empire in all its glory and wickedness. I knew right then and there I was hooked."

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Ridley Scott

Scott’s career in film originally saw him as art director on various projects. His ever present artistic eye has served him well on his own films as diverse in content and tone as Alien, Gladiator, Thelma & Louise and most recently Raised by Wolves.  His sets, camera compositions, lighting and angles, costumes and props have a realistic believability as well as an imaginative aesthetic. His films visions and narratives benefit and are enhanced by these efforts. He also often lends his own hand to his films concept art and story-boarding. Among his most interesting are those for “Gladiator.”  What follows is a portfolio of some of the intricate and precise drawings done for that triumphant film.

Another major aspect of “Gladiator” is the illustrious score by Hans Zimmer. I have enjoyed elements of it for many years. It remains one of Zimmer’s most memorable works. I have included portions below.

                                                           Music From the Film

“A good score should have a point of view all of its own. It should transcend all that has gone before, stand on its own two feet and still serve the movie. A great soundtrack is all about communicating with the audience, but we all try to bring something extra to the movie that is not entirely evident on screen.”

                                                                                                                Hans  Zimmer

“Gladiator” has stood the test of time up to and into this point after it’s theatrical release. I believe it to be among our collective contemporary classics. It is a true cultural landmark that works well on many levels (evidenced by eleven Oscars wins) in ways that few films do. It is of special note; particularly in this digital age where films and film makers seem to have lost their way and ironically creative originality.

 

"BUSTER SCRUGGS" the Ballad of...

Like the dedicated and creative; cultured and persistent prospectors they are; the Coen Brothers have struck cinematic gold again. Their western anthology film “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” is amazingly, aggressively and adventurously awesome. You may have heard about it, are curious about or have already seen it. If you are among the “have-not-seens”   category do by all means see it. You will be thrilled, moved, outraged, perplexed and wonderfully entertained.

The brothers; Ethan and Joel are famous for completely upsetting just about every film trope and norm with their unusual take on life and movie traditions. They have essentially created their own film language layered with a gusto and panisch that is seldom equaled. Maybe the likes of Quentin Turrintino, Jack Jarmush or Spike Lee are in the Coen’s league but it is a small club. Their’s is in reality a very small club. 

“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” is an anthology film featuring six segments. The segments are only connected by the fact that that are all of the western genre. These short narratives vary in length and tone. Written over a period of twenty five years they stand alone in nature with no connecting thread. What the brothers have done with the first segment while introducing the character of Buster Scruggs begins with a most unique concept. Where Movie and TV Westerns have always reflected the tastes, morality and spirit of their times or decade of creation things are mixed up with “Buster Scruggs.”  A singing cowboy in the tone of a Gene Autry or Roy Rogers finds himself in a world where every other character is like the inhabitants of a Sergio Leone “Spaghetti Western.” What follows is pure delightful insanity, comedy and ridiculous drama as the segment twists turns and unfolds in totally unexpected ways.  Little here is close to what might originally be expected. 

Another standout segment features a story-teller of a talent that is to marvel in any venue or time. He is polished, intelligent, dignified and charismatic. He is also armless and legless. An unscrupulous and grungy oaf of a man played by an almost unrecnozible Liam Neeson is carting the vocal performer around frontier towns for audiences that are as enthralled as they are dwindling. Recitations by Shakespeare, Lincoln and the likes of Oscar Wilde are among the performer’s repertoire. The two are completely dependent on each other’s abilities. Where does such an uncommonly matched couple come from and where can they go with such an arrangement.

All of the segments to a degree center on death or at least to death’s fruition. The irony, the finality and the inevitability of it all are told in a multitude of fashions including: shoot outs, suicides, murders, ambushes, lynching’s and the resolve of it all by “The Harvesters of Souls.” 

Another interesting element brilliantly and lovingly incorporated into the visuals is a physical story book. The hardcover book appears to be a well-worn published edition of the book “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” that alludes to what might have been their original printed format. It is an effective and cunning device. Each segment begins with a lush illustration from the books pages and an interesting title that hints at the given narrative without giving away any real knowledge to the following story. I take this as a nod to another formidable but less controversial film maker of old; Walt Disney and his early films. 

There is much here to treasure and enjoy. They are the always inventive Brothers Coen…Ethan and Joel…the Best of the Best.  

 

                                                 

"The Ballad of Buster Scruggs" 

 Press Conference with Joel & Ethan Coen